Su Peizhen and her friends returned back to China a day earlier than Su Qingsang, hence Su Qingsang was not aware of the slap that Xiang Caiping had given Su Peizhen. It had incurred the wrath of Li Qianxue and Su Peizhen.
Su Qingsang just got off her flight and felt assured and relaxed when she saw Huo Jinyao. Huo Jinyao had rested on his way to the airport and his disposition looked much better.
The temperature in Japan was lower than in Lin City, and Su Qingsang felt warm the moment she stepped off the plane.
Huo Jinyao immediately took the thick coat that Su Qingsang had shrugged off from her shoulders.
“Let’s go, Yang Wenchang will be picking us up shortly.”
“Okay.” Su Qingsang felt refreshed after resting on the flight.
She looked at Xiang Caiping with a tinge of worry. Xiang Caiping shook her head at her daughter. “I had also rested during the flight. I’m feeling much better now.”
“Then let’s head home.”
The trio arrived home. Even though Su Qingsang went on the trip with Xiang Caiping, she still bought some things.
Naturally, she did not need to buy anything for Su Peizhen. She had picked out some gifts for her colleagues from her department and also for Su Chenghui.
The most important gift was for Shi Mengwan. She gave Shi Mengwan a call almost immediately after she got home, and invited her to come for dinner that night to receive her gift.
After an afternoon’s rest, Sister Lu received instructions from Huo Jinyao and brought a bunch of ingredients over to Su Qingsang’s place.
After having Japanese food for some days, Su Qingsang felt like having hotpot. Xiang Caiping said that it was not hygienic to eat hotpot in restaurants, and suggested making it themselves at home.
Su Qingsang knew that Xiang Caiping was not in a good mood these days, so she thought that having a hotpot would lighten the atmosphere and warm the mood.
Sister Lu bought many ingredients, among them bones meant for making the soup fragrant. Su Qingsang asked Sister Lu to follow the online instructions to using bones in the boiling of the soup before she added the seasonings for the hotpot.
The hotpot was split into two halves. One side was spicy and the other was not. Xiang Caiping washed and chose the vegetables with Su Qingsang. The mood of despair which she had for the past few days completely vanished.
Su Qingsang also felt less worried about her.
Shi Mengwan arrived before it was mealtime. Since she had received the prestigious award and there were many couples getting married at the end of the year, she was extremely busy.
When Su Qingsang saw her, she realized that Shi Mengwan had circles under her eyes. “What’s the matter? Were you not able to sleep well?”
“Yes,” Shi Mengwan yawned. “I was sketching till two in the morning.”
Su Qingsang furrowed her brows and felt her heart ache a little. “It’s not an urgent task, so if you can’t manage by yourself, you can just employ someone. Why do you have to make yourself so exhausted?”
“It’s nothing. I’m used to it.”
Shi Mengwan put an arm around her neck. “Look at you, you look good. Had a good time?”
“It’s alright.” Huo Jinyao was not home yet and Xiang Caiping was helping out in the kitchen, so there were some things which she could tell Shi Mengwan.
She pulled Shi Mengwan into the room and told her that she was going to hand her the gift. She then told her about the encounter with Su Peizhen in Japan as well as Xiang Caiping slapping Su Peizhen.
“What did you say?” Shi Mengwan’s eyes widened in shock. Besides shock, there was also admiration. “Your mother slapped Su Peizhen?”
“Shh…” Su Qingsang put a finger to her lips and took a glance in the direction of the living area. “Since the incident has taken place, I feel troubled now that I’m back.”
“Right now you’re afraid of Su Peizhen or Li Qianxue finding trouble with you?” Regardless of who it is, Huo Jinyao should be able to deal with it.
“That’s not what’s troubling me.” Su Qingsang shook her head. Whatever would come her way was inevitable, but she had never thought of running away from it. “My mother is an extremely thoughtful person. She keeps thinking that she has let me down all these years, so I…”
“I get it. You hope that I’ll talk about positive things later so that Auntie will not think about anything unhappy. Am I right?”
