Zhang Xiaofeng quickly returned to his residence, fuming with anger. “I’d rather ride a tricycle than take your luxury car! Do you think I’m someone who forgets pain once the wound has healed? You slap me in the face, then give me a candy, and I’m supposed to forget it? Wishful thinking! I’m not that shameless!”
Zhang Xiaofeng thought to himself that although he wasn’t some top-tier talent from a Fortune 500 company, he was still capable of supporting himself in this world! A monthly salary of 20,000 yuan was impressive anywhere. There was no need for him to go crawling back to them!
After washing up, he went straight to bed.
…
It was already pitch dark by the time Su Yuebai returned home, distracted and gloomy. Today, she had driven the newly purchased Mercedes S-Class, but even that couldn’t win Zhang Xiaofeng back. She felt utterly defeated. It really seemed like Zhang Xiaofeng would never come back!
Parking the car at the gate, Su Yuebai quickly stepped inside and found her father, Su Qianghai, and mother, Wang Dajuan.
Wang Dajuan was sitting on the sofa playing King of Glory on her phone, not even bothering to look up. Her father was smoking a cigarette beside her while watching TV, visibly irritable.
Su Yuebai walked over and slapped the phone out of Wang Dajuan’s hands with a loud smack, saying coldly, “Mom! Do you even know what time it is? How can you still be playing games? Do you have any idea what’s happening right now? I lost my husband, the child lost their father, the company lost its backbone, and several of our clients are about to default! We’ll have to pay one massive breach-of-contract penalty after another!”
Wang Dajuan raised her head and said in a low voice, “So what? I’ll tell you the truth, he won’t leave. I’ve seen right through him. He’s just using this situation to force our hand! I’m telling you, right before the company’s partners default, he’ll come back for sure. You’ll see!”
Su Yuebai asked in shock, “Why are you so sure?”
“Obviously! He’s just putting on a show to make us yield! He wouldn’t willingly give up the chance to be the son-in-law of a multimillionaire. Our assets are essentially his assets. When we’re gone, the company, this big villa, all those luxury cars parked outside, and the money in our bank accounts—aren’t they all his? Why would he give up what’s rightfully his and hand it over as breach penalties to others?”
Su Yuebai laughed in anger and shouted, “Mom, all our assets have already been notarized! They’re mine, not his! These are premarital assets, remember!?”
Wang Dajuan replied sternly, “Come on, girl, how can you be so blind? What’s yours is his too! Aren’t you two a family?” You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
In that moment, Su Yuebai suddenly understood what her mother meant and felt even more furious, so angry that her chest hurt. “Mom! First of all, we’re not husband and wife anymore! And did you forget that I never gave him money? Over time, in his eyes, my money was never his. So what does our money have to do with him?”
Wang Dajuan’s face darkened, and after a brief pause, she said, “Don’t worry about it. I still think he won’t have the heart to leave! There are plenty of people who would kill for this chance!”
Su Qianghai just sat there, smoking his cigarette in silence.
Su Yuebai snapped again, “Mom, why didn’t you buy him a good car back then? Why did you stop Dad from registering my household under his name? Now we want to give him something, and he doesn’t even want it!”
With a cold face, Wang Dajuan replied, “He’s an outsider! If we had a son, who would’ve cared about him? Don’t talk to me about buying him a Santana—even giving him a bicycle would’ve felt like a waste!”
Su Yuebai felt a lump in her throat, unable to breathe. She had never imagined her mother could be so heartless. From beginning to end, she had never considered Zhang Xiaofeng as one of their own!
“Stop bothering me. I’m playing a game. The road will appear when the car gets to the mountain. That’s that!” Wang Dajuan picked up her phone again and suddenly let out a shriek, “Oh no! We’re gonna lose! I’m about to drop a star!”
Su Yuebai was speechless. Looking at her mother, she felt utterly helpless. In her mother’s heart, not only did she look down on Zhang Xiaofeng, she was also convinced he wouldn’t dare to leave, that he’d stick around no matter what. Even if he didn’t come back, so what? Everything would work out somehow. The road would appear when the car reached the mountain? With this detached and indifferent attitude, it almost felt like her mother wasn’t even part of the family!
At that moment, Su Yuebai suddenly felt her mother was a complete stranger, like she was the one who didn’t belong in this family. She, Zhang Xiaofeng, and her father worked hard every day to keep the company afloat, while her mother stayed home doing nothing but playing games. And now, even when things were falling apart, she still remained indifferent!
Su Yuebai lowered her head heavily, feeling powerless. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
The next second, she suddenly remembered—it wasn’t just about the car. It was the same with clothes. Her parents always bought themselves and her expensive designer brands, even the ones they bought for their nephew were high-end. But when it came to their future son-in-law, they only bought cheap, off-brand stuff!
She even recalled that time Zhang Xiaofeng’s tie got damaged, and her father gave him one he had already used! Her father had an old red tie he didn’t want anymore, and rather than throw it away, he gave it to Zhang Xiaofeng when his tie frayed. But wasn’t there an old saying—do not do to others what you don’t want done to yourself? If it’s something you don’t want, why give it to someone else? The other person would naturally wonder: why give me your unwanted things but not the good stuff?
That tie had been used for so long, and her father gave it away casually. How would Zhang Xiaofeng feel wearing it? What must have gone through his mind, knowing he had to wear someone else’s leftovers? Just what kind of treatment had their family given him all this time?
What was ridiculous was that back then, she actually thought it was fine, a way to reuse something. God, was she out of her mind at the time?
Images of Zhang Xiaofeng tirelessly working at the company surged in Su Yuebai’s mind. His entire outfit never cost more than 300 yuan. He was even dressed worse than the security guards! Yet he never cared, never once brought it up.
But over time, even the warmest heart would turn cold. It was this kind of constant discrimination and indifference that slowly wore him down. Until finally, when she said, “Get lost, this marriage is off,” he became completely disheartened and left in anger.
Suddenly, Su Yuebai remembered the journal and rushed upstairs to get it. She flipped through it quickly and soon found the entry about the tie.
“November 22nd, today Dad gave me a tie. It was one he didn’t want anymore. I stared at it for a long time. It looked expensive, but the color had already faded. Why did Dad give it to me? Did he think I was a beggar? But I promised Yuebai I’d take care of her forever, so I can’t get mad at her father. That would make her sad. Forget it, I’ll just silently endure it.”
“November 23rd, this morning I put on that tie and looked at myself in the mirror. This cheap suit and expensive tie didn’t match at all. But if I didn’t wear it, would Dad think I was rejecting his gift? For Yuebai’s sake, I endured it. After all, I love her—what hardship can’t I bear for her?”
She vaguely remembered that day. Zhang Xiaofeng’s expression seemed off, and his figure looked especially downcast as he went to work. The tie and the suit really didn’t match, but he kept everything to himself and never said a word. He never once asked her for anything material.
Staring at that journal, Su Yuebai was plunged into a deathly silence.