The atmosphere in the study room was odd at that moment. Su Chenghui didnât move his feet but watched Li Qianxue walk up step by step.
âWho is that woman?â
She wore a peaceful look on her face. She was neither sad nor glad. She thought Xiang Caiping was Su Chenghuiâs beloved one. It had been so many years, but he never forgot about her.
But what if apart from her, there was another woman in Su Chenghuiâs life? What did that mean?
Li Qianxue doubted herself more than once. She spent decades loving that man, but sometimes, she felt as if her love was nothing but a joke.
She didnât want to give up, though. She always told herself that she would get through it and that everything would be fine. She told herself that Su Chenghui would eventually discover how great she was when he finally gave up on Xiang Caiping and stopped thinking of her.
However, Su Chenghui didnât forget about Xiang Caiping as Li Qianxue expected. What was worse, Li Qianxue now found out that there was another woman in Su Chenghuiâs life.
Seeing the fierce look in Li Qianxueâs eyes, Su Chenghui panicked again. He tried his best to stay calm.
âThat woman does not exist. You misheard.â
âI am not deaf,â Li Qianxue looked at Su Chenghui and spoke with an obviously sarcastic tone, âAlso, you didnât close the door.â
She tried to make herself sound calm, but the anger could still be detected in her voice. Su Chenghui dropped his head instead of making eye contact with Li Qianxue.
âThere is no other woman. You really misheard.â
It was the first time Su Chenghui talked to Li Qianxue with such a low voice. It was filled with helplessness, yet Li Qianxue sensed his guilt from that tone. He was trying to hide the truth.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
She made a step forward and stood right before Su Chenghuiâs face. The distance between the two of them was no more than ten centimeters.
She looked him in the eye and said, âSu Chenghui, who is Su Qingsangâs mother? Itâs not Xiang Caiping. Who it is?â
âNo one.â
âNo one? Did you give birth to her yourself? Did the girl appear out of thin air?â
Li Qianxue was so disappointed in Su Chenghui. After twenty years of loving him, she felt so tired and powerless. Now, she had nothing but despair and disappointment.
True disappointment.
âAs Iâve said, there is no other woman.â
Li Qianxue stared straight at Su Chenghuiâs face, then closed her eyes and repeated the question, âWho is Su Qingsangâs mother? Tell me.â
Huo Jinyao didnât expect things to turn out like that.
Sensing the atmosphere between Li Qianxue and Su Chenghui, he, as their son-in-law, clearly understood that he should leave.
He glanced at Su Chenghui, then at Li Qianxue. Neither of them was talking at the moment, but the atmosphere was very tense.
He quietly walked out of the study room, without saying a word to Su Chenghui.
Downstairs, Su Qingsang was waiting for him to give her an answer. Huo Jinyao looked at her and slightly shook his head.
Su Qingsang understood his meaning. The two of them said goodbye to Old Master Li and then left.
Su Yuxin noticed the look on Huo Jinyaoâs face. He felt that something not so good was happening.
In the study room, Li Qianxue was still questioning Su Chenghui. Su Chenghui refused to admit anything or give her any answer.
âAs Iâve said, there is no other woman. You misheard.â
Li Qianxue didnât want to ask any more questions. She raised a hand and slapped her husband in the face.
Su Chenghuiâs head jerked aside from that heavy slap. He looked at Li Qianxue, moved his lips, but didnât say a word.
Li Qianxue burst into laughter. She looked at Su Chenghui and nodded heavily while laughing. âSu Chenghui, I want a divorce.â
That was the second time Li Qianxue mentioned divorce. Su Chenghui paused briefly with surprise, then said without thinking, âI disagree.â
âI donât care if you agree or not,â Li Qianxue stopped laughing and spoke with a tired voice. âI have decided to get a divorce. Su Chenghui, listen to me carefully, I want a divorce.â
âThatâs not going to happen,â Su Chenghuiâs voice finally sounded a little normal. He looked at Li Qianxue and said with determination, âDonât even think about that. I wonât divorce you.â
âSu Chenghui,â Li Qianxue clenched her teeth, looked at him and said, âDonât be so shameless. Why on earth do you think I can still be with you as if nothing happened after you betrayed me again and again?â
âI didnât betray you,â Su Chenghui knew that Li Qianxue wouldnât believe anything he said at that moment, but what he said was true.
âYou didnât betray me? Who gave birth to Su Qingsang then? You didnât only betray me, but also betrayed Xiang Caiping. Su Chenghui, I thought you loved Xiang Caiping. It has been over twenty years. You pretended to love her so deeply, and you tortured me, ignored me. I thought you were a devoted man, but what kind of a man are you really?â
He turned out to be a dishonest and irresponsible man. She married a man like that and wasted half of her life.
âSu Chenghui, one more time, I want a divorce. Iâm telling my father now.â
Li Qianxue turned and prepared to leave. Su Chenghui hurriedly held her arm.
Li Qianxue wasnât prepared for that but ended up being caught in Su Chenghuiâs arms. Su Chenghui noticed the determined look on her face and somehow felt panic.
To hide his feelings, he said to her without thinking, âLi Qianxue, I wonât divorce you. We got married because that was what you wanted, and now you want to divorce me against my will. Why do you think you can make decisions for me? No, thatâs not going to happen.â
âYou...â
âAre you sure that you want a divorce now?â Su Chenghui looked at her face, trying to threaten her. âWho do you think has been running the business of the Li Family these years? Moreover, your father isnât healthy. The doctor said that he should not be irritated. Are you sure that you want to tell him?â
âSu Chenghui, you dirty man,â Li Qianxue was so angry. She almost wanted to slap him again.
âYeah, I am a lowlife. I know that. But didnât you want this dirty man yourself? Didnât you love this dirty man? Admit it, Li Qianxue. You started this.â
He grasped her hands. Su Chenghui was a man. How could Li Qianxue possibly manage to hit him again?
âYes, I made you marry me, so? Am I supposed to waste my entire life to make amends for that?â Li Qianxue almost lost control of herself. She glared at Su Chenghui. She had no idea that he was thinking that way.
Su Chenghui wanted to tell her that that was not what he meant, but he thought of Su Qingsang and Su Peizhen.
He couldnât explain. At last, his voice became lower. âLi Qianxue, you can shout louder. Letâs see if your father and Yuxin will hear us.â
Su Chenghui knew Li Qianxueâs weak points. Li Qianxue pushed him hard and took a step backward.
âSu Chenghui, I was so blind.â
That was the last thing she said. She turned and left, and didnât even give him another glance.
After she left, Su Chenghui weakly stepped backward and leaned against the desk, as if someone suddenly took away all his strength.
Cold sweat oozed out of his skin. He didnât pay attention to Li Qianxueâs anger.
All he knew was that the secret of Su Peizhen and Su Qingsang was safe, for now.
He had no idea how much longer he could keep that secret.
...
In the car, Su Qingsang was looking at Huo Jinyao. He told her what happened in the study room.
Su Qingsang frowned as she pondered over Su Chenghuiâs words.
âThat woman doesnât exist? Heâs really good at hiding his sins.â
Su Qingsang had now started to hate Su Chenghui, even though he was her father. How could that man be so cowardly that he didnât even dare to admit what he had done?
Huo Jinyao stayed silent. He was thinking about everything that had happened since Xiang Caiping showed up. He felt that something wasnât right.
Su Qingsang was still making guesses about her real mother. As Huo Jinyao stayed quiet, she stopped talking.
The New Year festivities werenât over yet, but she felt a little upset because of how awful Su Chenghui was, and the fact that he was hiding the truth.
âHuo Jinyao, do you think that we might be wrong? Perhaps my mother isnât a rich woman. Is there a chance that sheâs just an ordinary person, someone insignificant?â
Her words interrupted his thinking. He turned, gave her a glance and said to her, âWhat do you mean?â
âFor example, she might be a prostitute or a...â Su Qingsang didnât know why she was thinking that way. âIâve been thinking. I donât think my father could be with another woman under those circumstances. The only possibility was that an accident happened somehow. After all, he was with both my mother and Aunt Li at that time.â
By âaccidentâ, she meant a one-night stand or something like that. She didnât want to think of her father as a man like that, but that was the most probable explanation.
âAn accident happened when my mother gave birth to me, so my father brought me home and told the others that Iâm her child.â
They stopped in traffic. After saying that, Su Qingsang turned to look at Huo Jinyao and waited for his input.
Huo Jinyao frowned slightly. He was still thinking about how Xiang Caiping came into Su Qingsangâs life and what happened after that.
He had a feeling that Su Qingsangâs background wasnât as simple as she herself thought. There had to be some other hidden truth about it.
Currently, there was no obvious problem with her family background, but in fact, many details could easily turn out to be wrong.
He always felt that something was weird, but couldnât explain how, until he heard what Su Qingsang said.
Those words felt like a lightning bolt flashing across his mind and solved all the puzzles that he had.
Abruptly, he turned and stared straight at Su Qingsangâs face.
Su Peizhen didnât look like Su Chenghui or Li Qianxue. Unlike her, Su Yuxin looked very much like his father.
Huo Jinyao looked at Su Qingsang carefully. Su Qingsang and Su Yuxin looked more like a sister and a brother than Su Peizhen and Su Yuxin. Both Su Qingsang and Su Yuxin perfectly inherited the handsome features of Su Chenghuiâs face.
Su Qingsang actually looked like a female version of Su Chenghui. She had beautiful eyes, eyebrows, nose, and mouth. She had Su Chenghuiâs eyes and brows, but the shape of her face was...
She had Li Qianxueâs face shape.
âHuo Jinyao? Whatâs wrong?â The light had already turned green. The cars behind were honking. Su Qingsang looked at Huo Jinyao with concern.
âDo you think that Iâm wrong? Itâs alright. Iâm happy with my current life anyway.â
âYou are right. But we guessed wrong.â
âWhat?â
...