Chapter 2 Never Abandon, Never Forget

After wandering about for half a month, Xue Zuining ultimately followed Elder Su to Yunnan.

Ever since the incident involving the trailing vehicle, everyone had been on high alert. Unless absolutely necessary, Xue Zuining had to stay quietly in her room, which was the safest course of action.

Opening the window of their residence in Yunnan, one was greeted by the serene and tranquil Erhai Lake, guarding this magical land like a mother. In the distance, towering mountains gave birth to thousands of rivers, nourishing the hardworking people of this earth.

When Su Yi arrived, all he saw was a focused yet languid woman leaning against a rattan sofa, her pen sketching something. Stepping closer, he realized Xue Zuining was copying the distant scenery.

"Not bad."

This brief appraisal made Xue Zuining turn her head abruptly, only to find Su Yi's enlarged face filling her field of vision.

"Why are you here?" Seeing this man—who had been as elusive as a dragon whose tail is never seen—suddenly appear before her, Xue Zuining felt a strange sensation well up in her heart. She wanted to ask him for news about *that* man, but she didn't know how to broach the subject.

Su Yi raised an eyebrow, took her sketchbook, and flipped through a few pages. Most of the works were landscapes, but when he turned to the last page, his gaze shifted abruptly from the drawing to Xue Zuining's face.

At first, Xue Zuining didn't understand the look in the man's eyes, but she soon remembered what was on that page. She stood up and reached out to snatch it back.

Su Yi, however, deliberately held his hand high, his peach-blossom eyes crinkling upwards as if immensely pleased at having caught someone red-handed. "Didn't you say you wanted to make a clean break? Didn't you say you would never pay attention to that man again? Well then, my fair beauty Xue, explain to me why you're secretly drawing portraits of him?"

Faced with his deliberate teasing, Xue Zuining found herself momentarily lost for words to retort.

Watching her flounder for a comeback, Su Yi was utterly delighted. This woman was nothing if not hypocritical; look at her—she was clearly longing for him intensely in her heart, yet on the surface, she still tried to put on an air of complete indifference.

Fine then, keep up your stubborn denial like a boiled goose. I have plenty of ways to make you obediently confess.

"Hey, tell me, why are you here just to provoke me? When did you, Lord Su, become so idle you've nothing better to do?" Xue Zuining sat down, took a sip of water to calm her nerves, and looked up at him leisurely. "Besides, if you're here to act as a lobbyist, you'd better watch your step."

"I need to watch my step?"

"That's right. Watch out that Grandpa doesn't skin you alive and pull your tendons for acting as a rebellious, disobedient good brother."

"Heh, I doubt that. You can rest easy. As for me, I didn't come all the way here to waste my breath." Composed and unfazed, Su Yi deliberately pulled out a red invitation card. "In a few days, it's Lu Huaining's wedding. I'm just here to invite the old man to see if he'll attend. After all, the friendship between our two families goes back a long way; we can't afford to be discourteous."

"A wedding? Lu Huaining is getting married?!" Xue Zuining bristled like a cat whose fur had been rubbed the wrong way.

"You didn't know?" Su Yi crossed his arms and looked at her. "He proposed in America a week ago. The bride-to-be is rumored to be Ning Cairu. You've met her, you know."

Xue Zuining frowned, ignoring him entirely as she turned to walk straight out the door.

Su Yi quickly blocked her path. "Hey, where are you going? The man is finally stepping into the halls of matrimony—you're not planning to go and snatch the groom, are you?"

"I wouldn't do that." Xue Zuining glanced at him and suddenly smiled. "I'm just going to skin him alive, that's all."