Chapter 200: Shopping for Clothes
"Shut up, Xu Ziyang. You’re just jealous that he’s handsome," Xu Wenqing shot back, not pulling any punches.
"Show some respect! I’m your older brother!" Xu Ziyang fumed.
Meanwhile, after seeing the man’s looks, Su Zhaozhao’s grandparents felt a little relieved that she hadn’t just picked someone at random.
The man carried himself with a calm and composed air; he didn’t seem like a hooligan.
That was a relief.
Plus, they’d heard his family background and personal prospects were quite good, which was even better.
But...
"Zhaozhao, dear, he’s so handsome... Do you think he’ll be one to always stay out?"
"Grandpa, Grandma, don’t worry. He always comes home unless he’s at training," Su Zhaozhao said with a helpless smile. "The moment training is over, he comes right back."
"Sigh, a man that good-looking... it’s actually a bit of a worry," Li Chunhong said.
Su Zhaozhao was exasperated. ’How strange. I’m good-looking, but no one’s worried I’ll cheat.’
’Just because Xie Huaizheng is handsome, does that automatically mean he’ll cheat?’
’They seem to think a man can be *too* handsome. What if tons of women fall for him and he can’t resist the temptation?’
’Still, she trusted Xie Huaizheng.’
’Besides, Xie Huaizheng was the male lead of a novel; by definition, he had to be self-disciplined and morally upright.’
’Plus, being in the military, he often came into contact with people from the art troupe.’
’Jiang Manzhi used to be so infatuated with Xie Huaizheng. If he were the type to be easily swayed, they would have gotten together long ago. Would she even have had a chance?’
’And after spending so much time with Xie Huaizheng, she could tell how uninterested in women he had been at the start.’
’Men were strange creatures.’
’From her previous research, she knew that being a player had no direct correlation with being handsome or ugly.’
’Some unattractive men would hit on women constantly, wanting to prove their own charm precisely because they knew they weren’t good-looking.’
’So, did being handsome automatically make you a player?’
’Not necessarily. Perhaps handsome men, being more experienced and worldly, had a clearer idea of what they wanted and were therefore *less* likely to be players.’
’It was like those men with beautiful wives who ended up cheating with a third party of average looks.’
’It wasn’t about the other person’s beauty or lack thereof; it was simply a chase for novelty.’
’People are complex animals. She never judged a person by their looks. It just so happened that Xie Huaizheng was exactly her type, so she went for it.’
’And so far, the results had been pretty good.’
"Zhaozhao, dear, you mustn’t fall too deep. Look at you, you’ve only been together a short while and you’re already defending him like this. Don’t let him wrap you around his little finger." Li Chunhong took Su Zhaozhao’s hand and urged, "Your mother... she loved your father too much. She helped him with everything, and in the end..."
Li Chunhong let out a deep sigh at the thought.
Her eyes slowly reddened, as if recalling a painful memory.
Su Zhaozhao quickly hugged Li Chunhong, burying her face in her grandmother’s shoulder. "Grandma, don’t be sad. Please don’t be sad, okay? I won’t make the same mistake. I’m smart, you know. He didn’t even like me at first—I was the one who chased after him."
Hearing this, Li Chunhong blinked, her sadness instantly vanishing. "You chased after him? How did you do it?"
"It’s a long story." Su Zhaozhao then recounted everything—fleeing Jiang City for West State, running into danger on the train, and meeting Xie Huaizheng.
The others listened with rapt attention.
As for Xu Wenqing, she was filled with nothing but admiration for Su Zhaozhao.
"Zhaozhao, seriously, you’re incredible. To dare to wander around like that at your age... If it were me, I’d have been scared to death."
’Going to a place so far away...’
Soon, the gathering came to an end.
Everyone returned to their own houses.
The Xu Family estate was large, but the three households lived in separate buildings.
Xu Yingmin and Li Chunhong lived in one building.
Xu Zhenguo’s family lived in the building to the left.
Xu Yiheng’s family lived in the one on the right.
They all lived separately, but they were still neighbors.
That evening, after taking a bath, Su Zhaozhao went back to her room and lay down. She entered her space, drank some spiritual spring water to relax her body, then sat in the massage chair for a full-body massage.
Over the past few days at the train station, she hadn’t dared to enter her space casually.
Now, she could finally make use of her space whenever she wanted.
Moreover, Su Zhaozhao discovered that the number of items in her space had increased again.
The space was becoming more and more like a small warehouse, with shelves packed to the brim. She was no longer short on daily necessities.
Finally, Su Zhaozhao went into her room within the space and fell asleep on the soft bed.
She had locked the door to her actual room, so no one would know she had entered the space anyway.
The next day, after Su Zhaozhao woke up and had breakfast, Xu Yingmin and Li Chunhong took her to the Public Security Bureau to handle the transfer of her household registration.
The process went surprisingly smoothly. Su Zhaozhao hadn’t expected it; she thought there would be some trouble.
But after the official heard her name, her father’s name, and what he had done to her, he told Su Zhaozhao, "We can transfer your registration to your grandfather’s household record within three days. We’ll also issue a formal declaration severing ties with your biological parents."
"Thank you for your help, Comrade," Su Zhaozhao said. She hadn’t expected everything to go so smoothly.
It was so smooth that Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but wonder, ’Did someone pull some strings for them?’
’Otherwise, how could it have been handled so quickly?’
’Was it Xie Huaizheng?’
’Xie Huaizheng had, after all, asked where her grandparents lived. He’d told her not to worry and to just take them to the Public Security Bureau to get the registration transfer done.’
’If it really was Xie Huaizheng, then he was far too thoughtful and considerate.’
After leaving the Public Security Bureau, Xu Yingmin said to Su Zhaozhao, "Zhaozhao, you’ll be staying with us for a while, right?"
Su Zhaozhao nodded.
"Let’s go buy you some daily necessities then."
"Okay."
They went to the department store and bought some necessities for Su Zhaozhao. When they saw some pretty clothes, Li Chunhong suggested, "Zhaozhao, why don’t you pick out an outfit or two to try on?"
Su Zhaozhao quickly refused, "No, no, I have more than enough clothes already."
’The main reason was that her clothes were all in her space; she could take out whatever she wanted to wear at any time.’
’In terms of both quality and style, they were far better than anything in these stores.’
’Su Zhaozhao felt that buying clothes here would be a waste of money.’
’And clothes from these kinds of stores weren’t cheap at all.’
"Zhaozhao, this is your grandmother’s way of showing she cares. Don’t worry, we can afford this much."
Li Chunhong insisted that Su Zhaozhao try on the dress.
She had picked out a blue polka-dot dress in the Hong Kong style that was just starting to become popular.
’It wouldn’t have been out of style even in her own time.’
Su Zhaozhao wasn’t keen, but since Li Chunhong was insistent, she had no choice but to take it.
But just then, a voice cut in from the side. "Excuse me. I’ve got my eye on that dress."