Su Yuebai recalled how, back then, Zhang Xiaofeng needed a car for commuting. Not wanting to spend too much money on him, she had suggested buying a Hyundai Sonata—a mid-size sedan, and the cheapest among B-class cars. As the company’s general manager, he did need a proper car for work, and there was nothing cheaper in that category. But when she told her father, he said, “Why buy something that expensive?! That’s 150,000 to 160,000 yuan!”
She had been shocked at the time, “But that’s already very cheap!”
“No, sweetheart, think carefully. He didn’t spend a single cent to marry you, and now you still want to buy him a car? Even 100,000 yuan is too much! I think a VW Lavida would be good enough!”
“But… is it appropriate for him to drive a compact car to work?”
“Why do you care so much? If he’s that concerned about appearances, he’s clearly unreliable!”
At the time, she had thought that made sense, so she planned to go with the Lavida. But then her mother, Wang Dajuan, interrupted, “Isn’t the Lavida still over 100,000 yuan? Why should we buy him such an expensive car? Let’s get him a Santana. It’s about to be discontinued, so it’s rare—he’ll like it!”
She stared at her mother in disbelief for a long while before saying, “The general manager… driving a Santana?”
“So what? We’re already being generous just by buying him a car. What more does he expect? Ask around—who else would buy him a car?!”
She thought about it and again felt it made sense, so they settled on buying the Santana. That afternoon, when he got off work, she took him to a Volkswagen 4S dealership. Her mother bargained relentlessly, distressed about every cent, and finally bought the car.
That Volkswagen Santana cost just a little over 60,000 yuan! But the cars she and her family drove were all luxury cars starting at over 1 million yuan, while he had to drive such a cheap piece of junk!
Their family was clearly wealthy, yet they gave him a car like that. How great must the psychological gap have been for him back then? How bitter, how painful must he have felt?
But he never said a word.
And the most hurtful part was still to come. When it was time to register the car, her father pulled her aside and whispered, “Register the car under your name.”
“Huh?” She was stunned. “Is that… okay? Wasn’t it bought for him?”
“Why should we just give him a car? Register it under your name, and go get a property certification as well. You’re not married yet, so this counts as premarital property. Get it sorted now to avoid trouble later!”
“Just do as you’re told!”
“…Fine.”
In the end, that worthless Santana was registered under her name!
Now that she thought about it, was she out of her mind back then? Why did she listen to her parents so blindly? The car was clearly bought for him! As cheap as it was, they still didn’t let him have it under his own name. He gave his all for the company, worked tirelessly, yet got nothing in return! How much anguish and frustration must he have endured?
But he never spoke of it. He silently bore it all—for her.
At this moment, seeing Zhang Xiaofeng riding a tricycle, Su Yuebai felt even worse. Her heart twisted as if it were thrown into a meat grinder, torn to shreds, dripping with blood, unbearable pain flooding her chest!
She could already imagine how, every time he drove that car to work, people at the company must have whispered behind his back, saying, “Look at that, think marrying a rich woman means you’ll be treated well? Even if she’s swimming in money, she still can’t bear to spend a cent on him!”
How humiliating it must’ve been! How unbearable! She had never seen it with her own eyes, but there must have been people gossiping behind his back!
Su Yuebai’s heart ached deeply, and tears flowed uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.
She also remembered once asking him, “Do you ever feel uncomfortable living in this house?”
But he had calmly replied, “It’s fine. What live-in son-in-law has it easy? I can endure it for your sake. I love you.”
Su Yuebai clutched her head and cried out hysterically, “Aaaah! I should have bought him a better car! Even if I couldn’t stop my parents, I still should’ve changed it for him long ago! Why did I turn a blind eye to all the humiliation he endured? Why didn’t I realize all this earlier?…”
She was consumed with regret.
The company never even paid him a salary. Two years’ worth of unpaid wages would have been enough to buy a fully upgraded Santana! He owed their family nothing!
Su Yuebai’s hands trembled as scene after scene from the past flashed through her mind. Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaofeng had already ridden his tricycle far away—just a little farther and he’d vanish from sight.
Just then, the traffic light turned green. Su Yuebai hurried after him, but his figure had already disappeared. She quickly flagged down a taxi and said, “Driver! Hurry! There’s a tricycle up ahead, catch up to him!”
The taxi took off, and Su Yuebai anxiously searched the crowd through the windshield, scanning for that familiar silhouette. Finally, she spotted a tricycle up ahead. Afraid of losing him again, she told the driver to speed up. In just a few moments, the taxi stopped in front of the tricycle. Su Yuebai got out, grabbed onto the tricycle, her eyes brimming with tears, and choked out, “Honey, I’ll buy you a car. I’ll buy you a good one. Don’t look at me like that—it terrifies me. It breaks my heart! I was wrong. I listened to my parents too much. I should’ve had a mind of my own. I shouldn’t have been a daddy’s girl, a mommy’s girl…” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Zhang Xiaofeng gave her a cold glare, turned the handlebars, and rode off in the opposite direction.
I already said I’m done serving you—so I’m done. Get as far away from me as possible!
Su Yuebai rushed forward and grabbed the back of the tricycle, pleading, “Please don’t be like this. I know I was wrong. It’s all my fault. I’ll buy you a better car, okay? One you’ll definitely love—a luxury car worth over 1 million yuan. Most people work their whole lives and still can’t afford one!”
“I don’t like luxury cars! Get lost!”
“No! You’ll definitely like it! No man doesn’t like luxury cars. Do you want a sports car or a business vehicle? I’ll buy you whichever one you want! Just name a price—I’ll get it for you no matter how expensive!”
Su Yuebai clung to the tricycle tightly.
“I don’t like cars anymore. I don’t give a damn! Stop pulling and tugging. Get lost!”
Zhang Xiaofeng had completely run out of patience. He wished he could slap his past self a few times. As he spoke, he twisted the throttle to full and shot forward.
Su Yuebai held onto the tricycle desperately, but her strength was no match for the sudden acceleration. With a thud, she was flung backward, falling into the pouring rain. Her clothes, her face, her hair—everything was soaked in muddy water. She was drenched from head to toe. She slammed her palms on the ground and cried out in agony.
“Aaaah! I regret it so much! I regret it!!…”
Many passersby nearby cast her strange looks and began whispering among themselves. Most of them weren’t the type to meddle—after all, helping someone who fell might cost you your entire fortune.
Zhang Xiaofeng turned back and laughed coldly, “Play by yourself.”
“No! Don’t go! Don’t go!…!” Su Yuebai screamed after him.
But no matter how desperately she cried out, Zhang Xiaofeng never looked back. He rode off quickly on his tricycle.
Until his silhouette completely disappeared, Su Yuebai reached out in pain, wiped her face heavily with both hands, and sobbed uncontrollably.