RGL – Chapter 188

She had to admit, over the years, Su Wenwen really had gotten smarter. Maybe it was because she had done too many bad things and gained experience, but this time there really wasn’t any evidence to make Su Wenwen receive the punishment she deserved.

Sun Qiufang stepped closer, grabbing Su Wenwen’s collar, and said viciously, “Don’t think our Minzi has no one protecting her. I’m telling you, if you ever harm her again, I don’t care if I lose my life, I’ll drag you down with me.”

“Sister-in-law, that’s not the right attitude.” Su Changgui tried to intervene, but just as he reached out, Su Changrong stopped him. “Your sister-in-law is saying exactly what I want to say. If something like this happens again, I’ll be the first not to let Wenwen off. Changgui, you should rein her in too. Don’t go on disgracing yourself at your age.”

Being rebuked like this by Su Changrong, Su Changgui was so furious he couldn’t even speak.

Sun Qiufang shoved Su Wenwen away, glaring at her. “You’d better remember today.”

Now that things had blown up, the two sides had completely torn their faces apart. When Su Min left, she leaned in close to Su Wenwen and said, “Some things the law can’t resolve, but I can find other ways. Su Wenwen, don’t ever test my bottom line again.”

Su Wenwen bit her lip hard, fists clenched, standing frozen in place.

After the Su Min family left, Shao Yun finally burst into tears. “Why am I so unlucky, stuck with someone so troublesome? She’s even more of a headache than my own son.”

Then she turned to Su Changgui. “Changgui, you saw it yourself today. She’s already done such things. From now on, we can’t associate with Eldest Brother’s family. And last time with Third Brother’s family, it was also because she spoke out of turn and provoked Su Can—otherwise nothing would’ve happened. Now look, we’ve offended two households already. We’ll really end up isolated. Changgui, today you have to make a stand. Do you want this family, or this daughter?”

Shao Yun’s attitude was firm, unwilling to let the matter drop.

Her son Li Jun tried to comfort her, but she shoved him away. “This is none of your business, you’re just a child.”

Li Jun, who had always been obedient, immediately went quietly to his room with his books after being scolded.

In the living room, only Su Wenwen and the couple remained. Su Wenwen wanted to retreat to her room—after being threatened by Su Min’s family, she was both afraid and angry, her emotions a complete mess.

But Shao Yun wouldn’t let her go. She pulled her back. “You’re not leaving. We have to settle this today. It’s the New Year, I’ve worked hard, and yet there are so many infuriating things at home—I can’t live like this anymore.”

Su Changgui had nothing to say, but when he heard Shao Yun saying she couldn’t live like this, he instinctively asked, “What do you mean by that? What do you mean you can’t live like this?”

Shao Yun bit her lip and stayed silent, but Su Wenwen sneered. “What else could she mean? Obviously she wants to divorce you. Honestly, at her age, still dreaming about remarrying? Ridiculous.”

“Pah! You’re the one dreaming of remarrying!” Shao Yun’s face turned green from Su Wenwen’s insult.

Su Changgui widened his eyes at her. “Is what Wenwen said true? You really want a divorce?”

Being stared at like that, Shao Yun’s heart faltered, but she pursed her lips and forced herself to remain calm. “I didn’t say I wanted a divorce. I just want you to make a choice—either this troublemaking daughter, or me, your wife. If you choose her, then we’ll divorce. If you choose me, then you have to kick her out today. Even Gao Hong won’t take care of her anymore, so why should we? I just want a few years of peace.”

“Why should I be kicked out? This is my dad’s house,” Su Wenwen lifted her chin and said.

Su Changgui also spoke up, “Shao Yun, that’s too much. We’re still one family.” In the past, he would have chosen Shao Yun without hesitation, but now that he was older, he understood that companionship was fleeting—blood ties were what truly mattered. And in his whole life, Su Changgui had only this one daughter.

Hearing this, Shao Yun realized he was trying to muddle things and sneered coldly. “I’m not being unreasonable. I’ve had enough all these years. Why should Gao Hong shirk her and leave her to me? She keeps doing shameful things—who in the neighborhood still respects our family? Anyway, it’s up to you. Either you and your daughter get out today, or I will.”

“Shao Yun, get this straight—this is my house!” Su Changgui’s eyes bulged with fury, veins popping on his face. Other than Gao Hong, he’d never taken this kind of abuse from anyone in his life.

But Shao Yun wasn’t afraid at all. She sneered, “Whose house it is, I decide.”

Su Changgui snorted. “The deed has my name on it.”

“That deed I gave you is useless. Take it out and see if it works. I knew long ago you weren’t reliable. When we bought the house, I kept a backup plan and had it registered under Junjun’s name. This house belongs to Junjun. Neither you nor your daughter can claim it. Even if we go to court, the law is on my side!”

At this moment, Shao Yun was extremely thankful for her foresight. She had known from the start that a man like Su Changgui, who had divorced Gao Hong, might one day divorce her too. As a woman with little education or ability, buying a house in the city was nearly impossible. She couldn’t risk ending up back in the countryside with her son—she had to secure his future. “Luckily you never bothered about these things all these years. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the chance.”

Su Changgui looked at her uncertainly. “Y-You mean all this is true?”

“Of course it’s true.” With the upper hand, Shao Yun was fearless now. She had her son and the house—without Su Changgui, life would be even better.

Su Wenwen was so enraged she lunged at Shao Yun. “You vixen! You were the one who ruined my parents’ marriage, and now you’re trying to steal my house! I’ll kill you!”

She moved fiercely, but her strength couldn’t compare to Shao Yun’s. The moment she pounced, Shao Yun grabbed her and raked her nails across Wenwen’s face.

Hearing the commotion, Li Jun rushed out of his room. He quickly pulled Su Wenwen away, standing protectively in front of his mother and glaring fiercely. “Don’t you dare bully my mom!”

Unable to win, Su Wenwen turned to Su Changgui. “Dad, aren’t you going to help me?”

Su Changgui’s fingers twitched. He was just about to strike at Shao Yun when she shouted loudly, “If you hit me, I’ll sue you for domestic violence. Then we’ll be divorced. Su Changgui, let’s see where you’ll live after that!”

At those words, Su Changgui froze, his hand suspended in the air. Hesitation filled his face.

Knowing him well, Shao Yun pressed on, “If you treat me properly, I’ll stay here with you, and Junjun won’t abandon you. But if you keep meddling in Su Wenwen’s affairs and dragging trouble into this house, I’ll divorce you. Think carefully—who can you really count on, her or me? Your daughter can’t even take care of herself now. Gao Hong was smarter than you—she doesn’t even show her face around her anymore.”

As his longtime partner, Shao Yun knew exactly what was on Su Changgui’s mind. She knew why he had suddenly started caring about Su Wenwen this year, so she cut straight to the point.

Sure enough, the hesitation on Su Changgui’s face deepened. He lowered his head, refusing to look at Shao Yun or Su Wenwen. He slumped onto the sofa, lit a cigarette, and smoked in silence.

When Su Wenwen saw his stance, she immediately understood—he had no intention of interfering in this matter.

“Dad, you’re really treating me like this?”

Su Wenwen trembled all over as she looked at him.

Su Changgui kept his head down and said, “This time you really went too far. Why did you have to mess with Minzi for no reason? Otherwise your aunt wouldn’t be this angry.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong! It’s you who are wrong!” Su Wenwen pointed a trembling finger at him. “You never cared about me since I was little, otherwise I wouldn’t have grown up without love. Su Min, just a country girl, why does she get to live so well? Just because she has a good father? Why don’t I have one? It’s all your fault, not mine!”

Her expression twisted with agitation as she accused him.

Su Changgui puffed silently on his cigarette, ignoring her. Shao Yun was right—a daughter like this was better not to have. Since she harbored such resentment against him, no matter how well he treated her, it would be useless. In the future, she wouldn’t take care of him anyway, so why should he sacrifice even his own place of shelter for her?

Seeing that Su Changgui had already made up his mind, Shao Yun felt delighted. She pulled Li Jun along to Su Wenwen’s room, casually stuffed her things into a bag, threw it outside the door, then pushed the person out as well. Blocking the doorway, she said coldly, “Go find Gao Hong. She’s your real mother. Don’t come to us anymore. From today on, this family has no place for you.”

With that, she shut the door firmly.

No matter how hard Su Wenwen banged and pounded outside, the three people inside ignored her. Shao Yun sent Li Jun to his room to read and then sat on the sofa with Su Changgui, turning the TV volume up high. After a while she said, “You cook dinner tonight. I’m really upset.”

Su Changgui’s hand froze mid-smoke before he finally replied, “Got it.”

Although it was the second day of the New Year, the county town wasn’t lively at night. Most people stayed home for the holiday; few wandered outside. Su Wenwen dragged her bag down the street. The cold wind cut at her, and she shivered all over.

She had just been thrown out of the house, wearing only a single layer of clothing, freezing miserably. Her bag held almost no money—just twenty yuan hidden in a piece of clothing earlier.

“How dare they treat me like this? I won’t let them off!”

She stomped her foot viciously.

With only twenty yuan, she could barely afford a tiny inn for a night or two. Sniffling, she headed west toward the busier part of town. The county wasn’t big—after only twenty minutes she reached the western market district.

There were a few small private inns here. The moment she, a thinly dressed young woman, walked into one, several people at the front desk turned their eyes on her. Anyone who could run a place like this naturally had some shady background. The way they stared made Su Wenwen’s skin crawl, but she didn’t dare leave.

Stiffly, she completed the check-in process and hurried to her room with her bag.

The inn’s room was damp and dark, the conditions awful. Su Wenwen had never suffered before—she had always stayed in proper hotels. Suddenly being forced into a place like this made her unbearably uncomfortable. Lying on the bed only deepened the darkness festering in her heart.

She thought of her situation. Twenty yuan wouldn’t last two days here. Once the money ran out, she’d be homeless, sleeping on the streets.

And all of this, every bit of her suffering, was because of Su Min’s family showing up today to cause trouble. If not for them, she wouldn’t be living such a miserable life.

Right now, Su Min must be in their spacious provincial city house, eating and drinking well, while she was abandoned, thrown out, spending the New Year in this wretched dump.

“Su Min, what gives you the right?!”

Her muttering was laced with venom.

Now she truly had nothing—utterly nothing. Looking back on her life, she felt as though every misfortune had been because of Su Min. If not for Su Min, her grandfather wouldn’t have gone to prison, her parents wouldn’t have divorced, and she wouldn’t have fallen from a once-prized daughter to this wretched state. Yet Su Min lived so well—she had a career, and even found a man like Xue Mian. Her future would only grow brighter.

Why? Just because she had a family who loved her!

But if she had no family…

Su Min stayed home until the eighth day of the New Year. Other than going shopping with Sun Qiufang, she spent the time watching TV or catching up on sleep. After all, she was busy year-round—during holidays, she only wanted proper rest.

But someone refused to give her that chance. On the ninth day, he chased her down all the way from B City.

Since he had already met her parents, this time Xue Mian entered openly and honorably, moving into the Su family’s guest room.

“You came all the way here—what about your grandparents?”

“My aunt and uncle went to spend New Year with them. Aunt stayed behind to accompany them, so I came. Don’t worry, I’ll only stay a couple of days.”

The two whispered secretly on the balcony, while Su Changrong in the living room felt bitter. He had painstakingly raised his daughter, only for someone to come and snatch her away. His feelings were complicated and heavy.

Sun Qiufang even came over to rub salt in, saying, “The two of them seem really close. I think once Minzi graduates, we should just hold the wedding and put our minds at ease. Young people are prone to mistakes.”

“We’ll talk about it later. It’s not like we can’t afford to wait.” Su Changrong wasn’t ready to agree.

Sun Qiufang glared at him. “Yanyan is only two years older than Minzi, and she’s about to marry already. Minzi shouldn’t wait too long.”

“Alright, alright.”

Su Changrong didn’t want to continue. Saying “when the son grows up he marries, when the daughter grows up she marries” might apply to other families, but in his heart, his own child would never be old enough—she wasn’t suited for marriage yet.

With Xue Mian there, Su Min had company. Sun Qiufang didn’t restrict them. She and Su Changrong went to the company during the day, leaving the two to themselves. She didn’t worry too much, believing in the children’s character at home.

Seizing the chance, Xue Mian revealed another reason for his trip.

“Do you remember when Liao Zhaodi’s sister’s factory caught fire?”

“Of course. Why?”

“I asked Han Lei to investigate. Turns out it was arson—two local thugs in B City did it. Han Lei happened to be stationed at the Southern Military District, so he found out. The two have already been arrested, but they confessed it was on someone’s orders.”

Su Min was shocked—it was deliberate. “Did they say who? Why would people from B City come all the way south to set fire?” Then a thought hit her, and her eyes widened. “Could it be Zhou Wu?”

Xue Mian shook his head. “They said it was a young woman. I remember Su Wenwen was in B City at the time, so I suspect…”

“It was Su Wenwen!” Su Min said firmly. She had witnessed Su Wenwen’s madness and knew she had the motive. At that time, Su Wenwen was with Zhou Wu—if Liao Laidi collapsed, Zhou Wu’s divorce would be all the more certain.

“But is there proof? This is a serious case. If it really was Su Wenwen, can we just let her run free?”

“Don’t worry. The police from G City have already come down. They may soon want someone to identify her.”

“I know where she is. I’ll take them when the time comes.” Su Min’s voice carried determination. She truly loathed Su Wenwen—this woman was like a poisonous viper, a complete lunatic.

“No, I need to warn my parents to be careful at the company. We run so many supermarkets—if Su Wenwen goes crazy now, it’ll be bad.” Su Min suddenly grew alarmed.

Even Liao Laidi, who hadn’t provoked her, was attacked. She and Su Wenwen had been enemies for life, and just days ago Su Wenwen had come spewing threats. Who knew what she might do next?