Su Mu's silence gave Fu Shinian another guess:
"Don't tell me you want to keep the child?"
Keep it? With what? Her precarious marriage? Or the countless debts on her back that she couldn't even begin to repay? She didn't qualify, and Fu Shinian wasn't wrong.
"No, I won't keep him."
"So you think, since you're going to abort it anyway, it's only fair that I, the one who sowed the seed, should also contribute to the killing, so that the child won't solely resent you on the other side?" Fu Shinian looked at her, "Su Mu, you really are cunning."
"Think whatever you want." Su Mu no longer had the desire to explain.
Fu Shinian stood up from his seat:
"Good that the child is gone, you don't deserve to give birth to my child."
"That's right, to you, I, still recovering from surgery, am not even as important as the keychain in your hand. What right do I have to demand a pregnancy?"
Fu Shinian's steps, which had already reached the door, halted due to Su Mu's words. He turned back to look at her, and after a few seconds, he spoke slowly:
"Good that you know."
When Jiang Bei finished his work and came to see Su Mu, Fu Shinian had already left. There was no one in the ward, and Jiang Bei's anger had nowhere to vent:
"Where is he?"
"He already left."
"Left? I haven't settled the score with him yet, how could you let him go?"
Su Mu smiled, "Having him here just upsets me."
"You can dodge on the first day, but not the fifteenth. I'll remember this his whole life."
Su Mu fell silent for a few seconds:
"Actually, this matter isn't entirely his fault, I didn't know I was pregnant myself."
"Su Mu, your name has the word 'mu' (wood) in it, but do you really think of yourself as a blockhead? This isn't about whether or not you're pregnant. He's abusing you! These injuries on your body are the naked truth of domestic violence! If it weren't for Qiao Yu, that bastard, stopping me from calling the cops, Fu Shinian would be in a police cell by now."
"What's his status? Who in Shen City dares to touch him? It would be useless even if you did call the police. Besides, it's not all his fault."
Jiang Bei was on the verge of exploding:
"Even now, you're still speaking up for him. Are you a masochist?"
No one is born a masochist. Su Mu was willing to yield again and again in this marriage solely because she liked Fu Shinian. But how long her feelings for Fu Shinian could withstand such relentless torture, even she was unsure.
The injuries on Su Mu's body were not serious, but because of the sudden miscarriage, she needed careful recovery. Jiang Bei insisted she stay in the hospital, so she ended up staying for three days. On the fourth day, which was a Saturday, Grandma called her to come home for a meal. Considering she hadn't seen the elderly lady for a long while and worried that Grandma might discover something, Su Mu insisted on leaving the hospital. After completing the discharge procedures, she took a taxi straight back to the family estate.
The old estate was built on the outskirts of the city, with picturesque scenery, ideal for living. When Su Mu arrived, Grandma was directing Auntie Wang to prune the grapevines under the trellis. Seeing her arrival, she greeted her with a warm smile. Su Mu walked over and embraced Grandma, then took the scissors from Auntie Wang:
"Auntie Wang, I'll do it."
Auntie Wang, being advanced in age, didn't bother with formalities anymore and went to wash the pruned grapes, leaving the granddaughter and grandmother alone in the yard.
Today, Su Mu was wearing sportswear. As she reached up to cut the grapes, she revealed a large piece of skin around her waist. Grandma glanced at it and said:
"I heard from Xiao Lin that you haven't been home these few days, what have you been busy with?"
Su Mu paused, then handed a bunch of grapes she had cut to Grandma:
"The company arranged a sudden business trip, I just got back yesterday."
Grandma didn't expose her lie and simply lifted her clothing. Although the marks had faded quite a bit, there were still visible bruises. Su Mu quickly tried to cover them, but it was too late. Grandma was obviously angry:
"Is that how the boy has been treating you?"
"Grandma…"
"What did I tell you before? Don't rush into marriage, test him for a while first. But you, you were hell-bent on getting married. Apart from a marriage license, he didn't even give you a wedding ceremony. Now no one even knows that you're my granddaughter-in-law. Su Su, why are you so stubborn?"
Su Mu put down the scissors and affectionately linked her arm through Grandma's:
"Grandma, Shinian treats me well."
"Is this how he treats you well? Covering you with injuries?"
Before Su Mu could say anything, someone else interjected:
"Grandma, you don't know, but the reason Su Su acts this way is because she likes me. She's just too embarrassed to tell you."
Fu Shinian had appeared at some point, his sudden voice startling Su Mu. She turned to see him leaning against a post of the grape trellis, casually fidgeting with car keys, wearing a carefree look, yet uttering words that made Su Mu feel mortified. She wanted to retort, but what then? How could she reassure Grandma? If she remained silent, what would Grandma think of her?
Fortunately, Grandma didn't overthink it, nor did she ask too many questions, she just glared at Fu Shinian:
"Weren't you not coming back? Why the sudden appearance, trying to scare whom?"
Fu Shinian walked over, his eyes impassively sweeping past Su Mu:
"I was just worried that someone might complain to you about me."
"Susu never said a single bad word about you to me, but as for you, stop looking for those high-sounding excuses. If you keep treating Susu this way, I will definitely make you two divorce."
While verbally agreeing with the old lady, Fu Shinian pushed Grandma into the room, and where Grandma couldn't see, he shot Su Mu a full-blown warning glare. Su Mu understood that no matter how sincerely she treated Grandma, in Fu Shinian's eyes, it was always ulterior.
No matter what the marital dynamics between Su Mu and Fu Shinian were, or whatever feelings Fu Shinian had for Su Mu, it was undeniable that Grandma had always been very fond of Su Mu. In her words, from the first sight of Su Mu, she was the granddaughter-in-law she had chosen for herself, and it was Fu Shinian's good fortune to have been able to marry her in his past life.
Out of affection for Grandma, Su Mu and Fu Shinian performed an astonishing rapport in front of the elders, every frown and smile, every gesture they made seemed like that of the most loving couple, leaving no flaws for Grandma to detect, and she was joyfully deceived.
It started raining after dinner, and since the next day was the weekend, Grandma refused to let them leave. Although the old mansion had their room, Su Mu did not want to stay; she didn't want to share a room with Fu Shinian, but before she could think of an excuse, Fu Shinian had already nodded in agreement:
"Of course, we should. We'll come back every weekend from now on to stay with Grandma for a day."
Fu Shinian took a call and then went back to his room. Su Mu stayed in the living room chatting with Grandma, but she didn't dare to chat too late to avoid arousing Grandma's suspicion. As soon as it was past nine o'clock, she said goodnight to Grandma and went back to her room.
When Su Mu entered the room, Fu Shinian had already changed into home clothes and was leaning on the bed reading a book. Seeing her come in, he revealed a mocking smile:
"I thought you were going to sleep in Grandma's room tonight."
"I'm not the only one who cares about Grandma."
After saying this, Su Mu ignored his meaningful gaze and, taking her change of clothes from the walk-in closet, went directly into the bathroom. When she came out, Fu Shinian was already lying down. As she carefully got into the bed, he stopped her:
"Roll onto the sofa and sleep there."
Su Mu was startled but didn't even consider arguing with him, lest Grandma notice anything. She took a pillow and then got a blanket from the walk-in closet and nestled onto the sofa.
When Su Mu opened her eyes the next day, she realized she had woken up late—at seven o'clock, half an hour later than her usual precise biological clock. She wondered if it was because she had slept too much in the hospital recently and had become lazy.
Fu Shinian was no longer in the room. When Su Mu opened the curtains and aired out the room on the balcony, she saw a man standing with his hands behind his back on the lawn in the yard, teasing the Chinese pastoral dog that Auntie Wang had adopted from outside, a gentle morning sun softly enveloping him, adding warmth to the scene.
After breakfast, Fu Shinian received a call and had to leave. Grandma looked at him unhappily:
"It's the weekend, can't you stay at home and spend time with Susu? You've been married for two years now; it's time to take the matter of children seriously."
Fu Shinian stood aside, glanced at Su Mu sitting next to Grandma, and smiled meaningfully:
"Old lady, are you suggesting that I take Su Mu upstairs to make a baby now? You are nearly 80, how come you're so open-minded, caring so much about our private affairs?"
"Don't give me those useless talks," Grandma glared at him. "You know I'm nearly 80. Who knows how long I will live after the surgery two years ago. If you really care for me, then quickly give me a great-grandchild to dote on, otherwise I won't be able to rest in peace even when I'm underground."
"Old lady, you needn't worry about that. The doctor said you don't have any signs of rejection, so living to a ripe old age shouldn't be a problem. As for the child..." Fu Shinian looked at Su Mu, "you should ask Su Mu about that. If she wants to have one, I'm ready anytime."
Grandma sensed the implication in these words and looked at Su Mu with confusion:
"Susu, is it that you don't want children? Why not?"
Looking at Fu Shinian, who only raised an eyebrow and smiled without intending to speak, Su Mu had no choice but to explain:
"Grandma, I'm just not ready yet."
Fu Shinian picked up his car keys and looked innocently at Grandma:
"You heard her, old lady. It's not that I don't want to, it's that Su Mu isn't ready. I can't force these things, can I?"
"Why isn't Susu ready? If you give her enough security and assurance, would she not want to?"
Fu Shinian clicked his tongue:
"Old lady, you really do favor one over the other."
"Off you go, hurry up and leave, I don't want to see you."
After Fu Shinian left, Grandma didn't ask about the children anymore, only saying that Su Mu looked pale and should go upstairs to rest. Su Mu did so to prevent Grandma from finding anything amiss, and after dealing with several emails, someone forcefully pushed open the door to her room. Sitting in the chair with her eyes closed and resting, Su Mu got startled.
Su Shiyue appeared at the door, looking at her with a displeased expression:
"I came to see Grandma. I heard you were here too, so I came upstairs to greet you."
Su Mu stood up:
"When did you come back?"
"Does it concern you? This is my house, I come back whenever I want. As for you, the mistress, just how long do you plan to monopolize my brother?"