Su Sinian's expression wasn't good—in fact, one could even say she looked irritated. "Banxia, it seems you didn't take my words to heart last time," Su Sinian said coldly. "Miss Su..." Su Banxia's delicate brows furrowed slightly. As for the favor Su Sinian had asked of her last time, it wasn't that she didn't remember—she simply had no idea how to bring it up. Su Sinian stared at her coldly, her voice icy. "Do you have time? Care to join me for dinner?" Su Banxia glanced at the watch on her wrist, thinking of the two little ones at home, and instinctively wanted to refuse. But before she could get the words out, Su Sinian cut her off. "Dad sent me to find you." Su Banxia's expression shifted slightly. In the entire Su family, she could afford to ignore anyone except her father. Seeing her resolve waver, Su Sinian lowered her head to adjust her sleeves and said calmly, "Don't you want to know how Dad's health is?" "I'll talk to you, but I have things to do tonight—I can't stay long." Su Banxia's face darkened. "Fine." Su Sinian let out a cold laugh. "Don't worry, my time is just as valuable." They picked a nearby restaurant and casually ordered some food. "Spit it out," Su Banxia said, glancing at her without any intention of being polite, cutting straight to the point. Su Sinian stirred her coffee, her voice light. "The Su Corporation is facing a major financial crisis. Without sponsorship from a big company like Dingsheng Group, it might go bankrupt." Hearing this, Su Banxia's brow furrowed slightly. "Although Su Corporation isn't a huge enterprise, it's still Dad's life's work. No matter how much you hate our family, you should at least do it for Dad's sake, right?" Su Sinian looked up at Su Banxia as she finished speaking. Su Banxia lowered her head in thought for a moment before finally speaking slowly. "There are many ways to save a company from bankruptcy—it doesn't have to rely on Dingsheng." "If Dingsheng doesn't work out, Lin Tongze is also an option. It all depends on you, little sister." "Don't you think that's asking too much, Miss Su?" Su Banxia's face turned ashen. Su Sinian shrugged nonchalantly. "Little sister, we both came from the Su family. Can you really just wash your hands of it?" Su Banxia bit her lower lip hard, remaining silent for a long time. "Little sister, whether the Su Corporation survives is all up to you. Dad's entire future rests on your shoulders." Su Sinian's lips curled upward. "You really think too highly of me," Su Banxia said with a cold laugh. She had thought that after that incident, she could cut all ties with the Su family for good. But the truth had slapped her in the face once again. Was she destined never to break free from the Su family's curse? Walking out of the restaurant, Su Banxia felt the breeze on her face, her expression grim. When she got home, Fang Shiqing was with Su Guoguo and Su Hao. The three of them—one adult and two kids—were chatting about something, all of them laughing cheerfully. "Mommy!" Su Guoguo heard the door and immediately looked over, a soft smile spreading across her little face. "Oh, back from your date?" Fang Shiqing teased, half-joking and half-serious. Su Banxia forced a smile. "What date? I just ran into someone I shouldn't have." Since returning, she had been carefully avoiding the Su family, but she hadn't expected to bump into them anyway. Catching the implication in her words, Fang Shiqing immediately understood. "You ran into her?" Fang Shiqing had only recently learned about the Su family's plan to negotiate a partnership with Dingsheng Group, but she hadn't expected Su Sinian to contact Su Banxia so soon. "Do I even need to say it? She thinks I'm some kind of all-powerful secretary who can fix anything." Su Banxia was utterly exasperated. If it weren't for Su Jin's sake, she wouldn't have taken on this hot potato. Once she got involved in this, her ties to the Su family would only grow tighter. Seeing Su Banxia's helplessness, Fang Shiqing felt a pang of sympathy but didn't know what to say. "You'd better think this through. Pei Shaoze isn't stupid—he won't go for a losing deal. Besides, you already owe Dingsheng Group a huge sum of money." Fang Shiqing voiced her concerns. She didn't want Su Banxia to pile on more debt before she'd even paid off the 13 million she owed the company. "I'll try to bring it up with Pei Shaoze, but whether he helps or not is out of my hands." Su Banxia poured herself a glass of water and smiled faintly. "That's hard to say..." Fang Shiqing muttered weakly. Given how well Pei Shaoze had been treating Su Banxia lately, he might agree to anything she asked. Her voice was too soft for Su Banxia to catch. Su Banxia stood up, brushed the wrinkles off her clothes, and said with a smile, "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Nothing to be afraid of." "You're such an optimist!" Fang Shiqing chuckled, feeling like something big was bound to happen to Su Banxia sooner or later. After washing up and putting the kids to bed, Su Banxia lay down to rest, but her mind was filled with Su Sinian's words, leaving her restless. On the surface, she could pretend not to care, but that didn't mean she truly didn't. The next day, Su Banxia went to work as usual. Sitting in the office, she glanced at the man in the CEO's seat, hesitating to speak. Pei Shaoze had helped her many times, but there was no deep bond between them. He had no obligation to bail out her family. Perhaps because her movements were too obvious, Pei Shaoze soon noticed her and couldn't help but steal a few glances her way. After Su Banxia's umpteenth sneaky look in his direction, Pei Shaoze finally couldn't hold back. "Just say what you want to say. Sneaking around like that doesn't suit you," Pei Shaoze said coldly. Caught off guard, Su Banxia let out an awkward laugh. "I was just going through some files and noticed that Dingsheng has a partnership with the Su Corporation?" "There are plenty of Su families in Yanshi. Which one are you talking about?" Pei Shaoze asked, intrigued. "Uh... the one in the southern part of the city." Su Banxia stammered for a long time before finally getting a complete sentence out. Pei Shaoze frowned slightly. "Why are you interested in that?" "I was just curious. A big company like Dingsheng rarely does small deals. Why would you be willing to work with the Su Corporation?" Su Banxia probed cautiously. "I have no interest in working with the Su Corporation," Pei Shaoze said coldly. Su Jin had been leeching off their family for years, using the excuse that the Su family had done them a favor. Pei Shaoze had no goodwill toward someone like that.