Chapter Twenty-Five: Different
After the meeting, she didn't run into Meng Xi again, nor did she encounter the Sun family at her doorstep. Her family was happy for her, and she herself was somewhat excited. In her previous life, she hadn't been so lucky; she worried about her family every day and simply focused on fulfilling her responsibilities at work.
In her past life, she would have tried to resolve the error, but would definitely have delegated the follow-up work to someone else. Because of this, her superiors assumed it was someone else's achievement. At least the main work was done by someone else, the extra hours spent cleaning up were by someone else, and the "model worker" award naturally went to someone else.
"I'm so happy."
She was excited, and even drank a glass of hawthorn wine he poured for her. Her face flushed even more, as delicate and beautiful as a peach blossom on a branch. The child had already been put to sleep, and he reached out to put his arm around her waist, lowered his head to kiss her deeply, and when he let go, they were both panting.
"You deserve it all. My wife is amazing. I didn't know you could design patterns. The patterns you modified on the spot were very well received and very popular."
When my husband praised me, and I met his proud gaze, a feeling of happiness welled up inside me like bubbles.
As she laughed, tears streamed down her face. She finally understood the emotion welling up inside her. At this moment of great pride in her life, she truly wanted Sun Yaozu to see it.
See, I can be just as good as you, even without you. I took on all the family responsibilities so you could achieve recognition at work. Now that I have someone to rely on, I can do the same.
"Why are you crying?" Su Xiangdong reached out and wiped away her tears, then bent down and kissed her. His words and actions were gentle and tender, making her feel a deep longing. She buried herself tightly in his arms, trying to calm herself down.
I promised myself I'd let go of it completely, so why am I still bothered? Beneath my seemingly calm exterior since my rebirth lies a heart full of resentment, injustice, and grievance.
Sun Yaozu, what right do you have to look down on me? What right do you have to talk about me and my child like that? I've always been working and earning money. I was among the first batch of people to start businesses during the reform and opening up period, and I was a "ten-thousand-yuan household" in the early 1980s. After my parents found me and I received help from my maternal family, my fortunes skyrocketed.
With the help and broadened horizons of her family, she achieved such success in her career. Years of overwork led to illness and confinement to her bed, mostly due to her years of toil for her family. I served your parents and raised your children; what right do you have to look down on me?
"Am I not pretty, not gentle, not feminine, or too dogmatic...?"
She remembered how Sun Yaozu belittled her, and she remembered how emaciated she looked in the hospital. She knew she was a good mother in her children's eyes, but a woman has more than just maternal instincts; she is also a woman. No woman can bear such disdain from her partner.
"How could that be?" Su Xiangdong didn't know why she suddenly said that, but he knew she was definitely out of control today. Such a low alcohol tolerance, getting drunk after just one drink?
"My wife is so beautiful. If you're not considered beautiful, then there's no one in the world who's good-looking." He chuckled, hugged her, and tilted his head to kiss her smooth cheek.
"My wife is gentle, beautiful, virtuous, intelligent, capable, and sensible. She's beautiful inside and out, and naturally gorgeous."
He praised her so much that she stopped crying and started laughing, but she felt a little embarrassed. "How can you praise someone like that?"
"I'm not well-educated and don't know many words. But wife, these are my true feelings. No amount of praise is too much for you. Who wouldn't envy my good fortune to marry such a wonderful wife like you? You're so good and beautiful, how could you possibly think you're not good enough?"
Candles were lit in the room, and she slightly raised her head, facing the mirror on the dressing table. In the dim light, the woman reflected in the mirror was as beautiful as if she had stepped out of a painting. She possessed a classical and dignified temperament, features as if painted by a master artist, and naturally beautiful eyes and white teeth.
In my memory, she had a bad temper; she was impatient, cold, and always had a nameless anger inside. She would get up at five o'clock in the morning to sweep the yard, do laundry, cook, serve her in-laws, and take care of the children, before rushing off to work. Dragging her tired body home, she would still be met with endless housework.
She was too tired, so tired that she had no interest in anything. She always avoided intimacy with her husband at night, and later even became irritable and angry. She wondered if her failed marriage was related to that, if she hadn't done enough. She hadn't been able to keep her man's heart.
Su Xiangdong lowered his head and kissed her. His hot breath swept over her, and the two, so familiar with each other, quickly fell into passion. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, burning and exhilarating. The intense pleasure was invigorating, leaving her with no desire to resist.
Afterwards, she leaned lazily against him, feeling relaxed and attached. He wouldn't pull away to smoke, nor would he fall asleep immediately. Each time, he would hold her and kiss her for a long time, making her feel cherished.
Sun Yaozu once accused her of being sexually frigid, and she endured it mostly to avoid upsetting him. But now she wants to say that she is not sexually frigid, and she has not done anything wrong.
"Go to sleep, I'll help them pee when they wake up."
"Um."
She slept with a happy smile on her face, her life peaceful and worry-free, no longer burdened by the responsibility of caring for the elderly and children alone. Even after having a child, she retained the pure and carefree spirit of a young girl.
Did Sun Yaozu really say that about her? Is he blind? He actually said Shu Yao wasn't pretty or gentle. Oh, not only blind, but also heartless. He gently embraced his wife and placed a kiss on the top of her head. It's fortunate Sun Yaozu was blind, otherwise he would never have the woman he loved as his wife in this lifetime.
Shu Yao kept telling herself to let go, to let go, but the entanglements of her past life, spanning decades, were not so easy to let go of. The next morning, she ran into Sun Yaozu outside and deliberately looked at him.
The two stood several meters apart without speaking, yet they conveyed a great deal in silence. Sun Yaozu's eyes held confusion and bewilderment; he couldn't understand why, even after starting over, she seemed completely different.
Shu Yao: You said I'm domineering and short-tempered, and that Meng Xi is better than me. But now, I'm the one who has achieved the betterment, the one who has left you.
Her gaze lingered for less than a minute before she turned and went home. She took a deep breath to calm herself, exhaling repeatedly as if trying to expel all the resentment from her past life. It's not that I'm not good enough, it's that you don't deserve me.
Sun Yaozu gritted his teeth. She hadn't said anything, and had never even publicly admitted that she too had been reborn. But he could understand her, he knew what her unspoken words meant.
He was caught cheating by her at the hospital, and in a moment of panic, he blurted out things he shouldn't have. He said she wasn't pretty, wasn't gentle, was domineering, and didn't know how to raise children...
He couldn't remember exactly how much he said, but she was so angry that she collapsed unconscious on the ground without uttering a single word. He was terrified at that moment, but then his children berated him and all his bank cards were cut off, leaving him with nothing but anger.
He was angry that she had humiliated him and that she could so easily control his life. He had called her "sister" since childhood, a title he only gradually changed after marriage. But in his heart, he didn't know when it started, he just felt that she was old, controlling, and never knew how to respect him.
Since his rebirth, he had been filled with resentment towards her. Just now, her silent provocation had made him furious. In anger, he kicked a stone on the ground, but the sharp edge of the stone got stuck on his toe. He grimaced in pain, clutching his foot, but dared not make a sound.
He was already in a bad mood and felt incredibly frustrated. When he entered the house, his mother was standing in the yard. After seeing him, she pointed at the window of their house and spoke very loudly.
"Look at her, it's so late and she's still not up. What kind of daughter-in-law doesn't cook for her in-laws at all, just eats and sleeps like a pig? She's been married for so long and hasn't even laid a finger on her. What's the point of marrying her, and we've spent so much money on her?"
Sun's mother's voice was so loud that Meng Xi was naturally woken up. She sat up angrily and, upon hearing her mother scolding her again for not laying eggs, quickly dressed and went out.
"Not laying eggs? How can you be such an elder and mother-in-law? You're always insulting your daughter-in-law like this. No wonder your son got divorced. I'm a young, unmarried woman marrying a divorced man, and I didn't say anything, but you're always picking fights with me."
“You—” Sun’s mother was just as fierce towards her daughter-in-law, rolling up her sleeves and shoving forward like a black-eyed chicken. “Well, you dare to insult your mother-in-law like that? You’ve gone too far. Get out of here. This is the Sun family. I don’t allow a new daughter-in-law like you to ride on my head.”
Sun's mother pointed at the door and yelled at her to get out, and Meng Xi stomped her foot in anger. "Fine, I'll leave. Who cares?"
Early in the morning, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had a huge argument. Sun's father was also woken up and came out of the house. Seeing Meng Xi packing her things to leave, Sun Yaozu finally came to his senses from his helplessness and irritation.
“Meng Xi,” he reached out and grabbed her. “You are a junior, how can you talk back to your elders like that? Quickly apologize to your mother, and this matter will be over.”
"Pah!" Sun's mother said angrily, "I can't handle this."
"Let go." Meng Xi struggled to break free from his grasp. "Sun Yaozu, all you do is bully me. Who said they would treat me well and protect me? Ever since I entered your family, every time your mother scolds me, all you do is tell me to endure it. What else can you do besides tell me to endure it?"
"Get out!" Mother Sun snapped, grabbing her son. "Ignore her, tell her to get out. A barren hen dares to talk back to me? Get out of the Sun family!"
Meng Xi carried her bundle out the door, turning back at the gate to shout, "Sun Yaozu, you're a complete coward!"
Sun's mother angrily berated him, while Sun Yaozu was completely dumbfounded. "Wait a minute, that's not what you said in my past life. In my past life, you said I was handsome and very eloquent. You slept with me during our marriage and even had my child."
Why did it turn out like this? Why did not only Shu Yao leave him with the child, but Meng Xi also cursed him? She had never argued with him before, and when she asked him for help, she was always tearful and gentle. How could she be like this now?
He was completely stunned. When his mother finished scolding him and turned around, she saw him standing there blankly and reached out to push him.
"What are you daydreaming about?" Seeing him look up at her, Sun's mother sighed. Still seething with anger, she immediately spoke to him again.
"And you too, you're such a bad man, you can't even control your wife. She's been married for so long and hasn't made a sound. And she thinks she's right, she thinks she's so capable. Look at you, how well I used to train Shuyao, and you ended up marrying this kind of thing."
"If you're so capable, why don't you train her properly too?"
"You—" Sun's mother was so angry that she trembled all over and fainted. She did not expect her son to talk back to her like that.
"mother,"
Sun Yaozu was terrified and no longer cared about his emotions. He bent down, picked up his mother, and quickly placed her on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the room.
"Father, where's the medicine?"
Mr. Sun looked unhappy; the house had been in chaos since early morning. It was all because his son was useless; he couldn't even control his wife.
"How would I know? You're the one who angered your mother. You'd be happy if you angered her to death. She's been sick all this time. Shuyao never dared to disobey her before, but now your wife has argued with her so many times."
"Stop talking about this, hurry up and find the medicine."
As the Lunar New Year approached, the Sun family was in complete chaos. Meng Xi returned to her parents' home with her belongings, and Sun's mother fell ill from the stress. The Sun father and son, dressed in dirty clothes and eating barely edible food, looked dejected and like refugees.
"Father, shall I go and bring Meng Xi back?"
"Don't go." Mr. Sun said with a stern face. These days, the father and son had been struggling, but he had never given up. Now, seeing that his son was about to give up, he sighed and shared his experience with him.
"You flattered her too much at the beginning, and then you couldn't control her. You were getting married for the second time and she was getting married for the first time, and you gave her such a large dowry, which spoiled her."
This time when she leaves, don't go to pick her up; it'll deflate her arrogance. She has no place to stay at her parents' home, and her food rations have already been transferred to ours. Just those two things alone make it impossible for her to stay there. If you rush to apologize and pick her up, she'll take advantage of you from now on.”
The old man used to be a businessman; he didn't understand emotions, but he was very clear about the pros and cons. He knew that it was best for the Sun family to have Shu Yao; she had already been tamed by them. But for some reason, Shu Yao suddenly changed, using the new rules of the new era as a blade to cut through the shackles and break free.
He was initially unhappy about his son marrying Meng Xi, but his son was young and headstrong, and he couldn't stop him. After entering the family, she indeed became unruly and caused chaos every day. Now that she's left the Sun family, she needs to be taught a lesson.
After listening to his father's words, Sun Yaozu thought about them carefully and agreed. "Father, you're right."
In her past life, Meng Xi was so kind and gentle, often regretting that she couldn't be with him legitimately. In this life, he's already married her, but instead of living a peaceful life, she causes chaos every day. If you're so capable, then stay at your parents' house and don't come back.
The Sun family, father and son, were taking care of a sick old woman, and their days were filled with hardship and suffering. Sun Yaozu had to go to work, and when he came home, his mother would cry in front of him. She cried about her miserable life, how she had to suffer so much in her old age.
The Sun family of three lived a difficult life, and Meng Xi was in similar hardship at her parents' home. Her parents had no place for her to stay, so she shared a small kang (heated brick bed) with her parents. The stench of her father's urine was suffocating. Her supplies had also stopped being provided there, and her mother couldn't stand it after a few days.
"Hurry home, we're running out of food. Your sister-in-law is making veiled accusations against you..."
With tears in her eyes, Meng Xi said, "I will pay my bills soon. I will use my salary to buy expensive grain."
“Oh my goodness, what kind of married daughter lives with her parents’ home all the time? With your meager salary, buying expensive grain is not only not enough to eat, but it also just lets the Sun family take advantage of you.”
“If Sun Yaozu doesn’t answer me, I won’t go back.”
————
On the 29th of the lunar year, the factory started its holiday adjustment period. Shuyao has five days off, officially starting tomorrow. She happily hugged her daughter when she got home, and the little one babbled and talked to her. Her son, sitting on the kang (heated brick bed), excitedly and anxiously tried to stand up, wanting to be in his mother's arms too.
"ah,"
She put down her daughter and picked up her son; the little rascal was much stronger than in her previous life. Her daughter was calm and sat obediently without crying or fussing. She sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed), picked up her daughter with her other hand, and the two little ones laughed happily on either side of her.
"Mom's on vacation and can stay home with you for five days. Aren't you happy?"
"ah,"
"You're so happy! You love your mom the most, don't you?"
"ah,"
She's been teaching her child to say "Mama" lately, but she's not holding out much hope. She remembers her child only started calling out after his first birthday, so it's still a long way off.
"mom,"
Her son's sudden shout stunned her; she could hardly believe it. Looking down at her rascal, she said, "Sweetie, did you call for Mommy? Say it again. Mommy!"
"mom,"
A clear pronunciation, a tender call, was like a pebble thrown into a lake, creating ripples everywhere. She happily taught her children to say "Mama" again and again; by noon, not only her son could make the sound, but her daughter could too.
"dad,"
"dad,"
Not only could she say "Mom," but she learned "Dad" even faster. She happily taught her again and again, not noticing when Su Xiangdong returned.
As soon as the man entered, about to greet them, he heard the two little ones happily mimicking their mother's speech. The son pronounced "Dad" very clearly.
The man was so overwhelmed with surprise that he stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say. Shu Yao saw him and smiled, telling the two children to keep shouting.
"Look, Daddy's back. Call him Daddy."
"dad,"
"dad,"
His son called out and reached out for him to hold him. He quickly stepped forward and hugged his son tightly. Seeing his little girl smiling obediently at him, he reached out and picked up his baby as well.
"Call me again, call me Dad."
"dad,"
"dad,"
The child's innocent voice was absolutely adorable, and Su Xiangdong was so moved he almost cried. The old father was deeply touched; he had truly given his heart to his child and would do anything for them willingly.
He excitedly played with his two children for a long time, and was so distracted during dinner that he couldn't concentrate on his precious kids. The next day, he specially took them out to show off to others that his little ones could call him "Dad."
"Oh my, look how happy Station Master Su is, his eyes are practically splitting open with grin."
"That was the first time my child called me 'Dad,' and I was so happy I couldn't sleep all night."
"Is it really that exaggerated? Just you wait, when Daddy keeps calling you 'Daddy, Daddy' and even has to call you when he needs to poop, you won't be excited anymore."
"Hahaha……"
They say kids can melt your heart when they're little, but drive you crazy when they grow up. But isn't this the time when they're so adorable they melt your heart? They're all still having a great time. Someone was helping Su Xiangdong play with the kids; the two little ones were clinging to their father's neck, refusing to let anyone else hold them.
"Oh, you're really close to your dad."
"Station Chief Su, your son looks more and more like you as he grows up."
Su Xiangdong achieved his goal, his mouth agape in excitement. Back then, there were no cell phones to show off your baby, so he carried him all over the streets. The weather was nice today, and there were many people outside; everyone who saw him complimented him, making him overjoyed, his face beaming with smiles.
Sun Yaozu went to buy medicine for his mother, and when he returned, he saw him in the alley carrying two children. The baby in his arms was happily holding a biscuit, and his son would take a bite and then feed him. The biscuit was covered in the child's saliva, but he didn't seem to mind taking a big bite.
As the biscuits disappeared, the smile on his son's face vanished. He teased his son until he pouted and looked like he was about to cry, then quickly pulled another biscuit out of his pocket to appease him.
"Don't cry, baby. Daddy's just teasing you. Here, have a new one."
"Giggle,"
The little guy took the cookie his dad gave him and smiled happily at him. Sun Yaozu stood there dumbfounded, subconsciously reminding himself to leave and not pay attention. But his legs wouldn't obey him; he just stood there motionless, and his brain had even started automatically analyzing and comparing.
He looked a bit plumper and much healthier and more lively than in his previous life. The brat was still the same, always trying to give his favorite foods to others, something he remembered he used to find very distasteful and would always scold him for.
Sun Shuhua, the name given to him by his father. Now the child is called Su Hexu. In my memory, he was always a sick child, but now he's chubby, cheerful, and loves to laugh. While eating a biscuit, he called out "Dad" in his unclear speech.
And in his other arm he was holding a girl, her eyes crinkling with a smile. Sun Shuqing, a name she took after her brother. I remember her as quiet and well-behaved, only showing her true emotions when she was with her mother. She would make requests of her mother and always help her with chores, chattering away with her, but stopping whenever she saw him.
She's still little, and she was happily being held and laughing. Seeing her brother feeding her father cookies, she copied him. Su Xiangdong happily took a bite of his daughter's too, and unlike her brother, the little girl didn't seem upset.
"Oh, my sweet girl, how can you be so good, not crying at all? Here, Daddy will give you a new one." The little guy smiled happily and gently touched her cheek.
"Next time someone takes it from you, cry and express your dissatisfaction. Being too obedient will lead to trouble," he muttered as he slowly walked back, holding his child. "Son, remember to protect your sister in the future. Your sister is too obedient; don't let anyone bully her."
He stood there watching the father and his two sons go home. Even after they were out of sight, he could still hear their voices. Su Xiangdong was talking to his wife about the children, his voice both excited and worried.
"What can we do with such a well-behaved daughter? What if she gets bullied in the future and doesn't say a word?"
"No, she won't." Shu Yao's voice was light and cheerful, like a little girl's. "She won't when she grows up. Just teach her more. She's very smart and sensible."
"That's right, of course my daughter is smart."
Su Xiangdong was filled with pride as he settled the child beside her and put on an apron. "I'll go chop the dumpling filling; we'll have dumplings for dinner tonight."
"Isn't it eaten on New Year's Eve?"
"Let's have a meal first today, I've prepared a lot."
"I want to eat sour soup dumplings," she said frankly.
"Okay, I got it." With a clinking sound, he continued, "I've put the water I poured for you here. Remember to drink it. It's dry in the house in winter, so you and the child need to drink more water."
"knew."
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