Tang Susu acknowledged that she wouldn’t be loved by everyone, but she had never met such a person who would instantly evaluate her as someone useless on their first meeting.
That shame hadn’t been forgotten even after so many years.
Tang Susu lowered her eyes and spoke in a quiet tone, "Uncle Bai, please take a good rest. If anything happens to you, the Bai family will be over."
These obviously malicious words made Bai Qi suddenly turn his head and glare at Tang Susu fiercely. "Shut up, you’re not in a position to speak here!"
Tang Susu didn't care. "And what can you do about it? Do you think that without Bai Mian, your dear son can inherit the family business? Quit dreaming."
"Susu!" Bai Le spoke, wanting to interrupt her.
Tang Susu was unmoved. She looked directly at Bai Qi, grinding out each and every word. "You’re probably getting old and your memory should be declining, since you’ve forgotten that everything about the Bai family belongs to Bai Mian, which no one else can lay their hands on."
“What else do you know?” Bai Qi sat on the bed, directing an icy-cold gaze towards Tang Susu.
"Many things. As long as I wanted to know, she would never keep it a secret. I even know that you’re allergic to flowers." Tang Susu smiled oddly and glanced at the vase of lilies on the windowsill.
"What exactly do you want to say?" Bai Qi's expression eased slightly.
"I’ve never heard that she has a boyfriend. How did you know?" She asked directly without beating around the bush.
Bai Qi was stunned for a moment. "You didn’t know?" The fact that the Bai family’s inheritance belonged to Bai Mian was known by no one except father and daughter. Since his daughter had even told Tang Susu this, which made Bai Qi very unhappy, it also gave him a trace of vigilance. To know these secrets showed that his daughter was undoubtedly very close to Tang Susu. Since she didn’t know about the existence of the boyfriend, what did this mean?
His daughter had hidden it from her, or… there was another plot.
Bai Qi turned his head to look at his son -- Bai Le -- who was standing next to the bed.
“Looks like Mr. Bai can understand my confusion.” Tang Susu turned to look towards Bai Le. Seeing that he was about to speak, she said, “Don’t tell me that you heard it from someone else. I won’t believe it.”
“But Susu, that is the truth.” Bai Le gazed at her with some sadness.
"Bai Le, you once approached the Bai Group’s shareholders two years ago and tried to buy their shares. Unfortunately, you failed and now you have nothing except the five percent of the shares your father gave you, right?"
“Susu, saying this is meaningless.” Bai Le’s expression was a little stiff. He didn’t dare to look his father in the eye.
"No, I just want you to know that your each and every move was never a secret. I have never misunderstood what kind of person you are. Trust me, if something happens to Bai Mian, even if you are Uncle Bai’s only son, you will never be able to become his heir. On the contrary, you will pay for your sister’s accident."
After Tang Susu finished speaking, Bai Le turned to look at his father, but his father didn’t return his gaze. The only answer was silence.
Bai Le felt coldness inside his heart and couldn't help but question, "Why?"
“Mian Mian is my one and only daughter. The Bai family can only be hers.”
“What if she’s not around?”
“Even if she’s not around, it still wouldn’t belong to you.”
Bai Qi’s words were cruel, especially to someone who was so ambitious. After fighting for so many years, Bai Le’s goal had never changed. He wanted the Bai Group, the Bai Group that rightfully belonged to Bai Mian.
He was also Bai Qi’s child, but why could Bai Mian own everything and not him? Bai Le was unhappy. He had planned so much just to snatch this from her!
But today, Bai Qi’s answer had pushed him into total despair.
So from the beginning till the end, he hadn’t stood a chance.
Tang Susu watched this father and son pair coldly. Bai Mian’s fate was slightly better than hers; she had a strong-willed mother who was willing to plan for her daughter.
Before her death, she hadn’t forgotten to give her daughter a guarantee. Mrs. Bai and Bai Qi were truly loving couples. Even before she left, she signed a contract with her husband on the hospital bed. That contract guaranteed Bai Mian’s benefits and also restricted Bai Le who had been raised outside.
If it hadn’t been for Bai Le's appearance, who would’ve known that such a good man would still have a son outside?
Tang Susu was sure that if there hadn’t been a contract, Bai Qi wouldn’t have investigated even after knowing that there were traces of his son’s involvement in Bai Mian’s escape from marriage. After all, even if his daughter was gone, he still had his son.
Rather than waiting for a man's conscience to awaken, it was better to count on a contract that grasped his lifeline. The late Mrs. Bai was the only one who had really understood Bai Qi.
“Bai Le, who on earth is Qi Yang?” Bai Qi looked at his son, his eyes carrying signs of disappointment.
He’d had high hopes for his son but his son had ended up being short-sighted and fixated on the Bai Group, which was a tiny corporation, and had even plotted against his sister for it.
He wasn’t very angry over the fact that his son was scheming against his daughter. In fact, he was angry that all this had been easily seen through.
Bai Qi couldn't help gritting his teeth when he glanced at Tang Susu, who was standing beside Shi Chengxuan, despite her weak presence. After not seeing her for a few years, he had underestimated the girl's ability.
Bai Le remained silent and didn’t say a single word.
"Uncle Bai, I'll leave first. If there’s news about Bai Mian, please notify me as soon as possible." The father and son probably didn’t want their conversation to be overheard by others. Tang Susu was also not interested; she just wanted to know the answers.
Actually, she hadn’t expected to ask anything coming here today. Her words earlier were just a blow to Bai Le. After all, regardless of the perspective, Bai Mian had escaped marriage and disappeared. The one who would benefit the most from this was Bai Le. She hadn’t expected this matter to really have something to do with him.
Until now, Shi Chengxuan hadn’t spoken. The two of them walked in silence for a while. Tang Susu seemed to sense something and looked up at him. She saw that the other party was staring at her with interest.
“What are you looking at?” Tang Susu couldn’t help but ask, her eyes flickering.
"The Bai family head isn’t a person who likes to take losses. Some words aren’t suitable to be spoken aloud."
Tang Susu’s lips twitched. She understood what Shi Chengxuan meant. It was really inappropriate to talk about Bai Mian's inheritance right in front of so many people, especially with Shi Chengxuan, an outsider.
"If I don't say it, the Bai family will give up Bai Mian under the pressure of the Shen family. I'm afraid that she’ll never come back." Others may think that Bai Mian ran away with someone, but Tang Susu, who knew the truth, wasn’t certain.
"Isn't it because you hate Bai Le?"
"This is, of course, one of the reasons. Bai Qi wants to treat his daughter as a whetstone for his son. But this should depend on whether his daughter is willing." He knew that Bai Le had no inheritance rights, yet still let him compete against Bai Mian. Tang Susu didn’t believe that Bai Qi was doing this for his daughter’s benefit.