After the Early-Deceased White Moonlight of a Wealthy Family Returns (GL) - Chapter 24.2

Across the street, far away, was a small second-floor bistro.

Su Wu sat by the window.

After seeing Shen You’an leave, she went downstairs, opened her umbrella, and walked into the dark alley.

In the vast curtain of rain, the scratches on the wall looked like cat claw marks. At a corner of the wall, bright red blood was being washed into the rain.

The woman stood in the rain for a long time.

“Meng Xi.” She made a call. “Want a drink? My treat.”

When Su Wu got home, Shen You’an was watching TV in the living room.

A newly released historical romance drama was on. Honestly, she hadn’t remembered a single plot point, but she felt that when she was home alone, the room was too empty; it was better to have some sound.

The knock on the door came in the early morning.

Su Wu is home so late today, Shen You’an thought.

Dressed in pajamas and wearing the pink rabbit plush slippers Su Wu had bought for her, she pitter-pattered to open the door. “Sister Su, did you forget the password?”

When the door opened, the person standing there was Meng Xi.

Su Wu was leaning crookedly, half her body draped over Meng Xi.

“This is…?” Shen You’an asked.

Meng Xi let out an “Ouch.” “She’s drunk. I don’t know what kind of madness she’s in; she suddenly drank a lot.”

Su Wu gave a blurry hum and a laugh. “I’m happy, I like drinking, what’s it to you?”

Meng Xi gave Shen You’an a look. “See? She’s quite drunk.”

“Where are her slippers? Change her into them,” Meng Xi said.

Shen You’an: “No need, Sister Meng Xi. Let’s help her in first.”

She stepped forward to help, and together with Meng Xi, they placed Su Wu on the sofa.

Meng Xi raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead. “I give up. I am never drinking with her again. This lousy tolerance. Old Su, what’s wrong with you? Is your tolerance gone now that you’re older?”

Meng Xi complained, “She wasn’t like this before; she could drink quite a bit. Later, after she got a stomach ailment, she basically didn’t touch alcohol. She suddenly asked me for a drink today; I thought she still had her old skills, but—haha, call it my bad luck.”

“Xiao An, I’m leaving her to you to look after. Your Sister Meng Xi hasn’t had enough fun yet; I’m heading to a second round.”

Meng Xi waved her hand, leaving her words along with Su Wu’s bag and car keys on the sofa, and turned to leave.

Shen You’an looked at the woman before her.

Drunkenness added a rare flush to her face; her eyes were hazy, devoid of her usual shrewdness and clarity.

She really wanted to ask Su Wu why she appeared at the boxing ring today and who she was helping Meng Xi look for, but asking would be like a self-confession. To this, Shen You’an could only play dumb.

“A-jie.” She knelt in front of Su Wu and called out.

Su Wu didn’t respond.

Shen You’an waved her hand twice in front of her.

“Sister Su?”

Her fingers were suddenly grabbed.

Su Wu looked at her and said, “I’m not drunk.”

Shen You’an chuckled. “Drunkards always say that.”

Su Wu tilted her head and said nothing, lifting her eyelids to look at her. Her gaze was unfocused, and her soul seemed as scattered as a ghost.

“I’ll help you take your shoes off first. I’ll take your silence as agreement, otherwise, it’ll be easy to fall later.”

She looked at the woman’s high heels—pointed, black leather, elegant and stylish.

Shen You’an reached out cautiously, touching the slender ankle; the small black buckle hung loosely. She lifted Su Wu’s calf, placing it on her own knee, and used this posture to take off the black high heels.

“I’m sorry.” The woman leaning on the sofa, clutching an off-white rabbit-fur pillow, suddenly spoke.

Shen You’an looked up, puzzled.

Su Wu’s gaze was still not clear.

Just like the full moon behind the clouds Shen You’an had seen today—hazy and difficult to understand, making it impossible to see through.

“A-jie, you’ve recognized the wrong person.” Shen You’an massaged Su Wu’s slightly reddened ankle, then reached for her other foot to change her shoe, while saying, “I am You’an, no one else. You don’t need to apologize to me.”

Su Wu stared at her, silent.

She felt like she was playing house now. Usually, her and Su Wu’s roles were reversed; at this moment, she had become the caregiver.

Drunk Su Wu was very well-behaved and cute.

She didn’t talk much and liked to look at people with her head tilted, like a cat observing.

“Headache?” Shen You’an saw Su Wu raising her hand to rub her temples.

Su Wu nodded.

Shen You’an stood up quickly. “I’ll get you some water.”

After a while, she brought back lukewarm water and warm milk.

“I don’t have experience either. I saw online that drinking plenty of water and milk both help, so I brought both.”

Su Wu said thank you and took the cups from Shen You’an’s hand, holding one in each hand as if she were going to drink them all in one go.

Shen You’an was startled and stopped her. “Sister Su, drink slowly.”

Su Wu stared at her.

Shen You’an: “…What?”

Su Wu: “What did you call me?”

Still thinking about this even while drunk?

Shen You’an whispered, “A-jie.”

Su Wu: “Mhm.”

She gave a response, lowered her head, and finished the milk in small sips.

“Thank you,” Su Wu said. “I feel much better now.”

Shen You’an breathed a sigh of relief. “Glad it helps.”

Su Wu looked at her and suddenly patted the sofa beside her. Shen You’an was puzzled, but by the time she realized it, she had instinctively sat down.

Su Wu noticed her instinct, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

“How was your outing today?” Su Wu asked.

Perhaps due to the alcohol, Su Wu’s voice had a more gravelly texture than usual—long and soft, like silk or chocolate syrup.

“It was good,” Shen You’an said. “I went to find Meng Dongdong.” This was the truth.

“Where did you go to play?” Su Wu asked again.

Shen You’an’s hand by her leg tightened slightly as she told Su Wu, “We walked around near her school.” This was also the truth. “I… I’m considering school, so Dongdong took me for a walk around the school.” A lie.

“You want to go to school?” Su Wu leaned sideways against the super soft and solid pillow behind her, her head resting lazily on her forearm, while her other hand tidied the stray hairs near Shen You’an’s face.

Shen You’an’s back straightened unconsciously.

“Still considering it.” Actually, she hadn’t thought about it at all.

Going to school now would mean repeating the third year of high school.

After ten years in the apocalypse, she had forgotten almost everything she was supposed to learn.

If she had a choice, Shen You’an absolutely didn’t want to suffer the bitterness of the college entrance exam again.

“I know Beichen International.” Su Wu seemed to be playing with her hair, using her index finger to wind Shen You’an’s long hair into a circle, slowly coiling it around her fingertip, then unwinding it bit by bit in the opposite direction, letting the strands scatter. “That school has a guest student system. Even with your current identity, you can enroll. As for later, whether you plan to take the college entrance exam or study abroad, you can consider it further.”

“The college entrance exam is a bit troublesome; education procedures and paperwork need to be reprocessed. For studying abroad, different regions have different requirements. As I mentioned before, NYA—they accept students who pass the equivalency certification exams.”

Shen You’an said, “A-jie, you really don’t seem drunk.”

Su Wu was amused by this sentence that jumped out of the topic. She looked at her with deep eyes. “I told you.”

“A drunk person’s mind wouldn’t be this clear,” Shen You’an said. “You remember these things so clearly.”

“Right.” Su Wu’s mouth turned up in a proud smile. “I remember everything very clearly.”

Fine. Shen You’an looked at her and thought, Su Wu is indeed drunk.

If she weren’t drunk, Su Wu wouldn’t speak this way, nor would she smile like this.

They say truth comes out after drinking…

Meng Dongdong’s words to her at the boxing ring flashed through Shen You’an’s mind.

She hesitated, her fingertips brushing the surface of the sofa. She looked at Su Wu several times before finally asking, “A-jie, why are you so good to me?”

“Hmm?” Su Wu seemed baffled by this question, her beautiful brows furrowing.

“I heard that you don’t like the Shen family.”

Su Wu: “Meng Dongdong told you?”

Shen You’an: “…That’s not the point.” She really didn’t want to sell out Meng Dongdong.

“She’s right.” Su Wu looked at Shen You’an, her cold eyes like a field of snow. “I don’t like most of the Shen family.”

“In my business plan, annexing the Shen family is part of it.”

Su Wu was too quick and blunt with her confession. Shen You’an was stunned, unsure how to respond for a moment.

After a while, she heard herself asking painfully, “Then what about my sister? Shen Huaijin, aren’t you friends?”

Su Wu’s hand lingering on Shen You’an’s hair paused for a moment.

She withdrew her fingertips.

“We are friends,” she said. “Before your accident.”

Shen You’an’s heart suddenly tightened. “…What does that mean?”

Su Wu raised her hand to brush her hair back, pinched her brow, and after letting out a breath, said, “Shen Huaijin hates me.”

“Of course, I deserve it.”

“You set out on the mountain path to pray for my mother.” Su Wu crossed her hands in front of her. She lowered her head, staring at her hands, which were tightening as she spoke. “If there were no such cause, there would be no subsequent effect.”

“She hates me, and I completely agree.”

“Even I feel that I should take responsibility for your death.”

“That’s not it at all!” Without thinking, Shen You’an moved forward and grasped Su Wu’s tightly intertwined fingers, enveloping the skin that was almost as cold as ice. “It has nothing to do with you! It was my own decision to go up the mountain!”

“So, when I found you in Luoshui Town… Shen You’an, I felt it was fate.”

Su Wu slowly looked up. “Now is the time for me to take responsibility.”

“Of course, it’s not just responsibility.” The woman raised her hand, her fingertips stroking Shen You’an’s features, which were frozen in shock. “I have always envied Shen Huaijin for having a sister like you.”

“So when you call me A-jie, You’an, I am very happy.”

The heavy rain was still falling, the curtain of rain washing away the mist on the distant mountains. Behind the thick mist, there was an unseen softness.

Shen You’an felt she had taken a step into the mist and saw a step more clearly.

“It’s not your fault,” she said very seriously. “Su Wu, I have never blamed anyone for this, so don’t blame yourself.”

“You don’t need to be responsible for me.”

“But I want to,” Su Wu said resolutely. “You’an, I want to do this.”

“I didn’t tell you these things before because… I didn’t know how to start.” Su Wu lowered her eyes, her lashes seeming to tremble. “Now that I can tell you, I feel relieved.”

“You’an, in business, I still won’t leave a chance for the Shen family. In this matter, I have my goals.”

“You have absolute right of choice.” Su Wu said softly, “If you don’t want to see me again, that’s completely fine. I will still arrange everything related to you.”

Shen You’an’s mind was in a mess now.

“Will you do anything to the Shen family?” she asked.

Su Wu said, “I’m just changing the person in charge for the Shen family. Since… that happened, your mother stepped back from the front line and hardly participates in company affairs. Your father also took a part of the industry when they divorced. What remains now is managed by your uncle.”

“Uncle?” Shen You’an was very confused. “Uncle, I remember he used to dislike these things the most.”

“You’an, for some people, some things might not be a matter of disliking, but rather not being allowed to like.” Su Wu said with deep meaning, “Money, power, and sex are poisons. For some people, once they touch them, they can’t let go.”

“The Shen Group has basically been on a downward slope since Shen Run took over. Shen Huaijin lets it go, and you know your mother’s situation. In my view, rather than letting this big tree rot in place, it’s better to dig up the roots and transplant it to soil more suitable for growth.”

“…You mean, Glimmer?”

“Mhm.” Su Wu nodded. “Of course, the above is just my plan and goal. Currently, Shen Huaijin and Aunt Shen both rely on Shen family shares for income; I won’t touch that. Or rather, after removing the bone and poison for the Shen family, what they hold will be more valuable.”

“Shen You’an, to your question, this is my full confession.”

Su Wu’s eyelids drooped, looking like she was waiting for a verdict.

Shen You’an was thinking.

As for her uncle, Shen Run, Shen You’an didn’t have very deep feelings for him. In her memory, her uncle loved the two sisters very much; every time they met, he would bring them gifts and red envelopes. But her uncle’s time in the country wasn’t long, and besides those brief meetings, Shen You’an didn’t have many chances to spend time with him.

Shen Run stayed abroad after studying and got married there, immersing himself in academia.

Shen You’an vaguely remembered that his wife was the daughter of some tycoon. She met Shen Run while studying abroad, and they had a son, who was Shen You’an’s cousin. Shen You’an hadn’t met him; every time her uncle returned to the country, he came back alone.

Putting it back ten years, Shen You’an would never have thought that her uncle would one day become the head of the Shen Group.

If the Shen Group were taken over by Su Wu due to her uncle’s mismanagement…

“Look at you, what are you thinking?” Su Wu flicked Shen You’an’s forehead. Shen You’an winced and raised a hand to cover her forehead. “We are all legal and compliant business wars.”

“Like, watering the money tree?”

“…Actually, much more normal than that.”

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Su Wu’s confession actually settled Shen You’an’s heart and gave her a sigh of relief. If Su Wu wanted to do something, there was no need to tell her these things.

Su Wu changed her posture, pulling a pillow into her arms, her chin resting on the soft rabbit-fur pillow. She looked at her, her eyes moist and filled with a testing glimmer. “So, You’an, are you still willing to treat me as an older sister?”

This question—

Shen You’an inexplicably wanted to scream, but she didn’t know exactly why. It might be because God suddenly stuffed a yellow red-crested screaming chicken into her throat.

She didn’t know why her cheeks were burning because of this sentence; she even stumbled a bit when answering.

“You are older than me, you were… you were always a sister.”

Right.

Shen You’an convinced herself.

She was always a sister!

That logic was sound!

Ten years ago, she was three years younger than Su Wu; she should call her “sister.” Now there’s a thirteen-year difference; calling her “auntie” would be more than enough! To be honest, what’s wrong with her calling Su Wu “A-jie” now?! This was unquestionable! Perfectly natural!

What on earth was she feeling guilty about!

She had no reason to feel guilty!!

“As you wish.” Su Wu squeezed her palm. “In that case, don’t ask a question like that again in the future.”

“What question?”

“Why I’m so good to you.”

“I know…!”

Shen You’an’s face was inexplicably a bit red.

Su Wu lowered her head and said again, “You can’t blame yourself either.”

“…!”

“That was an irresistible accident.” Su Wu gripped Shen You’an’s hand tightly. “Shen You’an, you can blame anyone, but you cannot blame yourself.”

Shen You’an felt a momentary difficulty in breathing. She quickly adjusted. After that breath, she said with a smile, “A-jie, I won’t, don’t worry. I know, everything is God’s will.”

And God’s will is the hardest to resist.

Seeing her like this, Su Wu ruffled her head and let out a yawn.

“I’m going to shower.” She straightened her lazily lying body. “Thank you for taking care of me today, little one.”

Shen You’an muttered, “It’s only right for a younger sister to take care of her older sister.”

A flicker of a smile passed through Su Wu’s eyes. “Mhm, you’re right.”

She was right.

But—

Shen You’an also hadn’t expected to take care of her to this extent!

Su Wu went to shower, but there was no movement in the bathroom for a long time. After waiting for a while, Shen You’an worried she might have had an accident in the bathroom while drunk, so she went closer and knocked. Su Wu opened the door without much ceremony.

The buttons on the collar of her slate-grey jumpsuit were all undone, revealing a French black lace camisole inside. The full white curves appeared directly before Shen You’an; the shape was very firm. In the shadow, a golden necklace hung.

Because she bent over to undo something, the necklace fell forward a bit, swaying and tugging at one’s heart.

“I can’t undo it.” Su Wu irritably tugged at the white-gold belt at her waist.

Shen You’an’s ears were burning. She hurriedly said, “A-jie, let me help you. Don’t, don’t come out.” The curtains hadn’t been drawn yet.

Su Wu immediately raised both hands, like a kitten waiting to be cleaned, obediently raising its two front paws.

Mhm, stop.

Shen You’an called a halt to the messy associations in her mind.

She leaned forward, close to Su Wu, raising her hand to pick up the belt, studying how to undo this wraparound belt buckle.

Sizz—

The showerhead on the ceiling suddenly malfunctioned, shaking out a large amount of dense lukewarm water.

Shen You’an and Su Wu were both thoroughly drenched.

Shen You’an: “…”

Shen You’an’s heart was as still as ashes; she couldn’t imagine how disheveled she looked now. She lowered her head and quickly unbuckled the belt, then walked out, while still instructing, “You can’t soak in a hot shower for too long. It’s best to just rinse off. I’ve set a timer; I’ll come knock on the door to remind you later.”

“Together?”

Her wrist was grabbed.

Shen You’an looked back in disbelief. Su Wu looked at the almost transparent area on her chest, raised her eyes, and said casually, “You’re wet anyway.”

“You’an, the bathtub is very big.”