Chapter 856: Mom Misses Him
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
During the night, Gu Zi tossed and turned restlessly. Su Shen was, after all, her constant companion, treating her well and generously providing for her. It was only right, both emotionally and logically, that she should pay him a visit.
This wasn’t a romantic notion, but rather a testament to her understanding of gratitude and reciprocation.
Yes, that was it. She resolved to journey to the capital to find the older man, determined to see him, alive or dead.
The following day dawned with a gentle sunlight. Gao Ming arrived at the Su residence early in the morning. “Aunt Gu Zi,” he said, “I came because I smelled something delicious. My nose is quite sharp, isn’t it?”
Gu Zi placed a steaming egg custard down and tenderly patted the young boy’s head. Remembering his lack of parental care from a young age, she spoke to him with an especially gentle tone. “Your nose is the sharpest. Go wash your hands quickly, and eat soon. We’re a bit late today.”
Gao Ming nodded, washed his hands, and picked up his bowl of porridge to take a sniff. It smelled wonderful. Aunt Gu Zi’s porridge was always the best. The table was laden with a feast of delicious food: egg custard, soy beef slices, soy lettuce, and pickles. Each dish looked mouth-watering!
Seeing his older brothers almost finished with their meals, he hurriedly began to eat. In his haste, he ended up with food smeared all over his face, rice clinging to his cheeks, and egg custard on his nose. But Gao Ming didn’t waste a single morsel, scooping up everything with his hands and stuffing it into his mouth, even the fallen strands of pickles from the table.
Suddenly, he remembered something. “Oh no, I forgot to mention something. Big Brother, Second Brother, our driver called in sick today. We’ll have to walk to school. Will we be late?”
Su Bing glanced at his wristwatch. “We are a bit late, but we have bicycles. I’ll take you, and Su Li, you can ride on your own.”
Gao Ming’s eyes widened with envy at the sight of Su Bing’s square metal wristwatch. “Big Brother, you actually have a wristwatch. That’s so cool!”
Seeing this, Su Li quickly raised his hand to show off his own wristwatch, a broad smile spreading across his face. “I have one too! This is a gift from our mother for winning a competition!”
Gao Ming looked on wistfully, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. “I’ll go home and ask my grandmother to buy me a wristwatch. I don’t want toys anymore!”
Seeing another minute tick by, Su Bing grabbed Gao Ming, slung his school bag over one shoulder, and said coolly, “Do you still want the perfect attendance award at the end of the term? We can talk about this after school. We need to hurry to school now.”
Gao Ming nodded emphatically. Of course, he wanted the award. He had no desire to be labeled as a tardy slouch. With his backpack already in tow, he quickly followed Su Bing. Indeed, he was a clever little imp!
Gu Zi watched the three of them in their haste, cradling Su Le in her arms. “No need for bicycles today, I’ll drive you to school,” she announced.
She had planned to visit the school that day anyway, to excuse her two sons’ absence. She had decided to go to the capital to find their father. She didn’t feel comfortable leaving the three children behind, so she decided to take them along to find their father.
Once Su Bing and the others had climbed into their father’s small sedan, Gu Zi, still holding Su Le, also got in. She handed Su Le to Su Bing to hold. Today, she was in the driver’s seat and couldn’t hold the child.
The three children in the backseat were stunned, but soon realized that she was going to drive them to school.
Su Li, leaning over the back of the driver’s seat, exclaimed in surprise, “Mom, when did you learn to drive?”
Gu Zi fastened her seatbelt, started the engine, and the car began to move. She calmly spun a small lie, “Of course, I learned during my free time. I thought that when your father isn’t home, I could drive you.”
She could only bluff about this matter. As a former professional career woman, driving was an essential skill. But she couldn’t say that she learned in her previous life.
She had recently asked Jin Long to help her buy a driver’s license. In this era, driver’s licenses weren’t strictly checked. If you had money, you could buy one. For someone like her who didn’t drive often, buying a license was much more time and energy-efficient than actually taking the test.
Now she was legally on the road. Of course, buying a license wasn’t exactly ethical, so she decided not to tell the children, to avoid setting a bad example.
After dropping the three children off at school, Gu Zi made a trip to the administrative office. She then went to the newspaper office to submit her finished article. She didn’t take on any new assignments. She had already arranged for leave the previous night with Guan Xin.
Now, all that was left was to inform Su Bing and Su Li that they were going to the capital to find Su Shen.
After dinner that evening, the family was watching television in the living room. Gu Zi brought up the matter, but she omitted the part about Su Shen’s accident. Even if she told the children, it wouldn’t solve anything. She didn’t want the children to worry unnecessarily.
“Su Bing, Su Li,” she began, “your Uncle Jin Long came by yesterday. He said your father won’t be back for a while. I miss him.”