Chapter 299: Chapter 299: The First Gift
Seeing that Su Shuochi truly wasn’t in a hurry for his surgery, Gu Jiaojiao was even more determined to have him stay in Qing City for a while to manage the site.
"Shuochi, your leg really doesn’t need to be treated right away. Look..." she began, trying to persuade him.
"Honey, you can arrange the surgery whenever you see fit. But don’t even think about suggesting we be apart. I will never agree to that."
Su Shuochi cut her off with a smile, his eyes fixed on her with utter resolve.
"Shuochi, listen to you. Is that really the kind of person you think I am?"
Gu Jiaojiao shot Su Shuochi a mock-angry glare, though she was actually feeling guilty that he had seen right through her.
Su Shuochi let out a soft sigh. "Honey, I really don’t want to leave you.
You had no choice but to go to the border before, but that soul-crushing longing nearly suffocated me. I can’t bear to be separated from you again.
There’s a saying: ’It’s easy to go from rags to riches, but hard to go from riches to rags.’ Before I met you, I was fine being anywhere.
But after meeting you, I don’t want to be away from you for a single second. Whatever the future holds, I just want to be by your side."
"Shuochi... It’s all my fault..." Before Gu Jiaojiao could finish, Su Shuochi cut her off again.
"Honey, don’t. I know what you’re going to say. Don’t worry, I’ll replicate every piece of medical equipment from your space.
Leave it all to me. All you need to do is wait for the results. Just don’t ever talk about leaving me behind again."
Seeing how adamant he was, Gu Jiaojiao quickly relented. "Shuochi, I was taking things for granted. From now on, I’ll do whatever you arrange."
"Honey, it’s so good to have you." Su Shuochi turned his head and gave Gu Jiaojiao a gentle, reassuring smile.
He took a new fountain pen from his backpack and handed it to her. "Jiaojiao, this is for you. I figured you could use it since you’re writing in class every day. I’m not sure if you’ll like the color, though."
"I love it. I really do." Gu Jiaojiao quickly reached out to take it, one hand still on the steering wheel.
It was an ink-blue fountain pen with a gold-etched pattern—beautiful and understated.
She had to admit, Su Shuochi’s taste was on point. Gu Jiaojiao truly loved the pen.
She caressed it, unable to put it down, then handed it back to him. "Thank you. Can you hold it for me for now? I’ll put it away properly after I park."
She could tell the pen wasn’t cheap but didn’t ask the price. It was a thoughtful gift from him, and a rare one at that.
Making a fuss about the price would be so unromantic.
"I’m glad you like it, Honey. I picked it out specially today when I went to buy materials."
Seeing that she genuinely loved it, Su Shuochi’s smile widened. He knew she had many amazing things in her space and had worried she might not care for a simple fountain pen.
"Su Shuochi, you’re so thoughtful. This is the first gift you’ve ever given me. It’s extra special."
"If you like it, I’ll give you gifts more often. I was always afraid you wouldn’t think much of them."
"How could I not like it? You know, even if I had mountains of gold and silver, they wouldn’t be worth as much as this single pen from you."
"Really?" he asked, feigning uncertainty, though his heart was soaring.
"Yes, truer than gold."
"If I’d known you’d like it this much, I would have started giving you gifts long ago."
"Ever since we got married, you’ve given me your entire salary. Where did you get the pocket money for this?"
"Hehe, it was from the allowance you gave me. I just never dared to buy you anything because I was worried you wouldn’t like it."
Laughing and joking, the couple quickly arrived home. Gu Jiaojiao parked the car and got out first.
She opened the back door to get the wheelchair, then went around to the passenger side to help Su Shuochi settle into it.
Before they could even move, they heard the CRACK of shattering porcelain from the Zhou family’s house next door, followed by the sound of things being thrown and a piercing scream from Zhou Mei.
A loud SLAP cut through all of it.
Startled, Gu Jiaojiao quickly pushed Su Shuochi inside. In the kitchen, Su’s mother and Su Qinchun were cooking, while Mr. Su was setting the table.
The Su family hadn’t closed their living room door yet when another furious roar erupted from next door.
"If you can live with it, fine! If not, let’s get a divorce! Like I give a fuck about you!"
The Zhou family’s son-in-law had slapped Zhou Mei hard. He turned to leave, refusing to eat the "shitty meal."
"Meizi, are you all right?" Mrs. Zhou asked, looking at her daughter with concern. She tried to pull Zhou Mei’s hands away to see the injury on her face.
But Zhou Mei just clutched her face, her eyes vacant. She didn’t make a sound. Mrs. Zhou was frantic, thinking the slap had knocked her daughter senseless.
"You bastard Wang, I’ll kill you!" Zhou Mei shrieked, rushing at her husband like a madwoman, ready to fight for her life.
Her anger had been simmering since her wedding day. The agreed-upon bride price was the prestigious "Three Turns and a Sound."
But in the end, all she got was the "sound"—a radio. She didn’t get a single one of the "turns," and of the five hundred yuan cash payment, they only gave her one hundred.
The Wang Family had been completely domineering about it, saying they simply didn’t have the money. It was a ’take it or leave it’ offer.
Zhou Mei truly hadn’t wanted to go through with it, but her mother had insisted. The invitations were already sent out; backing out now would be a huge embarrassment.
They’d become a laughingstock to all their neighbors, friends, and relatives in the compound. Her mother had even told her to curb her temper and not fight with her husband or her in-laws.
She had endured it all, but the man just kept pushing his luck. He wouldn’t even accompany her for the traditional bridal homecoming visit.
He delayed the morning visit until evening, then complained that her father and brother weren’t home waiting for him, claiming they were looking down on him.
During the meal, he was incredibly picky, complaining that this dish wasn’t to his liking and that one he couldn’t get used to.
Mrs. Zhou had to cautiously explain with a forced smile that her husband and eldest son were away on assignment and hadn’t meant to slight him.
Only then did the man back down a little. But as soon as they got home, he started giving Zhou Mei hell, cursing her family for not respecting him. His mother joined in, smashing things around the house.
Never one to back down, Zhou Mei retorted with a cold sneer, "An idiot will always be an idiot. You’re so quick to overthink things because you’re deeply insecure. You don’t have a single manly bone in your body."
"I’ll show you whether I’m a man or not!" the man bellowed, slamming his hand on the table.
Then, right in front of his mother, he started tearing at her clothes. Naturally, Zhou Mei fought back, and they began to scuffle.
The man, still wary of Zhou Mei’s father and brother, didn’t dare to truly fight her, so he let her go.
But his mother, unwilling to let it go, stood on the sidelines making snide, indirect remarks and fanning the flames.
From then on, the couple argued constantly, having a huge fight every few days.
However, no matter how angry he got, the man never dared to strike her first. For her part, Zhou Mei was well aware of the physical disparity between them; he was big and brawny, far stronger than she was.
She was just a woman and no match for him. If she were to strike first, he would surely retaliate and overpower her.
Today was her mother’s birthday. Normally, they should have come back last night, but Zhou Mei had been afraid she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from starting a fight.
So, she’d suggested coming back at noon today instead. But then her husband claimed that since her father and brother wouldn’t be home during the day, there was no point in arriving early.
He’d stalled until dinnertime, and just as he’d predicted, her father and brother weren’t there when they arrived.
The man immediately shot her a dirty look. Zhou Mei’s temper finally boiled over. She defiantly smashed a plate, and in return, he slapped her across the face.
