After respectfully completing the New Year’s greetings, I came to a small table on the side of the hall and picked up one of the ceramic teacups that had just been filled. The liquid inside was crystal clear.
“After the New Year,” the Family Head pondered for a second.
“I will also head to the first front line. Your talent is quite good; the Great Elder has found a perfect successor. Maintain the stability within the Su family. To resist external threats, one must first stabilize the interior. Now the outside world is surging with storms, and only our Su family has no ancestor standing guard. The collapse of a ten-million-year-old structure often happens because of a single decision, falling in a single night. No one wants to see such a situation happen.”
The Family Head slowly stood up, his entire body shrouded in darkness, his voice making it hard for people to hear clearly. Su Liumeng raised her cup, as if toasting the Family Head, and also as if toasting herself.
“A pleasure collaborating.”
This cup of tea was her response, a farewell to the first nineteen years of her life. It was also her first official step onto the world stage.
I lifted my head and looked at Su Liumeng’s profile. In this moment, her high spirits were engraved in my heart. Unexpectedly, in the next second, Su Liumeng directly grabbed my hand.
Under the Family Head’s calm gaze, she said slowly, “Please do not do anything out of line. My success cannot be separated from Xinyan’s help. This position also belongs to her. I hope you understand.”
The Family Head gazed at the two of them with utter seriousness. As usual, he remained silent, which brought an incomparable pressure.
Su Liumeng was no longer what she used to be. she only tilted her head back and drained the tea in her cup as if it were strong liquor. The liquid that escaped from the corner of her mouth flowed down her snow-white, slender neck.
“Farewell.”
She led me away step by step. The Family Head’s usual aura of having everything within his grasp was actually a bit dejected now. From then on, this core power transition of the Su family, the central confrontation, officially came to a close.
Or rather, from the moment Su Liumeng broke through to the Original Self Realm with lightning speed, she was destined to have a place in the entire Su family. All the obstacles in front of her could only temporarily retreat. This time, Su Liumeng was truly going to soar.
“Cool.”
The first thing I did once we were outside was give Su Liumeng a thumbs-up.
“It’s nothing; it’s mostly your credit.” Su Liumeng was grinning foolishly, nowhere near the high-spirited figure from a moment ago.
How could she be so good at talking? She was flirting with me every moment. I arrogantly looked away.
“What does it have to do with me?”
Si Zhiruo raised her hand.
“I know! It’s Mama’s credit. You are a bad person; you ate Mama’s realm and constitution…”
“Mm, I’m a bad person. I’m willing to be punished.”
“I…” While Si Zhiruo was thinking, she instinctively wanted to bite her little hand again.
“I haven’t thought of a punishment yet, and I can’t help Mama punish you. This should be Mama’s own right.”
I smiled helplessly.
“Alright, didn’t I tell you? This was Mama’s own decision. I don’t regret what I’ve done.”
Just then, the little one suddenly blurted out a sentence that made me subconsciously look at Su Liumeng’s expression.
“Mama, that auntie just now seemed to like you.”
She opened her red envelope; inside was a one-time use spatial tool filled with toys children liked.
“If she didn’t like you, why would she give me so many good things?”
Si Zhiruo’s words were very logical, so much so that I didn’t know how to refute. Looking at Su Liumeng’s expressionless reaction, I gave a somewhat dry rebuttal.
“She just treats me as a friend. Don’t overthink it.”
“Good friend.”
Su Liumeng had been soaking in a jar of vinegar all day, and at this moment, it was finally overturned. Her mind buzzed, and she lost all reason, unable to help but sneer.
“So many gifts without asking for anything in return, and you tell me… she’s just taking care of a good friend? Si Xinyan, how long do you intend to play dumb?”
“You—you’re calling me by my full name?” I also stopped in my tracks, getting a bit angry, and confronted Su Liumeng.
“Fine, we’ve only been married two years and you’re already using my full name.”
Because of the Su Luo issue, this wasn’t the first time I had argued with her.
“Bringing up old scores, liking to say I’m playing dumb, right?”
I was getting worked up too; I had to settle this with Su Liumeng today.
“I told you Su Luo doesn’t like me; did you remember that point? Before, I only felt she was my love rival. Now, I only think she’s a good person, and I even owe her a big favor and a small favor. If it weren’t for her, maybe Zhizhi wouldn’t have been born. Are you going to settle old scores with me now? How do you want me to pay back this favor? My daughter is more important than anything in my heart. From what you’re saying, you want me to draw a clear line with her? Then how do I face my own values and bottom line? Putting aside whether she really likes me or not, at least from beginning to end, I have a clear conscience and have never done anything to betray you. Knowing that is enough.”
Si Zhiruo’s eyes went blank. Without Su Luo, would Zhizhi not have been born?
She recalled the auntie’s appearance from just now, then looked at the two who were at each other’s throats as if they would start fighting in the next second. In the direct collision between the two, Su Liumeng was the first to deflate.
“Sorry, I got emotional. Seeing you talking and laughing with Su Luo, I’ve been jealous the whole time. My emotions got a bit out of control. There’s nothing between you; it’s me who was being too petty. It’s my fault, baby, please calm down too.”
Su Liumeng tugged at my arm, seemingly wanting to pull me into a comforting hug, but I didn’t budge. I stood there like I was welded to the spot, and when I suddenly lowered my head, she saw that my eyes were already filled with the tears of being wronged.
I violently threw off Su Liumeng’s arm and left crying while holding my daughter. The discomfort in my body was constantly reminding me of the sacrifices I had made because of Su Liumeng.
It was precisely because of this that I felt even more wronged.
Finally reaching a deserted place, I set my daughter down on a nearby bench and crouched down, hugging my knees. How could she think of me like that?
Thinking that I was playing dumb, believing that I had been pretending not to know Su Luo liked me—wasn’t that implying that I actually knew everything but was just deceiving myself so I could comfortably enjoy Su Luo’s help?
Clearly, clearly, I had remembered all the favors.
Si Zhiruo’s gaze was vacant. Because of one sentence from her, Mama and Su Liumeng had started a fight? And it was an unprecedentedly intense argument.
Was she… the culprit? In all fairness, she didn’t want the two to fight because Mama would surely be sad. Si Zhiruo’s little hands propped her up on the wood of the bench, and her little legs jumped to the ground. She quickly came to Mama’s side, wanting to hug her seemingly breaking body.
“Mama, don’t cry.”
She was thinking about how to comfort someone.
After thinking for a long time, she suddenly said somewhat reluctantly, “It’s Su Liumeng who misunderstood Mama. She probably… didn’t mean it.”
She could see that Mama still liked Su Liumeng. The ultimate reason wasn’t that she was blaming Su Liumeng, but that she felt wronged by being misunderstood and falsely accused.
If she didn’t see through to the essence now and instead poured out bad things about Su Liumeng, it would only lead to the opposite effect.
Therefore, she could only speak against her heart and say good things about Su Liumeng with a complex mood. Presumably, this was the only correct answer Mama wanted to hear.
I didn’t move from my knees. I didn’t want my daughter to see me in such a pathetic and useless state.
“Zhizhi, do you think the same as Su Liumeng?”
The flames of war couldn’t be allowed to burn the baby; otherwise, no one would be able to comfort Mama. Si Zhiruo froze for a moment and quickly denied it.
“No, how could I think that? How could I not know what Mama is thinking? Mama is different from ordinary people; sometimes you don’t think about those messy things at all. Didn’t you teach me? In life, one only seeks a clear conscience. I believe that as long as Mama has a clear conscience, you don’t need to feel wronged or blame yourself. If others misunderstand, that’s because they are blind. Why punish yourself and force others’ mistakes onto yourself?”
Su Liumeng had just arrived in front of me. Hearing Si Zhiruo comforting her mama, her heart was filled with a sense of crisis.
If the situation she caused was fixed by the daughter, wouldn’t she be out of the picture in the future? Because of that, she didn’t hesitate and directly knelt on the ground.
I was silent for a moment, then slowly wiped away my tears and placed my daughter back on the bench. My daughter’s words just now had actually touched my heart.
At this moment, I was calm. There had never been another time where I could see through the problem so clearly. I walked slowly to Su Liumeng. Standing at a distance neither too close nor too far from her, countless complex emotions gathered into a deep resentment in my heart.
“Su Liumeng, do you really think I’m playing dumb?”
“No, it was me being jealous and talking nonsense.” Su Liumeng didn’t get up. “Wife, please forgive me this once.”
“Mm.”
Su Liumeng looked at my unusually calm eyes and felt her heart skip a beat. She could accept a furious outburst, and she could accept sad crying, but she couldn’t accept an expressionless face. Didn’t this mean she was about to be kicked out?
To put it another way, being able to forgive now was only because original affection points were being consumed. When the points were all gone, it would be the day the two officially divorced. Su Liumeng’s heart was bitter; she just wanted to give herself a slap.
Why did she have to be such a huge vinegar jar? Every time she got jealous, her emotions would get messy.
I sighed and pulled Su Liumeng up, sitting on the same bench with her while leaning my head against her shoulder. My voice carried a complex calm.
“Just as you can understand my occasional small breakdowns, I can also understand your emotions. I know this is only because you care about me too much, which is why your mind gets messy whenever you get jealous.”
I proactively took Su Liumeng’s palm and laced my fingers with hers.
“But you’ve grown up now. You need to learn to control your weaknesses just like I do, otherwise you’ll only hurt those around you.”
I also knew how terrible my previous personality was. I had unintentionally hurt Su Liumeng so many times. There was no reason to be lenient with oneself but strict with others.
If Su Liumeng could understand and forgive me, I could naturally understand and forgive her. I couldn’t beat her down just because of one instance of jealousy.
If I did that, what would my many instances count for? I was already learning to control myself.
Hearing my words, the dejection on Su Liumeng’s face finally gave way to a smile.
“Baby, are you finally willing to forgive me?”
“Of course. Just as you can tolerate me, I can also tolerate all your flaws.”
The hearts of the two seemed to truly fuse together at this moment.
This was a gradual acceptance and tolerance ranging from personality to life. Loving a person’s virtues, then accepting a person’s flaws. Knowing, loving, and staying together…
Su Liumeng squeezed my hand back, her tone promising with utter seriousness, “Baby, I will try to control my emotions. I never want to hurt you.”
Having a person was like having the whole world. At least at this moment, holding Su Liumeng’s hand, I already possessed the entire world.
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