"Shuangshuang, don’t do anything rash!" She had only this one daughter, and if she were to marry poorly, how distressing that would be.
"How am I being rash? Are you the one finding someone or is it me?" Gu Shuangshuang became more and more agitated as she spoke, "My taste is different from yours! What you like might not be what I like! I want to follow my own thoughts!"
"Gu Shuangshuang! Can’t you change that stubborn temper of yours? Every time we get into an argument, you start yelling and screaming at me!" Duan Aihua pounded on the desk on the other end of the phone and yelled.
"This temper of mine is exactly what I got from you!" Gu Shuangshuang immediately retorted.
An Hao was standing by, utterly dumbfounded by what she was hearing. She truly saw this girl in a new light!
"Cough, cough, cough..." Duan Aihua tried to speak but ended up nearly choking on her saliva. "You little brat! Is this how you talk to your mother?"
"Shuangshuang!" An Hao really didn’t want to see the mother and daughter arguing, so she tried to mediate in a low voice, "No matter what, she is your mom! She definitely means well for you. You might have differing views and perspectives, but she must love you."
After her outburst, Gu Shuangshuang realized she had lost her composure, so she steadied her emotions and said, "Mom! I don’t want to argue with you. Dad and I have been accommodating you for so many years, can’t you accommodate me just this once? I really like him! He’s a good man! And I want to marry him!"
Seeing that Shuangshuang had softened her tone, Duan Aihua also became more amiable, "Let’s not talk about this matter for now. You’re still in school. We can talk about it after you’ve graduated! Also, if you want to be with him, I must meet this man! If you dare go behind my back, Gu Shuangshuang, I swear you will regret it for the rest of your life!"
"What do you want me to regret? Are you going to hang yourself with a rope on my wedding day?"
"Are you hoping for your mother to die, is that it?" Duan Aihua sneered coldly, "I will make you regret marrying him!"
"Enough! I don’t want to talk to you anymore! Hanging up!" Mother and daughter were not on the same wavelength, and the argument had gone on for too long.
"Come over for the New Year!" Duan Aihua invited again.
"No thanks! I’m going to find my dad!" With that, Gu Shuangshuang hung up the phone with a snap.
Afterward, she made a phone call to her father, Gu Yishan, telling him she would be going to see his mother this year.
At least she had explained things over the phone.
An Hao had listened from start to finish to the entire conversation and was astounded by Gu Shuangshuang’s ability to lie, "I really admire you! Aren’t you afraid that when your parents talk, they’ll see through your lies?"
"Not afraid!" Even if her lies were exposed, what then? Anyway, she would be at Tian Niu’s remote home, which Tian Niu would describe as a poverty-stricken backwater with no means of contact, let alone a way to be found.
"Are you really determined to take this step with Tian Niu?" Being her dear friend, An Hao couldn’t let Gu Shuangshuang do as she pleased without question, and she felt she had to ask.
"Mhm." Gu Shuangshuang nodded firmly, "I’ve decided and I won’t regret it! No one can stop me!"
"Alright. Since you’ve decided, I’ll support you." After saying that, An Hao stood up, went to the drawer, and took out an envelope to give to Gu Shuangshuang, "Take this with you for the journey."
"What’s this?" Gu Shuangshuang took it and opened it to see two hundred yuan inside, "Why are you giving me this?"