Chapter 21: No More Tolerance

The roses bloomed a vibrant red, as dazzling and fiery as flames.

Yet, the thorns on their stems could pierce one’s heart, causing a sharp, excruciating pain.

Su Yiren gazed silently at Lu Yunting，asking:

“Do you usually send red roses to your friends? Your relationship with them must be very pure.”

Ever since she heard that the bouquet wasn’t for her, she realized it must be for Ouyang Shasha.

She just hadn’t expected him to bring Ouyang Shasha home.

She had heard that they were childhood sweethearts and had undoubtedly visited the Lu family frequently in the past.

But in all these years of marriage, Ouyang Shasha had never returned to China, so she had never met her at home.

Now, on the verge of divorce and remarriage, he naturally wanted to introduce his new girlfriend to his family.

Su Yiren’s gaze was calm, but Lu Yunting felt a sense of unease, he couldn’t explain why.

“Don’t be sarcastic,” Lu Yunting blurted out,

“I told you, Shasha and I are just friends.”

Su Yiren withdrew her gaze and said no more.

Jiang Jinyun looked back and forth between them, wanting to scold Lu Yunting again, but it was pointless; she wanted to comfort Su Yiren, but didn’t know how to begin.

As a mother, she couldn’t intervene too much in their marital affairs.

Jiang Jinyun could only give Lu Yunting a “you’re on your own” look. Just as she was about to change the subject to lighten the mood, the doorbell rang.

Lu Yunting immediately got up to open the door, his smooth and effortless movement made Su Yiren’s eyelashes flutter, a bitter smile playing on her lips.

Before Ouyang Shasha even entered, her voice floated in,

“Ating，help me with this gift, it’s so heavy!”

Lu Yunting simply hummed in response and took the gift, placing it at the entrance.

Ouyang Shasha walked in cheerfully, seeing Jiang Jinyun on the sofa, she immediately greeted her with a sweet and obedient tone,

“Auntie, long time no see! How are you?”

After all, she was a wealthy matriarch, and the visitor was a junior, Jiang Jinyun couldn’t give her a cold shoulder, but she simply nodded and forced a smile,

“Long time no see.”

Ouyang Shasha was wearing a pink dress today, her long hair cascading down her waist, adorned with a crystal hair clip, making her look innocent and sweet.

She walked over in her slippers, acting very familiar, sitting beside Jiang Jinyun and casually putting her arm around her,

“Auntie, I miss you so much! You look the same as before, how do you stay so well-preserved?”

Jiang Jinyun smiled and examined her,

“You haven’t changed much either.”

Ouyang Shasha continued to chat for a while, then, as if she had just noticed Su Yiren, she leaned forward to take a look at her, waving her hand slightly,

“Yiren sister is here too!”

Su Yiren barely curved her lips, not wanting to bother with her, she stood up and said:

“Mom, I’ll go check the kitchen.”

“Yiren sister, let me go! I’m closer to Aunt Liu！I used to eat a lot of Aunt Liu’s cooking!” Ouyang Shasha immediately stood up.

Su Yiren’s brow furrowed slightly, so she sat back down.

If you’re so close, go ahead, it’ll be your home sooner or later anyway.

Aunt Liu just happened to walk out of the kitchen, smiling and calling out:

“Dinner is ready.”

Ouyang Shasha turned to help Jiang Jinyun up, but Jiang Jinyun grabbed Su Yiren’s hand first,

“Come on, let’s go eat.”

Ouyang Shasha’s smile faltered, she immediately stepped forward and put her arm around Jiang Jinyun’s other arm,

“Auntie, I still remember how delicious Aunt Liu’s Dragon Well Shrimp was!”

“Perfect, we have that dish tonight.” Lu Yunting，who had just washed his hands, said from the side.

“Really! That’s great!” Ouyang Shasha smiled even brighter, looking at Su Yiren through Jiang Jinyun，she asked:

“Yiren sister, do you like it?”

Su Yiren didn’t answer, instead, she smiled and reminded her,

“You can just call me by my name, I’m younger than you.”

Ouyang Shasha laughed awkwardly,

“Sorry, I didn’t know! I thought Ating was older than me, so I called you sister from his perspective.”

“Then you should call me sister-in-law, shouldn’t you?” Su Yiren raised an eyebrow at her, her smile tinged with amusement.

Ouyang Shasha’s face instantly stiffened, she awkwardly opened her mouth, but didn’t know how to respond.

Jiang Jinyun sighed softly, subtly curling her lips, and went to sit at the dining table.

Lu Yunting pulled out a chair, motioning for Ouyang Shasha to come over, and at the same time said to Su Yiren:

“It’s just a title, what does it matter.”

Su Yiren immediately complied,

“Yeah, it’s just a title, then should I call you Ating brother?”

Lu Yunting’s mouth twitched, feeling uncomfortable at the sweet and affectionate “Ating brother.”

Since the Lu family patriarch was not present, everyone felt a little more relaxed.

Jiang Jinyun smiled at Su Yiren and said:

“Yiren, these are all your favorite dishes, eat more. You look thinner than last time, have you been working too hard lately?”

“It’s okay, not too hard.” Su Yiren smiled, pretending to be relaxed,

“I’ve been craving the food at home for a long time.”

“Then eat more!” Jiang Jinyun quickly picked up some shrimp for her and pushed the braised pork towards her.

Ouyang Shasha watched from the side, her tone tinged with envy,

“Auntie treats you so well! It’s truly a blessing from a past life to have such a good mother-in-law.”

Jiang Jinyun raised her eyes and glanced at her, thoughtfully smiling,

“You should get married soon, maybe your mother-in-law will be even better.”

Ouyang Shasha lowered her eyes, her expression slightly uneasy, Lu Yunting saw that she was suddenly unhappy, so he said:

“Marriage is about fate, you can’t rush it.” He also picked up some shrimp and put them in her bowl.

Ouyang Shasha immediately became happy,

“Ating is right, a good marriage is about fate, it’s about mutual love, only then can it last forever; if it’s just one-sided love, and the other person doesn’t like her at all, then such a marriage is meaningless. Right, Yiren?”

Su Yiren paused her chopsticks for a moment, then calmly put the shrimp in her mouth, after eating, she looked at Jiang Jinyun，

“Mom, these shrimp are really delicious!”

Jiang Jinyun smiled and nodded,

“Your Aunt Liu knows you love this, so she makes it every now and then to practice, afraid of losing her skills.”

Aunt Liu stood aside, also smiling and agreeing,

“Yes, Madam, you haven’t been here for a long time, I have to show off my skills!”

Su Yiren laughed and ate another shrimp, then, as if she had just remembered something, she looked at Ouyang Shasha and asked:

“Did you just speak to me? Sorry, I didn’t hear you, what did you say?”

Ouyang Shasha’s lips twitched, her eyes were a little uneasy, she said awkwardly,

“Nothing, it’s not important.”

She just wanted to mock Su Yiren, but she didn’t even respond.

If she said it again, it would be a provocation, and she didn’t want to appear too aggressive in front of Lu Yunting.

But she wanted to let it go, Su Yiren refused to tolerate it anymore.

She had endured enough over the years.

Su Yiren put down her chopsticks, took out a wet wipe and wiped her mouth, casually looking at Ouyang Shasha,

“I believe in mutual love, and I believe in fate, but I prefer to go with the flow. What’s the point of being childhood sweethearts and enduring years of hardship? Even if you love each other to death, what’s the point? In the end, you’re still overtaken by someone else, taking your place, and you’re left with leftovers, what’s there to be proud of? So, just let things happen naturally with relationships, don’t get too hung up on it, it’s not worth it.”

Seeing that Ouyang Shasha’s whole face was about to turn green, Su Yiren suddenly laughed, her words hinting at something else,

“Oh, right, I’ve already had these shrimp, they’re really good. You want to try some? The rest won’t be as good.”