Chapter 28: Do Me a Favor

If she stayed in Duan Yubai’s room, Mo Xiaoxue would be angry. Mo Xiaoxue had made it clear: in this house, there could only be one mistress—her. Su Nuo wanted to leave too, but she had no money and nowhere else to go. So, until she could retrieve all of her mother’s belongings, she had no choice but to stay and endure the humiliation in silence.

Seeing that Duan Yubai had no intention of moving aside, she spoke again. "I should go."

"Go where?" Duan Yubai looked down at her. He realized he truly could not understand her anymore. How could the Su Nuo of the past ever resort to chewing on dry bread? How could she have suffered a burn without telling him? But now, everything seemed different. The biggest change was that she no longer clung to him. Why?

His gaze fell upon her hand. "Wait for me."

Su Nuo didn't understand why, but she had no choice but to stand where she was. Suddenly, she felt a cooling sensation on the back of her hand. Duan Yubai was applying ointment to her hand, somewhat roughly.

"You don't need to get up so early in the morning from now on. Just eat whatever. If you don't like cooking, tell the housekeeper to go out and buy something." He added, "Do you really think you’re here to be a servant? You’re quite good at finding a position for yourself."

Duan Yubai was not good at such things, so he simply shoved the ointment into Su Nuo’s hand. "You bought this stuff anyway; you might as well take it back and use it. It’ll be even uglier if it leaves a scar."

He spoke without thinking, but the listener took it to heart. Su Nuo subconsciously thought of her current body and this face. As Mo Xiaoxue had said, the face was still pretty. But the light had already vanished from Su Nuo’s eyes. Her once-beautiful appearance was at best a seventy out of a hundred now, and combined with her frail, bony frame, who would ever find her attractive?

Su Nuo kept her head lowered, so Duan Yubai could only see the crown of her hair. Just like her, it was impossibly stubborn. He remembered that when Su Nuo was a child, she had hated this hair whorl. Because it was slightly off-center, it always ruined her hairstyle. But now, she simply wore it in a low ponytail, devoid of any makeup, looking so plain that Duan Yubai almost didn't recognize her.

"Forget it, let’s go out. Don't forget about the press conference later."

Su Nuo, who had been about to happily leave, froze in place, afraid to move.

She stammered for a moment before asking, almost pleadingly, "I... can I not go?"

"No." Duan Yubai shook his head. "The company is under attack from all sides right now; we can't have any stains on our reputation. You have to clarify things."

Su Nuo nodded subconsciously and turned to leave. He was right. She was the stain—a stain on the company and a stain on the Duan family. If a person like her had no value, then there was no need for her to exist. Now that netizens were questioning whether she was truly alright, Duan Yubai was forcing her to make an appearance. Without this process, no one would even care if she were still alive.

Su Nuo stood outside Duan Yubai’s door, feeling suffocated. Meanwhile, Duan Yubai stared at the plate with one less steamed bun. She was too thin; she had only eaten one bun earlier, which surely wasn't enough calories for the day. Still, thinking that Su Nuo didn't seem to have the habit of eating breakfast anyway, he curled his lip. She was so pretentious—truly, she was far too pretentious. No wonder she was hungry enough to chew on dry bread at night.

He took a bite of the bun; it was indeed cloyingly sweet. Did she not know that he disliked sweets? But remembering how she had wolfed it down earlier, Duan Yubai smiled and shook his head. Since she had gotten up early to make it, he would force himself to eat a few bites.

After breakfast, Mother Duan pulled Su Nuo aside to try on clothes. "Xiao Nuo, look, these are all your favorite styles. But you’re too thin; I’m afraid even the smallest size might not fit well. But the press conference today is a bit rushed, so don't blame Mother; just make do with these for now."

Several luxury store clerks smiled at her. "Miss Su, these are all the latest styles, as well as the bags from the collection you like."

Su Nuo looked up cautiously. She did indeed see many beautiful, latest-season clothes. Thinking that her daughter would be on camera soon, Mother Duan happily picked out outfits, completely failing to notice Su Nuo’s pale face. She really had to attend some press conference, but what would she say?

Seeing that Su Nuo remained silent, one of the clerks quickly spoke up. "If you would like other styles, we can have them brought over directly. It will take about two hours. Is there anything you fancy?"

Su Nuo shook her head. "I... I'll just wear my old clothes."

Before, Chi Ling had helped her reclaim many of her clothes, and Mo Xiaoxue, wanting to appear generous, had also sent over quite a few. Those items weren't cheap, and the second-hand pieces perfectly matched Su Nuo’s current temperament.

"That won't do. Today is for you to go out and see people; you can't embarrass our Duan family."

"Exactly, Miss Su. You should pick a set. After all, you already embarrassed yourself once before; you can't have a second time, can you?" Mo Xiaoxue’s smiling voice rang out. She walked quickly to Mother Duan’s side and affectionately linked her arm. "Last time, Miss Su’s outfit was... a bit too avant-garde, and it was reported by many. I think it’s better to go with something more ordinary this time."

Reminded by her, Mother Duan nodded seriously. She quickly picked out a set of pure black suit separates. "Nothing else is suitable for an occasion like this. Let’s go with this one."

Seeing the overly "pure-desire" style suit in her hand, Su Nuo wanted to refuse, but Mother Duan had already sent someone to help her change without room for argument. The moment she stepped into the dressing room, she heard Mo Xiaoxue’s light laughter.

"Auntie, you are truly good to her, buying so many new clothes."

"Well, she is my daughter-in-law, after all. I’ve prepared quite a few things for Duan Yubai as well, so it wouldn't do to favor one over the other."

The two seemed to say more, but Su Nuo could no longer hear them. She entered the fitting room and let them dress her. The makeup artist, Xiao Ya, was someone she knew well, having worked with her for years. But today, no matter what the woman said, Su Nuo remained silent. Especially when the topic of her disappearance over the past few months came up, Su Nuo began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Miss Su, is there something you’re hiding?" Xiao Ya asked in a low voice while applying her makeup.

Su Nuo only shook her head, not daring to say a single extra word. Xiao Ya keenly sensed that something was wrong. She quickly said to the others, "I’ll help Miss Su change her clothes; you all step out first."

The others, suspecting nothing, retreated. Xiao Ya went to the door to check, and once she was sure no one was there, she walked back and whispered, "Did something really happen?"

Su Nuo opened her mouth, but in the end, she only shook her head. Xiao Ya was just an ordinary makeup artist; what could she possibly do to help? Yet, thinking about how she had to go out and clarify everything in front of everyone today, Su Nuo sniffled.

"Xiao Ya, can you do me a favor?" Su Nuo looked at her cautiously.

Xiao Ya paused, then nodded. "Tell me."