“Get in the car!” Su Huaibei looked at Shu Qing with cold eyes. The latter gritted her teeth and stood outside for a moment before getting in the car. But this time, she did not dare to speak as fiercely toward him as before.
Su Huaibei couldn’t be bothered. He closed his eyes and started to feign a nap.
Shu Qing sat beside him, feeling nervous. However, that feeling quickly disappeared.
Su Huaibei! Shu Qing clenched her fists. When he was sound asleep, she realized he wasn’t as scary as when he was awake.
Since when did he become like this? She could no longer remember. After hating him for such a long time, the passionate moments they had together seemed insignificant.
Looking at him was an eyesore. She turned her head away from him.
Little did she know, Su Huaibei was not asleep at all. As she turned away, he opened his eyes. For a moment, his eyes were filled with gentleness.
The car stopped at the Jiang Residence. Su Huaibei opened his eyes and noticed Shu Qing unwilling to move. So, he pulled the door open and tugged her off the car. “You think you can run away from this?”
“Don’t force me, Su Huaibei!”
Su Huaibei tightened his lips and said, “Force you? It’s fine if you think that way. Go in!”
Without sparing a moment, he forcibly dragged her up the stairs. He did not give her any chance to retaliate.
His steps were not quick, but he moved at a steady pace. He rang the doorbell as soon as he arrived at the doorstep.
“Coming!”
It was Aunt Fei’s voice coming from the other side of the door. As the door opened, Aunt Fei greeted, ”How may I help… Young Lady?” She was stunned by the sight of Shu Qing. “Um…” She looked over to the man beside Shu Qing and was surprised. Pointing her finger toward Su Huaibei, she said, “You are…”
Su Huaibei smiled and nodded. “It’s been a while, Aunt Fei.”
Aunt Fei was horrified to see them. She quickly pushed them out and said, “Master is not home today. You’re not in luck. Leave!”
Suddenly, Jiang Shizheng’s voice came through. “Aunt Fei, who’s that at the door?”
Jiang Shizheng was coming out of the study room. While walking toward the living room, he saw people struggling and pulling each other. He turned his head toward Aunt Fei, but his face fell when his eyes met Shu Qing. “Why are you here? We don’t welcome you. Get lost!”
He pointed at the door. With a harsh voice, he said, “Aunt Fei, chase them out right now!”
“Dad!” Despite not wanting to come home, Shu Qing involuntarily trembled when her father said those words. “Dad, I…”
“Dad? Don’t call me Dad. I don’t have a daughter like you. Get out of my sight!”Shu Qing refused to leave. With rage boiling within his veins, Jiang Shizheng brandished his slipper.
“Leave! Get out of my house! Now!”
“Uncle Jiang!”
Su Huaibei grabbed Shu Qing and stood in front of her.
As his height was significantly taller than Jiang Shizheng, he bent forward as he looked at the latter.
Jiang Shizheng was stunned when he saw the man who appeared before him.
Even after more than twenty years, Su Huaibei’s appearance barely changed. Plus, he seemed to be a lot more matured and older.
“You… It’s you! How dare you come to my house? You want me to beat you up, don’t you?” Jiang Shizheng looked Su Huaibei in the eyes.If it hadn
’t been for Su Huaibei’s abduction of his youngest daughter Jiang Yuan, the incidents that followed would never have happened.
Due to the marriage between Su Huaibei and Jiang Yu being called off, Jiang Yu became a laughing stock, and she hated Jiang Yuan even more. But what happened afterwards? If Su Huaibei and Jiang Yuan had a good relationship, Jiang Shizheng might be able to forgive everything. But what had happened later for everything to come to this? He had no intentions to know, but his resentment toward Su Huaibei was absolute.
“Leave. Both of you. The Jiang family doesn’t welcome the likes of you.”
Shu Qing whimpered, “Dad.”
Jiang Shizheng shoved Shu Qing away. She staggered on her feet with a pitiful face. Then, she looked at Su Huaibei. “Are you satisfied now?”
The man glanced at Shu Qing. “Uncle Jiang, I know you’re still bothered by what happened back then, but it has been so many years. Jiang Yu is a wife and a mother now. What happened won’t matter anymore. I brought Yuan here today for only one purpose!”
“I don’t care what your purpose is! We don’t welcome you here!” Jiang Shizheng refused to hear them out. “Aunt Fei! Chase them out of here with a broom!” he shouted.
Su Huaibei exclaimed, “Uncle Jiang! I know you don’t wish to see us, but what if I’m here to talk about Nuan?”
Those words had Jiang Shizheng and Aunt Fei appalled.
“Old Master?”
Jiang Shizheng blinked with astonishment. “Nuan? How did you know about Nuan? Nuan is a child from the Shi family! What does Nuan have to do with you!”
“I am Nuan’s biological father!”
“What?” Jiang Shizheng was astounded. He looked at Su Huaibei in disbelief, then at Shu Qing and asked, “Tell me! who is Nuan’s biological father?”
“I…” Shu Qing stuttered. Jiang Shizheng stared at her as if he were staring into her soul. She couldn’t bring her head up.
In her entire life, there were only two people for whom Shu Qing felt the most guilt. One of them was Jiang Shizheng, and the other was Jiang Yu. Jiang Shizheng worked hard to raise her, but she did not fulfill her responsibilities as a daughter. As for Jiang Yu, she had been very kind to Shu Qing ever since she was a little girl. However, Shu Qing had snatched Su Huaibei away from Jiang Yu.
Shu Qing tightened her fist. She couldn’t let out a single word. It was fine for her to lie to Su Huaibei, but she couldn’t gather herself to lie to Jiang Shizheng.
“You. What did I, Jiang Shizheng, did in my past life that caused me to give birth to such a wicked child like you!” Jiang Shizheng was trembling with anger. He slowly raised his arm and viciously slapped his palm across her face. “Not a single word! You left your sister and me without a single word! Do you have any idea how much humiliation your sister had to endure? Then you came back and left us a baby who had an unknown father that you didn’t acknowledge to be yours! Have you ever considered the baby or me? You imbecile!”
Jiang Shizheng pointed toward the bottom of the stairs. “Get out! Get out of my sight! And you… I’m warning you, don’t you go anywhere near Nuan. Nuan is a child of the Shi family. You’re not fit to be Nuan’s parents. Now get lost!”
“Uncle Jiang!” Su Huaibei stopped him. “Nuan is my child! She belongs to the Su family! I will not let Nuan be one of the Shi family! Also, the Shi family has been mistreating Nuan. How can I tolerate one of my family being tormented by others!”
“Ho ho, now you sound like a saint. So why didn’t you want your child back then?” Jiang Shizheng had assumed that Su Huaibei never wanted the child. Otherwise, Shu Qing would not have brought the child back.
“It’s not that I don’t want the child, but…” Su Huaibei glanced at Shi Qing once again and took a deep breath. “We had a misunderstanding in the past. Back then, I thought… I thought the child was dead!”
Jiang Shizheng immediately realized something was amiss. He asked Shu Qing, “Is it true?”
Shu Qing refused to answer, and Jiang Shizheng understood immediately. In a sarcastic tone, he said, “This is great! My daughter is selfish and full of lies! I must have insulted your ancestors in my previous life for you to torment me in this life!”
“Dad… Please don’t say that.”
“What should I say then? That I taught you well? Look at you! You’re despicable!” Jiang Shizheng desperately wanted to slap Shu Qing even more, but he resisted. He turned his body aside and said, “Go. Get out of my sight. You don’t have to worry about Nuan. She’s married to the Fu clan and has been doing well. She does not need selfish parents like the both of you.”
“Uncle Jiang!” With his arms, Su Huaibei stopped the door from closing. “I understand that I’m probably your least favorite person, and you won’t forgive me. However, I am here only because of Nuan. I want Nuan to return to the Su family! I promise I will treat her well and let her marry Fu Chengyan with her new identity so she won’t be questioned by anyone in the Fu clan in the future.”
Jiang Shizheng paused and gave Su Huaibei a stern look as if he were verifying the authenticity of his words.
Su Huaibei added, “Shi Nuan is the daughter of the Su family. I will not abandon her and leave her out there to fend for herself without an identity!”
“You make it sound so easy. What about the Su family? Will they acknowledge her as one of them?”
“Why won’t they? I am Nuan’s father,” Su Huaibei reassured. “There is nothing to worry about. The Su family already knows about Nuan’s identity, and they don’t bear her any grudges.”
Jiang Shizheng lowered his head and thought for a minute. “Aunt Fei, please send Mr. Su off.” He then turned to Shu Qing. “You, get in here!”
At first, Shu Qing wanted to leave, but she hesitated at those words. She looked at Su Huaibei, then at Jiang Shizheng before saying, “Dad, I…”
“Hmph! Don’t call me that. I don’t consider you as my daughter. Do you think I’ll still talk to you if it isn’t for Nuan?”
Jiang Shizheng turned around and walked toward the study room. Aunt Fei looked at Shu Qing and gestured with her hand. “Young Lady, please come in! As for Mr. Su…”
“It’s okay. I’ll wait here!” Su Huaibei replied.
Aunt Fei nodded. “Young Lady, go ahead.” She gestured her hand again to lead Shu Qing into the house.
Shu Qing stood at the door anxiously clenching her fists. Jiang Shizheng’s voice came from inside the house. “Stop dilly-dallying! You’ll get to leave once we’re done talking!”
