The voice was not particularly loud.
Yet no one could ignore it. The moment the words fell, the entire room fell silent.
So quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Su Ning raised a hand and beckoned to Su Zhenzhu.
Her clothes were chosen with warmth as the top priority. Even her gloves were black leather, with metal buckles that gleamed with a cold, hard light beneath the lamps.
Her voice was casual:
“Come here.”
The girl did not hesitate for even a moment. Like a swallow returning to the woods, she threw herself into Su Ning’s arms and called softly, “Cousin.”
“Worrying yourself over irrelevant people again, but at least this time, you’ve made some progress.”
“You didn’t cry.”
Her voice held a faint smile.
Though she had spoken in Chinese, hardly anyone present could understand it. But they were not blind. Seeing this scene, what else could they fail to understand?
Flora’s expression changed slightly.
Forcing a smile, she said, “Because we do, in fact, have such a relationship. The Hawthorne family’s genealogy is perfectly clear. God is our witness—you inherited the main branch’s property, so naturally, you also inherited everything belonging to Hawthorne. Therefore, we are unquestionably family.”
She felt that her implication was obvious enough.
“Tch.”
Su Ning let out an unhappy, scornful laugh.
“That’s all you’ve got? Are you blind or deaf? When did the name Hawthorne ever get added after mine? And besides… do I look anything like you?”
Apparently, she really didn’t.
The others looked back and forth between them. Su Ning did, however, bear a striking resemblance to that Pearl girl. Anyone could see that they were related by blood…
Forgive them. Telling Asian faces apart was simply too difficult for them.
“That isn’t important.”
Flora forced herself to calm down and said, “Looks can’t prove anything. What matters is that you inherited everything belonging to Hawthorne. I heard you grew up with your Chinese father, so it’s understandable that you don’t know about these things. Don’t worry—we’ll teach you properly. You’ll come to understand how important becoming a Hawthorne will be to you.”
“That should also be what your father wanted for you.”
“At the very least, don’t let all his efforts go to waste.”
The implications were impossible to miss.
Su looked completely Chinese, yet she had inherited everything belonging to Hawthorne.
Combined with the story of Su Ning’s father starting from nothing, everyone instantly understood.
Their minds began imagining all sorts of schemes: murder, stealing an empire, usurping another’s position, calculated plots… a bloody melodrama that could easily run for eighty episodes!
“Why would you need to tell me that? Of course my father was amazing.”
Su Ning spoke as though it were obvious.
“That’s why he left me so much property. I don’t even know how much I have. Every time I blink, something else gets added, and then I have to throw my plans into disarray and reorganize everything all over again. It’s such a headache trying not to become a wastrel. Do any of you know what that feels like?”
She paused.
“Never mind. I’m asking the wrong people.”
Su Ning’s face filled with disdain.
“All you ever talk about is the glory of your ancestors. I suppose that’s because you’ve got nothing else to say. I’ve seen plenty of impoverished noble families like yours. In reality, you probably can’t even afford a meal, and you may well be buried under debt.”
“No wonder you’re shamelessly clinging to me and insisting we’re related.”
“Don’t bother denying it.”
“Unless you swear before God that you only want one more family member and won’t ask me for a single cent. Otherwise, may you all go to hell after you die.”
Her mocking, playful words were like a sharp knife, stabbing Flora and the others’ pride until it was riddled with holes. Their faces flushed red.
Yet none of them dared to make the oath.
……
“You’ll regret this.”
That was what Flora and the others hurriedly left behind as they departed in humiliation.
Su Ning smiled.
A lot of people had told her that before. Yet so far, not a single one of them had made good on the promise.
And with that, everything was over.
Mrs. Kelly came over to apologize. After all, she had been the one to bring them over. As she spoke, she was cursing Flora and the others to herself with all her might.
“It’s fine.”
Su Ning nodded, her tone indifferent.
“Even without you, there would have been someone else. They wouldn’t have given up until they met me in person… But this is the only time. I don’t want to see them again.”
“Please rest assured.”
Mrs. Kelly gave an elegant bow. When she lifted her head, her eyes were shining.
Her tone was extremely firm:
“They will never appear before you again.”
In this circle, when someone like Su Ning made it clear that she disliked a person and did not wish to see them, everyone would tacitly assess the standing of both parties. The stronger party usually got what they wanted.
As for Su Ning and Flora’s group…
There was no need to think about it at all.
Moreover, Kelly would make sure everyone learned of this immediately.
And so—
From that moment on, this circle would remain forever closed to Flora and the others.
Finally, they left the party.
Inside the car, the system suddenly said, “I understand now.”
Su Ning: “…?”
Understand what?
“After much painstaking thought, I’ve finally figured out the reason behind your abnormal behavior. The reward pool for Half-Immortal Su and the others wasn’t as generous as Su Zhenzhu’s. Giving it up was a shame, but compared with the jackpot pool for non-plot-related American characters, it was nothing.”
“Host, your performance just now was excellent. You were vicious and shameless, occupying the rightful heir’s place while humiliating the true Hawthorne. You also left plenty of room for the imagination.”
“I checked. Even the bystanders—who weren’t exactly good people themselves—looked terribly uncomfortable. You squeezed a few rewards out of them, too.”
The system sounded deeply moved.
“As expected of the host of the Rich and Unbenevolent System. You’re simply outstanding.”
Su Ning: “…”
“Is there a possibility that I didn’t think that much at all? I just didn’t want to see Zhenzhu and Half-Immortal Su’s family feel disappointed or hurt. That was all.”
The system’s response was—
“Come on. Why are you pretending in front of me?”
??????
Who was pretending? Who was pretending? Who was pretending?!
Su Ning had never felt so aggrieved. This time, she was telling the absolute truth. Every word was genuine—truer than true, even truer than Zhenzhu!
Unfortunately, no matter how much she argued, she could not change the system’s mind. In the end, it grew impatient and simply tossed out one final sentence:
“Just wait and see. Actions speak louder than words. Besides, rewards never lie.”
Then it ran off.
Su Ning was furious enough to nearly topple over.
After thinking it over, she decided to spend a great deal of money and make some even more eye-catching news to bury the Hawthorne incident…
She refused to lose face.
She would make the system understand that it was wrong—completely, utterly wrong.
Beside her, Su Zhenzhu quietly, gently, and motionlessly gazed at Su Ning. It made one wonder whether she even needed to blink.
If she could, she would have loved to stay like this.
So happy.
So happy.
She wanted to tell everyone about her joy, her happiness, her delight.
So she wrote a letter.
One for her father and brothers.
She wanted them to experience this happiness, too, so she divided it into two letters. The letters would be sent one day apart…
No, three days apart would be better.
The more anticipation, suffering, and anguish they endured at the beginning, the stronger the happiness and delight would be afterward.
Su Zhenzhu thought this sweetly.
