Side Story 1 - Deep Love, Short-lived Fate; The Parents’ Story (1)
Rebirth of a Fashionista: This Life Is Soo Last Season
Rain could be seen pouring outside the car window.
Sheng Xun held his swollen head and looked up at the upper floors of the condominium through the foggy glass windows. The balcony on the ninth floor would be visible if the living room was lit, but it was shrouded in darkness.
Now that it was past midnight, it was normal for other households to switch their lights off and turn in for the night, much less for Susu, who still had to take care of their child. It was normal to not leave the lights on for him, and it was not the first time that she did not do so, so why did he still have his hopes up…?
“President Sheng.” The door was opened, and his chauffeur leaned against the car door while holding onto an umbrella. “Let me help you upstairs!”
“No need. I’m not so drunk that I cannot recognize the way home. It’s not far off either. You should head home to rest, you still have to pick me up early tomorrow.” Sheng Xun alighted and pushed Xiao Liu aside. He stumbled for a few steps, but quickly shuffled into the building, without a care for Xiao Liu, or the umbrella over his head.
Sheng Xun quietly opened the door to the front porch, and changed into a pair of cotton slippers before heading into the apartment. He was in the process of taking off his necktie, when he was surprised to hear a very soft hum from the master bedroom. He stopped in his tracks, and his heart inexplicably jumped for joy.
He walked towards the master bedroom entrance and lightly pushed the door open. What greeted him was the sight of a beautiful woman laying on her side and stroking an infant under the warm light. It seemed that the infant was not having a good sleep.
The gentleness shown between her brows was the same as he had remembered. It was still as beautiful, even if she had become more indifferent towards him for the past year. Even though that gentle smile no longer belonged to him now, Sheng Xun was still completely immersed within it.
“Susu—” The nickname that he had called out countless times came tumbling out of his mouth.
The response he received was his wife’s indifferent look.
Sheng Xun recovered himself in an instant, and reluctantly returned an apologetic smile before gently closing the bedroom door.
How he wished…
He swallowed the lump in his throat and drew in a deep breath before heading towards the bathroom.
After bathing for half an hour, he could not resist the urge to gently open the door to the master bedroom on his way back to the study room to sleep. After he had known of his wife’s pregnancy, whenever he had drinks, he would consciously sleep in the study, regardless of how clean he was after washing up.
The lights on the soft wall lamps filled up the room. Though the visibility was not as clear as the incandescent lamps, the lights were not so bright that it would hurt his eyes.
He peeked in, and saw two heads, one adult and one infant, lying on a bed. Their heads were so close that it looked like they were stuck together. The brows of the adult were relaxed, and she was breathing lightly, whilst the infant was breathing through her slightly opened mouth, and her slightly chubby face looked extremely cute.
Sheng Xun reached out, filled with the desire to touch his baby. However, he stopped before he touched her, and finally, after a moment of hesitation, he drew his hand back.
He looked at both his wife and daughter’s sleeping faces, and a stifling weight crushed his chest.
He didn’t know when, but at some point in time, he started to fear even approaching his most cherished wife and daughter.
A year had passed, and many things had changed since.
Just two years ago, both him and her were still snuggling on the bed.
She said, “A’Xun, did you know that Li Xuan passed away today as well?”
“I know.” Li Xuan was her college classmate, and was also the wife of his college roommate, Li Wanhui. They got married immediately after graduation.
“Li Xuan always had an expressionless face. She didn’t even smile when she was dating Wanhui. I had always thought that she didn’t like him a lot, and I even persuaded her to break up with him if she didn’t like him when we graduated. I never thought that they would end up getting married. The last time I saw them, Wanhui had mentioned that they both share the same surname, and that they would never leave each other. But now…” Her remaining words were stuck in her throat, and tears were streaming down her face.
He hugged her tightly, comforting her in silence.
After calming down, she said softly, “I accompanied Li Xuan to collect Wanhui’s body, and she told me that she doesn’t have any family members left. Her parents and grandparents were indirectly killed by her, her relatives don’t acknowledge her, and now, even her one and only beloved had passed away. She asked me to do her the favor of mixing their ashes and burying them together after she passed away in the future, and she even left her bankbook with me. I rejected it, and told her to look on the bright side. She agreed and promised me that she would try. However, before the cremation, she said she wanted to speak to Wanhui alone. By the time we had returned, she was already lying motionless beside Wanhui… we tried but in the end we still could not save her.”
“I’m sorry, I should have returned sooner…”
“No, you don’t have to be sorry. No one wanted this to happen,” she cut off his words, “Actually, this might be for the better, since they don’t have to be separated ever again.”
Seeing her face full of sadness, he changed the topic, “Susu, why don’t you accept father’s goodwill…”
“No, I will wait for you. After you become famous and successful, you can come riding on a white horse to ask me to marry you,” she interrupted him once more with a small playful joke, but she said it with a serious look.
“Okay, I’ll do my best. I’ll work hard to marry you next year.” He gave her a peck on her forehead and chuckled.
“The wedding is just for show. Take your time, there’s no need to rush it. But we can get the marriage certificate earlier and put my mark of ownership on you, in case someone else starts coveting our President Sheng.” The traces of depression had disappeared from her brows, although her eyes were still red. The corners of her mouth lifted, and her eyelids batted lightly. Her eyes were like water, soft and beautiful.
He never would have imagined that someone as gentle as magnanimous as her would curse others. He was shocked for a while before he burst out into laughter. His heart was filled with a sweet and light feeling. When she mentioned the mark of ownership, he became very anxious, as he had always been the one fighting for it since he had first gotten to know her.
She was embarrassed by his laughter, and she buried her head in his chest.
After a while, she said, “I can now fully understand Li Xuan’s feelings for Wanhui. If one day, you’re no longer around, I would do the same.”
These were the most touching words he had ever heard.
“Me too,” he promised.
They chose an auspicious date to collect their marriage certificate, and when his father-in-law learnt of it, he was scolded harshly for it. Pushing his own views onto others, his father-in-law asked him what he would do in the future if his own daughter was in love with a boy with no future. He answered without much thought, “I’ll beat him up harshly first.” Only after he came back to his senses did he then meet his father-in-law’s deep and meaningful look.
Eventually, his father-in-law let him go for Susu's sake. His father-in-law did not beat him up harshly, but instead gave him a few hard smacks on his shoulder, before telling him to take good care of Susu. It was also then, that he suddenly wanted to have a child with Susu. It would be better if they had a daughter, especially one as clever and gentle as Susu.
At the start of the following year, Susu leaned into his ear and whispered to him out of the blue. She told him that she was pregnant with his baby. At that moment, he had instantly felt the same immense surprise and joy ordinary people feel from winning tens of millions of dollars from a lottery.
However, not long after, Susu had changed. Initially, her mood was temperamental, but after a while, she suddenly started to give him the cold shoulder. There was no transition window for him at all.
From the time they knew each other, up until their marriage, they had the same ambiguous feelings for each other, so love came naturally after their acquaintance. She knew his personality, and even understood his ideals and emotions. Thus, even if they had a clear difference in family background, she still agreed to his pursuit without hesitation.
But now, he had no idea what was going through her mind at all, and he did not know what had happened to cause that huge change of attitude. He no longer felt that it was a psychological reaction from her pregnancy. He could feel that she was being cold to him for a particular reason— she did not want to be with him till old age.
Why? Just why? He had questioned himself countless times.
I don’t love you anymore.
After truly being with you, I found out that we’re not compatible at all.
Let’s not interfere with each other in the future, you can look for other mistresses, as long as you don’t bring them back and have another child with them.
All the touching and solemn pledges of love were shredded into pieces in front of this sharp knife.
As if he was a man who did not tire, Sheng Xun stood by the bed for a while. It was until his wife turned around in bed that he slowly walked out of the bedroom. As his back was facing them, he did not see that she had opened her eyes and watched his departing figure.
The door closed, and the both of them were no longer able to see each other.
Sheng Xun was woken up by the ringing from his mobile phone. When he looked at his phone groggily, he saw that it was from his chauffeur, Xiao Liu.
Xiao Liu greeted him and asked if he was still heading to the office. He looked at the time, and he realized that it was already one hour past the usual time he left for work.That was why Xiao Liu had called him.
He nearly fell off while trying to get out of bed, and he dragged himself out of the room along the walls. Coincidentally, he saw his wife carrying a mug of water into the bedroom.
Seeing how haggard he was, she said expressionlessly, “Go to the doctor if you’re sick. Return when you’re feeling better. Jiaojiao’s constitution is weak, she’ll get infected easily.”
He had not heard her say so many words to him in a while, but it was not out of concern for him. Rather, she was worried that he might pass on the flu to their daughter. He was definitely dejected, but since he had received too many blows, he was almost accustomed to it by now.
Human hearts were not made of steel, he could never achieve the indifference that his wife had shown him. Coupled with the fact that his company had just got on the right track, and he had more social activities to attend to, he had been returning home later than ever, but he never once stayed out. However, everything changed when one day, he had gotten so drunk that he dreamt that he had reconciled with Susu. When he woke up the next morning, he found that the person who laid beside him was not Susu.
His relationship with Susu would never be the same as it was in the past.
He felt so guilty, and he wanted to escape so badly when he was met with Susu’s clear eyes. However, putting his emotions aside, he still had a responsibility to fulfill. He sent the lady called Liang Xiaohui far away, and learnt to put all his focus on his daughter. Subsequently, Liang Xiaohui came to look for him with a little girl in hand, and by then, he was no longer the former Sheng Xun. The enterprise he had founded had grown so much that it could be listed at any time. At the same time, he had already become more tactful in handling issues. He put up the mother and daughter in the suburbs, and sent bodyguards as well as a nanny to watch over them. They lived peacefully for the next few years.