Volume One, Chapter Eight: Is Shao Ting’an Kind to You?
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Su Li had initially worried that he wouldn’t agree to help, but unexpectedly, he came up with such a solution. This was Fu Jinzhou, a dignified gentleman who never tolerated the slightest imperfection.
“Sorry to have kept you so long. I’ll thank you properly when you’re free next time.”
Looking at Fu Jinzhou, so upright and pure as the clear sky after rain, Su Li suddenly felt he wasn’t so hard to approach after all.
“It was nothing!”
They walked out together, Su Li pondering how to properly thank him. He never showed his emotions openly, and she didn’t know his preferences. Maybe invite him to a meal?
Immediately, a scene flashed through her mind—both of them sitting silently, quietly eating together—and she thought it might be better not to invite him out.
Still, she felt uneasy about having someone help her without returning the favor, and for a moment was troubled over how to repay this kindness.
“Is Shao Ting’an treating you well?”
Fu Jinzhou walked beside Su Li, keeping a measured distance.
His sudden question made Su Li pause before nodding, “He’s okay.”
Noticing her preoccupation, Fu Jinzhou didn’t press further, silently following her downstairs to get the medicine.
“Old classmate, thanks again. You better get back to work!”
Su Li smiled at him and waved goodbye.
Fu Jinzhou nodded slightly, then turned toward the emergency ward.
At the corner, he stopped, watching Su Li push her bicycle away through the window, motionless.
Though she refused to say it, Fu Jinzhou clearly sensed her deliberate avoidance when the topic of Shao Ting’an came up.
“What are you staring at? Lost in thought?”
Xu Mingzhe suddenly tapped him from behind and leaned out to look, only to be gently pushed away by Fu Jinzhou.
“What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing? How dare you ask? Who insisted on a multidisciplinary consultation, forcing everyone to work overtime?” Xu Mingzhe glared at him. “And yet you sneak off to meet with a lady.”
“Shut up.” Fu Jinzhou’s expression was calm but his eyes were sharp. “Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Nonsense? Guo Ping even told me she’s very pretty. You’re like a stubborn old tree finally blossoming—your first time ditching work to keep someone waiting.”
Fu Jinzhou glanced coldly at him. Just that look was enough to shut Xu Mingzhe up instantly.
He was aptly named—wise in self-preservation, especially in front of this iceberg of a man.
“Doctor Fu, was that my sister-in-law just now?”
Shao Tingting pushed the IV pole, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Fu Jinzhou.
He glanced at her briefly and said in a flat tone, “Didn’t get a good look.”
With that, he strode swiftly toward the emergency ward.
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After leaving the hospital, Su Li felt much lighter. With this proof, she could now legitimately share a separate room from Shao Ting’an without arousing his suspicion.
Near noon, waves of hot wind brushed her cheeks, beads of sweat covering her forehead, yet she felt utterly unburdened.
She stopped by the supply and marketing cooperative to buy two packs of sponge cakes, two bottles of wine, and two jin of sugar, then cut three jin of meat at the farmers’ market.
West Xia Hutong—the place where she had grown up—gave her an inexplicable sense of peace as she stepped inside.
Pushing open the weathered wooden door, the small courtyard imprinted warmth deep in her heart, long-missed comfort flooding over her.
“Xiao Li is back!”
Her mother, Liu Guilan, emerged from the kitchen, joy lighting her face.
“Mom, I’m home.”
Su Li parked her bicycle in the yard, feeling her mother’s nose grow tender.
In her previous life, she had never seen her parents one last time before dying; her memories of them and her brother remained frozen at the time of her illness.
Back then, her parents sat beside her, tears streaming, while her brother Su Mingde held her hand firmly and said, “Li’er, don’t worry. I’ll find the best doctor for you.”
“You brat, why are you coming home at this hour with so many things? Where’s Ting’an?”
Her mother’s voice was a mixture of concern and happiness. Though she scolded her daughter, she eagerly awaited weekends when her daughter would come home.
“He’s working overtime. I woke up late, so I came back late too.” Su Li fought back the sting in her eyes and smiled. “Mom, could you chop the meat in the kitchen? We’re having dumplings for lunch today.”
“You’re such a spendthrift. You don’t have kids yet, but when you do, you’ll see how many things there are to spend money on.”
Facing her mother’s nagging, Su Li smiled. “We’re still earning, aren’t we? I’ll put these things inside and come help you right away.”
Liu Guilan’s voice followed her inside, “Alright, I’ll make dumplings. Call your brother and sister-in-law to help.”
Compared to the Shao family, Su Li’s family lived in a modest courtyard in the hutong. She had just stepped inside carrying her things when her father’s voice suddenly rose sharply.
“Su Mingde, don’t think just because you’ve been here longer that you can look down on your brother-in-law. He’s a top student. You need to support him well and not cause trouble for your sister.”
“Dad, you can’t always be so biased. Mingde is capable. It’s Shao Ting’an who’s suppressing him everywhere. The brother-in-law doesn’t consider us, why should we protect him?”
That was her sister-in-law Wen Yu’s voice.
“If Mingde were really capable, no one could suppress him. Stop thinking about things beyond your reach. Clinging to what you can’t have only makes life more disheartening. We have to live steadily.”
Though Su Li didn’t know the whole story, she understood enough: Shao Ting’an wasn’t sparing her brother at the factory.
A cold smile curled Su Li’s lips. How had she failed to see before that Shao Ting’an was a hypocritical pseudo-gentleman? Outwardly gentle and warm, kind and amicable to everyone, but in reality?
No wonder her brother had always been reluctant to get close to him.
Her brother had been making compromises to ensure her marriage went smoothly while their parents treated Shao Ting’an like their own son.
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Thinking of this, Su Li’s eyes grew even more watery.
Su Mingde was about to say something when he saw Su Li standing at the doorway, suddenly rising.
“Sister! Why don’t you come in? Aren’t you hot standing at the door?”
The newly installed ceiling fan spun overhead with a soft hum.
Su Da’nian turned to look at his daughter, his old face breaking into a broad smile.
“Oh, my daughter’s back.”
He tapped his pipe and cheerfully got up from his recliner.
Su Mingde glanced at Su Li, wondering if she had overheard their conversation, and took the things from her hands.
“Dad, you should smoke less. You keep coughing and don’t take care of yourself.”
Su Li fought to suppress the ache in her eyes, smiling with a hint of teasing.
“Okay, I won’t smoke anymore. I’m listening to my daughter.”
“Sis-in-law, where’s Zhuangzhuang?”
“He’s playing next door. Look, his face is all flushed. Tell him to cool down quickly.”
Wen Yu said this as she fetched a damp towel to wipe Su Li’s face.
“Wen Yu, come help me. Xiao Li bought meat; we’re having dumplings for lunch.”
Liu Guilan’s voice came from the kitchen.
Su Li smiled. “Let’s go help Mom together.”
“Let your sister-in-law go first. You just came in and you’re still sweaty.”
Su Da’nian was famously doting on his daughter, never hiding it even in front of his daughter-in-law.
Wen Yu knew Su Li was a treasure to the Su family and had treated her as a younger sister since marrying in.
“I’ll go first. You rest a bit and wipe off the sweat.”
Watching Wen Yu leave, Su Li stepped forward and linked her arm through her father’s.
“Dad, good thing she has a good temper. Otherwise, your favoritism would have made her angry a long time ago!”
Su Da’nian laughed heartily. “Your sister-in-law has a good temper; she doesn’t get mad.”
Su Mingde smiled and shook his head at his father. This old man truly treated Wen Yu like his own daughter when his sister wasn’t around.