Ming Shu’s words left Su Chuiyun dazed for a long time.
“But I want to spend money on you. Can’t you tell, A-Yun?”
Su Chuiyun sat in her wheelchair, still clutching the stone she intended to give Ming Shu.
Spending money…
Was her “sugar mommy” actually some kind of peerless saint?
Su Chuiyun’s lips twitched. Although she had planned to butter Ming Shu up so she’d help pay back the 230,000 yuan owed to the company and her credit card debt, now that the moment was here, she felt too ashamed to ask. Even though it was the original owner of her body who had been a terrible person, Ming Shu was the one who had suffered in this relationship.
Ming Shu had already been taken advantage of enough. Su Chuiyun couldn’t let her lose both her heart and her money.
Ming Shu’s long hair brushed past Su Chuiyun, bringing with it a faint scent of gardenia mixed with the crisp autumn air and the smell of grass. A warm current surged through Su Chuiyun’s heart.
“Sister, you could use your connections to help me sell this stone for a higher price instead.”
Su Chuiyun smiled and reached out to stroke Ming Shu’s jaw. The moment her warm fingers touched Ming Shu’s skin, the latter gave a slight shiver.
“With your help as a bridge, the value of this stone could easily double what I owe. Wouldn’t that pay everything back?”
Her heart pounded. Su Chuiyun’s fingers drifted upward until her thumb brushed against the corner of Ming Shu’s mouth.
“Once I get these stones sorted, I’ll go back to the bedroom and wear that wedding dress for you, okay?” Su Chuiyun looked at Ming Shu’s gentle eyes, her face flushing a deep yellow-pink.
“Perhaps A-Yun doesn’t know,” Ming Shu said softly, “My grandfather just passed away. I have to visit the cemetery tomorrow.”
Su Chuiyun: “…”
Ming Shu: “If A-Yun insists on wearing the wedding dress for me there, I suppose it’s not impossible.”
Su Chuiyun thought: That would literally be the death of filial piety.
Under Su Chuiyun’s direction, the workers cut all the Taihu stones in the yard. Ming Shu watched from a distance, whispering a few instructions to her young secretary, who immediately noted down several contacts, phone numbers, and estimated selling prices.
A short while later, Ming Shu took out her phone and paid off Su Chuiyun’s debts.
When the last stone was cut, Ming Shu pulled out a disinfecting wipe. The cool wipe swiped across Su Chuiyun’s small, dirty hands. The faint scent of alcohol and lemon lingered in the gaps between her fingers.
Ming Shu knelt on the ground, meticulously cleaning the girl’s hands until they were spotless. She kept her head down, her gaze focused intently on the spaces between Su Chuiyun’s fingers and her fingertips.
“My grandfather saw you when he was alive,” Ming Shu said, looking up from her kneeling position at the girl in the wheelchair. “Go visit him with me tomorrow.”
Su Chuiyun’s mind was a mess under Ming Shu’s intense gaze, her ears were so red they looked like they might bleed. Without a second thought, she nodded under Ming Shu’s earnest look.
“Um, okay. I’ll go visit him.”
Ming Shu finished cleaning her ten small “claws.” “I’ve put the clothes in your bedroom. It’s late, go get some rest.”
Ming Shu had been kneeling in the funeral hall all night, and her knees were already aching. Having knelt on one knee again just now, she swayed unsteadily as she tried to stand. Su Chuiyun caught her.
Su Chuiyun thought she was grabbing Ming Shu’s waist, and without looking, she accidentally gave it a couple of squeezes.
“Careful.”
“You are my girlfriend. You should visit your elders, shouldn’t you?” Ming Shu added, as if explaining the reason for the cemetery visit out of nowhere.
Su Chuiyun immediately replied, “As your girlfriend, it’s what I should do.”
Ming Shu was clearly pleased by the word “girlfriend,” and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Mm.”
The workers moving the stones didn’t dare look at their bosses. Sister Chen and Bai Li looked away in despair, with Sister Chen covering the young secretary’s eyes.
Don’t look if you value your life.
After a long silence…
Ming Shu: “…Su Chuiyun.”
Su Chuiyun was confused. “Sister, any other instructions?”
A vein popped on Ming Shu’s forehead. “Move your hand off my butt.”
Su Chuiyun: “!”
She snapped her hand back, but not before giving it one last squeeze.
Ming Shu: “.”
Early the next morning, Su Chuiyun stood fully dressed in front of the mirror. She was wearing a black Chanel style suit with a bow at the neckline, small heels, and white lace stockings.
It looked good, it just didn’t look like she was going to a grave.
Su Chuiyun: “…”
The auntie Sister Chen had recently hired helped Su Chuiyun straighten her skirt. “Is Miss going on a blind date?”
Su Chuiyun: “No.”
Auntie Li: “A date? This outfit is truly beautiful.”
Su Chuiyun: “Not that either. I’m going to burn spirit money for a deceased elder.”
Auntie Li: “…Oh.”
Su Chuiyun saw confusion in Auntie Li’s eyes, along with a silent admiration for “how you city people really know how to play.”
When Su Chuiyun got into the car, Ming Shu was already in the back seat. “This outfit is very pretty.”
Ming Shu naturally reached out to straighten Su Chuiyun’s collar, her fingers inadvertently brushing Su Chuiyun’s chin.
Ming Shu was still dressed in white, her face devoid of makeup, looking a bit more mournful than usual.
The black sedan drove to a suburban cemetery. It was a private one with excellent feng shui, surrounded by ancient trees and pines. It was incredibly peaceful in the cool autumn breeze.
Ming Shu pushed Su Chuiyun to a headstone. The new monument was beautiful, featuring a black and white photo of a kind-looking old man at the top.
Ming Shu took out incense, lit it, and bowed. “A-Yun, Grandfather used to dote on me.”
Su Chuiyun didn’t interrupt, noticing the faint melancholy and regret in Ming Shu’s voice.
“When I lived at Grandfather’s house, he never cared that I was adopted. He always taught me calligraphy and antiques with a smile. He’d take me to construction sites and say the Ming family finally had an heir.”
Ming Shu, kneeling to offer incense, let out a helpless, bitter laugh.
“But a few years later, while I was napping in the courtyard, Grandfather suddenly sighed and said, ‘It’s a pity she’s a girl, she can’t carry the family business. It won’t work.'”
“A while after that, my brother was born.”
Ming Shu kowtowed and placed the incense in the burner. She wasn’t just talking to her grandfather she was talking to Su Chuiyun, or perhaps herself.
“Just as my adoptive parents said, I am an ‘ungrateful white-eyed wolf.’ I envied my brother. Why could a useless person like him receive everyone’s love?”
From then on, Ming Shu would be beaten with a cane for taking her brother’s snacks. She would be forced to kneel in the ancestral hall without food if she accidentally tripped while holding him.
She wasn’t a saint. Perhaps adopted children really “don’t grow attached.” Ming Shu didn’t crave unconditional family love anymore, she only wanted the wealth she could grasp. Like the antiques, the two commercial streets, and the dowry she had saved up herself…
Su Chuiyun offered three sticks of incense. “I’m sorry.”
Ming Shu brushed the dust off her knees. “It has nothing to do with you, A-Yun. You don’t need to apologize.”
Su Chuiyun couldn’t stand seeing Ming Shu looking so pitiful. “I’ll cherish you, sister.”
Ming Shu thought: As long as you don’t make me angry, that’s enough.
Su Chuiyun muttered a few promises to the old man on the headstone about protecting Ming Shu. She didn’t notice Ming Shu had stepped away.
Looking back, she saw another car had arrived. A middle-aged noblewoman and a fat man with a scar on his face were standing opposite Ming Shu.
Su Chuiyun strained her ears. Because of the distance, she only caught snippets: “Owe money,” “family,” “well-off,” “project.”
Is Ming Shu in debt?
Confused, Su Chuiyun frowned with worry.
The wind rustled through the pine forest. Su Chuiyun stuck the three sticks of incense into the burner and whispered:
“Don’t worry, Grandfather. I will take good care of Ming Shu and treat her as my closest…” Sugar mommy.
Despite the word “sugar mommy” in her head, she couldn’t stop thinking about Ming Shu’s bitter smile. Her “sister” looked like she might shatter at any moment, and it made Su Chuiyun’s heart ache.
Su Chuiyun corrected her silent vow: “…as my closest family.”