Su Zhe frowned. "Isn't it just Sheng Yu?"
“No,” Zhou Yi’an said. “The one from the Sheng family now has the surname Xu.”
Upon hearing this, Su Zhe's expression immediately changed, and he sneered, "I know, so what?"
Zhou Yi'an said, "Why did you do that back then..."
"You should just keep this to yourself," Su Zhe interrupted her. "This child has been surnamed Xu for so many years, are you going to make her change her surname to Sheng? Xu Guangyao is really heartless, he didn't even leave the last bit of Sheng bloodline, and just gave her the surname Xu. It's a waste that those two old bastards fought over for so long."
"Robbed?" Zhou Yi'an frowned. "So Xu Qingzhu was taken by the Sheng family?"
Su Zhe was furious when he talked about it. He picked up the cold tea on the table and drank it all in one gulp, still fuming, "Otherwise what? If it weren't for those two old bastards, would my sister be in this state? Damn it."
Su Zhe cursed angrily, "Did my sister kill their son? It's a natural disaster, a man-made disaster, who can prevent it? And then they come over and curse my sister, and even try to take the child. Damn it. Su Yao had only just finished her postpartum confinement at that time."
When Su Zhe said this, he was so angry that his teeth itched and his voice trembled, which showed how deep the resentment was.
Zhou Yi'an reassured her in a timely manner, "Please calm down and don't get agitated."
Su Zhe poured himself another cup of cold tea, trying to calm his anger. "I've been holding back all these years. If it weren't for my sister's daughter, I would have ruined Minghui long ago. What a piece of trash."
Zhou Yi'an: "..."
Su Zhe let out a soft breath, "That girl is quite capable, have you met her?"
“Hmm.” Zhou Yi’an said, “We’ve met a few times. He looks more like Sheng Qinglin than Teacher Su.”
Therefore, Zhou Yi'an did not connect her with Su Yao at the time.
It was only later, when they were investigating Xu Qingzhu, that they found out about Su Yao.
...
They're quite sworn enemies.
"You become like whoever you eat at." Su Zhe gritted his teeth and said, "The last time I saw her, I felt she looked quite like Sheng Linlang."
Zhou Yi'an smiled and said, "Don't be angry anymore, so many years have passed."
"So many years have passed, and I still feel like going to the Sheng family's door to hurl insults when I bring it up." Su Zhe sneered, "You can tell how much I hate them now. Su Yao had just finished her postpartum confinement when Sheng Qinglin was about to propose to her, but he died on the way."
Su Zhe's hands were trembling. "Su Yao was standing on the other side of the road at the time. She watched Sheng Qinglin get hit and killed with her own eyes, and then she was completely stunned."
“They were abroad at the time, and the Sheng family rushed over overnight. It was that couple. When my sister went to their house, they thought my sister was wonderful in every way, but as soon as their son had that accident, they were like completely different people. Su Yao was terrified and just kept crying. When I arrived…”
Su Zhe paused, his voice choked with emotion as he recalled, "Su Yao's eyes were both red, almost blind. Then her daughter was crying in the ward, and she cried too. The Sheng family was powerful at the time, and they brought people to snatch her daughter. Su Yao fought with them."
Su Zhe couldn't help but tear up when he recalled that scene from back then.
He watched as his beloved younger sister knelt on the ground, next to Sheng Qinglin, who had just passed away and was covered with a white sheet. She cried and begged the Sheng couple to return her daughter to her, but the couple said that this was Sheng Qinglin's only flesh and blood in the world and that she must return to the Sheng family.
Su Yao cried and said, "Then I'll have a ghost marriage with Sheng Qinglin."
She was that proud woman who humbled herself for her daughter, saying she was willing to remain a widow for life just to protect her only daughter with Sheng Qinglin.
But the Sheng couple said she was bad luck; if it weren't for her, their son wouldn't have died.
So I only want my daughter, not Su Yao.
Su Zhe wanted to punch someone, but he couldn't overcome the power of the Sheng family, and he was held back.
The ward was filled with the sounds of Su Yao and the child wailing and crying.
The Sheng family snatched Su Yao's daughter in front of Sheng Qinglin's corpse, transported Sheng Qinglin's body back to China, and refused to let Su Yao into the funeral.
Su Yao cried day and night, until she went blind in one eye.
Then every day she would blankly and listlessly think about her daughter. Postpartum depression, coupled with her longing for her daughter, caused her to become mentally unstable and go crazy for a long time, until one day she tried to commit suicide and hit her head on a rock.
He didn't die, he just lost his memory.
He forgot everyone else, only remembered Sheng Qinglin, and only remembered the little things they did together.
The memory of Sheng Qinglin's death was too painful for her, so she forgot it.
The memory of her daughter being taken away was too painful for her to bear, so she forgot it.
He didn't even remember his older brother, Su Zhe.
What followed was a long road to recovery, with relapses every year, leaving him feeling completely erratic.
When Su Zhe recalled that day, he was so angry that he wanted to whip the Sheng family elders' corpses.
But instead of vividly recounting what happened back then to Zhou Yi'an, he simply explained the whole story and then asked her, "What? You want to help your teacher Su find her relatives?"
Zhou Yi'an shook her head: "Teacher Su doesn't even remember, what's the use of finding her?"
“It’s not that she doesn’t remember,” Su Zhe said. “On her daughter’s birthday, she will be in great pain. She will cry, shout, and lock herself in her room, constantly calling out Su Qingzhu’s name.”
“Su Qingzhu?” Zhou Yi’an asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Su Zhe said. “Sheng Qinglin is actually a good person. After Su Yao gave birth to her daughter, he said that since Su Yao had worked hard to give birth to her, she should take Su Yao’s surname. So Su Yao put the character “Qing” in their daughter’s name.”
Therefore, it should be Su Qingzhu.
Instead of Xu Qingzhu.
“Really,” Su Zhe said. “If they had just called her Sheng Qingzhu, I could understand. But damn it, after all that fighting, they went back and took someone else’s surname. I really want to punch them.”
Zhou Yi'an asked helplessly, "Then why didn't you manage to snatch it back later?"
“The child is already so big. Doesn’t it upset to see the two families fighting over her?” Su Zhe said. “Besides, Su Yao has forgotten that it’s not good to keep provoking her. I had someone check on her, and Sheng Linlang hasn’t mistreated the child, so that’s fine. Let her grow up in peace.”
Zhou Yi'an thought Su Zhe would hate the child as well, but to her surprise, Su Zhe said, "She is still my sister's biological daughter. Although the Sheng family did something shameless back then, that child still has to call me uncle. I will stop suppressing Minghui when she kicks Xu Guangyao out. Otherwise, I will continue to suppress their family and make them go bankrupt as soon as possible."
Zhou Yi'an: "..."
She suddenly understood why Minghui Technology had taken such a sharp downturn in recent years.
Su Zhe was driven by revenge.
Zhou Yi'an listened to a rather heavy story, and then asked Su Zhe, "If Teacher Su's daughter wanted to come back and claim her family, would you accept it?"
Su Zhe suddenly froze, then smiled bitterly and said, "If Su Yao accepts it, then I accept it. That's Su Yao's daughter."
“But it’s better if she doesn’t know,” Su Zhe said. “If she knew about these sordid things, she’d be miserable. People are happiest when they’re ignorant.”
Zhou Yi'an nodded and promised him, "I will keep these things to myself."
//
When Zhou Yi'an came out of Su Zhe's study, Sheng Yu was standing at the top of the stairs, holding a small, untouched cake in her hand.
Upon seeing Zhou Yi'an, she immediately said, "Sister An, my sister doesn't eat."
"She won't even eat cake anymore?" Zhou Yi'an said, "I bought it especially for her."
Sheng Yu sighed, "She's lying on the bed crying."
Zhou Yi'an: "?"
"Really?" Zhou Yi'an said, "She cried after being scolded a few times? That's not like her."
Sheng Yu nodded: "She cried so sadly."
Zhou Yi'an sighed and ruffled her hair. "I'll go check on her."
Sheng Yu followed her upstairs.
She knocked on Su Meiqi's door, but no one answered. She pushed the door open and said, "I'm coming in."
As soon as she entered, a cushion was thrown at her and landed right at her feet.
"Get out." Su Meiqi lay face down on the bed, the tail on her pajamas sticking up, and said in a muffled voice, "I never want to see you again."
"Really?" Zhou Yi paused for a moment. "Okay, then I'll go back and tell Xu Qingzhu that you don't want to come to work at the company anymore."
After saying that, he turned to leave, but before he could even step out the door, someone grabbed his clothes.
Those pitiful hands were tugging at the hem of her clothes, pulling her straight into the room.
Zhou Yi'an glanced at her and noticed that her eyes and nose were red from crying. The hat with two horns was loosely hanging on her head, her hair was messy, and her bangs had been pulled to the sides, making her look pitiful.
"Crying like that?" Zhou Yi'an frowned. "Aren't you a coward?"
“You don’t understand.” Su Meiqi sniffed, tears welling up again, and she couldn’t help but sob. “You…you’re not allowed to tell Sister Xu…I…I have to go to work.”
Zhou Yi'an: "..."
She put the cake on the table first, and then Su Yao downstairs called Sheng Yu, telling her to wash up.
Zhou Yi'an tapped Su Meiqi on the head with her finger, "Wait a moment."
After saying that, he turned around and saw Sheng Yu downstairs, and then told Su Yao to go to bed early.
When she returned, Su Meiqi was still lying on the bed crying.
Zhou Yi'an closed the door, walked to the bedside, and tugged at the hem of her pajamas. "Are you done crying? Get up and eat something if you're done."
"I...I'm not hungry," Su Meiqi replied in a muffled voice while crying, "Leave me alone, I...I...I feel unwell."
She was crying so hard she could barely speak.
Zhou Yi'an felt a headache coming on. She sat on the edge of the bed and tugged at Su Meiqi's hat, revealing her unruly curly hair. "Which comic convention did you go to?"
Su Meiqi sobbed, “Jingyu District, a small exhibition.”
"Who are you playing this time?" Zhou Yi'an asked again.
"Crescent Moon Rabbit," Su Meiqi said. "You wouldn't recognize it even if I told you."
"Then get up and eat something." Zhou Yi'an said, "I ate, and I'm going home."
"Go back, I won't eat." Su Meiqi's voice was choked with sobs. "I forgive you, you can go now."
Zhou Yi'an: "..."
"When did I ask for your forgiveness?" Zhou Yi'an tapped her on the head. "Eat quickly, I bought this especially for you."
Su Meiqi shook her head: "I really can't eat."
She was still angry as she spoke, kicking the bed with both legs and saying in a muffled voice, "Go away, let me cry for a while."
Zhou Yi'an: "..."
"Then cry." Zhou Yi'an got up, walked to the window, opened it halfway, took out a cigarette from her pocket, and lit it.
Su Meiqi woke up to the smell of smoke. She twitched her nose and looked up to see Zhou Yi'an standing by the window smoking, the smoke being blown away by the wind.