Chapter Three: She Wants a Divorce
Xu An's home wasn't far from the hospital. Within minutes, Su Xiao saw a pink McLaren speed into the hospital gate and stop in front of her with a perfect drift.
"Su Xiao! How come you only contacted me now after such a big thing happened!"
"An'an..."
Seeing Xu An rushing over, Su Xiao could no longer hold back her tears, which streamed down her face.
Xu An rushed over and hugged her tightly. He was still damp from the rain and had a faint scent of gardenia perfume on him, a scent that Su Xiao knew all too well.
"Okay, okay, don't cry, I'm here for you."
Xu An patted her back, his voice choked with sobs: "That damned Yan Mingshen, how could he do this to my Xiaoxiao! When I get back, I'll have someone break his legs!"
Su Xiao leaned against Xu An's chest as if she had grasped the last straw. The emotions she had suppressed all night finally found an outlet, and she cried her heart out.
People in the corridor turned their heads to look, but Xu An didn't care at all; he just hugged Su Xiao even tighter.
"Come on, come home with me." Xu An helped Su Xiao up and wiped away her tears.
"Don't cry, Xiaoxiao, you still have me. From now on, my home is your home."
Su Xiao nodded and followed Xu An into the car with unsteady steps.
The pink McLaren sped through the rainy night. Su Xiao leaned against the car window, watching the street scene rushing past, her eyes vacant.
Fortunately, Xu An was there, otherwise she really wouldn't know where to go.
"That bastard Yan Mingshen, I've disliked him for a long time." Xu An cursed as he drove, tears welling up in his eyes.
"If it weren't for how obedient he was to you, I wouldn't have agreed to let you marry him, you..."
Su Xiao didn't speak, but listened silently.
She knew that Xu An just didn't want her to wallow in sadness.
But how could she not be heartbroken? His only relative, and the fruits of her father's life's work, were all reduced to ashes in this fire.
The blow Yan Mingshen dealt her was merely the last straw that broke the camel's back...
"An'an, I want a divorce..."
"What?"
Xu An's car suddenly veered to the right, but quickly returned to normal.
Have you thought this through?
"Hmm." Su Xiao leaned her head against the glass window, trying her best to make her voice sound less sad: "I've thought it through."
She thought she had finally found her place, so even though she knew the Yan family wasn't a good family, she still insisted on marrying Yan Mingshen...
But now, her father is gone, and the love she pursued has long lost its meaning in the daily disappointment.
“Okay.” Xu An said almost without hesitation: “I’ll contact the law firm tomorrow. Even if he’s from the Yan family, they’ll skin me alive.”
She's always like this; without asking why, she'll immediately side with Su Xiao.
"Beep beep..."
Su Xiao's phone rang; it was a call from the Su family's old residence.
She pursed her lips, didn't take it, and after hesitating for a while, looked up at Xu An.
"Going to the old house, is that right?"
"Um."
The pink McLaren made a U-turn, slowly drove into the Dongcheng District, and finally stopped in front of a traditional courtyard house with three entrances and three exits.
Su Xiao hasn't been back to the old house for almost five years. After her mother passed away, her father lost contact with the Su family.
Unless the Su family specifically invites them, she and her father will not come here on their own initiative.
Xu An watched Su Xiao get out of the car, still unable to help but worry, but she opened her mouth but didn't say anything.
"Don't worry, An'an, no one can do anything to me."
Su Xiao noticed Xu An's predicament; every time she came here before, she had come out injured.
But they are family after all.
The fact that the Su family is contacting her at this critical juncture is most likely because of her father's matter, and she has to come back and see them no matter what.
"The old lady said that once you see the phone call, you will definitely come back, and she wants me to take you to the ancestral hall to see her."
The speaker was an elder of the Su family, who seemed to have been waiting at the door for a while. Su Xiao had never met him before and was not familiar with him.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Su Xiao bid farewell to Xu An and followed the Su family members into the inner courtyard.
The two walked silently along the cobblestone path.
The pink McLaren slowly drove away only after Su Xiao's figure disappeared from sight.
Su Xiao pushed open the ancestral hall door and saw Old Madam Su kneeling in front of a pile of memorial tablets, holding a string of blue Buddhist beads in her hand.
“I heard about what happened yesterday from the servants. That brat from the Yan family is indeed a scoundrel, but you should also consider the Su family’s interests.”
"The Su family? Is that what you called me here to talk about?"
Su Xiao couldn't help but feel absurd. She still harbored illusions, thinking that the old lady had come to discuss her father's affairs, but it turned out to be for the sake of the Su family...
"Did you know your son died in the art gallery yesterday? Are you really that cold-blooded?"
“Su Xiao, the dead cannot be brought back to life. You should think more about the living.”
Grandma Su raised her hand, and the people waiting nearby immediately went to help her up.
The old woman was over sixty years old, with two deep frown lines between her eyes. She looked at Su Xiao, but there was no sadness in her cloudy eyes.
“I think you’re reluctant to give up your current wealth and status,” Su Xiao couldn’t help but retort.
The Su family was corrupt and fell into decline years ago. If they hadn't been constantly sucking their father's blood, how could they have ever recovered?
“Su Xiao, now the Su family is your last resort. You are a smart woman, you know in your heart whether or not it should be taken to that point.” Old Mrs. Su softened her tone as she leaned on her emerald rattan cane.
"Besides, you wouldn't want your mother's affairs to get out, would you?"
Su Xiao didn't reply. Her blood was slowly cooling down. If it weren't for them, her mother wouldn't have been forced to her death. Now they were using her mother to threaten her.
Make her obey, make her shut up...
"Alright, take her downstairs and let her have a meal with the elders."
Su Xiao followed the butler to the front hall in a daze.
The front hall was already full of people, and on the long wooden table, every dish was exquisitely plated and prepared with great care.
Su Xiao sat in the seat her father had originally occupied. With the help of the Su family, the old lady Su sat in the main seat in the center. The emerald on her rattan cane was particularly dazzling under the light.
Even though she knew this was a play the old lady was deliberately putting on to give her a dressing down.
But listening to these uncles and elders she didn't know boasting at the dinner table still made her feel nauseous, so she ran outside.
Her stomach was empty long ago. She leaned against the old poplar tree and vomited for a long time, only managing to vomit a few mouthfuls of sour water.
None of them were able to get a share of the pie in the calligraphy and painting industry without benefiting from their fathers' connections.
Now that their father is dead, they drink and eat meat, but won't even show a hint of grief.
Su Xiao leaned against the tree trunk, panting heavily.
It turns out that in this world, apart from her, no one else really cares about her father's life or death.
Nobody cared whether she lived or died.
Tears streamed down her face as the old lady of the Su family stood under the eaves, watching as if she were looking at an inanimate object that still possessed value.
Su Xiao glanced at Old Madam Su.
But the more this is the case, the more she wants to live well.
Once she had recovered, the housekeeper belatedly instructed the driver to take her back to the Yan family.
I said it was a gift, but I was still worried she wouldn't listen.
The car drove steadily toward the nearby villa area as instructed.
The weather was gloomy the whole way, and the driver tried to get information out of Su Xiao several times, but she ignored him.
She simply doesn't have the energy to continue feigning friendship with the Su family.
The driver parked the car downstairs, and Su Xiao looked at the familiar little building, feeling a moment of disorientation.
"Thanks."
She pushed open the door and got out of the car.
Regardless, this little building symbolizes the meaning of home to her.
But when Su Xiao pushed open the door, she saw a pair of women's high heels that didn't belong to her in the entryway. They were beige with thin heels, like a silent provocation.
Her mood, which had just calmed down, gradually sank again.
Why are you back?
Yan Mingshen's voice came from the living room, carrying a hint of barely perceptible panic.
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