Zhu Zhihua, carrying a small knife in her bag, pressed the buzzer of Su Li’s front door.
Upon seeing her daughter whom she hadn’t seen for many days, Zhu Zhihua swiftly pulled out the knife from her bag and held it to her own neck.
"I’m laying it out here. You’re coming back with me to meet the suitors now, or you’ll be pushing me to my death."
Su Li coldly watched everything unfold, her expression unflappable.
She cocked her head, asking in puzzlement, "I’ve always been very unclear."
"How does whether I marry or not become linked to you dying?"
"Isn’t getting married my own affair?"
"As a legal adult, I should have the right to decide how my life should proceed."
"You have your life, I can’t make decisions for you, and conversely, the same rule applies."
Zhu Zhihua did not listen to a word Su Li said, as she only saw her daughter’s indifference.
This was something she couldn’t accept.
In her mind, her daughter remained the same as three years ago, though increasingly rebellious, fundamentally still a kind child who felt compassion for her mother.
Never mind that she constantly threatened, saying she would cut ties if her daughter disobeyed.
In reality, she was just manipulating out of assumed unconditional love.
Like her father, her daughter valued family and relatives immensely.
Such love, she thought she could squander all her life, but in fact...
After her ex-husband’s sudden indifference, this time in her daughter’s eyes, she saw a similar look.
Zhu Zhihua’s hand shook, excitedly dragging the knife across her neck.
The not-so-sharp blade left a slender trail of blood on her neck.
Even so, the daughter opposite her didn’t even bat an eyelash.
Zhu Zhihua felt frustrated, extremely frustrated.
The slight sting from the cut kept reminding her of her failure.
However, her hand trembled so violently that she couldn’t bear to push the knife deeper.
Quickly, she resignedly tossed the knife smeared with a hint of blood in front of Su Li, rasping out, "Your heart has become as hard as your father’s."
"Xiao Li, are you alright?"
Su Peng hurriedly emerged from the ascending elevator.
He ignored Zhu Zhihua, who looked deeply shaken, and carefully surveyed Su Li from head to toe.
Having shared a bed for over twenty years, Su Peng knew precisely what kind of person Zhu Zhihua was inside.
Her habitual tactics were just those few tricks.
Besides using it on those who cared about her, who else would tolerate her antics?
He used to indulge her out of sympathy; now seeing her disgusted him, what did she amount to?
Upon seeing Su Peng, Zhu Zhihua’s eyes dodged guiltily, then uncharacteristically, a hint of grievance rose within her.
She turned her head and sheepishly called out to Su Peng, "Apeng, why have you come?"
At this moment, Zhu Zhihua’s face lacked any of its usual domineering arrogance, appearing quite cautious.
"My neck really hurts."
Zhu Zhihua’s words did remind Su Peng; he noticed the knife on the ground, his heart leaping into his throat.
After scrutinizing Su Li thoroughly once more, he slowly relaxed.
"You’re busy with your studies, don’t bother with this. Go back to your room, I’ll handle it here."
Watching her stepfather, Su Li instantly switched into battle mode, her defiant demeanor almost comical.
But this was quite fine.
In the few encounters they had, she always saw a kind of uncertain terror in her father’s eyes.
It seemed like he was always worried that everything happening before him was just a dream he had conjured.
Only when he did something for his daughter did he come alive.
After Xiao Li was talked out of her stance and turned around, Su Peng gave her a cold and fierce look, his aura sharp like a mother hen exploding in feather to protect her chicks, giving off a fierce appearance.
"Why am I here? I’m asking you..."
"It’s a good thing I’ve always had someone keep an eye on you. As expected, the moment I let my guard down, you came here to harass your daughter."
Zhu Zhhua didn’t want to hear this; before the rage that had begun to boil inside her could flare up, she forcefully extinguished it herself.
It wasn’t three years ago anymore; if she dared to lash out at her ex-husband now, he’d dare to slap her.
Three days later, at the Century Royal Hotel
Su Li made a low-key appearance at the hotel entrance.
And right behind her trailed a little sidekick, ever so eager to please.
Upon closer inspection, the girl in the role of the eager flunky was none other than Tan Zhi.
Three years after graduation, most classmates had little contact, yet Tan Zhi, who had been quite hostile towards Su Li initially, ended up getting closer to Su Li.
No, that’s not quite right to say.
It would be more apt to describe it as Tan Zhi taking a unilateral liking towards Su Li, thinking quite highly of herself.
Having a little sidekick who could read the room and know the score was indeed very nice.
Despite Su Li’s cold and detached demeanor, she actually felt quite smug inside.
Tan Zhi, in ordinary stories, would be an annoying expendable side character. With the way her character was developing, with a bit of bad luck, she might end up stuck in the role of a dispensable character.
But now, she seemed bathed in shining golden light, standing tall like a reputable citizen.
Kind, righteous, and friendly.
Ah, she was just that outstanding.
Simply by being close to her, she was able to redirect a woman who was nearly on the wrong path back onto the right one.
Truly... too remarkable!
Su Li raised her arm, and the alert and quick *Tan* little sidekick *Zhi* promptly took the small handbag from Su Li’s hands.
With a smug smile on her face, Tan Zhi secretly shed tears of bitter sweetness.
From being an annoyance in Su Li’s eyes to becoming a close friend now, she had indeed put in a lot of effort.
Yes, she had unilaterally decided that their relationship was absolutely that of best friends, no objections allowed.
Of course, she only dared say this to herself inside her mind.
Seeing that Su Li seemed in a good mood, Tan Zhi leaned over and quietly asked, "That guy’s wedding, what business do we have attending it?"
Every time Wan Shimin came up, Tan Zhi had a disgusted expression.
"I don’t know which girl is so unlucky to end up marrying that man."
Sympathy filled Tan Zhi’s eyes for the bride she hadn’t yet met.
Su Li calmly responded, "Put away your sympathy; that bride is not pitiable at all."
With a puzzled look, Tan Zhi watched as Su Li took out an invitation from her bosom.
She glanced at it, her mind full of doubts.
She had thought the invitations they received were just Wan Shimin’s way of annoying them.
However, it wasn’t what she had thought.
From the recent invitation and the way a waiter guided people, it seemed they were appearing as part of the bride’s party.