Ou Lin stopped in his tracks. The light joy he felt vanished instantly. His mind spun.
’What? She’s... young?’
His heart pounded and his thoughts raced. Chapters first released on novelꜰire.net
’Why didn’t Lianhua let me stay back then? I could’ve at least taken a look at her! I might have even tried to get close to her.’
But now... it was too late.
Gone. That chance was gone.
Lianhua, unaware of the storm inside Ou Lin’s head, kept talking.
"You know," she said thoughtfully, "it was strange at first. Some people claimed they met Boss Su twenty years ago and helped her. But that doesn’t make sense. Boss Su wasn’t even born back then."
Ou Lin’s eyes widened. ’She wasn’t even born twenty years ago?!’
He swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry. ’That young? That means... she’s probably even younger than me.’
Then, like a slap to the face, he remembered something.
’Wait. Didn’t I say the same lie when I came here? I told them I helped Boss Su.’ His face turned pale. ’Thank goodness I later said it was a joke. Otherwise, I’d be a laughingstock right now.’
Lianhua still didn’t notice his silence. She smiled warmly, looking off into the sky.
"Boss Su changed so many things. She even changed my life," she said softly. "I’m really grateful. My sis..."
Then, as if realizing she had said too much, she quickly covered her mouth.
Ou Lin’s eyes sparkled.
’Sis?! Did she just say "sister"?’
He stared at her, pretending he didn’t hear it clearly.
"What did you say?" he asked casually. "Do you know what Boss Su looks like?"
Lianhua blinked, then acted like she didn’t hear him. But Ou Lin didn’t give up. He asked again, this time more directly.
She sighed and finally answered, "All the photos were deleted. Boss wants to keep a low profile, so nobody is allowed to post or share her pictures."
Hearing this, Ou Lin’s mood soured again. His imagination started to twist.
’Maybe... maybe she’s not that pretty after all. What if she has scars or something? Maybe she’s hiding her face because she’s ugly.’
That thought gave him a little comfort. He glanced at Lianhua again.
’At least I still have a good backup,’ he thought with a smirk.
Then, as if trying to seal his plan, he asked casually, "Are you free tomorrow morning?"
Lianhua nodded brightly. "Yes! Are you?"
Ou Lin smiled smoothly. "I am. Let’s go on a little date."
Lianhua’s face turned red and her eyes lit up like stars.
"Really? A date?" she asked, almost breathlessly.
Ou Lin nodded, pretending to be cool and relaxed.
Lianhua beamed, looking like a girl falling deeper in love.
He felt pleased, proud.
In his mind, everything was going according to plan.
.....................
In the cold underground basement, the air was thick and musty. A dim yellow light flickered above, casting shadows on the walls.
Wei Xin was pacing back and forth, her face red with anger. She kept banging on the metal door with her fists, shouting over and over again.
"Let me out of here! Do you know who I am?!"
She stomped around the small room, her high heels clacking against the concrete floor.
Then the door creaked open.
Su Jiyai stepped inside, calm and quiet like always.
The moment Wei Xin saw her, she pointed angrily.
"You! Finally! You took your sweet time! Listen, Jiyai, let me out of this place right now. This is no place for me!"
Su Jiyai didn’t say anything. She just stood there, arms crossed.
"After letting me out, you better give me some compensation. Yes! Let’s start with a building. No, wait, the entire base. Give the whole base to me."
She nodded like her words made perfect sense.
"From now on, you will follow my orders and stop selling food so cheap! You’re ruining the market!" she snapped.
"Oh, and make sure my family gets the best food first," she added, raising her chin. "And you—you need to kneel at the entrance for two days straight for disobeying me!"
Su Jiyai didn’t blink. Her eyes were like still water.
She finally spoke, "Do you not understand your situation right now... or are you just pretending?"
Wei Xin frowned, confused.
"What are you talking about? I understand perfectly. Someone must’ve trapped me here. You came to rescue me, right?"
Su Jiyai suddenly let out a soft chuckle.
"What a fool. It was I who had imprisoned you here. And you think that I will rescue you?"
Then she laughed louder, shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Seeing her laugh, Wei Xin’s face twisted. A chill crept into her chest.
"You’re kidding, right?" she asked, voice unsure now.
"No," Su Jiyai said, her voice steady. "I’m the one who put you here."
Wei Xin gasped and pointed at her, her face turning red again. "How dare you?! I raised you for years! This is how you repay me?!"
Su Jiyai raised an eyebrow. "Did you forget the severance files?"
Wei Xin paused, then quickly said,
"Those are useless now. Let’s forget the past, Jiyai. From now on, I’ll recognize you as my daughter again."
Su Jiyai let out a slow breath and replied,
"There’s no such thing as suddenly remembering or forgetting. The papers were signed two years ago. It’s already official. I have nothing to do with the Su family anymore."
Wei Xin’s eyes burned with fury. She pointed again. "You still have the Su surname! That proves you’re still part of us!"
Then she took a breath and changed her tone, becoming soft and gentle. "I know, maybe you were really hurt by what we did. But if you repent now, we can start over. I’ll treat you well."
Su Jiyai tilted her head. "Oh? If I repent, how will you treat me?"
Wei Xin’s eyes lit up, thinking she had finally won.
She smiled proudly. "I’ll let you eat two meals a day. Fresh food too, not leftovers."
Su Jiyai raised an eyebrow, pretending to be impressed. "Oh? That’s so generous. What else?"
Wei Xin nodded, getting excited. "I’ll let you rest for more than two hours a day!"
Su Jiyai folded her arms and nodded again. "Hmm, go on."
Wei Xin, encouraged by Su Jiyai’s interest, kept going.
"I’ll only ask you to hunt zombies for two hours a day. That’s not much, right?" she said with a fake sweet voice, even though in her heart, she planned to make it five hours at least.
Then she smiled widely and said, "You just need to hand over the base. I’ll take care of everything. Don’t worry."
She then started talking about her son. "Su Han is better than you anyway. He’s strong, smart, and calm. He can be the leader. And don’t worry, we’ll support you too. You’ll always have a place in our family."
Su Jiyai slowly nodded. "Wow," she said softly. "I’m really impressed."
Wei Xin grinned. "It’s nothing! We’re family, after all!"
But Su Jiyai took a step forward, and her eyes turned cold.
"I’m impressed by how shameless you are."
Wei Xin’s smile froze.
Su Jiyai didn’t stop.
"I give you food, safety, and peace, and you try to take it all. You don’t even say thank you. Instead, you want me to kneel at the gate like a dog and hand over everything I built."
Wei Xin stared at Su Jiyai, her legs trembling, her lips twitching as she tried to force out a smile.
But Su Jiyai’s expression was like ice, calm, cold, and full of something that made Wei Xin’s skin crawl.
"I... I’ll treat you better," Wei Xin stammered, her voice shaky. "I’ll give you more food. You don’t even have to hunt anymore! I’ll... I’ll even give you your own room.
Su Jiyai raised a hand gently, stopping her. "No need," she said simply.
Wei Xin froze. "W...What... what do you mean?"
"You won’t be able to do any of that," Su Jiyai said. "To treat someone better, you have to leave this place first. But you’re not leaving."
Wei Xin blinked rapidly. "Not... leaving?"
Su Jiyai nodded slowly. "You will stay here. For the rest of your life."
The words felt like thunder. Wei Xin stumbled backward, almost falling to her knees. "No... no! You can’t do this! I’m your mother!"
"You are my foster mother," Su Jiyai said, her voice as flat as a blade.
Wei Xin shook her head again and again.
"Please! I was wrong! I admit it! I’m sorry!" she cried, falling to her knees and clutching at the hem of Su Jiyai’s coat. "Please, forgive me!"
Su Jiyai looked down at her with unreadable eyes. Then, she chuckled.
"If you want me to forgive you," she said softly, "then confess. Apologize for everything you did."
Wei Xin’s eyes lit up like a drowning person seeing the surface. "Yes! Yes, I’ll confess! I’ll say everything! Please forgive me!"