SMVB Chapter 72

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Translator: Cheese

Proposal

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At home, the TV was on, but no one was watching. Xi Yun’s attention was on He Qingwan as she bustled in the kitchen.

Auntie He was chopping pork ribs. Thunk, thunk–each cut was ruthless, the sound making Xi Yun’s bones ache.

The little boy heaved a sigh in his heart. Ever since that annoying uncle came, Auntie had started chopping pork ribs. He hoped that jiejie would come back soon; he was getting goosebumps…

Just as he thought so, the doorbell rang.

Xi Yun slowly got to his feet and prepared to open the door when he heard He Qingwan call him: “I’ll go get the door, you keep watching TV.”

“Oh, okay…”

Xi Yun settled back down, wide eyes fixed on He Qingwan approaching the door, cleaver in hand.

Hopefully it was jiejie coming home. Otherwise…

He Qingwan peeked through the peephole, saw it was Tiantian, and quickly opened the door. But before she could ask whether her daughter had seen Su Yuhe, she spotted the man in question standing next to her.

He Qingwan’s face sank.

Su Yuhe shivered at the sight of the knife in He Qingwan’s hand. He squeezed out a smile. “Qingwan, I’m just coming in for a sit and having a few words with Tiantian.”

Su Tian: “Mom, let him stay for a bit.”

He Qingwan bit her lower lip. She glanced at her daughter’s expression and turned to one side, saying coldly, “Come in.”

Su Tian didn’t wait for Su Yuhe and stepped inside first.

Xi Yun quickly stood up at Su Yuhe’s words. Just as he was about to speak, he was stopped by a look from Su Tian.

Su Tian turned around, just in time to see Su Yuhe following behind He Qingwan. He was taken aback at the sight of Xi Yun and asked, “Whose child is this?”

Su Tian didn’t answer him. “By the way, my grandpa and grandma are upstairs. Mom, Xiao Yun and I will go up and call them to come down.”

Su Yuhe cried out, “Mom and Dad are here, too?”

Su Yuhe used to be Old Mr. He’s student, and out of his appreciation for Su Yuhe, the old man had married his daughter to him. He Qingwan was beautiful, so Su Yuhe fell in love at first sight, and the two naturally stepped into the halls of matrimony.

Later, after the incident with Zhou Lan, Su Yuhe could never lift his head in front of his mentor. Although the old man did not approve of the divorce between his daughter and son-in-law, he was not at all soft hearted when reprimanding Su Yuhe.

Now, hearing that his mentor and former father-in-law was upstairs, Su Yuhe went pale.

Originally, he’d planned to take the opportunity to reconnect and rekindle affections with the mother and daughter tonight. Even if… even if they couldn’t be husband and wife, with Tiantian between them, they could at least be friends, right?

But at this moment, his mind only contained the two words: It’s over.

Su Tian smiled. “Grandpa and Grandma arrived two days ago.”

After speaking, she pulled Xi Yun, ready to leave, when Su Yuhe quickly stopped her. “It’s so late. It wouldn’t be good to disturb the elders. Why don’t we wait until tomorrow to see…”

Su Tian tilted her head, smiling. “It’s okay, Grandma and Grandpa don’t go to bed until ten. They’re still watching TV right now.”

Su Yuhe: “…”

Unable to think up another excuse, he could only watch Su Tian bring the little boy out as he fidgeted on the sofa.

He Qingwan lowered the cleaver and sat far away from him with a stony face, not even bothering to give him a look.

Su Yuhe braced himself and fished for conversation. He asked, “Qingwan, cough… whose child is that boy?”

He Qingwan: “The neighbor upstairs.”

“Oh… he’s very cute. Does he come to play often?”

“He lives here.”

“Why is that? What about his parents…?”

Just as he spoke these unsavory words, the noisy thud of footsteps came from outside the door.

Su Yuhe quickly jumped up and saw the two elders with taut expressions push the door open and march in imposingly.

“Mom, Dad…”

Before Su Yuhe could finish the greeting, the old man interrupted him in a deep voice. “Don’t call me that. You and Qingwan have already divorced. I can’t afford this ‘Dad’ of yours.”

Old Mrs: “President Su is a busy man. Why come to our Qingwan in your free time, instead of guarding your beautiful wife and child at home?”

Before, the two elders did not consent to He Qingwan’s divorce with Su Yuhe because they didn’t allow divorce. However, now that the two had not only divorced, but Su Yuhe had also remarried, was there any need to be polite?

In fact, after Su Tian disappeared with He Qingwan, they had never shown the Su family a good expression.

Su Tian came in behind the two elders. Xi Yun was aware that it was inappropriate to stay in He Qingwan’s house tonight and had obediently remained upstairs.

Su Yuhe’s expression was full of embarrassment and guilt. He stammered, “Mom, Dad, it was I who let down Qingwan that time. I missed Tiantian…”

When he saw Su Tian come in, he was like a drowning man who found a piece of driftwood. His eyes lit up, and he waved her over. “Come here, Tiantian. Dad will take you and your mother back to Imperial City, okay?”

Su Tian smiled and shook her head. “No need. Mom and I are living very well here.”

Fearing that the two elders would side with Su Yuhe again, Su Tian quickly added, “Once I finish the college entrance exam, Mom and I will go back.”

Su Yuhe: “Yes yes yes, you should come back after finishing the entrance exam. Which university does Tiantian want to attend? What major?”

Su Tian looked at Su Yuhe, then at the two elders, and suddenly broke into a smile. “Grandma and Grandpa want me to study at the bridal school in R Country…”

Su Yuhe originally had an amiable expression, but it instantly sank at these words.

Before he could think, the cry“No!” left his lips.

The Old Mr. argued with a sullen look, “Why not? You can take care of your son, let me take care of my granddaughter.”

In contrast, the old woman did not speak this time.

Of course it wasn’t fine!

Except for his initial moment of bewitchment in the beginning, Su Yuhe was still very good to Su Tian. At the thought that the Su family’s daughter would not go to college and actually go to R Country to learn how to serve her husband…

In particular, he recalled He Qingwan’s circumstance while living with the Su family. Of course, it was good to marry such a wife, but it was absolutely impossible for his daughter to be such a wife for someone else.

Men–the expectations for their wives and their daughters were always different.

Su Yuhe: “Dad, even if Qingwan and I have divorced, Tiantian is still my daughter. I want her to go to college…”

He Qingwan watched coldly as the group of people fought over Tiantian’s academic future. She pulled Su Tian down to sit next to her.

Some mandarins had been placed on the table. Su Tian peeled one and shared half with He Qingwan, and the mother-daughter pair ate oranges as they listened to their quarrel.

The old man argued, “You also graduated from college, and how did you treat my daughter? Do you want Tiantian to go to university and meet people like you?”

Su Yuhe: “It’s alright even if she becomes a person like me. I would rather Tiantian let others down in the future than have her be let down by others!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell silent. Not only was the old couple stunned, but even He Qingwan couldn’t help but look up at him.

Then, her heart was filled with endless sorrow.

Since he cherished Tiantian so much, then when Tiantian was hurt in the car accident, why was he not distressed during those incidents, even letting that woman come annoy Tiantian?

Didn’t he know that Tiantian got into that accident because of her?

How can people change so quickly, so terribly?

Seeing that the atmosphere had reached a deadlock, Su Tian pushed over the basket of tangerines and said, “These mandarin oranges are very sweet. Let’s continue after you eat a few?”

The two men had used all their strength, and she was worried that they wouldn’t have the energy to quarrel once Ji Shaoheng arrived.

Both parties picked up a tangerine for the sake of face, slowly peeling and eating.

After eating two oranges, the old man continued lightly, “Since you have divorced, you just take care of your own family. Tiantian is almost an adult and won’t need your concern in the future.”

Su Yuhe blurted out: “Then I will remarry.”

!

The eyes of everyone else in the room fell on him.

Su Yuhe’s expression was calm. He didn’t look like he was joking.

The idea of remarriage had been seeping into his heart as early as when they met again in front of the hospital, and it only grew stronger day by day.

When he released this declaration, his heart suddenly burst open, as though he had broken free from a quagmire, and his whole body relaxed.

Su Yuhe addressed the two elders. “Mom, Dad, I want to divorce Zhou Lan and remarry Qingwan…”

He turned to face He Qingwan and spoke in a quiet voice. “Qingwan, in the past I was disgraceful, but I’ve figured it out in this period of time. The ones in my heart are still you and Tiantian…”

He Qingwan was also looking back at him. The look in her eyes was incomprehensible; Su Yuhe could no longer see through her thoughts.

All he knew was that when he wanted a divorce, He Qingwan had disagreed. Later, when his mind grew clear and he was not prepared to divorce, He Qingwan suddenly began to insist on a divorce.

“I’m the one who hurt your and Tiantian’s hearts. I know I was wrong. Let me take care of you two and make it up to you in the future, okay?”

The old couple couldn’t be convinced, so he turned to He Qingwan. If Su Yuhe really understood that he was wrong and was willing to stop all contact with Zhou Lan in the future…

The light in He Qingwan’s eyes suddenly dimmed and finally flickered out completely.

She looked at the man upon whom she had once entrusted all the admiration and love of her girlhood. She couldn’t tell whether the emotion in her heart was disappointment or something else.

“Su Yuhe…”

“Mn.”

“…Why do you always cheat?”

The emotions on Su Yuhe’s face congealed.

He Qingwan: “When you were married to me, you had an affair with Zhou Lan. Now, when you are married to Zhou Lan, you want to have an affair with me.”

She laughed. It was unclear whether her question was directed at him or herself:

“Why do you always fail to learn to be faithful to your marriage?”

Su Yuhe: “…!”

Embarrassed, he defended himself. “Qingwan, I just went down the wrong path, and now I want to correct it…”

He Qingwan: “Then continue down your wrong path. How do you know that the original path was the right one?”

Su Yuhe: “…”

He looked upon his former wife’s beautiful and gentle face. For a while, he was unable to speak.

The Old Mrs. suddenly opened her mouth. “Qingwan, come with me.”

She turned and walked into the bedroom.

He Qingwan followed suit.

The two men watched each other in silence.

With an orange in her mouth, Su Tian picked up her cell phone and texted the little gege:

【Where are you now?】

Just earlier, she had informed the little gege that Su Yuhe and the He couple were here, though she predicted that he likely already knew. Otherwise, how could he so coincidentally be coming over at this time?

The little gege replied with almost scientific precision:

【It will take ten minutes at most. We have already exited the highway.】

Su Tian calculated the distance from the highway to her home and concluded that they would arrive in six or seven minutes at most, so she placed her phone back with complete confidence and continued to contentedly eat oranges.

In the bedroom, the old woman and He Qingwan were seated on the bed and chair, respectively.

The Old Mrs. got straight to the point and asked her directly, “Qingwan, what are you going to do now? It’s hard for an older woman to find someone else, and you also have Tiantian. Even if there is someone willing to accept you, what about Tiantian? Can you guarantee that someone who has no blood ties or relationship will be good to Tiantian?”

He Qingwan: “Mom, what are you trying to say?”

The Old Mrs.: “Although Su Yuhe is a disgrace, in the end, he is Tiantian’s biological father. If nothing else, he definitely won’t abuse Tiantian, right? You’re all one family, after all…”

He Qingwan: “He and I have divorced. We’re no longer a family.”

As early as when Zhou Lan brought that child to their door, and even as early as when Su Yuhe cheated, they had no longer been a family.

The old woman: “If you won’t remarry Su Yuhe, then what? Just remain single? You and Tiantian are a single child and widow. When your father and I are gone in the future, you will have no one else to lean on.”

He Qingwan: “I have Tiantian. That’s enough for me.”

“Tiantian will also get married one day and form a new family with others. When that happens, hm, will you stay together with Tiantian and become a mother-in-law who attracts resentment?”

He Qingwan: “I can live alone. I don’t need…”

“Complete nonsense. Have you ever thought…” The Old Mrs. lowered her voice, “…Tiantian is the Su family’s child, and the Su family has a large business. If you and Tiantian go back, won’t everything be Tiantian’s in the future? Once Tiantian grows older, how much more will she gain compared to other people’s children?”

He Qingwan was getting angry. “Tiantian is better than other people’s children already. Tiantian and I aren’t greedy for the Su family’s things.”

The old woman angrily smacked the bed. “You stubborn donkey^[1], what’s the point in being so blindly virtuous? Isn’t Tiantian a daughter of the Su family and the only legitimate daughter? Shouldn’t Tiantian inherit the Su family’s things? Should Tiantian make it more convenient for others to take it?”

As for who the ‘others’ were, they knew without saying it aloud.

He Qingwan: “…”

The Old Mrs.: “Your dad and I have inquired thoroughly about what happened after you came here. Let’s not mention the past–look at Tiantian’s appearance on TV. If you hadn’t divorced, Tiantian would still be the Su family’s daughter now. An editor of a small magazine, just one Red Sun magazine, how could he dare to bully Tiantian like this?

“Think about it. As a mother, do you want your daughter to be bullied?”

He Qingwan opened her mouth. She wanted to ask–was she not their daughter? Why were they able to watch as Su Yuhe bullied her?

But eventually, she didn’t ask.

She didn’t need to think to know how her mother would reply: “You and him are a family. It’s normal for a family to butt heads. It will be fine in the future.”

“…Tiantian is still young, but what about later? She will meet more people and need more resources. Can you provide them for her? …Yes, people raise their children with their current means^[2]. But when there is a chance to let her live in luxury and comfort, why insist on living frugally and letting the child suffer? Don’t you want your child to grow up smoothly and live a happy and comfortable life?”

Of course she did, but…

He Qingwan pursed her lip and said nothing.

The old woman: “Think carefully about what exactly will be good for you and Tiantian.”

Knock knock. There was a knock on the door, and Su Tian peeked in from outside.

The Old Mrs. hurriedly ushered her in. “Tiantian, come here.”

Su Tian glanced at He Qingwan before walking over to sit next to the elderly woman.

The Old Mrs. asked, “What’s wrong?”

Su Tian: “Mom, I just got a text message from Uncle Ji. He said he was coming to Luocheng for a business trip. Since our clownfish are about to have babies, he also brought the little gege along.”

The Old Mrs.: “…???”

What Uncle Ji? What having babies?

He Qingwan was also astonished. “When?”

Su Tian: “Right now.”

As soon as she finished speaking, there were three regular knocks on the entrance door.

Su Tian quickly stood to her feet. “That must be Uncle Ji.”

Saying so, she shuffled out.

The two men in the living room watched Su Tian hurry over, their heads full of water. Su Yuhe felt a bit jealous. Who was this? Tiantian wasn’t so enthusiastic when he came!

Su Tian opened the door, and sure enough, Ji Shaoheng and Ji Hang were standing at the entrance. Ji Shaoheng was still donned in his neatly pressed police uniform. Ji Hang had on a mask and hat while carrying a large backpack.

Ji Shaoheng was naturally dashing and masculine. What was mysterious was that Ji Hang was clearly wrapped up like a zongzi^[3], yet he still inexplicably looked handsome.

Su Tian broke into a smile and greeted them sweetly. “Uncle Ji, Ji Hang gege, you arrived so quickly.”

Ji Shaoheng smiled. “Tiantian, is your mom here?”

Su Tian: “She’s in her room. Hurry in, it’s cold outside.”

The two visitors stepped inside. Ji Hang handed Su Tian the backpack. “I brought some things for you. You’ll need them after the baby fish hatch…”

Su Tian quickly accepted, thanking him with a brilliant smile.

“Ji Hang gege, why are you still wearing a mask? Didn’t you say your allergies were almost all healed?”

Ji Hang’s ears slightly flushed red. “I accidentally got another allergic reaction a few days ago.”

Su Tian: “…”

So pitiful, why can’t you pay attention?

As they talked and laughed, over in the living room, Su Yuhe’s face was quickly turning blue.

It was almost ten right now!

Ji Shaoheng, a big man, coming to his wife… no, ex-wife’s house at ten o’clock at night–what was the meaning of this?

Even though he had already guessed last time that Ji Shaoheng was interested in He Qingwan, seeing it with his own eyes still gave him the feeling the top of his head was green^[4].

His thoughts began to grow out of control. Coming here at this time of night, how far had the two developed? Was Qingwan still the Qingwan who only belonged to him?

What was Ji Shaoheng’s purpose in coming here now?

Ji Shaoheng entered the living room. At the sight of so many people inside, he asked He Qingwan in surprise, “This is… Uncle and Auntie?”

The old couple had heard of Ji Shaoheng, heard the way Tiantian addressed him, and had seen the uniform and epaulettes on his body. They could roughly guess his identity, but they couldn’t understand why Ji Shaoheng had come to their daughter’s house at this time.

Old Mr.: “I am Qingwan’s father.”

Ji Shaoheng quickly pulled his family’s little rascal over for a warm greeting.

Even Ji Hang, who had always been aloof and unwilling to deal with people, was unprecedentedly obedient and sensible, and the way he called “Grandpa, Grandma,” was extremely pleasant to the ear.

The Old Mrs. had always regretted that He Qingwan was unable to give birth to a boy, and she was completely delighted by Ji Hang. Except: “Child, why are you so tightly covered up?”

Ji Shaoheng: “This child has allergies to UV rays. He got sunburned on his face a few days ago and feels too embarrassed to meet people.”

Ji Hang lowered his head, the spitting image of someone embarrassed to meet people.

Ji Shaoheng was well-mannered, not to mention handsome, young, and promising. Added to his deliberate attempt to please, the old couple were smitten with him in the blink of an eye.

Only Su Yuhe had a dark expression from beginning to end.

After simple pleasantries, Su Tian tugged Ji Hang’s arm. “Mom, I’m going to show little gege my fish.”

He Qingwan smiled. “Go on, bring some fruit and be a good host.”

Su Tian: “I know.”

Carrying a platter of fruit, she pulled Ji Hang into her bedroom and led him over to the small glass bowl. “Help me take a look, are there any problems?”

The youth initially felt uncomfortable entering Su Tian’s room, especially because the fragrance in the room was the same as the one on Su Tian’s body.

But Su Tian was too enthusiastic, and he had to start working before he could even feel shy.

He turned on the light and carefully inspected the clownfish and sea anemone before smiling. “No problem, they’re all very healthy. You’ve taken good care of them.”

Su Tian sighed in relief. “That’s good. I was worried the mother fish was malnourished and that the eggs she laid wouldn’t survive.”

Ji Hang shot her a smile. “No need to worry. You’re taking good care of them, so the baby fish will survive. I brought you a breeding tank and food for the baby fish. At first, they can only eat small pieces, and they’ll need to be hand raised…”

Su Tian, after listening to the youth’s words: “…”

It was troublesome enough keeping an aquarium. She didn’t expect breeding to be a hundred times more work than this.

But Su Tian still liked it. She laid out the messy collection of tools and studied them one by one, striving to be successfully promoted to a grandmother.

As she carried out her research, Su Tian asked quietly, “Just earlier, Su Yuhe said he wanted to remarry my mom. Grandma and Grandpa also seem to support this. My mom is about to be persuaded…”

The youth: “You don’t want your mom and dad to remarry?”

Su Tian shook her head. “I hope my mom can find someone who cherishes her and live a happy life, without being tied down by anyone.”

Su Tian knew better than anyone how much He Qingwan loved her. Just now, if she hadn’t opened the door and interrupted her grandmother, perhaps He Qingwan really would have agreed to remarry Su Yuhe “for the sake of a better future for her.”

Su Tian completely detested this.

He Qingwan was He Qingwan–not Old Mr. He’s daughter, nor Su Yuhe’s wife. And of course, she wasn’t Su Tian’s mother.

She didn’t need to sacrifice what she valued most for anyone. She should live for herself.

Suddenly, Ji Shaoheng’s voice carried over from the living room:

“Uncle, Auntie, although the time is not ripe, I would like to ask the elders for marriage–

“I am in love with He Qingwan. I hope you can approve.”

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[1] 棒槌: lit. the wooden club/stick used to beat laundry. It’s also northeastern slang used to call someone a fool or too simpleminded

[2] 穷了穷养，富了富养: There’s no saying that matches this exact phrase from what my quick research tells me, but there’s one that’s similar: 穷养儿，富养女–meaning that a son should be raised under hardship and challenges (to learn responsibility and become a “real mean”) and a daughter should be raised in luxury and comfort (to develop good taste and self-esteem). So if we apply that meaning to here, the phrase in the raws would be something like: the poor will raise their children under hardship, and the rich will raise their children in luxury(?)

[3] 粽子

Source: douguo

[4] The feeling that he was being cuckolded by his (ex)wife

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Cheese: just when you thought this man could not be a worse husband than he already was

also, super long chapters for a while. enjoy!

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