One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure (1)

Su Xiaofei knew that she needed to be careful with her actions, that she shouldn't let others suspect that she knew things that they didn't. They might think that she had lost her mind and she would be forced to be separated from her mother again. It was something that she didn't want repeating in this life.

When she came downstairs to join her mother for lunch, she found Yun Qingrong speaking frantically in a low voice over her phone, her back facing Su Xiaofei. She was pacing back and forth, her whole body was tense as she pondered how she should explain his absence yet again to their daughter.

"Didn't you promise?" She hissed to whoever she was talking to, but Su Xiaofei surmised that it was her useless adoptive father.

Su Haoran wouldn't be back until a week after New Year's Day. He wasn't aware that Ye Xing along with their daughter were coming here, to Qiying City, to meet him and his wife, only for them to meet Yun Qingrong alone. However, he must have been aware of Ye Xing's health condition, considering how he ignored Yun Qingrong for the following months in favor of looking after his lover.

"You promised you would come back from your business trip as soon as possible, why would you need to stay there for another week?" Yun Qingrong asked in a frustrated tone.

If there was something Su Haoran was good at, it was to make his wife frustrated. This was one of the reasons why Su Xiaofei wasn't impressed with nor had any respect towards him. Every time the man saw her, Su Haoran would look away and wouldn't bother to give her the attention he should have as her father.

Whatever Su Haoran said on the other end of the line caused Yun Qingrong to sound disappointed. She chose to hang up the call, turned around and saw Su Xiaofei standing at the bottom of the stairs with a blank expression on her face.

"Feifei, take a seat and have lunch with me." She coaxed her daughter, hoping that Su Xiaofei hadn't overheard her conversation with her father.

Su Xiaofei obediently took a seat across from her mother and remained silent. She was thinking of ways to protect her mother from Su Haoran. She needed to convince her mother to divorce this excuse of a man who only cared about himself.

"Mama, is Papa not going to be home for New Year's Day?" She asked solemnly, knowing that her distress would add another layer of disappointment to Yun Qingrong's existing one towards her husband.

Yun Qingrong felt guilty hearing her daughter's question. She knew that her Feifei rarely saw and interacted with her husband, and it made her frustrated that Su Haoran was purposely ignoring their daughter.

"Feifei, don't be angry with your Papa, okay? He's still on a business trip and only called to inform us that it would take him another week before he could return home." She said in a gentle voice.

"It's okay, Mama. I know you and Papa are working hard to give me a better future. I just hope that Papa will be okay on his own." Su Xiaofei decided to play the filial daughter card in order to drive a wedge between Yun Qingrong and Su Haoran.

'Yes. You better be okay on your own once I'm done with you.'

The more Su Xiaofei played a meek and filial daughter towards them, the more Yun Qingrong would feel pity for her. What better way to make her mother see how incompetent Su Haoran was aside from this?

'Mama, I'm sorry for deceiving you, but this is for the better.' She thought as she took her mother's hand into hers.

Yun Qingrong's heart ached and thought how unfair it was for their Feifei to be treated this way by her husband.

"Okay. Mama will stay with you today, is that okay, Feifei?"

"Don't you have important work to do, Mama? I don't want to disturb you." Su Xiaofei smiled at her mother.

Because Su Haoran and Yun Qingrong were rarely at home to see her, she had become an ill-mannered and short-tempered child. When she turned eighteen, she tried to persuade her mother to allow her to move into an apartment located next to the school she was attending. It broke Yun Qingrong's heart, but she granted Su Xiaofei's request nevertheless.

"It's fine. I'm the boss, right?" Yun Qingrong assured her. "No one will fire the boss if she doesn't show up to work."

"But Mama…"

"No buts, Feifei. Mama is only able to accompany you today, so what do you say?"

The expression Su Xiaofei had on was one that was filled with gratitude and happiness. Her eyes turned misty as she looked at her mother.

"Okay." She conceded. It's been a long time since her mother spent some time with her, and Su Xiaofei was obviously not going to deny her.

Aunty Liu, who was waiting for them to notify her to start serving the dishes, dried the tears in her eyes as she looked between the mother and child. She knew how Yun Qingrong had struggled to make time just to be with Su Xiaofei, despite her busy schedule at work.

The old woman was also glad that Su Xiaofei wasn't throwing a tantrum and was more agreeable than usual, which was a good thing. Perhaps, Su Xiaofei finally grew up and understood the struggles her mother was facing.

Yun Qingrong hinted to Aunty Liu that their lunch could be served, then she glanced at her young daughter. After hearing what Feifei said, she knew that things could be changed for the better.

Su Xiaofei waited for their meal to be fully served before she decided to raise the issue about the Chen family. When Aunty served her favorite panna cotta, Yun Qingrong noticed that she hadn't touched it.

"Feifei, what's wrong?" She asked, worried that Su Xiaofei was feeling ill again.

"Mama, it's like this…" Su Xiaofei hesitated, but it was just a ploy to get her mother's undivided attention.

"You know you can tell me everything, right?"