Su Xiaoqi had accomplished several tasks that morning and happily came to wait for Shen Yun.
She was eager to share her joy with him.
But she never expected to see him interacting so intimately with Su Yuru.
Her heart sank, and she re-hid the deed of transfer that she had already taken into her hand.
Then, she lowered her head, turned her back, and pretended not to see them.
Thinking about it carefully, she didn't feel particularly sad. Such a thing was to be expected.
After all, following the plot, Shen Yun would eventually marry.
Su Xiaoqi just didn't understand why Su Yuru had been unwilling to marry Shen Yun before.
Now, she was so aggressively intervening, constantly making her presence known to Shen Yun.
What made her change her mind?
Thinking deeply, Su Xiaoqi startled herself.
Could it be that the wife Shen Yun eventually married in the book was her?
At this thought, Su Xiaoqi regretted skipping chapters when she read the novel back then.
If time could turn back, she would definitely read all the plots from beginning to end, meticulously.
Hindsight is 20/20.
Back then, how could she have known that one day she would transmigrate into the book she had read?
Alas, now she only knew the general direction of the plot and was completely clueless about the details.
"Hi, Yun Ge'er, over here, we're here." Zhao Liushun, unaware of Su Xiaoqi's thoughts,
immediately waved at Shen Yun as soon as he saw him emerge.
Shen Yun looked over in response, not expecting Su Xiaoqi to be there.
When he saw her, he felt a pang of guilt for no reason. He glanced at Su Yuru, who was walking closely beside him.
He deliberately quickened his pace towards Su Xiaoqi.
Su Yuru followed closely, greeting Su Xiaoqi gently and politely:
"What a coincidence, I didn't expect you to be here too."
Su Xiaoqi could handle anyone with ease.
Only in front of the person concerned did she feel uncomfortable.
She calmed her mind and nodded perfunctorily to return the greeting.
Su Yuru said nothing, but her maid felt that her lady had been slighted. Eager to earn merit, she impatiently jumped up and shouted:
"Hey, you village girl, don't you know any manners? My lady doesn't look down on you and is being friendly, why are you so rude?"
Su Xiaoqi's expression shifted slightly, and she looked at Su Yuru.
Were these words from her maid her lady's intention, or her own?
How annoying, why were there always such sycophants everywhere.
Shen Yun narrowed his eyes, his expression unchanged, but he crossed his arms and watched Su Xiaoqi with amusement.
"Xiao Qi, don't talk nonsense. Yuru and I are friendly, why are there so many unnecessary formalities?"
Su Yuru, whether intentionally or unintentionally, spoke slowly only after everyone had processed her maid Xiao Qi's words.
Fortunately, Su Xiaoqi didn't care what she said.
In her opinion, Shen Yun was as cunning as a fox.
He had long suspected her identity.
He just hadn't been able to find any evidence.
It was possible that her identity would be exposed at any time from now on.
However, before he exposed it, she didn't want to reveal it herself and bring it up.
She still needed to stay by Shen Yun's side, relying on his good luck to counteract her own jinx.
However, Su Yuru's maid shared the same name as her, also called Xiao Qi.
This made Su Xiaoqi suspect that Su Yuru had done it deliberately.
Seeing Su Xiaoqi's expression, Su Yuru explained gently:
"Uh, I'm sorry, my maid is called Xiao Xi, Xi from Phoenix Perching on Wutong Tree, not the 'seven' in one, two, three."
This statement seemed innocuous at first, but after Su Xiaoqi savored it, she felt something was amiss.
She couldn't quite pinpoint what was wrong.
Perhaps it was the words themselves, or perhaps it was the expression on Su Yuru's face when she looked at her.
She was fair-skinned and beautiful, with a dignified demeanor, and her smile was particularly approachable.
But every time Su Xiaoqi met her gaze, she felt as though only her face was smiling, with no trace of mirth in her eyes.
In other words, it was a fake smile.
Su Xiaoqi was very perplexed. Logically, the original owner had married Shen Yun on behalf of the real Su Yuru.
This was considered helping her escape the impoverished Shen family, so Su Yuru should be grateful.
However, from Su Yuru, Su Xiaoqi only felt indifference.
Not only was she not grateful, but she also seemed slightly displeased.
Only when she spoke to Shen Yun did her smile seem genuine.
It seemed she clearly didn't like her.
Su Xiaoqi wasn't one to force herself on others.
If someone didn't like her, she wouldn't try to get close.
She sat at the tea stall, quietly drinking her roasted buckwheat tea.
Suddenly, a pair of straw sandals with exposed toes appeared in her line of sight.
She looked up to see a raggedly dressed, dirty, and disheveled little girl with tangled hair standing before her.
She spotted Su Xiaoqi and rushed towards her: "Sister Xiao Qi, Sister Xiao Qi."
Su Xiaoqi: ...
She looked at the little girl before her with a blank expression.
She was as thin as a bamboo pole, disheveled, and her face was dirty, revealing only a pair of dark, large eyes.
As she looked at Su Xiaoqi, tears welled up in her eyes.
"Oh dear, where did this little beggar come from? Go away." Xiao Xi, with a look of disgust, pushed away her lady and the little girl.
It was as if she were a plague that could infect them just by looking at her.
"Xiao Xi, do not be rude." Su Yuru spoke at the opportune moment:
"I think this young girl seems to know Xiao Qi, perhaps they are friends." Su Yuru specifically emphasized Su Xiaoqi and this man were
She turned to the little girl and said gently, "Little sister, do you know Xiao Qi?"
The little girl lowered her head, her face looking aggrieved. She pursed her lips and nodded after a long moment.
"Oh, what a pitiful little sister..."
Su Yuru turned to Su Xiaoqi and spoke at length about how pitiful the little girl was, how hungry she must be, and how heartbreaking it was...
Listening to her speak, she sounded like Saint Mary.
Su Xiaoqi wanted to retort, but her momentarily confused mind had already processed the situation.
This little girl was indeed someone the original owner had known when she was a beggar. Her name was Xiao Xique, and she was only twelve years old this year.
She tried hard to recall. When the original owner first arrived at the Su family, she had apparently settled them.
Ensuring that no one would wander the streets and expose her identity.
Why had she suddenly shown up today?
And coincidentally, it was when Su Yuru and Shen Yun were also present.
She stared intently at Su Yuru, with countless conjectures in her mind.
But there was no evidence, and the little girl who had thrown herself into her arms was too pitiful to bear.
Su Xiaoqi couldn't bear to push her away. She helped the girl up and asked the tea stall owner, Madam Ping, to bring up a basket of steamed buns.
She called the girl by the name from the original owner's memory:
"Xiao Xique, don't cry, eat some buns first."
As she comforted her, Xiao Xique cried even harder, even rolling into her arms.
Su Xiaoqi showed no sign of disgust; instead, she let her be, patting her back and gently coaxing her.
The two of them attracted much attention.
Soon, a group of similarly dressed little beggars arrived.
Following Xiao Xique's example, they surrounded Su Xiaoqi.