Su Zhengguo’s face darkened as he told the housekeeper to take Lin Ya upstairs.
“Thank you, President Su.” Lin Ya thanked him neither humbly nor arrogantly, then led her people straight upstairs.
Su Zhengguo stared after them, lost in thought, no one knowing what was going through his mind.
“Dad…” Su Jingheng wanted to say something, but Su Zhengguo raised a hand to stop him. “You don’t need to say anything more. I have my own considerations.”
Su Mengyao stood where she was, her face flushing red, then turning pale. The smile that had been lifting the corners of her lips was now gone, her lips pressed tightly together. Her hands were clenched so hard that her nails nearly dug into her palms. Her heart was filled with resentment and hurt.
“Yaoyao, don’t be upset. We don’t care about some Jinxiu Pavilion anyway. Big Brother will buy you even more expensive clothes,” Su Jingheng coaxed her carefully.
“Okay.” Su Mengyao forced a smile, but her eyes were filled with resentment. The clothes from Jinxiu Pavilion were not merely expensive—they were also a symbol of status.
The housekeeper led Lin Ya to the second floor and stopped in front of Su Ni’s door. He raised a hand to push it open, but Lin Ya stopped him before he could.
Standing respectfully outside the door, Lin Ya gently knocked three times.
“Miss Su, I’m Lin Ya, the person in charge of Jinxiu Pavilion. May I come in?”
The housekeeper sneered inwardly at her attitude. She was nothing more than a useless girl brought back from the countryside. Was there really any need to be so respectful toward her?
“Come in.”
Su Ni’s cool voice came from inside the room.
“Yes.”
As Lin Ya pushed the door open, she glanced at one of her subordinates.
After carrying the clothes inside, a small commotion broke out behind her. It conveniently kept the housekeeper occupied, and by the time he realized what was happening, the door had already been shut in his face.
Without looking to either side, Lin Ya walked inside. She stopped three steps away from Su Ni, lowered her head slightly, and presented the clothes in both hands.
“Miss, these are your clothes. They’ve been prepared according to your latest measurements.”
Su Ni glanced back at them, then casually pointed to the side.
“Put them there.”
Clothes that the wealthy families of Jingbei could only dream of obtaining seemed utterly ordinary to her.
“I asked you to come here because there’s something I want to ask you.” Su Ni turned to look at her. “I heard the Su family has found me a good marriage. Do you know what that’s about?”
Lin Ya’s expression grew complicated.
“The person the Su family wants you to marry is Huo Shiyue of the Huo family.”
“Huo Shiyue?”
Su Ni’s brows immediately furrowed. If this was the Huo Shiyue she knew of, then…
Huo Shiyue, twenty-five years old, was one of the most outstanding young men in all of Jingbei and the dream lover of countless young women. Even though Su Ni had only recently arrived in Jingbei, she had heard a little about him.
He had graduated from a top business school overseas and took over the Huo Group as soon as he returned. At the time, the previous generation of the Huo family had just passed away, leaving the Huo Group in the midst of a difficult situation, beset by troubles both within and without.
With his exceptional business acumen and decisive leadership, Huo Shiyue quickly stabilized the Huo Group. He then displayed even more astonishing resolve, launching sweeping reforms that saved the struggling company from the brink of collapse. In just two years, he led the Huo Group back to the pinnacle of Jingbei.
A man like Huo Shiyue was someone the prominent families of Jingbei would fight tooth and nail to marry their daughters to. What did a second-rate family like the Su family amount to, let alone Su Ni?
“So, what happened to him?” Su Ni thought that if there were no special circumstances, the Su family would have married Su Mengyao off to him long ago.
“Three years ago, Huo Shiyue suddenly came down with a strange illness. He hasn’t appeared in public since. There have been vague rumors that he became a vegetable.” Lin Ya glanced at Su Ni before continuing. “Recently, there’s been word that this once-mighty business tycoon is on the verge of death. Old Madam Huo went to Baoxiang Temple and asked Master Mingwu to perform a divination. He said that if President Huo could get married as soon as possible, there might be a chance he could wake up.”
“A marriage to bring good fortune?”
The corners of Su Ni’s lips curled into a mocking smile, her eyes filled with disdain.