HBWMA -Chapter 57 The Su Family, Su Miao

In the midsummer of July, what echoed the loudest wasn’t cicadas—but Fu Jiaming’s screams.

There are no secrets in high society. Within just a few hours, every prominent family in Whale Harbor had received the news: the youngest son of the Fu family had his legs broken on Old Master Shen’s orders, and even Old Master Fu’s dentures weren’t spared.

Half-Mountain Residence, Su Estate.

The 19th-century American-style décor was both grand and vintage. A nearly three-meter crystal-gilded chandelier hung beneath the curved dome of the main hall.

Su Jingliu wore a Western-style short jacket, holding a steaming cup of coffee.

“That old bastard Fu Lingnan really never learns. Why did he go and provoke the Shen family for no reason? Ever since Shen Zhuang lost his son, that old schemer has been living like a monk—he even lets people like me off with a bit of respect. And the Fu family still dared to mess with him? They’re really going backwards. If I were to lose face like that, I might as well step halfway into the coffin with my other foot.”

Old Master Su’s hair was slicked back with pomade, white and immaculate. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, looking sharp and energetic, exuding old-money British aristocratic charm. Even when cursing, he did so slowly and unhurriedly, with the arrogance of a bygone noble class.

The Su butler smiled faintly. He had long since mastered the ability to remain unfazed even if the sky fell when it came to his master’s sharp tongue.

Su Jingliu leaned back on the sofa, legs crossed. “Oh? What did Fu Lingnan do after going back?”

The butler replied, “Old Master Fu invited all the best orthopedic doctors in Lian City to the Fu residence.”

Su Jingliu shook his head, looking utterly dismissive. “All useless fuss. The leg Shen Zhuang broke—can it really be set properly again?” Then he suddenly perked up. “Come on, call Shen Zhuang. Invite him out.”

“….”

Was the old man just looking for entertainment?

The butler complied, taking out his phone and dialing the number with practiced ease before handing it over with both hands.

The call connected.

Old Master Su adopted a leisurely tone. “Hello? Old Shen, come out for a game of chess tonight?”

“Old Master Su, it’s me—Shen Zhi.”

Su Jingliu had already expected Shen Zhuang wouldn’t answer, but still pretended otherwise. “Why is it you? Where’s your master?”

Shen Zhi replied, “My apologies. The old master is currently not in a position to take your call.”

“Not in a position?” Su Jingliu shifted the phone, sipping his coffee lazily. “What, busy breaking someone else’s legs again?”

Beep—

The line was suddenly cut, turning into a busy signal.

“How rude,” Su Jingliu said, lifting his gaze and pointing his phone at the butler in complaint. “See that? The Shen family, especially that old Shen himself—no manners at all.”

The butler smiled without comment.

After thinking for a moment, Su Jingliu quickly entered another number and dialed.

“Hello! Old Zhou!”

The person on the other end spoke flatly, “Let me remind you—you were only unblocked three days ago. If you keep running your mouth this time, don’t bother calling me again.”

“Sigh~” Su Jingliu drawled. “You’re almost sixty and still so petty. Your heart’s smaller than a needle’s eye.”

Old Zhou replied, “Get to the point.”

Old Master Su frowned slightly, set down his coffee, and said in disgust, “Watch your tone. Want to play golf? Coming or not?”

“I’m busy.”

“Tch!” Su Jingliu clicked his tongue. “Have you heard about the Shen family and the Yao family?”

Old Zhou replied, “What’s going on? I’m busy dealing with family trivialities every day—who has time to care about other people’s affairs?”

Su Liu saw through it but didn’t point it out. “Oh? I originally got first-hand news and wanted to chat with you about it, but since you’re busy then I’ll—”

“Hey, hey, hey! Where are we playing ball tonight? Same old place?”

“Same old place.”

Su Jingliu hung up, tossed the phone to the Su butler, and casually picked up the newspaper on the table.

On the politics page, the front image showed Yao Jun in a righteous, impassioned close-up facing the camera.

That energetic speech did have some effect—public criticism had eased compared to the beginning. Most likely, people were now waiting for the final ruling from the Supreme Court.

Suddenly, a dark glint flashed through Su Jingliu’s eyes. He tapped the newspaper at a name.

“Who is this person?”

The Su butler stepped forward to look. “Yu Siwen.”

After a quick mental search, the butler picked out the key information and replied, “We’ve investigated him before. His record is very clean. Old master, is there a problem with him?”

Just “clean” wasn’t impressive—compared to the other candidates, it was still far from enough. The butler didn’t understand why the old master would pay attention to him.

Su Jingliu fell into thought for a moment, then tapped the name again.

“Pull up all his information. Every detail—no matter how small.”

The butler paused for a moment, then quickly responded, “Yes.”

Su Jingliu stared at the newspaper, his thoughts drifting.

If he remembered correctly, this man’s approval ratings hadn’t been high before. So how did he suddenly rise so quickly?

People like them, who stood at the core of A-country’s power structure, were all very clear on one thing—capital was what truly controlled everything. Yu Siwen definitely wasn’t as simple as he appeared. There must be someone behind him.

“Grandpa…”

At that moment, a girl walked down the gilded double spiral staircase.

She had a delicate doll-like face, slightly slanted broken bangs, looking cute and soft.

Su Jingliu immediately put down the newspaper. Seeing the bag in her hand, his expression turned warm.

“Miaomiao, going out?”

Su Miao nodded. “I’m meeting Zhou Qishan to go shopping. That idiot always insists on going out in this heat.”

Su Jingliu couldn’t help smiling. He knew his granddaughter was close with the Zhou family girl, so he didn’t mind it. He waved his hand.

“Go on. Buy whatever you want. If your allowance isn’t enough, call Grandpa.”

Su Miao nodded, then just as she turned to leave, she was called back.

“Miaomiao, I remember you seemed to get along quite well with that girl from the Shen family. Why don’t I see you two hanging out anymore?” The old man looked suddenly enlightened. “Did you form little cliques?”

Su Miao looked a bit speechless, her porcelain doll face expressionless.

“Grandpa, Jiang Huashan used up all her brains on her face. She’s dumb. I can’t deal with her. Besides, she used to cling to me and Zhou Qishan anyway—I never said she was my friend.”

Su Jingliu didn’t believe it. “I heard your Grandpa Shen dotes on her a lot. How could someone like that be dumb?”

Su Miao thought for a moment. “Then maybe Grandpa Shen has unique taste. He just likes dumb ones.”

“…”

Su Jingliu chuckled helplessly. “Who talks about classmates like that? Didn’t I tell you to interact more with her? Invite her over next time so Grandpa can take a look?”

Su Miao refused without hesitation. “No. I don’t like her. I don’t plan to be friends with her, so I won’t interact with her either.”

“…” Su Jingliu widened his eyes. “You don’t even listen to Grandpa now?”

Su Miao nodded, saying the firmest words with the cutest expression.

“Nope. If you want to see her, just go to their school yourself. I’m not going to invite her just for your curiosity.”

“You nonsense child!” Su Jingliu glared at her helplessly. He was only slightly curious because of the recent conflict between the Shen and Fu families, but not enough to personally go to a school.

Su Miao looked him over like an adult.

“Grandpa, you’re full of schemes. I’m not falling for it. Even if I don’t like Jiang Huashan, I won’t treat her like a commodity or a pet just because you’re curious. So give it up.”

The Su butler’s eyelid twitched. In the entire Su family, only Miss Miaomiao dared to speak to the old master like this—and somehow, he never got angry.

Su Jingliu pressed a hand to his forehead, utterly helpless.

“…”