Su Su stayed at An Chenyu’s villa for a few days as it was located in the outskirts of the city. She switched off her phone during that period and didn’t log into any social media websites.
She had cut herself off from the outside world by not even watching the television. She was worried if she turned any of them on, all the disturbing memories from the incident would flood her mind causing her unbearable pain.
In these few days, Su Su was so traumatized that she could hardly keep herself together. She hated Shi Wei very much but felt helpless as there was nothing she could do to ease her situation. As a result, she had even considered suicide as she didn’t want to face the world. But the thought of Shi Wei continued to live happily as her life was not affected even kept her going instead.
The only person who knew where she was and visited her often was Anna. Anna visited her many times a day but each of her visits was short. Although Su Su knew Anna was concerned about her, she didn’t feel like seeing anyone including her.
During one of Anna’s visits to the villa on the fifth day, Su Su had a bad episode and messed up everything in the room. When Anna saw that, her face was covered by a tinge of frustration followed by an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
Anna tidied up the room quickly but didn’t see Su Su in the living room. She went upstairs and saw her hiding in a corner, staring blankly into space. Su Su didn’t realize that Anna had arrived.
Anna took a deep breath as she could clearly empathize with what Su Su was going through. It was not too long ago that she had gone through the same horrible ordeal. But she managed to pick herself up. However, unlike Su Su, she didn’t lose her virginity. Hence, she could not feel her agony.
Anna had brought some food for her and put it down when she saw her eyes staring listlessly into space. She then knelt beside her and waved her hands.
“Su Su, I’m here!”
When Su Su regained her senses, she hardly showed any response when she saw Anna. It had become a habit by now. She turned her head up slightly and said, “You’re here!”
“Yes, I brought your favorite food too. Su Su, come eat it quickly!” Anna opened the tiffin carrier layer by layer. “My mom made all these. There’s braised pork, roast chicken and…”
“Leave them!” Su Su replied plainly as she looked disinterested. “I’m not hungry.”
“Su Su, come and eat. You need to take care of your health. Besides, there’s something I want to tell you.” Anna looked delighted. “Come over now and eat. You should take a shower when you finish. I’m taking you out!”
“Out?” Su Su’s eyes widened at the mere mention of the word. She recoiled in horror. “Why are we going out? To be mocked by others? I’m not going. I don’t want to!” Su Su became temperamental all of a sudden. “Anna, I’m tired and I want to rest. You should go, I…I need to sleep.”
Su Su got up and tried to pull Anna towards the door. However, Anna stopped her immediately. “Su Su, don’t overreact. I don’t mean that. I’m just taking you out for a stroll nearby. Besides, didn’t I say that I have some good news for you? You will be delighted to hear it!”
“Delighted? How can I be happy now? Anna, don’t lie to me. I know you’re concerned about me but how can I be happy with what I am now? There’s just no way out. How will the outside world judge me? There were so many people at the scene and you saw them yourself. They…” Su Su choked and tears started streaking down her cheeks. “My parents are definitely disappointed with me. Anna, I really don’t know what I should do.”
“Su Su, don’t cry. I have something to tell you. This matter has been put to rest for no one knows it was you.” Anna grabbed Su Su’s hand excitedly. “Look into my eyes, Su Su. I’m telling you the truth.”
“It’s impossible!” Su Su stared at Anna in the eyes and thought she heard it wrong so she blinked a few times. Anna’s eyes looked pure and clear which indicated that she was not lying. Su Su felt relieved for a moment. But when she thought about all the videos and scenes that were shown, she shook her head again. “Anna, don’t lie to me. It’s not possible, you and I know that it happened. That…”
“Su Su, listen to me. That was an accident and no one willed it. All the videos on the internet have been deleted. The videos that have been shared had their faces censored so no one knew it was you. Everyone was just making wild guesses. They did some digging to show that it was someone else and not you.”
Anna grabbed Su Su’s shoulders abruptly and forced her to look into her eyes. “Listen to me. The matter has been swept under the carpet. No one knows it’s you.”
“Really?” Su Su grasped Anna’s hand. “But…who did it? Who had helped me?” Su Su knew that not many people had the power to do that. Especially since most of the guests were prominent figures in Jiang City. That person must have been extremely influential in the city to keep those guests from saying anything.
“You can now see for yourself. Also, my brother said the bunch of wealthy men swore that they no longer have a copy of the video and even promised to seal this matter and keep it a secret. Can you relax now?”
Su Su nodded. “Thank you Anna! I owe you a great deal!”
“This is what friends are for. But, I’ll be going overseas in a few days. My brother said he found a really good plastic surgeon, so…Su Su, you can come along with me if you’re still feeling down. Just think of it as a holiday. After some time, everyone would have forgotten about it eventually.”
Su Su shook her head. “No, I’m not going.” She didn’t want to leave now. “Although this matter has been swept under the carpet, I still can’t let it go. I need to do something about it!”
“Su Su, what do you plan to do?” Anna was worried. “Don’t do anything rash. It wasn’t easy for you to get yourself back together so don’t do anything stupid!”
“Anna, don’t worry. I’m not that stupid and won’t do anything rash!” Su Su reassured Anna. “Getting your face treated is more important so you should go ahead with your trip. I’ll wait for you to come back. However, there are more important things for me to do now!”
She wanted to apologize to her parents and she owed them a proper explanation too. Although she might be headstrong and stubborn, she was an obedient girl at home. She did not dare face the truth whenever she thought about how disappointed her family must have been. At the same time, they were probably very worried about her too. For that, she needed to go home and explain herself to her family. As for Shi Wei…
There was a tinge of darkness in Su Su’s eyes when she thought of her. Although she had no control over the incident, what she did had caused both Anna and her to pay a big price. Su Su couldn’t let her go just like that. “Shi Wei is my good friend so how can I leave her in a time like this!”
“Su Su, what are you planning? Don’t do anything rash. Wei said that she didn’t know the details about the matter and didn’t expect it to turn out this way. She has been busy running around recently so…”
“She doesn’t know the details? Wasn’t she the one who arranged for the paparazzi to be there? They were the ones who spread the news. Anna, stop defending her. Haven’t we seen for ourselves her true character when we were studying together? She was so jealous of Shi Nuan and was constantly bickering with her. What about us? We are merely her pawns. When things go wrong, we’re the ones who suffered. She has to pay for all that she has done.”
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