Chapter 2: Am I Pretty?

The girl took off her sunglasses, letting out a scoffing laugh. “The Qingming Festival isn’t here yet, are you giving chrysanthemums?”

(TN: Chrysanthemums, especially white/yellow, are often associated with funerals/mourning in China.)

Su Yu had never heard such roundabout mockery before and didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

She looked up helplessly, only to find the girl wasn’t even looking at her.

Clearly, that remark was directed at Madam Ni.

Madam Ni’s gaze swept over, her long eyebrows furrowing unhappily.

“I usually tell you to study properly, but you spend all day messing around with dubious people.

These are small daisies, they represent blessings.Besides, I’m not that superstitious.”

The girl pouted dismissively.

Madam Ni ignored her, turning her attention back to Su Yu.

“Xiao Yu, this is my daughter, Ni Hezhi. He as in ‘seedling,’ Zhi as in ‘gardenia.’ She’s two years older than you, also in her third year of high school. I’ll have to trouble you to help her with tutoring this summer…”

“What? A whole summer?” Ni Hezhi’s voice suddenly shot up, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. “Didn’t you say we’d only stay for two or three days? Jiang Sui, you lied to me!”

Ni Hezhi’s fingers clenched tightly, her eyes blazing as she stared at her.

“Jiang Sui, my Alpha mother married you to take care of me, you’re not my real mommy. What right do you have to arrange my life?”

“Since your mom married me, then I am your elder!”

Jiang Sui put on a stern face, her tone exceptionally severe.

“The family provides you with food and drink, but you refuse to learn well, spending all day in bars and nightclubs. Ni Hezhi, besides spending money, what else can you do?

Starting today… you will stay in Tong Village and properly reform yourself!”

Ni Hezhi raised her eyebrows coolly and proudly.

“What do you mean? Taking advantage of my mom being unconscious to dump me in this godforsaken place?”

“Let me tell you, Jiang Sui, don’t think you can take over the Ni family assets just by kicking me out!”

Ni Hezhi’s eyes were rimmed with red, but her back remained ramrod straight.

“When my mom comes back and finds me gone, she will definitely settle scores with you…”

Before she could finish, Jiang Sui cut her off coldly.

“When Ni Qingyao returns, I will explain it to her myself. As for you, you can go back when you’ve corrected your bad habits.”

Jiang Sui seemed unwilling to argue further with Ni Hezhi.

She turned her head to the county official beside her, changing the subject.

“Director Chen, there were still some details about the agricultural assistance plan we discussed earlier…”

The officials had been waiting respectfully for half a day, just waiting for Jiang Sui to bring this up.

They quickly chimed in,

“Let’s go to the village committee office to discuss it then. Lunch is already prepared, just waiting for you.”

Jiang Sui nodded.

“Alright.”

As she was leaving, she deliberately paused beside Su Yu and instructed,

“Zhizhi will be spending the summer in Tong Village. You should show her around the environment first.”

Su Yu subconsciously replied “Mm,” only then remembering the tense confrontation between Jiang Sui and Ni Hezhi just moments ago.

Standing here having watched the whole thing felt somewhat awkward. She silently averted her gaze, careful not to let even a single glance make Ni Hezhi feel embarrassed.

Ni Hezhi looked at the moss-covered, dilapidated brick house before her, then at the barren yet verdant mountains.

A misty vapor clouded her eyes.

Two days ago, Ni Qingyao had suffered a relapse of her heart condition and collapsed at the conference table.
She was urgently sent abroad for treatment.

Jiang Sui seized the opportunity to take over the company and promptly dumped her in this place where even birds wouldn’t shit.

Uncontrollable hatred grew wildly in Ni Hezhi’s heart, but she didn’t dare show it.

She didn’t even know if Ni Qingyao was alive or dead right now.The house was full of Jiang Sui’s spies, and all company matters were under her control.

Ni Hezhi had always been meticulous in her thinking. She knew she couldn’t confront Jiang Sui head-on. Only by grabbing hold of her weakness could she make Jiang Sui wary.

To save herself, she had to restrain Jiang Sui before her position was fully solidified.

But what kind of shameful secret could Jiang Sui possibly have?

Ni Hezhi lifted her eyelids, her gaze landing on the stiffly standing Su Yu.

The girl’s thin, slender frame was clad in a washed-out yellow school uniform. Her black hair was tied back in a ponytail.

She had perfectly proportioned narrow double eyelids paired with upturned, inwardly hooked peach-blossom eyes.

Her nasal bridge was high, and the shadow cast by her long lashes pooled beneath her eyes, creating a quiet, captivating allure.

Ni Hezhi couldn’t tell if Su Yu was an Alpha or an Omega. She was more exquisitely beautiful and captivating than any Alpha Ni Hezhi had ever seen. Her features were lush and enchanting, more like an Omega’s.

But if she were an Omega, how could Ni Hezhi, being the same type, not smell her pheromones?

As far as she knew, her mother wasn’t aware of Su Yu’s existence. Meaning, sponsoring Su Yu was Jiang Sui’s personal decision.

Jiang Sui wasn’t particularly generous towards the staff, even a bit stingy sometimes. Why would she sponsor Su Yu for no reason?

She had previously heard the kitchen manager say that Madam was keeping a young Alpha outside. Ni Hezhi had relayed this to Ni Qingyao but received a scolding and was ordered never to mention it again.

Could it be…

Jiang Sui and Su Yu had that kind of relationship?

Ostensibly, Su Yu was a poor student sponsored by Jiang Sui, but in reality, she was the young Alpha Jiang Sui was keeping?

Wanting to find out if it was true? That was easy. Even if it wasn’t, Ni Hezhi had ways to make it become true.

“Hey!”

Ni Hezhi suddenly smiled, her smile bright and ostentatious.

“Didn’t you say you were going to show me around?”

Ni Hezhi took the opportunity to get closer to Su Yu.

She tentatively extended her pinky finger, hooking it around Su Yu’s fingertip, and swayed it coquettishly.

“Where’s my room? Take me to see it, okay?”

A tingling, numbing sensation shot from her fingertips to the top of her head, exploding inside Su Yu’s mind.

She snatched her hand back as if burned, instinctively putting some distance between herself and Ni Hezhi, and said with a red face,

“I’ll take you inside.”

Su Yu’s house looked dilapidated from the outside, and felt even more basic inside. There was hardly any decent furniture, and the appliances could be counted on one hand.

Although shabby, the house was spotlessly clean, and items were neatly arranged. The window panes were wiped free of dust. Sunlight streamed in, making the whole house bright, warm, and comfortable.

Ni Hezhi turned her head, spotting two black and white portrait photos on a display cabinet in the corner.

A man and a woman.

The man looked about forty, with gentle features, not rough like a typical farmer, but possessing a faint scholarly air.

The woman’s age was unclear, but even the black and white photo couldn’t hide her beauty, making one sigh about “beauty meeting a harsh fate.”

Ni Hezhi guessed these were Su Yu’s parents.

Judging from the photos, Su Yu’s delicate features seemed inherited from her mother, especially the upper part of her face – the curve from the brow bone to the eyelid was arched and elongated, seemingly cool but holding a deep emotion that hesitated to speak.

While she was still studying the portraits, Su Yu had already pushed open a bedroom door and called softly to her,

“Come in.”

Ni Hezhi followed her in, surveying the room she would be living in for two months.

Old, broken, small.

Even her pet’s room at home was better than this.

A 1.5-meter wide bed, a set of table and chairs that had been repainted, and an old-fashioned double-door wardrobe.

The only electrical appliance was a long-bladed ceiling fan of a type only seen in period dramas, hanging high overhead.

Ni Hezhi genuinely feared it would fall and crack her skull.

Looking at the bed, it had an old-fashioned peony-patterned sheet, terribly tacky.

However, it was clear effort had been put into preparing it. A lace trim had been sewn around the edge of the sheet, and it was very clean.

Ni Hezhi sat down on the edge of the bed. The wooden planks were hard and uncomfortable. Sleeping on this, she would definitely have nightmares.

She couldn’t stand this ghastly place for another second.

Jiang Sui would leave after finishing her discussion with the village chief.

In just a few short hours, how could she find leverage against her, blackmail her into taking her along?

Ni Hezhi lifted her eyes, her gaze circling Su Yu with unclear meaning. Her voice was sweet and delicate,

“Hey, little fool, come here.”

Su Yu turned to look at her, murmuring hesitantly,

“My name isn’t little fool. I have a name.”

Ni Hezhi’s eyes curved upwards, her tone becoming even softer and more drawling,

“Alright, Su Yu, happy now?”

Su Yu didn’t speak, nor did she make any move.

What the heck! Is this person dense? How can she be so clueless about romance?

Ni Hezhi was beautiful, the acknowledged school belle. Growing up, others had always catered to her. Weren’t they all like sticky candy, following her around, asking if she was okay?

This was the only time she had actively initiated contact, and it was with Su Yu.

But she was like a block of wood, unmoved.

Ni Hezhi experienced the taste of being ignored for the first time. After some thought, she decided to “seduce” Su Yu to extract Jiang Sui’s “secret.”

Ni Hezhi stood up, took a step closer to Su Yu, reached out, and hooked her cool fingers. She traced the thick calluses on Su Yu’s fingertips back and forth. Like flirting.

Su Yu’s heart instantly started pounding violently.

Her pale pink lips pressed tightly together, her eyelashes trembling in panic. After freezing for a few seconds, she finally realized she should pull her hand back, but Ni Hezhi caught it firmly.

Su Yu froze completely, her throat feeling constricted. Eyes, nose, mouth, heart – none could move.

Ni Hezhi dragged her to the bedside with almost no effort.

A faint scent of soap pods lingered in the air. Ni Hezhi leaned closer, resting her chin on Su Yu’s neck and sniffing lightly. Her breath fanned across Su Yu’s skin, stirring an indescribably tingling sensation.

The alluring aura spread, like a finely woven net of pearls, enveloping her entire body, finally slipping silently into the cracks of her bones.

Su Yu was utterly flustered, hastily pushing Ni Hezhi away.

Ni Hezhi stumbled sideways from the force, almost laughing out of exasperation.
Was she some kind of demon? Was it necessary to be this scared?

“Su Yu…”

Ni Hezhi leaned slyly closer to her again, deliberately blowing hot air near her earlobe.

“Do you think I’m pretty?”