“It’s… It’s… Li Qianxue.”
Su Peizhen blinked and looked at Xiang Caiping. She had almost said the word “mom.”
“She kicked me out when she found out that I’m not her child. Yesterday, she invited many friends and relatives to tell them that Su Qingsang is her real daughter. I asked her if I’m still her daughter, and she kicked me out. Mom, I have nothing now. I’m an illegitimate daughter. I…”
Li Qianxue and Su Chenghui were being ridiculous. Xiang Caiping was enraged. She held Su Peizhen’s hand. The anger in her heart was now gone, and all she had left was pity for Su Peizhen.
“How could she do something like that? You’ve been her daughter for over twenty years, after all. How could she…”
“We both thought we were a real mother and daughter. Now, her real daughter has come back. Of course there won’t be a place for me in that family again.”
Xiang Caiping understood that. She had done the same for Su Qingsang a couple of days ago because Su Qingsang had become Li Qianxue’s daughter.
However, when she heard that it had happened to Su Peizhen, she started to feel that what Li Qianxue had done was so incredibly wrong.
She hated Li Qianxue for stealing her man. Now, hearing about what she had done to Su Peizhen, she hated her even more.
“Sweet girl, don’t cry. She doesn’t want you, but I do. She kicked you out of that house. So what? You don’t need anything from her.”
“Mom?” Su Peizhen looked at Xiang Caiping, seeming not to understand her meaning.
“I’ve saved some money over the years. I’m not as rich as the Li family or the Huo family, but I can take care of both of us. Don’t worry. Mama will look after you.”
“Mom…” On hearing that, Su Peizhen sounded like she would cry again.
Hearing her daughter’s hoarse voice, Xiang Caiping’s heart softened completely.
She gave a long sigh and said, “Don’t cry. You can live with me. I will take good care of you.”
“All right.” Su Peizhen nodded heavily, held Xiang Caiping’s hands, and said, “Mom, I have now realized that only blood ties are real. Anything else can be fake. From this day on, you are my only mother. You’re the only one I have.”
Xiang Caiping nodded. Then she thought of Su Chenghui. “Did your father say anything when Li Qianxue kicked you out?”
“Mom…” Su Peizhen clenched her teeth and said with a sorrowful look, “Dad doesn’t want to leave the Li family. My grandfather is the one who makes decisions in the family, not him. He surely didn’t have the guts to keep me.”
“Great, great.” Xiang Caiping had always hated Su Chenghui. Now, hearing that, her hatred grew even stronger. “I thought he had a backbone. I thought he was forced to marry Li Qianxue. Now, I finally understand that what he wants is nothing but a wealthy life.”
Su Peizhen dropped her head and said, “Dad didn’t speak for me yesterday. He just kept telling me to come here to see you. I asked him to beg Li Qianxue not to kick me out, but he wouldn’t do that. I was mean to you before. I did something wrong. I was too ashamed to come here to see you, but you are my mother, after all. I want you to know what kind of a man my father is, so I came here today. Mom, you’re not gonna be angry with me, are you?”
“No.” Xiang Caiping only hated Su Chenghui and Li Qianxue at the moment. She even started to dislike the apartment she was living in.
She wasn’t angry at Su Peizhen for not wanting to leave the family and trying to beg Li Qianxue.
She had been Li Qianxue’s daughter for over 20 years. She wasn’t a weak person. Of course she would try to fight for herself.
What she was doing now was great. She had figured out who she was and broken from the Su family.
Xiang Caiping thought for a moment and quickly made a decision.
“Let’s go, Peizhen. Let’s go now.”
“Go? Where to?”
“Away from this place, of course.” Xiang Caiping was a person with pride. How could she stay in Su Qingsang’s apartment after Li Qianxue had treated her daughter like that?
“This apartment belongs to Su Qingsang. We won’t be staying here. We’re leaving now.”
Su Peizhen didn’t say no. “Dad bought me an apartment before. Maybe we can stay there for now.”
Her luggage was still there.
“Why would we stay in your father’s apartment? I’d rather stay in a hotel.”
Xiang Caiping was grateful that she had not given all her money to Su Qingsang yet. Otherwise, she and Su Peizhen would have wound up on the street.
“Mom, staying in a hotel will cost us extra money. My apartment is not small. I stayed there yesterday.”
Xiang Caiping was already angry at Li Qianxue for casting her daughter out of her home. Now, hearing her daughter talking about saving money, her heart ached.
That made her hate Su Chenghui even more. After all, he had spent so many years raising Su Peizhen, and he had used to love her so much.
How could he throw her out of the house just like that?
“He treated you like that? Why did you still stay in his apartment?”
“Mom…” Su Peizhen didn’t want to stay in a hotel. “He gave that apartment to me. It’s mine. Why wouldn’t I take it?”
Xiang Caiping pondered this briefly and found that her words made sense. Finally, she was less angry.
“Let me pack my bag. We’ll leave now.”
While she spoke, Xiang Caiping stood up. Her injury had almost healed. All she needed to do now was take good care of her body.
Su Peizhen hurriedly took a step forward and said, “Let me help you.”
“No need.” Xiang Caiping still had trouble bending over. She didn’t plan to pack too many things. “It’s just a few clothes. You just sit down and take a rest.”
“Mom, just let me help you,” said Su Peizhen worriedly. She tried to be close with Xiang Caiping, almost in a fawning way. “We only have each other now.”
Su Peizhen’s words made Xiang Caiping’s chest ache again. She didn’t say no this time.
She hated the apartment now, so she quickly packed a few clothes and prepared to go.
Thankfully, she hadn’t unpacked the luggage she had prepared for the trip to Rong City. There weren’t too many things left to be packed.
She picked up a few things that she would need and stepped out of the room with Su Peizhen.
Xiao Yu was stunned when she heard Su Peizhen call Xiang Caiping “mom.” She had no idea what was happening.
She told Xiao Ning about it. Neither of them knew what had happened.
As Xiang Caiping and Su Peizhen came out of the room, Xiao Yu walked toward them and saw the three large suitcases beside Su Peizhen.
“Aunt Xiang, you…”
“We’re not staying there. We’re leaving now.”
The two caregivers had been taking good care of her, so she was nice to them.
“You two can come with us.”
“This…”
Xiao Yu and Xiao Ning glanced at each other with confusion. They had been hired by Huo Jinyao to take care of Xiang Caiping. If they decided to leave, they surely needed to inform Huo Jinyao or Su Qingsang about that.
“What? You are here to look after my mom. You should go wherever she goes.” Su Peizhen was rather polite to them.
The two considered her words and found them making sense.
They had been hired to take care of Xiang Caiping. Without question, they should stay with her.
Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu thought for a moment about it and made eye contact again. They went back to their rooms, packed their things, and followed Su Peizhen out of the apartment.
Su Peizhen had her car. On her way downstairs, she said to Xiang Caiping, “I was angry yesterday, so I took my car without thinking. Mom, you won’t be angry about it, will you?”
“Why would I?” Xiang Caiping understood her meaning. “Your dad bought you the car, right?”
“Yes.” It had been her birthday gift this year. She didn’t say that to Xiang Caiping, though.
After putting the wheelchair and luggage into the car, she told Xiang Caiping to get into the front seat. Xiao Yu and Xiao Ning sat in the back.
After that, Su Peizhen drove toward her apartment.
On the way, Xiao Ning texted Su Qingsang about what was happening.
In the message, she didn’t say much, just that a young girl had showed up, calling Xiang Caiping “mom,” and taken Xiang Caiping away. She also told Su Qingsang that she and Xiao Yu were still with Xiang Caiping.
Su Qingsang soon replied to her. She asked her and Xiao Yu to keep taking good care of Xiang Caiping and said that she would continue paying them.
Xiao Ning sighed with relief. Thankfully, her employer didn’t blame her and Xiao Yu. Otherwise, they would be in a difficult situation.
They didn’t worry about their salaries, though. After all, Huo Jinyao had paid them for six months already.
Su Qingsang dropped her phone and sighed. She hadn’t thought that Su Peizhen would accept Xiang Caiping so soon.
She had thought Su Peizhen would at least make another scene.
But to her surprise, Su Peizhen had easily accepted Xiang Caiping as her mother. That was probably because of the natural bond between a daughter and her mother.
Xiang Caiping was a good person. Su Qingsang wished that Su Peizhen would treat her well. She wasn’t very worried now, though.
After all, Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu were still with Xiang Caiping. If anything bad happened, the two of them would take care of her.
With that thought, Su Qingsang felt a little relieved. She thought about it and talked to Li Qianxue during dinner.
She could tell that Li Qianxue still loved Su Peizhen. She worried that Li Qianxue might be upset knowing that Su Peizhen had accepted Xiang Caiping as her mother.
“Mom, Peizhen is Auntie Xiang’s daughter, after all. She has accepted that fact now. That’s a good thing.”
Li Qianxue stayed silent. That did affect her a little. The daughter she had spent many years raising was now calling another woman “mom.”
She felt a little uncomfortable about it. However, looking at Su Qingsang, she realized that it was understandable. She had gotten her own daughter back already. How could she possibly stop that girl from going to her real mother?
She rubbed her temples and said in a soft voice, “It’s good. They’re together now. They’ll be living a good life together.”
She planned to give Su Peizhen some money when she got married. She still saw her as her daughter, after all.
Old Master Li stayed silent. No one knew what he was thinking. Abruptly, he turned to Su Qingsang.
“We’re heading to Rong City tomorrow. Have you finished packing yet?”
“Yes.” Su Qingsang nodded and said, “If I find myself needing anything in Rong City, I’ll just buy it.”
“That’s what I said.” Li Qianxue looked at Old Master Li, worrying that he might be upset about what Su Peizhen had done. “Dad, weren’t you friends with Old Master Huo? You guys can do some catching up this time.”
Old Master Li furrowed his brows slightly and said, “I wouldn’t use the word ‘friends.’ We met a few times. He’s a good man, though. I never thought that we’d become family someday.”
“Fate did that,” Li Qianxue said with a smile.
The conversation didn’t continue. After dinner, the three of them spent a short while talking about the trip before they returned to their rooms to rest.
The next day, Su Qingsang got up early in the morning. Li Qianxue got up even earlier.
The plane would take off at ten. She didn’t need to get up so early, but thinking about flying to Rong City and seeing Huo Jinyao, Su Qingsang was excited.
The two of them had only been apart for a few days.
But during those days, so many things had happened. Su Qingsang felt as if she hadn’t seen Huo Jinyao for a long time.
Li Qianxue woke up to find her daughter in a very good mood. She was a little jealous of Huo Jinyao, but she was also very delighted.
Her marriage had ended as a tragedy, but her daughter’s marriage had turned out to be a happy story. It was great.
That reminded her of Su Chenghui again. Last night, he had called her and told her that he didn’t want to sign the divorce papers until he found Su Peizhen.
Li Qianxue might have believed him if Su Qingsang hadn’t told her that Su Peizhen was already with Xiang Caiping.
That man was so disgusting.
He knew that Su Peizhen had already accepted Xiang Caiping as her mother, but he had still lied to Li Qianxue about Su Peizhen going missing to try to arouse her sympathy.
If she weren’t worried about her daughters’ reputations, she would have told the world about all the nasty things that Su Chenghui had done and let him drown in shame.
She intended to maintain a good mood for her trip to Rong City, so she asked the lawyer Chen to handle it.
She had all the patience in the world, anyway. Su Chenghui couldn’t possibly avoid signing the papers forever.
He would have to sign them when she returned from Rong City.
“Mom, let’s go.”
Seeing the concern in Su Qingsang’s eyes, Li Qianxue felt warm. Together, they held Old Master Li’s arms and walked out of the house.
…
The plane landed in Rong City right after dinnertime.
The short flight exhausted Old Master Li. After two hours of flying, he wanted to take some rest.
Before the trip, Li Qianxue had sent someone to Rong City to look for a suitable house for her. However, even if they did find a house, they would have to clean it before she moved in.
So the three of them stayed in a hotel.
Li Qianxue had booked the largest suite in the fanciest hotel in Rong City. Once arriving at the hotel, she told Old Master Li to get some rest.
She needed to rest as well. They planned to visit Old Master Huo tomorrow morning.
Su Qingsang was hungry. She ordered room service. Before long, someone knocked on her door. She opened the door without thinking, as she thought it was the room service arriving.
To her surprise, she opened the door to see Huo Jinyao standing there.
“Huo Jinyao?”
