After the Fang family sat down, the small talk naturally turned to Niannian.
Fang’s mother beckoned to Su Niannian with a doting tone. “Niannian, come over here to Grandma. Tell Grandma — how’s the new school? Settling in? Made any new friends?”
Su Minzhi answered for her daughter, her voice calm with a faint, barely noticeable pride. “Niannian’s doing well at school. The teachers and classmates take good care of her.”
She paused, then added, “Oh — I forgot to mention. Niannian skipped grades. she’s now in fourth grade.”
That remark was like a stone dropped into a still pond; it sent ripples of shock through the Fang family.
“What? Skipped grades? To fourth grade?!” Fang Yuming was the first to exclaim, eyes round with disbelief.
His body leaned forward instinctively, his gaze darting between his daughter and wife, full of astonishment and questions. “How did she suddenly skip? She’s only been in school a short while!”
Su Minzhi explained, “The teachers evaluated Niannian’s learning and cognitive ability and found the first-grade curriculum too simple for her — it would hold her back. After careful consideration, they decided fourth grade would better match her pace.”
Fang’s father had been silent until now; he looked at his little granddaughter — still childlike but composed — as if seeing her for the first time.
His brows furrowed slightly, a look of scrutiny mixed with incredulous wonder spreading across his face. He thought to himself, “I never noticed this before… Could our quiet little granddaughter actually be a prodigy?”
After his initial shock, a surge of pride swelled in Fang Yuming.
He quickly credited the accomplishment to good genes, smiling broadly. “Of course! Niannian really is our daughter, Minzhi’s and mine!”
Fang’s mother’s emotions shifted just as quickly — from surprise and doubt to a complicated, pleased delight.
She had earlier harbored quiet concerns that the school in Xuhui might be inferior to the one in Jing’an, and had been inwardly critical. But now the facts were plain: her granddaughter not only adapted, she’d jumped two grades.
Fang’s father spoke up with a conciliatory smile, “This is a good thing — Niannian has promise.” Then, lowering his voice slightly as if asking a favor, he turned to Yun Shu. “Mother-in-law came all the way from Guangzhou. It must have been hard on you. How is Commander Su’s health?”
Yun Shu’s lip curled into an unapologetic sneer; her gaze swept sharply over the Fang family. “Thanks for your concern — his health is very robust. Only the other day I heard about what you Fang family did back then; I nearly turned the study upside down with anger!”
At those words, Fang Yuming froze, his back stiffening. A severe, familiar face — his father-in-law’s stern expression — flashed through his mind, and his heart sank. He lowered his head.
Fang’s father, embarrassed, cleared his throat and tried to soften the moment with a grander narrative. “Ah… Mother-in-law, some things, at the root, were the result of those strange times — mistakes born of that era. We…”
“Enough!” Yun Shu cut him off without hesitation, her voice sharp as a scholar’s critique.
“Don’t just blame the era for everything! The era didn’t teach Fang Yuming to lie and cheat. It didn’t make your family cover things up together! This is a matter of basic moral character — not the era’s doing!”
Seeing her husband get rebuked, Fang’s mother quickly interjected, her tone defensive and aggrieved. “Oh, Mother-in-law, when that woman named Liu came to our door, we were confused too! It was like a thunderclap — I was nearly stunned! Back then we said we’d think it through and consult Minzhi first!”
“Think it through? Consult?” Yun Shu’s eyes were full of scorn, as if she’d heard the funniest thing in the world. “Don’t use pretty words to fool me! I know your little scheme. From the start you wanted to adopt that child — you just didn’t find the right moment to say it.”
“Don’t think I don’t know: when Minzhi had just given birth to Niannian and was still in college, your family was already urging her to have another child — preferably a son. Minzhi refused stubbornly!” Yun Shu went on. “Now look — a ready-made eldest grandson shows up at your doorstep and you’re secretly thrilled. You’d love nothing more than to instantly claim him and celebrate!”
Fang’s father felt caught out and flushed with embarrassment. He sighed and put on the air of the household patriarch.
“Regardless… the child does carry Yuming’s blood. He’s Niannian’s elder brother — that can’t be changed…”
At that moment, little Su Niannian — who had been clinging to her mother — tugged at Su Minzhi’s sleeve and whispered in a tiny voice, “Mommy… that person is so fierce… I don’t want this brother… I don’t want him…”
Su Minzhi felt as if a cold hand had squeezed her heart. Pain and anguish flooded her chest. She immediately drew her daughter into her arms.
“Niannian, don’t be afraid. Mommy’s here.” She stroked the girl’s hair. “Tomorrow morning I’ll go to the police station to transfer your household registration. From then on your household record will be with Mommy, okay?”
Yun Shu quickly chimed in, “Right — custody rightfully belongs to Minzhi. Tomorrow we’ll transfer the hukou.”
Fang Yuming hadn’t expected Su Minzhi and his mother-in-law to be so decisive — even threatening to change the household registration.
A flash of panic crossed his face as he looked at Su Minzhi. “Minzhi! Even if you move Niannian’s registration, she’ll still be a Fang by name! That can’t be changed!”
At that precise moment, the girl in her mother’s arms lifted her small face. There was no hesitation in her clear eyes. Her voice was soft but sounded like a stone striking dead water.
“Mommy, I don’t want to be a Fang anymore.”
She paused, then added with crystal clarity, “I want to be Su — the same surname as you.”
The words hit the Fang family like thunder. All three of them were stunned.
Fang Yuming looked as if struck; his face drained pale. He stared at his daughter, wounded and pleading. “Niannian! How can you say that? I used to dote on you — didn’t I take you out to play? Have you forgotten?”
Su Niannian looked at him calmly and replied, “Daddy, you have other children. Mommy only has me.”
Then she lifted her face to her mother. In those eyes — so much like Su Minzhi’s — was total trust and reliance.
Su Minzhi observed her daughter’s small, determined face and felt a rush of emotions. Suddenly the painful, deceit-riddled marriage of the past seemed redeemed by this child in her arms.
Indeed — the greatest and least regrettable thing from that marriage was Niannian herself.