Su Qingsang stopped short with surprise. She had known that Li Qianxue wanted to get divorced from Su Chenghui for a while now, but she hadnât expected it to happen so soon.
She thought Su Chenghui wouldnât sign the divorce paper. He didnât look like someone who would be willing to sign a divorce paper at all.
She remembered how Su Chenghui looked at Li Qianxue before. She had mixed feelings about it. But to her surprise...
âDid Father agree to get a divorce?â
âYes. He signed the paper this morning. The rest of the proceedings were finished this afternoon.â
Li Qianxue sounded very peaceful as if she was telling someone elseâs story.
Su Qingsang looked at Li Qianxueâs face on the phone screen. She didnât look sad. On the contrary, she seemed relieved.
Su Qingsangâs heart sighed for both Su Chenghui and Li Qianxue. It seemed that she was wrong.
Perhaps Su Chenghui didnât love Li Qianxue. Maybe he simply wanted to stay as a member of the Li Family. Otherwise, why else would he agree to get a divorce?
âThat was between me and your father. You donât need to think about it. I just wanted to let you know. After all, even if I have gotten a divorce with him, heâs still your father. How you feel about him is up to you.â
Li Qianxue considered what she said to be fair. After all these years, Su Chenghui had barely done anything for the two children.
He cared only about Su Peizhen and didnât love the other two children at all. In that case, it was understandable for Su Qingsang and Su Yuxin to refuse to consider him their father.
However, Li Qianxue wouldnât make that decision for the kids. They had both grown up, developing different perspectives. She would not make them do what she wanted.
Despite finding what Li Qianxue said slightly amusing, Su Qingsang also felt helpless in this situation.
She was no longer a child. She was never close to Su Chenghui. She cared about his well being, but she wouldnât spend too much time worrying about that.
Su Yuxin wasnât the same way. Through the past few months, she had learned something about that boy.
Su Yuxin probably wouldnât be able to get over the divorce of his parents so easily.
âMom, donât worry. Whether you and my father are still married or not, you two will always be my mother and father.â
Li Qianxue felt both glad and sad upon hearing that, but her hatred for Su Chenghui was even stronger than either of those feelings.
He had done so much wrong, but his children still cared about him.
What about Su Chenghui himself? Had he ever cared about anybody but Su Peizhen?
Su Qingsang said something else to comfort Li Qianxue. As the latter seemed fine, she ended the call.
She dropped her phone and then heard some noises from outside. She stood up and walked out to find that Huo Jinyao was home already.
âYouâre back.â
Huo Jinyao had a work dinner that night, so he didnât come home to have dinner with Su Qingsang.
âYeah.â Huo Jinyao sat down on the sofa and pulled Su Qingsang onto his lap when she approached.
âHave you had dinner yet?â The housekeeper that Yang Wenchang hired for him had already started working. âHowâs Ms. Yuâs cooking?â
Ms. Yu was a housekeeper selected by Yang Wenchang from over ten candidates.
Su Qingsang could cook occasionally, but Huo Jinyao didnât want her to cook every day.
âGood.â Su Qingsang nodded, then rubbed her cheek against Huo Jinyaoâs chest.
Huo Jinyao dropped his head to look at her and noticed she wasnât her usual self. âWhatâs wrong? Donât you like her?â
âIt has nothing to do with Ms. Yu.â Su Qingsang knew that she wouldnât be able to keep it secret from Huo Jinyao. He would find out sooner or later.
She told him about the divorce of Li Qianxue and Su Chenghui before adding, âI never thought that I could be wrong.â
She thought Su Chenghui loved Li Qianxue. However, it seemed that she had been mistaken.
Huo Jinyao didnât jump to conclusions. He said to her, âDonât say that just yet. Perhaps things arenât as you think they are.â
Su Qingsang shook her head and said, âI guess you donât know my mother so well yet. Iâve lived with her for so many years. We werenât close before, but I could just easily talk to her about some things.â
Li Qianxue could go to extremes very easily. She would either love him or hate him. Since the moment Su Chenghui signed the divorce paper, there would never be a chance for him and Li Qianxue to get back together.
Huo Jinyao pinched Si Qingsangâs cheek. He pinched her a little too hard, so much so that her cheeks even turned red.
âWhat are you doing?â Su Qingsang felt a little annoyed, so she slapped the back of his hand.
Huo Jinyao rubbed her red cheek and said with slight helplessness, âArenât you tired? You are an adult. Your little brother has grown up as well. The divorce of your parents wonât affect you or him. Donât you think youâve been worrying too much?â
Su Qingsang pressed her lips together. She didnât feel tired. She wasnât even sure how she felt.
âHuo Jinyao, do you think that maybe people should never make mistakes? Maybe once a person makes a mistake, theyâll never get a chance to redeem themselves.â
Huo Jinyao was thinking about Su Chenghui. He had nothing to say about his father-in-law. âIt depends on what kind of mistakes he made. After all, not everyone who makes mistakes deserves to be forgiven.â
Of course, Su Qingsang knew that he was right. Even so, she wasnât satisfied with that answer. âI donât know why but recently, Iâve started to feel that my father is quite pitiful. I never felt that before.â
âThey say that a pitiful person must have done something deserving of such disdain.â Su Chenghui made himself suffer. He had no one to blame.
Su Qingsang glared at Huo Jinyao and said, âYou seem to be taking pleasure in his misfortune.â
âDarling, Iâm not taking pleasure in his misfortune. Iâm just being sensible.â
He held Su Qingsangâs hand and said very seriously, âThink about it. A man didnât figure out whatâs the most important thing in his life until he turned fifty. Isnât that sad?â
âIf he was smart enough to figure that out earlier, none of this wouldâve happened.â
He had gone from the son-in-law of the Li Family to an ordinary man with nothing to his name. The difference between the two statuses was vast.
Su Chenghuiâs greatest mistake was never thinking about what was most important to him, or what he wouldâve hated to lose the most.
Su Qingsang understood that. Even so, how many people in the world were born knowing exactly what they wanted?
Many people spent their whole lives searching aimlessly but still didnât find an answer.
âAlright, stop thinking about your father. Heâs a grown man. Let him worry about himself.â
If he truly loved Li Qianxue, he wouldâve done something about it. After all, he wasnât young anymore. If he didnât take the opportunity to make an effort to change that, he might end up regretting it forever.
If he didnât love Li Qianxue and only wanted to benefit from the Li Family, a divorce would be a good thing for him.
Either way, Su Qingsang, as his daughter, couldnât do much to help him in that regard.
âI know.â Su Qingsang just couldnât stop thinking about that. If Su Chenghui had come back to his senses earlier, he wouldnât...
An arm suddenly wrapped around her waist tightly. Su Qingsang wasnât prepared for that. As a result, she fell into Huo Jinyaoâs arms.
âWhat?â
âWhat... do you think?â Huo Jinyaoâs intention was pretty obvious.
Su Qingsang patted him on the shoulder and said, âStop it. Iâm on my period.â
Huo Jinyaoâs hands froze underneath Su Qingsangâs clothes. He looked at her with a rather disheartened expression.
âDidnât you get it too early this time?â
âYeah. I donât know why.â
Her period had come earlier than she expected this month. It was probably because she had recently switched to a new living environment.
Huo Jinyao took a deep breath, then buried his head in Su Qingsangâs neck and rubbed her neck with his cheek.
âAlright, go take a shower.â
Instead of doing as she said, Huo Jinyao put his arms around her waist. Su Qingsang paused briefly. She hadnât sensed Huo Jinyaoâs sadness until now.
While she ranted, Huo Jinyao had been trying to cheer her up ever since returning home. Now, she found that he didnât seem happy either.
âWhat happened?â
âNothing,â Huo Jinyao said with a deep voice. âI just want to hold you.â
Since he didnât want to share, she didnât ask any further questions. All she did was to put her arms around his body and hold him tight.
Their position allowed her to hear his heartbeat. She pressed her ear on his chest and whispered, âHuo Jinyao, if something is bothering you, you can talk to me about it. I donât know much about the things in your company, but Iâll listen.â
âAlright.â Huo Jinyao rubbed his temples. Seeing the serious look on Su Qingsangâs face, he leaned in and kissed her lips with a smile.
...
Su Qingsangâs work in the hospital smoothened out. It wasnât like she was unfamiliar with anything anyway.
After she assisted Sui Huiya with one surgical procedure, Sui Huiya started letting her perform some small operations. A while later, she was allowed to attempt some major surgeries too.
Su Qingsang slowly grew busier. She did not only need to work during the daytime. Sometimes, she had to work nightshifts too.
The nightshifts were divided into short and long ones. Short nightshifts allowed her to go home in the middle of the night, but long ones required her to stay in the hospital for a whole night.
Su Qingsang eventually adjusted to her busy schedule. However, her working a bit too hard made Huo Jinyao worry about her.
He would never try to stop her from doing anything she was happy to do. Instead, he often told Ms. Yu to make some delicious or nourishing food for her.
On the weekends, Huo Jinyao always brought Su Qingsang back to the family house.
Old Master Huo loved to be surrounded by his families.
Normally, all family members would gather in the family house on Friday night. Apart from Huo Mingguang and his family, Huo Mingliang, Huo Mingmei, and their families would all be there.
The atmosphere at the dining table was warm.
Earlier, Huo Mingmei was embarrassed by Li Qianxue, which made her unhappy. Seeing Su Qingsang upset her again.
Su Qingsang had lived in Rong City for about half a month. It was the first time she had dinner together with Huo Jinyaoâs family since she started working.
Last Friday, Su Qingsang missed the family dinner because she kindly did a nightshift for one of her colleagues.
This Friday, she made it to the family dinner.
Su Qingsangâs presence reminded Huo Mingmei of how Li Qianxue embarrassed her last time. The smile on her face grew slightly cold as her eyes landed on Su Qingsang.
She intended to make Su Qingsang pay for what her mother had done. Li Qianxue was such a good mother after all. Huo Mingmei believed that Su Qingsang should make it up to her for what Li Qianxue did.