To My Dear Mr. Huo

Seeing the word “Dad” sparkling on her phone, Su Peizhen pressed her lips together.

She hated Su Qingsang, but she now hated Su Chenghui the most, just like Xiang Caiping.

She hated him for switching her with Su Qingsang and failing to keep it a secret.

She also hated him for not speaking up for her in front of Li Qianxue.

What made her hate him the most was the fact that he had given her a princess dream and let it fall apart.

After some hesitation, she answered the call.

“Dad.”

“Peizhen, you finally answered my call. Where are you now?”

Su Chenghui had been calling Su Peizhen constantly, but Su Peizhen hadn’t answered his calls.

He had called Li Qianxue, but Li Qianxue had accused him of lying to her about Su Penzhen going missing. She said he had done that only to avoid signing the divorce papers.

He wanted to explain, but Li Qianxue had hung up on him. Su Chenghui had never thought that Li Qianxue would treat Su Peizhen so cruelly.

He had no idea that Li Qianxue already knew that Su Peizhen had accepted Xiang Caiping as her mother. Knowing that, she, of course, believed that he was lying.

Now that he had finally made contact with his daughter, Su Chenghui sighed with relief. He said, “Peizhen, where have you been these days? I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I’m so worried about you.”

“Worried? I’m an adult. It’s not like I could get lost. What is there to be worried about?”

Su Peizhen didn’t believe Su Chenghui. If he really cared for her, he would try to figure out a way to give her old life back to her.

“How can you talk to Daddy like that?”

Su Chenghui was frustrated by his daughter’s attitude. His face even paled a little.

Su Peizhen dropped her head. She knew that she shouldn’t take that kind of tone with him, but she couldn’t convince herself to apologize.

“Dad, why are you calling me?”

“I just want to know where you’ve been. Peizhen, some things have happened. I hope that…”

“Dad, can you make me a member of the family again?” Su Peizhen abruptly said seriously. “Can you make me Mom’s daughter again?”

Su Chenghui fell silent. How would that be possible? Judging by the last few conversations he’d had with Li Qianxue via phone, Li Qianxue was strongly against that idea.

She knew that Su Peizhen had gone missing, and she didn’t even care. How could she possibly see her as her daughter again?

“Peizhen, I’ve been thinking of you. The funds that you’ve received these years plus what the family has bought you are enough for you to live a very good life, even if you will no longer be the daughter of the Su family.

“Daddy will also give you a dowry when you get married. Why do you care so much about whose daughter you are?”

Her old life didn’t belong to her. Now she knew the truth, and she should give that life back to whom it belonged.

Su Chenghui had indeed thought ahead for Su Peizhen. As long as she didn’t spend money needlessly, what she had would be enough for her to live a comfortable life.

After all, Su Peizhen had used to work with him. She had a lot of funds and stocks under her name. Those would bring her a considerable amount of income each year.

Su Peizhen tittered coldly. In her eyes, family ground meant everything.

“Peizhen?”

“Since you can’t give me what I want, I have nothing to say to you.”

“Peizhen!” Su Chenghui was shocked by her attitude. “How can you talk like that?”

“What do you expect me to say?” Su Peizhen snorted. “You guys don’t want me anymore. You threw me out of the house. What can I possibly say?”

“No one threw you out of the house.” Su Chenghui didn’t want Su Peizhen to misunderstand Li Qianxue. “Your mother didn’t cast you out of the family. She just…”

“She just told me that I’m not her daughter anymore.”

“But you’re still my daughter.”

“All right. How about I move back to the family house to live with you?”

Su Chenghui didn’t know how to respond to her. He couldn’t tell her that Li Qianxue had cast him out as well.

“Peizhen, I have a house in Nanjiang District. Why don’t we stay there for now?”

“No need.” Su Peizhen didn’t want to hear that. “I have somewhere to stay. You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Peizhen, are you blaming me?”

“No, I wouldn’t dare blame you. I want to thank you, actually. As an illegitimate daughter, I lived like a princess in your family for free for over twenty years.”

Hearing that, Su Chenghui felt uncomfortable. He hadn’t expected the daughter whom he had loved for so many years to say something like that.

“Peizhen, Daddy was wrong. But your mother, your grandfather, and I all love you so much. You said yourself that you lived like a princess for over twenty years. Why can’t you now accept the truth?”

“I accept it. I do. So, Dad, since I’m not the princess of the Su family but only an illegitimate daughter, you don’t need to worry about me anymore. You can just ignore me like you ignored Su Qingsang and let me take care of myself.”

“Su Peizhen.”

“That’s it.”

Su Peizhen ended the call. She was still upset when she returned to her apartment.

Xiang Caiping looked more energetic than before. After all, her daughter had come back to her. She had hope again.

There was also the fact that Su Peizhen was now a poor little girl bullied by the Li family. She told herself that she had to stay healthy and strong so she could look after Su Peizhen.

“You’re home. Dinner is ready.”

Su Peizhen forced a smile the moment she saw Xiang Caiping. She said, “Mom, I had something to do, so I came home a little late. You won’t be upset about that, will you?”

“Of course I won’t.” Xiang Caiping held her hands and said, “You don’t have to come home for dinner if you’re busy. You just need to call me and let me know.”

“Mom, thank you. You’re so nice.”

“Let’s eat.”

Xiang Caiping and Su Peizhen sat down. Xiang Caiping had accepted Su Peizhen as her daughter. She decided to be nice to her and try to get along with her, the way she had treated Su Qingsang.

“You were out there for quite a white. Did you get things done?”

On hearing that, Su Peizhen’s expression instantly became sullen. The look on her face made Xiang Caiping anxious.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Nothing.” Su Peizhen shook her head. “Mom, I tried to find a job today. I was thrown out of the family, so I can’t go back and work in the family company. I went out to look for a job, but…”

Su Peizhen didn’t finish. She only smiled and said, “Never mind. Let’s just eat, Mom.”

“What exactly happened? Tell me.”

“Nothing.” Su Peizhen bit her lower lip. In a shaking voice, she said, “I talked to a few companies that I’ve worked with before. They either laughed at me, said that I’ve fallen too low now, or asked me why I left the Li family to look for a job somewhere else. Mom, I really couldn’t take that. There’s no place for me in the business world of Lin City now, Mom…”

“That is outrageous.” Xiang Caiping dropped her chopsticks, growing irritated. “Peizhen,” she said, “don’t listen to them. They are just a bunch of snobs. Don’t even be angry at them. They are not worth it.”

“I know.” Su Peizhen bit her lip and said bitterly, “I don’t care if they laugh at me. I’m just worried that I might never find a job. After all, I got kicked out of the Li family. Who would want me?”

She was implying that the people who didn’t know the whole story might think that the other companies wouldn’t want to hire her because she’d been kicked out of the Li family’s company.

“That’s ridiculous.” Xiang Caiping was vexed. “What does Li Qianxue want? Is she just throwing her weight around? She has nothing but money!”

“Mom, I’ll be fine even if I can’t find a job. I can start saving money. But I still want to make some money so I can give you a better life. I…”

Xiang Caiping looked at her, feeling a little sad. She was her daughter, after all. Before, she had lived like a princess, but now, her life had become miserable. No wonder those people treated her the way they did.

“I just feel that I can’t stay in Lin City anymore. I’m just a joke now.” Su Peizhen’s voice was full of bitterness.

“Who thinks of you as a joke?” Xiang Caiping raised her voice. She didn’t want to scare Su Peizhen, so she restrained her anger.

“Peizhen, why don’t we leave Lin City?” she asked.

She looked at Su Peizhen uncertainly.

“Leave here?” Su Peizhen blinked at her questioningly. “Where can we go?”

“Rong City.” Xiang Caiping already had the answer to that question. “I have a business in Rong City. I’m not as rich as the Li family, but I have enough to support us. If you don’t like working for other people, I can let you manage the two supermarkets that I own. What do you think?”

Su Peizhen looked at Xiang Caiping. In her head, she snorted scornfully. To her, two mere supermarkets were nothing.

However, if she went to Rong City, she would be closer to Su Qingsang.

So she looked at Xiang Caiping with tearful eyes and said, “Mom, you’re so nice.” She sounded touched.

“All right, all right, stop crying. As I said, everything I have is now yours. I just want you to be happy. If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

“Okay.” Su Peizhen blinked, stopping her tears from falling. She took Xiang Caiping’s arm and said, “Mom, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of you when I start making money.”

“I’m looking forward to that day.”

Seeing her daughter cheered up, Xiang Caiping sighed with relief.

The atmosphere in Su Peizhen’s apartment was not bad. Meanwhile, in Rong City, the atmosphere at Liu Tongjia’s place wasn’t so good.

Liu Tongjia looked at Liu Lexian a little sullenly and asked, “What did you say? Say it again.”

Liu Lexian was a little scared by his aunt’s attitude. He even shrank backward a little.

“I-I said that I saw my cousin and his wife in the square. Doesn’t he need to work today? I’m just curious why he didn’t go to the office today.”

The information Liu Lexian had provided made Liu Tongjia angry.

“Are you sure it was his wife and not some other woman?”