Situation

Afternoon tea time.

In a corner of Blue Piano, Ronan looked at the girl wrapped up from head to toe in surprise. Though his keen senses let him see through her clumsy disguise at a glance and recognize her true identity, he could not help asking, "Was that necessary?"

Even through the veil and sunglasses, Ronan could feel Su Xiao rolling her eyes at him without hesitation.

"Do you really not know anything?"

She asked softly, withdrawing her gaze from its inspection of the surroundings and focusing it on Ronan again.

Just as at the banquet that day, Ronan was still dressed plainly, looking like an utterly ordinary young man.

There had not been much to their call the previous night. After hearing that Ronan and Wei Wei had been attacked, Su Xiao had merely worried about the safety of the boy who had driven Xiang Feihu away for her. Once she confirmed Ronan himself was fine, she had not thought much else of it.

Who would have thought that, at a time like this, Ronan—who seemed somewhat different from other men in her eyes—would actually ask to meet her?

When she heard Ronan's stiff invitation, Su Xiao could not help feeling a little disappointed.

Come to think of it, what was the difference between Yi Lin Manor and the Li Family? Ronan looked honest enough, but perhaps he had plenty of hidden thoughts too. I'm Li Nanbei's intended woman. Is this a provocation?

With that in mind, she had originally intended to refuse Ronan's invitation.

With all the efforts of the various forces, the marriage alliance between the Su Family and the Li Family seemed to have become inevitable. To be precise, although Li Nanbei was somewhat arrogant, he was still one of the most outstanding young men in the entire Emerald Star Region. For Su Xiao to marry him was, in fact, a slight reach for her. No matter how unwilling she was, she had to admit that.

According to hints from her family, once she finished her three years of university, the two families would formally arrange the marriage.

By then, the one at Yi Lin Manor would be about ready to die of old age as well.

The overlord of the capital star region of Blue Sea Province seemed to have reached the time for a change of hands.

The Su Family's strength, combined with Li Nanbei's rapid rise, would be enough to crush any obstacle.

And before such an overwhelming trend, no matter how unwilling Su Xiao was, she had no power to resist. That was why she had lost her composure and said those things at the banquet. Was Xiang Feihu really that formidable? The Su Family had countless experts who could drive him away, but he was not alone.

He represented the Li Family, as well as that man personally praised by one of the Empire's three great military gods as having limitless potential. That was why she felt so helpless.

Even if Ronan had torn all pretense with Xiang Feihu and driven him away for the moment, he could not withstand the greater trend to come.

So logically, she should have refused, especially at such a sensitive time. Every one of her actions could send the outside world the wrong signal. Her family would never allow such a thing to happen.

Yet when Ronan carefully explained what he wanted to ask about, Su Xiao found herself speechless.

She suddenly realized that she could not see through this man at all.

Driven by some strange emotion, she hid it from her family. She had her maid pose as her at the spa while she slipped out in secret.

When she arrived at the reserved café, her heart raced, and the thought, Why does this feel a little like sneaking around for an affair? actually surfaced in her mind.

The thought made her blush. Thankfully, she had wrapped herself up so tightly that Ronan could not see it, nor could anyone else.

Faced with Su Xiao's abrupt question, Ronan smiled awkwardly.

"I know a little, but not very clearly."

"Before moving into Yi Lin Manor, I grew up in an isolated place, so there are many things I don't understand. But no one at the manor can answer my questions... so I can only trouble you."

Su Xiao studied Ronan with the look one might give a monster.

Could this guy really be a farmer's son?

Was that contradictory air of resolve and calm he had shown at the banquet merely the fearlessness of ignorance?

If that was really the case, then it did explain things.

The girl's thoughts whirled as she pondered. "Do you really not know why Wei Wei has been targeting you?"

Ronan looked utterly baffled and shook his head.

Su Xiao smiled faintly.

That was what Ronan had wanted to ask.

Of course, there was much more he wanted to know, but the people at the manor would not tell him many things. In his eyes, Su Xiao seemed like a relatively trustworthy person.

After all, he did not know many people in Bo Ning District. Christine was another possible choice, but that woman seemed rather calculating, and Ronan did not dare trust her easily.

Su Xiao was different. Though the relationship between the Su Family, the Li Family, and Yi Lin Manor was delicate at the moment, the fact that she still dared meet him at such a critical juncture already proved many things.

Ronan was actually quite grateful for that.

Before heading to Azure Ring Island for school, he needed to at least understand his own situation.

These were not things he could learn simply by reading books and news reports.

The affairs of noble circles were far too complicated.

"That is roughly how things stand. Some unspoken rules within noble circles cannot be explained in just a few words. Right now, in most people's eyes, you are either a shield Yi Lin Manor is using to draw fire, or a man highly likely to inherit the Earl's estate. If it is the former, that is manageable. If it is the latter..."

Su Xiao paused slightly, then said with absolute certainty, "Wei Wei will definitely marry you!"

Ronan's eyes widened.

Only then did he suddenly understand why that girl who liked wearing goose-yellow dresses had always been targeting him.

So, in other people's eyes, he was Yi Lin Manor's heir? If the Earl wanted to pass on his estate, Wei Wei had to marry him?

Thinking of that, Ronan could not help feeling both amused and helpless.

But before he could speak, Su Xiao gave a quiet sigh. "Actually, don't blame Wei Wei too much. She is just a little childish."

"When some things are beyond your control, you feel especially unwilling to accept them."

Ronan fell silent.

He naturally knew that she was not only talking about Wei Wei, but herself as well.

So he asked, "The Li Family, Yi Lin Manor... and your Su Family. What exactly is the situation between you all? Can you tell me?"

Ronan's tone was sincere. He truly wanted to know what his circumstances were. At the manor, he had vaguely learned some information, but it was all fragmented and far from comprehensive. The girl before him was sharp and perceptive; these matters were probably clear as day to her.

Su Xiao's voice became somewhat strange. "You, a potential heir of Yi Lin Manor, are asking me this question? Is that appropriate?"

Ronan smiled. "I really don't know. And I probably have nothing to do with this so-called potential heir business, right? If it is inconvenient, we can talk about something else. After all, I only just arrived in Bo Ning District, and there are many things I don't understand."

Su Xiao hesitated for a while. For some reason, she felt Ronan was not lying to her.

In fact, as clever as she was, she could not think of any reason for Ronan to lie about something like this. If he was trying to get closer to her and court her, then Miss Su, who had seen all manner of clever and clumsy tactics from men since childhood, could only marvel at Ronan's unique approach.

Bo Ning District was not large, but its waters ran deep. Many people caught within it could not see things clearly.

But girls like Su Xiao and Christine were naturally no ordinary people.

Having been influenced by such matters since childhood, they had long seen through all these intricacies.

With just a few words from her, Ronan's confusion and uncertainty suddenly cleared.

In only five minutes, a map of the power struggle over the Emerald Star Region's resources unfolded clearly in Ronan's mind.

Yi Lin Manor was old but still strong, yet it lacked vitality and had no successor. The Tri-Alliance Group had an extremely high return rate and considerable profits, but its future held no visible prospects for growth.

The Li Family was in a period of ascent, with the younger generation surpassing the old. Li Nanbei was a dazzling new star whose brilliance made his peers feel inferior and suffocated. After graduation, he was highly likely to enter the Royal First Military Academy directly, with limitless prospects in the military. More frightening still, the business talent he occasionally displayed was no worse than that of seasoned old hands who had spent years immersed in the business world.

The Red Hat Snake Group was like a snowball growing ever larger, destined to surpass the Tri-Alliance Group one day.

The Su Family, Deep Blue Heavy Industries, and the Tri-Alliance Group had cooperated for many years, but Li Nanbei's appearance made the family's upper ranks resolve to pursue cooperation with Red Hat Snake. Though they still appeared neutral for now, anyone with clear eyes knew that the Su Family had already been tied to the Li Family's warship.

The day Li Nanbei and Su Xiao celebrated their marriage would be the day the power structure of the Emerald Star Region was reshuffled and the dust settled.

As he listened to information ordinary civilians could never access, and watched Su Xiao describe her destined marriage to Li Nanbei as if it concerned someone else, Ronan felt intense discomfort rise within him.

He did not like that feeling at all.

If a person did not even have the right to love the person they wanted to love or do the things they wanted to do, then what meaning was there in living?

So he looked at Su Xiao and asked his final question.

"Um, is Li Nanbei really that impressive?"