To My Dear Mr. Huo

Li Qianxue frowned. She lost her patience as Su Peizhen kept pressing her.

“If you insist on knowing, I will—”

“Let me explain.”

A new voice that had not spoken before called out. The tone was gentle but weary, hoarse and frustrated.

Li Qianxue looked up, casting her eyes upon the man to whom she has been married half her life. Under normal circumstances, he should have been there with the family.

Li Qianxue’s face turned grave. She folded her arms across her chest, her eyes ice cold.

Why did he come here? All the pain and suffering she had experienced until today was because of him. Why did he still come?

Did he come here to rub it all in her face?

Old Master Li was unhappy to see Su Chenghui as well. However, as the most senior member of the family, he managed to keep calm.

“Dad.”

Su Peizhen looked at Su Chenghui as if she saw her savior. She marched toward Su Chenghui with her eyes fixed on him. She could not keep tears from welling up in her eyes.

Directing his eyes at Su Peizhen, Su Chenghui looked torn. He turned his head and stared at Li Qianxue.

Li Qianxue, dressed in a white gown, looked elegant and graceful. The hint of anger on her face did not impair her grace but added vitality to her beauty.

She was gorgeous. Su Chenghui sighed silently. Why had he been blind for so many years to the fact that he had such a wife?

What pained him most was that by the time he realized what was truly going on in his heart, their marriage was coming to an end.

His heart ached. Gazing at Li Qianxue, he had a thousand words to say to her but failed to utter a single one.

“Dad—”

When Su Peizhen noticed Su Chenghui wasn’t paying her any attention, she couldn’t help but stomp and call his name.

“Peizhen.”

Su Chenghui looked back at his daughter and suppressed his rueful feelings.

Facing Su Peizhen, who looked indignant, he felt guilty regarding her for the first time.

His mistake was irreversible. What mattered now was finding a way to make up for his error.

“Peizhen, follow me.”

There was a definite tone of bitterness and regret in his voice.

Su Peizhen was unwilling to go. At this point, her intuition told her that Su Chenghui was going to say things that she didn’t want to hear.

Su Peizhen suddenly changed her mind. “Dad. I… I want to hear the answer right here.”

Su Chenghui’s face fell. He was reminded of the accusation he had heard from Xiang Caiping.

Su Chenghui did not think of it before, but today, for the first time, it occurred to him that he had spoiled Su Peizhen.

“Come with me.”

The simple words were spoken so strongly that Su Peizhen couldn’t resist. In this family, if there was someone whom Su Peizhen usually disregarded, it was Su Chenghui. However, at the same time, Su Chenghui was also the one most likely to put her in her place in extreme situations.

On the one hand, Su Chenghui gave people an impression of gentleness, as if he would never get angry.

On the other hand, the whole family knew that if Su Chenghui lost his temper, no one could withstand his anger.

Su Peizhen hesitated. Suppressing all her discontentment, she followed behind Su Chenghui.

His face full of complicated emotions, Su Chenghui looked at Li Qianxue. “You can go on now.”

With that, he led Su Peizhen upstairs.

Su Peizhen and Su Chenghui were gone, but all the guests present were all looking puzzled.

What was going on?

Even Great-uncle and Great-aunt Li, despite their position of seniority and dignity, couldn’t conceal their bafflement. The younger generations were openly curious.

It was inappropriate for Great-uncle Li to stick his nose into other people’s affairs, but Great-aunt didn’t mind doing that.

“Qianxue, may I ask, is Peizhen…”

“She is the daughter of the Su Family,” Li Qianxue said with a slight smile, omitting any details.

Everyone present began to speculate. There could be more than one meaning to “the daughter of the Su Family.”

An adopted daughter was a daughter, and so was an illegitimate child. Certainly, “daughter” also included one’s biological child.

Since Su Qingsang turned out to be the lady of the Su Family, the future of Su Peizhen was unclear.

Su Qingsang was relieved when she saw Su Chenghui coming. If Su Chenghui explained it all to Su Peizhen, it might be easier for her to accept the truth. At least she hoped so.

However, Su Chenghui looked even more exhausted now than he did yesterday.

Su Qingsang cast another look at her mother and found her chatting with the relatives from Great-aunt’s side. Li Qianxue looked as if she was not distraught by the appearance of Su Chenghui.

Su Qingsang sighed. It looked like Li Qianxue had gotten over it.

“Sis, are you worried?” Su Yuxin stood by her side with a concerned look. “Don’t worry. Mom and I will not let anything bad happen.”

“I am not worried.”

Su Qingsang shook her head. She couldn’t talk about the look she saw Su Chenghui cast at Li Qianxue.

She had seen this kind of look before. She knew what it meant. Obviously, Su Chenghui belatedly realized whom he truly loved all these years.

However, Li Qianxue seemed to brush him off and did not care about him anymore.

When Li Qianxue was in love with her husband, Su Chenghui did not love her back. Finally, when Su Chenghui realized his love for Li Qianxue, she had moved on.

Su Qingsang suddenly wondered whether fate conspired against them. After all, it was a rare thing to find the right person at the right time.

Su Yuxin didn’t know why she shook her head. Did she try to keep him from worrying, or did she truly have no worries? Actually, he was a little bit concerned.

“I felt bad when I saw my sister behaving like this.”

Whatever happened, they had grown up together. Over the years, Su Peizhen had been his beloved sister.

Now things changed, and his family was torn apart. He found it difficult to accept.

“Qiangsang, Yuxin, come over.”

Old Master Li called Su Qingsang. She glanced at Su Yuxin. Su Qingsang had so many things to say to him but had to put them off.

Su Qingsang patted Su Yuxin’s shoulder and looked at him with sincerity. “Don’t worry too much. It will all work out. You may find things hard to process at this moment, but at the end of the day, all will pass.”

Su Yuxin nodded, held her hand, and together they walked towards Old Master Li.

…

In the study room upstairs, Su Peizhen froze after listening to Su Chenghui’s words.

Though it was January, the air conditioner made the study room warm and comfortable. However, a chill pierced Su Peizhen’s heart.

The intense cold spread along her back, crawled into her limbs, and penetrated her whole body.

“Dad,” Su Peizhen finally found her voice back, staring at Su Chenghui with her eyes full of suspicion. “Are you kidding me? You are not serious, are you?”

Su Chenghui had not wanted to harm Su Peizhen. Looking at her, he felt terrible.

He was used to giving her all his love and affection. It was never his intention to cause her any pain.

“Peizhen, I am sorry.”

The simple words out of Su Chenghui’s mouth were undoubtedly a huge blow to Su Peizhen.

She couldn’t help but shake her head. With her eyes fixed on her father, she spoke in a firm voice, refusing to accept the truth.

“No way. It is impossible. You are lying. Why are you lying to me?”

Suddenly, she came forward and grabbed Su Chenghui’s clothes. Her eyes were all red, and tears welled up in them.

“Dad, you are lying to me. How could Su Qingsang be mom’s daughter? How could I be the child of that woman? It is ridiculous. I don’t believe it.”

Su Peizhen was very emotional. The news was a terrible shock to her. She refused to accept the truth.

“Peizhen,” Su Chenghui spoke helplessly, “It is true. If you don’t believe it, you could go and have a DNA test. In fact, Su Qingsang had done the DNA test before.”

“I don’t believe it.” Su Peizhen abruptly loosened her grip, stepping backward, and shouted at Su Chenghui: “I don’t believe you. I don’t care. I am the daughter of the Su Family. I am my mom’s daughter.”

She seemed to come up with something and suddenly glared at Su Chenghui. “Is it because of Huo Jinyao? Yes, it must be Huo Jinyao.” Su Peizhen believed in her own speculation. It had to be because of him. “Is it because he is the CEO of the Tianyu Group? Is it because Su Qingsang married him? Do you think Su Qingsang is of more value to the family than I am? Am I right?”

“Peizhen,” Su Chenghui cut her off, “what nonsense are you talking about?”

“Isn’t it so?” Su Peizhen refused to listen to Su Chenghui. “You didn’t get your revenge during the past twenty years. Why did you choose to do it now?”

“Besides, how did my mom find out?” She believed this was the major point. “Did you intend to take revenge on my mom? If so, why did you tell her the truth? Why didn’t you keep the secret for the rest of your life? Why?”

Weak and exhausted, Su Peizhen slumped down on the floor, unable to face the fact that she was not the biological daughter of Li Qianxue.

If there was a mix-up between her and Su Qingsang, did it mean that she was the illegitimate daughter?

How could she end up being the illegitimate daughter? No, she would never be someone like that. She should be the lady of the Su Family.

Taking a look at Su Peizhen, Su Chenghui knew it was hard for her to accept the truth.

However, the truth was the truth. Facts would not change even if Su Peizhen refused to accept them.

“Peizhen, get up. I’ll take you down.”

“Dad?” Su Peizhen looked up at him. “You… are you going to announce that what my mom said is false information?”

“No,” Su Chenghui shook his head, steadfast about his decision to try his best to fix his mistakes. “I’m going to take you to visit your biological mother.”

Biological mother? Who? The old woman who had slapped her?

Su Peizhen kept shaking her head. The tears in her eyes had spilled over and were running down her face.

When Su Chenghui approached her, she put her arms around his knees and spoke in a voice that sounded more piteous and pathetic than before. Her tone inspired sympathy.

“Dad, please. I am begging you. Please go to my mom and tell her I am her daughter. Please tell her you have been mistaken. Please help me. She loves you enough to listen to your words.”