Chapter 15: Chapter 15: As Expected, No Cure for Being Directionally Challenged
Su Nian was timid and drove slowly, the pace of the car gentle, the compartment quiet, as Su Nian focused intently on the road ahead…
Suddenly she heard Shen Hanxiu speak: “Did you forget you were supposed to wait for me?” His tone and expression were still indifferent, as if he were questioning a subordinate about forgetting some important document.
Su Nian had once described him as old-fashioned and expressionless, looking just like a headteacher—serious! Yet he remained unchanged; when he was with her in the past, he would still manage an occasional smile, but in the presence of others, it was hard to find a second facial expression on his face.
Su Nian turned her head and glared at him; if she had the strength to throw him out, she certainly wouldn’t hesitate.
Ignoring him, she continued at a snail’s pace. Shen Hanxiu, dissatisfied with her disregard, spoke again: “I am talking to you.”
Su Nian kept her eyes forward and answered: “I don’t like to talk while driving. For President Shen’s safety, it’s better not to disturb me.”
Su Nian thought she’d manage to put him in his place but didn’t expect to invite his rebuttal: “With this speed, even if we did crash, we’d probably just scratch the paint.”
What was more infuriating was how serious he sounded!
“President Shen, if you find it too slow, you can get off.”
After driving a short distance, Su Nian stopped at an intersection: “President Shen, this is not on your way anymore. Please get off.”
Shen Hanxiu stayed put: “Where are you going?”
“I happen to have some business to take care of on the way.”
Unable to outlast him and worried that Su Zhen and Su Bao would be waiting too long, Su Nian immediately started the car again, only to hear him say leisurely: “Even if I were to get off, it wouldn’t have been that intersection just now. Clearly, being directionally challenged is incurable.”
Su Nian felt embarrassed but was also reminded of some warm memories.
Once, she wanted to go to the store to buy feminine products and insisted on going alone. Shen Hanxiu claimed she was bad with directions and said he would accompany her. She joked she had taken medicine and wouldn’t get lost, but ended up going from the center of town to the outskirts, and it took him half the night to fetch her back. That time, he said the exact same thing: Being directionally challenged is incurable.
A few minutes later, the car arrived at the kindergarten. Most of the children had been picked up, and from a distance, two small figures could be seen at a stall by the school gate.
Su Zhen was holding a large cotton candy in one hand and a little fishing rod with a magnetic fishing toy in the other, fishing by herself with relish while Su Bao stood behind her with a cold face, silent.
This scene was so familiar, just like the times in the past when Su Nian took Shen Hanxiu through the snack street. She would eat wildly, and he would silently follow behind her, footing the bill with an impatient look on his face, yet still accompanying her to have a good time.
Annoyed at not being able to fish up anything, Su Zhen squished the face she was making to her brother’s shirt behind her without warning, then grasped the fishing rod with both hands and declared determinedly, “I refuse to believe I can’t fish it out!”
The cotton candy, sticky and melty, clung to Su Bao’s clothes, turning his face an instant shade darker as he shouted at his sister: “Su Zhen!”
Su Zhen, without turning her head, continued to mumble a complaint: “Ugh, don’t yell at me, you scared the fish away! Look! It’s all your fault!”
Watching the two little ones, Su Nian couldn’t help but curve the corners of her mouth upward, walking over and saying, “Zhenzhen, are you bullying your brother again?”
“I did no such thing. He scared away my fish! Mom, help me fish, this fish keeps trying to escape!” As Su Zhen spoke, she saw Shen Hanxiu trailing behind, her interest in fishing immediately forgotten, tossing aside the rod and lunging at Shen Hanxiu: “Uncle Shen, you came too?”
In front of the child, Shen Hanxiu didn’t skimp on his smile, “Your mom couldn’t find her way, so I led her here.”
Su Zhen, sitting in Shen Hanxiu’s arms, nodded with approval: “Mom’s just as silly as me, always getting lost! When driving, Su Bao has to give directions.”
My dear daughter, is this how you badmouth your mom?
Shen Hanxiu looked at Su Nian, smiling without a word. At that moment, a red BMW parked by the roadside, a woman with heavy makeup and a somewhat enchanting appearance got out. Su Nian didn’t expect it would be her.