"You *sshole! You're keeping me in the dark and just yapping out all these orders to me. I'll remember this!"
Jin Pingchuan looked out the window with a grin on his face. His thoughts kept going back to Su Jian's slender frame.
When Su Jian returned home and got her hands on the household register, she hesitated. Marriages were meant to last a lifetime. Everybody planned to marry the person they had feelings for. Moreover, marriage was not a game. It would be irresponsible of them and disrespectful to marriage if they got married today and divorced tomorrow.
Su Jian had once yearned for marriage. Her ideal life included a loving husband and a small, close-knit family of her own. They did not have to be rich. All she needed was mutual respect and understanding. But today, she was rushing off to marry a complete stranger. Was this the right thing to do? Even if she wished to give her adoptive mother peace of mind and help her pass away without any regrets, it was a little extreme.
Su Jian sat listlessly on the couch. Her heart was in turmoil.
At one in the afternoon, as Su Jian prepared to visit her mother in the hospital, she spotted a tall, familiar figure standing outside the main entrance.
Since their last meeting four years ago, Su Yinian had bloomed considerably, becoming a responsible and self-assured adult man. The softness of his demeanor was accentuated by the light gray suit he was wearing. In the middle of the crowd, he stood out like a beacon.
"Su Jian." Su Yinian stopped her.
Su Jian stopped in her tracks and greeted him curtly. "Su Yinian."
Su Jian had given Su Yinian her heart at a tender young age. In that single year, all of her hopes, dreams, and love were shattered.
"How is she doing?" Su Yinian asked anxiously.
"The doctor estimated a month at most-," She was mid-sentence when she heard a voice behind her call her name. It was Qin Xin, Su Yinian's wife.
Qin Xin reached out and gently grasped Su Yinian's arm. "I heard that your mother is sick, so Grandpa asked us to come over and take a look," she told Su Jian.
"Appreciate it."
Qin Xin suggested, "Why don't we transfer her to the hospital in Haicheng? There is a top-tier oncologist available there. Also, Su Yinian is well-connected with the medical community. We can provide Auntie with a thorough evaluation..."
Su Jian turned away from her gently while lowering her gaze. "That won't be necessary. It had already progressed to a late stage when we found out. We're not really looking for treatment now. My mother just wants to get over the pain. I don't want her to suffer, either."
Su Jian did not want to see Qin Xin and Su Yinian being so loving toward each other. Her chest felt as though it were being stabbed with needles.
"Are you going up too? Shall we go together?" Qin Xin asked.
"Not this time." Su Jian reached for her bag and exhaled deeply. "I still have things to do, so I won't be coming along."
Su Jian looked at her watch. It was 1:45 p.m. The Civil Affairs Bureau was still a ways from the hospital. Unless there was a major traffic jam, she should be able to make it.
"Alright, you go ahead. Su Yinian and I will go up to see her." Qin Xin nodded and said, "Oh right, Grandpa has been talking about you. Do not forget to drop by and visit him when you can."
"Got it. So long," Su Jian said in response. Her eyes swept past the silent Su Yinian before she turned away with a smile. She would soon be someone else's wife. The past should remain in the past. In any case, she should do her best to put it out of her mind...
Su Jian clutched her chest, wondering if this was to be her fate.
Su Jian was an orphan. She was out on the road playing when she was eight years old. When she saw a car almost hit a toddler, she had rushed up to save him. The boy was fine, but she ended up being sent to the hospital. Upon being released from the hospital, the child's mother was so grateful that she convinced her husband to adopt her. She was thus given the name Su Jian.
Su Yinian was the son of Su Jian's adoptive father and ex-wife. He was a full four years her senior. When Su Jian was first introduced to the Su family, Su Yinian had greeted her with open arms and a friendly smile, saying, "Welcome, sister. I'm Su Yinian, and I'll be your brother from now on."
Su Jian kept secretly referring to him as "Yinian" for quite some time after that. This was a coy way to address a romantic interest. Su Yinian would fondle her hair and tell her, "I like it when you call me by my name. It sounds nice."
But after a while, Su Jian stopped referring to him that way.