Su Yang had been suppressing this panic deep in her heart. On her way back just now, she had already made up her mind to have an open and honest talk with Xu Lize.
However, just as she started to voice the speech she had rehearsed in her mind, Xu Lize interrupted her indifferently.
"I'm not interested in what this is all about. But I think since we've got our marriage certificate today, we're legally married. Some things need to be clarified."
Su Yang was taken aback. She opened her mouth and looked up at Xu Lize, only to find that the man in front of her suddenly seemed like a stranger.
"I won't interfere or dig into your past. I'll also talk to Su Quansheng about Su Qian and ask him to keep her from bothering you. But from today on, you're Mrs. Xu. Your words and actions represent mine. Su Yang, I hope you'll tell me about things that happen to you instead of letting me hear them from others. This requirement isn't excessive, is it?"
The Xu Lize in front of her was like a powerful negotiator, looking down on her from above, speaking concisely without a trace of muddled personal feelings.
Su Yang stared at him silently. Suddenly, the look and tone when he had called her "Yangyang" flashed through her mind, as distant as the fleeting clouds on the horizon.
"…It's not excessive." A few seconds later, Su Yang nodded with a smile, but her smile didn't reach her eyes.
Her mood had started to fluctuate ever since Xu Lize took her to see He Juan.
Maybe Xu Lize had been so perfect in front of He Juan that Su Yang had even had the illusion that the reason they were getting married was really because they had known, understood, and then decided to accompany each other.
But the farce caused by Su Qian at the civil affairs bureau just now and Xu Lize's words at this moment instantly pulled Su Yang out of the chaotic whirlpool.
At this moment, she felt as if someone had dumped a large bucket of ice - cold water on her on a June day, making her shiver from head to toe.
Yes, she was just a pawn on Xu Lize's career path. She had been thinking too much.
Wasn't she quite clear - headed before? She had even told Xu Lize in person that this was a long - term cooperation.
How could she have developed such inexplicable expectations after just a few days of getting along?
Su Yang sat there quietly, not uttering a single word of explanation.
In the empty living room, only the alternating sounds of their breathing could be heard.
Su Yang held her breath. Then she heard a "thump", the sound of her restless heart returning to its place.
Xu Lize didn't know what was going on in Su Yang's mind at this moment. He was immersed in his own decisiveness of cutting losses in time, but he also felt that the polite and distant smile on Su Yang's face was too far - fetched and glaring.
He never thought about why he had felt a sudden surge of irritability when he saw that photo, and within that irritability, there was also a little bit of unbearable itchiness.
It was as if one day, a seed of some plant had been blown into his heart by the wind and had started to take root and sprout in the soil. But this feeling was something Xu Lize, who had lived for thirty - two years, had never experienced before...
Just like that, after the few - minute conversation, the two people who had just got their marriage certificates were now even more like two parallel lines that never intersected than when Su Yang had just moved in.
That afternoon, Zhao Rui came to the villa to pick up Xu Lize and take him to the company. After Xu Lize left, Su Yang went to visit He Juan.
When He Juan saw her, she naturally asked about Xu Lize. Su Yang smiled gently and whispered that he was very busy and that she would bring him next time when he had time.
He Juan didn't suspect anything but still asked with concern if they had decided when to get their marriage certificate since they had already made plans.
Su Yang was cutting an orange at that time. Hearing this, she almost cut her finger.
Thinking of the brand - new marriage certificate she had thrown into the drawer, Su Yang took a deep breath and then handed the peeled orange to He Juan. "Mom, if we decide on a date, we'll definitely tell you."
After leaving the hospital, Su Yang thought for a while and decided to go back to University A.
After chatting with Xu Lize at noon, she had gone upstairs. When she calmed down, Su Yang carefully studied the matter of the forum photos.
She thought that even if she didn't take legal action, she must find the person who had posted the thread, and she also had to figure out whether Su Qian was the mastermind or just a participant in this whole thing.
Because of the argument with Xu Lize, Su Yang hadn't left her room after going back and thus hadn't had lunch.
It was already past two o'clock. After running around for a while, she felt a little hungry. When she got off the subway, instead of rushing out of the station, she first went to the convenience store next to the entrance to buy a rice ball to satisfy her hunger.
When it was her turn to pay, an aunt in front was waiting for her change. Su Yang was standing in line behind her. Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure on the escalator at the entrance.
She took a closer look and realized that it was really Zhao Jingxuan, her roommate for four years.
Su Yang immediately waved her hand to say hello to Zhao Jingxuan, but Zhao Jingxuan didn't see her. She just rushed down the escalator and then ran towards the security checkpoint not far away.
Su Yang curiously looked in the direction she was moving and saw that Zhao Jingxuan happily threw herself into the arms of a man wearing a smoky - gray checked jacket.
The man was standing with his back to Su Yang, so she couldn't see his face. But judging from his mature and steady dressing style, he shouldn't be a student from the school.
Su Yang felt very puzzled because the roommates in her dormitory had always had a good relationship.
During the four years of college, the girls had never even had a heated argument. They usually laughed and played together and would also share their little secrets with each other in the dead of night.
As far as Su Yang knew, Zhao Jingxuan didn't have a boyfriend. At least more than ten days ago, a senior had wanted to get to know Zhao Jingxuan through her, and Zhao Jingxuan had also agreed to the date.
At this moment, Su Yang saw the man that Zhao Jingxuan was hugging suddenly push her away forcefully and then walk into the security checkpoint without looking back.
Zhao Jingxuan seemed to be in a hurry and chased after him.
But when she was going through the security check, she was stopped because she hadn't taken off her small backpack, which delayed her time.
"Miss, are you going to pay?"
Suddenly, the clerk in the convenience store called out to Su Yang. Su Yang quickly responded and turned around. When she finished paying and looked back at the security checkpoint, only the staff were left there.
After getting out of the subway station and walking into the school gate, Su Yang was munching on the rice ball while sending a message to Song Haolin.
She really didn't know anyone in the Computer Science Department. If she wanted to pull some strings, she could only turn to Song Haolin.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Song Haolin saw the message, he called her directly.
Su Yang answered the phone and heard Song Haolin's nervous voice on the other end.
"Su Yang, great timing. Hurry up and come to Classroom 303 in the Information Building. I've found a reliable junior. He just traced the IP address of the person who posted that thread!"