Not knowing how much time passed, perhaps only a few seconds, yet it felt like several centuries.

Shi Sui stood frozen in place, even her perception of time becoming dull.

Fang Huaijing’s gaze moved away from their unpleasant physical contact, his expression turning cold as he looked at her inquiringly.

“Sui Sui, are you doing this willingly?”

As soon as these words came out, they acted like a catalyst, directly making Yan Tingli laugh mockingly.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze fixed on Shi Sui, saying softly: “Tell him, for the first kiss.”

“Who kissed whom first?”

Shi Sui was extremely uncomfortable, also pulling her hand back, saying hoarsely: “…Let go of me first.”

She had never looked at him, so she didn’t catch the slight tremor in his eyes.

Fang Huaijing took everything in, his lips tugging sarcastically: “Sui Sui’s attitude is already very clear, are you still going to force her?”

“Force?”

Yan Tingli let out a cold laugh from his throat.

He released his hand, stepped forward, shrugging indifferently, “So what if I am?”

“I won’t let go. Who can steal someone from under my nose?” He looked him up and down, laughing contemptuously, “You?”

Fang Huaijing couldn’t see a trace of moral sense constrained by social rules in his eyes.

He said coldly, “You don’t know how to respect people at all. Sui Sui won’t like you either.”

As soon as these words fell, Yan Tingli’s dark gaze pressed downward. He was taller than Fang Huaijing, and his stare was even more chillingly terrifying.

Shi Sui was panicking terribly, her heart twisted in knots.

She felt that Yan Tingli had truly reached his breaking point, even becoming almost uncontrollable.

She worried that Fang Huaijing would get caught up in this whirlpool and it would affect his future.

She hurriedly stepped forward to grab Yan Tingli.

Shaking her head vigorously at Fang Huaijing: “My mom is coming back soon, everyone stop talking.”

Receiving the distressed signal in her eyes, Fang Huaijing took a deep breath and said nothing more.

Yan Tingli’s gaze swept over her hand, clutching his sleeve.

From gripping too hard, her fingertips had turned white.

He gripped her chin with his fingertips, his eyes completely devoid of warmth: “Are you worried, for his sake?”

Shi Sui was almost frightened by his overly sharp perception; her lips parted, but no sound came out.

Fang Huaijing on the side wanted to speak, but thinking of Shi Sui’s situation, he swallowed his words.

“Let’s talk when we get back, when we get back.” Afraid Li Yin would return any second, Shi Sui almost pleaded with him, “Brother Tingli, please.”

Yan Tingli quietly observed her. From his eyes, Shi Sui only saw the evaluation of value exchange.

In front of Fang Huaijing, Yan Tingli gripped her cheek, his gaze lightly falling on her face: “Think carefully.”

“How can to make you happy when we get back?”

After speaking, he lowered his eyelashes, put on his hoodie with a cold expression.

Also covering the conspicuous handprint on his face.

Shi Sui’s face turned pale.

A chill rose from her spine to her heart.

Li Yin had waited in line at the restroom before hurrying back.

When she entered the private room.

She saw only Shi Sui and Fang Huaijing sitting across from each other at the entire table.

Sensing the strange atmosphere, her gaze swept around, and she couldn’t help asking: “Where’s Xiao Li?”

Fang Huaijing didn’t answer, so Shi Sui organized her words: “He had something to do and left early, asked me to tell you.”

“Oh.” Li Yin nodded, “That makes sense, he must be very busy.”

After leaving the restaurant, Fang Huaijing politely thanked Li Yin and then proposed returning to school.

Before leaving, his gaze swept over Shi Sui’s face with complex emotions, then he turned and left.

Shi Sui felt uncomfortable and slowly lowered her eyes under his gaze.

“How was it?” After Fang Huaijing walked away, Li Yin took her hand and patted it, “Xiao Jing is a nice kid, isn’t he? Handsome and tall, with good character too.”

Shi Sui forced a response: “Mm.”

His character was indeed good.

A hundred thousand times better than Yan Tingli.

At least she could be sure that Fang Huaijing wouldn’t tell anyone about this.

“Then you can spend more time with him.” Li Yin said with a smile.

Shi Sui’s lips twitched weakly, giving a perfunctory response.

Walking to the roadside, Li Yin casually hailed a car: “It’s getting late, I’ll take you back to school.”

Shi Sui immediately grabbed her hand: “What about you?”

Li Yin ruffled her hair: “I have a flight tonight, I have to go back, there’s work tomorrow.”

Almost instantly, Shi Sui’s eyes became moist.

She buried her head in Li Yin’s shoulder, sobbing very quietly.

“Why are you crying?” Li Yin’s heart also felt sour.

Shi Sui said in a trembling voice: “I can’t bear to part with you. I regret it, if only I had studied in Hangzhou.”

Hearing this, Li Yin was stunned, cupping her face and wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes with her fingertips, her expression becoming serious: “What’s wrong, baby? Is someone bullying you here?”

“No…” Shi Sui said dully, “I just, I just miss you and dad so much.”

Li Yin’s heart melted, reaching out to hold her in her arms, gently patting.

“Then come back after graduation, okay?”

Shi Sui closed her eyes, shaking her head almost imperceptibly.

She seemed unable to wait until graduation.

If she wanted to leave that person now.

She had to go abroad.

That would mean being separated from her parents by an entire ocean.

The mother and daughter talked quietly for a while longer. Seeing that time really couldn’t wait any longer, Li Yin hailed a car and put Shi Sui in it.

Standing in the night wind, Li Yin was just about to contact her assistant when her phone rang. She answered: “Xiao Li?”

“Auntie, is it over?”

“Yes,” Li Yin hailed a taxi and got in, “I just sent Sui Sui back to school.”

The voice on the other end was normal, polite, and thoughtful: “Sorry, I had a lot of things tonight and couldn’t accompany you through dinner.”

Li Yin smiled: “You’re too polite, take care of your own business, it doesn’t matter.”

“Where are you planning to go now? Do you need me to arrange accommodation?”

“No need,” Li Yin said, “I have a flight tonight, I’m going back.”

“I see.”

There were a few seconds of silence.

The other end paused, seeming somewhat hesitant.

“What’s wrong? Do you have something to say?” Li Yin asked.

“It’s nothing major,” Yan Tingli smiled, “it’s just that you asked me to help you evaluate tonight.”

Thinking that he also knew Fang Huaijing, Li Yin became somewhat interested: “Oh? What does Xiao Li think?”

“He and Shi Sui aren’t very suitable.” His tone was gentle.

“How so?”

“I’ve competed with Fang Huaijing since high school. This person has a mild personality and can’t protect Shi Sui when things happen.”

Li Yin was stunned upon hearing this, feeling it might be cognitive differences caused by class distinctions. Their Yan family’s level might encounter the kind of “situations” he mentioned.

She said carefully, “We common people just live stable lives, we probably won’t encounter any major problems we can’t solve in our lifetime.”

Yan Tingli smiled, his voice sounding soft and slow: “Who knows?”

Li Yin felt an uncomfortable feeling rise in her heart.

A kind of woman’s sixth sense made her feel danger from the other side, but before she could react, the other side spoke again in a gentle tone: “Sorry, Auntie, maybe I’m being too subjective.”

“No, no.” Li Yin smiled again, “Thank you for your advice.”

However, Li Yin did take Yan Tingli’s words somewhat to heart.

She leaned her head against the window, suddenly remembering Sui Sui, who had quietly cried on her shoulder just now, and couldn’t help but feel alarmed, sighing softly.

“What’s wrong?”

Li Yin then said, “Sui Sui lived at your house for a while. Did you notice if any difficult people appeared around her?”

“Oh? How so?”

“Just now, when I said I was leaving, Sui Sui lay on my shoulder crying, saying she regretted staying here and wanted to return to me and her father.” Li Yin said worriedly, “I’m worried that she might be alone here and someone is bullying her without me knowing.”

“Is that so,” the other end was quiet for two seconds: “She said she wants to leave?”

Li Yin had a headache: “She hasn’t graduated yet, leaving now isn’t realistic either.”

Yan Tingli laughed softly: “I haven’t noticed any difficult people around her, maybe she’s just homesick.”

Li Yin felt somewhat relieved: “Then I must be overthinking.”

The young man said a few more polite words before hanging up.

Li Yin looked at the bustling night scene outside the car window, her expression dazed.

Shi Sui leaned wearily against the back seat as soon as she got in the car.

Her phone screen flickered.

Yan Tingli’s messages kept coming in, asking if she was finished.

She closed her eyes, having no energy to deal with them.

Her finger pressed the screen, dialing Zhou Xuyan’s number.

The other end took a while to answer: “Sui Sui, I was just taking photos for a model, what’s up?”

Shi Sui sniffled lightly, asking in a muffled voice: “Yan Yan, is it good abroad?”

Zhou Xuyan’s parents did foreign trade, and she had traveled around with them since childhood, visiting dozens of countries.

“Why are you suddenly asking this?” Zhou Xuyan was stunned, thinking of a possibility, “Are you planning to go abroad for an exchange?”

Shi Sui was silent for a long time, then hummed dully.

“What’s wrong with you? You and him… didn’t you just get together? What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Shi Sui shook her head, “I only know that I feel terrible now, like I can’t wait until graduation.”

Zhou Xuyan processed this for a while before asking: “Did he have another episode?”

“Mm…” Shi Sui answered helplessly, “I’m scared.”

“Where should I go for an exchange? America? Europe?”

Zhou Xuyan took a long breath.

She calmed down for two seconds, saying somewhat reluctantly: “Although I told you last time that you could do an exchange, thinking about it seriously, just running away wouldn’t work. Even if the distance is far, if he wants to find you, it would still be easy as pie.”

Shi Sui stood there blankly: “Then what do I do?”

Zhou Xuyan was silent for a while, saying helplessly, “If it were anyone else, I could help you disappear without a trace. But Yan Tingli… you understand what he studies.”

That’s right.

Yan Tingli was proficient in all cutting-edge technologies, including computers and artificial intelligence.

Shi Sui’s vision went dark.

Hearing the weak breathing on the other end, Zhou Xuyan hurriedly said: “Don’t panic yet, there are still ways! Can one person really cover the sky with one hand? Let’s take it slow, plan for the long term.”

Having no other choice, Shi Sui could only hum in agreement.

Zhou Xuyan said many more comforting words, but Shi Sui was already becoming absent-minded.

She looked out the window, her heart heavy with a haze-like darkness.

When hanging up, Zhou Xuyan was still instructing in her ear: “No matter what, you need to hide these thoughts well now, be nicer to him first, lower his guard, we’ll discuss other things privately.”

Shi Sui hummed.

Just as the call with Zhou Xuyan ended, the screen lit up again, Yan Tingli’s call coming through.

Shi Sui’s chest tightened.

Her finger hovered for a while before slowly pressing the answer.

His tone was cold: “Who were you talking to on the phone again?”

Shi Sui licked her dry lips: “Yan Yan.”

“Is that so?” he said flatly, “What good idea did she give you this time?”

Shi Sui almost thought her phone was being monitored: “…What?”

“Good ideas for leaving me.”

Shi Sui’s breathing almost stopped: “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Don’t understand?” Yan Tingli laughed lazily, “Then who was just crying in mommy’s arms wanting to go home?”

Shi Sui’s breath caught in her chest.

She didn’t know whether to feel relieved or panicked—he didn’t know the content of her conversation with Zhou Xuyan, but he had called her mother.

“I didn’t talk about anything with her.” She was grateful that he couldn’t see her expression over the phone, “I just don’t know what to do, Fang Huaijing knows about our relationship.”

“What is he, so what if he knows?”

Shi Sui said nothing.

Although she knew about Yan Tingli’s inherent arrogance, when he showed it so openly, she remained silent in displeasure.

Yan Tingli also lost patience for phone conversations: “I’m at the apartment.”

“Come coax me, now.”

Already almost at school, Shi Sui could only have the driver change routes and return to the apartment.

Fortunately, today was Wednesday.

No classes tomorrow morning, so she wouldn’t be unable to get up from his torment.

Ten minutes later, Shi Sui arrived at the apartment, scanned her fingerprint, and entered.

The front hall had no lights on.

The lighting was dim, Yan Tingli was on the sofa, his entire figure shrouded in shadow.

The TV was on, playing the cartoon they had watched before.

Cheerful background music played.

He lowered his eyes, head resting on the sofa, but wasn’t watching.

“I didn’t tell you to come here and stand like a wooden dummy.”

Shi Sui could only slowly walk over.

Yan Tingli spread his legs, his thin eyelids drooping.

“Sit up here, kiss me.”

It was always him kissing her, prying open her mouth, licking, sucking, reaching deep into her throat.

When Shi Sui kissed him, she was almost clueless. She could only press against his lips, gently rubbing.

Shy about deeper actions.

Yan Tingli commanded: “Stick out your tongue, lick me.”

Shi Sui paused, afraid that if she didn’t comply, he would make a scene and do worse things, so she obeyed.

His lips were very soft, also warmly heated.

Using her tongue to lick was overly erotic.

She closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling.

Not noticing Yan Tingli’s cold, dark eyes, his palm yanked down on her hair.

He laughed coldly: “Really want to let Fang Huaijing see how you look right now.”

Shi Sui felt uncomfortable hearing this: “You’re the one making me do this.”

“I tell you to do something and you do it?” Yan Tingli pressed her head down, asking softly, “Then if you help me lick here, would you lick?”

Shi Sui glared: “If you dare ask me, I dare bite.”

Yan Tingli wasn’t angry but smiled instead, inserting his fingers into her lips, his fingertips stroking over her teeth, tsking: “So fierce.”

Just after giving a skin-deep compliment, his fingers withdrew and suddenly gripped her chin tightly: “Do you think I’m dirty?”

Shi Sui looked away, saying nothing.

Her tolerance for such things had never been as broad as his acceptance.

“Feeling embarrassed in public, thinking I’m dirty in bed.” Yan Tingli completely lost expression, using a cold tone to scold her, “Liar.”

Shi Sui couldn’t tolerate being wrongly accused: “What did I lie to you about?”

“You said you would love me more.” Yan Tingli stared at her.

Shi Sui’s heart jumped.

She pressed her lips tight: “Is the love you’re talking about doing these things for you?”

“But I like doing these things for you.” He mimicked her tone.

Shi Sui: “…”

That’s because you’re perverted.

She could only turn her head away: “I’m not not loving you.”

She said this with difficulty.

Her gaze was also averted.

Too stiff.

He could see through it at a glance.

“Then, since you love me, why do you still want to leave?” Yan Tingli tilted his head, asking softly in her ear.

Shi Sui was startled, made nervous by him again: “…No, I just miss my mom and dad.”

“So you want to go back after graduation?”

“Then what about me?” He asked curiously, “What do I do?”

Shi Sui herself didn’t know what she was answering: “…Where do you want to develop?”

He seemed very interested in these questions.

Yan Tingli played with her fingers, answering with apparent patience: “Of course, wherever you are, that’s where I’ll be.”

Shi Sui couldn’t help saying: “What if I want to go back to the countryside?”

“Not bad,” Yan Tingli actually continued, “I can buy a villa, grow vegetables and cook myself.”

“That won’t work.” Shi Sui felt it was too absurd, “What about your company and your family…”

“I can elope with you.” He said casually.

This was the third time Yan Tingli had said the word “elope.”

But Shi Sui heard it with her whole body stiffening, her heart creeping with unease—

Wasn’t he?

Being a bit too invested and serious?

“Why aren’t you talking?” He continued asking, “Do you want to dump me?”

His breath was light, sweeping over her neck.

Shi Sui selectively answered: “…I don’t want to elope.”

“Why?”

“It’s not legitimate.” Shi Sui answered mechanically.

Yan Tingli thought for a moment: “Then we get married?”

Shi Sui’s eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat, unable to speak for a long while.

The entire development of this topic was too dangerous.

And despite her such clumsy, stiff performance, Yan Tingli seemed completely oblivious.

She didn’t know if he was digging a trap.

That feeling of unease overwhelmed her.

“I’m asking you a question.” Yan Tingli asked again, “Can’t you hear?”

Shi Sui: “…Isn’t it too early to talk about this now?”

“You’ll be twenty in the second half of the year.”

Shi Sui immediately said, “But you’re not of age yet, you can’t get married either.”

Yan Tingli narrowed his eyes, actually seriously considering it.

“Then let’s go to America to get married, you can marry at eighteen there.”

Shi Sui was startled, almost scared to death.

“Marriage isn’t something just the two of us can decide—”

Her chin was lifted.

Yan Tingli’s smile faded completely from his eyes, an unfathomably deep black: “Shi Sui, I’m not happy right now.”

“You need to make me happy.”

“I want you to say.”

“That you want to marry me.”

“Right now.”