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nShe looked utterly delectable when she was blushing. Two faint patches of pink would spread across her pale skin, as if the cherry blossoms of March had bloomed on her cheeks. Whenever he saw her looking like that, he would feel an urge to reach out to touch her. While doing so, he would kiss her plump and full lips.

nIt took Lu Boyan every fiber of his being to suppress that urge.

n“Let’s go home,” Lu Boyan said.

nBlushing, Su Jianan lowered her head and left the balcony in search of Tang Yulan, to whom she bid farewell.

nTang Yulan nodded. “Going home early to rest might be a good idea.” She then turned to speak to her son. “Boyan, make sure you put an ice pack on her cheek once you get home. Or else she might not be able to go out tomorrow.”

n“I got it,” Lu Boyan said, picking up Su Jianan’s hand naturally. “Mom, we’ll be going first.”

nSu Jianan allowed Lu Boyan to keep holding her hand. Even if she tried to struggle, he would not have let her go anyway. Not to mention that his hand felt warm. Having her hand wrapped up in his like this felt very comforting.

nA ding sounded. The elevator doors opened to the ground floor. Lu Boyan held Su Jianan’s hand as they walked through the hotel’s front entrance. All of a sudden, they found themselves walking into the frenzied flashing of flashbulbs. Hordes of reporters with cameras and microphones rushed towards them in a stampede.

nLu Boyan reacted instinctively by shielding Su Jianan with his body, though it did not change the fact that they were completely surrounded by reporters.

n“Mr. Lu, is it true that you’ve spent three million during the auction to obtain a bracelet for your wife?”

n“Oh? Mrs. Lu, is that bracelet the one you’re wearing now? Mrs. Lu, can you tell us what you’re feeling at this moment?”

nBefore, when Su Jianan had to handle high profile cases, there had been a lot of reporters at the crime scene too. The only difference was that back then those reporters had not tried to surround Su Jianan. Plus, she had never come face to face with a flashbulb before, so it was inevitable that she would start feeling a little panicky. She clutched Lu Boyan’s hand tightly and looked at him helplessly.

nLu Boyan guarded her tightly to prevent the cameras from knocking into her. He bent down and murmured into her ear, “Don’t be afraid. The bodyguards will be here soon.”

nSu Jianan nodded. For some unknown reason, she felt reassured. A reporter thrust a microphone near her lips and bombarded her with a series of questions. Su Jianan had no idea how to answer. She buried her face into Lu Boyan’s chest instead.

nLu Boyan was taken aback by her gesture. She was like a lost sheep trying to seek protection from him as if she had found a shepherd in him. Just when he was wrapping his arms around her, the hotel’s security arrived.

n“Make way! All of you make way!”

nThe security staff parted the sea of reporters, leaving a clear path for Lu Boyan and Su Jianan. When the driver arrived with the car, they climbed on. The car sped away from the hotel. That was when they knew they had finally shaken off the reporters.

nSu Jianan sighed in relief. “Reporter these days sure are difficult…” she said, drawing up the sleeves of the jacket. Then, she stroked the bracelet on her wrist. “Lu Boyan, thank you for bringing it back to me. If it were sold to somebody else, I really don’t know if I would ever get it back again.”

nEven if it were sold to someone else, one word from Su Jianan, and the buyer would have had the bracelet wrapped up nicely before presenting it to Su Jianan. Lu Boyan would personally make sure of it. It did not matter who the buyer was. After all, something like this would be a huge opportunity for anyone to be in Lu Enterprises’ favor.

nLu Boyan would never reveal these details to Su Jianan. “Don’t forget to include the interests,” he reminded.

nRecalling the feather-like touch of Lu Boyan’s lips on her own, Su Jianan felt her face heating up again. But she would not take Lu Boyan’s words seriously this time. “Pervert!”

nLu Boyan’s lips curled into an enigmatic smile.

nHe had something far more perverted up his sleeves.

nThey got home around 10 p.m. When Uncle Xu saw Lu Boyan’s jacket draped over Su Jianan’s figure, he assumed that the relationship between those two had reached another level. “Young Master, Young Madam, is there anything you need me to prepare?” Uncle Xu asked cheerfully.

nSu Jianan could not think of anything, so she smiled. “It’s alright. You may go rest for the day.”

nShe slipped upstairs and went into her room.

nSeeing that there was nothing else he could do, Uncle Xu began heading towards the servants’ quarters to retire for the day. Lu Boyan’s voice halted his steps.

nLu Boyan wanted him to get an ice pack.

nUpstairs, Su Jianan entered her bathroom and realized that she still had Lu Boyan’s jacket on. The jacket did not fit her at all. It hung from her figure rather loosely. On her body, the jacket looked completely unaesthetic since it did nothing to accentuate her figure.

nStill, Su Jianan felt wonderful. A subtle but pervasive feeling of pleasure and satisfaction filled her entire heart, as if she had accidentally discovered the world’s greatest treasure.

nSlowly, she took off the jacket and held it carefully in her hands. She breathed in gently. Instantly, Lu Boyan’s comforting scent assaulted her nostrils.

nIt was like he was standing right beside her.

nSu Jianan’s face remained buried against the jacket until she became short of breath. She raised her face. The act gave her a glimpse of her own reflection in the mirror. All of a sudden, she snapped out of her reverie. “What the hell am I doing?” she thought. “Now I’m practically a bigger pervert than Lu Boyan!”

nShe swiftly hung Lu Boyan’s jacket in her wardrobe, moving as though she were in shock. She filled up a bathtub with water. After adding a few drops of essential oil, she slipped into the bath comfortably.

nThis would help cast Lu Boyan out of her mind. Or so she thought. The moment she closed her eyes, memories of their kiss on the balcony came flooding back.

nShe might be imagining things, but she could have sworn that there was a moment when she felt that Lu Boyan was kissing her for real.

nHe was kissing her because he wanted to, not because he needed to create some kind of ruse to throw people off.

nHe felt something for her.

nAt the thought, Su Jianan immersed her whole body in the bath water. “How’s that even possible?” she thought. “Lu Boyan isn’t in love with me. Stop overthinking. It will only lead to disappointment.”

nAfter her bath, she blew her hair dry. A knock sounded from her door just when she had settled herself in bed.

n“Come in.”

nSu Jianan had thought it was a servant, but the person walking in turned out to be Lu Boyan.

nIt was already this late, and yet he was here looking for her. “A man and a woman being in the same room in the dead of the night… is this really a good idea?” she thought.

nSu Jianan slipped further into the covers, leaving only her eyes and forehead exposed to Lu Boyan’s view. “Do you need something?”

nLu Boyan sat down on the edge of the bed and pressed an ice pack against Su Jianan’s cheek.

nSu Jianan hissed as a sudden coldness assaulted her. Her cheek stung, but the pain faded quickly. She lay there on the bed, appraising Lu Boyan.

nThe man looked incomparably handsome from all angles. In the past, his good looks were always accompanied by an eccentric coldness. But now he was in loungewear, sitting on the edge of her bed, holding an ice pack against her cheek. None of his movements and expressions had the kind of ‘water-like gentleness’ often portrayed in prose.

nStill, Su Jianan felt incredibly touched. She thought he looked far more handsome than all the other times in the past when he had outright amazed her with his looks.

nShe felt her hand slowly letting go of that cliff edge. “Fine. Whatever,” she thought, “if I fall, then so be it. So what if I never recover.”

nEventually, Su Jianan did not have the courage to wallow in her tender feelings for too long. She took the ice pack from Lu Boyan. “I can handle it myself, thank you.”

nLu Boyan did not make any comments either. He got up to leave. Su Jianan called out to him, “Wait!”

nHis steps halted and he turned around. “What’s wrong?”

nSuddenly, Su Jianan regretted her decision. She shook her head. “Nothing. Good night.”

n“Rest early.” He left, shutting her door on his way out.

nSu Jianan removed the covers from her body and got up. She opened up her wardrobe and took out his jacket.

nJust now, she had wanted to return his jacket to him. But a greedy part of her had decided to keep it, even if it was just for one more day.

nShe was not brave enough to wallow in the tender feelings he had incited within her. But this jacket, one that was filled with his scent, was something that she did not know how to resist because once she closed her eyes, she could almost feel him with her. The scent was so reminding that she could lie to herself that he was still here…

nLu Boyan went downstairs for a glass of water. Uncle Xu approached him. “The police station called. They have detained Su Yuanyuan. But she’ll probably be released tomorrow when Su Hongyuan walks in with a bribe. Young Master, what do you think?”

n“Call the chief.” Lu Boyan set down the glass. “Su Yuanyuan will not be released no matter what.”

n“Understood.”

nWhen Uncle Xu called the chief, he found out that Su Yicheng had been pressuring the police too. According to the chief, Su Yuanyuan would not be released no matter how much money Su Hongyuan spent.

nLu Boyan smiled. Su Hongyuan was right about one thing. Su Jianan was Su Yicheng’s only weakness. Touching Su Jianan would bring much greater consequences than provoking Su Yicheng himself.

nWith the way things had played out, it seemed to Lu Boyan that Su Yicheng was capable of protecting Su Jianan after all. So why would he come to Tang Yulan for help that time? Why did Su Yicheng agree to Tang Yulan’s proposal of having Su Jianan marry him?

nShen Yuechuan had once told Lu Boyan that Su Yicheng might be trying to put himself in Lu Boyan’s favor. But with Su Yicheng’s capabilities and accomplishments, he had long since moved past the need to kowtow to anyone. Plus, Su Yicheng was not the type to suck up to people at all.

nThere had to be something that he was missing in all this…

nThe following day, when Su Jianan was typing an autopsy report, someone came in and told her that a woman named Miss Jiang was here to see her.

n“Could it be Jiang Xueli?” she thought.

nSu Jianan went out and found that it was, indeed, Jiang Xueli.

nJiang Xueli looked like she had been up all night. Her face seemed pale and ashen. She looked unwell. Jiang Xuelie launched herself at Su Jianan the moment she saw the younger woman. “Jianan, I was wrong. I admit that I was wrong. I have done your mother wrong. You can do to me whatever you wish. Just please let Yuanyuan go. She’s only 24. She’s the daughter of the Su family. She absolutely can’t afford to have criminal records!”

nJiang Xueli begged desperately, all the while looking like a completely different person from the harsh, arrogant woman she had once been.

n“I’m not a judge. It isn’t up to me whether or not she gets released,” Su Jianan said, her face devoid of any expression. “Mrs. Su, rather than coming to see me, you should go look for a good lawyer. Who knows you might be able to reduce the number of days she has to spend at the detention center.”

nAll of a sudden, Jiang Xueli burst into anger. “Su Jianan, you’re doing this on purpose! You want my daughter to have a criminal record! You’re trying to wreck her!”

nIt was against the law to violate and disclose the privacy of others in the first place. Su Yuanyuan knew that as well, yet she still did it just so she could get her revenge on Su Jianan. Obviously, Su Yuanyuan deserved her punishments. What Su Jianan could not understand was how this could ever be construed as her trying to wreck Su Yuanyuan.

nSu Jianan could not stand to have this conversation with Jiang Xueli any longer. She turned around to head back to the office. In a fit of madness, Jiang Xueli grabbed a vase from a table and hurled it violently at Su Jianan.

n“Jianan!” Jiang Shaokai yelled. He had just been entering the building when he saw the situation. He had reacted instantly and pulled Su Jianan away from harm.

nThere was a loud smash. The vase had missed Su Jianan. Pieces of broken vase scattered on the floor. A few police officers came up quickly and subdued Jiang Xueli.

n“Let me go!” Jiang Xueli struggled for dear life. “I’m going to kill this despicable b*tch today!”

nSu Jianan’s vision sliced through the air like an ice scalpel. “Aunt, are you doing this so that you can accompany Su Yuanyuan in detention? If you are, I can make it happen right this instant.”

nJiang Xueli paled instantly. All of a sudden, she became more of a law-abiding citizen. Su Jianan said icily, “If you’re not, then get out of my sight.”

nNever before had anyone seen such a scary version of Su Jianan. Unnerved, Jiang Xueli found herself unable to look Su Jianan straight in the eye. Turning around, she scrambled out of the police station.

nJiang Shaokai pulled Su Jianan aside. “Are you hurt?”

nSu Jianan glanced at her left foot. Today, she wore a pair of cropped pants, which exposed a few centimeters of skin just above her ankle. When the vase shattered just now, several shards had cut her ankle. Threadlike bloodstains looped around the pale skin of her ankle. The blood had dripped down and stained her shoes. It was quite an alarming sight.

n“It’s no big deal. Just have to disinfect it, that’s all.” Su Jianan patted Jiang Shaokai’s shoulder. “Thanks. The blood would’ve been from my head if it weren’t for what you did. Treat you to lunch today?”

nJiang Shaokai stared at the bloodstains on Su Jianan’s ankle for a moment. Then, Jiang Shaokai looked as if he had discovered some sort of hidden treasure. “Let’s head back to the office. I’ve got something to tell you!”

nPrivileged Mr. Jiang Master was most adept at being capricious, so Su Jianan was left clueless as to what the man had in mind. Suspicious, Su Jianan trailed after him to the office.

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