The footsteps of the man behind him halted.
He was unsettled, uncertain.
Su Ning also sat up straighter, intrigued. When had she gained a "little brother"?
She hadn’t known about it herself.
…
Perhaps to save face,
Pimple deliberately raised his voice a little, emphasizing the name "Su Ning." Hearing this, the people around indeed cast surprised glances.
If it had been earlier,
someone might not have recognized Su Ning—after all, China was vast,
and not everyone kept up with such matters.
But lately, domestic and international newspapers had been running nonstop reports. Penicillin had become the talk of the streets; you couldn’t walk two steps without overhearing someone discussing it, and the name "Su Ning" had spread like wildfire across the country.
"Is that the Su Ning? Really?"
"Wasn’t Miss Su always based in Beiping? Her family’s all there too, and her cousin just escaped death and is recuperating in the hospital. He couldn’t be in Shanghai, right?"
"Well, maybe she has more than one brother."
"Look at his name—Su An and Su Ning—they’re a perfect match: 'An-Ning'—Peace and Tranquility!"
The refined young man heard every word clearly. Through the floral wall, he quickly glanced inside and caught a glimpse of the teasing curve on Su Ning’s lips, a flicker of smugness in her eyes.
Yet his face showed only helplessness as he said:
"Enough, I really regret telling you all this after drinking. My sister sent me to Shanghai to focus on my studies, away from the pursuit of wealth and fame. If she found out I’d blabbed, she’d surely scold me again."
"Got it, got it."
Pimple waved dismissively and added with a sigh:
"Someone from a truly wealthy family like you remains humble and gentle, while those in-between types, the ones with a little money who think they’re the best, always act like they’re number one. They just don’t earn any respect."
Everyone knew who that jab was aimed at.
But unlike before,
none of Sally’s other customers sneered. They exchanged excited glances, and some had already pulled out business cards, planning to get acquainted with "Su Ning’s brother."
"Besides,"
Pimple straightened his back, feeling a surge of vindication. He cast a fawning look at Su An, who responded with a helpless shake of his head, which only pleased Pimple more.
He marveled inwardly at how approachable the young man was,
nothing like the cold, infamous, arrogant Su Ning of legend.
But that was all the better.
Perhaps he could hint at Su An’s identity to his father, so his dad would stop calling him a failure. If he could latch onto the Su family, the benefits would be endless…
As he mused, he kept talking:
"Everyone knows how well Miss Su treats her family. And a tree that stands tall in the forest gets battered by the wind. Since the outside world doesn’t know you exist, all schemes and trouble fall on the other Su family members. Clearly, you’re the relative Miss Su treasures the most."
"So she definitely won’t hold a small thing like this against you."
"Not true,"
Su An shook his head in rebuttal. "My sister treats all family equally. She sent me to Shanghai because she thought my personality suited a quieter environment."
An environment you won’t have anymore, thanks to this big-mouthed friend, others thought silently.
Because everyone was eavesdropping, Sally’s was unusually quiet.
So the laughter was especially clear.
At that moment, all eyes turned irritably toward the laughing Su Ning.
"Sorry, that was just too funny."
After a few seconds,
Su Ning stopped laughing, appearing to notice everyone’s gaze with a perfunctory shrug.
"What’s your problem!"
Pimple erupted, slamming the table as he prepared to stand up and argue. Su An held him back, fixing his gaze on Su Ning with a deliberately cool demeanor:
"Miss, we might have accidentally offended you earlier, but we’ve already apologized. What’s so funny about friends talking among themselves?"
"Let me think."
Su Ning mimed a thoughtful expression, then after a second said, "Every single word, actually."
This time,
before Su An could speak, others automatically rose to his defense.
"Miss, let people go when they’ve apologized. This behavior is just ugly."
"Exactly, what’s there to laugh at?"
"You’re still young. Watch your mouth when you’re out and about, or you’ll bring disaster to your family. Regret will come too late."
Voice after voice chimed in.
Some were harsh, others patronizing. Su An basked in the joy of it all—just a few words and an unverified identity, and so many came to his defense. This identity was so useful!
He strained to suppress the grin tugging at his lips, leveling an even more imposing look at Su Ning.
He expected to see a flustered face.
Instead, she was calm,
even leisurely scooping up a spoonful of ice cream. For some reason, a shadow of unease darkened Su An’s heart. He moved to stop the others from piling on, but before the words left his mouth, Su Ning spoke softly:
"The ice cream is mediocre. I heard there’s a café with decent peach ice cream… let’s go there next time."
"Yes, Miss."
Su Ning propped her chin languidly. "Though the ice cream wasn’t great, watching such an amusing skit made this trip worthwhile."
With that, she finally looked directly at Su An.
What she said next drained all color from his face as fast as paper.
"I really am an outsider—I came from Beiping to visit Shanghai. What a coincidence: my surname is Su, and my given name is Ning.
I’ve lived over twenty years, only to discover I suddenly have a brother I never knew existed.
Tell me, isn’t that funny?"
The crowd froze.
After the shock wore off, a cacophony of murmurs erupted, then died just as quickly.
She was Su Ning?
She was actually Su Ning!
As for Su An—that name was his own invention. He didn’t even remember his original one anymore. People like him could change names seven or eight times a year.
His mind blanked.
Pure disbelief flooded him.
How could Su Ning have suddenly come to Shanghai and run into him face-to-face? No chance to cushion the blow. What now? What should he do…
"You say you’re Su Ning, but so what? Got any proof? For all we know, you’re just a fraud!" Pimple shouted excitedly.
Everyone stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.
Even Su Ning,
staring at him,
thought to herself that she shouldn’t have bothered getting worked up over a fool.
