Chapter 653 - 651: Bargaining
Chapter 653: Chapter 651: Bargaining
Su Shengguo and Zheng Erlian returned to the guest house in silence. Just as they opened their door, the door to the next room opened as well. Su Lidong poked his head out and quickly asked, "Mom, Dad, where have you been? Lifeng and I are starving to death."
Between the two of them, Su Lidong and Su Lifeng only had a little over ten cents—not nearly enough for a meal, let alone a walk around town. As evening fell and there was still no sign of Su Shengguo and his wife, the two boys grew incredibly anxious. They had no idea where their parents had gone and could only wait passively in their room.
"Oh, right. It’s time for dinner," Su Shengguo said, seeming to finally register the time. "Come on, go get your brother. Let’s eat first."
The family ate at the state-run restaurant next to the guest house before returning to their respective rooms. Su Lidong wanted to ask Su Shengguo what had happened, but Su Lifeng pulled him back into their room.
Back in their room, Zheng Erlian sat woodenly on the edge of the bed, staring blankly out the window. An air of dejection hung about her.
Su Shengguo sighed. "Alright, stop dwelling on it. No matter what, we can’t afford to offend that girl Su Qing anymore. She’s not the same kid we could push around. You have to understand that."
"I understand," Zheng Erlian replied listlessly. Before she had seen Su Qing, and even right after they first met, she had still planned on demanding an explanation. But now, that thought was completely gone. The gap was too wide, just far too wide. Compared to Su Qing, their family was like dirt next to a cloud—they weren’t even in the same league anymore. Trying to go up against Su Qing would be like an egg trying to break a rock.
Even if, for the sake of argument, Su Qing was responsible for Su Mei’s death, she wouldn’t dare oppose her anymore. ’I loved Su Mei, but I still have two sons. I have to think about them.’ She knew with absolute clarity now that angering Su Qing would do their family no good at all.
The only thing they could do was stay out of Su Qing’s way.
In fact, they might even have to help Su Qing if they could.
Thinking of the girl who had goaded them into confronting Su Qing, Zheng Erlian furrowed her brow. "Shengguo," she said, "who do you think that girl who came yesterday was?"
Su Shengguo shook his head. "I don’t know. In any case, we’ll just do as Su Qing told us. As for everything else, we shouldn’t get involved. We can’t afford to."
"I know." Zheng Erlian nodded silently. After a moment’s thought, she asked, "Do you think that girl will come back?"
"Su Qing said she would, so I think she’ll be back." As Su Shengguo thought about what Su Qing had become, he was sick with regret. ’If I’d known she’d end up like this, I never would have gone along with the family’s nonsense back then. If I had just helped her out, my life would be so much better now.’
But alas, there’s no medicine for regret in this world. No matter how much Su Shengguo regretted his choices, it was useless.
Su Shengguo and Zheng Erlian didn’t have to wait long. A knock came at the door. The couple exchanged a look, and Su Shengguo went to open it. Standing there was, just as expected, the girl from yesterday.
Su Shengguo put on a surprised expression. "You again!"
The girl gave a faint smile. "What, are you surprised?"
Without waiting for Su Shengguo to reply, the girl walked into the room as if she owned the place. "You went to Beijing University to find Su Qing today, didn’t you?" she continued. "Feeling defeated? I told you yesterday, you’re just common folk. You can’t win against Su Qing. Do you have any idea who she is? She’s on top of the world right now. She’s a student at Beijing University, her maternal grandfather is a high-ranking official... she can do whatever she wants in Beijing. For nobodies like you from a small town to think you can take her on? That’s just delusional."
Su Shengguo adopted a look of utter indignation. "If you knew all that, why did you come and tell us those things? Do you have any idea how much humiliation my wife and I endured in front of Su Qing today? She even threatened us! She said if we dared to cause any trouble, she’d make us regret it for the rest of our lives. Do you know how arrogant she was? Do you have any idea what it feels like to be wronged like that with nowhere to turn?"
Zheng Erlian, who had been sitting silently to the side, was stunned by her husband’s words. ’How did I never know his acting was this good? If I hadn’t been there with him to see Su Qing today, I would have actually believed him.’