Chapter 19: This is Never-Ending, Isn’t It!

That voice was very close.

It was so close that I could even feel the person speaking standing just two steps behind me.

I froze in place.

I had already taken off the towel and the swimsuit, and the bandages were unwrapped.

Now, I was wearing a common T-shirt, jeans, and a baseball cap with my long hair tucked inside—a stylish and delicate-looking boy.

I was not Alice.

I was Lin Zou.

But this voice called me “President Lin.”

Not “Alice.”

I slowly turned around.

A person was standing under the streetlight.

A woman.

She looked to be about 25 or 26 years old, wearing a crisp, well-tailored suit. Her hair was pulled back tightly, revealing a smooth forehead.

Her features were about 60% or 70% similar to Su Nian’s—the same dark red eyes and the same jawline.

However, her temperament was completely different.

Su Nian was stubborn and silly, a destitute noble kitten who would squat under a streetlight to write in her notebook.

The first impression this woman gave me was one word—

Danger.

Even standing still, she radiated a certain sharpness.

“Is there something you need?”

I asked tentatively.

She smiled.

That kind of smile was completely different from Su Nian’s silly grin.

“Su Wanqing,” she said.

“Su Nian’s older sister.”

I looked at her.

I didn’t say a word.

She didn’t speak either.

The streetlight stretched our shadows long and slanted across the ground.

After a few seconds, she spoke.

“President Lin, do you have time? I’d like to treat you to a meal.”

***

It was the same hotel.

The one where Lin Tian had just treated me to dinner.

Crystal chandeliers, waiters in vests, and menus presented with a bow.

Su Wanqing was ordering, her fingers sliding across the tablet screen, occasionally looking up at me.

I really wanted to say that I had just eaten…

A waiter came in to pour tea and water.

I was a bit worried they might notice something, but I maintained a calm exterior.

Her gaze lingered on me for a moment.

Just a moment.

Then she looked away.

I lowered my head and pulled my cap down a bit.

The skin on my exposed arms was too white.

From her angle just now, she could have seen my collarbone.

The water droplets on my skin hadn’t completely dried yet, and they shimmered under the lights.

The food arrived.

I sat by the window with several dishes laid out on the table, but I didn’t pick up my chopsticks.

After putting the menu down, she didn’t move either.

“President Lin,” she began, “my sister is with you, and she cost you 10 million.”

She continued, “I know what kind of person Charles is. I also know what he did. That 10 million was something he took upon himself to collect—it wasn’t the family’s intention.”

I looked at her.

“And?”

I asked.

“Do you want to pay me back?”

She smiled.

Her emotions were very stable and well-controlled.

“That 10 million,” she said, “the Su family will recognize it.”

I was stunned for a moment.

“Recognize it?”

“Recognize it.”

She picked up her teacup and took a sip.

“We recognize the favor. My sister has been wandering outside and hasn’t asked the family for a single cent.”

“In terms of reason, she doesn’t owe the family anything. But since she has talent, the family wants to see value. If she wants to be an idol, we can assist her, but it must be done within the family.”

I watched her.

She was talking about a “favor,” but there was no warmth in her expression or her words.

“And then?”

I asked.

“Are you going to take her away?”

My tone was unfriendly.

When faced with hostility, I wouldn’t bother putting on a nice face.

Even if this hostility was somewhat intense.

“Don’t be so defensive, President Lin.”

Su Wanqing smiled and said, “The impression Charles and those other family members gave you was indeed bad, but that wasn’t me. Besides, didn’t I say it? We recognize the favor.”

“She doesn’t want to be a family idol; she wants to be an idol in the outside world. Previously, the family didn’t agree, thinking it was just a passing whim.”

She specifically pointed out the difference between the two.

I understood what she meant.

For a large family, an idol’s role was that of a social butterfly—not serving the general public.

She then added, “But after so many years, she hasn’t given up, and the family’s view has shifted slightly. Plus, with President Lin’s ‘generosity’… well, the family decided to give her a chance.”

Listening to her, I roughly pieced together the situation.

Su Nian didn’t want to be a “family” idol; she wanted to be a real, external idol, just like the Gemstone Princess—so she ran away.

She had been out there until now.

Her family practiced elite education and didn’t intend to let her grow wild.

But as time passed, they came to understand her true feelings.

They just couldn’t bring themselves to lose face, so they had been stalling until now.

Finally, using my involvement as an excuse, they planned to give her a chance.

My mind raced.

But more importantly, I realized—

‘In any case… is it safe now?’

If there was nothing else… could I go back to sleep?

“Now that you’ve finished the story, can I leave?”

I asked flatly.

After I spoke, it was Su Wanqing’s turn to be stunned.

She seemed to have never expected me to respond that way.

“President Lin… you really are very interesting.”

“Thank you. I received that same evaluation not too long ago.”

Her words reminded me of a certain white-haired girl.

A few seconds later, Su Wanqing chuckled.

“Then—the family matters are settled. Next is my own business—”

She set the teacup down, her eyes relaxing slightly as she looked at me.

“I want to know, President Lin, what do you plan to raise my sister into?”

“Raise?”

“Correct,” she said.

“My sister is 19 years old. She hasn’t been home for 3 years, has no training, and no experience. You spent 10 million to buy her; surely it wasn’t just to keep her as a pet?”

I stared at her.

She stared back at me.

“That’s not out of the question,” I answered truthfully.

Silence fell for a few seconds.

“Pfft—hahaha!”

“You’re far too interesting, President Lin.”

Su Wanqing suddenly clutched her stomach, as if she were holding back a massive joke.

Seeing her like this made me a bit annoyed.

—Even though it was the truth.

It also kept reminding me of that white-haired girl.

I realized she and that white-haired girl shared a common trait—

They both excelled at making me annoyed.

“You want her to be an idol, out in the world,” I said.

“But your family won’t allow it.”

She paused.

“But you still want Su Nian to do it.”

I paused.

“You keep the family’s business and your own business very separate, and you really like Su Nian. That’s what I’ve observed.”

The smile completely vanished from her face.

It was replaced by a new look, one sharper than before.

“President Lin,” she said, “you have a way with words.”

“I’m just telling the truth.”

Silence.

A waiter walked over, intending to refill the tea, but was driven back by her gaze.

“It’s not that I like her,” she corrected me.

“I’m just concerned.”

I boredly tapped the table, my movements light, like a mischievous kitten looking for fun.

I knew she was just covering up.

But it didn’t work on me.

She noticed.

She continued, “Mr. Lin. You are quite the formidable character.”

Her form of address changed.

She was testing me.

I listened without reacting.

“Mr. Lin, being this scary won’t make girls like you.”

Su Wanqing’s voice dropped a little lower.

She wanted a response.

“Those old people Su Nian ran into—did you arrange that?” I brought up a topic.

“Mr. Lin. I said, if you’re like this, girls won’t like you.”

She didn’t admit it, but she didn’t deny it either.

However, I knew it was most likely her doing.

Good luck was possible.

But for an entire year?

It was too suspicious.

Only a single-celled organism would fail to notice.

“It’s not like I need you to like me,” I countered, meeting her gaze without flinching.

Su Wanqing’s eyes widened slightly.

It was probably the first time she had heard someone speak to her so bluntly.

That was natural.

Who would have dared to be so direct before?

At the very least, they would have been tactful.

But what she didn’t expect was that the person in front of her was Alice.

The one who could never be suppressed, the one who would never surrender the spotlight, the master of all things brilliant—the Gemstone Princess.

I realized—

‘In the verbal sparring, the part of me that belonged to Alice had unintentionally surged out, clashing directly with her dangerous aura.’

Neither of us was willing to give an inch.

That aura was too obvious.

“Don’t be so absolute, Mr. Lin.”

But Su Wanqing suddenly made this comment out of nowhere, leaving me a bit confused.

In an instant, I exited Alice mode.

I looked into her eyes.

They were dark red, just like Su Nian’s.

But Su Nian’s eyes held a stubbornness that said “I will remember this”—it was cute.

This woman’s eyes held—an edge.

The edge of a blade.

And right now, that blade was pointed directly at me.

“Can I leave now?”

The moment I stepped out of that mode, I realized I might have exposed something.

I didn’t want to get tangled up any further.

She didn’t say a word.

I stood up, intending to leave.

She stood up as well and watched me.

“I heard before that Mr. Lin was Alice’s Little White Face… but looking at it now—”

Those dark red eyes instinctively latched onto their prey.

“You—seem more like Alice herself.”