Suizi raised her hand, looking at the antique bound book in her grip, what?
She had just seen this book at the Shen Family’s, loved it so much she hated to put it down. In her mind, she had already set the book down at their house.
But her hand, surprisingly, had ideas of its own.
Like finding the ultimate treasure, she had brought it all the way home!
"Oh no, am I considered a thief now? Stealing something of this value, how long will my sentence be... Never mind, I should return it later."
Despite what Suizi said, her eyes were stuck to the book like glue.
This was such a great antique, each time you come across such is one time less. Even with money, you can’t necessarily buy it...
"What’s so good about these things?" Yu Jingting couldn’t understand why Suizi was so obsessed with the book.
The old books that her mother-in-law left behind were treated as treasures by Suizi. She had a special cabinet made to store them, regularly checking on them for dampness and pests. She spent so much time in the study that it nearly overshadowed the time she spent with him.
This annoyed Yu Jingting.
"This is so good, it’s a limited edition number, there were only 99 copies. Some were even destroyed during the wars, it’s already fortunate that quite a few copies have been preserved until now."
"Oh, is that why you stole it?" Yu Jingting’s remark made Suizi wilt.
Holding the book, she felt as if she had lost the world.
"How can stealing a book be considered stealing..."
"If you like it, keep it. Just pay whatever it costs."
"What if they don’t want to sell?"
"Then don’t give money. If you don’t give money, then it’s not considered buying."
"..."
While Suizi and Yu Jingting were chatting, Jin Wa, who was playing by himself, reached out and pinched Xiaosun’s ear.
"Wa!" Xiaosun’s cry echoed through the sky.
The Grandmother on the street took a look at what had happened and was almost driven mad.
"It’s you again?!"
Suizi hurriedly apologized.
"I’m sorry, I didn’t keep an eye on Jin Wa. Did he hurt Jiajia badly? Let me take a look- wow, his skin is red, I’m really sorry."
Ever since she took in Jin Wa, Suizi had become quite practiced in apologizing, a marked change from the once haughty Yu Family. Suizi pulled out two candies from Yu Jingting’s pocket and handed them to Xiaosun.
Yu Jingting always had candies in his pocket because Suizi often suffered from low blood sugar.
Seeing the candies, Xiaosun finally stopped crying.
Kids are easy to appease, but adults not so much.
The grandmother was already holding back her anger.
"Director Chen, it’s not that I don’t want to reason with you, but this Jin Wa you have taken in is just too unruly!"
"Yes, yes, we will definitely educate him more."
"This isn’t just about education, Director Chen. No offence, but the saying goes ’like father like son’. Look at your twins with the Factory Director Yu, oh, everyone adores them."
Suizi and her husband were always happy to hear praises about their children. Whoever praised their children was their friend. Yu Jingting even felt that the grandmother was quite discerning.
"Seeing them grow up, if you then look at Jin Wa, it’s completely unreasonable how much he likes to hit other kids. Children squabble and sometimes have a small fight, but who would go as far as him and hit others for no reason? Was he born of a bandit?"
"We also noticed this child has some bad habits, we will also be careful to correct them, and if we find his parents, we will talk to them."
Suizi had never been this humble in her life. But what else could she do when she was clearly in the wrong? If she were in the grandmother’s shoes, she would also be heartbroken to see her child’s ear being pinched like that.
Yu Jingting grabbed Jin Wa and smacked his hand hard twice.
Jin Wa was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears.
"If you dare to hit someone again, I’ll smack your hands until they swell. Apologize!" Yu Jingting was not going to spoil this kid. If he does something wrong, he should be punished accordingly.
Frightened, Jin Wa only knew how to cry and had no idea how to apologize. Yu Jingting was about to spank the child again when the grandmother said it was fine and hurriedly led Xiaosun away.
As she was leaving, she praised Yu Jingting.
"He is from an educated family after all, he knows etiquette."
After the grandmother left, Suizi burst into laughter.
"What’s so funny?" Yu Jingting looked at her askance.
"I find it funny that she called you ’from an educated family’. Weren’t your ancestors bandits?"
"The ancestors of the old Yu family were bandits. I don’t even know who my dad’s ancestors were. Maybe, maybe our ancestors were scholars too."
"Give me a break, even without a third eye, I can tell your ancestors were no scholars. You and dad are more like bandits than anyone else in the old Yu family. Jin Wa has a bandit’s character too... But there’s something different."
Feeling that Yu Jingting’s gaze was turning more intense, Suizi stepped in to appease him.
"You and dad are righteous bandits, like the top bandit leaders, while Jin Wa is just akin to small fry. Look at him, he shows no mercy, always picking on the weak and sick."
Even though Suizi used a lot of flowery words, Yu Jingting still grasped her main point.
"No matter how righteous, we are still bandits?"
Suizi laughed, wasn’t it obvious?
"Well, no matter what my ancestors did, in this lifetime, I married a cultured woman, so my family is upgraded to an ’intellectual family’. Any problem with that?"
"Uh..." Is there a problem? Doesn’t seem like it?
Suizi had Yu Jingting take the sobbing Jin Wa home while she, noticing that it was about time, headed to school.
After heating some water for tea, Shen’s mother arrived.
"You came at just the right time. Try this year’s new tea, a student gave it to me." Suizi handed her a teacup.
It was clear that Shen’s mother had put on makeup. She looked much better than when Suizi had just seen her.
A woman in her forties, enjoying a certain social status, she was the cream of the crop among her peers in terms of taste in clothes and makeup.
Looking at Shen’s mother like this, Suizi couldn’t help but think of herself in a few decades. If she reached Shen’s mother’s age, she might not even match her taste in clothes... Clothing was always a sore spot for Suizi.
Similarly to Shen Liangyin, Shen’s mother’s face proved that she too was once a gorgeous woman.
But even the most beautiful woman cannot resist the erosions of time, and Shen’s mother was no exception. Even if she was adept at dressing up and maintaining her appearance, she couldn’t match the youthful brilliance of Chang Ling.
Even Wang Mengmeng, a woman who was not as good as Shen’s mother in any aspect, was still able to hold a place in Shen’s father’s heart.
Seeing that Suizi was staring at her for quite some time, Shen’s mother asked:
"What are you looking at?"
"I’m puzzled. You’re such a wonderful woman, with culture, manners, and a job. You’ve raised a capable daughter like Shen Liangyin - though I can’t agree with her personality, but why would your husband still be attracted to someone like Chang Ling who is inferior to you in all aspects?"
Shen’s mother didn’t expect Suizi to say that. Her lips trembling slightly, all she could do was take a sip of tea to mask her emotions.
The scalding water couldn’t warm up her cold heart. Shen’s mother put down her teacup and forced a bitter smile.
"He doesn’t care if they’re good or bad, fragrant or smelly, as long as they’re female, young, and can bear him sons, he will draw them in."