Su Qingsang and Huo Jinyao went home. Earlier that day, she asked Sister Lu to clean the apartment.
âI asked Sister Lu to clean momâs room. She will be released in a few days, and we can take her home and look after her.â
âSure,â Huo Jinyao agreed.
âI thought about moving into your villa since it is roomy and it will be more convenient for mom to do her exercises.â
âNo problem. Itâs up to you.â
âAndââ Su Qingsang has talked for a while and discovered that Huo Jinyao did not express any opinion of his own. âWhat happened? Donât you have any ideas?â
âYou decide,â Huo Jinyao pulled her to his side and sat down. âItâs small stuff. You donât need to ask me.â
âI was just talking,â Su Qingsang turned her head to look at him. âWhat happened to you today? Thereâs something wrong with you.â
Huo Jinyao shook his head. âThe Lantern Festival is coming. Do you want to go back to Rong City with me to visit Grandpa? We could make an arrangement and bring Mom there.â
Su Qingsang bit her lip. They decided it a long time ago, and she felt fine with it.
âOkay. Iâll ask my mom and consult with Doctor Jiang. If he says thereâs no problem, we will take her back to Rong City.â
Huo Jinyao reached out his hand to touch her hair gently. âGreat. Let me know once you have consulted with the doctor. You can leave the rest to me.â
âSure.â Su Qingsang was always at ease with Huo Jinyao. He was productive and efficient, and even more thoughtful than she was.
It was believed that Xiang Caiping would also agree to return to Rong City. However, Su Qingsang was suddenly silent, with a hint of mixed feelings showing on her face.
âWhatâs wrong?â
Su Qingsang looked at him, her lips pressed firmly.
âDo you think she will come back before we leave Lin City?â
Huo Jinyao saw the struggle in her eyes, and his heart ached for her.
He reached out to hug her, holding her tightly in his arms.
âDo you want to see her?â
With her face buried in his chest, Su Qingsang found Huo Jinyao smelled clean and fresh. âA little bit. If we leave for Rong City, we will rarely return here. I want to see her before we leave.â
Huo Jinyao didnât speak. Su Qingsang looked up at him. âYou donât think I should?â
âI donât see why not,â Huo Jinyao held her tightly around her waist. âIf you really want to see her. You can even fly to the U.S. to visit her. You donât have to wait for her to come back.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Su Qingsang looked down. She seemed to be contemplating something. âForget it. Itâs better for me not to see her.â
âAre you sure you donât want to see her?â
âNo, I donât want to.â Su Qingsang shook her head. âShe must have been in a bad mood recently. I should not bother her.â
Su Qingsang heard that Li Qianxue suspected Su Chenghui of cheating on her, and she also suspected he fell in love with someone else. She must have been through a rough time.
Su Qingsang thought that if she appeared again, it would doubtlessly burden Li Qianxue even more.
Huo Jinyao stared at Su Qingsang. She could seem a little detached, but she had a warm heart. As long as people approached her and got to know her, they would understand her kindness.
âI told you, if you want to see her, just do it. You donât need to have too many concerns.â
âAll right.â Su Qingsnag thought about it and said, âLetâs set a date for leaving for Rong City. If she comes back before that time, I will see her. But if she doesnât come back before the day we leave...â
She didnât finish her sentence. If it went that way, sheâd take it as their karma.
Huo Jinyao enfolded her whole body in her arms and lowered his head to kiss her cheek.
His kiss was gentle like the touch of a feather.
âDo you miss her very much?â
âNot very much,â Su Qingsang shooked her head. âIf I had known the truth earlier in my life, I probably wouldnât be as cool as I am now. But right now, I am a grown-up, and I have my mom. So I feel calm.â
Suddenly Su Qingsang became serious and looked at Huo Jinyao with a straight face. âYou know what? When I was little, I always saw her hugging Su Peizhen and talking to her in such a gentle voice. I knew she was a strict and tough person outside the house. But she was so gentle to Su Peizhen that I couldnât help but imagine if I had a mom, she would also treat me like that.â
Su Qingsang always wanted to be close to Li Qianxue, but none of her attempts succeeded.
Huo Jinyao nodded. Looking at the tranquil expression on her face, he felt she was too calm. âDo you still want to acknowledge her?â
âNo,â Su Qingsang said, âI donât want to acknowledge her. I just feel that, if possible, I want to see her. Just seeing her will be enough.â
She would consider it as a closure of an old wish buried in her heart. It was silly to have such an idea, though.
âDonât worry. All I want is to see her. I wonât tell her anything.â
Since she made the decision, she would not go back. But before she could let it go, she needed time and composure to digest.
Without a word, Huo Jinyao hugged her more tightly. His deep-set eyes squinted slightly, and he seemed to have decided something.
It never occurred to Su Qingsang that she would meet someone else before she went to see Li Qianxue.
Since she was going to Rong City, she had to prepare some gifts to bring to Old Master Huo, as well as to Huo Jinyaoâs Great Uncle who settled in Rong City and Huo Jinyaoâs other uncles and aunts.
Su Qingsang went shopping with Shi Mengwan that day.
Judging from snippets of information she heard from Su Qinngsang, Shi Mengwan knew Huo Jinyao had a large family.
âHuo Jinyao has so many relatives. Qingsang, do you think you can handle it with your reserved personality?â
âI must handle it even if I donât like it.â
In fact, Su Qingang was scared of messy and complicated relationships, but what choice did she have?
âHuo Jinyao is so good to me. I feel that, for his sake, I should try to develop a good relationship with his family.â
âIt sounds reasonable,â Shi Mengwan patted Su Qingsnagâs shoulder heavily. âBut I donât think you are in a good mood today. What happened? Do you feel sad because you are leaving me?â
âObviously,â Su Qingsang nodded eagerly and pinched Shi Mengwanâs cheek. âI am overwhelmed with sadness at the thought of parting with you.â
âYou can look, but please donât touch me.â Shi Mengwan touched her own face in an exaggerated way and said, âI just had a facial yesterday.â
âLet me take a look,â Su Qingsang leaned over to look at her with a definite note of humor in her voice. âYour face is so smooth, and your skin so fair. You are already beautiful without facial care, but you still insist on doing it, which makes you even more beautiful than the rest of us. You are trying to outshine us all.â
âOh, come on. Why would that matter to you? You have Huo Jinyao, but I am single. I have to work hard to look beautiful so that I can lure a rich and successful man like you did.â
âYou donât need to lure anyone. I can ask Huo Jinyao to introduce some guys to you. What do you think?â
âCool,â Shi Mengwan nodded casually. Su Qingsang didnât believe her and said, âWhy do I think it sounds fake?â
âWhy would it? If you donât believe Iâm serious, Iâll find an eligible bachelor myself.â
âCome on. Please do that. Find one.â Su Qingsang looked around and noticed a man standing with his back to them. He looked familiar.
âThat one. He looks pretty fit. Didnât you just say you were looking for an eligible bachelor? Go ahead.â
âOff I go. Who is afraid?â Provoked by Su Qingsang, Shi Mengwan gave her a stare and walked towards the man at a quick pace.
She took a hundredâdollar bill from her pocket, turned her head to make a funny face at Su Qingsnag, and hurried to the good-looking man who was a few steps ahead of them.
â Sir, excuse me, did you drop it?â
Shi Mengwanâs face changed the moment she looked up. She stood there, looking awkward and embarrassed.
Sensing something was wrong, Su Qingsang stepped forward. âMengwan, whatâs going on?â
Su Qingsang also paused when she saw that man. No wonder the handsome man looked familiar; it was Zhan Haoze.
âHello, Mr. Zhan.â
âHow are you, Mrs. Huo?â
Zhan Haoze greeted Su Qingsang and caught a glimpse of Shi Mengwan. âSorry, thatâs not mine.â
âReally?â Shi Mengwan bit her lip, crumpling up the bill in her hand. âOK, Iâll ask around.â
âHâm,â Zhan Haoze nodded and looked at Su Qingsang. âAre you shopping, Mrs. Huo?â
âYes.â
âPlease pass my greetings to Mr. Huo.â
âI will, thank you.â
âI have other business. Sorry, I have to take off now.â
âSure.â Su Qingsang felt no pleasure communicating with people like Zhan Haoze. After he walked away, she turned to look at Shi Mengwan.
âYou are so lucky.â
At her first attempt at flirting, she came across Zhan Haoze.
âLucky?â Shi Mengwan smiled ironically. âOn the contrary, I have bad luck.â
If she didnât have bad luck, how could Zhan Haoze forget her?
âMengwan, I think you might want to try something different.â
âWhat?â
âI just thought you might have been mistaken about this manâs identity. After all, you two havenât met for over ten years.â
Shi Mengwan saw Su Qingsangâs concern and waved her hand as if she didnât care. âDonât worry about me. I was just talking. I have already decided to give up.â
âAre you sure?â
âOf course.â Shi Mengwan took her by the arm. âAll right, letâs continue shopping and buy gifts. Huo Jinyao has so many relatives. How many gifts do you have to buy?â
âLetâs go.â Su Qingsang was genuinely concerned about Shi Mengwan, whose situation was more complicated than hers was. However, she knew it would be hard to persuade her within a short period of time.
Su Qingsang thought about it and decided to invite Shi Mengwan to visit Rong City after she came back. Then she would let Huo Jinyao introduce some eligible bachelors to her.
Perhaps after Shi Mengwan got to know more eligible young men, she would realize there was more than one fish in the sea.
âLetâs go. I remember there is a nice store ahead. Letâs check it out.â
Shi Mengwan pulled Su Qingsang to go ahead. Still concerned about her friend, Su Qingsang couldnât help but stare at her.
Unexpectedly, Shi Mengwan pulled on Su Qingsangâs arm too abruptly, which ended up with Su Qingsang accidentally knocking down someone who just came out of a nearby store.
âIâm sorry,â Su Qingsang apologized immediately and stepped backward.
She looked up, realizing the person she knocked down was Su Yuxin. By his side, there was a young girl she didnât recall seeing before.
...