"How do you talk to a child?"
His mother, He Yanling, furrowed her brow and glared fiercely at Hu Chengwen.
But then she changed tack.
"That said, Xiao Yi came all this way to see you. If you really have someone in mind, you can tell us."
Hu Zhao had been drawn into the conversation too, and chimed in with a teasing tone.
"She finally made it home, and as soon as she heard you were back, she wanted to see you. My little brother can't be the kind of scumbag who leads someone on and then dumps her."
Just as Hu Long was about to say something else, Wendys, the housekeeper, came forward.
"Sir, Miss Sun Yi is here."
At that, Hu Chengwen and He Yanling both stood up.
They went out to greet her.
"Come on, don't just sit there."
Hu Zhao smiled at Hu Long.
But there was something unmistakably gleeful in that smile.
Seeing this, Hu Long couldn't say anything more.
After all, their guests had come all this way. He couldn't exactly hide in his room.
Soon, they reached the entrance and saw their visitors.
A couple in their forties had brought along a short-haired woman in her twenties.
They were Sun Yi and her parents.
Her family was in business too. They might not have been as wealthy as the Hu family, but they were hardly ordinary.
That was only to be expected. Among the wealthy,
it was proper to marry someone of equal standing.
Those stories about a domineering CEO falling in love with me or a rich heiress refusing to marry anyone but me existed only in fiction.
Unless someone was hopelessly lovesick, no one would do such a thing.
Thinking of this,
Hu Long looked at Sun Yi. She had a heart-shaped face, large eyes, somewhat thin eyebrows, and very thin lips.
Their color was faint.
She was undeniably beautiful.
But her cheekbones were high and gaunt, and her forehead sloped unevenly.
Based on what he had learned about physiognomy from the Green Bag Fragment, people like her were difficult to get along with and lacked foresight and tolerance.
She was also destined to bring misfortune to her husband—not a good choice for marriage at all.
After exchanging a few pleasantries,
Hu Chengwen went to talk with Sun Yi's father, while He Yanling took her mother off to discuss beauty and skincare.
Hu Zhao excused herself, saying she had work to take care of, and left as well.
Clearly, they had arranged this on purpose to give Hu Long and Sun Yi some time alone together.
Hu Long didn't know what to say, so he took her for a walk around the garden.
Sun Yi followed behind him, quiet and withdrawn.
"So... are you all right now?"
They had reached a rockery when Sun Yi spoke.
"I'm fine for now."
Hu Long glanced at her.
He didn't know what to say, so he asked her a question in return.
"How's college?"
"Pretty good. I've made a lot of friends there."
Sun Yi tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, a faint smile appearing on her face.
"Mm. That's good."
Hu Long replied.
Then silence fell between them.
He wasn't good at making pointless small talk.
"Um, I'm dating someone!"
Sun Yi looked conflicted, but still managed to say it.
Hu Long showed no reaction.
According to the physiognomy methods recorded in the Green Bag Fragment,
he had already figured that out. She had not only slept with someone, but was probably pregnant too.
"Are you planning to marry him?"
"Yes. He's a year ahead of me, and he treats me really well."
Sun Yi said.
As she spoke about him, a happy smile appeared on her face.
"Mm. I hope you'll be happy."
Hu Long nodded.
His expression was calm, without the slightest change.
The original Hu Long might have liked her, but that was his business, not Hu Long's.
Besides, he couldn't be bothered with this kind of trivial matter.
Even if she hadn't brought it up, he would have told her himself. This was undoubtedly the best outcome.
Hearing this,
Sun Yi, who had been watching Hu Long's expression closely, felt an inexplicable pang of disappointment.
She had been worried he would cling to her and angrily demand an explanation.
But he hadn't.
This was clearly the best outcome—the one she wanted most.
Yet she felt terribly uncomfortable.
Driven by that feeling,
she asked him,
"Don't you have anything else to say?"
As she spoke, she stared straight into Hu Long's eyes.
Splash!
A string of sparkling droplets sprang up from the water beside them as a golden carp surfaced, then quickly disappeared beneath the water.
Hearing her question, Hu Long gave the woman a strange look.
He wasn't stupid. He could understand what she meant.
Maybe she had feelings for the original Hu Long too, but had chosen someone else because he had become mentally ill.
Or maybe she was simply feeling uncomfortable for no particular reason.
But none of that mattered.
Hu Long's voice turned noticeably colder:
"If you have a boyfriend, you should focus on your relationship with him instead of coming to tell me this."
The most contemptible thing in a relationship was being fickle, regardless of whether you were a man or a woman.
His blunt words made Sun Yi freeze. A flash of embarrassment and anger crossed her face.
"What are you thinking? I just see you as an older brother."
But then she seemed to remember something, and hurriedly continued:
"There's something else I hope you can help me with. You know my parents have always been very fond of you and wanted to match us up.
But you can't force these things, can you?
So... could you be the one to explain it to them? Just tell them it's because of your own circumstances that you aren't interested, so neither family has to fall out over it..."
"That's enough."
Before she could finish, Hu Long raised a hand to stop her.
He frowned and looked at her.
"You want me to take all the blame, while your family gets to keep enjoying the business advantages as before?"
He looked as though he'd heard an absurd joke, the faintest curve tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"No, that's not what I mean..."
Sun Yi waved her hands, trying to explain.
But she didn't know what to say.
After all, even if his words sounded harsh,
that was indeed what she had meant.
"Did you get hit on the head by a door, or have you watched too many romance dramas and short videos? If you're really not right in the head, the mental hospital I stayed at was pretty good. Maybe they can take a look at you too."
Hu Long found the whole thing ridiculous.
The Sun family was fairly wealthy, but they weren't on the same level as the Hu family.
For years, thanks to the betrothal between them, the Hu family had given them plenty of support in business.
Now that Sun Yi had someone else, wanting to end the relationship was normal. But she still expected to keep all the benefits?
This woman was shameless.
Hu Long no longer had any interest in saying another word. He turned and headed toward the main hall.
Sun Yi stood frozen in place, staring at his retreating back.
She felt that Hu Long had changed so much. He was nothing like the shy, green boy she remembered—the one who had always treated her well and been so considerate and understanding.
He had never spoken to her like that before.
But now...
At the thought, her eyes reddened. She bit her lip, then finally hurried after him.