Lu Zheng’s face turned thoroughly pale and unreadable. His lips parted slightly before he asked, “Su Mian… are you serious?”
Growing impatient, Su Mian snapped back, “Dead serious. Couldn’t be any more serious.”
So could he please stop coming around and bothering her? She genuinely lacked the time and energy to deal with the male lead.
“Su Mian,” Lu Zheng called out to her again, stopping her in her tracks.
“Is there something else? Can we just get this all out of the way at once?” Her tone carried an even sharper edge of irritation.
“Back then… forcing you away… wasn’t what I wanted.” Out of nowhere, Lu Zheng began offering an explanation for what had happened in the past.
Su Mian stared at him, utterly bewildered.
See? Just as she thought—Lu Zheng was a two-timing, indecisive mess.
She had already turned into such an out-of-shape, heavily built woman, yet here he was, still feeding her these ambiguous lines. If the original Su Mian were still around and truly in love with him, wouldn’t a line like that reignite her hopeless dreams of getting back together?
“Does any of that even matter anymore? It’s all in the past,” Su Mian said, almost rolling her eyes. “I’m doing just fine now, and we’ve settled our score. I have zero interest in walking down memory lane. Can’t we just part ways on civil terms? Actually, wait—we were never together in the first place, so there’s nothing to part from. Let’s just stay out of each other’s business and leave the past where it belongs, alright?”
Honestly, was something wrong with Lu Zheng’s head? Logic dictated that after crossing paths with her, he should be running in the opposite direction. Why on earth was he seeking her out instead?
“Leave the past where it belongs…” Lu Zheng countered, his gaze fixed on her. “Then what’s left for us to talk about?”
Good grief.
Su Mian was convinced now. Lu Zheng was the classic type who always wanted what he couldn’t have—so shameless that he couldn’t even leave someone as overweight as her alone.
“Lu Zheng, is there something wrong with your mind?” Losing all patience for his nonsense, she didn’t bother holding back her frustration anymore.
“No, there isn’t… It’s just that you’ve changed a lot, Su Mian.” Lu Zheng looked straight into her eyes as he spoke.
“Well, obviously. As you can see, I’m a heavy, out-of-shape woman now. Forget being with you—I’d probably get thrown out before I could even step over your family’s doorstep. I don’t know why you came looking for me today, but I’m definitely not giving back that fifteen hundred yuan.”
Her mind kept wandering back to the money. Deep down, she refused to believe Lu Zheng had come to rekindle some old flame; it was far more likely he regretted parting with the cash and wanted it back.
At the constant mention of money, Lu Zheng’s expression darkened.
“That money was for the pocket watch,” he said stiffly. “It’s nothing. I’m not the kind of person to go back on my word, and I won’t ask you to return it.”
Su Mian instantly breathed a sigh of relief. “Good to hear. You should head back then. Don’t come around places like this anymore—it doesn’t suit a young master like you.”
Without waiting for a reply, she brushed past him toward home.
“Su Mian!”
He called her name once more, but she didn’t even bother slowing down, quickening her pace instead.
Gratefully, he didn’t give chase, only watching her silently as she walked away.
Now that she had laid everything out so plainly, he probably wouldn’t bother her again. Still, she couldn’t make heads or tails of how his mind worked. Recalling his words, a strange thought crossed her mind—was it just her imagination, or did he actually still harbor feelings for her?
Gross, spit that thought right out. Lu Zheng was already married!
If her suspicion was true, then she really had to hand it to him: the grass always seemed greener to someone like that. To make such lingering, suggestive remarks to someone in her current physical state was utterly ridiculous—could he really stomach someone as heavy as her?
The moment Su Mian got home, she set to work lighting the stove to cook dinner.
Her two kids stuck to her side like glue, scrambling to help out around the kitchen. Their eagerness brought an irresistible smile to her face, pushing all thoughts of Lu Zheng straight out of her mind. With two precious, affectionate little ones by her side, nothing else seemed to matter.
Living on her own like this wouldn’t have been so bad, but reality was harsh. If both children were healthy, she might have grit her teeth and raised them entirely on her own.
The problem, however, lay elsewhere.
Su Mian glanced over at her second child, who was sitting quietly on a low wooden stool, watching the stove fire alongside her. Noticing her gaze, the child turned and offered a sweet, innocent smile.
The poor child couldn’t make a sound. Even when crying, tears just flowed down silently without a single whimpering noise.
Su Mian let out a soft sigh and gently patted the child’s head.
If there really was no way to cure the speech impairment, she would have to make sure the child learned to read and write. Once literate, thoughts could be written down for others to read. Learning sign language was an option too, but that would be useless when interacting with people who didn’t understand it. Education was non-negotiable; learning to read and write was a must.
Sending two children to school, however, was going to cost a significant sum.
With that in mind, Su Mian realized she needed to find the children’s father as soon as possible. She had initially planned to start a small business and save up some money first, knowing full well that whether he would even acknowledge the children was a gamble. If he turned them away, she would have to take the kids and find another place to settle down—and starting over anywhere required money. Lots of it.
Lost in thought, Su Mian was snapped back to reality when a tiny hand tugged at her sleeve. The second child pointed at the pot, having caught a faint burnt smell from the rice.
She quickly lifted the pot off the stove. Just then, a voice called out from the courtyard.
“Is your mom cooking inside?”
The eldest child was playing by the front door and enthusiastically chimed in, “Yes! Auntie Niu, my mom cooks super delicious food now!”
Su Mian hurried out the door and locked eyes with the older woman.
“Auntie, you’re back from work? Don’t go home just yet—come sit inside! I’m making rice for us.” Su Mian grabbed her arm, insisting she stay for dinner.
Auntie Niu had been a godsend to her and the kids. Su Mian was a deeply grateful person by nature; before leaving this place, she was determined to clear all her debts with the woman and stay on good terms. After all, having an ally in this world was always better than making an enemy.
Auntie Niu glanced at her, her tone sounding a bit gruff. “You really cooked?”
“I really did! I even bought some meat, and I’m going to cook it for you in a bit,” Su Mian said hurriedly.
“You bought meat? Where’d you get that kind of money?” Auntie Niu stared at her in utter disbelief.
“I sold the only valuable thing I had on me,” Su Mian answered truthfully, without going into specific details about what the item was or how much it brought in. It wasn’t that she distrusted Auntie Niu, but human nature was unpredictable, and it was always wise to keep one’s cards close.
Auntie Niu let out a long sigh. “It must have been something really precious to you… otherwise, you wouldn’t have kept holding onto it when things were so tough before.”