Chapter Eleven: Preface to Liking Shang Jiu

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"Business Tycoon’s Sensational Return to the Country; Soon to Wed the Daughter of the Esteemed Xu Family of Sujiang"

Qin Lingling pulled up the news on her phone and showed it to Su Mian. "Is this the one? I’m always surfing the web for gossip, nothing escapes my eyes. At first, I thought it was fake, but then I thought, if the business tycoon didn’t approve, who would dare leak such news? That’s just tempting fate."

Su Mian smiled gently and nodded, propping her chin on her hand. "It’s definitely true."

"Ah!" Qin Lingling’s mouth nearly swallowed an egg again. "What does the big shot think about this? What do you plan to do?"

"It doesn’t really matter what he thinks. Our identities make it impossible for us to be together," Su Mian said softly, tapping on the news details. "The Xu family and the Shang family have been long-time friends since our great-grandparents’ generation; their businesses have been closely intertwined. Now in Shang Jiuxu’s generation, just two years after he took over, the Shang family’s output has skyrocketed like a rocket. Such a formidable commercial giant fears nothing more than absolute dominance by one party."

"The Shang family, being so prominent, attracts attention. As the head of the family, he must bear responsibility. Marrying into the Xu family signals that the Shang family has no intention of outpacing or abandoning long-standing alliances, which reassures the upper echelons."

After all, whether people or old families, as long as there are ties, conscience will not vanish.

Qin Lingling was dumbfounded. Su Mian thought for a moment and told her, "Shang Jiuxu’s fiancée—whom I call Sister Wan Jun—I truly respect and admire her like an elder sister. That phone call just now was to her. She has been frail since childhood; the dampness in Jiangnan made her live with her grandparents in the capital. Her family estate is also in the Western Hills. When I was little, I liked to visit her—well, I begged Shang Jiuxu to come along because I was too shy to be alone with such a beautiful sister. Kids often feel shy around someone so pretty."

"She’s very gentle and kind to me. No matter how many naive questions I asked, she never seemed impatient."

"We spent time together and grew up slowly. When I was in eighth grade and she was a senior in high school, one day when Shang Jiuxu picked me up from school, I somehow sulked at him and went home without even doing my homework; instead, I ran straight to Sister Wan Jun’s house."

Su Mian’s voice grew a bit weary as she took a sip of red wine, her lips looking even more vivid. Qin Lingling listened intently.

"That was the first and only time I saw Sister Wan Jun lose her composure. Though ‘losing composure’ is relative—Xu Wan Jun even looks graceful in sorrow. She sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, her shoulders slightly slumped inward, otherwise no different than usual. I could tell something was wrong only from her reddened eyes."

"I ran to her bedroom—having run from elementary school days to middle school, it was the first time I felt it might be impolite."

"I was about to leave when she called me back. She hugged me and cried. I was at a loss, comforting her awkwardly, handing her tissues to wipe her tears. She looked at me, smiling through her tears, as if seeing someone else through me, or perhaps seeing no one at all."

"Before I left, she said she envied me. I asked what she envied. She said she didn’t lack wealth or education, but she envied me for having two brothers and envied how good they were to me."

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Su Mian sighed deeply. She seemed to want to sigh again, and Qin Lingling, captivated, pressed her, "What happened next?"

"She told me she liked Shang Jiuxu."

"Ah!" Qin Lingling exclaimed again. "Fiancée and a crush? That’s a stacked buff!" She looked at Su Mian with concern. "You still call her? You’re not warning her or anything, are you?"

Her expression said plainly, “If you’re that foolish, I’ll lose respect for you.”

"No," Su Mian touched her nose, and before Qin Lingling could relax, she added, "I invited her to come to Hong Kong."

"Ah—!!!" This time Qin Lingling didn’t wait. She grabbed a cushion from the sofa and playfully hit her. "Su Xiaomian, do you even know what you’re doing? I wouldn’t even dare to do what you’re doing!"

Su Mian dodged around the dining table, motioning with her hand for Qin Lingling to calm down. "Shang Jiuxu went on vacation to Mexico with Sister Wan Jun just one month after breaking up with me. There are photos as proof." She swiped her slender fingers and pulled up the photos. "Look."

Without further explanation, Qin Lingling fell silent, hugging the cushion obediently.

Because in those photos, Shang Jiuxu and the young woman looked so reckless and carefree, as if the world around them didn’t exist.

Qin Lingling, who loves traveling and sightseeing, immediately recognized the breathtaking scenery; no matter how high the resolution, it couldn’t fully capture the beauty—it must have been a carefully chosen vacation spot.

"You jerk!" Qin Lingling accused Shang Jiuxu. Su Mian was startled. "You think he’s special to Sister Wan Jun too, right?"

"Not just special—they’re obviously deeply in love. He doesn’t look like someone who just broke up a month ago!" Qin Lingling angrily punched the cushion twice.

"That’s why I invited Sister Wan Jun here—to see clearly where his heart lies and for both of them and me to understand our own feelings. I want the three of us to have an answer and stop this ambiguous entanglement. These past days of confusion and clarity in dealing with Shang Jiuxu have been too much for my heart. It’s pure torture for myself and others."

Su Mian finished speaking, and Qin Lingling nodded in full agreement, her head bobbing like a little chick. Indeed, even a bystander couldn’t bear it.

The new day passed without any announcements. Su Mian didn’t sleep well at night; her biological clock woke her naturally, and she didn’t want to keep lazing around. Fully disguised with a mask, sunglasses, and hat, she went out with Qin Lingling to shop, eat, and watch a movie.

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At four in the afternoon, just as the movie ended, her phone vibrated with an invitation to a symphony concert from a major director in the industry she had never even worked with.

She tossed the empty popcorn bucket into the trash, puzzled. Qin Lingling leaned over to look. "A concert? That’s pretty highbrow and a bit niche, isn’t it?"

The director sent another message.

"Ms. Su, this is an industry networking event involving some resource exchanges and collaborations. If you’re free, you’re welcome to come and enjoy it."

Ms. Su?

Su Mian looked at the message and felt the director seemed overly polite in his detailed explanation.

For him to proactively inform her about such an industry event was already a great courtesy, and he even explained it so thoroughly.

"If he wanted to discuss cooperation, he’d probably contact my agent or you. Why come directly to me?" Su Mian asked Qin Lingling, who was just as puzzled.

But since the invitation came to her, an event hosted by such a high-level director was a rare opportunity. She was about to consider her next film project anyway. Even if no collaboration came of it, expanding her network would benefit her greatly.

Su Mian didn’t hesitate. She wasn’t one to overthink. She tapped a quick reply: "Thank you, Director X. I will come to learn and enjoy."

The director quickly responded with a cheerful emoji.

He seemed quite lively. Su Mian put away her phone and, along with Qin Lingling, found a nearby Cantonese restaurant for dinner. Afterward, they took a taxi; Qin Lingling went home while Su Mian headed to the concert.