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Su Ying rushed over and forcefully pulled Chen Shuyun away from Su Jianshe, glaring at him angrily.
“So you’re scared of us showing up at your factory—are you afraid we’ll embarrass you? Or is it guilt?”
Su Jianshe’s face grew even darker.
“Guilt? What guilt? Where are your manners? Is this how your mother taught you to speak to your father?”
Su Ying looked at him coldly.
“Father? What kind of father are you? You’re someone else’s father now, aren’t you?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Jianshe raised his hand to strike her.
“You little brat! How dare you talk to your old man like that!”
“Don’t hit her!”
Chen Shuyun, who had been standing behind Su Ying, suddenly stepped forward, shielding her daughter and crying as she pleaded.
“Don’t hit her, she has a head injury… it’s serious. You’re her father!”
Su Jianshe was full of rage, staring at the dark, skinny Chen Shuyun with open disgust, though in the end he still lowered his hand.
“Fine, I’ll let her go this time. Chen Shuyun, our marriage was forced by your family from the start. Since you’re here now, we’ll go file for divorce.”
Chen Shuyun’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“What… what did you say? You want a divorce?”
Su Jianshe glanced toward the textile factory, then hesitated briefly.
“Right now. Let’s go get divorced. You brought your household registration and introduction letter, didn’t you?”
Chen Shuyun felt her knees go weak. She wanted to ask why—why was he doing this when they still had a daughter? When had her family ever forced him to marry her? Back then, he had said he liked how capable she was and wanted to marry her.
So how had it all turned into her family forcing him?
Su Ying watched Su Jianshe walk to the gate to fetch his bicycle with a cold expression. She could see clearly now—he was scum. He likely had a new family here in Jiangcheng and didn’t care about the life or death of his wife and daughter.
Just as Su Jianshe was about to leave with his bicycle, a tall woman came out of the factory. She wore a neatly pressed shirt, had permed hair, and walked briskly toward him.
From a distance, Su Ying and Chen Shuyun watched as the woman helped adjust Su Jianshe’s shirt and held his hand. The two spoke in low voices, occasionally glancing their way.
Chen Shuyun instinctively tried to block Su Ying’s line of sight. She kept lying to herself—They can’t be like that… Jianshe wouldn’t do this to me. Back in the village, he was so refined, so scholarly. Why has he changed so much?
Su Ying gripped her hand tightly, unwilling to let her keep avoiding reality.
“Mom, this man isn’t worth it. Even if we divorce, we need to get answers.”
Chen Shuyun shook her head furiously.
“No… I can’t get divorced.”
Su Ying couldn’t understand it. This man had abandoned them for seven years, never came home, never cared for them—and now, when they came to him for help, he treated them like this. Judging by what the gatekeeper had said earlier, he clearly had another wife here.
In the 1980s, there was no such thing as a crime for bigamy, but as the factory director, he should care about his reputation.
Su Ying narrowed her eyes. She didn’t mind destroying his reputation if she had to.
After chatting for a while with the woman, Su Jianshe finally pushed his bicycle over. The woman remained at the factory gate, watching them from afar.
Chen Shuyun looked timid, not even daring to ask who the woman was.
Su Ying had no such qualms.
“Who’s she? Your new lover?”
Su Jianshe frowned, trying hard to suppress his impatience.
“She’s a female worker from the factory. Since you’re here, I’ll find a guesthouse for you to stay in.”
Chen Shuyun was overjoyed and clutched Su Ying tightly, afraid she’d say something to ruin things.
“Really? So… we can stay?”
“You said she’s hurt and needs treatment, didn’t you? Stay for now. I’ll take her to the city hospital this afternoon.”
Though he said he’d take Su Ying for treatment, he hadn’t once asked about her head injury. Instead, he kept staring at her face with a complicated expression.
He pushed his bicycle and walked ahead while Chen Shuyun supported Su Ying from behind, following closely.
“Yingying, didn’t I say your father still cares about you? See? He does. Let’s focus on getting you better.”
Su Ying murmured an “mm” in response, but her heart said otherwise. Su Jianshe’s attitude had changed far too suddenly—he’d been desperate to divorce them moments ago, and now he was acting like he wanted to take care of them? Something was off.
The guesthouse he found was near the textile factory, but the conditions weren’t good.
In the 1980s, guesthouses were usually like this, though thankfully, it was at least a private double room—not a large shared dormitory.
“How did she get hurt?”
As soon as they sat down, Su Jianshe asked.
Chen Shuyun started pouring hot water into cups from the thermos while explaining everything that had happened.
“What? She got into college?”
Chen Shuyun let the water cool and looked at Su Ying with pride.
“Yes! Our Yingying might’ve even gotten into a university in Beijing! She’s the only one in our village to ever pass the entrance exam. But someone else stole her spot. When she went to confront them, they beat her up.”
Su Ying had been watching Su Jianshe closely. And upon hearing this, he didn’t react with anger or concern for her injuries. Instead, he praised himself.
“She really is my daughter—got a natural gift for learning.”
Chen Shuyun nodded happily.
“Just like you—book smart.”
Only then did Su Jianshe look at Su Ying more carefully. His gaze swept across her face before finally landing on the bandage on her head.
“Was it serious? Is the wound big?”
Su Ying stayed silent. Chen Shuyun answered instead.
“The county doctor said there might be internal bleeding in her brain. Yingying keeps getting headaches. The external wound isn’t big—just a small one.”
Su Jianshe nodded and sighed. He finally said something resembling concern.
“Sigh… Poor girl. I need to get back to work soon. I’ll take her to the hospital this afternoon. You two eat something and get some rest first.”
After saying that, he got up to leave. Chen Shuyun followed after him and asked softly:
“You’re not eating with us?”
“No, I’ve got work. You two eat. Didn’t I give you ten yuan? Buy Yingying something good—she’s too skinny. After you eat, get her some new clothes. The ones she’s wearing are patched too many times.”
He paused, then took out another thirty yuan from his pocket.
“Pick something nice for her.”
Chen Shuyun clutched the money and walked him out of the guesthouse before returning.
“Yingying, what do you want to eat? Your dad gave money so we can get you something nice—and he said to buy you new clothes!”
Su Ying frowned. She still felt Su Jianshe had ulterior motives. There was no genuine fatherly concern there. Only Chen Shuyun would believe him so easily. Su Ying just didn’t yet understand why his attitude had changed so quickly—not only had he stopped talking about divorce, now he even wanted to take her to the hospital.
Meanwhile, Su Jianshe rode his bicycle straight back to the textile factory—not to the workshop, but to the family dormitory inside the factory compound.