A car horn cut the air behind her like a gull’s cry. Tang Coco turned, and a white Mercedes slid to a stop like a swan docking.

“Coco? Why are you out here alone?” The voice floated over like a warm breeze through leaves.

The door clicked open, and a woman in black office wear stepped out, sleek as a crow on snow.

“Tiantian?” she breathed, the name leaving her lips like a drop of rain.

It was Tiantian, Su Xinhua’s young assistant, a shadow kept close like a trusted blade.

“Coco, why are you walking alone?” Tiantian asked, her heels ticking on the pavement like a metronome.

“Oh, I’m headed to a friend’s place,” Coco said, words light as breath. “Haven’t caught a taxi yet,” the excuse trailing like mist.

Tiantian nodded, eyes skimming the quiet road like a low-flying bird. “Not many taxis out here. It’s a villa district, and it’s out of the way, so cabs avoid it like shy deer.”

“Ah... I see,” Coco murmured, the thought drifting like a soft cloud.

“Where are you headed? I’ll give you a ride,” she offered, like an umbrella appearing in sudden rain.

“No, no, don’t trouble yourself. You still have work, Tiantian,” Coco said, waving it off like a gentle breeze.

“It’s fine. I drive fast; we’ll make it,” Tiantian smiled, confidence smooth as sunlit asphalt.

“Well...” The single word fluttered like a hesitant moth.

“Come on, don’t be polite. Get in,” she said, voice nudging like a warm hand at the back.

She tugged Coco into the passenger seat, gentle but firm as a tide. She asked the address, then the car leaped away like an arrow loosed.

“Tiantian, why didn’t I see Sister Su today?” Coco asked, curiosity flickering like a small flame behind her eyes.

She seized the chance to circle for news, thoughts wheeling like a kite reeling in.

“President Su didn’t come home last night,” Tiantian said, gaze on the road like a line drawn straight. “She’s overseeing the new company building, eyes on the rising frame like a hawk over a nest.”

“I only came back this morning to fetch her some clothes,” she added, the errand light as a passing cloud.

“Oh... I see...” The words fell from Coco like small pebbles.

“Did Sister Su live abroad before?” Coco asked, her voice dipping like an oar into calm water.

“Yeah,” Tiantian said, a soft sigh like steam off tea. “But she always wanted to come back to Huaguo; life abroad felt a bit dull, like tea gone cold.”

“Then... was there no one with her?” The question trembled like a string in the wind.

“Well...” The pause rippled out like a stone in a pond.

“Sorry, I’m prying...” Coco said, retreating like a tide from shore.

“No, it’s okay,” Tiantian said, the words careful as stepping-stones. “It’s just heavy to speak about, like winter air.”

“Her husband passed away, and her only son went missing,” she continued, each truth dropping like iron. “Because of that, she often grieves alone, and a few times I heard her crying in her room,” the memory thin as frost. “But I can’t help much,” she finished, hands on the wheel like anchors.

Tiantian said it with sadness pooling on her face like rainwater.

Silence settled, filling the car like fog rolling in from a lake.

A sharp ache pricked Coco’s heart like a thorn. She lowered her head, fingers twisting together like vines.

“Then you’ve had it hard, Tiantian...” she said, sympathy rising like warm broth in winter.

She said it to cover the swell of feeling, like pulling a sleeve over a bruise.

“It’s fine. I just hope she finds her son soon,” Tiantian said, hope lifting like a lantern at dusk.

She smiled, the curve faint as a moon on water.

Coco fell silent and turned to the window, thoughts drifting like clouds past glass.

Tiantian did drive fast; by the time their words thinned, they reached the destination like an arrow finding its mark.

“Thanks, Tiantian~” Coco said, gratitude bright as a patch of sun.

“No problem~ bye-bye~” Tiantian waved, casual as a breeze through bamboo.

“Bye-bye~” The farewell fluttered between them like a ribbon.

Coco shut the door with a soft thud, then turned toward Meng Xiaoxiao’s apartment, steps light as petals on stone.

Tiantian drove off, the car flowing through the lane like a white fish. Soon she slipped in a Bluetooth earbud and dialed a number, the ring a quiet ripple.

“Sister Su... I did everything exactly as you said,” she reported, her voice low as a thread.

“Mm. Good work, Tiantian,” came the reply, warm as fresh tea.

On the other end, Su Xinhua lay sprawled on the villa’s big bed, summer clothes light as a breeze. She’d been here all along, watching like a quiet cat by the window. That morning she saw Tang Coco slip out alone, and she saw Ye Yiyi drive off by herself, so she set this in motion, sending Tiantian to make contact like a probe.

“But Sister Su, why tell her so much?” Tiantian asked, doubt flickering like a moth around a lamp.

She couldn’t understand; those things were Su Xinhua’s secrets, kept shut like locked drawers.

“I have a hypothesis that needs slow verification,” Su said, her voice cool as moonlight on tiles.

“I see. Oh, right, this morning the head of the Meng family in Yanjing called me,” Tiantian said, words clicking like beads. “She wants one more spot for tonight’s banquet.”

“The Mengs? That would be Meng Yuting, right?” Su asked, certainty glinting like a thin blade.

Su Xinhua already knew who the girls around Tang Coco were, knowledge laid out like chess pieces. She even knew Gu Xin and Meng Yuting’s special status, since she knew Hong Wei of the Shadow Division, a name like steel in the dark.

“Yes,” Tiantian said, her answer neat as a nod.

“Do as she asked. Send one more invitation,” Su said, the decision landing like a stamp on paper.

“Got it, Sister Su,” Tiantian replied, crisp as a bell over water.

“Mm. Nothing else,” Su said, closing the matter like a door drawn shut.

“Okay, I’ll swing by the construction site,” Tiantian said, turning the wheel like a compass needle.

They hung up, the line going quiet like a lake at dusk.

Tonight... Su Xinhua stared at the ceiling, the single word stretching like a long shadow.