To My Dear Mr. Huo

She only mentioned that she would go less often and not that she would stop going entirely. She was still quite worried since Xiang Caiping didn’t seem quite herself recently.

Moreover, Su Qingsang was not particularly bothered by Su Peizhen.

Huo Jinyao took the rice dumpling from her and pinched her nose affectionately.

“You have so much to say even though I’ve only asked one simple question. Did I say that you cannot go?

“I just think that Su Peizhen is not a very pleasant person to be around, so I don’t want you to come in contact with her.”

It was not a coincidence that Su Peizhen got into a relationship with Huo Yifan. It must have been premeditated. They were definitely planning something.

“I know. So please don’t worry. I will be extra careful.”

Huo Jinyao nodded. He unwrapped the rice dumpling and took a bite, nodding his head at her.

“It’s delicious.”

“Of course. You know that Aunt Xiang cooks well.”

There was a hint of sadness in Su Qingsang’s voice when she said that. That sweet period when she and Xiang Caiping had been as close as a mother-daughter couple was gone forever.

“Yes, I do know that she can cook well.”

Huo Jinyao finished the rice dumpling. He took a piece of tissue to wipe his hands with and thought of another matter.

“Did you tell Aunt Xiang that Su Peizhen is currently dating Huo Yifan?”

“No, I didn’t.” Su Qingsang shook her head. “I didn’t know how to go about telling her about it.”

“If that’s the case, don’t tell her at all.”

Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

Su Peizhen and Xiang Caiping weren’t very close in their relationship with each other, so if Xiang Caiping were to find out that Su Peizhen was dating his cousin, Huo Yifan, Xiang Caiping would also be able to guess that something fishy is going on—even without many details. And by then, who knows what will happen.

“I know what I am doing, just relax.”

Huo Jinyao certainly believed in Su Qingsang, but he did not trust Su Peizhen in the slightest.

She had done a lot of things recently, but it was all for the business. He had not heard anything from Yang Wenchang about her private life.

He didn’t know if Su Peizhen was thinking about taking on a different approach when dealing with them, or if she was just that confident that she could land a blow on him business-wise.

Either way, he would still have to get Yang Wenchang to keep an eye on her so that she would not have a chance to hurt Su Qingsang.

***

Su Peizhen got home earlier than usual today, and that surprised Xiang Caiping. Beyond the immediate surprise, she felt a brief feeling of guilt towards her daughter.

Su Peizhen happened to see the flicker of guilt on Xiang Caiping’s face when she looked up after taking off her shoes.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and the tip of her nose twitched. The corners of her lips turned up in an instant.

“Something smells good, what’s that?”

“I made some rice dumplings today.”

Xiang Caiping got up and walked into the kitchen while she was speaking to bring out a few rice dumplings for her to see.

“This is sweet, and this is savory. I do not know what you like. Have a taste.”

“Why did you think of making rice dumplings out of the blue?”

Su Peizhen looked at Xiang Caiping and did not take the rice dumplings immediately. She was surprised by this sudden burst of activity.

“Isn’t the Dragon Boat Festival over?”

“Yes, it’s over.”

Xiang Caiping looked at her daughter, this time without any traces of guilt on her face.

“I had thought about making them together with you, on the day of the festival if you were home. But you went out. It has been a few days since and I did not want to let the bamboo leaves go to waste.”

‘Is she nagging at me?’

Su Peizhen took one of the rice dumplings. She did not eat it but tossed it around in her hands instead.

“Mum, I don’t really like eating these. Next time, you can do whatever you want and eat whatever you want. You don’t have to wait for me.”

Xiang Caiping stared at her blankly and finally dropped her head at Su Peizhen’s oblivious gaze.

“Alright.”

“But I will eat this today.”

Su Peizhen waved the sweet dumpling in her hand and disappeared into her room.

Xiang Caiping watched her as she walked away. She wanted to call out to her, ask her to eat together, but she didn’t.

Su Peizhen went into her room. Instead of eating the rice dumpling, she turned on her computer and clicked on one of the programs on the screen.

Quickly, she was able to see every corner of the house.

Other than the small garden outside, she could also see the living room, dining room, kitchen, including Xiang Caiping’s bedroom, and her own room.

She brought up the surveillance footage of the house, and she noticed something very quickly.

Su Qingsang had come to the house.

No wonder Xiang Caiping wanted to make rice dumplings out of the blue. And she even said that she had intended to prepare the rice dumplings for her even though she wasn’t home that day.

So, it was actually for Su Qingsang that she made rice dumplings, but Xiang Caiping had lied and said they were for her instead?

Su Peizhen glared at the rice dumpling, suddenly unable to stand the sight of it.

Indeed, she hated eating things like rice dumplings. They were hard to digest and high in calories. However, even if she didn’t like them, it did not mean that she could accept Xiang Caiping using them as a means to please Su Qingsang.

Su Peizhen watched the footage and saw Su Qingsang and Xiang Caiping happily making rice dumplings together at the dining table. They looked exactly like a pair of mother and daughter and that made her feel very uncomfortable.

‘Su Qingsang, you have already taken away Li Qianxue, and now you have come for Xiang Caiping too?

‘Look at you trying to curry favor with Xiang Caiping. So, you think that you can please both mothers, don’t you?’

Su Peizhen just couldn’t let this go. She desperately wanted to do something to make Su Qingsang unhappy.

But she had heard that Zhang Yichen had gone back to the army and that he would not be back any time soon.

If she tried to find another man and accused Su Qingsang of being in a relationship with him, Huo Jinyao would never believe it. Furthermore, doing that would sound the alarm for him instead, and he would become aware of her recent activities as well.

Su Peizhen stared at the screen for a moment, and she smiled unexpectedly.

‘Su Qingsang, oh Su Qingsang. You want to please both women, right? Then I’ll just make it difficult for you to do that.

‘I want to see if, based on Li Qianxue’s possessive personality, if she will let you continue to do this.’

Su Peizhen refreshed the computer program and began working on it quickly.

***

The Li Mansion, Lin City.

Li Qianxue sat down on the sofa as soon as she got home.

She had a business dinner today. Su Chenghui used to be the one going for these social engagements, however, since the day she filed for the divorce, she had to be the one going for these work dinners even if she didn’t like it.

“Qianxue. Did you drink again?”

Old Master Li saw Li Qianxue’s flushed face when he came down the stairs.

He caught a whiff of alcohol from her and knew that she had gone out for social engagements.

“I drank a little. Don’t worry, Father. I am not drunk.”

Li Qianxue sat up straight. Her eyes were bright, and it didn’t look like she was tipsy at all.

She couldn’t reject the drink politely, so she just drank a little bit. She knew not to get drunk and she knew how much she could drink.

Old Master Li had a pained expression on his face. He looked at Li Qianxue while holding back what he really wanted to say.

“Qianxue?”

“Yes? Father, I am really not drunk.”

Li Qianxue blinked at her father a few times as she spoke.

“See, don’t I look sober now?”

“Qianxue. I heard that Su Chenghui, he—”

“Father.” When Li Qianxue heard that name, her face changed instantly. “If you want me to reconcile with Su Chenghui, you can stop talking now.”

She hated Su Chenghui with all her guts and it would be impossible for her to want to see him ever again.

Old Master Li knew that his daughter would always have a distinct line between love and hate and he sighed internally. “I am not asking you to reconcile with him. I just heard that he had set up a small company and it looked like he was doing a good job.

“I just feel bad for you. Without mentioning what Su Chenghui did, he is actually quite a capable—”

“Father! No matter how capable he may be, we are divorced. He is no longer your son-in-law.”

Li Qianxue had met up with Su Chenghui “coincidentally” a few times in the past two months. He seemed to be having a good time, and he did not look like he was affected by the divorce in the least.

If he had set up a company, good for him. Li Qianxue knew that he had the capabilities.

They both agreed that they would not interfere with each other’s relationships in the future. Li Qianxue would not let Su Chenghui come back into her life again.

Old Master Li did not continue to persuade her.

With her mood slightly affected, Li Qianxue went up to her room to refresh herself after her long day.

After a bath, Li Qianxue sat down on the sofa and looked around the empty room where she slept alone.

Li Qianxue knew that she had lost control, but she couldn’t stop herself.

Li Qianxue didn’t feel as though she was that exhausted lately, nor did she feel like she was in a sorry plight.

Her worst moments were over. When people in Lin City found out that Su Chenghui had set up a private company, the way those people looked at her had made her feel uncomfortable.

But she had already walked past those feelings a long time ago.

She used to think that she would love Su Chenghui forever until reality gave her a wake-up call.

When a man didn’t love you anymore, it was a wise decision to end the relationship to prevent any more emotional damage.

If she had chosen to endure it, she might be able to relax for now, but it would undoubtedly become a pain in the end.

Whenever Su Chenghui came to mind, she couldn’t help but think about the expression on his face when they met each other recently.

He looked earnest and appeared to have a lot to say when he saw her.

If Li Qianxue hadn’t seen through Su Chenghui this time, she might have taken what he said seriously and thought that he still had feelings for her.

But she had already been fooled once, so she knew better than to believe him again.

Su Chenghui’s new company was probably not running as smoothly as it seemed, he just wanted to ride on the wave of the Li Corporation.

Li Qianxue realized after she divorced Su Chenghui that she would always analyze his actions from the perspective of the most malicious intentions.

She would always think of Su Chenghui as horrible and detestable.

She knew this was because her trust in Su Chenghui had been broken and their relationship had ceased to exist. Furthermore, that’s what she wanted to see.

It was good like to be apart from him now.

Li Qianxue was going to work hard and prove that she could live well and run the Li Corporation well, even without the assistance of Su Chenghui.

Li Qianxue rubbed the spot in between her brows and decided to go to bed.

Out of habit, she glanced through her schedule for the next day, as she always did before she slept. She received an e-mail just before she was about to call it a day.

She had two unread e-mails: one for work, and another to her private account.

The e-mail that was sent to her private e-mail was strange because not a lot of people knew about this e-mail address. She noticed that the e-mail had no subject or sender name.

There was a video clip attached to the e-mail, but Li Qianxue did not open it immediately.

Li Qianxue stared at the unfamiliar e-mail address for a while and decided to delete the e-mail.

However, she hesitated just as she was about to hit the confirm button and played the video after thinking it through.

Li Qianxue bolted upright in her bed; her eyes still glued to the screen.

In the video, she saw Su Qingsang and Xiang Caiping—