Chapter 43
In the spring morning, sunlight shone through the curtains, bringing with it the dampness of dew. The room was covered in a light gold color.
It was the start of a brand new day, but the two women lying on the bed were completely unaware of it.
Until Su Jianan’s phone started ringing.
She groped around for a while before finding her phone. She placed it beside her ear and said, “Hello?”
Her voice was slightly hoarse and seemed more gentle than usual. It was also cutely bleary with sleep. The person on the other end of the line subconsciously softened his voice, as if afraid that he would rouse her from her sleepiness and asked, “You’re still not up?”
Su Jianan seemed confused as to who it was in her daze. She murmured in agreement and said, “Not yet…”
He kindly reminded, “It’s seven-ish. You’re going to be late for work if you don’t get up.”
Su Jianan felt as if she had been splashed with a bucket of ice water. Her eyes flew open and her first reaction was to look at her phone-
“Lu, Lu Boyan…”She sat up forcefully, her voice sounding fully awakened. “You got off the plane already?”
He had long gotten off the plane, but had waited until now to call her having considered the time difference.
“What happened yesterday?” He asked. One could not hear how he felt from his tone.
Su Jianan explained unconfidently, “I didn’t mean to go to the bar. Xiaoxi was drinking there and I was afraid that something might happen to her. So I got Uncle Xu to send me there to look for her…”
“Don’t go to such a place alone in the future.” Lu Boyan said. “If Su Hongyuan’s people are there, they might do something to you.”
He said the first part of his statement in his usual order-like tone. But the second part…could be understood that he as he was worried about her.
Su Jianan’s lips curled up without her knowing. She said, “I know. That…Lu Boyan, could you help me with something?”
It was rare that she would actively ask for help, and Lu Boyan grew interested. “What is it?”
“Luo Xiaoxi would definitely get ill if she continues to drink like this.” Su Jianan said. “Could you ban her from the bars throughout the city? You can definitely do that, right?”
He could do more than that.
This was not difficult for Lu Boyan at all!
“Alright.” He agreed. “But how are you going to thank me?”
Su Jianan’s black eyes turned and she said, “Is there anyone who would ask for a thank you gift?” How shameless!
Lu Boyan smiled and replied, “I’m used to making the conditions clear before doing anything.”
He was a true businessman!
Su Jianan thought about it and said, “How will I thank you…let’s talk about it when you get back! I’m getting up.”
She had just hung up when Luo Xiaoxi sat up cackling. “Su Jianan, you really should go look at yourself in the mirror right now. You are smiling like you’re in love.”
Su Jianan touched her face. In love?
Really?
Luo Xiaoxi looked around and asked her gloomily, “Jianan, why are we sleeping together? What about your Boss Lu?”
“Haven’t I told you long ago? We sleep separately.”
Luo Xiaoxi’s expression was full of incredulity. “Aren’t there even a few sparks between you two after so long? Eh, so does Boss Lu often not come home?”
Su Jianan could not keep up with Luo Xiaoxi’s pace. She asked, “Why does he have to not come home?”
“He’s a man, and has normal wants. You know.” Luo Xiaoxi scrunched up her face and thought, “Could it be that he has someone to settle that outside.”
“He’s not that kind of person.” Su Jianan said firmly.
“Oh?” Luo Xiaoxi smiled sweetly. “Didn’t someone complain that Lu Boyan was a scoundrel and bossy and unreasonable? You’re so defensive of him now. What happened?”
Su Jianan threw a pillow at her and said, “Don’t think that I’ll forget about what happened to you if you talk to me about Lu Boyan. What happened to you last night?”
Luo Xiaoxi sighed sadly. “Qin Wei slept with a girl and she kept pestering him. So we made a show of getting a room together to make her give up. But I didn’t expect that the girl’s sister would be your brother’s girlfriend. I said something so slutty and your brother heard all of that. He already dislikes me, he must think that I’m slutty and shameless now.”
“Alright,” Su Jianan could not bear to listen anymore. “Don’t say anything anymore.”
“Hehe!” Luo Xiaoxi smiled again, “Then let’s continue talking about you and Boss Lu!”
She said, with an expression as if she were teaching Su Jianan, “Even if he doesn’t have anyone outside, you have to check in with him when he goes abroad for business! Going abroad for business is the best opportunity for those scheming girls to get him! …Eh? Why were the two of you talking on the phone just now? Boss Lu isn’t at home?”
Su Jianan said, “…He went abroad for business.”
“…” Luo Xiaoxi got off the bed with an odd expression and went to wash up.
Luo Xiaoxi wanted to return home after breakfast, but Su Jianan pulled her onto her car and said, “Go somewhere with me.”
Luo Xiaoxi knew Su Jianan wanted to talk to her about her smoking. She looked like…she was going to take her somewhere to drink coffee and have a long talk?
Luo Xiaoxi exploded when the car stopped outside the police station. She said, “Don’t! I just smoked a cigarette. I didn’t know what was in that cigarette! I don’t want to hand myself in…”
Su Jianan ignored Luo Xiaoxi’s cries and pulled her out of the car and into the lab.
The lab was not somewhere an ordinary person could stay for long. There were icy cold tools, human organs submerged in a liquid kept in glass bottles. There were odd stinging smells everywhere. There were a few human skeletons that looked even more eerie and terrifying. Luo Xiaoxi felt as if they might come alive and take her away…
“I’d rather hand myself in…” Luo Xiaoxi hid behind Su Jianan and cried.
Su Jianan pulled Luo Xiaoxi to a shelf in the utmost corner and pointed at the rows of glass bottles. “Look at these.”
There were seven glass bottles that held human lungs. Su Jianan pointed at the first and said, “Your lungs will look like this after smoking for three months. The second is if you smoke for a year, the third for three years. The last one is if you smoke for 10 years.”
Luo Xiaoxi could not bear to look at the last one. It did not even look like a lung and instead was like a mottled rock. It was full of black dots of different sizes. One could not imagine that it is a human organ…
Luo Xiaoxi frowned and looked as if she was about to cry. She said, “I would usually admit that I have a strong stomach. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be friends with you, a female medical examiner, for so many years. But I’m really going to puke now…”
Su Jianan saw that Luo Xiaoxi was really about to be sick and brought her back to the office. She asked, “How is it? Will you still smoke?”
Luo Xiaoxi shook her head and said, “Rest assured, I would die before I smoke. Eh, did you use this method to get your brother to kick the habit a few years ago?”
“Him?” Su Jianan shook her head and said, “His addiction was really strong then. This method won’t work.”
Luo Xiaoxi could not imagine a more terrifying method and asked in a trembling voice, “So?”
“There was an addict who happened to need an autopsy. So I made him…look at an even more realistic one…”
Su Jianan said blandly.
“Pervert!”
Luo Xiaoxi escaped in a hurry. If Su Jianan treated her like how she had treated Su Yicheng, she probably won’t be able to eat, much less smoke!
Su Jianan smiled and then sat down to switch on her computer and started to work.
The news would always pop up after the computer was switched on. She was just about to close it but noticed that the entertainment headlines of the day had something to do with Han Ruoxi.
“Han Ruoxi not affected by heartache. Officially entering Hollywood!”
On the subheading below: Already headed to the United States yesterday.
Lu Boyan had also gone to the United States yesterday. Was it just a coincidence?
Su Jianan clicked into the news report dazedly, her mind blanked out for a moment.
She had seen Lu Boyan’s air ticket yesterday. The entertainment reporters have dug out Han Ruoxi’s flight number, and she and Lu Boyan were taking the same flight. They were seated…next to each other.
Luo Xiaoxi always said this, ‘Coincidence to a certain degree would definitely be a plot’.
Lu Boyan and Han Ruoxi went to the United States at the same time? Was it a coincidence, or…
Su Jianan did not dare to continue thinking. She could only keep thinking of how Lu Boyan held her hand and kissed her, and how he smiled at her occasionally…
Right, they were not divorced yet. Lu Boyan was not that sort of person who would meet Han Ruoxi privately.
No matter what, she was still willing to trust Lu Boyan. She was willing to believe in this coincidence that seemed extremely like a plot.
Su Jianan closed the browser but accidentally knocked over her cup.
It was already too late by the time she reacted. There was a crash and the porcelain cup shattered into pieces on the floor. It would never be able to return to its original state.
She suddenly had a bad premonition…
…
…
United States of America, New York.
Night had just fallen unto the bustling and materialistic city. But Han Ruoxi believed that the city dwellers’ desires would not stop because of the arrival of the night.
On the contrary, some transactions are only suited to occur in the night.
She took up her phone and called Su Hongyuan.
She heard of how Su Jianan had sent Su Yuanyuan into jail at the auction. That was when she started to guess about Su Jianan’s relationship with her family. After that, she asked around and indeed, Su Jianan did not get along with her father, much less her younger sister and stepmother. Su Yicheng was also trying to defeat Su Enterprises.
She suddenly recalled what Lu Boyan had told her. He would divorce Su Jianan in two years.
After putting these two incidents together, she started to suspect the truth behind Lu Boyan and Su Jianan’s marriage.
“Who is it?” Su Hongyuan’s voice could be heard through the phone.
“Director Su. Hello.”
Her sexy and elegant voice was recognized by Su Hongyuan even though he did not idolize any stars. “Han Ruoxi?” He suddenly recalled that she was Lu Boyan’s rumored girlfriend, and asked hurriedly, “What do you want to say to me?”
“I only wanted to tell you that Lu Boyan and Su Jianan are not truly in love,” Han Ruoxi said. “Lu Boyan promised me that he would divorce Su Jianan in two years. So I don’t understand why they are staying married for two years. I also heard that the relationship between you and Su Jianan is not that good, so I fell that I should tell you this information.”
Su Hongyuan was known to be an old fox and was not easy to cheat. He said, “Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because I love Lu Boyan.” Han Ruoxi said with a smile. “I thought I could wait for him for two years until he ends this ridiculous marriage. But I realize now that I cannot wait. I cannot bear to see him being married to someone else for two years.”
“But they don’t seem like they are acting,” Su Hongyuan said.
“Because they want to lie to you. Your daughter’s and Boyan’s acting skills are not bad.” Han Ruoxi smiled. “But I don’t wish to see Boyan being so tired, acting as if he were in love!”
Furthermore, she was also afraid.
Everyone was saying how well matched Lu Boyan and Su Jianan were. Lu Boyan treated Su Jianan well and she was afraid that Lu Boyan would really fall in love with Su Jianan.
“Director Su.” Han Ruoxi instructed, “You had better not let me down.”
Su Hongyuan laughed into the phone and said, “Of course. I know what to do. Thank you, Miss Han.”
Han Ruoxi’s beautiful lips curled up lightly. “You’re welcome.”
After hanging up the phone, Han Ruoxi looked out at the brightly lit streets and the beautiful scene outside with a hint of viciousness in her eyes.
She was determined to become famous. She had now entered Hollywood.
She swore that she would get Lu Boyan, so Lu Boyan would definitely become hers!