All eyes fell to the object: the Rush bottle.
“Shhhh…” Someone recognized it, muttering a curse.
Glenn picked it up, inspecting it.
Colorful packaging, vague ingredients—utterly inappropriate for a formal dinner.
His assistant whispered, “It’s a vasodilator, also used as an aphrodisiac.”
A quieter addendum: it could induce short-term hallucinations and euphoria, and was addictive, popular among libertines. In some districts, both flashy youths and homeless people carried it.
Glenn’s eyes darkened, from anger to disgust.
Su Hui hurriedly denied, “It’s not mine. That gentleman dropped it when he helped me pick something up…”
He gestured to the crowd. “You saw—I’ve been working all night. My hands were occupied, so he helped me pick it up.”
Though the scene spiraled beyond Su Hui’s plan, the stigma of promiscuity was pinned on Su Pu instead.
Then, glancing sideways at Li Jichuan, his eyes reddened in shock. “Mr. Li, how are you here?”
Turning his gaze slightly, he looked at the “gentleman” who had helped him pick up the things earlier.
“Hey, Su Pu, why didn’t you answer my calls? I’ve been looking for you! Dad’s in prison, and he’s been thinking about wanting to see you. But you… did you cut ties with us because you thought we were a disgrace?”
As he spoke, Su Hui began to cry, putting on the appearance of someone abandoned by his family and left to this wretched state.
Whispers spread through the room. No one paid attention to the Brooks’ ruined dresses anymore; instead, all eyes shifted to Li Jichuan and his conspicuously flamboyant little wife.
Su Pu stood there, stunned, like a person doused in a bucket of dirty water, utterly bewildered.
Su Hui continued playing the victim, trying to elicit sympathy. “You said you liked Li Jichuan, so Dad broke my engagement to let you marry him. But after you got married, not only did you fail to appreciate my sacrifice and Dad’s care, you stirred trouble, making him resent our family.”
“Now Dad’s in jail, and I have to work my way through school—are you happy?”
Catching his breath, Su Hui added, “Was it you who pushed me earlier, causing me to spill the tray?”
“Su Hui, enough!” Li Jichuan interrupted sharply. “He’s still recovering. He shouldn’t have to bear your baseless slander.”
“What slander?” Su Hui wiped his tears, defending himself loudly. “That thing was Su Pu’s in the first place!”
His sharp tone drew the attention of guests who had not even noticed the earlier mishap.
“That’s not his!”
Glenn shook his head, completely done with patience.
“Before the dance, I specifically entrusted my wife’s hearing aid to him, thinking Jenny might need it…”
Glenn deliberately nudged Su Hui with his foot and then pointed to Su Pu’s pocket.
“Look, this suit has been tailored to fit him. Even putting a hearing aid in the pocket would make it bulge like this, which is unsightly.”
Turning to Su Hui, he sneered, “If that thing had really been in the pocket, we’d have seen it by now.”
Glenn’s assistant immediately called the photographer to check tonight’s footage of Su Pu.
The result was clear: Su Pu’s suit remained perfectly fitted, only noticeably bulging in the left pocket when dancing with Glenn’s wife.
“At first, I wasn’t sure if Xiao Pu knew sign language. Lee didn’t tell me, so I entrusted the hearing aid to him; he didn’t refuse and simply put it in his pocket. We were grateful, and yet you still falsely accuse him?”
Glenn instructed his assistant, “Call the police. Report him for intentional slander of my guest, disrupting the event, carrying dangerous substances, and demand full compensation for any damages… oh, and the dresses—we want full reimbursement at original price, not a penny less!”
Su Hui was stunned into speechlessness, especially when handed the long bill—the final figure was staggering.
Even if he sold everything, he couldn’t repay it…
“Ah, Mr. Glenn, I—”
He tried to grab Glenn’s arm to plead, but Glenn disdainfully avoided him.
“I don’t have the money. I don’t want to go to the police. Can I pay back through work? I’ll pay whatever you want. Please don’t report me…”
Having missed too many classes and fallen behind academically, Su Hui had already lost his student status; his visa was about to expire. A criminal record would likely get him deported immediately—another humiliation.
Seeing Glenn unmoved, Su Hui desperately crawled to Li Jichuan’s wheelchair, sobbing for help.
“Please, Mr. Li, we did raise Su Pu all these years. Just treat it as settling the cost of upbringing, okay?”
The whole ballroom was buzzing about Su Hui, some even taking videos of his humiliation.
But he had no time to notice; he faced both the impossibility of paying the exorbitant bill and the nightmare of returning home with a criminal record.
Flustered and remorseful, he trembled with tears.
“If you help me pay, I’ll never bother Su Pu again. Su Pu will have nothing to do with the Su family, okay?”
Li Jichuan’s gaze remained locked on Su Pu, observing his expression.
All that Su Hui said just now—did Su Pu understand it? How would he interpret it?
“小Pu…” Li Jichuan squeezed his hand.
In the next moment, Su Pu leaned softly into him.
Before the weight on his legs, Li Jichuan first noticed the citrus scent on his lips.
Su Pu nestled into his embrace like a pampered little fox.
Having witnessed enough farce, he yawned and relaxed his eyes.
“Su Pu, Su Pu, help me talk to your husband—I’m your brother—”
“Shh———”
Li Jichuan raised a finger to his lips, eyes half-closed, a firm warning.
“小Pu’s sleepy.”
Su Hui refused to give up, even pressing his face against Li Jichuan’s shoes.
“Please, Mr. Li, I’ll do anything you want—”
“Then be quiet.”
His shoes got dirty, and Li Jichuan shivered at the thought.
“Done playing? Don’t disturb my Xiao Pu…”
Hearing this, Su Hui’s eyes went blank; his heart gave up.
Li Jichuan, cradling his beloved, remotely maneuvered the wheelchair and exited gracefully.
In the elevator heading to their floor, Li Jichuan chuckled lightly after a few quiet moments.
The sound roused Su Pu, who lifted his head to meet Li Jichuan’s penetrating gaze.
“You pushed him?”
Su Pu blinked, noncommittal.
“Remember him now?”
Li Jichuan had long sensed Su Pu’s recovery, but let him speak in his own time. This time, Su Pu nodded obediently.
“Then… remember anything else?”
Li Jichuan said, squeezing the bend of his leg.
Su Pu’s eyes, bright and round, glimmered with desire.
He used kisses to reclaim memory—this time more urgent, more intense than ever.
After all, the lessons taught by Mr. Li were unforgettable for Mr. Su.