By evening, Su Xiyue had finished her IV and was discharged, looking listless and unwell.
Liu Wan knew that what had happened with Si Nanyuan had upset her.
“Yueyue, how about I take you shopping?”
Su Xiyue gave a slight nod. Right now, she couldn’t summon any interest in anything.
“Don’t worry. Your grandmother doesn’t like Si Nanyuan.”
“But Dad seems to like her a lot.”
Su Xiyue couldn’t understand it. They’d only known each other for a few days, and Si Nanyuan was so erratic. How could Dad indulge her so much?
“Trust me. No one can take away what belongs to you.”
Both mother and daughter felt as if they’d shot themselves in the foot, but there was no undoing it now.
Liying Plaza.
Liu Wan and Su Xiyue arrived at the Xiangnainai store, but the staff stopped them. The store was about to welcome a VVVIP, so they needed to clear it out.
Su Xiyue’s mood had improved a little, but now another shadow fell over it.
Liu Wan frowned slightly. “I’m a VIP here, too.”
“I’m sorry.”
The sales clerk looked apologetic.
“Yueyue, let’s shop somewhere else.”
“I only like the bags and clothes here.”
Just as Su Xiyue turned around, she saw Su Zekai and Si Nanyuan.
“Dad.”
She hadn’t even woken up yet when Su Zekai left.
So once he had a biological daughter, he’d forgotten all about her.
“Feeling better?”
“Much better.”
Su Zekai nodded slightly. “Go home and get some rest.”
When she saw him heading toward the Xiangnainai store with Si Nanyuan, Su Xiyue’s eyes widened. “Dad, are you going to shop here?”
“Yes.”
“I want to shop here too.”
At that, Liu Wan smiled warmly. “A-Kai, what a coincidence. Let’s go in together!”
Su Zekai opened his mouth, about to agree, when he felt the little padded jacket beside him suddenly let in a cold draft, straight through to his head.
His mind flashed back to the time just after his eldest brother’s death, when Liu Wan had only recently returned to Kyoto and was always getting sick. He’d often been called over to look after her.
As time went on, Rou’er would accuse him through tear-filled eyes.
He’d regretted it more than once over the years. If only he’d been brave enough to refuse instead of constantly thinking Rou’er was being unreasonable. Maybe they wouldn’t have been separated by life and death.
“Little Sister A-Yuan, you don’t mind, do you?”
Su Xiyue looked pitiful, her eyes misting over.
“I do.”
Su Xiyue’s face stiffened for a moment.
“A-Yuan, you two are sisters.”
“Amnesia is an illness. It needs treatment.”
Si Nanyuan turned to leave, and Su Zekai hurriedly caught her, leading her into the Xiangnainai store.
“You two should go home first.”
Liu Wan and Su Xiyue stopped in their tracks, their faces full of disbelief. They clearly hadn’t expected Su Zekai to refuse.
“A-Kai.”
Su Zekai didn’t look back, but at his signal, the staff closed the door.
Liu Wan and Su Xiyue stood awkwardly to one side. There were plenty of people around, and they felt humiliated, but Su Xiyue still didn’t want to leave. She stared fixedly at the father and daughter in the shop window.
Si Nanyuan’s lips curved slightly as she admired the two women outside through the glass.
【Today is my birthday, and A-Yuan made me a cake. I’m so happy. On my birthday before, A-Kai went shopping with the woman he loved most. Just because she was pregnant. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought the baby was his. I was heartbroken, but I loved him, so I didn’t even dare question him.】
Her mother’s diary came to mind.
Si Nanyuan felt a pang of heartache.
If you’re unhappy, do something about it.
Her mother had only ever shut herself away and cried in secret. Her body was exhausted, and so was her heart.
A man with no sense of boundaries wasn’t worth a thing. She should have kicked him to the curb instead of wearing herself down.
“A-Yuan, is there anything you like?”
Su Zekai looked at her, clearly sensing the disdain in her eyes.
What had he done wrong just now?
Why did it feel like she was angry with him again?
Su Zekai despised himself.
Su Zekai, you’re finished. She’s got you wrapped around her finger.
“There is! There’s just too much. I can’t decide.”
“That’s easy. We’ll buy it all.”
“An elder’s advice should be heeded. Then I’ll take you up on that.”
Si Nanyuan walked over to one side. “This one, this one, and this one. That one, and that one too.”
The store manager nodded with a smile and, wearing gloves, carefully took down the five items Si Nanyuan had named.
“Pack up everything else and have it delivered here.”
At her words, every staff member except Su Zekai froze.
“President Su…”
“Do as she says.”
Su Zekai’s lips curved slightly. His gaze was full of indulgence as he looked at her.
Si Nanyuan sat to one side, drinking tea and eating pastries while she watched the staff pack everything up.
Su Xiyue watched it all inside through tear-filled eyes.
In the end, she couldn’t take it anymore and left.
When Si Nanyuan and Su Zekai returned to Dijing Garden, Old Madam Su, Liu Wan, and Su Xiyue were waiting for her.
“A-Kai, have you lost your mind? Is this spendthrift really worth all this effort? And you’re still ignoring Yueyue.”
Old Madam Su’s gaze was like a knife dipped in poison. Si Nanyuan met it and merely shrugged.
“Mom, for the past twenty-one years, I haven’t done a thing as her father. I’m only making up for it.”
“You spendthrift!”
Old Madam Su’s heart was bleeding. It wasn’t that the Su family had no money; she simply didn’t want Si Nanyuan to spend a cent of it. It all belonged to Yueyue.
She picked up a white jade teacup from the coffee table and hurled it at Si Nanyuan. Si Nanyuan turned slightly aside, and the cup fell to the floor.
It hit with a bang and shattered into pieces.
“You unfilial girl! How dare you dodge?”
Old Madam Su rose and chased after Si Nanyuan, swinging her cane.
“Mom!”
Su Zekai hurried to stop her. Along the way, vases and other priceless ornaments toppled to the floor.
Si Nanyuan ran up to the second floor and shook her head. “So being a spendthrift is hereditary. Then you can’t blame me.”
When her mother was in this house, she was called a spendthrift for buying even the smallest thing, so she had to keep herself in check.
She wouldn’t.
She wasn’t going to cower like a turtle just because an elder scolded her.
If you call me a spendthrift, then I’ll show you what one looks like.
“A-Kai, throw her out! Throw her out!”
Old Madam Su gasped for breath, her face flushed red, as if she might stop breathing at any moment.
“Then I’ll leave.”
At her words, it felt as if a piece of Su Zekai’s heart had been torn away. “This is your home. Where would you go?”
“A-Kai, she’s just putting on an act. Auntie Li, throw her out! Throw her out!”
After Old Madam Su spoke, no one in Dijing Garden moved.
“Mom, don’t be angry. A-Yuan, apologize to your grandmother.”
Liu Wan supported Old Madam Su and spoke with false sincerity.
With the old lady this furious, Si Nanyuan would be thrown out sooner or later.
“That’s right, Little Sister A-Yuan. Hurry and apologize. Grandma likes girls who are thrifty and take care of the household.”
Si Nanyuan gave a cold laugh, resting her hands on the second-floor railing as she looked down at them.
“Your son only bought me a few clothes and bags. Why are you all so worked up?”
The word “Dad” made Su Zekai freeze, and the corners of his mouth lifted despite himself.
“Is it against the law for me to spend my family’s money?”
“You still shouldn’t spend it like that.”
Su Xiyue was nearly mad with jealousy.
“What’s it got to do with you? Heh. Thrifty and good at managing a household? You sure are—you spent a hundred million on a birthday party. And that was my dad’s money, as I recall.”
Su Xiyue’s eyes filled with tears.
“All the Su family’s money belongs to Yueyue. What are you, anyway?”
Old Madam Su’s words made Su Zekai frown. Si Nanyuan smiled. “Did you hear that? You’re just a machine for making money. You can earn it, but you can’t spend it.”
Si Nanyuan clapped her hands. “I have a suggestion: get a paternity test. She doesn’t look like your biological daughter.”
At that, Old Madam Su’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted.