Lu Xiao firmly supported Mrs. Su’s withered arm. He could feel her sharp, jagged bones through her skin, and a heavy feeling settled in his heart.
"Mom, if you act like this, how can Tangtang and I be at ease?"
"We’re all one family here."
Lu Xiao’s steady words were like an anchor, settling the unease in Mrs. Su’s heart.
Mrs. Su’s eyes reddened again, not from sadness, but from relief.
When Mr. Su had first told her he had found a husband for Su Tang, she had actually disagreed.
They only had one daughter, Su Tang, and they had done everything in their power to send her abroad.
It wasn’t so she could just get married.
If Mr. Su hadn’t explained things clearly to her, there was no way Mrs. Su could have borne it.
To put it bluntly, the Lu Family ca from humble, rural origins, and Lu Xiao, being in the army, couldn’t even co ho more than a few tis a year.
How could she possibly have agreed?
Looking back now, her perspective had been too short-sighted back then.
She didn’t have Mr. Su’s uncanny foresight.
She nodded vigorously, then turned her hand over to pat the back of Lu Xiao’s. Then, she took her daughter Su Tang’s cold hand and placed it over his.
Her lips trembled, but in the end, she only let out a long sigh, one that held so many unspoken things.
"Alright, alright, enough said... Tangtang, Xiao Lu, you must be exhausted from your journey. I’ll go get a place ready for you to rest."
Mrs. Su seed to have found her pillar of support. The burst of energy sparked by her daughter and son-in-law’s unexpected arrival propped up her weary body. She turned and walked to the other side of the room.
There were really only two rooms here; even the kitchen was outside.
There was no fresh water on the island. All the water for drinking and cooking had to be carried in from elsewhere.
Ever since Mr. Su fell ill, the chore of fetching water had fallen entirely on Mrs. Su.
Mrs. Su, who had once lived a pampered life, was suddenly being crushed by the weight of it all.
Su Tang’s gaze followed her mother, but she herself seed rooted to the spot.
She didn’t move, her eyes slowly sweeping over the low-ceilinged, dim room, filled with the stench of the sea and mildew.
Large patches of gray-green and black mold spread wantonly across the walls, and the dirt floor beneath her feet was pitted and uneven.
A rickety old table stood against the wall, its surface covered in cracks and grease stains.
’This is where my parents are living? The house assigned by the technical station?’
An indescribable bitterness surged into her throat.
She watched her mother walk to the dilapidated table, pick up an old rag of so indistinguishable color, and wipe forcefully at the tabletop a few tis.
The motion was less about cleaning and more a futile attempt at concealnt.
The rough edge of the rag caught on a splinter sticking up from the tabletop and tore with a sharp RIIIP.
"Mom."
Su Tang’s voice was soft as she asked, "This place... was it really assigned to Dad by the technical station?"
She paused, her gaze shifting from the mold-stained walls to her mother’s instantly rigid back. "Is... is Aunt Su’s house far from here?"
Mrs. Su’s hand, wiping the table, froze, as if she’d been viciously pricked by that very splinter.
She kept her back to her daughter and son-in-law for a long mont before finally turning around.
Mrs. Su’s lips were pressed into a thin, tight line. Her flustered gaze avoided Su Tang’s clear eyes, which seed to see through everything, and she subconsciously glanced at Mr. Su, who was resting on the bed with his eyes closed.
"Not... not too far..."
Mrs. Su’s voice was tight, as if she were hiding sothing. "Your dad... he’s stubborn..."
"Ahem... COUGH, COUGH..."
Mr. Su coughed, cutting Mrs. Su off.
"Dad!"
Su Tang and Lu Xiao rushed forward at the sa ti.
Lu Xiao was faster. He half-knelt by the edge of the bed, one hand firmly supporting Mr. Su’s back and shoulders, the other skillfully rubbing his chest to help him breathe, the pressure steady and precise.
Su Tang, anwhile, quickly poured a glass of warm water and carefully brought it to her father’s lips.
Lu Xiao took it with practiced ease and helped him drink, bit by bit.
The violent coughing gradually subsided, soothed by the warm water.
Mr. Su shook his head at Mrs. Su.
But Mrs. Su looked at her husband’s ashen face, then at the worried, anxious faces of her daughter and son-in-law.
She sighed deeply and, steadying Mr. Su, said, "Let’s just tell Tangtang."
Hearing this, Su Tang’s eyes filled with confusion.
’What were Mom and Dad hiding from ?’
"It’s not the technical station. It was your dad... he insisted on moving out..."
"We originally thought, since your aunt is his own sister, we could co and rely on her. When we first arrived, your Aunt Su... she was warm... but your uncle..."
She couldn’t continue, just shaking her head.
Tears stread through her fingers, dripping onto the worn-out quilt and spreading into a small, dark, wet patch.
In those unfinished words lay the humiliation of living under soone else’s roof, the heartbreak of receiving cold shoulders.
Mr. Su seed to want to say sothing, but it ultimately dissolved into a sigh in his throat, heavy with resignation.
"Don’t bla your Aunt Su."
He said it in a wheezing voice.
As Lu Xiao supported Mr. Su, it was clear he had co to an important decision.
"Dad, Mom."
He began, his tone consultative.
"This place is too damp. It’s not good for Dad’s recovery. The policies have loosened up a bit now. We can go back to Shanghai, or you can co back with us to the Northwest—either is fine. What would be more convenient for you two?"
The air in the small hut seed to freeze for a mont.
Mrs. Su snapped her head up. Her face was a ss of tear tracks, but her eyes were wide with disbelief.
She looked at Lu Xiao, then at her husband on the bed, and finally, her gaze landed on her daughter, Su Tang.
Su Tang t her mother’s gaze and nodded firmly.
"Mom, listen to Lu Xiao. We’ll take you with us."
"If you stay here any longer, Dad will never get better."
Before coming, Su Tang had prepared for the worst, so she was much calr now.
Lu Xiao was right; taking her parents away was the best solution right now.
Resources were scarce on the island, and if a storm hit, it was even harder to get supplies delivered.
With Mr. Su living in an environnt like this for so long, it would be a miracle if his illness got any better.
"Is... is that possible? We had to pull a lot of strings just to co here."
Mrs. Su was uncertain. She was worried that Lu Xiao would get dragged into their troubles.
Su Tang took Mrs. Su’s hand and said, "Mom, if Lu Xiao said it, he has a way. He’s my husband. I trust him."
Her words were resolute, filled with pride.
Lu Xiao t Mrs. Su’s gaze and also nodded. "Mom, just tell where you want to go. I’ll figure out the rest."
For him to say that ant he already had a plan in mind.
At worst, it would an calling in favors and owing people, but that was no big deal.
The most crucial thing right now was to get Mr. Su’s illness treated.
Any more delays, and it would likely only get worse.
Mrs. Su leaned close to Mr. Su and whispered, "Jianmin, let’s go back. Back to Shanghai, okay?"
The words had barely left her lips, before Mr. Su could reply, when a voice ca from outside.
The voice held a hint of laughter, but Mrs. Su’s expression soured.
One look at Mrs. Su’s face was all it took for Su Tang and Lu Xiao to understand.
Who else could it be but Aunt Su and her husband?
"Brother! Sister-in-law! Li told Tangtang and her son-in-law are here? My, what honored guests have graced our door!"
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