Once she had laid it out, Su Qingsang left it at that and immediately turned to get in her car without looking at him again.
However, even after she got into her car, Su Qingsang’s emotions had not quite calmed down.
She was once a naïve illegitimate daughter who knew nothing about her own history. That kind of background was not necessarily something to be proud of, but at least her way of life was peaceful.
Now her identity had changed, and her peace was gone as well.
The next day, at the Lantern Festival, Old Master Li would invite all the extended relatives of the Li family to visit. When that time came, she would have yet another new situation to deal with.
There was still the Huo family. This time, she did not go back with Huo Jinyao, though she actually felt that was very inappropriate. However, with everything happening in Lin City, she knew she couldn’t get away.
She suddenly missed the times she had at medical school when she only needed to go to lectures and do her research. Everything was so simple then, so easy.
Now, on the other hand…
She sat in her car in a daze for a long time. Finally, she drove off, but she still felt uncomfortable and guilty. In the end, she took out her mobile phone and called Huo Jinyao.
“Jinyao.”
As soon as the call was connected, Su Qingsang couldn’t wait to call out her husband’s name.
“Hey. Isn’t this the elusive sister-in-law of mine whom I have not had a chance to meet yet? Yeah. What’s up? Are you looking for my brother?”
Su Qingsang froze for a moment. She had not expected that it would be Huo Manzi who picked up the call. “And where’s your brother?”
She made sure to calculate the length of time needed for Huo Jinyao to fly to Rong City and return to the Huo mansion. He should have been there by now and was even supposed to have had the time to rest for a while.
“As soon as he came back, Grandpa had called on him to give him a telling-off. Sister-in-law, would you like to know what my grandfather told my brother?”
From the sound of Huo Manzi’s tone, it was definitely not a good thing. “Since he is busy, I’ll call him again when he’s available.”
“My brother will be busy for quite some time now. And come to think of it, aren’t you to be blamed for that? Wouldn’t you say that my brother has married someone who can never find the time to meet his family? Not only didn’t you follow my brother to Rong City, but he also had to go to Lin City to be with you. Even if put all that aside, we are in the midst of the New Year celebrations now, and as a granddaughter-in-law and daughter-in-law, shouldn’t you at least have shown up for a bit? Speaking of that, I think that my uncle and aunt have shown quite a bit of self-restraint. I’m afraid that if it were another family, it probably wouldn’t be the case.”
Huo Manzi truly chose the words that would sting most bitterly. Su Qingsang was very uncomfortable with that and was about to hang up the phone. Huo Jinyao’s voice rang out on the other end, however.
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Huo Jinyao had gone upstairs before and realized just now that he had accidentally dropped his cell phone on the sofa.
He didn’t expect that his carelessness would allow Huo Manzi to intercept his call just like that.
Huo Manzi was in a pretty bad mood, and she just happened to be sitting there. Huo Jinyao caught her right in the act.
He took the cell phone from her and glanced at her coldly. Then he went upstairs.
“Qingsang…”
“You said everything would be okay.” Su Qingsang was really quite embarrassed by the whole situation. “Grandpa is angry, isn’t he?”
“Yes, I did say that it wouldn’t matter.” Huo Jinyao walked to the end of the second-floor corridor, where there was a study room that belonged to him.
As he entered the room to cut off the outside noise, his tone warmed up a couple of notches. “You just need to relax. Manzi is spouting nonsense. Don’t be bothered by what she said.”
How could Su Qingsang believe all of that now? She thought that perhaps after tomorrow, she should go to Rong City after all.
However, the more she thought about the difficulties of such an abrupt move, the more her head seemed to hurt.
“Don’t worry about Manzi. Now tell me, what was it that you were calling me about? Is everything alright?”
Su Qingsang blinked several times, reflecting on all of today’s events, sighed, and decided to tell Huo Jinyao everything.
“Huo Jinyao, you tell me, have I done something wrong?”
“I don’t see how you could have done anything differently.”
“Neither do I.” Su Qingsang really couldn’t let herself get past that one thing, however. “Maybe I shouldn’t have insisted on knowing the truth. If I had just pretended all along that I didn’t know anything, and went on treating Xiang Caiping as my mother, maybe things would be less complicated. Don’t you think so?”
“If you think that way, it would be really unfair to your mother.” Huo Jinyao understood that she was still in pain from having had to break such bad news to Xiang Caiping,
“Perhaps if you could shut out what you found out, you could go on pretending to know nothing. But what about your dad? He had made up his mind to take revenge on your mother. You might have wanted to preserve the status quo for a lifetime, but consider the possibility that your dad would have made a different choice. He could have waited until your mother was seventy or eighty and nearly at the end of her life. Then he would reveal the truth. Your mother would never know where her real daughter was. Even worse, perhaps one day your dad would get angry, and he would use this as…”
Huo Jinyao did not go on, but Su Qingsang understood everything he wanted to say.
Some things seemed temptingly simple in hindsight. If Li Qianxue didn’t know about this whole thing, she could go on living as she had before.
However, in the future, if it really came to a day like Huo Jinyao described, wouldn’t that be even more miserable?
“Thank you, Huo Jinyao.” Su Qingsang came back to her senses now. She smiled bitterly. “I’m not sure what I was thinking.”
“I think Xiang Caiping is still very emotional now. When she cools down, I think she might try to establish contact with Su Peizhen. As for your mother, you don’t have to think about anything else for now, just stay with her for a few days.”
“Mm.” Su Qingsang nodded without objection.
Huo Jinyao thought about it for a while. “By the way, I have already spoken to Cheng Xianyun. When you arrive, go directly to the hospital where he works. He is at a private hospital, their fees are pretty high, and doctors also get a higher income. You will not be so overwhelmed with work then.”
Su Qingsang was about to agree but then thought about Zhang Qiubai’s call from before. “But my teacher had heard that I was going to Rong City. He had written a letter of recommendation for me, to apply for a position at Rong City Hospital.”
Private hospitals were good. However, there were more patients in public hospitals, and they could make better use of her skills and research.
“Okay. I’ll leave that up to you.” Huo Jinyao would not interfere in Su Qingsang’s affairs in this regard. “You can decide for yourself.”
Su Qingsang nodded. She appreciated the fact that Huo Jinyao never interfered with her work and respected her decisions.
After chatting with Huo Jinyao for a while, Su Qingsang felt much better. After hanging up the phone, her body seemed to relax quite a bit.
Glancing out at the neon lights on the streets, she murmured something softly.
Huo Jinyao, I miss you.
…
Su Qingsang was in a much better mood, but Su Chenghui’s feelings, on the other hand, had hit rock bottom.
He stumbled a little as he got into his car, and Su Qingsang’s words kept echoing in his mind.
In fact, Old Master Li had also told him something like that before, but at that time, he didn’t take those words to heart.
In his opinion, he had already attained so much success. There was nothing he could lose. He was invincible.
He had felt that everything was under his control, and he was in no danger of losing anything that he cared about, whether it was a person or possession.
Now, however, he was just full of uncertainty. The words of Su Qingsang, the confrontation with Li Qianxue, the advice of Old Master Li, even what Huo Jinyao had said before… it all affected him.
Every accusing phrase of theirs seemed like a tidal wave that came crashing against him. They came wave after wave, almost drowning him.
Many memories flashed through his mind, one by one. From his very first meeting with Xiang Caiping to bumping into Li Qianxue in the office.
How did he even get all tangled up in Li Qianxue’s matters?
Su Chenghui thought he had forgotten how things came to be. However, the truth was that he remembered everything quite clearly.
That year, he just moved from another company to the Li enterprise. Originally, his dream was to enter one of the world’s top 500 companies.
All he thought about was how to attain success as fast as he could. Become a cut above the rest.
In fact, he only thought of the Li Enterprise as one more step up that ladder. However, something caught him by surprise when he met Old Master Li.
Old Master Li had quite the skills of doing business in the market back then, and his business philosophy was quite in line with that of Su Chenghui’s. Because of that, he occasionally got to speak with Old Master Li.
When he first entered the Li Enterprise, he originally only wanted to use it as a springboard, and the management of the company felt that this was an opportunity for him to flex his business acumen.
At that time, Su Chenghui had an extraordinary passion and was fully committed to his work.
At the same time, his relationship with Xiang Caiping was longstanding and steady, and he had no doubt of the direction in which it was heading.
Su Chenghui’s family was close to Xiang Caiping’s family. They were neighbors. He was two years older than Xiang Caiping.
At that time, both of their parents were working, and they were too busy to pay much attention to their children.
Xiang Caiping’s mother was a nurse and was even busier than Su Chenghui’s parents. Therefore, Su Chenghui’s parents were always more than willing to have Xiang Caiping over to play with him.
Later, there was a tragedy. Xiang Caiping’s father died, and his mother was busier with work than ever. Xiang Caiping barely had any parental love and lived like an orphan.
Because of this, Su Chenghui’s mother would often pick her up so she could spend some time in their home. She gradually grew into Su Chenghui’s family, as if she were their own. She was always at the Su house, eating her meals and doing her homework there. She even had her own bedroom. She had become quite like Su Chenghui’s sister.
Su Chenghui received quite an earful from his parents every day. He kept hearing that he should take good care of his sister. He did exactly that. Taking care of his little sister was not that difficult.
There was not much doubt about what would become of these two young children. After growing up, they would naturally develop a romance, and then after they grew up together, they would get married and have children.
Su Chenghui pitied Xiang Caiping and felt affection for her. He treated her like his very own little sister. He was given the responsibility to care for her since she was a child.
As to marrying Xiang Caiping, Su Chenghui has no objection to that. He was used to having Xiang Caiping around and couldn’t imagine a life without her.
The two had a verbal agreement about when they would eventually get formally engaged and even when they would get married.
It was at that time that he met Li Qianxue.
As personalities went, she and Xiang Caiping were worlds apart. Li Qianxue was outgoing, bright, and strong.
The first time they met, she pointed at his business plan, questioned him, and interrogated him. And he certainly did not hold back with his comebacks.
He didn’t think there was a problem with his plan and believed Li Qianxue tried to be intentionally difficult. Little did he know that his counter-arguments and his brazenness would actually make him quite attractive in Li Qianxue’s eyes.
After all, who within the Li Enterprise would so easily take on Li Qianxue’s temperament?
Li Qianxue took a liking to Su Chenghui. Later on, as they continued to confront and bicker with each other, she became more and more certain about her feelings for him.
She liked Su Chenghui, and she thought that she must get him, no matter what.
However, Li Qianxue was, in fact, a little headstrong. Even though she knew that Su Chenghui had a childhood sweetheart, she never thought of giving up.
Then one time, the two of them had to compete for a customer. At that time, Li Enterprise was not the same as today, a company where everyone would rush to cooperate.
That customer was difficult to manage, and the two of them had several unsuccessful bouts without being able to secure him. In the end, Li Qianxue decided that they would settle it together.
Sure enough, when she put down her airs and co-operated with Su Chenghui, and the two of them combined forces, they were actually able to rope in the difficult customer.
That was the first time that Su Chenghui actually witnessed Li Qianxue’s capability, and it was also the first time that Li Qianxue discovered what Su Chenghui was like when he was not setting himself against her.
She could not help but invite him to go out to celebrate, to enjoy the success of the first collaborative effort between the two of them.
Su Chenghui was full of spirits when he was younger. As the two of them talked about that customer, they couldn’t help but drink a few more glasses. In the end, they were both drunk.
It was not clear what exactly happened later, who started what or who took the initiative.
Anyway, when Su Chenghui woke up the next day, Li Qianxue was completely naked and fast asleep next to him, and Old Master Li’s somber face was staring right at him.
Su Chenghui determined that this was all part of Li Qianxue’s design, that she deliberately made herself drunk, and that she had called Old Master Li.
He didn’t go to work. He wondered whether he should resign, but he didn’t want to. He had just been promoted and was already a department manager.
He could not come to terms with the fact that he should leave. However, if he did not resign, he would continue to hate Li Qianxue for entrapping him.
Under such circumstances, when Xiang Caiping showed concern about why he didn’t go to work, he didn’t know how to tell her the truth.
It was all a huge tangle. He felt like he was just one big mess at that time.
However, before he was able to sort through everything and decide whether he was going to resign or not, Father Li sent someone to call him back to the office.
“As for you and Qianxue, as long as you marry her, I can forget everything that happened before.”
Su Chenghui was arrogant and refused to be coerced. He submitted his resignation letter.
One part of it was evasion and the other part guilt. For a week after that, he was with Xiang Caiping day and night, trying to make up for what had come to pass.
Xiang Caiping didn’t know about what had happened. She had had feelings for Su Chenghui for many years. As she saw that Su Chenghui was more gentle and considerate to her, she had no suspicions but just felt very happy.
As he watched Xiang Caiping, happy and blissfully ignorant, Su Chenghui seemed to feel less troubled about the whole thing.
However, he didn’t expect that Li Qianxue would actually get pregnant from their one-night encounter. She was carrying his child. He felt more confused than ever.
He insisted on resigning, not wanting to be with Li Qianxue.
However, Old Master Li started to threaten him, saying that he would have nowhere to go if he left the Li Enterprise.
It was at this time that his mother found out about what happened. Su Chenghui was the only son of three generations. His mother couldn’t let Li Qianxue abort the child.
She begged him to marry Li Qianxue and went to find Xiang Caiping’s mother to confess all about his wrongdoing. She said that Xiang Caiping and Su Chenghui were not fated to be together.
Xiang Caiping had not expected such a thing to happen and said in anger that the verbal marriage contract between the two was nullified. She said that she would never marry Su Chenghui.
Su Chenghui eventually did marry Li Qianxue. Until he got married, he didn’t know that not only Li Qianxue was pregnant, but also Xiang Caiping.
Later on, it was as if he was possessed and consumed with the thought that everything had happened by Li Qianxue’s deliberate design.
Under the impulse of a moment, Su Chenghui decided to switch the babies in secret.
After that, things had escalated to become what they were now.
