Xi Muqian's car was stopped unexpectedly at the foot of the mountain.
"Mr. Xi, do we need to..." Security personnel at the checkpoint immediately surrounded the area.
Xi Muqian waved his hand with a gentle smile, "There's no need, he's an acquaintance of mine."
When the car window rolled down, Chen Jin's face appeared outside, and Su Li was quite surprised.
But aside from that emotion, there was nothing else.
After a brief glance, she turned her head and started to fiddle with her nails, treating the person in front of her like a stranger she didn't recognize.
Xi Muqian felt very satisfied with Su Li's attitude at that moment and with a smile, said to Chen Jin, "It's been a long time, old classmate...."
Chen Jin did not respond to Xi Muqian's words; his gaze was fixed on Su Li the whole time.
He didn't miss a single change in her facial expression.
The tension, unease, guilt, and vulnerability he had imagined weren't reflected on Su Li's face at all.
Seeing this, Xi Muqian's smile faded slightly, and he leaned forward, resting on the car window and blocking Su Li's body.
He disliked Chen Jin's gaze....
When his view was blocked, Chen Jin finally directed his gaze toward Xi Muqian's face.
"How come you two are together?" Chen Jin's tone was cold and sharp.
Xi Muqian's attractive eyes couldn't help but raise as he retorted, "Why can't we be?"
"A friend's wife should not be coveted..."
Xi Muqian burst into laughter, "You already have someone new, what right do you have to say that?"
"Do you still remember what I told you before I went abroad?"
A blend of awkwardness surged within Chen Jin as he turned his head, hoping to catch a glimpse of Su Li.
Su Li happened to look up, their eyes met, and hers held nothing, not even a hint of a ripple.
It was only then that Chen Jin finally realized Su Li had truly changed, truly became indifferent to him...
But he couldn't accept it, not after more than twenty years of affection....
He still loved her.
Watching the car gradually pull away, a storm brewed in Chen Jin's eyes.
"Dad, I've found Su Li, she's now in Shanghai...."
---------------
"Are you just taking her away? It's so late; why not just stay over here, Yaya's getting sleepy."
Su Li looked at Mrs. Xi speechlessly, this ability to tell barefaced lies...
Seeing Yaya happily playing with Mr. Xi on the side, she didn't know what to say.
Mr. and Mrs. Xi both appeared scholarly, even carrying a hint of intellectual aloofness, making them seem not very approachable.
But now, the two elderly figures, whose ages combined were over a hundred years, were blinking innocently and hopefully, looking at Su Li with stars in their eyes.
Xi Muqian silently praised his parents for their divine assistance and touched his head, saying softly with slight embarrassment, "These two really are..."
"It's because you never get married. Your mom and I are over sixty... Everyone else has sweet grandchildren to spoil, and we have none. How is that fair to us?"
Mrs. Xi clutched at her heart and aimed her anger at her unfortunate son, then joyfully grabbed Su Li's hand, smiling like the wolf in grandmother's clothing, "Xiao Li, Yaya really hit it off with us. How about letting her stay here with us for a few days?"
"Yaya, would you like to stay with grandma and grandpa for a few days? Let grandpa take you fishing...."
"I'd love to... Mom, you go do your things, come pick me up after you're done."
Su Li was speechless, her ungrateful little...
After Xi Muqian escorted Su Li out, Mr. Xi adjusted his glasses and curiously asked his wife, "Is this the girl that's been keeping our son from marrying?"
"Exactly, he's hidden her photos all over his room, and they're all taken secretly..."
----------
The next morning, Su Li hadn't fully woken up yet, but the noisy banging and clattering at the door kept her from sleeping.
"Su Li, open the door."
With increasingly loud roars, the banging on the door grew louder.
Su Li abruptly opened the door. Mr. Su was still in the motion of knocking, while Mrs. Su, looking haggard, stood silently to one side, holding Doudou's hand.
Doudou was still bleary-eyed, his hair messy, and his clothes haphazard, as if he'd been pulled from his bed, still not fully awake.
Clearly, the three of them had taken the earliest bus from Su City to Shanghai before dawn.
Su Li bypassed Mr. Su blocking the door, scooped Doudou into her arms, and softly said, "Doudou, go back to sleep for a bit..."
Doudou sleepily nodded and collapsed into Su Li's arms, drifting back asleep.
Su Li placed the child on her own bedroom bed, gently closed the door, then turned around with a cold face and went out.
She crossed her arms and asked indifferently, "What brings you here?"
Mr. Su, who had been held back and persuaded by his wife, lost his temper at Su Li's words.
Unexpectedly, he raised his hand to slap Su Li's face.
However, Su Li quickly stepped back, causing Mr. Su's attempt to miss.
"You dare to dodge?" Mr. Su glared with eyes wide as brass bells, his hands trembling, a face full of grief.
"Did Chen Jin send you to make trouble?"
"I'm unaware that he had sunk to such despicable depths."
It was obvious. After encountering Chen Jin last night, her parents, who didn't have her contact details, had accurately found her this morning and even brought her brother, clearly planning to coerce her with her own family.
Such tactics repeatedly used, didn't he know they were overly annoying?
"Yes, your son-in-law said he saw you in Shanghai and was worried..." Mrs. Su's face twisted with worry as she questioned further, "Also... your son-in-law mentioned he saw you being very intimate with another man..."
Before Mrs. Su could finish, Mr. Su started cursing, "Shameless, you have completely disgraced me."
The half-mocking, questioning phone call from Chen Jin last night had left him seething, unable to sleep all night.
"What son-in-law... I've already divorced Chen Jin, there's no tie left, even if you claim him as a son-in-law, I don't acknowledge him."
Su Li's chilly demeanor deeply hurt the Su Family's parents.
"I really don't understand. Clearly, I'm your daughter, yet why do you always pressure me, torment me for the sake of outsiders... to continue extending kindness and forgiveness to someone who hurt your daughter."
"Why is your kindness, your goodness always extended to outsiders, yet you're stingy with even a little of it towards your own daughter?"
Pleading and filled with sorrow, Su Li's questions were all things she had long found incomprehensible.