Su Ziyu had no idea how she got home.
By the time she returned, with heavy steps and a lost look on her face, it was already pitch black.
At home.
Old Su was having rice with Mother Lan, treating it like wine.
They were celebrating that their beloved daughter had finally come to her senses and understood the principle that you can't force a horse to drink water.
At the same time, they were also wishing to hold their grandson next year.
The couple were discussing which kindergarten would be best for their future grandson when their beloved daughter suddenly came home.
Huh?
Why does she look so dazed, as if her soul has left her body?
Where is her beloved son-in-law?
Old Su and his wife, their eyes locked, watched their daughter walk into the bedroom as if sleepwalking. It was only then they realized something was amiss.
Ning Xiaolan leaped from the sofa and rushed into the bedroom.
She blurted out, "Weren't you and Qianfan staying at a hotel tonight? Why did you come back alone? Where is Qianfan? Most importantly, why do you look like your mother just died?"
Su Ziyu, who had sat on the floor in front of the bed and casually grabbed a bottle of white wine from the foot of it, took a few gulps.
Then, she sniffled heavily and looked at Mother Lan.
She gave a silly smile and said, "Mom, Qianfan and I broke up. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get a divorce."
What!?
Ning Xiaolan almost jumped up.
Without thinking, she turned and shouted from outside the door, "Old Su, the belt!"
Old Su appeared swiftly.
"Mom!"
"Even if you beat me to death, I will divorce him!"
"Because my dignity as a woman has been trampled into the ground by him."
"In front of him, I always feel an inferiority complex, like an old cow trying to eat young grass."
"I'm afraid that one day, he'll get tired of my age and leave me."
"I don't want to spend the rest of my life in insecurity."
"I even less want to grovel before him my entire life."
"Why should he make me lose so much face when I made the first move?"
"Let the whole world know how desperately I, Su Ziyu, longed to have him!"
"I—"
Fueled by the alcohol, Su Ziyu dared to express her true feelings to Ning Xiaolan with a "roar" for the first time.
"You, you darned thing!"
Ning Xiaolan exploded with rage and raised the belt, about to give Su Ziyu a thorough beating.
Old Su saw that the situation was dire.
It was the first time Ning Xiaolan had been this genuinely angry.
If this belt were to be used, it wouldn't just be on Su Ziyu's backside as usual.
It would be all over her head.
"Xiaolan, calm down!"
Old Su roared and hastily hugged Ning Xiaolan with both arms.
But whoosh—
Old Su suddenly flew through the air and, with a terrified yelp, landed heavily on the bed.
The enraged Ning Xiaolan then raised the belt high and brought it down fiercely towards Su Ziyu's head.
Su Ziyu screamed in fear, completely forgetting to dodge. Instinctively, she raised her arms to protect her face.
*Slap!*
Ah—
As the belt came down, hitting Old Su squarely on the backside, his wail shook the entire building.
It turned out that at the very moment Ning Xiaolan's belt was about to strike Su Ziyu, Old Su, possessed by Kahn (the famous goalkeeper), suddenly lunged from the bed. Headfirst, he used his own back to shield his daughter.
Old Su's heartfelt, mournful cries instantly sobered up Su Ziyu and Mother Lan, who had been emotionally distressed.
"My mom is going to beat me to death," Su Ziyu thought with a slight tremor in her heart.
"How could I be so harsh with Ziyu?" Ning Xiaolan thought with remorse, but also relief. "Thank goodness Old Su reacted so quickly. Hmm, I'll add three hundred to his allowance this month!"
"Ziyu, run!"
Old Su, having taken the brunt of the blow, rolled over, grabbed Ning Xiaolan's legs, and yelled back at Su Ziyu, "Three hundred, three hundred, three hundred!"
"Get out!"
Ning Xiaolan tried to kick him away but couldn't bring herself to be too rough.
Su Ziyu seized the opportunity, scrambled to her feet, rushed to the window, and pushed it open.
A long leg stretched out of the window.
With a look of terror, she shouted at Ning Xiaolan, "Mom, don't come near me! Otherwise, I'll jump."
"No, no."
Old Su was truly afraid that Ning Xiaolan would take the bait and that his darling daughter might actually fall from the window. With a pig-slaughtering cry, he yelled, "Let's all calm down! As long as our family works together, we can withstand anything, even if the sky falls!"
Old Su's shout moved Ning Xiaolan.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to snatch the belt from her hand so easily.
After taking the belt, Old Su, ignoring the pain in his backside, pushed her out of the bedroom with all his might and slammed the door shut.
After locking it with a click.
Old Su rushed back to the window and asked with a piteous voice, "Ziyu, can you bear to let your father bury his own child?"
How could Su Ziyu bear it?
She was simply terrified by Ning Xiaolan's ferocious demeanor.
Old Su quickly pulled her down from the window, slammed it shut, and drew the curtains.
A few minutes later.
Encouraged by Old Su, Su Ziyu hesitantly walked out of the bedroom.
She expected Ning Xiaolan to pounce on her, roaring.
But no.
Ning Xiaolan sat blankly on the sofa, staring at the television with vacant eyes.
Her phone lay at her feet.
She murmured, "Qianfan's phone is off."
If Ning Xiaolan had been furious, Su Ziyu might not have been so scared.
But in this state—
Su Ziyu cautiously walked over, slowly knelt in front of her mother, bowed her head, and adopted a posture of accepting any punishment.
"I won't hit you anymore. I'll never hit you again."
Ning Xiaolan suddenly smiled.
She looked at Su Ziyu, "After all, you're already a 26-year-old young woman. You have a dignity that makes us commoners look up to you from afar, like the reverence for the grand paths. No matter who offends your dignity, even your husband, with whom you are destined to share your life, you will divorce him without hesitation. Even your parents, who gave birth to you and raised you, you would chop us to death in the middle of the night."
Su Ziyu's face turned even paler.
She quickly reached out, hugged her mother's legs, and pressed her face against her knees, "Mom, what are you saying?"
"Ziyu."
Ning Xiaolan reached out, gently stroking her daughter's hair, and asked, "Don't you see how important you are in Qianfan's heart?"
Su Ziyu looked up, her expression blank.
"Silly child."
Ning Xiaolan gave a bitter smile, "If he didn't cherish you. When you made the first move, why would he be so nervous, even afraid? Why would he have to message someone to ask how to face your initiative?"
Su Ziyu's pupils suddenly constricted!
She wasn't like some foolish women.
Even though her dignity had temporarily blinded her, after Mother Lan's enlightenment, she was instantly enlightened.
"It's because of love that he's nervous!"
Su Ziyu whispered these six words and immediately got up and ran towards the door.
Old Su quickly asked, "Ziyu, where are you going?"
"I'm going to find him!"
"I'm going to tell him that I will be his wife for life."
"From now on, even if you beat me to death, I won't say divorce!"
As she uttered these last words, Su Ziyu had already rushed out of the house.
"Car keys, your car keys, oh dear."
Old Su picked up the car keys from the table, intending to give them to his daughter, but his backside throbbed with pain.
Mother Lan snatched the car keys and rushed out of the house.
Su Ziyu ran downstairs and reached her car, only to realize she hadn't brought the keys.
She stamped her foot in frustration—
Oh, she hadn't even put on her shoes.
Mother Lan rushed out, "Get in!"
The mother and daughter quickly got into the car.
Fearing that her daughter's emotional state might lead to an accident while driving, Mother Lan drove herself.
They arrived at a hotel on Chunhui Road as quickly as possible.
Su Ziyu jumped out of the car and, barefoot, ran into the hotel.
The girl at the reception saw—
What's going on?
Before the receptionist could comprehend, Su Ziyu, hopping and skipping, had already reached the door of private room six on the third floor.
The door was half-open.
Su Ziyu pushed it open and shouted, "Little husband, I'm back!"