After breakfast, Su Qingsang spent a while sitting with Old Master Li. Then, she used going to the bathroom as an excuse and hid in a corner to call Huo Jinyao.
It was finally Old Master Li’s birthday that day. She still hoped that Huo Jinyao would make it to the birthday party.
Since Huo Jinyao didn’t show up last night, she figured that he probably couldn’t make it anymore.
She trusted that he would never let her come back to Lin City alone to celebrate Old Master Li’s birthday if there wasn’t something really important to do.
But still, she wished that he would come before the party began, even though she was already aware that Huo Jinyao probably didn’t have the time for that.
“Jinyao?” The moment the call was answered, Su Qingsang couldn’t hide her nervousness.
“Darling, I was so busy last night that I forgot to call you.”
“It’s okay.” Through the phone, Su Qingsang found Huo Jinyao’s voice to be slightly dry.
“Jinyao, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” replied Huo Jinyao. He sounded a little more energetic than before after she had asked the question. “Darling, I’m afraid I can’t celebrate grandpa’s birthday with all of you.”
“It’s okay. Grandpa won’t mind.”
Yesterday, Su Qingsang hadn’t promised anyone that Huo Jinyao would show up. Instead, she told her grandpa that he would come after finishing his work. She believed that her grandpa would understand.
“Take care of yourself and don’t get too exhausted.” Su Qingsang thought for a moment, then added, “also, don’t forget to eat.”
“I know, I will.” Huo Jinyao turned up the corners of his lips slightly. His heart was instantly softened by Su Qingsang’s concern.
“Darling,” Huo Jinyao called Su Qingsang.
“Yeah?”
“I miss you.” They were separated for only a day, but Huo Jinyao was already missing Su Qingsang.
He always felt at ease when she was around, even if she did nothing and knew nothing. As long as she was with him, as long as he could hold her in his arms, he felt relieved, even though she wasn’t able to help him with work at all.
“I miss you too,” Su Qingsang said to him. Her eyes glowed slightly. “It’s okay. I’ll be home in just two days.”
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
Huo Jinyao ended the call. The look of relief on his face was instantly gone. With his eyes on the stack of files in front of him, he realized that he had never looked this serious before.
…
Li Qianxue reconfirmed the lunch menu with the staff in the kitchen. On her way out, she found Su Qingsang hiding in the hallway talking on the phone.
By the time she saw her, the girl was already ending the call.
“Mom,” Su Qingsang called quickly, as she walked up to Li Qianxue. “Do you need my help?”
“Were you calling Jinyao? Will he be here?”
Su Qingsang shook her head with a guilty look on her face and said, “there seems to be an emergency in his company. He has to deal with it himself, so he can’t come.”
“It’s okay, I understand,” Li Qianxue put an arm around Su Qingsang’s arm, and brought her to the living room.
“It’s no big deal that he can’t make it to the party. We’ve only invited families this time anyway. You’ve met most of them already.”
“Mm, I know.” Su Qingsang had seen her grandfather’s cousins, their children, and grandchildren before. She was barely in touch with those people, though.
“You only need to know who they are. They are all relying on our family for now. They’ll certainly be very polite to you. If any of them is rude to you, you don’t need to tolerate it. You can boldly talk back.”
Li Qianxue knew that many of those people used to be mean to Su Qingsang, openly or secretly.
Although that had something to do with her attitude, things were different now. She would not let anyone be mean to her daughter ever again.
She wouldn’t allow anyone to be even slightly impolite to her daughter.
“Mom, I get it. Don’t worry. I don’t think they’ll be rude to me.”
None of those people would want to displease her unless their brains weren’t working properly. After all, her husband was the president of Tianyu Group. On top of that, she was now Li Qianxue’s daughter.
“I know they won’t. I’m just worried that some of them might be too stupid.”
Li Qianxue patted Su Qingsang’s hand and said, “anyway, remember this. No one in this family can make you unhappy.”
“Mom.” Su Qingsang was a little choked up. She was touched.
She rubbed her face against Li Qianxue’s shoulder, and said with a very soft voice, “you are going to spoil me.”
“What’s so wrong about that?” Li Qianxue didn’t think it was too much at all. “I think I should have started spoiling you much earlier.”
If she had known the truth earlier, she would have started to love and care for her daughter sooner also. How did things ever become like this? How did she miss so many years which should have been spent together with her daughter?
Li Qianxue felt remorse for not finding out the truth earlier. She clenched her teeth with the hatred she had toward Su Qinghui. He was the one who had caused all the problems.
Just then, Li Qianxue and Su Qingsang saw someone who was not allowed there, when they walked into the living room.
Su Chenghui.
At the sight of him, Li Qianxue pulled a long face.
Coldly and sullenly, she glared at Su Chenghui, as if she was trying to burn through his body with her eyes.
She hadn’t seen him ever since the divorce papers were signed. The two of them hadn’t seen each other for nearly two months.
Su Chenghui left the company, so Li Qianxue had been running the company alone for quite a while now.
She was a capable person, but the sudden increase in workload exhausted her.
She was so busy with work lately that she had no time to think about Su Chenghui.
She could easily get information about him, but she didn’t want to know anything about him. She also grew unhappy every time her son or daughter mentioned him in front of her.
He had left already. He was no longer a part of the family and did not need to come back. He shouldn’t have shown up.
If he wanted to see the kids, he could do that outside the family. That would be better for both of them.
She did not want to see the man. Seeing him so suddenly really made Li Qianxue unhappy. The guests hadn’t arrived yet. What was he doing there?
“What are you doing here? Get out. You’re not welcomed in here.”
Li Qianxue didn’t mind embarrassing Su Chenghui in front of the two kids. In her eyes, Su Chenghui didn’t deserve any respect.
Su Chenghui had his eyes fixed on Li Qianxue ever since he showed up.
He hadn’t seen her in two months. She seemed to have lost some weight but still looked nice.
It was her father’s birthday that day, and she was wearing light makeup. The party was to take place at home, so Li Qianxue wasn’t wearing a full dress.
She was wearing a simple red dress, looking vivid and joyful. She was in her forties, but she looked so perfect in that bright color.
The color of that dress was exactly like her personality. She always drew a clear distinction between love and hate. People were always unwittingly attracted to her, like how people were always attracted to fire.
“Su Chenghui.” Li Qianxue felt even worse as she realized that Su Chenghui was staring at her. “What on earth are you doing here?”
“Today is father’s birthday, I…”
“Stop it,” Li Qianxue said. She uncoiled her arm from Su Qingsang’s, walked up to Su Chenghui, and asked, “Who are you calling father?”
