âHe, how could he...â
Using all of her strength, she could only manage to squeeze out these words.
She was almost fainting with pain, and her nails dug so hard into her palms that they almost bled.
âHow could he?â
âHow could he?â
âHow could he?â Each sentence she uttered grew more intense until she was almost screaming out, âHow could he?!â
âMom.â Su Yuxin saw that her hands were starting to bleed. He tried to grab them but found that he could not unclench her fists.
âMom, donât be like that.â Li Qianxue was scaring Su Yuxin. âYou need to calm down a little. Donât be like that.â
Li Qianxue was in so much pain that all she saw was a blinding white light, as Su Yuxin, frightened, watched her go into shock.
âMom. Mom...â
He regretted it. He should never have told her. âMom...â
Li Qianxue regained consciousness, but her whole body seemed to be drained of life.
She could not care less about her palms, which were still bleeding, and clung on to Su Yuxinâs shirt collar. âWhere is she? You said youâd take me to see her. Where is she?â
âWeâre almost there.â Su Yuxin took a tissue to wipe the blood from her hands. âMom, you must calm down, you will scare my elder sister.â
Even though Su Qingsang seemed to have caught Huo Jinyaoâs meaning, it was clear that she wasnât planning to acknowledge it.
Li Qianxue closed her eyes, hoping to calm herself, but was not able to do so.
How could she calm down? Who could calm down under these circumstances?
Li Qianxue recalled that the last time she and Su Qingsang had met, was when she was visiting with the Su Family. And one time before that, she had gone to the hospital, wanting to give Su Qinsang a piece of her mind.
At that time, she had almost hit her.
Their last interaction had been such an unpleasant event altogether.
âAahh!â
Li Qianxue made a sharp scream. It was all too unbearable. All too hard to take in. This was her daughter.
This was her very own daughter.
As she thought about how Su Qingsang had smiled while she had given her a gift, it was clear that in her eyes, she showed a sense of deference and willingness to curry favor with her. However, she had instead let the assistant throw the gift away.
She couldnât think of a single time when she had shared even one moment of tenderness with Su Qingsang. Not even once.
âAhhh!â
The more she thought about it, the worse she felt, and it was just getting more painful by the minute. Li Qianxue clutched her head, unable to vent the rollercoaster of emotions that she was fighting within her.
âMom. You must calm down.â
The image of Li Qianxue as Su Yuxin perceived her was always one of elegance and nobility. He had never seen his mother in this state before.
âTake it easy, or you will scare elder sister.â
When Li Qianxue heard Su Yuxinâs words, she finally managed to calm down a little. She slowly lifted her head and looked at him, âYouâre saying... weâre going to see her now?â
âYes. We are going to meet her now.â
Su Yuxin gave her an affirmative look. He already had everything planned. Today, he was going to take Li Qianxue to see Su Qingsang.
âWe are almost there. We will be seeing elder sister in just a second. Mom, you must relax, or you will scare her.â
Even though it was unlikely that Su Qingsang would be put off by this, he had to make sure that Li Qianxue got her emotions in check.
Li Qianxue blinked a few times as if she had finally registered the news that her son had given her. She haphazardly wiped her face. âOkay. I wonât be like that. Iâll stop.â
She wiped the tears off her face, as well as the blood off her palms. She looked at Su Yuxin. âNow, do I look terrible?â
âNo.â Su Yuxin was close to tears. âMom, you are beautiful.â
Li Qianxue didnât react to her sonâs praise with happiness. Instead, she thought about something else. âAnd what about her? Does she know? Do you think she will acknowledge me?â
She was still young. Li Qianxue was only 40 years old now.
She had remembered those things, in very much the same way that Su Qingsang would remember what it was like when she was younger.
And what was the worst of this? Invisibility. She would not see her for what she was and would imagine that she had never existed.
Li Qianxue tried her best to recall every moment, but she couldnât find a single memory of her treating Su Qingsang well.
Perhaps the one and only time was when she was eighteen years old and Su Chenghui was going to buy a house for Su Qingsang. She had casually mentioned that since the house had been bought, Su Qingsang should also have a car.
Since Su Qingsang was going to leave the Su family anyway, she didnât mind spending that extra money. In her opinion, the Su family had already owned so many cars. She thought nothing of giving one to an illegitimate daughter.
Except she didnât know if the car had been given in the end. Su Qingsang said at the time that having a car at the start of school seemed too high profile. She didnât buy a car until she graduated from college.
What was she even thinking at the time? A bastard child is as a bastard child does. Petty and small-minded. To think that just purchasing a car would scare her like that.
Yet deep inside she couldnât help but acknowledge that Su Qingsang was a conscious person who knew how to be humble. If she did not know how to do so, maybe she would not have been able to bear her.
She couldnât think of that. All of that was in the past, and she could not think of all that right now.
All she could feel was intense pain.
Li Qianxue closed her eyes tightly. What was even more painful, she realized, was that she could not recall any more memories.
She could not think of any more times she had shared with Su Qingsang. All the memories that she had of children growing up were that of Su Yunxinâs childhood, and even more so of Su Peizhenâs.
She remembered everything from Su Peizhenâs early years. However, she could not remember anything about Su Qingsang.
She suddenly grabbed hold of Su Yuxinâs arm. âWhat do I do? Yuxin, what do I do?â
âMom? What is it?â
âI canât remember what she was like when she was a child.â
Su Yuxin was speechless. Like Li Qianxue, his memories of Su Qingsang were just as vague.
She had not been really present since she was a child. She was like a shadow in the Su family. If no one from the Su family would intentionally ask for her, she wouldnât even show up.
âWhat was she like growing up? Why canât I recall anything?â
As Li Qianxue thought of this, she felt a sharp pain in her heart again. How much did she miss out on?
âMom, mom, donât be like that. It doesnât matter. It really doesnât matter. We still have the future to think about. Donât be like that.â
Li Qianxue grew quiet, for she did not know what to say anymore.
Her thoughts were a mess and her mind was in total chaos. She could hardly think anymore, and only wanted to see Su Qingsang as quickly as possible.
As both of them were talking in the car, they came to a stop at Su Qingsangâs condo.
Su Yuxin stepped out of the car first, but Li Qianxue could not even gather enough courage to get out of the car.
Hours of long-distance flight travel. Coming in from abroad to Lin City. She was supposed to be extremely tired, but now she just wanted to see her daughter quickly.
Su Qingsang, who was supposed to be her daughter, but was ignored by her for more than two decades.
When Li Qianxue got out of the car, she felt a bit off-balance, and it took a lot of effort to stabilize herself. Su Yuxin supported her up all this while, as he was worried about her condition.
âMom. Do you want to go back?â
Li Qianxue was so emotional and agitated at that point that he was afraid that she might spin out of control. If he remembered correctly, Su Qingsang was still together with Xiang Caiping.
Li Qianxue naturally knew everything that he knew. She knew that Xiang Caiping had returned and that she had mistakenly claimed Su Qingsang as her own daughter.
âI am okay.â
Those things did not matter anymore, and no matter what, she would take Su Qingsang back to the Su family today.
Su Yuxin also knew that he couldnât stop Li Qianxue from going up today, and he didnât even think about trying.
The two of them went upstairs together. Su Yuxin took one glance at Li Qianxue and then knocked on the door.
There was no response, and Su Yuxin rang the doorbell again. Still, no one came. His eyebrows twitched nervously, and he took out his cell phone to call Su Qingsang.
It was the weekend today, and he thought that she would be home.
As he was making the call, Li Qianxue looked at him nervously. Her eyes were full of tension and he could sense her struggle.
âSister. Where are you?â
As soon as the call was connected, Su Yuxin couldnât wait to speak, and his tone sounded a little urgent.
Su Qingsang and Huo Jinyao had already boarded the plane. Two nurses and doctors were placing cushions behind Xiang Caiping.
Su Qingsang just said goodbye to Shi Mengwan, who had come to see her off. Shi Mengwan was no longer surprised by Huo Jinyaoâs affluence.
âYou are always welcome. Iâm afraid that you wonât come, however.â
âYou can rest assured that now thereâs a rich young mistress like you in Rong City, I will definitely pay a visit,â Shi Mengwan held her hand. âIâm just afraid you might find me bothersome when that happens.â
âRest easy and come. Aunty wants you to come.â
Xiang Caiping truly liked Shi Mengwan. This gentle lady had such a great temperament.
âOf course, Aunty. I will come when the time is right.â
As they talked and laughed, the time to leave came. Shi Mengwan left. A group of people escorted Xiang Caiping into the plane.
Su Qingsang was just about to ask Huo Jinyao when the plane was scheduled to take off. Then her cell phone rang.
âYuxin?â Su Qingsang was a little surprised and didnât quite understand why Su Yuxin had suddenly called her. âIâm at the airport. Iâm going to Rong City.â
âWhat?â Su Yuxinâs eyes widened and he couldnât help but look back at Li Qianxue. âYou want to return to Rong City with Huo Jinyao?â
âMm,â Su Qingsang nodded. âIs something the matter?â
âSis. Youââ
Before Su Yuxin could think of what to say next, Li Qianxue had snatched his phone away.
âSu Qingsang, you must come back now.â
When Su Qingsang unexpectedly heard Li Qianxueâs voice, her hands shook, and she almost dropped her phone.
She hadnât expected to hear Li Qianxueâs voice. She held her cell phone but was rooted to the ground, entirely motionless.
âQingsang. Come back.â
Li Qianxue could not hear her response. She didnât know if Su Qingsang knew, she only knew that she wanted to see her daughter now.
Now. Immediately. Right away.
âCome back.â
âI...â Su Qingsang blinked as if she had finally found her own voice. She wanted to call out Aunty as she had always done, but she could not seem to do it.
âQingsang, come back.â Li Qianxue seemed to realize that her emotions were getting the better of her. Her tone lightened a little. âItâs mom. Iâm your mother.â
Li Qianxue was weeping. She leaned on Su Yuxin weakly and grabbed hold of his arm tightly as if she was using him as an anchor to soothe her emotions before they got out of control.
âCome back. Itâs mom. Iâm your mom.â
Su Qingsangâs hands began to tremble. She knew t it. She knew everything.
Her eyes widened and she couldnât move, as if she was just struck by lightning. Li Qianxue knew. She knew that she was her daughter.