Only Su Dan himself knew what he was truly thinking.
The sun was high in the sky before Su Dan finally emerged from his room.
The moment he came out, he saw Miao Fenghua in the courtyard, shooting him a harsh glare.
Su Dan remembered that he had hit Miao Fenghua yesterday and immediately slapped himself across the face.
"Mom, I was wrong. I was really wrong last night."
Yesterday, Su Dan had not only struck Miao Fenghua’s head and face, but he had also kicked her in the waist, leaving a bruise that ached with the slightest movement.
She was furious and resentful. The son she had raised so preciously, whom she had held in her hands for fear of dropping and in her mouth for fear of melting, had actually laid a hand on her. The pain in her heart was far worse than the physical aches.
She hadn’t slept a wink last night, crying every time she thought about it.
Unlike Su Xing and Su Li, Su Dan was the apple of her eye, her very lifeblood.
Seeing Su Dan kneeling before her, Miao Fenghua had another crying spell. She said a few words, but in the end, her heart ached for him. She quickly grabbed the hand he was using to slap himself and pulled him to his feet.
"You can never do this again. And stop drinking. Those no-good friends of yours are a bad influence."
At a time like this, how could Su Dan refuse? He agreed to everything.
"Okay, okay, Mom. I’ll listen to whatever you say."
"Mom, I didn’t hurt you too badly last night, did I? Do you want to go see a doctor?" Su Dan even asked with a show of filial piety.
"It’s fine, there’s no need." Miao Fenghua couldn’t bear to spend the money and replied immediately.
And just like that, the incident was over. However, there were other matters to discuss.
"Dan Dan, I don’t care what you do in the future, but for the next few days, just bear with it. She’s carrying my grandchild in her belly, and we can’t have any accidents."
Miao Fenghua had no problem with Su Dan hitting Qin Shanshan. If it weren’t for her grandchild, she wouldn’t have wanted to get involved at all. In fact, she thought Qin Shanshan deserved it.
But for the sake of her grandchild, she couldn’t just ignore it.
She had been awake all night, waiting since early morning for Su Dan to get up and apologize to her. Instead, she had heard the commotion between the couple from outside.
Miao Fenghua didn’t get closer; she even actively avoided them, but she was worried sick.
"Don’t worry, Mom. I know what I’m doing."
A flicker of discomfort crossed Su Dan’s face, but he spoke quickly.
Inside the room, Qin Shanshan, lying naked under the covers, could faintly hear the mother and son’s voices.
Her face was flushed red, from a mixture of anger and shame.
After that huge fight, the Su Family residence was quiet for two days. Even Qin Shanshan and Miao Fenghua stopped bickering.
Having thrown his tantrum, Su Dan finally got what he wanted. He could now kiss, hug, and touch Qin Shanshan freely, so his temper improved, and he was in a great mood all day long.
After two peaceful days, Qin Shanshan once again considered the matter of going to the Imperial City. But remembering Su Dan’s previous reaction, she didn’t bring it up.
After some thought, she decided to call Su Li, but unfortunately, no one answered.
For her part, Su Li knew nothing about the drama between Su Dan and Qin Shanshan, nor was she aware of Su Dan’s "glorious" drunken exploits of beating his wife and his own mother.
After she hung up the phone that day, she didn’t give Qin Shanshan or the others another thought.
Fearing the rain would get worse, she nervously drove her new car to the library.
When she reached her destination, Su Li heaved a huge sigh of relief.
After getting out of the car and entering the library, she spotted Bai Shan right away.
She saw him immediately, partly because Bai Shan stood out, and partly because the library was less crowded, likely due to the rain.
"Brother Bai Shan." The moment Little Tang Mo saw Bai Shan, he ran over to greet him.
Bai Shan looked unwell, but he let out a big sigh of relief when he saw Little Tang Mo.
"You’re here. I was starting to think you weren’t coming."
"We didn’t come this morning because of the rain. Brother Bai Shan, have you been here since this morning? Have you eaten?"
Bai Shan nodded. "My mom didn’t want me to go out either, but I remembered we had plans, so I came anyway. I got here this morning."
He lowered his head. "I haven’t eaten yet."
Little Tang Mo felt very guilty. "I’m sorry, Brother Bai Shan. If I had known, I would have come this morning too. It’s so late now, you should go get something to eat."
Bai Shan nodded. "Mm, okay. I’m just glad you’re here. When you didn’t show up, I was worried something might have happened to you."
He looked pale, but seeing Little Tang Mo’s rosy cheeks, a relieved smile appeared on his face. He couldn’t resist reaching out and touching Little Tang Mo’s cheek.
’This was something I’ve wanted to do for a very, very long time.’
Little Tang Mo’s face was tender, soft, and warm. Bai Shan’s own face was full of wonder.
Little Tang Mo couldn’t help but giggle. "That tickles."
He pulled Bai Shan’s hand down. "Bai Shan, your hand is so cold."
"Yeah, it’s always cold." Bai Shan envied Little Tang Mo’s warm little hands, envied how capable and smart he was, and envied that he could run and jump and do so many things.
"You’re so great. I really envy you."
Little Tang Mo didn’t understand. "What’s there to be envious of?"
After saying that, he saw Su Li standing to the side and smiled. "Mommy."
Hearing this, Bai Shan quickly stood up. He hadn’t noticed Su Li before. He wanted to stand and greet her, but the form of address got stuck in his throat.
’She’s my friend Little Tang Mo’s mother, but she’s younger than me. How am I supposed to address her?’
"Bai Shan, you look pale. Are you cold?"
Su Li spoke first with a smile, breaking the awkwardness. She had overheard the conversation between Little Tang Mo and Bai Shan.
She was surprised by what Bai Shan had said, and of course, felt a pang of indescribable pity for him.
’Bai Shan isn’t that young, but he’s so naive. Maybe it’s because of his poor health.’
"You’re probably cold and hungry. Brother Bai Shan, you should go eat. After you eat, go home and rest."
Bai Shan obediently left. Su Li and Little Tang Mo walked him out.
They watched Bai Shan’s car drive away. Little Tang Mo and Su Li exchanged a few words, and just as they were about to head back into the library, they saw a familiar face—Bai Xinyue.
Bai Xinyue saw Su Li and Little Tang Mo the moment she got out of her car, and her eyes narrowed immediately.
’What are they doing here?’
This was the same question in Su Li’s mind. ’What is Bai Xinyue doing here?’
"Miss Su."
Su Li didn’t really want to greet Bai Xinyue, but unfortunately, Bai Xinyue spoke first.
"Miss Bai," Su Li replied coolly.
Bai Xinyue nodded and looked over at Little Tang Mo.
"Hello. We didn’t get a chance to greet each other properly last time."
Little Tang Mo’s expression turned indifferent when he saw Bai Xinyue. After she greeted him, he gave a cold, curt nod in response.
Bai Xinyue gave him a cursory glance before turning her attention back to Su Li.
"What brings Miss Su here?"
"To read."
"Me too," Bai Xinyue said with a faint smile.
Su Li took Little Tang Mo’s hand and turned back toward the library, with Bai Xinyue walking alongside them.
"Miss Su, did you know that Southwest Fog City was suddenly hit by continuous torrential rains?"
Hearing Bai Xinyue’s question, Su Li nodded. "I saw it on the news today."
"Then do you know that many people have gone to help with the rescue efforts, fearing that the continuous downpours will lead to a disaster?"
Bai Xinyue let out a soft chuckle and continued.
Su Li’s steps faltered for a moment. She whipped her head around to look at Bai Xinyue.
’What is she implying?’
Bai Xinyue seemed not to notice Su Li’s stare or that she had fallen a step behind. She nonchalantly continued walking forward and entered the reading room first.