Volume 1, Chapter 40: The Official Front Desk

Indeed, over the five years of living together that followed, Susan saw through Suna’s duplicity time and again, growing increasingly disillusioned with the Su family.

In public, Suna was sensible, obedient, hardworking, and modest, even carrying an air of subtle submissiveness. In private, however, she was like a cold, venomous snake. Backed secretly and covered up tirelessly by Hui Linyun, she repeatedly bullied Susan, setting traps and laying mines for her at every turn. Instead of an ounce of inferiority, she possessed an inexplicable, lofty arrogance.

When Susan could bear it no longer and finally mustered the courage to complain to her father, Su Qingtian had already been brainwashed. He was invariably deceived by the tears of Hui Linyun and Suna, choosing to believe Suna’s aggrieved and defensive explanations instead, while Susan was cast as the unreasonable and willful young miss.

To this, Susan was left speechless. She could not be bothered to vie for favor, as she detested such familial power struggles and only longed to get through high school so she could leave as soon as possible.

After the national college entrance examination, Susan defied Su Qingtian’s wishes and stubbornly applied to the Communication University, majoring in journalism. A fierce conflict erupted between father and daughter. Hui Linyun and Suna stood on the sidelines making sarcastic remarks, seemingly trying to dissuade them while actually adding fuel to the fire. Susan felt even more heartbroken, considering it a grave injustice to her late mother. She felt that her father had not only forgotten her mother's lifelong ideals and perpetual regrets, but perhaps had forgotten her mother entirely.

In a fit of anger, Susan unilaterally severed her father-daughter relationship with Su Qingtian and moved out of the old family residence. Over the next few years, aside from brief holiday greetings and chance encounters at the cemetery during her mother’s death anniversary, she had almost no contact with Su Qingtian or the Su family.

Consequently, both inside and outside the Su Group, save for the board members and a few senior executives of long standing, no one knew Susan. Everyone only knew Suna, the stepsister.

In other words, over the years, Suna lived much more like Su Qingtian’s biological daughter.

Yet, there was one thing that puzzled even Susan herself.

She had always felt that after remarrying, her father almost never mentioned her mother again. He was heavy-handed with restrictions and short on understanding when it came to Susan; although he never treated her unfairly, she could feel no excess of warmth, and it seemed he should have long since forgotten his promise to her mother. Yet, all these years—even when Susan threw a tantrum and cut ties with him, and even as Suna was lifted onto a pedestal and groomed for success—he had never altered his will, nor had he fathered another child with Hui Linyun.

This meant that, as things stood, Susan remained the sole future heir to the Su Group, while Suna always regarded her as a thorn in her side and never once acknowledged the existence of this younger sister to the outside world.

Last time, in the sports team's cafeteria, Susan had inadvertently exposed her knowledge of food and her familiarity with the Su Group. Yan Lai’s suspicions regarding her identity were, in fact, correct. Unfortunately, when it came to matters concerning the Su family, Lin Tingyuan was overly arrogant, believing he had everything under control and failing to investigate deeply, which prevented Susan’s true identity from being exposed.

Tonight, Suna attended as the representative of the sponsors to serve as an award presenter.

Such an arrangement was standard procedure in athletic events. Catching sight of Suna standing before the podium from afar, Susan felt only a momentary ripple of surprise, which stirred up old memories. After all, she had never feared Suna; she simply disliked her and wished to avoid her.

However, when Susan lengthened her camera's focal length and studied the close-up of Suna taking the stage to present the awards, she was startled by the lingering, entangled glances exchanged between Suna and Lin Tingyuan.

During the formal presentation ceremony, Suna and Lin Tingyuan behaved with utmost professional decorum, adhering strictly to standard protocol. Suna took the stage, shook hands with the winning athletes, and handed over flowers and souvenirs. On the surface, no fault could be found.

Yet, a woman's intuition, combined with Susan's years of familiarity with Suna, detected something amiss from a single glance. Suna and Lin Tingyuan were clearly far too well-acquainted—so familiar that they needed to deliberately keep their distance in public.

If they merely knew each other, it would be easily understood. It was normal for a group vice president to know the brand ambassador of her company. The strange part was how they deliberately acted like strangers. That complex look of initial intimacy followed by a hasty withdrawal exposed the unusual nature of their relationship.

Even more suspicious was the moment Lin Tingyuan shook hands with Suna; it appeared something was passed between their palms. Susan guessed it must have been something like a small note. The exchange was lightning-fast and executed with absolute naturalness. Had Susan not been fixated on their details, wishing she could magnify every action tenfold, no one would ever have noticed under those circumstances and in that atmosphere.

What was this supposed to be? Flirting in public? Seeking a thrill? This was certainly not the behavior of ordinary acquaintances, but rather the intimate dynamic, or even the little private thrills, exclusive to lovers!

Panicked, Susan lowered her camera, not daring to look any further. Her heart pounded, and she almost shrank from pursuing the thought to its conclusion, terrified that her conjecture might prove true. Although she wanted nothing from her family, she had no wish to see the Su Group plunged into turmoil.

Lin Tingyuan was a ticking time bomb. If he were merely a brand ambassador for the Su Group, dissolving the contract and claiming damages would suffice. But if there were other entanglements involved, things would become complicated. Susan truly did not want Suna, nor the Su Group behind her, to step into a trap and be utterly destroyed.

Therefore, after the award ceremony concluded and Lin Tingyuan, along with the other medalists, passed the media section once more, Susan pursued an interview with Lin Tingyuan under the guise of both public duty and personal curiosity.

"Captain Lin, congratulations again on your victory. Among the presenters who just handed you your award was a representative from the Su Group. She must be very thrilled, as an ambassador's victory is fantastic publicity for the enterprise itself. What are your thoughts on this? It looked as though you two might be acquainted—do you have anything to say to the Su Group or to their representative?"

Hearing this, Lin Tingyuan looked startled, as if he had not expected Susan’s questioning to veer in that direction. However, as an interviewee well-versed in the media, he quickly masked his emotions, returned to normal composure, and carefully formulated his response.

"Thank you. I do know the award presenter; our paths have crossed through work. I also want to thank the Su Group for their trust in me over the years, appointing me as their ambassador. I hope a socially responsible enterprise like this enjoys a bright future, that their products benefit a wider public, and that they continue to exercise their sense of social responsibility by supporting the development of our competitive sports. Thank you!"

Lin Tingyuan’s reply was impeccably official. Susan could not help marveling that to organize such a statement in so short a time meant Lin Tingyuan was either exceptionally gifted or had long-prepared emergency responses for interviews—truly a born spokesperson.

"I see. Captain Lin is a model ambassador. Outsiders consider you the athlete with the highest commercial value in the swimming world today; would you agree?"

"That is too kind. The most fundamental metric for judging an athlete remains their competitive performance. Commercial value is merely a byproduct. Furthermore, successful cooperation depends on whether both parties share mutual timing, compatibility, and aligned philosophy and goals."

The subtext was clear: he was no snob and could certainly not be bought simply for money.

Before the camera lens, Lin Tingyuan was airtight enough to be frightening. Knowing she could hardly find a flaw in him through the interview, Susan shifted her questioning to preparations for upcoming athletic schedules, offered her congratulations once more, and brought the interview to a graceful close.