Hua Xiaomo gazed at the fading distance, her eyes not returning to focus for a good while.
It wasn’t until Hua Renda briskly walked toward her that she stirred. "You’re back! Xiao Mo, hurry inside and see if you like it!"
Hua Xiaomo was passively led into the house by Hua Renda. Inside, her mother was sitting comfortably on the sofa, watching the large-screen TV. Her best friend, Dong Xiaoyou, was also there, playing with her little baby. When they saw her return, they all greeted her with smiling faces.
It seemed someone was busy in the kitchen; when he emerged, it was a young man with a head of purple hair.
Zi Yunsui, holding two dishes, placed them on the table and looked at Hua Xiaomo with a beaming smile. "Master said you hadn’t eaten, so he especially asked me to prepare a couple of small dishes for you. Hua Xiaomo, come and have some!" Zi Yunsui said with a smile.
Hua Xiaomo looked at them, suddenly feeling an indescribable emotion. Standing in this large house, speaking one’s mind indeed felt less constrained, but...
"Zi Yunsui, leave the dishes there; I’ll eat them. You can go back now!" Hua Xiaomo said indifferently.
Qi Lingfeng had left, but had he left his eyes and ears here? Ostensibly, it was to serve her, but wasn’t it actually to monitor her?
"Okay," Zi Yunsui replied succinctly, quickly removing his apron and leaving the beautiful little villa.
Once Zi Yunsui was gone, Hua Xiaomo’s expression became utterly stern.
She looked at them. Her gaze first turned to Hua Renda, and she said with a mirthless smile, "Dad, what sudden wind blew you back here? Why did you suddenly think of moving Mom and me? But do you know? We had already gotten used to living in that old place!"
As soon as Hua Xiaomo spoke, Su Ronghua immediately stepped between them, grabbing Hua Xiaomo’s hand. "Don’t talk to your dad like that, Xiao Mo. He’s your father!"
"It’s okay, it’s okay... let her speak..." Hua Renda managed a faint smile.
Hua Xiaomo looked at him. It was as if he had come today specifically to be scolded. She desperately wanted to curse him out, yet at this moment, she couldn’t bring herself to utter the harsh words welling up inside her.
"What are you even doing here? Why bother moving us? In such a fancy place, Mom and I feel like we’re covered in thorns! We don’t need it!" Hua Xiaomo said, grabbing Su Ronghua’s hand. "Mom, let’s go. Let’s go back!"
"Xiao Mo! Don’t be foolish. Your dad is doing this for our own good!" Su Ronghua retorted, gripping Hua Xiaomo’s hand.
"For our good? What a joke!" Hua Xiaomo turned to Hua Renda. "When it was time for you to be good to us, where were you? Mom was hospitalized, and you just dropped a hundred thousand yuan and left, leaving me with over a million yuan in medical debt?"
"May I ask, Dad, is this what you call being good to us? Do you know how hard those days were for us? Did you ever come to check on us? Did you even call once?" Hua Xiaomo said, then suddenly, she laughed.
"Now that you know the Second Young Master of the Qi Family is going to marry me, you immediately come over to move us? Dad, can you stop being so hypocritical?" Hua Xiaomo said mockingly.
She blurted out almost everything in one breath. Looking at the man standing before her, if she could, she truly wouldn’t want to acknowledge him.
How could she have such a heartless father?
"Xiao Mo, don’t talk about your dad like that. He has his difficulties!" Su Ronghua said, her gaze toward Hua Xiaomo turning somewhat stern.
"Difficulties? What difficulties? In the past, all he wanted was to marry me off to the Qi Family to protect his own company. But fate wouldn’t have it; Qi Longbing didn’t take a liking to me, and his company went under too."
Once Hua Xiaomo started, she couldn’t stop. "Now, finally, another young master of the Qi Family has taken a liking to me, and he can’t wait to marry me off, using me as his tool to climb the social ladder!"
SMACK! A palm struck Hua Xiaomo’s face. It was Su Ronghua who had slapped her, her hand trembling in the air after the strike.
"Xiao... Xiao Mo... I’m sorry... Mom didn’t mean to... but no matter how wrong he is, he’s still your dad!" Su Ronghua managed to say, her face taut with distress.
Hua Renda stood in the villa, completely unable to utter a single word. Seeing Hua Xiaomo get hit, he too felt a pang of heartache and stepped forward. "It’s all Dad’s fault. I paid too little attention to you and your mother in the past! I’m sorry, Xiao Mo, can you forgive Dad?"
Hua Xiaomo looked at him, not knowing what to say. Dong Xiaoyou, however, gently placed the sleeping child into a nearby cradle, then stepped forward to take Hua Xiaomo’s arm, aptly playing the role of "fire extinguisher."
"Uncle, Auntie, please don’t worry. Xiao Mo must be very tired after just getting back. Let me help her upstairs to rest." Dong Xiaoyou quickly supported Hua Xiaomo up the stairs and into a bright room, where she helped her sit on the bed.
"Xiao Mo, things have already come to this. Why did you have to say those words? Deep down, your mom still loves your dad," Dong Xiaoyou consoled.
"Love?" Hua Xiaomo looked at her ironically. "What kind of love is that? Love should bring happiness, security, marriage! Not leave my mom to be pointed at her whole life as an unmarried mother, or have me forever labeled as an illegitimate daughter!"
After saying that, she saw the flicker of discomfort on Dong Xiaoyou’s face and realized her blunder. She immediately grabbed Dong Xiaoyou’s arm. "I’m sorry, I wasn’t talking about you. Xiao You, please don’t be mad at me, okay?"
"No! I’m not mad," Dong Xiaoyou smiled, quickly masking her emotions.
How she wished for a complete love and a complete family, but reality was cruel. Not every girl was as lucky as the one before her.
"Xiao You!" Hua Xiaomo looked at her, then suddenly moved forward to embrace her, resting her head on her shoulder. "You will always be my Snow White, and I will never leave you. I will be your rock!"
"What silly things you’re saying. One day you’ll get married; we can’t possibly be together forever..." Dong Xiaoyou patted her shoulder and laughed.
Hua Xiaomo lifted her head, looking at her friend. "Who says I have to get married? I just won’t marry, ever! What can anyone do about it?"
"Such childish talk. You’re so outstanding, how could you possibly not get married?" Dong Xiaoyou looked at her, then couldn’t help but think of herself. It truly felt like one was in heaven and the other on earth.
Hua Xiaomo was still that Pearl everyone sought after, while she herself had become the unmarried mother everyone scorned. Unmarried men wouldn’t look her way, and married men would likely avoid her altogether.
"The Second Young Master of the Qi Family is Xia Shuangming, right?" Dong Xiaoyou looked at her, suddenly asking.
Hua Xiaomo remained silent for a long while, her face clouded with gloom. "But I don’t want to marry him." Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱