When he said the word "friends," Su Ti emphasized it.
In an instant, cold sweat streamed down Fei Ge's back. He waved his hands frantically.
"Brother, big brother, it's a misunderstanding—a complete misunderstanding!"
The same words were spoken for the second time, except this time, Fei Ge was the one saying them.
"We really didn't do anything! We just took your sister street racing once. We've only known her for a short while. If you don't believe me, go ask Dragon Bro!"
"Oh."
Su Ti smiled and walked up to Fei Ge.
"Where's your Dragon Bro, then?"
The moment he saw that smile, Fei Ge remembered what he had witnessed the previous night.
Limbs exploding, bones shattering, flesh flying everywhere. One punch had sent five or six people flying.
If he had been standing any closer back then, he would not be standing here now.
"He's... he's still in the hospital."
Bang.
Su Ti placed a hand on Fei Ge's shoulder. Fei Ge's entire body shuddered, his face turning white as paper.
The fierce-looking punks beside him also began trembling on reflex.
Su Ti leaned close to Fei Ge's ear and spoke softly.
"Tell your Dragon Bro that it's fine if my sister wants to hang out with you. But if anything happens to her—anything at all, even if she trips on the road—I'll hold him responsible. And every one of you too."
"By then, a hospital stay won't be enough."
"Do you understand?"
"Y-Yes, understood!"
Fei Ge jolted and hurriedly answered.
"One more thing."
Su Ti walked past Fei Ge and headed straight outside.
"The two in hats—drag them out and beat them."
"Yes, yes!"
Fei Ge snapped back to his senses. The two hat-wearing men were staring in shock. He strode over and slapped one of them across the face. With a sharp smack, the man's cheek quickly swelled red.
"You dared set your sights on big brother's sister? Beat them!"
As he spoke, he grabbed one man by the collar. The other punks stepped forward to seize the second man, dragging them toward the fire exit amid their screams.
The bystanders looked at one another, utterly stunned. This was far too dramatic.
They had thought it was some kind of "hero saves the damsel" scene, but who would have expected that the big brother summoned by those two baseball-cap guys was just this man's underling?!
Still, while such things were unusual, conflicts were common enough in an arcade. After discussing it for a while, everyone dispersed and went back to what they had been doing.
Only Su Qiaoqiao remained where she was. One moment, she looked toward the fire exit, where muffled groans still sounded; the next, she looked in the direction Su Ti had left. Her eyes were filled with shock and confusion.
The afternoon passed quickly. That evening, after Su Zihao's family finished dinner at the Su residence, they all left together at eight.
In the car, Su Zihao sat in the front passenger seat, burping drunkenly and mumbling in his sleep.
That afternoon, he and Su Zimo had competed in drinking, and both had gotten rather drunk.
The driver was at the wheel, while Su Qiaoqiao and Su Yuwei sat in the back.
Su Qiaoqiao had been silent the whole way. After hanging up a work call, Su Yuwei suddenly noticed.
"Why aren't you saying anything? You've looked downcast ever since you came out of the arcade this afternoon."
"It's nothing."
Su Qiaoqiao answered in a muffled voice, curled up in the corner and staring out the window.
"If there's something, say it. Dad's already asleep. What's on your mind that you can't tell your sister?"
An elder sister was like a mother. Since their mother had passed away and their father was rarely home, Su Qiaoqiao had practically been raised by Su Yuwei herself. How could anything on her mind escape Su Yuwei?
After a long silence, Su Qiaoqiao finally told Su Yuwei what had happened at the arcade that afternoon.
Su Yuwei was stunned for a moment, then laughed helplessly.
"What was there to hide? This is a good thing. It shows that your cousin still cares about you and looks after you. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taught those two baseball-cap guys a lesson."
"But you really should be more careful about the people you hang around with. It's fine if you like having fun, and the family has enough money to support that. But don't get involved with people who are obviously rotten."
"Ugh, that's not what I'm talking about!"
"Then what are you talking about?"
"I... I was so embarrassed today."
Su Qiaoqiao spoke quietly.
"I thought he was terrible at games and just some dumb, stiff bookworm. But then... then..."
"Then you got slapped in the face. Not only was he amazing at games, he was also the big brother of your whole group of friends. He wanted to teach the people harboring bad intentions toward you a lesson, yet you were even trying to help him smooth things over."
Su Yuwei smiled.
Su Qiaoqiao gave a soft hum and nodded slightly.
Her face was still a little hot. It was too embarrassing—truly too embarrassing.
After what had happened that afternoon, she had been avoiding Su Ti. She had not even dared look at him.
She still owed him three barks, too.
Su Yuwei laughed helplessly.
"You're laughing instead of comforting me!"
"You really should broaden your horizons."
Su Yuwei rubbed Su Qiaoqiao's head.
"Always hanging around those lowlifes and wasting your time in arcades won't get you anywhere. The sky you see is too small, too narrow. Take those punk friends of yours, for example. You think they're cool and well-connected, but what were they like in front of your Brother Su Ti?"
Su Qiaoqiao's face turned pale. Su Yuwei had struck right at her thoughts.
"In this society, people are divided into ranks. At the end of the day, your friends are just minor characters willing to fight, cause trouble, and take the blame for others over a few thousand or tens of thousands of yuan. In front of truly important people, they aren't even worthy of carrying shoes."
Su Yuwei's tone was calm as she spoke, but the confident, composed aura she radiated made Su Qiaoqiao fascinated and yearning.
"Of course, I'm not saying your Brother Su Ti is that kind of person. Uncle's family has a lot of backbone, and I respect them greatly. In this day and age, relatives like them are rare—very rare..."
As if she had remembered something, a trace of gloom appeared in Su Yuwei's eyes.
That gloom did not linger long. Before Su Qiaoqiao could notice it, it vanished, and Su Yuwei continued.
"Still, respecting them does not mean there is no gap between our statuses."
"Take your Brother Su Ti, for example. You think it's impressive that he has underlings like Fei Ge, and it may even have frightened you. But what you don't know is that Li Shifu, the driver taking us around, could take on more than a dozen punks like them if he got serious."
Hearing this, Li Shifu, who was driving at night while still wearing sunglasses, gave a slight nod.
"The young miss is right. Those little punks are nothing before the true Ancient Martial Arts of the inner world."
Su Qiaoqiao stared in shock. She had never known her family's driver was so formidable.
Su Yuwei smiled and stroked Su Qiaoqiao's head.
"So don't be shocked over your Brother Su Ti anymore. You yourself are already on a higher level than he is. You just haven't realized it yet."
At this point, Su Yuwei's expression turned serious. Su Qiaoqiao had played around long enough. It was time for her to settle down.
"Qiaoqiao, many people never get the chance to choose what kind of person they become. But you do."
"Would you rather spend your whole life wallowing in the mud, associating and dealing with people at the very bottom, or would you rather lift your head and gain experience in true high society?"
If this had been before, Su Qiaoqiao would certainly have scoffed at Su Yuwei's words.
But after what had happened today, she suddenly felt that the world below no longer held any appeal for her.
Instead, the world above had begun to draw her in.
Wearing clothes Su's Mother had exchanged for the right size, Su Ti carried some milk and fruit Su Zihao had sent over the previous day in one hand and gently pressed the doorbell in front of him.
The door before him was a high-end electronic security door. Su Ti remembered that a door like this alone cost tens of thousands.
Before long, the door opened. But the person who appeared was not Xu Jun, but a lean middle-aged man with some gray in his hair who still looked energetic overall.
He was around fifty years old. His features bore a fifty-percent resemblance to Xu Jun's, and it was clear that he had been handsome in his younger days.
"Hello, Uncle. I'm Director Xu's—"
"Come in."
Before Su Ti could finish, the man coldly interrupted him. Then, standing in the doorway, he repeatedly swept his gaze over Su Ti from head to toe, making him feel uncomfortable all over.
Su Ti found it strange. He had already made arrangements with Xu Jun before coming today, and she had said her father welcomed him as well. Why was he acting like this?
But once he entered, Su Ti understood why.
Xu Jun was sitting shyly on the sofa in a white dress, wearing light makeup. By all rights, it should have been a stunning sight, yet everything about it gave off a... terrifying feeling.
The overly long false eyelashes, the excessively thick foundation, and the heavy lip gloss did not enhance her looks at all. Instead, they had the opposite effect. Combined with that plainly white dress, if the lights were turned off and she appeared in a hallway, someone would definitely think they had encountered a ghost.
Su Ti was instantly horrified, nearly scared out of his wits.
"Brother Xu, have you lost your mind?"
"Hm? Ah?"
Xu Jun blinked, her face innocent.
Could it be that this outfit was not lethal enough for him?
Although it was her first time wearing makeup and a dress, she thought there was nothing wrong with her makeup or styling.
Dressed like this, Su Ti would not still treat her like one of the guys, would he?
Father Xu walked in with a headache, rubbing his forehead.
"I'm sorry you had to see that. My daughter has been without a mother since she was young, and I raised her myself. She's lacking in certain areas. Xu Jun, hurry up and change your clothes."
"Oh."
Seeing Su Ti's expression, Xu Jun also realized that the look she had prepared might have had the opposite effect. She hurriedly stood and jogged into her room.
After Xu Jun left, Father Xu looked at Su Ti and inexplicably sighed again. In the end, though, he extended his hand.
"My name is Xu Shouyang."
Su Ti set down the fruit and milk, then shook his hand. He pondered inwardly that this name sounded familiar, as though he had heard it somewhere before.
His intelligence was exceptional, and he quickly remembered.
"You're Professor Xu Shouyang, the specially appointed archaeology professor at Mingguang University!"
Mingguang University had many professors, but there were currently only three people with the honorary title of specially appointed professor.
"That would be me."
Xu Shouyang lowered his hand, gesturing for Su Ti to sit, then spoke.
"I heard from Xiaojun that she has an outstanding student under her who is very interested in antiques and wants to visit our home to have a look. That's you, right?"
"My apologies, Professor. I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Su Ti, a first-year history student at Mingguang University. I've long admired your reputation."
Coming to ask to see someone's antiques was somewhat presumptuous, so Su Ti kept a very humble posture.
"Mhm. It's a good thing for young people to be curious and eager to learn. I support that, but..."
Xu Shouyang drew out the final word and glanced toward Xu Jun's room, his meaning profound.
"But certain things still need to have boundaries. You and our Xu Jun..."
"Elder Xu, I swear to heaven that if I have even the slightest thought about Brother Xu, may I be struck by thunder from the heavens!"
Xu Shouyang choked at those words. Although this was indeed what he had wanted to hear, did that not make it sound as if his daughter was unwanted?!
Before you continue