Chapter 199: Shallow Face-Worshipper
"Thank you, Auntie." Su Zhaozhao looked at the large piece of fish in her bowl. It was steamed sea bass and looked incredibly delicious.
She hadn’t eaten fish in a very long time. In West State, there were plenty of fruits and melons, and she ate meat often enough, but it was too far inland, so fish was a rarity.
Her space had plenty of delicious meat, but since the black soil was just land with no ponds, she couldn’t raise fish.
Even if she had fish, Su Zhaozhao wouldn’t have dared to take it out to eat.
After all, it would be too strange to suddenly have fish to eat in a place like that.
Now, eating this piece of fish, Su Zhaozhao felt completely content.
Jiang City was near the sea, and the city itself had many rivers and streams, so there was no shortage of fish.
Watching Su Zhaozhao savor even a single piece of fish, they felt a pang in their hearts.
’Just how much has this child suffered all these years?’ they thought. ’To be so happy over a simple piece of fish.’
Li Chunhong also put some meat on Su Zhaozhao’s plate. "Zhaozhao, eat up. We may not have much else, but we have plenty of food. You’ve suffered a lot these past few years, haven’t you?"
They felt incredibly guilty. After hearing Su Zhaozhao say today that she wanted to sever ties with her father, they knew she must have endured immense trauma over the years. Otherwise, she never would have said such a thing.
After all, many years ago, that little girl had clung to her father’s arm, refusing to leave with them no matter what.
Back then, Su Zhaozhao’s affection for Su Dashan was still very deep.
But now, that affection was gone.
"This household registration matter should be easy to handle. Zhaozhao, let’s get it taken care of tomorrow," Xu Yingmin said, swallowing his sadness and trying to keep his voice calm.
Su Zhaozhao nodded. "Okay."
It was the kind of thing that was better to handle sooner rather than later anyway.
Xu Zhenguo spoke up from the side. "Zhaozhao, why don’t you register your household with me? From now on, your uncle will be your father, and your aunt will be your mother. Sigh, you poor child, you’ve truly suffered too much all these years."
And even though they didn’t live far from the Su Family, being in the same area, they had never actually gone to visit Su Zhaozhao again.
The thought of all the hardships Su Zhaozhao had endured over the years made everyone sad.
Even Xu Ziyang, who had been mocking Su Zhaozhao earlier, was left speechless.
’That’s right,’ he thought. ’Su Zhaozhao was just a child back then. You can’t hold what a kid says against them. Why did I blame her for something like that?’
’It was all the adults’ fault. What did it have to do with a child?’
Xu Ziyang couldn’t help but think that if his aunt hadn’t been so heartless back then, Su Zhaozhao wouldn’t have ended up in this state.
After dinner, they pulled Su Zhaozhao into the living room to chat. The news was playing on the black-and-white television.
Su Zhaozhao told them about her life over the past few years.
"Zhaozhao, you must be twenty now, right? Are you seeing anyone?" Xu Zhenguo asked, looking at Su Zhaozhao with concern.
Su Zhaozhao could tell that Xu Zhenguo was the most warm-hearted of everyone there. She told him, "Yes, I’m already married."
"Married? Oh my god!" Su Zhaozhao’s cousin couldn’t help but exclaim. "Zhaozhao, I’m a year older than you and I’m not even seeing anyone, but you’re already married?"
"I didn’t want to be with the man my stepmother found for me, so I went and found the person my grandfather had arranged for me to marry—the son of his old comrade-in-arms," Su Zhaozhao explained.
Li Chunhong wrapped an arm around Su Zhaozhao’s shoulders and patted her gently. "Zhaozhao, this is our fault. If we had protected you properly, you wouldn’t have had to get married so early just to protect yourself."
"It’s okay. I think Heaven was helping me," Su Zhaozhao said with a smile. "He’s a very, very good man. He’s away on a mission right now, but he’ll come to visit you in a few days."
"That’s good. Then your uncles can see what kind of person he is," Xu Yiheng added. "And if he’s no good, you can get a divorce. The social climate isn’t so bad anymore; there’s no shame in a young woman getting a divorce. Our family is very open-minded, Zhaozhao. You don’t have to worry about that."
Su Zhaozhao didn’t expect them to be so pessimistic about Xie Huaizheng. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
"Yes, don’t worry. Once you meet him, I’m sure you’ll like him."
"So tell us, what’s your husband’s background?" Su Zhaozhao’s cousin, Xu Wenqing, asked her.
She was a little worried that Su Zhaozhao had been deceived.
This girl was so beautiful and seemed to have such a gentle and sweet personality—what man wouldn’t like her?
Even she had been stunned by Su Zhaozhao’s beauty when they first met, to say nothing of a man.
She was worried that because Su Zhaozhao’s family treated her poorly, she had desperately clutched at straws, and this man had managed to sweep her off her feet with just a few sweet words.
Su Zhaozhao told them, "He’s from Beijing and serves as a battalion commander in the Northwest Military Region. His grandfather and my grandfather were comrades-in-arms, and now he’s a retired senior official. My husband is quite handsome, has a great personality, and treats me very well."
As Su Zhaozhao spoke, a sudden pang of sadness hit her heart.
’Oh dear, it’s only been a short while since I last saw Xie Huaizheng, and I already miss him terribly.’
"Wait a moment, I brought some photos."
Su Zhaozhao went to her room, rummaged through her backpack, and took out the wedding photos she had taken with Xie Huaizheng.
Thankfully, they had chosen several outfits, including casual ones that made the pictures look more like tourist snapshots—not too over-the-top, but still beautiful.
Before she left, Su Zhaozhao had brought three photos with her, so she could look at them to ease her longing whenever she missed Xie Huaizheng.
She didn’t know when she had become so sentimental.
’Perhaps this is what it feels like to be in love.’
Su Zhaozhao took out two photos and showed them. "This is my husband."
Everyone gathered around. They had all been a little prejudiced against Su Zhaozhao’s so-called husband.
But after seeing the photos, their doubts vanished instantly.
After all, in the photo, the girl was beautiful and the man was incredibly handsome. He had sharp, dashing features and a pair of piercing eyes. Only because he was happy while taking the picture did his expression not seem so stern.
But the two of them looked so perfect together.
The man was so tall that Su Zhaozhao looked rather petite next to him.
Furthermore, they could tell that Xie Huaizheng was very fond of Su Zhaozhao.
In one photo, he was looking down at Su Zhaozhao. Although his eyes weren’t clearly visible, his expression was as gentle as water, as if wanting to envelop her completely.
After looking at it, Xu Ziyang couldn’t help but snort. "How superficial. Su Zhaozhao, did you only get with him because he’s handsome?"