By the time Su Nian’an returned to the Su family home, it was almost dark.
She had spent the entire day shopping, buying some necessities she thought she would need when she went to the countryside, but she didn’t dare buy too much.
Clothes, daily necessities, some basic medicine, and a few snacks she still didn’t dare buy much, so she only bought a little of each.
It didn’t matter. Once she tricked the male lead out of that spatial bracelet ah, no!
It couldn’t really be called tricking him, right? Once they were married, they would be family anyway. The male lead didn’t know the secret of the spatial bracelet, so keeping it in his hands would just be a waste.
At this point, Su Nian’an couldn’t help admiring the screenwriter’s imagination.
Normally, spatial bracelets were things the female lead would snatch from cannon-fodder characters like her or from vicious female supporting characters like Su Nianxi.
But this novel insisted on doing things differently. It actually had the female lead trick the spatial bracelet out of the male lead’s hands.
Speaking of which the male and female leads probably hadn’t met yet, right?
Su Nian’an didn’t want the female lead to start coveting that spatial bracelet so early. She had to hurry up and go to the countryside.
When Su Aiguo saw Su Nian’an return, he seemed relieved. He hurried over and said, “Nian’an, I found some relatives of the Gu family this afternoon. There’s a young man who’s willing to take you to the countryside to find the Gu family. Tomorrow morning, just go to the train station and leave with him.”
Su Nian’an nodded, indicating that she agreed.
Although Su Aiguo was unhappy with how disrespectful Su Nian’an had been toward him, tomorrow she would finally be sent away to repay the debt of gratitude on behalf of the Su family. So, on her last night there, Su Aiguo couldn’t be bothered to argue with her too much.
But just because Su Aiguo didn’t want to make an issue out of things didn’t mean his wife, Liu Cuilian, could tolerate it.
In Liu Cuilian’s eyes, Su Nian’an was the daughter she had given birth to. Without her, Su Nian’an wouldn’t even have come into this world. So whenever she faced Su Nian’an, Liu Cuilian always felt that she had never owed this daughter anything.
“Su Nian’an, what kind of attitude is that when you speak to your father? Are you mute? Why didn’t you answer him?”
No matter how she looked at it, Liu Cuilian simply couldn’t stand Su Nian’an.
Even though Su Nian’an had actually agreed to what Su Aiguo had said, Liu Cuilian could still find something else to criticize her for.
In the end, it was simply because she disliked this daughter of hers.
Su Nian’an really couldn’t understand it. Exactly whose daughter was Su Nianxi?
How could the Su couple protect her so much that they would even look down on their own biological daughter for the sake of an adopted daughter?
The whole situation was so bizarre that Su Nian’an, a person from the twenty-first century, simply couldn’t understand it.
But since Liu Cuilian dared to pick a fight, Su Nian’an wasn’t afraid either.
If she didn’t make a scene with the Su family, how would she let the Fu family know that she and the Su family were on bad terms?
Although Su Nian’an wasn’t sure whether she could make use of the Fu family connection, she had never fought a battle without preparation.
So this time, she decided to make the commotion as big as possible, making sure all the neighbors around the Su family knew that she had a terrible relationship with them even that she had already severed ties with them.
“Dad? You probably don’t know, do you? I’ve already written a severance agreement cutting ties with the Su family. As things stand, you and I are, at most, in a cooperative relationship. What family affection is there left that I need to respect? Instead, you should show me a little respect. Remember, I haven’t gone to the countryside yet. I can change my mind at any time.”
Su Nian’an replied with a cold laugh.
Those words completely enraged Liu Cuilian.
“You unfilial daughter! I’ll teach you a proper lesson today while you’re still here! We gave you so much money, and you still want to back out? Have you gone completely out of your mind?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Cuilian rolled up her sleeves and moved to hit Su Nian’an.
Su Nian’an didn’t rush to fight back. Instead, she turned around and ran straight out through the front door behind her.
As she ran, she shouted, “Stop hitting me! I already agreed to marry into the Gu family. I even agreed to go to the countryside in Su Nianxi’s place. Why do you still want to hit me? I already wrote the severance agreement. What more do you want from me?”
Although Su Nian’an looked delicate and weak, her voice was surprisingly loud.
That single shout brought the neighbors around the Su family out of their homes to watch the commotion.
When Su Aiguo saw what was happening, his face instantly turned livid.
There was no way Su Aiguo would believe that Su Nian’an hadn’t deliberately caused this commotion.
Unfortunately, his wife and daughter were both incredibly foolish and kept giving people opportunities to make a scene.
“Enough, enough. Come back inside. Stop making a fuss!” Su Aiguo frowned as he looked at Su Nian’an standing at the doorway.
“Am I the one making a fuss? I’ve already agreed to marry into the Gu family and go to the countryside in Su Nianxi’s place. Why are you still treating me like this? I’m staying in this house for my last night. Can’t we just live in peace with each other? Every time you see me, you either hit me or curse at me. What do I, Su Nian’an, owe your Su family?”
More and more neighbors opened their doors to watch the drama, and Su Nian’an became increasingly fired up as she continued speaking.
Liu Cuilian’s expression changed drastically.
Su Nianxi, who had just been hiding in the shadows and watching the show, immediately rushed out as well, afraid that Su Nian’an would say something detrimental to her.
“Why are you treating me like this when I’m also your daughter? I even wrote the severance agreement exactly as you asked me to, and it still isn’t enough! I just came back from outside, and you were already trying to hit me. I’m a human being, not an animal!”
At this point, Su Nian’an suddenly seemed to think of something. She then turned her gaze toward Su Nianxi.
“Could it be… could it be that you really think, just like Su Nianxi said, that I’m not even worth as much as a dog in the Su family?”
With those words, the neighbors immediately began whispering and discussing among themselves.
“Who is that girl?”
“I don’t know. She seems to be one of the Su family’s daughters?”
“The Su family’s daughter? That can’t be right. I remember the Su family only had one daughter.”
“I think this is the girl who was raised in the countryside and only brought back a few days ago. I asked Liu Cuilian about her.”
“This relationship… doesn’t look very good, does it?”
“Of course it doesn’t. One daughter was raised by their side all along. When you put it that way, they probably favor the one who grew up with them.”
“People are made of flesh and blood. After living together for so long, they’re naturally going to have more feelings for the daughter who grew up beside them.”
“But treating the daughter who grew up in the countryside like this isn’t fair either. To be honest, if they hadn’t brought this daughter back this time, I wouldn’t even have known the Su family had another daughter.”
“I didn’t know either. And it seems they only brought her back for a purpose. Didn’t you hear what she just said? It sounds like she’s being made to marry into the Gu family in Su Nianxi’s place.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Who would’ve thought the Su family could be so heartless?”
The neighbors’ voices grew louder and louder, and the Su couple heard every word.
“Nian’an, hurry and come back. Don’t let people make a spectacle of you,” Su Aiguo said.
He already felt guilty about making his biological daughter marry into the Gu family in place of his adopted daughter. Now that the neighbors were gossiping about it, he felt as though he had completely lost face.
Su Nian’an looked at the people around her who were pointing and whispering about her with tears in her eyes. She wiped away a tear.
On top of that, she was still wearing a worn-out, patched-up set of clothes, which made her look even more pitiful.
Her face was extremely deceptive. Combined with the fact that malnutrition had left her thin and frail, she looked delicate and weak, the kind of girl who naturally inspired sympathy.
Seeing this scene, the surrounding neighbors became even more convinced that the Su family’s treatment of her was truly unfair and lacking in basic human compassion.