RGL – Chapter 179

Su Min didn’t plan to dwell on the issue any longer. She took a deep breath and said, “That day I went to your house to look for you—Saturday—I saw Sun Manli. She said she was meeting your parents. What’s your take on that?”

Although she had chosen to trust him in her heart, she still wanted to hear him explain clearly.

When Xue Mian heard the question, he quickly said, “I really didn’t know they were coming that day. I wanted them to leave, but I was sick.” As he spoke, he couldn’t help but sound a bit aggrieved, his voice somewhat weak. “I was so ill I couldn’t even get out of bed, let alone chase them away. Later, my uncle told me you had come by, and I wanted to go find you, but I was too weak, so he took me to the hospital.”

That matched what Li Weisi had said.

Su Min quietly let out a sigh of relief. The knot in her heart suddenly unraveled.

So all these days, she had just been torturing herself for nothing.

Wouldn’t everything have been fine if they had just talked things through clearly from the beginning? Instead, she had to act like a dramatic little girl and jump to wild conclusions. Great—she ended up dragging both herself and the other party through emotional turmoil. So melodramatic!

Seeing Su Min’s expression shift back and forth, Xue Mian felt unsure of what she was thinking. He cautiously tested the waters and said in a low voice, “What I said is all true…”

“I know,” Su Min replied awkwardly, her face flushing red. In this matter, she had indeed made a mountain out of a molehill and wrongfully suspected him. Though she had the courage to admit her mistake, she still felt a little embarrassed.

Seeing Xue Mian looking at her with hopeful, nervous eyes, her heart suddenly stirred. She reached out, cupped his face, and, under his stunned expression, kissed him.

“Mm—”

Xue Mian’s eyes widened, like countless marshmallows had suddenly landed on his heart, warm and tingling.

Just as he was about to respond, Su Min pulled away. Her face bright red, she looked at him and said, “This time it was my fault. In the future, I’ll ask you directly if anything comes up. I won’t wrong you again. But… you mustn’t hide anything from me anymore either.”

Xue Mian felt a brief moment of disappointment, but as soon as he heard Su Min’s words, his heart lit up. “You’re not angry anymore?”

“I wasn’t that angry to begin with,” Su Min said awkwardly, biting her lip.

Hearing that, a smile broke out on Xue Mian’s face. His dark eyes sparkled even more brightly. Seeing Su Min biting her lip, he felt emboldened, reached out to pull her into his arms, and kissed her with a smile.

Warm, soft, and sweet.

So this is what a kiss feels like—so comfortable.

Xue Mian closed his eyes, completely entranced.

The people at Xiuse noticed their boss had changed quite a bit.

Not only had she started paying more attention to her appearance, but she also left work much earlier each day. She was always smiling now—completely different from her previously serious and rigid demeanor.

Zhang Qingqing, having been through it herself, noticed right away.

“She must be seeing someone,” she said. Now that she was basking in the sweetness of love herself, she could easily relate to such feelings.

Liao Zhaodi also noticed. One day, she brought a report to the office and saw Su Min blushing furiously as she wrote something. She quietly covered her mouth and stood to the side. After waiting quite a while and seeing Su Min still hadn’t noticed her, she finally coughed twice.

Only then did Su Min snap out of it and pat her face. “What is it?”

“Nothing, just wanted to let you know—the new product line has gone into production, and there are plenty of orders.”

This time, the main products were the ones Su Min had originally planned to present at the Paris Fashion Show. She had poured a lot of effort into them, and naturally, they were of excellent quality.

Su Min smiled as she took the report, glanced at the data, and was quite pleased.

Even though she hadn’t made it to the Paris Fashion Show, she didn’t feel regretful. After all, it was Li Weisi who had secured that opportunity for her—it was never truly hers to begin with. Losing it wasn’t a big deal.

After reviewing the report, Liao Zhaodi planned to request a few days off.

With summer break approaching, she intended to travel south for a few days to visit her two older sisters.

Since the new product launch would already be completed during summer vacation, things at the company would be relatively quiet. Su Min didn’t hesitate to approve her leave. “You’re going alone? Oh, right—I forgot your brother-in-law is there too. Are you two going together?”

“No, I’m going alone. I’ll just take the train, and they’ll pick me up when I arrive. As for my brother-in-law, I haven’t been in touch with him for a long time.” Though he was technically family, he still felt like a stranger to her, and she had no desire to interact with him.

After work, Su Min quickly packed up and left the office.

Xue Mian was being discharged today. She had been too busy to pick him up in the morning, so she planned to go find him early, and they could have dinner together.

After that little spat, they were now truly in a relationship.

Everything they hadn’t dared to do before—they were doing now.

Just as she walked out of the company gates, a familiar car was parked near the curb. Su Min’s heart skipped a beat as she started walking over, and just then, the car door opened. A young man in a short-sleeved shirt stepped out. Though a bit thinner than before, he still looked tall and upright.

“You came over? Weren’t you discharged today?” Her tone carried an involuntary hint of affection.

Xue Mian grinned. “I came over once I was done.” As he spoke, he reached for Su Min’s hand. “Come on, I’ll take you to eat something good.”

Although neither of them were fond of eating out, they both enjoyed the feeling of being alone together.

Xue Mian’s plan was to buy a new place where he could bring Su Min over and cook for her himself. But this little dream of his—he only dared to think about it, not say it aloud. Things already felt like a dream to him, and he didn’t want to push his luck.

Thinking back to that soft, melting kiss earlier, he subconsciously licked his lips, wondering when he might get to experience that sweetness again.

The thought warmed his heart, and he turned to look at the person beside him—only to see her gazing out the window, lost in thought.

“What are you looking at?”

Su Min watched for a moment, then frowned and said, “I just saw Su Wenwen with someone.” The person looked familiar… but she shook her head. I’m probably just overthinking. No way it’s that much of a coincidence.

When Xue Mian heard the name Su Wenwen, he frowned. “Don’t worry about her business.”

“I didn’t plan to interfere either,” Su Min replied absentmindedly.

She no longer intended to have any ties with Su Wenwen—otherwise, she wouldn’t have stood by and watched last time. Still, she had a feeling Su Wenwen wouldn’t give up so easily. This woman was even more extreme than in their past life. Now that she knew she was here, who knew what extreme things she might do in the future?

Meanwhile, Su Wenwen was currently dragging Zhou Wu around the mall.

Zhou Wu’s business in this city was now up and running. A factory in the South was supplying him directly, and he had opened a small company here to sell the factory’s products. He didn’t even have to handle negotiations—his wife, Liao Laidi, would come and take care of that. All he had to do was maintain the operations. So his days were very leisurely.

Now, with Su Wenwen accompanying him, life felt even more carefree and indulgent. He was already enjoying himself so much that he didn’t want to go back. So, when Liao Laidi called and asked him to return, he didn’t want to go. Instead, he planned to find a nice house here and settle down.

“By the way, Zhou Wu, isn’t your sister-in-law going to the South? Are you going back?” Su Wenwen pouted as she looked at Zhou Wu, who had a rather honest and simple-looking face.

In her heart, she actually looked down on this man. He wasn’t handsome, nor was he particularly smart. His temperament was also soft and spineless, with no manly aura at all.

But right now, she had nowhere else to go. On top of that, there was the complicated relationship between Su Min and Liao Zhaodi. So she had no choice but to endure and stay by Zhou Wu’s side.

After being in City B for quite some time, she had now become familiar with the place and had learned about Su Min’s background.

Some things… it was time to start preparing.

After finishing the final exam, summer break had officially arrived.

Many students had already made plans—especially those from out of town. As soon as the exams were over, they packed their things and rushed to the train station with their luggage.

Su Min also planned to go to the station.

But not to return home—she was there to see Liao Zhaodi off for her train.

“I told you not to bother seeing me off. I don’t have much luggage. You should go back and enjoy your break. Spend time with Xue Mian,” said Liao Zhaodi, gesturing toward Xue Mian beside her.

Su Min shot a sideways glance at Xue Mian, who was grinning to himself, and ignored him. “While you’re down South, take the chance to scout the market a bit—see if there’s any interest in our type of clothing.”

“You’re thinking of expanding to the South?” Zhaodi asked curiously.

She felt that the situation in the North was much better than the South’s. After all, this was the capital—policies here were released earlier, and connections were more extensive.

Su Min shook her head. “Just trying to understand things. Maybe it’ll come in handy in the future.”

Zhaodi nodded. “Alright, leave it to me. Once I get there, I’ll do a market survey. Don’t worry.”

“No need to go out of your way for me. Just enjoy yourself,” Su Min smiled, then asked, “By the way, where’s your brother-in-law? Doesn’t he know you’re heading South today?”

After all, he was technically Zhaodi’s only family here. It was odd he didn’t come to see her off.

Zhaodi sighed. “I don’t know either. I haven’t seen him in a long time. Besides, my sister isn’t here, and I’m not close with him. I did tell him about it, but he didn’t seem to care much. Forget it. It doesn’t matter—as long as you’re here to see me off.”

Since Zhaodi had already said so, Su Min didn’t want to press the issue. Better not to stir up conflict between family members—it wasn’t something to shine a light on.

Once the train arrived, Zhaodi quickly boarded with her luggage. After finding her seat, she waved goodbye to them through the window.

As the train finally left the station, Su Min let out a light sigh. She also wanted to visit the South. Even though she had traveled quite a bit in this life, she knew the South would develop rapidly in the future. She was curious about what it was like there now.

But there was too much going on at the company, and she couldn’t get away. Plus, she still needed to visit her parents—time was just too tight.

Seeing the lost look on her face, Xue Mian’s eyes dimmed. He thought she was sad about her friend leaving and felt a pang of jealousy. “It’s okay. Zhaodi’s not here, but I am. I’ll spend more time with you every day, alright?”

Su Min turned to him with a smile. “Who needs your company? I’m very busy.” Then she cheerfully turned and walked toward the station exit.

Ever since they had cleared the air, this man had become even clingier. She saw him at all three meals a day. He even remembered her class schedule better than she did. On days with no classes, he’d show up at the school before she could even head to the company.

Looking at the handsome and elegant Xue Mian, she couldn’t help but recall their time together in high school. Her heart stirred with emotion. Who would’ve thought that the once arrogant little boy would one day become her lover?

Xue Mian smiled and caught up, reaching out to pull her into his arms.

“It’s hot.”

“It’s not. My body runs cool—feel it.”

Su Min pursed her lips but had to admit—this man really had an air conditioner’s body. Cool in summer, warm in winter.

With Zhaodi gone, everything at the company fell onto Su Min’s shoulders. She was busier than ever and barely had time to call home.

Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang kept thinking about their daughter. When she didn’t return home for the summer break, they grew worried.

They hadn’t forgotten that their daughter had already been “abducted” by that Xue boy during the New Year. Now that she wasn’t even coming home for summer, what would happen once they got married? Would she never come back?

That possibility filled Su Changrong with jealousy and sadness.

Sigh, they say daughters are destined to marry out—turns out it’s true.

“Why don’t we go to City B and visit her? She said she’s busy, right? The company has grown big, and she’s likely swamped,” Sun Qiufang said, uneasy. She was worried her daughter might be bullied by that Xue boy.

Dating was one thing—but some matters were a whole different story.

Their child was still young—she needed to be looked after and given some motherly advice.

Su Changrong was thinking the same. He immediately agreed, “Perfect. We also need to talk to her about opening a new branch in another province.”

Their business had grown so large that they had supermarkets not just in the provincial capital and nearby cities, but now even wanted to expand into other provinces.

Thinking about the current development map of Rongfang Supermarket, Su Changrong felt like he was dreaming. In the past, he could never have imagined owning such a business. Now he could confidently say that in the provincial capital, he was one of the wealthiest people around.

With even greater success on the horizon, Su Changrong felt it was only right to share it with his daughter—after all, everything would belong to her one day.

The couple quickly made plans. Su Changrong went to the company to handle work arrangements, while Sun Qiufang stayed home to prepare her daughter’s favorite dishes.

But the day before their departure, an unexpected guest arrived.

“Zhang Hui? What are you doing here?” Sun Qiufang was shocked to see the haggard woman at her door.

Ever since leaving the county town, she hadn’t had any contact with Zhang Hui. To be honest, she still held a grudge about what Zhang Hui did—trying to sacrifice her own daughter’s future for her stepson.

Zhang Hui licked her dry lips and said, “Qiufang, do you know where Zhaodi is? I… I want to see her.”

As she spoke, her eyes reddened with tears.

“Oh, don’t cry. Come in first, we can talk inside.”

She stepped aside and invited Zhang Hui in.

Zhang Hui nodded and quickly entered. It had taken her many inquiries to finally find the Su family’s address.

Looking at the beautifully renovated, upscale house, Zhang Hui felt a wave of emotion. Back when Su Changrong and his wife were collecting scrap in the county town, they weren’t doing as well as she and Zhu Qiang. But now they had such a thriving business, while she and Zhu Qiang… People really were at the mercy of fate. It seemed her own fate had truly been an unfortunate one.