Chapter 8 — The Su Family
For the remainder of their chat, Kang Zhong and Qin Jiran discussed only work-related matters.
Tao Yuke had already handed Qin Jiran’s schedule to Kang Zhong. Kang Zhong was going over it with Qin Jiran for confirmation. After that, Kang Zhong pulled out two prepared scripts and presented them to Qin Jiran.
“President Su picked these for you herself. If you like one, you can take it into consideration.”
The two scripts roused some curiosity from Kang Zhong. After all, Su Yanyi usually never paid attention to these details. The origins of the scripts were also a mystery to him.
They were actually prizes from the Virtuous Wife System’s Resources function. Su Yanyi had generously decided to give them to Qin Jiran, and she didn’t know whether it was intentional or not, but the male leads in both scripts seemed like they were made for Qin Jiran to play.
Qin Jiran didn’t stand on ceremony and took them. Unlike Kang Zhong, Qin Jiran was used to going through leaps of scripts every day, so he didn’t overthink it.
“I’ll take them back and look over them carefully.” He wouldn’t refuse something chosen for him by Su Yanyi.
After he and Kang Zhong left each other’s company, Kang Zhong returned to the president’s office. As soon as he entered, Su Yanyi asked straightforwardly, “Did he smile?”
Although Kang Zhong was normally quick to catch onto everything, her question actually caused him to blank, and he answered with uncertainty, “Mr. Qin? I don’t think he smiled.”
Qin Jiran’s public image was forever a cool one. An occasional cold smile from him was enough to send his fans squealing, which only served to prove how precious his smile was. When the two men were conversing earlier, Kang Zhong only remembered seeing the initial expression of shock and doubt on his face, and nothing else.
This aspect of Qin Jiran held a striking resemblance to Su Yanyi. They both seemed as though they had facial paralysis, and just looking at them made others feel pressured.
“Why didn’t he smile?” She appeared to be very puzzled. She did all of that for him, so why must he refuse to smile?
This time, Kang Zhong was rendered speechless. Why didn’t he smile? How was he supposed to know?
“Was he unhappy? He didn’t like the scripts?” She continued to ask with skepticism in her gaze.
“Mr. Qin said he’ll go back first and then take a look.” By now, Kang Zhong was looking at her strangely. Was President Su trying to curry favor with Mr. Qin? Why? Did their feelings undergo some type of change?
Although Kang Zhong didn’t know that the two were married under a contract, he did notice from witnessing their occasional indifferent and estranged interactions that the two weren’t as close as normal husbands and wives were. However, something seemed different now.
Su Yanyi nodded and sighed, thinking to herself that she was being too anxious. He would smile after he saw the scripts, obviously. After dismissing Kang Zhong, she started to chat with the System.
“001, if Qin Jiranim smiles in a place where I can’t see him, would that still count towards completing the mission?”
[Master, if Mr. Qin smiles because of you, then even after the task is completed, the System will automatically give you bonus points.]
Having finally given the chance to speak, 001 immediately manifested in hologram form before Su Yanyi, adopted a little girl’s appearance, and started to bounce around happily. Su Yanyi found the sight of the chubby little girl in a princess dress especially cute. Unable to resist the temptation, Su Yanyi reached out to pinch 001, despite expecting her hand to pass right through. To her surprise, it didn’t.
“I can touch you?” She asked in surprise.
[Yes, the System can be controlled through both voice and touch. Master, why don’t you rub my head? It feels very good to the touch.]
001 stuck its head out cutely. Su Yanyi rubbed 001’s head twice, thought that it felt rather nice, and did it a few more times. Like an actual child, 001’s smile became happier.
…..
In the afternoon, Su Yanyi visited the Su family manor. The Su family was an old and well-known family that was founded several hundreds of years ago. One might say that the details were deep and profound, but in actuality, the blood of the Su family was not flourishing at all.
The direct line of descendants was especially scant, with only Su Yanyi’s grandfather, parents, and older brother. Oh, and that calculating sister-in-law of hers!
Just thinking about Wang Zhilin’s older sister, Wang Zhirou, made Su Yanyi’s expression darken. She had to find a way to kick that woman out of the Su family!
The reason she suddenly decided to return home was that she missed her family. She kept in mind the attention and grief her family had shown her when she was a vegetable, and they were now the people she cared about the most.
However, when she entered the manor, she learned that none of her family members were at home. There were only the servants bustling around. When they saw her return, slightly strange expressions appeared on their faces.
“Miss, welcome back.” The old steward, Fang Bo, came out to greet her. He also looked at her a bit strangely before his gaze darted outside. There was no one else. He seemed disappointed.
Of course, Su Yanyi knew what —or rather, who— Fang Bo was looking for: Qin Jiran. Speaking of, the Su family was an odd one. The power it held leaned more towards the grey side, and most of its dealings had to do with the underworld. The family exhorted three strict rules, with each one being stranger than the last.
The contractual marriage between Su Yanyi and Qin Jiran was a result of one of those rules. According to the rules, marriage demonstrated true love, and only after marriage would the family member allowed to pick their own path. Otherwise, they would be subjected to the family’s control.
In this regard, it was similar to the so-called “family first, career second.”
The family also placed heavy emphasis on kith and kin. Steward Fang Bo had watched Su Yanyi grow up, and every time she visited, he would hope that Qin Jiran was accompanying her. Unfortunately, she would bring Qin Jiran along if it was absolutely necessary. This really disappointed the old man.
“Fang Bo, I’m staying for dinner. If Grandpa and the rest of them return, tell me.”
“Yes.”
She retreated to her own room and began to ponder over the Su family’s affairs. The family was old and took part in a myriad of industries, but the main two were information trafficking and employment. These two industries complemented each other and had already become an international force that simply could not be ignored.
Only a handful of people knew that it was actually the Su family manipulating everything behind the scenes. Old Master Su had retired already, but he couldn’t stand sitting idle. The family had a secret base located on the outskirts, and he was in charge of training the organization members there.
Father Su was now the one managing the Su family. On the surface, he dealt in the hotel industry, but he actually responsible for running the intelligence organization. Likewise, Su Yanyi’s older brother appeared to be working for the family’s regular business, but he was actually the head of the employment company. He was always bustling around from place to place.
Mother Su was quite busy, too. In City A, she was famous for being a well-known businesswoman, and her main line of business was real estate and media networking. As the matter of fact, Su Yanyi’s Resplendent Entertainment used to be under Mother Su’s name. After Su Yanyi grew up, it was given to her as a birthday present.
At the time, Resplendent Entertainment was a small-scale company. Its current success could all be credited to Su Yanyi.
[Little Theater]
Film Emperor: Wifey, they said I’m cold like a refrigerator. Then what about when the two of us are together?
Beloved Wife: A French door fridge!
