On the evening of the twenty-eighth of the lunar year, the wind blowing was sharper than a knife; at such times, a small sip of hot cocoa would warm both hands and heart.
All of this was merely Su Ziceng’s wishful thinking. Chang Mei’s voice was so sharp and piercing, constantly scraping against one’s eardrums. She even angrily snatched Su Qingzhang’s cane and smashed it to the ground.
Su Ziceng did not dare to get too close; the wind occasionally carried bits of their conversation to his ears, but what he heard was incomprehensible.
"Su Qingzhang...do you see her as that despicable woman...don’t forget...stolen...dead..."
Su Qingzhang seemed to be provoked by her words, breaking free from Chang Mei’s grasp and getting into the car.
Chang Mei, using the cane, tapped fiercely against the car door; she had completely lost her usual composure, looking no different from a madwoman ranting in the streets.
The car tires skidded on the snow, and Chang Mei’s voice was torn apart by the wind. Noticing this, she abruptly turned her head. Su Ziceng stiffened, frightened by the maniacal red in her eyes.
"Don’t be so smug," Chang Mei, seeing Su Ziceng standing behind the door, said, "You think you’ve found a woman who has Ye Taina’s eyes and can defeat me? Dream on. Qingzhang wouldn’t dare to kick me out in his lifetime. Even in death, only I have the right to hammer the nails into his coffin, taking all his secrets with him, no one besides me."
A chill rose from Su Ziceng’s feet; indeed, when Su Qingzhang died, it was Chang Mei who closed the coffin, but what she looked like then... she could no longer remember.
The auction at the auction house had ended, and guests were leaving one after another with expressions of joy over their acquisitions, while those who missed out wore looks of disappointment.
The auction at Su Bi Auction House made headlines the next day, with the media sensationalizing it from the end of the year to the beginning, it became the hottest news, accompanying the citizens of Mo City through a festive New Year.
Auctions, as a practice, also began to spread in Country Z through those reports. In a way, the auction held by Chang’s mother and daughter was a resounding success; it successfully brought the then-obscure Su Bi Auction House into the public eye, and it also exposed the hidden side of the wealthy to the masses.
On the first day of the lunar new year, as per tradition, Su Ziceng paid respects to Su Qingzhang and received a big red envelope. This year’s red envelope was not reduced because she had "schemed" a sum from Su Qingzhang; instead, after giving out the red envelope, Su Qingzhang even chatted with her briefly, "When you have time, bring your friends over for a meal at home, let dad also learn more about your school life."
If it were the real nineteen-year-old Su Ziceng, she surely would have bluntly refused without a second thought, but for the thirty-five-year-old Su Ziceng, who had seen through the deeds of men and women and tasted heartache, she had already seen something different in Su Qingzhang’s flickering eyes.
Unexpectedly, the first friend she made upon rebirth, Yan Wuxu, would become her first ally. Faced with Su Qingzhang’s favor, Su Ziceng did not immediately respond. Compared to Chang’s mother and daughter, Yan Wuxu was undoubtedly a more reliable ally. To move further, she needed to confirm with Yan Wuxu himself before deciding.
In previous years on the first day of the lunar new year, the Hang Family would send an invitation after she had paid respects to Su Qingzhang, and she would then go to the Hang Family to extend her greetings, but this year was somewhat odd with not a peep from the Hang Family. Calculating the time, it had been over a month since she had last contacted Hang Yishao.
Feeling no anxiety would be a lie, but Su Ziceng did not contact Hang Yishao immediately as in previous years. Towards Hang Yishao, Su Ziceng felt somewhat powerless, fed up with constant guessing and speculation.
On the Hang Family’s side, Hang Mu, following Hang Yishao’s insistence, had not called to invite Su Ziceng. Both were waging a guerrilla battle in their hearts, waiting for the other to make a move.
It was not until the third day of the lunar new year that a servant knocked on Su Ziceng’s door early in the morning. When Su Ziceng thought it might be a call from the Hang Family, what was presented to her was a completely different gift.
A gift accompanied by a rose. Su Ziceng opened the gift and saw "Angel’s Broken Wings." No words accompanied the gift, only a delicate rose with its alluring fragrance.
"Wen Maixue?!" The gown auctioned by Wen Maixue had somehow made its way back to Su Ziceng. Su Ziceng shook her head in resignation; Wen Maixue’s proud nature would disdain to wear a dress she had worn, probably the reason for returning the gown. However, Su Ziceng was puzzled on how Wen Maixue would be willing to make a losing deal?