CHAPTER 3: Refusal

Zhang Lanjun’s face went pale. She had never imagined Su Yuan would say such things — especially that last part, about moving out and changing her name.

She couldn’t accept it!

Part of it was reluctance, but mostly it was the thought that after raising her for eighteen years, her “daughter” would leave for her real parents. Wouldn’t that make her an ungrateful wolf?

Sure enough — without blood ties, you really couldn’t count on someone!

“You think you can just walk out? Have you even thought about how your father and I would feel? Even a dog knows to guard its master and wag its tail, but you? You don’t care about family at all. I’m so disappointed in you!”

At the comparison, Su Yuan’s pupils contracted, her chest aching. It was a long while before she found the strength to speak. “I’m not a dog, and I’ll never wag my tail and beg for pity. Have you really raised me all these years as nothing more than a dog? And besides — you were the one worried I’d harm Zhao Xiaoxue, that’s why I offered to move out. How did that somehow become my fault?”

Zhang Lanjun pressed her lips together, realizing her words had been harsh. But her pride wouldn’t allow her to back down — she had to keep arguing to make herself look blameless.

“I’m your mother, the one who raised you for eighteen years! Look at the way you’re talking to me — is that how a daughter should speak? You never used to be like this!”

Their voices weren’t lowered, so soon, others followed the sound of the quarrel upstairs.

The tense scene surprised everyone.

In their eyes, Su Yuan had always been a clever, considerate sister who never lost her temper with family.

For her to be this upset, her mother must have done something truly excessive.

Afraid things would get out of hand, Second Brother Su Aijun braced himself and stepped forward, trying to ease the tension.

“Mom, Yuan Yuan was just speaking in anger. Don’t take it to heart. If you were in the wrong, just apologize and let it go. It’s no big deal.”

Zhang Lanjun shot him a glare, her face flushing red with fury. “And what makes you think it’s my fault? All of you have really turned against me!”

Su Aijun touched the tip of his nose, shut his mouth, and didn’t dare provoke her any further.

In this family, the person Zhang Lanjun looked down on the most was him—honest to a fault, wooden in demeanor, unpleasant in speech, and utterly without prospects.

Seeing everyone present, she kept her face stiff as she declared,
“Zhao Xiaoxue is your younger sister. If you have any opinions or dissatisfaction, wait until Old Su comes back to talk about it. Until then, don’t start any trouble. Otherwise, when Old Su returns, I will report you!”

The Su family’s three sons were all afraid of their father. None of them dared challenge his authority.

Su Yuan also stayed silent. She had long since decided to move out.

But not right now. What she said earlier was just words in anger. The mystery of her birth was still unresolved—she needed the truth, and at the very least, she had to wait until Father Su returned and gave her an explanation.

When no one else spoke, Zhang Lanjun’s temper gradually cooled.

Sensing her mood, Zhao Xiaoxue stepped forward from among the crowd, smiling sweetly as she linked arms with her.
“Mom, don’t be angry. How about I go exercise with you? I haven’t even visited the park nearby yet.”

At that moment, Zhang Lanjun found her more and more pleasing to the eye. Just seconds ago her face was frosty, but now she broke into a smile.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you to exercise, and then we’ll have lunch at the cafeteria. They have the best steamed flower rolls there.”

Arm in arm, the “mother and daughter” headed downstairs together.

The eldest Su daughter-in-law, seeing how close they were, curled her lip and muttered to her husband,
“This world is just unfair. Yuan Yuan bore eighteen years of resentment because of Zhao Xiaoxue, and now look at Mom—she’s already forgotten it was her who nearly killed her in childbirth. If you ask me, Yuan Yuan’s life is nothing but bad luck!”

Su Aimin instinctively glanced around. Seeing that Su Yuan and the second brother had already returned to their rooms, he let out a silent breath of relief. Supporting his wife downstairs, he reminded her,
“Don’t concern yourself with the family’s messy affairs. Our little sister’s already upset enough today—don’t twist the knife.”

“I just can’t stand Zhao Xiaoxue. That temper of hers is exactly like your mother’s!”

“Don’t talk nonsense. If my dad hears you, he’ll throw us both out.”

“So let him. I’ve had enough of living in this house. We both have jobs—what, we can’t support ourselves?”

“…”

The walls in this building were thin, and their voices carried.

Su Yuan heard every word, loud and clear.

The corners of her mouth curved in a bitter smile. She took out the letter she’d written yesterday, slipped it into her green shoulder bag, and headed to the cafeteria.

At this hour, the place was packed. Amid the noise, she could still hear gossip about the Su family floating around.

Carrying her aluminum lunchbox, she walked past the curious stares to the food counter and ordered two flower rolls and a bowl of porridge.

Just then, two young men came over, speaking politely.
“Yuan Yuan-jie, come eat with us. Xiaohu’s got something to tell you.”

The speaker was Li Chaoyang, and beside him was Sun Xiaohu. They’d all grown up together.

Following them to an empty table, Su Yuan asked softly,
“What’s the matter?”

If it weren’t something urgent, these two wouldn’t have waited for her in the cafeteria.

Sun Xiaohu glanced at Li Chaoyang before lowering his voice to ask,
“Jie… what’s going on between you and Xiao Qi? Why’s he telling people he’s going to marry you?”

“When did he say that?” Su Yuan’s brows knitted.

“Yesterday afternoon. Now the whole compound knows about it, and they’re even adding details like it’s all true.”

In these times, a girl’s reputation was everything. Xiao Qi’s move was deliberate—meant to block her future prospects for marriage.

Shameless.

Su Yuan’s face turned cold. “There’s nothing between us. He’s talking nonsense.”

Hearing her answer, the two visibly relaxed. In their hearts, it was Fu Mobai and her who were truly a pair.

A flash of fierceness crossed Li Chaoyang’s eyes as he patted his chest and promised,
“Don’t worry, Yuan Yuan-jie! If he dares to bully you while Mobai-ge’s away, we won’t let him off!”

“That’s right! Xiao Qi’s just a petty villain—he’s asking for a beating!”

Lately, the Xiao family was riding high, and afraid they’d cause trouble, Su Yuan quickly stopped them.
“I’ll be fine. You mustn’t go looking for him. If anything happens, I’d never forgive myself. If you won’t listen, I’ll send a telegram to Fu Mobai right now.”

Li Chaoyang and Sun Xiaohu exchanged a look—resentful but helpless—and reluctantly agreed to drop the idea.

Speaking of Fu Mobai, Su Yuan had something to ask.
“Have you… been in contact with him lately?”

Remembering last night’s dream, unease rose in her chest. After all, in the entire book, Fu Mobai had never been mentioned. It was as if he had vanished from the world entirely.

Sun Xiaohu shook his head blankly.
“No. I sent him a telegram two days ago, and he never replied.”

Li Chaoyang nodded. Same situation.

Su Yuan’s grip on her shoulder bag tightened. An inexplicable panic welled up.

After breakfast, she went to the post office and sent off her letter. Then she headed to the public phone booth and dialed the number of a certain unit in the south.

After a few beeps, a strong male voice answered.
“Hello, who are you looking for?”

“Hello, I’m looking for Fu Mobai.”

Her voice was soft and gentle. The man on the other end was clearly taken aback.
“Fu Mobai… and you are?”

Su Yuan hesitated for two seconds before saying she was the girl from next door.

The man didn’t press further.
“He’s not at the base right now, and there’s no set return date. If it’s urgent, I can pass on a message.”

From his words, Su Yuan knew Fu Mobai must be on a mission—a confidential one he couldn’t talk about.

She hung up, feeling a bit lost, and returned home without realizing it. Before she even stepped inside, she heard crying from within.

“Mom, does it hurt a lot? It’s all my fault you got hurt.”

Zhao Xiaoxue’s voice had a distinctive sharpness—easy to recognize in an instant.

Puzzled, Su Yuan walked into the main room.

There sat Zhang Lanjun, her face pale, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. She was holding her waist while sitting in a chair, her right ankle propped up and swollen high.

“How did this happen? Why didn’t you go to the hospital?”

Seeing her, Zhang Lanjun groaned even louder. “You’re finally back! Mom’s in so much pain she could die. Hurry and fetch Doctor Wang!”

Everyone in the Su family was at work, and there was no one around to help. Su Yuan didn’t dare waste time and rushed to the courtyard clinic to find Doctor Wang.

Before long, she returned with him in tow. Zhang Lanjun was still lying in the same position, and the moment she saw the doctor, she began recounting the whole incident.

She and Zhao Xiaoxue had gone to the park, but instead of starting their tai chi right away, they decided to climb a hill. The slope was a bit steep, and she’d slipped and fallen.

At first, it didn’t hurt much, so she brushed it off. But as soon as she stepped through the front door at home, the pain flared sharply.

Doctor Wang examined her bones, realigned them, and treated her for over ten minutes before prescribing several packets of medicine. He instructed her to rest well—at least a month before she could recover.

Zhang Lanjun felt like dying and deeply regretted going up that hill in the first place. It had been Zhao Xiaoxue’s idea, but to spare the girl any guilt, she swallowed her complaints.

Now that her ankle was injured and she needed looking after, Zhao Xiaoxue, eager to prove herself, volunteered to take on the responsibility—and no one objected.

The next morning.

Su Yuan was doing laundry when a knock sounded from outside the courtyard gate. Before she could get up, Zhao Xiaoxue hurried ahead to open it.

Footsteps approached, and soon, Su Yuan looked up to see Xiao Qi arriving with his parents.

She furrowed her brows ever so slightly. She already knew why they were here, but remained calm. After all, Xiao Qi was the male lead in the book—destined to be Zhao Xiaoxue’s husband—and had nothing to do with her.

According to the novel’s plot, the two of them would go through years of bitter, tangled love before finally ending up together. Su Yuan actually wished they could skip straight to the “happily ever after” part.

Because of her injured ankle, Zhang Lanjun couldn’t come out to greet them. Sitting in the main room, she looked at the Xiao family in puzzlement. “You… came to visit me?”

Madam Xiao rolled her eyes inwardly but kept a warm smile on her face. “Of course! I heard you’d taken a fall—my son was so worried. Everything I’m holding here, he went out and bought himself.”

Only then did Zhang Lanjun notice the gifts in their hands, her surprise growing.

After all, the two families didn’t usually have much contact.

Once the pleasantries were over, Madam Xiao got to the point. “Qi is a filial child. In fact, we came today with another matter in mind. I wonder… is your Su Yuan already engaged? Our whole family likes her very much—especially Qi. He keeps saying he’ll marry no one else.”

Zhang Lanjun blinked, momentarily at a loss. Her husband wasn’t home, and lifelong matters like this weren’t hers to decide alone.

Still, the Xiao family’s conditions were good, and Qi was handsome and promising. If Su Yuan could marry into such a household, it would be a fine match.

Her heart began to sway…

But just as she was about to agree, Su Yuan walked in from outside carrying tea, and cut in directly. “Uncle, Auntie, I appreciate your kindness. But with my parentage still unknown, I have no plans to marry for now. You’d best choose someone else.”