"What? Su Su is getting married?" Su Ying, who was participating in a fashion design competition abroad, jumped up from her chair as soon as she received the news from Tang Jiaojiao. She stared at the phone screen several times, still finding it hard to believe.
The models rehearsing on the runway heard the commotion and, thinking something had gone wrong, stopped nervously.
During the competition, Su Ying was like a demoness, tolerating no mistakes.
"Ying, is something wrong?" Her collaborator, seeing her unusual expression, quickly stepped forward to ask with concern.
Su Ying explained a few sentences in fluent English, calming everyone down, and then picked up her phone and walked to the corridor outside.
As an internationally renowned fashion designer, she had gained immense popularity in recent years, becoming a darling of the fashion world, with celebrities worldwide feeling honored to wear her designs.
Such a hot fashion icon was, in private, a doting sister.
She was also raised by Su Dazhi, two years older than Su He.
Su Ying was a typical "strong facial features" beauty, dazzlingly captivating. Her large wavy hair, a voluptuous figure, paired with her custom-designed champagne-colored jumpsuit and crystal shoes, made her look both sharp and alluring.
Taking a deep breath, she dialed Su He's number.
"Hello?" Su He's familiar, languid voice came through clearly via the phone.
"Still not up?" Su Ying habitually curved her lips.
"Sis, it's only six o'clock," Su He glanced at her phone, then closed her eyes again.
"Then I'll call back later." Su Ying was taken aback and felt a pang of annoyance.
She should have calculated the time difference in advance!
"Go ahead, I'm listening." The children of the Su family rarely contacted each other, but their bond was strong, and they didn't bicker over trivial matters.
Su Ying carefully chose her words and asked, "Didn't you just divorce Lu Jingyang? Why are you getting married so quickly?"
From the beginning, she hadn't approved of the marriage. And with Su He's capabilities, she shouldn't have had to compromise herself like that. Yet, she did, staying at the Lu family's home for three years.
The Lu family had a complex dynamic with a lot of underhanded scheming, and she had genuinely worried about Su He's ability to handle it all.
What was most outrageous was that Lu Jingyang, that scoundrel, had openly taken his white moonlight abroad the day after their wedding, parading around without the slightest respect for Su He.
While other families would advise reconciliation, the Su family was the complete opposite, wishing Su He would divorce quickly and escape her predicament.
As a result, Su He divorced as they wished, but in less than three months, she was stepping into the grave of marriage again. The news came too fast, and Su Ying needed some time to process it.
"You, don't tell me it's a shotgun wedding?" Su Ying asked tentatively.
"No," Su He said, between laughter and tears.
"Then you..."
"Well, for certain reasons, I signed a two-year marriage contract," Su He, who was always open with her family, said.
"You!" Hearing this unbelievable answer, Su Ying was so angry she didn't know what to say. "How can you treat something as important as marriage so lightly! This is too willful!"
"Sis..." Su He drawled her name out coquettishly.
"Were you threatened?" Su Ying's first thought was this possibility.
Su He shook her head in denial. "No, I did it voluntarily."
"Su Su, your sister is about to die of anger!" Su Ying sighed, unable to scold the sister she had doted on since childhood. "Then tell me, what kind of person is your contract husband?"
Su He stammered for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence. "It's... Lu Yanbei, you know him..."
"Lu? Are you crazy!" Su Ying exclaimed. "What are you trying to gain?"
Su He rolled over, ran a hand through her messy hair, and mumbled, "To repay a debt of gratitude..."
Su Ying couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Do you expect me to believe that?"
"It's true..." Su He patiently explained. "However, it's not to repay Su Chenghai. Do you remember the incident when I almost got lost at the amusement park when I was little?"
Mentioning the past, Su Ying's mind flashed with some hazy memories. "Yes, what about it?"
"It wasn't that I got lost, it was a kidnapping," Su He said softly. "Someone tried to lure me away, but I saw through it. So, they decided to go all out, covered my mouth, and dragged me into a car."
"At that time, there wasn't an adult around. A little boy called for help and stopped the car, saving me."
"That boy couldn't have been Lu Yanbei, could he?" Su Ying's mouth flew open in astonishment.
Su He chuckled twice, not denying it.
"Then why did you marry Lu Jingyang?" Su Ying asked, confused.
"There was... a slight deviation in between..." Su He scratched her head sheepishly. Based on her childhood memories, she followed the clues to the Lu family and estimated the approximate age range based on the boy's height at the time, narrowing it down to Lu Jingyang and Lu Yanbei.
The two were only a year or two apart. However, according to the clues, Lu Yanbei at that time attended an elite boarding school that had one day off a month. He couldn't possibly have been at the amusement park at that time. Therefore, Su He assumed that Lu Jingyang had saved her. Little did she know, Lu Yanbei had always been a decisive person, possessing an almost supernatural intelligence, and a mere courtyard wall couldn't contain him.
Su He discovered she had the wrong person to repay her debt of gratitude after marrying Lu Jingyang. But by then, the deed was done, so she played along. Three years were nothing; she could handle it. After three years, she decisively ended the marriage.
Coincidentally, Lu Yanbei approached her at that time, so she went with the flow and played along. "Anyway, it's only two years. After two years, we'll be even."
Su Ying was speechless. "I've bought a plane ticket for tomorrow afternoon. We'll talk when I get back after the competition. Anything else, we can discuss it later."
The staff behind her had signaled to her several times, forcing Su Ying to hang up.
Su He responded with a "Okay."
After finishing the call, Su He was no longer sleepy. For some reason, she thought of Lu Yanbei as a child.
Even in elementary school, he had a cold expression, appearing unapproachable, a miniature version of his current self. However, at that age, he still had a baby face, plump and round, which was really cute.
So, they had crossed paths at a very young age.
Su He rolled on the bed, hugging her blanket. She wondered if he still remembered their childhood encounters.
In the adjacent room, Lu Yanbei was still checking emails from Cheng Jue. He hadn't been to the company for several days, and the work had piled up like a mountain. If he didn't handle it now, he feared he would be overwhelmed later.
Lost in thought, he suddenly couldn't help but sneeze.
He looked up at the air conditioning temperature; it wasn't too low, so why the sudden sneeze? He was sure he hadn't caught a cold. Could it be that someone was talking about him behind his back?
He instinctively looked towards the door opposite.