Chapter 6
On Suhang’s birthday, my whole family went out to a restaurant to celebrate.
I’d also secretly prepared a birthday surprise for him.
I spent three hours getting myself ready. I did my makeup carefully, styled my hair, and put on a smoke-pink silk dress I’d picked out with great care. I’d lost a lot of weight over the past two years, my waist much slimmer than it had been last year, but my chest was full enough to just nicely fill out the hand-pleated neckline. The woman in the mirror felt a little unfamiliar, yet I was delighted. This was the new me.
Everyone praised how good I looked, saying I seemed like a completely different person.
When Suhang saw me, he froze.
“What are you staring at?”
“At a fairy descending to the mortal realm! …Huh, what was I about to say? The moment I saw you, I forgot.” Suhang scratched his head in a daze. He always knew how to make people laugh.
When he helped pull out my chair, his hand hovered protectively at the small of my back. He picked out a piece of steamed shad, carefully removed the bones, and put it into my bowl.
My aunt laughed and praised him. “Lili is so lucky. You really married the right man…”
“I’m the one reaching above my station with Lili.” His answer was modest and perfectly phrased.
“So when are you two planning to have kids?”
“Auntie, we still want to enjoy a few more years of just the two of us.” Suhang said it in a half-playful, half-coquettish tone.
I used to hate family meals. It’s different now. With him there, I feel relaxed, often without needing to say a single word. He knows when I don’t feel like talking and will answer for me.
My dad said, “Suhang, you did a great job on that acquisition last month. Old Qiao praised you at the board meeting, said you work really hard.”
“Dad, of course I have to work hard, or I wouldn’t deserve Lili, and I’d be letting down your trust in me.”
My dad listened with a broad smile, more than satisfied with this son-in-law.
On my way down the hallway to the restroom, I suddenly heard a deliberately hushed, derisive laugh:
“See that? That son of Su Guangchen-looks just like his old man.”
“The old one and the young one both look polite and cultured, but they’re rotten to the core… The father’s a philanderer with three wives and four concubines. The son is definitely a little bastard too.”
“He’s doing pretty well for himself now, married the boss’s daughter.”
“Doing well my ass. No matter how well he does, he’s still a criminal’s son, a little parasite fattened on the people’s blood and sweat. His nature won’t change. Now he’s just learned how to suck up and play the lackey for others…”
I couldn’t help my anger. I wanted to rush over and argue, when a cool hand suddenly closed around my wrist from behind-it was Suhang. His gaze was calm as he gave a small shake of his head, fingers tightening as he tried to pull me away.
But I stubbornly shook off his hand and strode over.
“So big tough men gossip behind people’s backs too, huh!”
The two men, in the middle of lighting cigars, turned around in shock.
“What Suhang’s father did has nothing to do with him. Even the law hasn’t convicted him, so what right do you have to pass judgment? He’s already suffered enough for mistakes that aren’t his. He got where he is today purely on talent and determination…”
Suhang slipped an arm around my shoulders, not sparing the two men a single glance. “Come on, everyone’s waiting for us to cut the cake.”
He kept his arm around me as we walked back through the hallway.
“Why didn’t you let me finish? I wasn’t done cursing them out.”
“Let them talk. I’ve heard that kind of thing a million times. It doesn’t matter. Honey…” He stopped walking, his voice muffled against my hair. “Thank you.”
As if murmuring to himself, he added for no apparent reason, “I’ll treat you well for the rest of my life.”