Chapter Ten

Su Xiaobai didn't notice Qin Ming. Instead, she found a spot in the outdoor coffee area on the second floor, sat down to rest, and ordered a cappuccino. She then lowered her head and scrolled through her phone to pass the time.

To be honest, Su Bai had always been cold and distant. She didn't have any close friends, let alone best friends or soulmates. Looking at it from another angle, Su Bai had to rely on herself for everything. When something troubled her, she had to bury it deep inside because there was no one to talk to. In a sense, she was quite a lonely person.

Su Xiaobai couldn't change this reality. No matter how dissatisfied she was with Su Bai, she had to admit that Su Bai was still a part of her. On a deeper level, Su Xiaobai was just an escape mechanism, a personality that split off from Su Bai to avoid the pressures of society and responsibility.

While her cappuccino was sweet, her heart felt more bitter than anyone else's. Su Xiaobai seemed a little melancholic at this moment, her chin resting in one hand, the other hand absentmindedly stirring her drink.

Despite her gloomy mood, her appearance still attracted attention. By the time she sat down, the coffee area had already gathered a fair number of people. It was hard to tell how many were drawn to her, but the majority were single men. This made the women around her gossip.

Though these women were not particularly happy, they couldn't deny that Su Xiaobai was unbelievably beautiful.

Qin Ming stood across from her, arms crossed, gazing at Su Xiaobai with interest. From his angle, Su Xiaobai's curls were casually tossed to one side, exposing her smooth, flawless neck, which made her already fair skin seem even more radiant.

She was beautiful—no doubt about it—but also seductive. Every move she made exuded an alluring charm.

"Tch, how did I never realize that Su Miao's sister was this captivating? Is this really the same person?" Qin Ming squinted, pulling out his phone to focus on Su Xiaobai and take several pictures. After reviewing them, he picked the clearest ones and nodded in satisfaction.

However, the girl who had been following Qin Ming was not pleased. From the moment she saw him staring intently at another woman, she had followed his gaze. When she saw the stunning beauty of Su Xiaobai, jealousy began to creep into her heart. She couldn't help but frown, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "She's pretty, sure. But her chin looks like she had surgery to slim it down. Otherwise, how could her face be so small? And that skin... I bet she's had tons of whitening injections."

As she spoke, she watched Qin Ming's expression. He had a faint smile on his face, but his eyes held a cold, unreadable depth.

"Don't contact me anymore. We're done. The things you bought today will be paid for by me, as a reward for your company," Qin Ming said, turning his back without looking at her again.

The girl was left standing, her face a mix of regret and panic.

They say men are heartless, but these rich playboys took it to the extreme. They would invest in luxury for the sake of fun, but never in emotions—never a single penny.

The girl knew she had no chance left. She clenched her teeth and shot a fierce glare at the red-dressed beauty across the room.

Qin Ming had originally planned to approach Su Xiaobai, to confirm if she was really Su Miao's sister, but when he walked around to her table, he found that she was already gone, leaving only an unfinished cup of coffee behind.

Just as Qin Ming was feeling a little disappointed, his phone rang. Coincidentally, it was Su Miao calling.

As soon as he picked up, Su Miao's lazy and carefree voice came through.

"Qin Ming, same as usual tonight, Hive Bar."

Ever since Su Bai got married, Su Miao had been in a bad mood. Qin Ming knew it was because he felt sorry for his sister. After the incident with the parking lot surveillance video, these young masters had secretly investigated Fang Cheng's private life. Following a small clue, they had actually uncovered quite a bit.

It turned out that while Fang Cheng had been dating Su Bai over the years, he had also kept several young models on the side. Most of these relationships were fleeting flings, but Fang Cheng was generous, and the women he "pampered" were all living quite well now.

However, this time, Fang Cheng's mistress was a little different. It was said that the woman was also someone Gong Zheng had his eyes on, and the two men were secretly clashing over her.

Su Miao, Qin Ming, and the others had known about the troubles between Fang Cheng and Gong Zheng for a while. It wasn't just them—everyone in the circle knew, especially since Fang Cheng was supposed to be Su Miao's brother-in-law.

After they uncovered all of Fang Cheng's mess, Xiao Xiao even suggested that Su Miao tell Su Bai about it. Su Miao had always been opposed to his sister marrying Fang Cheng, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to expose him. According to his sister's temperament, she would definitely fall out with Fang Cheng. But to everyone's surprise, Su Miao was the first to oppose this idea.

The truth was, Su Miao wasn't completely without such thoughts. If he wanted to break up his sister's marriage to Fang Cheng, it was like stepping on a landmine—he knew it would blow up. But Su Miao didn't want to do that because he couldn't understand why Su Bai had married Fang Cheng in the first place. After all, in the parking lot video, Su Bai couldn't have failed to recognize Fang Cheng, but she chose to hide it all.

Su Miao thought for several days and even tried probing Su Bai a few times. After some reflection, he came to a conclusion that made him feel both frustrated and heartbroken—Su Bai loved Fang Cheng.

Only a woman who truly loved a man would tolerate everything, even allowing him to be unfaithful.

Su Miao knew how proud Su Bai was, and it made him so angry to see her willing to endure this. But as angry as he was, Su Miao still couldn't bring himself to ruin his sister's wedding. Moreover, Fang Cheng was quick to act, and he had already managed to marry her. For now, Su Miao could only think of another way. Recently, he had been keeping an eye on Zhang Tingting to gather evidence of Fang Cheng's infidelity.

When Qin Ming arrived at Hive Bar, he was already half an hour late. As soon as he pushed open the door to the private room, he saw Su Miao, Xiao Xiao, and a few others sitting there. Except for Su Miao, everyone had a young woman beside them, and they were having a great time. Su Miao seemed to be in a good mood, watching the others play games, while he casually crossed his legs and smoked.

"Yo, you're here. Drink three shots as punishment, we've been waiting for you," Su Miao said with a grin. "Hey, Li Li, right? Pour Qin Da Shao some drinks. Make sure you fill it up, don't let him off easy."

"Xiao Xiao, be careful, the retribution might come back to you," Qin Ming chuckled, giving Xiao Xiao a playful glare, but still took the glass and downed it in one go.

Qin Ming casually chose a seat beside Su Miao and sat down. Just then, a few people came into the room—two young women, likely here to accompany drinks. When Qin Ming noticed the headwaiter about to speak, he simply waved his hand. The headwaiter, a shrewd man, immediately smiled and nodded, quickly ushering the two women out. The other girls, seeing the atmosphere, also left without a word.

Most of the people working in the bar, especially the girls who accompany drinks, knew the "rules"—they understood that the young masters were about to discuss something serious.

"What's going on? Why did everyone leave? We were just getting into the game," a young man frowned and complained.

Xiao Xiao didn't ask but instead poured a glass of wine and pushed it toward Qin Ming, eagerly waiting for him to speak. As for Su Miao, it seemed like he wasn't particularly interested. Recently, he had been completely focused on his sister's issues, paying little attention to anything else.

Seeing Su Miao like this, Qin Ming's lips curled into a dazzling smile. He opened his phone and brought up a few pictures he had taken earlier that afternoon, placing them on the coffee table for everyone to see.

Xiao Xiao was the most restless of the group. He immediately leaned forward to examine the photos. The first few pictures were just of the woman's back, and he raised an eyebrow, saying, "Nice figure and skin, but we can't see her face. Who knows what she looks like? Qin Ming, are you bored out of your mind taking these crappy photos? ... Huh?"

Xiao Xiao stopped mid-sentence and suddenly widened his eyes in disbelief. He quickly swiped his finger down the screen, then looked up and caught the knowing smile on Qin Ming's face. In a low voice, he muttered, "Damn, you couldn't even get a shot of her face, what's up with that?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, is this for real? Su Miao, isn't this your sister? Oh, wow, if you didn't zoom in, you wouldn't have been able to tell. She's... quite something," Xiao Xiao said, but he didn't dare finish the sentence. If he did, Su Miao would skin him alive—everyone knew how much Su Miao respected his sister.

As soon as the topic of Su Bai came up, Su Miao immediately grabbed his phone. After looking at several of the photos, his beautiful brows furrowed tighter.

Seeing this, Qin Ming hesitated for a moment and then said, "Maybe you're mistaken? It was just from a distance. Photos aren't always accurate, you know."

But this made Xiao Xiao laugh. "This photo is definitely of Su Miao's sister. You've never seen anyone look exactly like her? Don't make a big deal out of it. Maybe she's just out to relax, shopping and unwinding. Isn't that normal? Women like shopping for nice clothes. Why does she have to dress like she's in her twenties, all prim and proper?"

Xiao Xiao's words were rather blunt. Su Bai had always seemed like a woman with a cold, distant aura, as if wrapped up tightly, even in her youth.

"Su Miao, what do you plan to do about this? Do you think your sister found out about Fang Cheng's affairs and got a little shaken up?" Qin Ming hesitated before speaking openly.

Strangely, Su Miao remained silent. He just kept smoking, taking one drag after another, blowing out rings of smoke. His eyes, however, remained fixed on the photos, occasionally catching the red glow of the cigarette tip.

"Delete the photos." After a long silence, Su Miao finally spoke. Qin Ming and Xiao Xiao exchanged glances and could only nod in agreement.

Meanwhile, Su Bai, the subject of the photos, was parking her car in a particular alley. This location was one she had found after doing quite a bit of research online.

After getting out of the car, Su Bai followed the directions from the internet, walking through the maze-like alleys. It was easy to get lost in such a winding, complicated area, but fortunately, Su Bai had good luck. She asked a few elderly locals for directions, and soon enough, she found what she was looking for.

A small shop with peeling exterior walls stood before her. The wooden sign above the door had been there for who knows how many years, and it wobbled slightly, but the characters on the sign were still striking—Chen Ji Medicine Shop.