Night had fallen, and darkness shrouded the city from above, while the glow of neon lights illuminated the entire city. A gentle night breeze caressed the seductive night scene, creating an illusionary city that countless people found themselves deeply entrapped in, unable to extricate themselves.
As the most developed city in the Mainland, East Sea City had relatively good public security. While Chen Fan and Susan were bickering, several uniformed auxiliary police officers arrived at the scene of the incident.
When the auxiliary police learned that Susan had single-handedly subdued two thieves, they looked at her with admiration.
These non-established officers didn't earn high salaries and lacked a noble professional ethos. If they encountered armed criminals while they were alone, they wouldn't risk their lives for the meager monthly pay.
Yet, Susan had fought a life or death struggle against two thieves for a stranger who hadn't even said thank you—how could they not admire her?
In the face of the auxiliary police's admiring gazes, Susan wore a smug expression, her mouth almost curling up to the sky. The look she gave Chen Fan was full of provocation as if to say, "Coward, don't ever envy me. You won't get this kind of treatment in your lifetime!"
Looking at Susan's provocative gaze, Chen Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Ten minutes later, the auxiliary police took the two thieves away, and Chen Fan drove Susan home.
Although Susan's father, Su Qinghai, wasn't famous enough to make it into the Forbes rankings, he was still quite well-known in the East Sea Business Circle and possessed considerable wealth.
As an only daughter, Susan was a quintessential wealthy heiress. She bore a bit of the temper associated with rich young ladies but didn't flaunt her wealth. Her car wasn't a multimillion-dollar sports car but a Volkswagen CC, which was extremely popular at the time.
Perhaps due to the exhaustion of the afternoon, Susan fell asleep shortly after getting into the car.
The sleeping Susan wasn't as lively as when she was awake. She leaned against the back of the seat like a little wildcat, with her eyebrows relaxed and elongated, eyes slightly closed, long eyelashes dense and uniform, and her delicate little nose was topped with lips as soft as ripe cherries.
Although the traffic in East Sea was intricate and extensive, the sheer number of cars meant that congestion was still inevitable during peak times.
Not wanting to wake Susan, Chen Fan didn't use his insanely skilled driving to weave through traffic but drove incredibly smoothly instead.
Forty minutes later, their car arrived at the high-end residential complex where Chen Fan and Susan lived. Although it wasn't as famous as Tomson Riviera, the price wasn't much different, and those living there were either rich or noble.
After parking the car, Chen Fan gently tapped Susan's shoulder.
In her sleep, Susan frowned and swatted Chen Fan's hand away, continuing to sleep deeply.
"Damn, she sleeps more than a pig," Chen Fan muttered, though he didn't increase his force. He knew full well that being abruptly awakened could cause great harm to the body, especially the heart. Many people with heart conditions died in the morning, often because of this reason.
Half a minute later, Susan slowly opened her drowsy eyes, stretched a languorous and seductive stretch, and yawned a yawn so alluring it was lethal.
"Are we home yet?" Susan asked with a smile, seemingly very pleased that Chen Fan hadn't disturbed her sleep during the drive.
Chen Fan nodded with a smile, "Yeah."
"Dear, I'll leave the stuff in the car to you," Susan said sweetly, opened the car door, and left Chen Fan with her stylish exit.
Chen Fan shook his head with a wry smile, got out of the car, picked up the bags of items Susan had bought in the afternoon, and followed her.
"Hey, why is the light on at home? Could there be a thief?" Upon leaving the parking lot, Susan immediately noticed the light inside the apartment she shared with Chen Fan and cried out in surprise.
Chen Fan's hands full of bags, he heard Susan's remark and replied irritably, "A thief, my foot! I think you've got thieves on your mind after catching two today. Do you really think any thief would be dumb enough to turn on all the lights when robbing a place?"
"Could it be Aunt Tian is back?" Reminded by Chen Fan, Susan seemed to realize something and her face lit up with excitement.
Originally, once Susan's parents learned that Chen Fan was coming to study at East Sea, they forced Susan to practice her cooking skills. However, Susan truly lacked talent in that area, so, having no choice, her parents had hired a nanny for the two of them.
The Aunt Tian Susan mentioned was their nanny, specifically responsible for their daily domestic life.
Two days ago, Aunt Tian's daughter suddenly had a high fever that wouldn't go down, so Chen Fan let Aunt Tian go home to take care of her daughter. He hadn't expected her to return so quickly.
"Miss, Young Master Chen, I tried calling you, but couldn't get through. Just to be safe, I still made dinner. Have you eaten?" Aunt Tian, hearing the sound of the door opening, hurried out of the kitchen, wiping the sweat from her forehead, and smiling as she spoke. Behind her in the dining room lingered an appetizing aroma, and the table was set with four dishes and a soup.
Susan, in a rather unladylike manner, kicked off her crystal sandals and, barefooted, said with a face full of joy, "Aunt Tian, it's so good that you're back. You have no idea how awful the food Chen Fan cooked was these past two days."
"Aunt Tian, sorry, both Susan's and my phones were dead. By the way, is your daughter feeling better?" Chen Fan, unusually not bickering with Susan, asked with a touch of concern.
Susan's mother had not spared any effort in selecting nannies for them, and after meticulous consideration, she ultimately chose Aunt Tian.
According to Susan's mother, Aunt Tian was currently single, with a daughter who attended a prestigious school in East Sea City. This wasn't because Aunt Tian's family was wealthy. On the contrary, they were very poor. Aunt Tian's daughter could attend the elite school because the school didn't charge her tuition fees.
Under the light, Aunt Tian seemed not to have expected Chen Fan to ask such a question and was momentarily stunned, as an expression of surprise appeared on her wrinkled face.
Even though the unrelenting years had erased the beauty that once belonged to Aunt Tian, Chen Fan could tell that in her youth she must have been a beauty.
A beautiful woman who remained unmarried, raising her daughter on her own, Chen Fan knew without asking that Aunt Tian must have her own story. Since Aunt Tian didn't speak of it, Chen Fan naturally wouldn't ask.
"Thank you for your concern, Young Master Chen. My daughter is better now." After a long pause, a sense of gratitude surged in Aunt Tian's eyes, as if she hadn't been cared for like this in a very long time.
Chen Fan just smiled and didn't say much more.
After dinner, Chen Fan returned to his study alone, and Susan was about to take a bath and put on a face mask when she received a call from Su Qinghai.
"Dad, you remembered to call me? I thought you'd forgotten about me, hmph!" As soon as the call connected, Susan cooed as usual.
On the other end of the line, Su Qinghai chuckled, "Isn't Chen Fan with you?"
"Dad, it was fine not to mention that jerk, but as soon as you do, I get angry!" Susan huffed.
Su Qinghai was taken aback, "What happened? Did you two have a fight?"
"Fight? Dad, arguing with that jerk is a daily routine for me; I'm used to it," Susan pouted, grumbling.
Su Qinghai was immediately puzzled, "Then why are you mad?"
"Aren't we starting school tomorrow? This afternoon, I went shopping with him, and on the way back we encountered a thief. I went to grab the thief, and that coward hid behind and watched the whole scene." As Susan spoke, she wished she could rush over to Chen Fan and kick him twice. She continued angrily, "You have no idea how dangerous it was at that time. After I took down one thief, another one with a knife tried to disfigure me and almost cut my leg."
Hearing Susan's words, Su Qinghai's expression changed slightly, "You're saying a thief with a knife almost cut your leg?"
"Yeah, I kicked the guy's wrist with a side kick, and he swung the knife towards my leg. I don't know why, but suddenly the knife flew out of his hand and I ended up breaking his wrist with a kick." As Susan recalled the incident, she realized that the thief's knife had slipped from his own hand, not because she had kicked it away.
After hearing Susan's explanation, Su Qinghai quickly grasped the situation, and his furrowed brow relaxed. He said cheerfully, "That thief must have been scared by my precious daughter. My baby girl is a red belt in Taekwondo."
"That's right! Dad, you wouldn't believe it. There were dozens of onlookers, but not one dared to intervene. Just a couple of moves from me, and both thieves were covered in blossoming bruises…" Upon receiving Su Qinghai's praise, Susan wore a triumphant expression, as if she were a reincarnated martial arts master.
Su Qinghai simply listened quietly and did not interrupt her before hanging up the call. Then he lit a cigarette.
The thick smoke encircled Su Qinghai's face, obscuring his expression. He seemed to fall into a reminiscence and remained still for a long while.
After some time, Su Qinghai felt a pain in his finger and looked up to realize that the cigarette had burnt down to the filter.
He gently tossed the butt into an ashtray and slowly stood up, walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows, and gazing at the dark northern sky, he softly said, "Silly child, how could a man from the Chen Family possibly be a coward?"
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