After the signing event ended, Su Le rushed home the next day because her work was important to her as well.
Before she boarded the plane, she gave Wei Chu a call, but it was Chen Xu who picked up. He told her that Wei Chu was currently in a business meeting. Su Le didn't complain and went through the boarding gate.
This time, Su Le had a window seat on the plane, but soon after, the passenger with the seat next to her also arrived.
"Ah, it is you, Su Le." Mother Zhuang didn't think that she would meet Su Le on the plane. She gave Su Le a friendly smile and asked, "You came to S City?"
Su Le politely smiled in return. "Auntie." Someone once said that in life, there would be multiple melodramatic occasions, Su Le thought as she smiled. Just how bad was her luck to cause her to end up in such an awkward situation?
"Were you on a business trip?" Zhuang Wei's mother saw Su Le was dressed formally, but she also appeared somewhat tired, so Zhuang Wei's mother assumed Su Le was in S City for business matters. Her voice laced with concern, she asked, "Is your work very tiring?"
"It can be considered work." Su Le massaged her forehead. "It's alright. It's just that I didn't sleep very well last night. Auntie, did you come to S City alone?" She remembered that the 2 seniors in the Zhuang family had a close-knit relationship; if they wanted to visit a place, it was rare for Zhuang Wei's mother to be going alone.
"I came to visit a friend, so I didn't ask anyone to accompany me." Zhuang Wei's mother patted Su Le's shoulder. "It seems like you have lost weight. Young lady, you shouldn't just focus on your work and neglect your health. It's not good for your body."
"Thank you for the advice, auntie. I'll take note of it." Su Le used to call her 'Auntie Zhuang' but she thought it was no longer suitable for her to continue addressing Zhuang Wei's mother by that title. Thus, by calling Zhuang Wei's mother 'Auntie', Su Le was still being well-mannered while avoiding an awkward situation simultaneously.
Despite that, Zhuang Wei's mother was still somewhat embarrassed. After all, Zhuang Wei's mother was not born into a rich family. At the start, she had worked hard with her husband; she had experienced all sorts of hardships. Finally they managed to set up a small company and gradually expanded it. Even after all these years, Zhuang Wei's mother kept to her roots and her attitude or personality did not undergo much change. She was proud of her son but he had never suffered many hardships or defeats. In life, she felt that it was inevitable for her son to regret his decisions one day.
She saw her son pursue someone else's attractive daughter and successfully got her to be his girlfriend. Yet in the end, it hadn't even been two years and he was already cheating on his girlfriend. Was there any difference between his behaviour and playing with others' feelings?
At this point, mother Zhuang didn't know what else to say so she remained silent as she sat beside Su Le. Su Le sighed in relief. In such a situation, she too did not know what the best thing to say was either.
Soon after the plane had taken off, Su Le began feeling drowsy but Zhuang Wei's mother suddenly spoke to her.
"Su Le, the Zhuang family has wronged you. Evidently, I have not taught Xiao Wei properly since he has committed such acts." When she thought about her husband, who had never left or wronged her for all these years, Zhuang Wei's mother felt even more strongly about the fact she had not taught her child properly.
"Auntie." By now, most of the drowsiness had left Su Le. She widened her eyes when she saw the guilt in Zhuang Wei's mother's eyes. Su Le looked away before she said, "Auntie, me and Zhuang Wei have split up because we were not compatible. This is very normal. There is no need for you to mention anything about wronging people." Thinking back to the time when she and Zhuang Wei were still dating, Su Le's feelings had definiely become more complicated ever since, but she was no longer angry. After all, things that belonged in the past would stay in the past.
Zhuang Wei's mother smiled in response when she heard this, but it was clear that her smile was forced. She no longer carried on with the topic.
—————-
When they alighted the plane, Su Le helped Zhuang Wei's mother and carried her luggage. They had barely taken a few steps when Su Le spotted Wei Chu, who was standing close by, smiling at her.
Just when Su Le was about to greet Wei Chu, she saw his gaze shift to Zhuang Wei's mother, who was standing beside her. Su Le glanced at Zhuang Wei's mother, then back at Wei Chu. The gears in her brain instantly began turning.
Wei Chu wouldn't assume that she had secretly gone on holiday with Zhuang Wei's mother, right? He could, given that she hadn't told Wei Chu the reason she had gone to S City. Wei Chu wouldn't assume the wrong thing, right? Su Le's brain quickly churned out numerous worrying thoughts. She immediately felt as if a huge weight had been placed on her.
"Are you tired?" Wei Chu asked. When he saw Su Le's blank expression, he took all the luggage from Su Le's hand in one smooth action. Wei Chu laughed lightly before turning towards Zhuang Wei's mother and greeting her politely. "Auntie Zhuang, you were with Su Le. Thank you for looking after her during the journey."
"No, no, it was Su Le who looked after me. Mr Wei must be joking." Zhuang Wei's mother noticed that Wei Chu had taken her own luggage from Su Le's hands as well. She could tell that this young man harboured deep feelings for Su Le. She felt rather conflicted, even though she had already noticed this the last time they had met. But any mother would feel like this when they realized that the new boyfriend of their son's ex girlfriend was a much better option than their own son.
"You're too courteous," Wei Chu said. He then poked Su Le's forehead and said, "What are you still spacing out for? Are we leaving yet?"
Su Le stopped zoning out. Since Wei Chu's expression appeared to be normal, she decided to explain herself, "I actually met Auntie Zhuang when I got on the plane today. Maybe it's fate taking its course."
"Yeah." Wei Chu smiled widely. He felt delighted on observing Su Le's awkward behaviour and explanation because they indicated that, Su Le did care about his feelings a little. Women's responses in these situations were indeed very cute. Wei Chu had thoroughly understood the saying, "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder."
The three of them exited the airport together. Wei Chu's car was parked in the space just outside so he turned and told Zhuang Wei's mother, "Auntie Zhuang, Su Le and I will send you home."
"There's no need to trouble you. Someone from my house is coming to pick me up." Mother Zhuang was had experience. Wei Chu had said "Su Le and I" and not just "I"; it was clear that he was declaring his status. People like Wei Chu might seem like they were cheerful and always smiling, but their words had strength that was not easy to detect. Although her son was rather outstanding, she had to admit that her son was lacking in comparison to this young man.
Living a melodramatic life meant living fearlessly. After Zhuang Wei's mother had finished speaking, Zhuang Wei showed up not too far away from the group.
"Mother." Zhuang Wei didn't think that he would see Su Le and Wei Chu there. He walked up to the group and took his mother's luggage from Wei Chu's hands. He then flashed Wei Chu a reluctant smile. "Many thanks."
Wei Chu smiled in return and replied, "You're welcome."
Zhuang Wei stopped looking at Wei Chu and turned towards Su Le instead. "Su Le, we haven't seen each other for a while, how are you?" He frowned slightly when he saw the fatigue in Su Le's expression.
"I'm fine." Su Le believed that she and Zhuang Wei could no longer even be ordinary friends. Although the anger and disgust she had for him was gradually dissipating, as a woman, the memory of being betrayed by a romantic partner was not a great one. Su Le looked at Zhuang Wei's mother wistfully. "Auntie, I still have work tomorrow so I'll go home and rest now. Goodbye."
"Don't just focus on your work. Remember to take more notice of your health as well." Zhuang Wei's mother noticed the reluctance of her son to part with Su Le in his eyes. But she could also tell that this young lady would not return to her son's side. She looked at the remarkable young man next to Su Le. All of his attention was focused on Su Le. With such a good man like him, Su Le would be more relaxed and happy with him than she ever would with Xiao Wei.
"Thank you, Auntie. You should also take care of yourself." Su Le then turned around and got in the car. A certain person who was beside her had already opened the car door for her. When Su Le sat in the passenger seat, she turned around and noticed that Zhuang Wei's gaze was still focused on herself.
—————-
"Take a nap if you're tired. I'll carry you in when we arrive," said Wei Chu as soon as he sat in the driver's seat. He then shut the car windows. "I'll make something for you to eat as well."
"I'll listen to whatever you say. " Su Le yawned. She rested against the seat and shut her eyes. Her tense mind finally calmed down.
Seeing Su Le like this, Wei Chu did not utter another word and concentrated on his driving.