In the darkness of the night, only the street lamps emitted their residual cold light.
Shen Han stood in front of Su Shu, his expression of surprise lasting only a moment before it quietly faded away. His gaze shifted from the familiar face of the girl to the little girl in her arms, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes, but he suppressed it without a trace.
"Why are you here?"
His tone carried a hint of confusion and an inexplicable sense of joy.
Su Shu wanted to explain that she was just looking for her niece and had not expected to see her "ex-boyfriend" here, but before she could speak, a sharp and delicate voice from behind Shen Han interrupted her, swallowing all the words she had intended to say.
"Shen Han, I'm so hungry. Can you make me a steak when we get home? Oh, is that... Su Shu?!"
The woman's voice suddenly rose in pitch, sounding quite surprised and, faintly, a bit smug.
Heh, Jiang Meili, the one person she never wished to see again in her life!
Su Shu's eyes darkened, and she hugged Xiao'ai tighter to herself, not responding, and turned to hail a taxi on the side of the road.
A large hand clasped her slender wrist.
"Su Shu? I have a car, where are you heading? I'll take you," said Shen Han.
Su Shu pulled her wrist from his grasp and coldly continued to hail a taxi.
"No need, President Shen."
Her tone was harsh and cold. Shen Han frowned; what was she saying? When had he become the 'President Shen' in her mouth? He had just come back from abroad yesterday and had been settling things at home. He had planned to look for her in the next couple of days, but had not expected to encounter his girl here.
However, what puzzled Shen Han was the seemingly inexplicable estrangement the girl in front of him had towards his approach.
In the darkness, the man's black eyes quietly darkened.
Jiang Meili stood by Shen Han in high heels, the panic in her eyes flashing momentarily before she rushed forward, asking with a chirpy voice, "Su Shu, long time no see! I'm Meili. You're not pretending not to recognize me, are you? We're old classmates after all." As she spoke, her gaze swept over the little girl in Su Shu's arms, she said "enthusiastically," "Wow, that's so thoughtless of you, classmate Su Shu. You got married and had children without even telling us your old classmates?"
Her words were a veiled reminder to the man beside her: the girl you liked has already moved on, married and had children after you went abroad. Did you really think she was waiting for you?
Upon hearing this, Su Shu coldly turned her head to glance at the self-satisfied Jiang Meili.
Her icy gaze, filled with disdainful condescension, infuriated Jiang Meili on the spot.
What a joke! Just an orphan, with nothing but a pretty face, dares to give her attitude? How naive! Jiang Meili sneered internally.
Su Shu's silence seemed to affirm Jiang Meili's speculation.
The expression on Shen Han's face darkened in an instant.
He pursed his thin lips tightly, grasped Su Shu's wrist—which was struggling to break free—more firmly, and waved away the taxi that had just stopped in front of them. He took out his phone from his pocket.
"Bring my car to the front gate."
"Shen Han, are you going to take Su Shu and her daughter home?" Jiang Meili asked with a smile, deliberately emphasizing their status as mother and daughter.
The more Shen Han listened, the darker his expression became, and the tighter his grasp on Su Shu's wrist.
In Su Shu's arms, Xiao'ai quietly leaned her small head against Su Shu's neck. Without saying a word, she comforted her with subtle movements, as though even the little girl could sense what was in her heart, making Su Shu feel that there was still a sliver of warmth protecting her heart in this cold night.
"Let go."
In the quiet night, Su Shu suddenly spoke out coldly.
Shen Han frowned and said in a deep voice, "Stop it, I'm taking you home."
He deliberately avoided mentioning anything related to the child in her arms. He didn't want to discuss any topics he didn't want to hear right now. The girl in her arms, he would talk to her about it separately.
And there was something he simply couldn't accept.
The girl who had once loved him so deeply now seemed so distant, as if he were a person of no importance to her.
"Let go!" Su Shu suddenly shouted in a low voice.
In her past life, she had had enough of loving Shen Han without self-respect. Couldn't she just keep her distance from him in this life?