Su Lu really didn’t know what to say about the love lives of her two brothers. Her stance was quite awkward, so anything she said would be embarrassing; she simply chose not to speak and silently sipped her coffee.
But there was Shen Xun, who had just spoken so harshly.
Now he was cautioning Su Lu, "Take good care of Su Zhe. His constitution is weak to begin with, and he doesn’t take care of himself."
Su Lu bit on the edge of her cup and nodded, "I understand."
It was at this mont that a slender and tall man, holding a cherubic little boy, walked in from the entrance of the residential area, the child licking a stick of candied hawthorns in his hand.
Seeing them, Su Lu turned to Shen Xun and asked, "Brother Xun, do you want to get out of the car..." She had intended to ntion Su Zhe, but paused mid-sentence and instead continued, "to say hello to Zhao Xiaole?"
Shen Xun pursed his lips, seeming to hesitate for a mont, then shook his head, "Not now, maybe next ti."
"Then should I... go down now?" Su Lu asked.
"Just wait a mont," Shen Xun had made up his mind not to let Su Zhe know he was there.
Su Lu had no intention of going against his wishes, so she simply gave an obedient "Oh" and snuggled in the passenger seat, sipping the coffee Bao Jing had brewed.
Outside the car, Zhao Xiaole was held by Su Zhe, engrossed in licking his candied hawthorn.
"Uncle, do you want so?" Zhao Xiaole wanted to share with Su Zhe, who was not interested, "I don’t want any, you eat it yourself."
Not to ntion whether Su Zhe liked the sweetness of the sugar shell or the sourness of the hawthorn, just looking at the stick, all slobbery, made Su Zhe unable to accept it.
The child was quite perceptive, and upon hearing this, seriously asked, "Uncle, do you despise ?"
Su Zhe nodded, "Yes. You’re eating so sloppily, I don’t want any."
Zhao Xiaole wasn’t hurt, just laughed hehe.
Suddenly, Su Zhe beca sowhat distracted, his steps losing their steady rhythm, only managing to walk forward while firmly holding Zhao Xiaole, his gaze unswervingly ahead.
He hadn’t even realized Zhao Xiaole was talking to him, until they entered the building and got on the elevator.
"...Uncle, what’s wrong with you?" Zhao Xiaole had called out to him for the third ti.
It was only then that Su Zhe snapped back to reality, "Hm? What?"
"Ah..." Zhao Xiaole sighed like an adult beyond his years, "Did you not sleep well?"
Su Zhe slightly curved his lips into a smile and kept quiet, not because he hadn’t slept well, but because... he had just caught a glimpse of the man sitting in the driver’s seat of a car parked outside, a man with a familiar silhouette.
"I just said, weren’t you waiting for to finish eating downstairs before going up? Otherwise, mom will nag , she doesn’t allow to eat too many sweets, says it’ll ruin my teeth." Zhao Xiaole patiently repeated.
Zhao Xiaole ant they should wait for him to finish before going up.
But Su Zhe rely smiled faintly and pressed the elevator button for their floor, "It’s okay, she’s not at ho right now."
"Um? How do you know?" Zhao Xiaole mumbled unclearly with the candied hawthorn in his mouth.
Su Zhe didn’t say that he had just seen Su Lu in Shen Xun’s car, only smilingly said, "Because I’m aweso."
Zhao Xiaole stuck out his tongue, "You’re not aweso, it’s just because my big uncle always indulges you."
Zhao Xiaole was just a child and couldn’t understand the fleeting stiffness in Su Zhe’s smile; he quickly went back to blissfully licking his candied hawthorn.
Bo Jingshen warmly greeted his son and didn’t mind at all that the candied hawthorn his son was licking was a sticky ss. When his son offered to share the treat, Bo Jingshen accepted it with a smile.
Zhao Xiaole said, "Ah Shen, let’s eat it quickly, or else when Su Xiaolu cos back and sees eating the candied hawthorn, she’ll lecture again."
"Alright, let’s hurry then." Bo Jingshen cooperated and rapidly shared the candied hawthorn with him, and, oblivious to the situation, inadvertently twisted the knife in the heart of his second uncle, "Oh, second uncle, are you waiting for Xiaolu? Just a mont ago, my big uncle ca by and took her downstairs to talk; she should be back soon."
Su Zhe’s brow furrowed and he glared at Bo Jingshen irritably.
Was this guy doing this on purpose or what?!
Su Zhe could only retort, "Who’s your second uncle!"
Bo Jingshen was completely unconcerned with Su Zhe’s anger; he laughed and said, "It’s only a matter of ti."
He had already made up his mind to be shalessly thick-skinned in front of Su Xiaolu’s family.
Bo Jingshen noticed that Su Zhe was clearly annoyed but didn’t leave; instead, he sat down on the sofa and started playing with his phone.
Bo Jingshen felt contentedly in his heart that his second uncle must have accepted him a little by now, right?
anwhile, Su Lu had been in Shen Xun’s car downstairs for quite a while.
"Brother Xun, I... should I go up first?" she asked Shen Xun.
Shen Xun’s gaze finally shifted away from the direction of the door and, looking down, he humd softly, "I have a flight back to Beijing this afternoon. It’s Old Sir Shen’s birthday in a few days, and I need to go back."
Old Sir Shen was Shen Xun’s and Su Lu’s grandfather.
He was a very traditional old man; thus, he had always been dissatisfied with Shen Jiming’s philandering ways. Originally, he was quite happy with Zhao Ying as his daughter-in-law, but after Zhao Ying divorced Shen Jiming and pursued a career, Old Sir Shen beca displeased.
Being highly traditional, he believed that a woman’s duty was to stay at ho and take care of her husband and children. Although he felt pity for his granddaughter Su Lu, whom he got back after losing her, his old-fashioned views led him to value males over females. Moreover, since Su Lu had a child out of wedlock, the old man naturally couldn’t accept it.
So, he didn’t hold Su Lu in high regard and would always find fault with her when they t.
Shen Xun, feeling sorry for his sister, usually did not let Su Lu et with the old man.
"Ah..." Su Lu thought of the stern old man, "Then... could you please take a gift for ? There’s a Chinese ink painting in my gallery in the eastern district—I just acquired it not long ago. It would be appropriate as a birthday gift for Old Sir Shen."
"Mhm," Shen Xun nodded.
"You’re going back this ti, and the old man will probably arrange blind dates and pressure you to marry again," Su Lu looked on helplessly as Old Sir Shen had tried over the years to coax and persuade Shen Xun into marriage with all sorts of tactics, wanting him to settle down quickly.
But never getting a response, Shen Xun skillfully dodged every attempt.
Before, when Su Lu was unaware of his and Su Zhe’s situation, she thought he was just not in a rush.
After hearing Su Lu’s words, Shen Xun fell silent for a few seconds before he spoke, "Well, I’m not getting any younger. I should go on the arranged dates."
Su Lu didn’t know what else to say, so after getting out of her brother’s car, she let out a soft sigh.
She wasn’t foolish; although she hadn’t noticed any hints of the relationship between her brothers over the years, once she did, there were signs everywhere.
She could clearly tell that Shen Xun’s lingering wasn’t accidental—he was waiting... waiting to see if Su Zhe would co down.
Because if Su Zhe went upstairs, he would surely find out from Bo Jingshen that Shen Xun had co by and taken her downstairs to talk.
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