Lin Xiaoguai had no idea about Shen Chi’s careful considerations. She yawned, placed the bookmark on the page she was reading, put away the book, and snuggled into Shen Chi’s arms to close her eyes.
"I’m sleepy, I want to sleep."
Shen Chi adjusted his position to make her more comfortable, lowered his head to gently kiss her forehead, and softly said, "Sleep."
Seeing Su Cheng at her own doorstep surprised Lin Xiaoguai.
"Hello," Su Cheng said somewhat awkwardly. "I’m Su Cheng. I don’t know if Xiao Li has mentioned me to you."
"Do you need something?" Lin Xiaoguai did not answer his question but asked one instead.
She had some resentment towards this man. Although it was his mother who had brought harm to Yang Xiaoli, shouldn’t a man protect the woman he loves?
Ultimately, if Yang Xiaoli had not been willing, Su Cheng’s mother couldn’t have hurt her. But she had chosen to compromise because of Su Cheng.
Detecting her attitude, Su Cheng, somewhat embarrassed, touched his nose and said, "Actually, I have something I want to send to Xiao Li, but I don’t know her family’s address..."
"I refuse." Before he could finish, Lin Xiaoguai said, "No matter what you want to send to Xiao Li, I won’t give you her family’s address."
"Why?" Su Cheng asked, both eagerly and resentfully.
"Because it will hurt her," Lin Xiaoguai said with a sharp look. "You two are over. Anything related to you will only bring back painful memories for her. Too many memories will prevent her from moving on. Do you want her to be unable to let go of you for the rest of her life?"
"I..." Su Cheng couldn’t give a definite answer, nor could he bring himself to admit it.
"Don’t even think about it," Lin Xiaoguai said coldly. "Maybe you just don’t want Xiao Li to forget you, but the cost is too great. I can’t let you harm her for a lifetime."
"I haven’t. I love her so much, how could I want to harm her!" Su Cheng retorted angrily.
"You may not have intended to harm her, but you have already hurt her to this extent," Lin Xiaoguai said expressionlessly. "If you still care for her, then don’t appear before her again. Don’t let her hear any news about you. Only then can she forget you, accept another man, and have a happy marriage."
Su Cheng, pale-faced, slumped to the ground weakly, his voice tinged with a sob, "I don’t want to give her up..."
"Please do give her up!" Lin Xiaoguai’s tone suddenly grew stern. "Unless you can abandon your own family, abandon your own mother, otherwise stop saying these things. It will only make me despise you more!"
She didn’t like to argue with people, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t. How many literate people are poor in speech? It all depended on whether they wanted to speak or not!
"Exactly!" Zhu Huixi ran over at some point, breathless and glaring at Su Cheng. "Don’t even think about getting Xiao Li’s address from the school, or don’t blame me for being rude!"
Lin Xiaoguai pulled Zhu Huixi inside the house, while Su Cheng took out the watch he once gave to Yang Xiaoli from his pocket, suddenly wanting to cry out loud.
If his attempts to win her back only brought her pain, then what was the point?
"I’m so angry!" Once inside, Zhu Huixi fumed.
"What’s wrong?" Lin Xiaoguai asked, puzzled. Though Su Cheng’s actions today were annoying, it seemed excessive to be so agitated.
"You don’t know how outrageous Su Cheng’s mother is!" Zhu Huixi griped, holding her hand. "It was Su Cheng who went to Aunt Yang for Xiao Li’s address, and she had the nerve to go to Aunt Yang’s house and say ambiguous things."
She coughed lightly, imitating Mrs. Su’s tone, "Yang Xiaoli was sensible enough to leave, and I thought highly of her for it. But tell her not to play any coy games; the Su family will never accept her as a daughter-in-law."
"Pfft!" She burst out angrily. "They think they’re so high and mighty just because they have money? They’re still government officials, but she’s just a manipulative old lady, thinking everyone else only cares about money and power like she does! Ridiculous!"
Lin Xiaoguai was speechless. She had Shen Chi inquire about Old Mrs. Su’s character recently. Her disposition had not always been . It was the hardships during the Cultural Revolution in the countryside that had made her somewhat tricky and harsh. Although her upbringing prevented her from cursing or hitting someone, a cultured person could sometimes be even more hurtful with words.
Soon, Zhu Huixi seemed to think of something and said with relish, "Aunt Yang is formidable! She didn’t bother to reason with her and directly chased her away with a broom. You should have seen Old Mrs. Su’s expression then—her face went the color of liver!" With her niece not there, Aunt Yang had no hesitation; she didn’t indulge Old Mrs. Su at all.
Lin Xiaoguai shook her head, hoping this would be the end of it, lest Yang Xiaoli suffer the most harm.
Perhaps Su Cheng had really given up, as he caused no further disturbance over the next period, and gradually Lin Xiaoguai could put her mind at ease.
Now, she spent most of her attention on planning the merchandise for her store. Every time she thought of something, she added it, but eventually found the variety of products was too mixed, making it difficult to position them.
While she fretted over this, Shen Chi had already found a suitable store.
It should be "storefront," right? He thought uncertainly.
He wasn’t sure, yet unable to find a more suitable one. In order to avoid living in an empty house in the future, he still planned to go back and discuss it with Wanwan, perhaps a little persuasion would change her mind.(To be continued. If you work, please go to Qidian (qidian.com) and vote for it with recommendations, and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)