Chapter 80 : Side Story 10. Are You Hiding Something from Me
But as soon as this thought emerged, Su Huan immediately pushed it back.
She couldn't leave. Even if it meant being a mistress, she had to stay by Shen Xiaoyu's side!
[How about we go find Xiaoyu?] The system suggested, [If Xiaoyu asks, you can just say you came to accompany An'an.]
Su Huan didn't respond, looking into her own mind as if making a decision.
The system thought she would refuse and was about to persuade her when it heard Su Huan agree immediately.
"Let's go!"
No sooner said than done!
Su Huan stood up and limped to the wardrobe, beginning to seriously select clothes.
She absolutely couldn't lose!
By the time she reached the amusement park, it was already two hours later.
It was a holiday, and the amusement park was packed with people, shoulder to shoulder like surging tides with no end in sight.
Su Huan wrapped herself in a scarf, leaning on her crutch at the entrance looking around, trying to find that familiar figure in the crowd.
[Tracking program activated! As long as Xiaoyu is nearby, the program will react.]
However, the process got stuck right from the start.
"Please show your ID," the staff member's words made her stiffen.
Su Huan acted as if just realizing, patted her pockets, pretending to search frantically up and down, finally showing a bitter smile.
"Oh no, I forgot to bring it. Thank you, I won't buy a ticket then."
After speaking, she turned and walked outside.
Su Huan walked to stand under the shade of a tree. Because of her leg inconvenience, a kind person even brought her a chair.
She sat on the chair, watching the people coming and going in front of her, suddenly feeling a sense of unreality. Was she really pursuing Shen Xiaoyu? Or was this a dream caused by the world reset?
This situation had happened before—thinking she had returned to the days with Shen Xiaoyu, but when she actually tried to touch Shen Xiaoyu, she discovered it was just a dream.
So was she in a dream now, or was she...
[Target detected! Target detected!]
Su Huan immediately snapped out of her fantasy, looking up and searching around, finally spotting Shen Xiaoyu's group near the main entrance.
Shen Xiaoyu and Qiao Si'en were walking side by side, chatting and laughing. Behind them were Shen Nian'an and Mother Shen, followed by several employees from the studio.
She immediately stood up and limped over, "An'an!"
Shen Nian'an was saying something to Mother Shen when she heard the voice. She immediately looked up and around, and upon seeing Su Huan, her eyes instantly lit up.
"Mommy!" Shen Nian'an ran toward her, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her, "Mommy, when did you arrive? Why didn't you tell me in advance?"
She looked down at Su Huan's bandaged foot, frowning with a flash of heartache on her little face, "How's your foot? Does it hurt? What did the doctor say? Is it serious?"
"Nothing serious, just need good rest." Su Huan reached out to hold the little girl in her arms. Though she was asking Shen Nian'an, her eyes looked toward Shen Xiaoyu not far away, "Did you just leave home? Why are you only arriving now?"
Shen Xiaoyu glanced over slightly, narrowing her eyes as she looked at her, clearly not very happy.
[Target affection level decreased to: -75%]
Su Huan's arms holding Shen Nian'an tightened.
"I ate breakfast a bit late this morning." Shen Nian'an looked somewhat embarrassed, "When Mama and Aunt Qiao arrived, I was having breakfast with grandma. Aunt Qiao's breakfast was so delicious! Mommy, did you have breakfast? Do you want to try some?"
"No need, I ate this morning."
"When did Miss Su arrive?" Qiao Si'en walked over with Shen Xiaoyu, "If I had known Miss Su was also coming, I would have waited for you. Then you wouldn't have had to wait at the entrance for so long."
Shen Xiaoyu's expression wasn't good, and she questioned immediately, "Your leg isn't convenient, what are you doing here?"
Of course she came to find Shen Xiaoyu, to prevent her from being alone with Qiao Si'en. She wanted to eliminate any possibility of Shen Xiaoyu and Qiao Si'en being together from the source!
But in front of Shen Xiaoyu, she definitely couldn't say this.
Su Huan pressed her lips together, shifting the topic to her daughter, "I've never been to an amusement park with An'an. I don't want to have regrets."
Shen Xiaoyu obviously didn't believe it, snorted coldly, and turned to Mother Shen, "Mom, you go in with Xiao Song and the others and take An'an first. I'll find you in a bit. Si'en, you go in with my mom and them first."
Qiao Si'en shook her head, "I'll stay here with you."
"No need, I have something I want to say to her alone." Shen Xiaoyu looked at Su Huan, anger surging in her chest, her voice cold and harsh, "You come with me!"
Shen Nian'an called out disappointedly, "Can't Mommy go in together?"
"What's she going to do? Get her leg amputated?"
Shen Xiaoyu's words successfully blocked the little girl's pleading attempts.
The little girl gave Su Huan a helpless look that said 'I can't help you, good luck.'
No way around it—when Mama was angry, whoever tried to help would get scolded.
Shen Nian'an took a breath, turned to hold Mother Shen's hand, and bounced into the amusement park.
Qiao Si'en wanted to stay and wait for them, but was also pulled by Shen Nian'an, "Aunt Qiao, Mama will be a long time before coming back. You can't keep standing at the entrance either. What if Mama comes back and you miss each other? Let's go in and play first. When Mama comes back, she'll call us."
"Aren't you worried they'll fight?" she asked in confusion.
"They won't!" Shen Nian'an's tone was certain, "They used to fight often before. But fighting doesn't mean they'll separate. Although Mama doesn't say it, I can feel that she still has Mommy in her heart. It's just that Mommy did wrong things, so Nama won't choose to forgive."
"What did your Mommy do?" Qiao Si'en pressed.
Shen Nian'an stopped walking and looked up at her.
Qiao Si'en instinctively lowered her head, and when she met those eyes, her back felt cold.
Though just an eight-year-old girl, her gaze was like a mirror that could reflect her inner thoughts.
She suddenly forgot what she wanted to say.
Shen Nian'an's delicate little face was full of sincerity, "If Aunt Qiao wants to know, why don't you ask Mama directly? This is Mama's privacy. If she doesn't want to say it, then I won't tell you either."
Qiao Si'en was still immersed in that gaze from just now, completely forgetting to respond.
"Aunt Qiao, don't worry about my Mama and Mommy anymore. They'll resolve their own matters. Let's go play first." Shen Nian'an pulled her hand, leading her forward together.
On the other side, Su Huan followed Shen Xiaoyu to the parking lot.
The holiday amusement park was crowded everywhere, making it impossible to find a quiet place.
Shen Xiaoyu opened the car door and gave her a look, "Get in and talk."
Su Huan opened the car door and sat inside.
The weather was hot, and the car had been baking in the sun for two hours. The hot air couldn't escape, and as soon as she got in, heat waves hit her face, along with various strange smells that made her dizzy.
Su Huan frowned, pinching her nose with her fingers, finding the smell hard to bear.
Shen Xiaoyu rolled down the windows to let heat escape, turned on the air circulation and air conditioning, then started the car and left.
Only after the temperature in the car dropped and the smell disappeared did the windows go back up.
Neither of them spoke, and the car was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
It wasn't until they left the park area that the crowds gradually thinned.
Shen Xiaoyu found a "quiet and spacious" spot by the roadside, parked the car under some trees, then said, "Get out."
Su Huan opened the car door. A breeze blew over—though hot, it wasn't unbearable.
"I thought I made myself very clear to you!" As soon as Shen Xiaoyu started speaking, the system's voice followed.
[Target affection level decreased to: -80%]
Su Huan didn't get out, just sat in the back listening to Shen Xiaoyu's scolding, "Even if you're jealous, there should be limits. Making things difficult for your own body—you never used to be like this!"
"You never used to scold me because of unrelated people either." Su Huan's voice wasn't loud, but she didn't deliberately lower it either. Shen Xiaoyu, standing beside her, heard every word, making her even angrier.
"So it's my fault again?" She laughed angrily, "I really regret not scolding you before."
What a joke!!
How could she have been so good-tempered before, enduring whatever Su Huan said or did, even willingly cleaning up her messes!
Thinking of her past frustrating life made Shen Xiaoyu even angrier.
She glared at Su Huan, "Did you look in a mirror when you left home? Instead of staying home and resting properly, what are you doing running around? Do you still want your leg? It wasn't that serious originally, but with all your fussing, if you don't become disabled, you won't be satisfied, right? Do you really want to be a cripple for life?"
Though she was scolding her, anyone could hear the concern in her words.
Su Huan's nose tingled, her voice carrying a tremor, each word squeezed from the depths of her heart, full of grievance.
"If being disabled could let me stay by your side, then I'd rather not have this leg."
Hearing this, Shen Xiaoyu's anger surged even more violently.
[Target affection level decreased to: -85%]
Shen Xiaoyu's face tensed, pointing at her for a long time without being able to say a word, finally only managing, "If I had known it would be like this, I should have just let your leg be crippled! I was being unnecessarily nosy!"
She let out a low whimper, crossed her arms, and turned her back to avoid looking at her.
[Target affection level decreased to: -90%]
Even worse.
Su Huan's heart panicked. She hurriedly got out of the car, wanting to pull her but afraid of making her angrier, so she could only stand there helplessly, her injured foot lightly touching the ground, looking particularly pitiful.
Shen Xiaoyu caught sight of this from the corner of her eye, her brow furrowing even tighter.
[Target affection level decreased to: -95%]
[Apologize! Host, quickly apologize to Xiaoyu!] The system was running around in circles anxiously, [Can't let the affection level drop any further, or it'll be directly judged as conquest failure and immediately sent back to the original world!]
Hearing this, Su Huan's eyelashes trembled, and her constantly tense nerves suddenly relaxed.
[Then so be it.]
Su Huan exhaled, reached out to pull her, smiling with curved eyes, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault. Don't be angry anymore."
She softened her voice, speaking coquettishly as if acting spoiled.
Shen Xiaoyu's surging anger diminished by more than half. She glanced at her irritably, shook off her hand, and turned to get in the car.
"I'm taking you back now."
"Xiaoyu, I want to go to the amusement park with An'an." Su Huan immediately called out, standing by the car looking at her with clear, gentle eyes, repeating once more, "I want to accompany An'an to an amusement park once."
Here we go again.
"Didn't you hear what I said—"
Shen Xiaoyu turned back to scold her but met her gaze, her voice stopping abruptly.
Su Huan suddenly remembered something, her smile fading slightly, looking somewhat sad, "But I just remembered, I don't have ID documents so I probably can't get in. Then I guess I won't go, maybe when there's time later..."
There might not be time later.
Su Huan took a deep breath and got in the car.
Shen Xiaoyu's gaze followed her, keenly noticing something was off about her emotions.
Not caring about leaving anymore, she leaned into the car to look at her.
"Su Huan, are you hiding something from me?"
