As soon as the car stopped by the front gate, he rushed out and hugged his sister tight.
Sun Rouxi was standing by the side gate, lost in her thoughts, when someone violently pulled her and hugged her. She was about to scream when she realized who had hugged her. Seeing that it was her brother, she looked at him in confusion. Although she and her brother got along, they'd lately grown distant — especially due to her firm stance against his betrothal to Luo Yue. She believed that Luo Yue was too stuck-up and had a princess complex, and her brother deserved someone better.
But right now was not the time for those things, as she felt her brother trembling against her. Her ever headstrong brother felt so vulnerable.
Su Yang POV
For a fleeting second, it felt like coming home.
She stiffened in his embrace — not out of discomfort, but from something deeper. Her fingers twitched as if they wanted to clutch at his shirt but felt awkward.
But it didn't concern him. He wanted to cry out loud, thank the gods — or was it the devil — for giving him a second chance, for making him meet his sister again. But he calmed his emotions, as he didn't want to make a scene first thing in the morning.
Instead, Su Yang pulled back gently and forced a small smile, eyes glassy yet steady.
Sun Rouxi said, "We should leave, gege… or we'll be late."
Su Yang nodded silently. He looked out at the rising sun — it felt so wonderful.
But his smile stiffened, and killing intent filled his mind when he heard a sharp voice:
"What a tearful reunion."
In his excitement, he had missed Luo Yue standing nearby. Seeing her cold face and hearing her icy tone, he almost exploded right then and there.
He wanted nothing more than to bash her face in and keep on punching until his anger dwindled. But he kept calm, hypnotizing himself that it wasn't time yet — that there would come a time when he would rip her apart, but not now.
She had the Luo family behind her.
He ignored her and dragged Sun Rouxi by her arm into the campus.
Seeing Su Yang ignore her, Luo Yue bristled and almost lost her temper — but calmed down immediately upon seeing Jin Zixuan by the gate.
On the other side, Su Yang and Sun Rouxi were walking together.
Sun Rouxi was puzzled, seeing him ignore Luo Yue — as at other times he would beam with joy — but she kept quiet. Her brother felt different today.
The campus was already buzzing.
Students poured in like a tide, dressed sharply and carrying fresh energy.
Laughter echoed, greetings were exchanged, and eyes — dozens of them — turned toward Su Yang and Sun Rouxi.
Sun Rouxi was a famous campus beauty and drew gazes wherever she went.
And Su Yang was the famous clown prince.
And then came the snickers.
Low, mocking laughter rippled through the crowd as their gazes zeroed in on him.
The heir of the Su family, walking stiffly beside his little sister, with a shaggy, uneven haircut like he'd tried to cut it himself in the dark.
His once pristine reputation — shattered.
They whispered:
"That's Su Yang? He looks like he just rolled out of a trash can."
"Didn't Luo Yue dump him — humiliate him — during winter break when he got jealous over her hanging out with Jin Zixuan?"
"Isn't Jin Zixuan in the same class? Must be awkward…"
He ignored them all. Or tried to.
Each murmur stabbed like needles under the skin.
His jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
He had faced worse. This much wouldn't make him lose his composure.
After the opening ceremony.
In the lecture hall, students took their seats.
Su Yang found an empty one by the window, while Sun Rouxi sat a few rows behind him.
As he settled in, his gaze swept the room — only to lock onto a familiar figure.
Jin Zixuan.
Perfectly composed. Wearing a simple, ironed shirt with the school crest.
Sitting straight-backed, flipping through his notes like a scholar out of an ancient scroll.
Even the professors nodded toward him with familiarity.
A top student. Always in the top three.
Despite coming from a poor background, he had a certain charm — like the poor scholar in ancient times. A rags-to-riches story in the making.
Add Luo Yue — the flower of the campus, cold and unattainable — sitting next to him, both smiling and laughing, made them the perfect couple.
And Su Yang?
The clown. He was nothing more than a spoiled rich brat who had the luck to be born into the Su family.
Except that he had no redeeming quality.
But Su Yang's thoughts weren't on reputation — not today.
As the professor droned on about the course schedule and academic performance expectations, Su Yang stared out the window — expression grim.
Four things troubled him.
First — the collapse of the Su Group.
A hundred-year-old conglomerate didn't fall from a few rumors and backdoor deals.
His father had been cautious. Paranoid, even.
There were layers of redundancies, blacklists, informants, silent stakeholders.
For the entire system to be overturned so easily… it made no sense.
There was something bigger at play — much more than what that adulterous couple let on.
Second — the deaths.
His father's accident. Rouxi's kidnapping. The crash that left their second cousin crippled.
It was too clean. Too surgical.
If every wealthy family was so vulnerable to petty plots, there wouldn't be any legacy businesses left standing.
Someone big must've backed the destruction.
And security detail had been compromised — otherwise, with bodyguards and protectors both in light and hidden dark, how could it be easy to assassinate a top figure of Phoenix City?
Same with Su Rouxi.
Third — a way to earn money.
Because no matter how pure your intentions, power rules all.
Money was power.
Strength was power.
Influence, blackmail, leverage — power wore many faces, but the message was always the same:
Only the strong decide what's right.
He would never be weak again.
He would start his own company and, with the knowledge of the future, make the Su Group the ruler of Phoenix City — or even the Z Province.
Lastly — Luo Yue.
He couldn't reconcile the girl he once knew with the monster that smiled as she kissed another man in front of his dying body.
She was cold, yes. She became withdrawn after her mother's death.
But… she'd also been his childhood friend and followed him around.
Something had changed her. Twisted her.
But it didn't matter.
In this life, her reasons didn't matter.
Whatever broke her in the past — she had still watched his family fall.
Still poisoned his sister.
Still kissed another man over his dying body and whispered venom into his ears.
"You were always just a stepping stone."
In this life, she would be ripped apart, bit by bit.
No matter the cause. No matter the excuse.
She would burn.
Su Yang leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing.
Let them laugh now. Let them think he was broken.
But piece by piece, he would pull back the curtain.
Find the rot that had festered under the name of Su.
Find the spider weaving strings behind Luo Yue… and Jin Zixuan.
But above all was his sister — no one could touch her or harm even a strand of her hair.
Never again.