Gathering Together

On a certain bus.

"Are they home?"

Li Guanqi gazed out the window at the passing scenery, her eyes tinged with worry and confusion.

Su Cheng had said "they."

That definitely meant more than one person.

It could refer to the master-servant pair, or even more likely, three people—Gu Ruoxue might be there too.

Li Guanqi's mind churned like turbulent waves. If so, it seemed as though they had already reached an agreement during their afternoon conversation, deciding to go to Su Cheng's home together.

"They should be, right?"

Su Cheng, sitting beside her, lowered his head in thought before answering hesitantly.

"We'll know once we get back."

"Got it."

Li Guanqi forced a calm reply, but the uncertainty in his words didn’t bring her the reassurance she hoped for. Instead, it weighed heavier on her heart, stirring a tangled mess of emotions.

Su Cheng's phrasing was too deliberate—it hinted that some people might be staying over. Otherwise, why would he insist on her staying the night?

If they really were going to stay…

An inexplicable unease settled in Li Guanqi’s chest. Her relationship with the other three girls was already awkwardly delicate, and now she had to face this situation. Just thinking about how to interact with them felt like an impossible challenge.

What role should she take?

What stance or reason could she use to face them?

But more than anything, she wanted to know—why had they chosen to stay at Su Cheng’s place?

Especially Ji Qingyi and Gu Ruoxue. The two rarely appeared together, let alone visited Su Cheng’s home at the same time. Why today?

And with clear intentions to stay overnight.

The more Li Guanqi pieced together from Su Cheng’s words, the more dire the situation seemed.

A faint pallor crept over her face as a terrifying possibility struck her.

Maybe… Su Cheng was planning something big.

Otherwise, there was no explaining Ji Qingyi and Gu Ruoxue’s sudden behavioral shift. These two, who usually couldn’t stand each other, were now acting in sync—making the baffling decision to stay over at Su Cheng’s place.

Lost in her thoughts, Li Guanqi’s bright eyes dulled, as if all vitality had drained from her in an instant.

Fortunately, she had a way to avoid facing this alone.

—Call Cornelia.

With that thought, Li Guanqi instinctively reached into her bag for her phone, glancing at Su Cheng beside her as she did.

Su Cheng was also texting someone.

Seizing the opportunity, she pulled out her phone, quickly pulled up Cornelia’s contact, and typed out a message without hesitation.

Li Guanqi: "Su Cheng’s place is going to be packed tonight. I heard Su Yue is there too."

Cornelia’s reply came almost instantly.

Cornelia: "Su Yue? You mean Su Yue-jie?!"

Li Guanqi: "Yes, exactly."

Cornelia: "Wait for me, I’m on my way!"

Relief washed over her at the confirmation—at least she wouldn’t be fighting this battle alone. Though she felt slightly guilty for throwing Liu Qingyue under the bus, she hoped the two could reconcile when they met again.

Tucking her phone away, she turned back to Su Cheng. He was still engrossed in his own conversation, seemingly oblivious to her actions.

This only deepened her unease.

"Who are you texting so intently?"

Li Guanqi ventured cautiously, her eyes tracing the lines of Su Cheng’s profile. A flicker of nervousness passed through her—would he brush her off or react badly?

But Su Cheng’s response took her by surprise. He glanced up, flashed her a bright smile, and handed her his phone without a word.

"Huh?"

Li Guanqi froze. She hadn’t expected this—she wasn’t prepared to snoop through his messages.

Despite her confusion, she didn’t take the phone immediately. Instead, she pulled out her own and offered it to him.

"Now it’s fair."

Her voice was soft.

Even so, she had no intention of invading his privacy. She just wanted to see his phone’s wallpaper.

After all, hers had always been that photo of them together under the peach blossom pavilion.

And so, they swapped phones.

Li Guanqi glanced at the screen—a picture of the two of them.

Just as she was about to lock it, satisfied, a new notification popped up.

Ding—

Ling Ning: "You’re really something, junior."

The sheer weight of that message struck her like lightning. Her hand stiffened, her pupils dilating in shock. For a long moment, she sat frozen before slowly turning to Su Cheng, her voice trembling with disbelief.

"You… you…"

………………………………………

The villa district.

At this moment, Cornelia, who was agonizing over which three Su Cheng figurines to give Xuan Ying as a birthday gift, received a message from Li Guanqi.

Upon reading it, she froze briefly before immediately replying and dropping everything to rush downstairs, eager to meet Sister Su Yue!

Yes, another one of Su Cheng’s sisters!

Aside from Sister Xue, this was another sister who had been especially kind to Su Cheng!

Last time, Su Yue had left without a word, leaving no contact information. Later, Cornelia had gone to search for her at the rural orphanage, only to find no trace of her.

Though unsuccessful, luckily, she had found another sister instead.

Now, this mysterious sister had reappeared, filling Cornelia with excitement—but even more so with curiosity and confusion.

She decided to ask her face-to-face!

"Where are you going?"

Mrs. William, busy in the kitchen, couldn’t help but ask when she heard the hurried footsteps from upstairs.

"Su Cheng’s sister is here!" Cornelia shouted excitedly as she descended the stairs.

"Huh? Wait for me!"

Stunned by her words, Mrs. William set aside her kitchen tools, removed her apron, wiped her hands, and approached her daughter, who had paused mid-step.

"I’ll go alone. I can’t wait—she might leave soon."

Though Cornelia had stopped, she refused her mother’s request to accompany her.

Mrs. William frowned disapprovingly. "You silly girl… This sister once looked after you. How could I, as your mother, not pay her a visit?"

"Mom…" Cornelia whined, trying to dissuade her.

"Wait for me. I need to change and freshen up."

Mrs. William shook her head, cutting her off with a firm tone. "You should change too. Going to visit someone in pajamas? That’s no way to show manners."

"But I just want to see Sister Su Yue now," Cornelia replied anxiously.

"Su Yue?"

Mrs. William paused, then raised an eyebrow. "Not Sister Xue, the one from the orphanage who gave you the figurines?"

"No, it’s the earlier one—Sister Su Yue!" Cornelia quickly clarified. "She was a caretaker at the orphanage, older than Sister Xue, probably in her twenties. She’s really pretty~ And we were super close!"

"Oh, I remember now."

Mrs. William’s expression cleared. "The one you went searching for in the countryside but couldn’t find, only to end up meeting Sister Xue instead?"

"Yes, exactly! And Su Cheng’s place also has Li Guanqi. We’re all around the same age—you being there would just make things awkward."

Cornelia explained urgently, tugging at Mrs. William’s sleeve and swaying back and forth.

"Oh, you little rascal."

Mrs. William sighed in amusement but relented. "At least change your clothes first. If you don’t reply to my messages, I’ll come looking for you, understand?"

"Got it!"

Overjoyed, Cornelia dashed back upstairs to her bedroom, changed into casual wear, and slipped on a pair of adorable snow-white knee-high socks. After scrutinizing herself in the mirror, she nodded in satisfaction, grabbed her phone, and left the villa.

The distance was so short that within ten minutes, Cornelia arrived at the apartment building where Su Cheng lived.

Her heart pounding with excitement, she took the elevator up and soon stood outside Su Cheng’s door.

"Is she home?"

She took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and knocked three times before anxiously waiting.

One minute passed, then two… but there was no response.

Cornelia wrinkled her delicate nose and pouted in confusion. "No one’s home?"

"But Li Guanqi said she was here!"

Muttering to herself, she knocked again—but still, no answer.

Her mood quickly soured.

After repeating this three times with no luck, she finally contacted Li Guanqi.

Cornelia: "There’s literally no one home!"

Yet Li Guanqi, too, remained silent for a long while.

"Yaya, are you home?"

In desperation, she even called out for Yaya—but not even a bird replied.

Just as she was at a loss, wondering whether to call Li Guanqi directly, a reply finally came through.

Li Guanqi: "Sorry, we’re out right now but will be back soon. You can wait inside—you have a key, right?"

Reading this, Cornelia smacked her own forehead in frustration. In her haste, she had forgotten to bring the key.

"Wait, no. Didn’t Su Cheng change the door lock recently?"

She recalled that the last time she’d come to deliver soup, Su Cheng’s lock had been broken, and she couldn’t open it no matter how hard she tried.

The old key shouldn’t work anymore, right?

But this lock looks exactly like the old one…

Still baffled, Cornelia asked Li Guanqi again and learned that the old key still worked, so she resumed her search for it at home.

After much effort, she finally managed to open the door to Su Cheng’s apartment and collapsed onto the couch, panting heavily.

“Whew… I’m exhausted.”

Cornelia sprawled on the sofa, but before she could catch her breath, she heard the sound of someone unlocking the door. She immediately scrambled up to answer it.

However, before she could reach the door, she slipped in her frantic haste, landing flat on her back with a thud. Her cute slippers flew off her feet and sailed toward the entrance.

“Creak—”

The heavy metal door swung open.

Liu Qingyue instinctively caught the slippers with one hand, staring in astonishment at Cornelia, who was now sprawled on the floor in an undignified heap.