At this moment, behind the huge inflatable castle, Li Susu's wrist was suddenly grabbed by a force as strong as an iron clamp.
Before she could react, her back hit the soft yet solid material of the air castle, and the fabric made a muffled "puff" sound.
She staggered back half a step and looked up to see Li Ruilin's greasy face.
"Hiss..." She instinctively protected her lower abdomen and took a breath.
Li Ruilin glanced warily at the bustling crowd in the amusement park, and his rough fingers pinched Li Susu's wrist so hard that it hurt.
"Brother, why are you—"
"Let's talk somewhere else."
Li Ruilin pulled her and strode out of the amusement park.
The sweaty touch on her palms mixed with the strong smell of cigarettes made Li Susu feel a little nauseous.
Worried about being seen by Bo Junyi, she suppressed her uneasiness and followed Li Ruilin through the noisy crowd.
The laughter from the playground gradually faded away.
Li Ruilin pushed open the glass door of the fast food restaurant, and a breeze mixed with the aroma of French fries and the cool air of the air conditioner blew in his face.
"Please find a seat first."
Li Ruilin waved to her and went to the front desk to order food.
After a while, he came over with a tray full of hamburgers, French fries and Coke and pushed it in front of Li Susu.
"Eat, it's my treat."
Li Susu picked up a French fry, and the heat from the fried food made her stomach churn.
Remembering the doctor's advice during the prenatal checkup, she only dared to take small bites of the edges.
"Brother, are you coming to Jiangcheng for work this time?" she asked tentatively.
"Is delivering food worthy of being called a job?" Li Ruilin took a big bite of his burger, his cheeks puffed out like they were stuffed with walnuts. "I came to Jiangcheng because of you!"
He sneered, staring at her with his shiny eyes, and stuffed another burger into her hand.
"I heard from Dad that you're hooking up with a rich second-generation guy. Could that guy just now be your lover?"
Li Susu's hand shook and the hamburger almost fell to the ground.
She pursed her lips and said seriously, "He is my employer! I am a tutor for my child."
"I think you're planning to be someone's stepmother."
"That little girl is his niece. Anyway, it's not what you think."
"Don't try to fool me!" Li Ruilin took a deep sip of his Coke. "Dad told me to come to you if I need money. I, Li Ruilin, am not a shameless person. I'm just afraid that you'll be blinded by vanity and ruin your lifelong happiness!"
Li Susu was half-believing and half-doubting his words. She nodded mechanically: "Don't worry, brother. I won't."
At this moment, the phone in my pocket vibrated wildly.
Thinking that it was Bo Junyi calling, Li Susu pressed the hang-up button almost reflexively.
"Who is it?" Li Ruilin's voice suddenly approached.
She clutched her hot phone and stuffed it into her pocket: "It's a nuisance call."
After a moment of silence, Li Susu calmly changed the subject.
"Grandma...are you recovering well?"
Before he finished speaking, his nose felt sore.
"I can get out of bed now." Li Ruilin swallowed the last bite of his burger and leaned back in his chair. "I just have some Alzheimer's. Sometimes I'm lucid, sometimes I'm confused. I keep thinking about you."
He paused, sneered, and said, "I'm afraid that when you go back for the New Year, I won't recognize you at all."
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Susu felt a lump in her nose and hot tears fell on the hamburger wrapper in her hand.
She wiped her face with the back of her hand, and the scene of her grandmother hunching over while sewing shoe soles, holding a handful of change for her living expenses, and repeatedly telling her to study hard suddenly appeared before her eyes.
“Bang!”
The tissue was roughly slapped on the back of her hand, and Li Ruilin's voice was filled with impatience.
"What's the point of crying? Grandma loves you more than her own grandson. You won't even go back for such a major surgery!"
These words pierced my heart like a thorn.
Li Susu glanced at her still flat belly. She was more than thirty weeks pregnant during the Chinese New Year, and she definitely couldn't go back with such a big belly.
Since I'm not showing my pregnancy yet, it's the best time to go back.
"Brother, I'll go back with you." She looked up with red eyes.
Li Ruilin raised his eyebrows.
"It's up to you. You pay for your own transportation."
After saying that, he stood up and walked out.
Li Susu followed and took out some change to pay the bill. Li Ruilin didn't argue and pushed open the glass door to go out.
Soon, a taxi slowly stopped in front of him and Li Ruilin got in.
Li Susu paused slightly, looked in the direction of the amusement park, took a deep breath, lowered her head and got into the back seat.
Half an hour later, the taxi stopped at the gate of the long-distance bus station.
Li Ruilin took her to the ticket window and they got on the bus soon.
The bus was almost full, and after the two of them got in, the driver started the engine and set off.
For several hours, Li Ruilin, who was sitting next to him, was playing games enthusiastically. He didn't want to sleep, and Li Susu didn't dare to turn on the computer.
At eight o'clock in the evening, the car arrived at the town bus station. Li Ruilin stopped a three-wheeled motorcycle and rode back to the village on a bumpy ride.
Pushing open the rusty iron door, the sound of mahjong rubbing came to the face.
In the main room, under the dim light, Zhou Caiying's burgundy curly hair hung greasy on her shoulders. When she heard the door open, her triangular eyes swept across the doorway.
Without even raising his eyelids, he threw out a card: "You stupid girl, why are you standing there like a door god? Go cook."
When the other people at the table saw Li Susu, they quickly greeted her.
"Hey, the college students are back?"
"It's not time to take a holiday."
Li Susu politely explained, "I came back to see grandma."
Zhou Caiying rolled her eyes at her and said, "You just came back now, and everyone in the village calls you an ungrateful person. If you don't believe me, you can ask them what they say about you."
A neighbor smiled and tried to smooth things over, "Susu is busy with her studies, it's not too late for her to come back now."
Someone changed the subject and said, "Look at Susu. She's different after being in the city for so long!"
Aunt Wang at the opposite table pushed her reading glasses, her cloudy eyes swirling around her, "This delicate girl, you better hurry up and find a good husband!"
Zhou Caiying slammed the mahjong tiles on the table.
"Getting married? That's wishful thinking! I've paid for her education for over ten years. If she doesn't earn half a million dollars, don't even think about leaving this house!"
She took a break from her busy schedule to eat some sunflower seeds, a sarcastic smile on her face, "Do you think I'm doing charity by raising her?"
When Li Susu turned to go to the kitchen, a deliberately suppressed laugh came from behind her.
"Isn't half a million a small amount? As long as Su Su is willing, she can get engaged at any time, and half a million in betrothal gifts are easily available!"
"That's right, Susu looks like she's really picking and choosing!"
Zhou Caiying glanced back at the direction Li Susu had left and deliberately raised her voice, "Why rush? Let's talk about it after she graduates."
Li Susu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and walked into the dark kitchen.
She turned on the light and saw that the pots and pans from the morning had not been washed yet, and there were flies everywhere, which made her feel a little nauseous.
While she was cutting vegetables, she suddenly saw her mother hurriedly coming out of the main room and going to the door to answer the phone.
"I'm back." Her sharp voice was filled with obvious excitement. "Okay, let's meet tomorrow."
Li Susu heard it clearly, but subconsciously thought that she was busy with her brother's marriage and did not take it to heart.
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