Su Qingsang didn’t regret confronting them. Su Peizhen was, however, Su Chenghui’s most beloved daughter.
Su Qingsang couldn’t guarantee that Su Chenghui wouldn’t get angry with Xiang Caiping for slapping his daughter. She thought it would be best to avoid stirring anything up.
Su Qingsang was relieved when she discovered that Su Peizhen and the rest of her group had left the hot spring ryokan when she returned at night.
She confirmed with the owner of the ryokan that they had really left. It was better this way. It was best that they didn’t see each other again.
Still, when she thought about the slap, a tinge of uneasiness gushed up in her heart and she did not know why.
After much pondering, she decided not to tell Huo Jinyao about her encounter with Su Peizhen.
When Huo Jinyao called again later that night, she only told him about some interesting things that had happened during their day tour.
Huo Jinyao was obviously very busy. She could hear the sound of the clattering of the keyboard over the phone.
Su Qingsang hung up after repeatedly reminding Huo Jinyao to take care of his health.
She saw Xiang Caiping sitting beside the window. It seemed like her mother was lost in thought. Su Qingsang went up, gently touched her mom’s shoulders, and said, “Mom, let’s go. Didn’t you say that you are tired after all that shopping? Let’s go soak ourselves in the hot spring again.”
“I don’t feel like going.” Her mother had seemed upset for the entire day.
“Just think of it as keeping me company, then. Is that okay, mom?”
Xiang Caiping only went because Su Qingsang put it this way.
Although she looked fine, Su Qingsang knew that Xiang Caiping wouldn’t get over the encounter very quickly.
She didn’t want to talk about it any more. She could only try her best to get Xiang Caiping to enjoy herself more for the rest of the trip and hopefully become happier.
The next day was the third day of the New Year. This marked the end of Su Qingsang’s leave. She caught an early flight to return home to start work.
As soon as she opened the door to pack, she saw Huo Jinyao at her doorstep. He had been about to knock on the door.
“It’s you?” Su Qingsang was caught by surprise. “Why are you here?”
Huo Jinyao smiled as he stretched out his hands to hug her. His hug was very tight. Su Qingsang’s face was buried in his chest.
The weather in Japan was getting colder ove. Although it was a bit chilly outside of Huo Jinyao’s clothes, Su Qingsang felt warm and touched.
After he had hugged her enough, he raised her face and planted a kiss on her lips.
It was a long, passionate kiss. Su Qingsang almost couldn’t catch her breath. He’d only let go of her when her legs started to turn jelly.
They still stuck together with his forehead against hers. “Did you miss me?”
Su Qingsang blushed as she nodded her head at him. “Mmm.”
“I missed you too, wifey.” Huo Jinyao hugged her yet again. “Are you going to check out now?”
“Mmm.” Su Qingsang nodded. Suddenly, she recalled that Xiang Caiping was still in the room.
Indeed, she was standing right inside the door. She smiled as she looked at them.
Su Qingsang’s face blushed even more. She had gotten so emotional when she saw Huo Jinyao that she had actually forgotten that Xiang Caiping was there.
“You…you haven’t told me why you came.”
“Didn’t I say that I would accompany the two of you to Japan? I was too bogged down by work. I just finished working late last night, had two hours of sleep, then flew here. I couldn’t accompany you for the tour, but I can bring you home.”
Su Qingsang bit her lips as her gaze fell on Huo Jinyao’s face. It was only now that she realized that he didn’t look too good.
He looked tired. There were faint bloody streaks in his eyes and dark circles beneath his them.
Her heart ached. She tightened her grip on his waist as she said, “You shouldn’t have done this. We are grown ups, why would we lose our way? You should be resting at home since you are tired. You shouldn’t have flown all the way here.”