"Got it, you just came here to interrupt on purpose!"
Su Man said irritably, "Alright, alright, I won’t talk about it anymore. Take these strawberries for your mom to try. She loves fruits so much, she should like them."
"Yeah, yeah, the caretaker aunt told me earlier that Mom’s condition is okay now. I actually wanted to ask brother to come with me..."
Su Yajing responded immediately.
"Okay, then you guys go. I’m going back to balance the books... Zhou Wang, regarding what I mentioned earlier, I hope you’ll give it some more thought. Let’s discuss it again before you leave Li City."
Su Man paused as she stood up, didn’t avoid Su Yajing, and spoke seriously to Zhou Wang before turning to leave.
...
"Brother, I’m sorry..."
"Stop!"
Just as Su Yajing started to speak, Zhou Wang interrupted her helplessly, "Let’s make a promise, okay? Don’t apologize to me anymore... You’re always like this, and it pains me too."
Hearing Zhou Wang’s sincere tone, Su Yajing was stunned, and her eyes misted as she snuggled into Zhou Wang’s arms, whispering, "Brother, would you look down on my family because it’s not so good..."
"Why are you saying that? Does my choice of girlfriend depend on that?"
Zhou Wang laughed, "Whether you’re penniless or worth millions, does it make any essential difference to me?"
"You’re right!"
Su Yajing realized the truth in this logic, giggled, and finally relaxed as she led Zhou Wang upstairs to a corner room door.
This room, unlike the others in the inn, didn’t have a number on its door, only a warm orange lantern hanging on the porch, indicating its uniqueness.
"This room has the best view and lighting in the inn, but since the inn was renovated, Mom has been the only one staying here. Sometimes I sleep here, and when Mom’s condition isn’t good, I stay in Aunt’s room..."
Standing at the doorway, Su Yajing recounted her past with a slight smile on her face.
"Aunt kept nagging about how letting Mom have this room is such a waste, but she never actually made Mom move out, even when there were many empty rooms during the off-season..."
"Aunt said that Mom had some money saved with her, but I accidentally saw her ledger once, and I realized Aunt was lying to me..."
Su Yajing looked a bit crestfallen, "All of my dad’s assets were confiscated. He didn’t leave any money for me or Mom."
Zhou Wang was taken aback by this revelation, yet another mystery in his mind was solved.
No wonder, despite growing up in such a unique environment, Su Yajing’s personality wasn’t much distorted...
It turned out that, largely, Su Man filled a part of the missing motherly love in Su Yajing’s life over the long years.
Thinking this way, Su Man’s resistant attitude toward him wasn’t surprising.
"Brother, the two hundred thousand you gave me before I left Ming City, I was planning to transfer it all to Aunt, but she definitely won’t accept it..."
"We’ll talk about it later. There are many ways to repay your Aunt; it doesn’t necessarily have to be through money transfers."
Zhou Wang came back to himself, squeezed Su Yajing’s hand, "Let’s go. Let’s see your mom."
"Yeah!"
Su Yajing nodded, leading Zhou Wang through the door.
Under the warm light, the room wasn’t large, yet it was arranged comfortably and warmly.
There wasn’t much furniture, with cushions and various dolls scattered around, even the corners were stuffed with cotton, although the windows were sealed, there was still adequate ventilation space...
At this moment, on the bed in the room, sat a frail woman in a thin robe, flipping through a magazine, with a plump aunt next to her, trimming her toenails.
Delicate features, slightly pale skin, looked not very much like Su Yajing, but she was indeed a beautiful woman.
In terms of age, Su Yajing’s mom should be nearing forty, but she surprisingly looked very young, not much different from Su Man.
Perhaps because she had been sick for years and rarely went out, she had an innocent, naive aura, quite similar to Su Yajing...
"Auntie, let me do that, you can clock off now."
Su Yajing greeted the aunt, took the nail clipper from her hand, and sat by the bed to take over cutting her mom’s toenails.
"We usually don’t hire a caretaker, because it’s too expensive, and even Aunt can barely afford it... but it’s the peak season now, so..."
After the aunt left, Su Yajing quietly explained to Zhou Wang.
"Zhou Wang, this is my mom, Su Qiang."
As she spoke, Su Yajing introduced her mom to Zhou Wang.
Throughout the entire process, from the moment the two entered, the woman sitting on the bed remained unresponsive, engrossed in her fashion magazine, indicating her immersion in reading.
At first glance, everything seemed quite normal... although Zhou Wang knew this was hardly a normal behavior.
"Hello, Auntie, I’m Zhou Wang, Su Yajing’s boyfriend."
Regardless of whether Su Qiang could hear him or not, Zhou Wang still smiled and greeted her.
"Brother, wait a bit... Mom occasionally has moments of clarity."
Su Yajing sounded a bit nervous, clearly unsure if she could get a response from Su Qiang, but deep down, she evidently hoped to truly introduce Zhou Wang to her mom.