Chapter 528: Chapter 528: Infinite Disappointment
Sheng Shiwu didn’t know all the nitty-gritty details of Dong Yuanyuan’s grudges and grievances with her husband, but he knew the general situation.
Just as he finished speaking, Song Zijie’s car pulled into the entrance of the compound. Sheng Shiwu spoke worriedly.
"Sigh, Dong Yuanyuan has been causing a scene for over half a month. I don’t get why she hasn’t divorced him yet."
"Xiao Wu, why are you worried about her?" Song Zijie asked, not understanding.
"I’m not worried about *her*. I’m afraid she was reluctant to divorce before, but now that she’s seen Su, she’ll want an immediate divorce."
"That doesn’t have anything to do with our Su, does it?"
"How could it not? What if she starts harassing Su? What about Jiaojiao?"
"Harass me? Who gave her the nerve?" A cold, angry voice sounded from inside the car.
An intensely cold aura, as if straight from an ice cellar, made the two men in the front seat shiver involuntarily.
In the next instant, the chill vanished completely. Song Zijie and Sheng Shiwu glanced at each other.
They both looked in the rearview mirror at the same time and saw Su Shuochi, in the back seat, with the corners of his mouth turned up in what looked like a smile.
Sheng Shiwu’s eyes went wide as he looked at Song Zijie, as if to ask, ’He’s not thinking about Dong Yuanyuan, is he?’
Song Zijie gave Sheng Shiwu a firm look, signaling that it was absolutely impossible.
But Su Shuochi was thinking of his wife. She surprised and delighted him, and he found himself liking her more and more.
’No one is going to ruin what we have. Dong Yuanyuan, Dong Fangfang—they can all get lost.’
’I wasn’t interested in them before, and I certainly won’t be swayed by them now.’
He, Su Shuochi, had never needed a delicate, cooing woman fawning over him.
Nor did he need someone as "perfect" as a high-society lady—so prim and proper they had no personality.
Not until he met his wife, Gu Jiaojiao. Sometimes she was timid and shy, other times she was brave and bold.
Sometimes she was calm and composed, other times she was proud and flamboyant. Most importantly, she had a unique air about her, along with a steely determination and ruthlessness deep in her eyes.
Even when he was paralyzed in bed, even though they hadn’t spent much time together, she had already captivated him completely, making him fall hopelessly in love with her.
Besides, his wife had even started acting cute with him occasionally. Just thinking about her made his pulse race.
While Su Shuochi was lost in these sweet memories, the car arrived at the Su’s house.
As soon as the car came to a stop, Su Shuochi got out of the back seat, intending to walk to the trunk and get his luggage.
He had just turned around when he saw a stooped, elderly couple pushing a food cart out of his house.
Su Shuochi stared at the scene in disbelief. ’Who are they? Why are they in my house?’
"Old man, look quick! Isn’t that tall kid our Chi?"
Su’s mother suddenly looked up, staring at Su Shuochi, and shouted to the old man who was struggling to push the food cart.
Hearing her voice, Su Shuochi’s heart clenched. He looked closer, and sure enough, it was his parents... ’Why have they...!’
’Why have they aged so much? It’s only been three months since we parted. My parents look even more worn-down than when I was disabled!’
Although he had heard from Chun Ni on the phone that his parents were working the food stall day and night, even more than before, to support his second sister’s family...
...he never expected them to look this worn-out. The wrinkles on his father’s face looked even deeper than Grandpa Gu’s.
Mr. Su looked up and immediately saw his son standing by the car. He could really walk!
His hands trembled, and a flicker of surprise and uncertainty crossed his eyes, only to be quickly replaced by worry.
"Chi, it’s really you! Even though you said on the phone you could walk normally, we thought you were just saying that to comfort us!"
"Chi, why are you back by yourself? Where’s Jiaojiao?" Su’s mother also hurried over.
"Dad... Mom... How did you get so... worn-down?" Su Shuochi choked out.
He strode forward, hugging his father with one arm and wrapping the other around his mother.
Su’s mother clung to her son’s arm as aggrieved tears instantly welled up, soaking the sleeve of Su Shuochi’s shirt and drenching his heart.
"Oh, my son, you’re so tall when you stand! Where’s our Jiaojiao? Why didn’t she come back with you? Old man, what did I tell you? He definitely didn’t take good care of Jiaojiao..."
Su’s mother wiped the tears from her face and chattered on, her voice filled with boundless joy.
Hearing his wife, Mr. Su also quickly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said excitedly.
"Let’s put that aside. Let’s hurry inside and make breakfast for Chi."
Hearing this, Su’s mother stroked the back of Su Shuochi’s hand, her expression full of pity and affection. "Chi, you must be starving, right? Let’s go inside quickly."
Su Shuochi shook his head and said softly, "I’m not hungry. Jiaojiao packed a lot of food for me to eat on the train."
Su’s mother shook her head. "You silly child, a few snacks are hardly enough to fill you up. Let’s hurry inside. I’ll go steam some meat buns for you."
Mr. Su nodded, then pushed the food cart aside, steadied his wife by the shoulder, and followed his son into the house.
Su Shuochi was quiet the whole way, just walking silently ahead of his father.
’Those meat buns... Mom and Dad probably rarely eat them, do they?’ he thought. ’When Jiaojiao was home, she insisted they eat a balanced diet.’
’Even with my second sister’s endless demands, Mom and Dad earned a good amount. It shouldn’t have gotten to the point where they had to skimp on their own food.’
But what he didn’t know was that his parents were trying to save money for a future grandchild, on top of giving money to their second daughter to raise her three children.
They were trying to stretch every penny into two. How could they bear to spend money on meat buns for themselves!
While Su Shuochi was talking with his parents, Song Zijie and Sheng Shiwu took his duffel bag out of the trunk and set it on the ground.
Seeing Uncle Su and Aunt Su leading Su into the house, one on each side, the two of them picked up the luggage and followed behind.
Ever since Su and his wife left for the Imperial City, they had often gone to Uncle Su and Su’s mother’s food stall to buy cold noodles and meat buns.
The meat buns tasted just as good as ever, so they never would have dreamed that Uncle Su and Aunt Su had been denying themselves for so long.
It wasn’t until they reached the living room that Su Shuochi finally spoke up. "Dad, Mom, I have something to ask you..."
Su’s mother smiled and nodded. "Go ahead and ask. Whatever you want to know, just tell us. We’re family, aren’t we? There’s nothing you can’t say."
Although Mr. Su didn’t speak, he also looked at Su Shuochi with an expectant gaze.
Su Shuochi lowered his head in silence for a moment before looking up at his parents seriously.
He said softly, "You run the stall every day, so it’s not like you aren’t making money. Why have you both gotten so thin? You need to eat better from now on. You can’t keep working yourselves so hard."
"Chi, you’re asking about this?" Su’s mother was taken aback for a second, then began wringing her hands, a little flustered.
"Dad, Mom, is it that hard to take care of yourselves? Have you even looked in a mirror?" Su Shuochi’s voice was filled with boundless disappointment.
