Xiang Caiping was a good person.
Su Qingsang wished that Su Peizhen could set aside her prejudices and get along with Xiang Caiping.
They could forge a good relationship. They were mother and daughter. If they treated each other with sincerity, they wouldn’t always be enemies.
Su Qingsang hoped that Su Peizhen could think it through and accept Xiang Caiping as soon as possible. Otherwise, Xiang Caiping’s life would be miserable.
…
Looking at the apartment building, Su Peizhen narrowed her eyes. She knew that place. That was Su Qingsang’s old apartment. She had been there once.
Now, the person who lived there was an old woman named Xiang Caiping, who was also her real mother.
She snorted and rubbed her nose. Scorn flashed in her eyes.
How could Xiang Caiping ever compare to Li Qianxue?
Xiang Caiping’s weathered, wrinkly face made her look exactly her age—over 50. What about Li Qianxue? Li Qianxue maintained her skin properly, so she looked to be only in her thirties, not to mention her excellent manner and her way of doing things.
She tried to stay elegant even when she was angry or infuriated. Unlike her, that rude Xiang Caiping had hit her.
That old woman could never compare to Li Qianxue. But now, that old woman had become her mother.
Su Peizhen clenched her teeth. Thinking about that slap she had suffered, her eyes were fierce. She blinked to adjust her expression.
The most dangerous place could also be the safest place.
She knew that Su Chenghui was looking for her. He wanted her to meet with Xiang Caiping and call her mother.
It would surprise him that she had decided to come to see Xiang Caiping by herself.
Xiang Caiping was still staying in that apartment. It wasn’t because she had nowhere to go—it was because she was too frustrated to think of another place to go at the moment.
She had been upset all these days. She ate when Xiao Ning and Xiao You told her to, and she said no when they asked her to go downstairs or get up to do her rehabilitation.
It had been a mere couple of days, but she was enervated already.
She couldn’t understand why Su Chenghui, who had used to be a sunny boy, had become someone like that.
Revenge? Was he out of his mind?
She felt so sad for her daughter.
In her eyes, Su Qingsang was perfect. She was so much better than Su Peizhen.
However, she forced herself to stop every time she thought that way. Su Peizhen was her real daughter, after all.
She hated Su Chenghui. If it hadn’t been for him, would her daughter have ever become like that?
Her unhappiness took away her passion for life. She stayed indoors every single day without even moving.
Xiao Yu and Xiao Ning had been hired by Su Qingsang and Huo Jinyao. They took care of Xiang Caiping as much as they could. However, as Xiang Caiping had been strangely gloomy and Su Qingsang wasn’t showing up, they figured that something wasn’t right.
The two of them grew even more cautious than before and tried even harder to look after Xiang Caiping.
Xiang Caiping sank into unhappiness. She had been recovering well, but she refused to do rehabilitation or leave home.
She had been able to walk slightly before, but now, she spent her days in the wheelchair. She wouldn’t get up unless she had to.
That was not a good thing for her body. Xiao Yu and Xiao Ning were quite anxious about it. They mentioned calling Su Qingsang and asking her to come to visit Xiang Caiping.
However, Xiang Caiping exploded when she heard that. The two didn’t know what exactly was going on between mother and daughter, but they didn’t dare mention it again. They weren’t family members, after all.
After living this way for a few days, Xiang Caiping looked paler than before.
Yesterday had been the First Full Moon Festival. There was no festival atmosphere at all. Xiao Ning had her own family, so she hastily made a trip home.
She had come back early in the morning, as she was worried about Xiang Caiping.
During lunch, someone knocked at the door. Xiao Yu hurriedly stood up to answer the door, wondering who would visit at this time.
She didn’t know the girl standing behind the door. She hadn’t met Su Peizhen.
“May I help you?”
The girl was young but sallow. Her hair and clothes looked a little messy. Xiao Yu couldn’t tell if she was a guest or if she had knocked on the door for some other reason.
Before coming into the building, Su Peizhen had spent a short while in the cold wind, and then she had made her hair messy.
After looking at herself in a mirror and confirming that she did not look healthy, she went upstairs.
The cold wind had paled her face. She felt cold, and she blamed everything that she had suffered on Su Qingsang.
With hatred in her heart, she put on a pitiful smile and said, “Hi, I’m here for Xiang Caiping.”
“You’re looking for Aunt Xiang?” Xiao Yu took a step backward and said, “She went back to her room after lunch. Who are you?”
“It’s okay. I’ll go and look for her myself.”
While speaking, Su Peizhen walked straight past Xiao Yu and into the apartment.
“Miss…”
Xiao Yu tried to stop her but failed. She watched Su Peizhen head toward a bedroom.
“Miss, wait. I’ll let her know.”
Before she could finish, Su Peizhen was already searching for Xiang Caiping room by room.
The apartment wasn’t large, so it didn’t take her much time to find Xiang Caiping.
She saw the old woman when she opened the second door.
Xiang Caiping was sitting in the wheelchair, moving toward the door. She had heard the noise, so she had planned to come out and see what was going on.
She stopped short when she saw Su Peizhen. At that very moment, Su Peizhen threw herself toward Xiang Caiping and burst into tears.
“Mom!”
Xiang Caiping was stunned. She hadn’t been in a good mood these days. She was overwhelmed with hatred every time she thought about what Su Chenghui had done.
She was sad because Su Qingsang, the perfect girl, wasn’t her real daughter, and because of how mean Su Peizhen was.
For all those reasons, she didn’t want to see Su Peizhen. After all, there were issues between the two of them. She wasn’t sure if Su Peizhen would want to accept her as her mother.
After all, Su Peizhen was a princess from a rich family. Being her daughter meant that she would have to admit that she was an illegitimate child. Would Su Peizhen really accept that?
Xiang Caiping had been angry, but she had thought one thing through.
No matter how bad or spoiled Su Peizhen was, she was still her daughter.
The truth had been out for days, but Su Peizhen still hadn’t come to her. She had been almost sure that Su Peizhen wouldn’t accept her as her mother. For that exact reason, she had become more and more upset.
To her surprise, Su Peizhen had showed up suddenly, looking so heartbroken.
Watching Su Peizhen holding her waist and crying, Xiang Caiping didn’t know how to react for a moment. She made eye contact with Xiao Yu, who had been looking at her with curiosity.
Xiao Yu quietly walked out and closed the door.
“Mom!”
Su Peizhen called her again. Her tears were real. She was crying.
How could she not cry? She was a rich girl, a department manager in the Li family’s business. Apart from breaking up with Qiu Yanbo, her life had always been perfect.
She had never thought that one day her life would change so drastically.
Her grandfather and mother weren’t her real grandfather and mother, and her home wasn’t her real home. More importantly, her mother didn’t want her anymore.
She had been Li Qianxue’s daughter for over 20 years. Didn’t that mean anything? She wasn’t Li Qianxue’s real daughter, but was that reason enough for Li Qianxue to forget about all the time that they had spent together?
Su Peizhen didn’t understand that Li Qianxue was just venting her anger toward Su Chenghui in that way.
She also didn’t know that Li Qianxue hadn’t leaked the truth about her real mother because she still loved her.
At that very moment, she felt that she was the poorest person in the world. She cried and cried.
Xiang Caiping had never liked Su Peizhen. She hadn’t even been sure if she wanted a daughter like that or not.
But she was her daughter, her real daughter. Seeing the girl crying so hard, her heart softened.
She raised a hand. Her hand shook slightly, but in the end, it landed on Su Peizhen’s head, gently stroking her hair.
She didn’t say anything, but her simple movement made Su Peizhen raise her head.
Her pale face was covered in tears, looking especially pitiful.
Xiang Caiping’s heart softened.
“Don’t cry.”
“Mom?” Su Peizhen bit her lower lip, raised her shoulders slightly, and said with hesitation, “You… Aren’t you angry at me anymore?”
Angry? What was there to be angry about? Xiang Caiping sighed and said, “Let the past stay in the past as long as you’re not mad at me.”
Su Peizhen was probably not as generous as Su Qingsang was. Xiang Caiping worried that she might hate her for abandoning her when she was a baby.
“Mom…” Su Peizhen shook her head, looked at her with tearful eyes, and said, “I-I know that I was mean before. I know that you might have some misunderstandings about me because of what happened.”
Su Peizhen’s voice was dry. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
“But now I know that I was wrong. I really do. Mom, I was wrong. Please forgive me.”
Xiang Caiping looked at her. She didn’t know what to say. “All right. I’ve told you that I don’t blame you anymore. Get up.”
The weather was cold. Kneeling on the ground might cause her knees to ache.
“I’m not getting up,” Su Peizhen cried even harder and said, “After all that happened, I’ve now realized who my real family is. Mom, I have nothing now. Mom, someone is trying to kill me now…”
Xiang Caiping’s heart skipped a beat. She looked at Su Peizhen and said, “What are you talking about? Who’s trying to kill you?”
Su Peizhen dropped her head without saying anything. She only cried harder and harder.
Xiang Caiping grew wrathful. She couldn’t help but hold the girl’s hand and say to her, “Stop crying. Tell me, who’s trying to kill you?”
She was her daughter, after all. Hearing that someone was trying to hurt her daughter made her feel irritated.
