RGL – Chapter 95

Sure enough, in just a single moment of thought, so many things had already changed.

Looking back now, she felt that her decision to go into business with Su Min had been the right one.

After eating, the group headed over to the accessories stall to buy some hair clips and hairpins.

In the past, Su Min hadn’t been very interested in such things. She felt she wasn’t a teenage girl anymore—so long as she was dressed neatly and not worse than others, there was no need to adorn herself flamboyantly.

But now, she had come around. Since she had returned to such a young age, she wanted to experience it just like any other girl: wear pretty clothes, put on beautiful accessories, and, when the time came, learn to apply refined makeup. Then, when she grew old and looked back on her life, she’d know it hadn’t been lived in vain.

Sun Yan and Liao Zhaodi’s thoughts weren’t as complicated as Su Min’s.

They were simply thinking about money. Still, since it was rare to come out like this, both of them picked out a couple of nice hair clips after some deliberation.

The shop assistant brought over a mirror for them to try the accessories on.

The girls stood in front of the mirror, smiling and tilting their heads as they admired the clips in their hair.

“So pretty. But Sun Yan’s looks the best—her hairstyle suits it. I should get the same cut someday. That way I won’t even have to comb my hair in the morning,” Liao Zhaodi said, touching her ponytail. Every morning she had to comb it, and washing it was an even bigger hassle. She was considering cutting it short for convenience.

Sun Yan laughed. “Looks good, doesn’t it? This style’s really popular now. Lots of students have it. You’ve got an oval face—it’ll look great on you.”

Su Min watched the two of them happily discussing hairstyles and couldn’t help but feel emotional. She had almost missed out on these wonderful years.

This age—should be lived freely.

“Su Min?”

Su Min was bent over, picking out hair clips, when someone called her name. The voice sounded a little familiar.

She looked up—and sure enough, it was Su Wenwen, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Su Wenwen’s appearance had become even more refined than before. Her hairstyle had changed too—her long hair now cut short in a style similar to Sun Yan’s, though clearly more polished.

Su Min noticed that the sharpness and agitation that used to flash in Su Wenwen’s eyes when she looked at her were gone. Now, her gaze carried a hint of contempt.

Not wanting to argue, Su Min glanced at her once, then turned back to picking out clips as if she hadn’t seen her.

Su Wenwen walked over with her little backpack and smiled. “What, don’t recognize me? I live in the county town now.”

Su Min kept her head down and busied herself with the accessories. She was honestly surprised—Su Wenwen had moved to the county? Her third aunt didn’t strike her as the strong, capable type. How had they suddenly managed to move to the city?

Seeing Su Min ignore her, Su Wenwen couldn’t hold back any longer. With a chill in her tone, she said, “Don’t think your family’s the only one with money. Let me tell you, my mom’s remarried, and my stepdad’s rich—a big boss. My grandparents and aunt? All classy people. Not like the folks in your Su family. You all waited to laugh at us, but now? No chance.”

Sun Yan and Liao Zhaodi, standing nearby, found this baffling. They saw Su Min had no intention of responding, so they said nothing either. After handing their selected clips to the shop assistant for wrapping, they paid and prepared to leave.

Seeing no one engaging with her, Su Wenwen felt like she was talking to herself and grew even more frustrated. But she wasn’t as impulsive as before. She didn’t argue with Su Min. Instead, she pursed her lips, stepped forward, and raised a hand toward the shop assistant. “I want everything in this display. Wrap it all up. I’m not like some people, who have to nitpick over just a hair clip.”

Su Min curled her lips into a smile, then pulled Sun Yan and Liao Zhaodi away.

After all this time and so much that had happened, Su Wenwen might have restrained her temper, but her arrogant nature hadn’t changed a bit.

So what if her stepdad had money? That only worked if he was willing to spend it on her.

Even if her third aunt was now married—if the man had children, the money would naturally go to them. And if not, then they’d probably try to have a child together. If she couldn’t conceive, the marriage might not last.

If Su Wenwen kept acting so wastefully and without restraint, she’d only bring trouble to her mother eventually.

After they walked some distance away, Sun Yan asked about Su Wenwen.

Su Min didn’t want to talk about her third uncle’s divorce, so she simply said it was a relative she didn’t get along with. Sun Yan didn’t press further after that.

When they got home, Su Min mentioned to Sun Qiufang that she’d seen Su Wenwen earlier.

Hearing that Gao Hong had remarried, and to someone apparently decent, Su Qiufang sighed emotionally. “Your third aunt’s luck sure is better than your third uncle’s. Just look at the woman he found… sigh, each one worse than the last.”

“Why isn’t Wenwen home yet? It’s so late. If people find out, they’ll think we don’t know how to raise our children. Even though she’s a Su, she’s living in our Wang family now—she ought to learn some rules. Mingsong is busy out working every day, and you all sit around doing nothing at home. Can’t even manage this small thing. What right do you have to expect Mingsong to give you money?”

Mother Wang looked at the clock before bed, growing increasingly displeased that Su Wenwen still hadn’t returned. She began lecturing Gao Hong, who was sitting on the sofa waiting.

Gao Hong was worried too, and upon hearing Mother Wang’s anger and her threat not to let Wenwen live in the house anymore, she quickly said, “Mom, I understand. I’ll make sure to discipline her properly.”

Mother Wang kept a stern face. “And you and Mingsong—you’re not young anymore. It’s time to have a child. Women your age don’t conceive easily. If you don’t have one now, what will you do in the future?”

“I already have Wenwen,” Gao Hong said softly.

“She’s from the Su family, not Mingsong’s child. Do you want her to inherit Mingsong’s property someday?”

Gao Hong lowered her head in guilt. “No, of course not.”

She hadn’t married Wang Mingsong for love—mostly, she had wanted a stable life. Now, her mother had rented a good place in the county, and they didn’t lack money anymore. Wenwen had come to the city with her, and life was far more comfortable than the tight days they used to live. But she hadn’t thought about having another child. Wenwen was her only daughter, and she wanted her to have everything.

Mother Wang didn’t know all that, but she didn’t believe Gao Hong either. With a cold snort, she said, “There better be good news before the New Year, or all our relatives and friends will laugh at us. When you two got married, so many people said it was a bad match. It was Mingsong who insisted. Don’t make our Wang family a laughingstock. Honestly, it was only because of your parents that we agreed to the marriage. Even though your dad ended up in jail, we used to live in the same compound. We did this for old times’ sake—don’t think we’re easy to take advantage of. We’re not like those rural folks from your Su family.”

When Gao Hong heard Mother Wang’s mocking words, she immediately felt both humiliated and angry, but she didn’t dare argue with her. She could only endure it in silence.

That evening, Su Wenwen came home after shopping. Wang Mingsong was still out on a business meeting, and Father and Mother Wang were already asleep. Gao Hong hadn’t gone to bed yet—she was anxiously waiting for Su Wenwen to return. Seeing her back, she finally let out a breath of relief and quietly pulled her into the room.

“Why are you back so late?”

“I was out buying some things,” Su Wenwen said with a smile. “Oh right, I also saw Su Min. She and a few others were picking out hair clips, spending ages choosing. So I just bought all the clips right in front of them.”

Upon hearing this, Gao Hong immediately made a shushing gesture. “Don’t mention anything about the Su family at home anymore—your uncle doesn’t like it.”

“Why? I wasn’t even saying anything good about the Su family,” Su Wenwen said, puzzled. She knew her current father disliked her biological father, but she hadn’t said anything nice about the Su family, so why should it be a problem?

Gao Hong didn’t know how to explain this to her daughter. After all, a child at that age wouldn’t understand a man’s pride. No man is indifferent to the fact that his wife was once someone else’s wife. Though she was now married to Wang Mingsong, it still must have stung for him to think about how she had once been married to Su Changgui and even had Wenwen with him.

She sighed and said, “Wenwen, remember this—don’t bring up the Su family anymore. Your grandparents and your uncle don’t like hearing about them.”

Su Wenwen placed her newly bought hair clips on the bed and asked with a pout, “Mom, why doesn’t Uncle let me call him Dad? Isn’t he my new dad now? Shouldn’t I be allowed to change my surname? I don’t want to have the surname Su from Su Changgui anymore.”

“Wenwen, this isn’t something you understand. Don’t ask again. Your uncle has his reasons. No matter what, your biological father is still your father. You can’t say things like that.”

“But I want to take Uncle’s surname. Mom, what if my classmates ask me why my last name is different from Uncle’s? How am I supposed to answer? I don’t want them to make fun of me.”

Hearing this made Gao Hong feel even worse. Times were different now. In the Wang household, she had to keep a low profile. Even though Wang Mingsong had wanted to marry her, he wasn’t like Su Changgui, who had listened to her every word. He had his own firm views. If he didn’t agree with something, no one could change his mind.

She thought of what Mother Wang had said—if she had a child with Wang Mingsong, maybe she could have more of a say in the household. After all, no matter how unwilling the Wang family was to accept her, they would surely care for their own blood.

Having a child might finally earn her some respect from her in-laws.

“Moving out? Why are they moving out?” Sun Qiufang had just been thinking about how Gao Hong was doing better with Wang Mingsong than she had with Su Changgui when she heard her daughter say the two girls were planning to move out.

Su Min knew her mom wouldn’t be happy about this, so she explained, “It’s Zhaodi and Yanyan’s idea. Yanyan said you had already agreed she could move out once she found a place. She’s found one and is planning to move soon. As for Zhaodi, she said since she’s not family, it’s inconvenient for her to stay here, and she also wants to keep Yanyan company.”

“What kind of talk is that? Isn’t it livelier with everyone living together?”

Sun Qiufang only had one child and naturally liked a lively home.

“Mom, the apartment is in a worker’s compound near the school. Lots of high school teachers live there too, so the environment is safe. It’s not a big deal if they move out. I’ve thought about it—while we may want them to stay, they probably feel a bit awkward. If I had to live in someone else’s house, no matter how kind they were, it still wouldn’t feel like home.”

Su Min had come to terms with it too. It wasn’t something you could force. If she were in their shoes, she would want to find a place of her own as well.

Sun Qiufang asked, “Is the apartment really that good?”

“It’s pretty nice. I even asked a classmate to help find it. If you’re worried, I’ll take you to see it tomorrow. We can visit them whenever we want anyway. If you’re really concerned, we can add another lock to the door and make the windows extra secure.”

“Alright, I’ll check it out tomorrow. You kids… you all have minds of your own now. We grown-ups don’t have much say anymore.”

Later, Su Min went back to the room and told Sun Yan and Liao Zhaodi about the conversation.

When the two heard that Sun Qiufang would likely agree after seeing the place, they finally felt at ease.

Sun Yan said, “Then I’ll pack up tomorrow and move in early. Once I get settled, I won’t have to worry about setting up the place when the store opens.”

Lying on the bed, Su Min said, “Sounds good. Get used to the place first.”

The next morning, Sun Qiufang took the girls to see the apartment.

When they arrived, she noticed there were some bolts of fabric inside and asked, confused, “What’s all this for?”

Su Min realized she had overlooked something—she hadn’t tidied up the place. She quickly smiled and said, “Oh, these? We’re opening a store, remember? We bought the fabric yesterday to make a few sample outfits.”

Though a bit suspicious, Sun Qiufang didn’t see anything odd in her daughter’s expression and continued to look around the apartment.

It really was just as Su Min had described. The surroundings were pleasant. Across the hall lived an elderly couple who were taking care of their grandson while their son and daughter-in-law worked. The couple were retired workers.

Sun Qiufang even asked around about the neighbors and, upon hearing that a few teachers lived nearby, felt reassured.

After touring the apartment, she finally relaxed. “Alright, give it a try. If you don’t like it, just move back.”

That afternoon, Zhaodi and Sun Yan packed their things and hired a car to move in.

At the entrance of the compound, Su Min ran into Zhao Xue.

Since she had moved in, Su Min hadn’t seen Zhao Xue. She had been busy running around, and Zhao Xue was now in his final year of high school, even busier than most.

Seeing them carrying so much stuff, Zhao Xue was surprised. “You’re just moving in? But earlier—”

“Brother Zhao, thank you for finding us the apartment. We’re moving in today,” Su Min quickly interrupted, giving him a meaningful look.

Zhao Xue glanced at Sun Qiufang and understood what was going on. He didn’t press the topic.

Sun Qiufang also recognized Zhao Xue. “So you helped them find this place. Thank you for the trouble.”

Zhao Xue smiled, “It wasn’t any trouble.”

Worried that they might slip up if they kept talking, Su Min quickly said, “Brother Zhao, we’ll go unpack now. Let’s chat next time when we have more time.”

Zhao Xue nodded with a smile. Then, remembering something Xue Mian had asked him to pass on, he added, “By the way, have you written to Xue Mian lately? He asked about you the last time. When you write to him, use the address for Class 2, Grade 2.”

Su Min hadn’t written to Xue Mian since her poor exam results and hadn’t known he had changed classes. She asked, “He’s in Grade 2 now?”

Zhao Xue laughed, “Ask him yourself. I’ve got to go.” He said goodbye to Sun Qiufang and walked out of the compound with his books, clearly heading to study.

Su Min was puzzled. How did Xue Mian end up in Grade 2? Did he skip a grade?

Xue Mian had also been waiting for a letter from Su Min.

Ever since he received one letter at the start of the school year, Su Min hadn’t written again. He wanted to write to her, but worried that pushing too hard might make her unhappy. Especially since the last time he hinted at his feelings, she hadn’t responded and even stopped writing for a while—clearly, she didn’t want to talk about that kind of thing right now.

But he really wanted to tell Su Min that he had skipped a grade—something that would make her happy for him.

He was now in Grade 2, and when the college entrance exam came around, he’d be taking it with the Grade 3 students. That meant he would graduate two years earlier than Su Min.