Chapter 218: Xie Huaizheng’s Assurance
In the quiet living room, Xu Yingmin and Xie Huaizheng drank tea.
He sized up Xie Huaizheng, his gaze both fond and sharp.
Xie Huaizheng felt Xu Yingmin’s scrutiny, but he remained composed, neither servile nor arrogant, and let the older man look his fill.
After a long moment, Xu Yingmin said, "That child, Zhaozhao... she suffered a great deal growing up. She lost her mother at a young age and was constantly bullied by her father and stepmother. We... we didn’t realize it at the time, so we never intervened."
As Xu Yingmin recounted Su Zhaozhao’s past, images of the hardships she must have endured as a child flashed through Xie Huaizheng’s mind.
’She’s always so cheerful and bright, so full of life. But the pain she’s hiding... it’s probably even greater than mine, isn’t it?’
’Otherwise, why would she have traveled all that way, all alone, to marry a fiancé she’d never even met?’
’She must have been complete strangers with her supposed fiancé, to the point that she got the wrong person.’
But at the same time, Xie Huaizheng was incredibly glad that Su Zhaozhao had mistaken him for someone else.
’For me, this was actually a stroke of incredible luck.’
’Otherwise, I’d probably still be all alone.’
Still, hearing Xu Yingmin speak of Su Zhaozhao’s past made Xie Huaizheng’s heart ache for her.
"Yes. I regret not being there to protect her sooner."
"I feel the same way." Xu Yingmin sighed deeply.
Then, his sharp eyes fixed on Xie Huaizheng once more.
"So, when I found out she was married, I was both shocked and worried. I worried that, being so young and perhaps not the best judge of character, she might have ended up with a bad man."
Xie Huaizheng knew Xu Yingmin was putting pressure on him.
He was looking for a guarantee.
’But what good are guarantees?’
’Empty promises and grand declarations can be broken in the blink of an eye.’
Therefore, Xie Huaizheng said to Xu Yingmin, "Grandfather, please don’t worry. Now that I’ve married Zhaozhao, I will never divorce her. I’m not the type of person who falls in love easily. I love Zhaozhao, and I will treat her very, very well. I plan to buy an apartment in Beijing and another in Jiang City, both in Zhaozhao’s name."
He had already been assigned family housing in West State, and he and Su Zhaozhao would continue living there, but he still wanted to buy two more properties to give her.
One in Beijing and one in Jiang City.
It was also because he was worried. What if, in the future...
’What if Zhaozhao stops loving me one day and wants a divorce? These two properties could serve as a parting gift.’
A pang of heartache shot through Xie Huaizheng at the thought.
Ever since he learned that they had both married the wrong person, his heart had been in his throat.
He worried when he held her; he worried when he kissed her. He had never felt so insecure in his life.
Even with her right beside him, he always had the feeling that Su Zhaozhao could leave him at any moment.
Xu Yingmin had been about to ask Xie Huaizheng for a proper promise, but he never expected the young man’s first move would be to offer Su Zhaozhao two properties. He was stunned.
The housing market had just opened up to private sales, and prices weren’t cheap, especially in major cities like Jiang City and Beijing.
’Can Xie Huaizheng really afford that?’
Xu Yingmin couldn’t help but say, "My boy, I’m not asking you to buy property to guarantee anything for Zhaozhao. I just want you to be good to her. That child has been through so much, and you know as well as I do that she only ran all that way to marry you because she was completely out of options..."
As he spoke, Xu Yingmin’s heart ached, and he felt even worse about himself.
’I’m her grandfather, yet when Su Zhaozhao was at her most isolated and helpless, I wasn’t there for her.’
’And she... she must have been so disappointed in us that she didn’t come to us first. Instead, she went and found a man she’d barely ever met and married him on the spot!’
’Thankfully, from what I’ve seen so far, this man seems to be a good one.’
Xie Huaizheng suddenly realized he might have let something slip. After all, Su Zhaozhao’s *real* fiancé’s family likely didn’t have much money, let alone enough to buy two properties at once.
He had to cover his tracks. "My family isn’t well-off, but my parents did save up some money for me to buy a house. Plus, I’ve worked hard in the army all these years, so my subsidies are quite high."
"No, no, Huai Zheng, you two should save that money. I don’t think buying property is an urgent matter. But hearing you say all this today puts my mind at ease. It seems you truly have Zhaozhao’s best interests at heart."
’But Xie Huaizheng had already made up his mind. He would buy them secretly anyway. Since they were married, it would be considered marital property. That way, if Su Zhaozhao ever found out the truth and truly decided to leave him...’
’...knowing her personality, she probably wouldn’t accept anything from him.’
’But he could make these two properties her safety net.’
’He couldn’t be a part of her past; he couldn’t be there to support her through her hardest times.’
’So he would work hard to ensure her future wouldn’t be so difficult.’
’Of course, he didn’t actually want a divorce. He would hold onto her for dear life.’
Su Zhaozhao was unaware of their conversation.
She was already busy in the kitchen.
While Li Chunhong was out buying more groceries, Su Zhaozhao took the opportunity to retrieve some spiritual spring water from her space. She poured it directly into a clay pot to make a chicken soup!
’Xie Huaizheng was injured and had lost a lot of blood. He needed to be nourished by the spiritual spring water.’
She also thought about the meat dishes she would make next.
Braised pork belly, "lion’s head" meatballs, steamed sea bass, braised pork ribs, duck braised with perilla...
There were some dishes she hadn’t made in a while and had forgotten the recipes for, so she had her space project a cooking tutorial. An electronic screen materialized in front of her, allowing her to follow along as she cooked.
’The space was getting more and more intelligent with each upgrade.’
’She could just summon the display whenever she needed it.’
However, only Su Zhaozhao could see this display; no one else would ever notice it.
When Li Chunhong returned, she found Su Zhaozhao had already finished cooking several meat dishes.
The entire house was filled with a rich aroma. Even she couldn’t help but swallow, her mouth watering at the smell.
"Zhaozhao, how are you such an amazing cook?"
Li Chunhong looked at the dishes Su Zhaozhao had prepared. They were perfect in color, aroma, and presentation. Even the plating was exquisite.
’It seems Zhaozhao was just being modest before.’
"It’s nothing special. I just know how to make a few home-style dishes."
’It was only because of the spiritual spring water that the food was so much more fragrant.’
Su Zhaozhao finished steaming the fish and drizzled it with hot oil.
The aroma made Li Chunhong eager to start eating right away.
Fortunately, only a few vegetable dishes were left to be made.
Li Chunhong took over, stir-frying the leafy greens and a dish of lotus root slices.
Su Zhaozhao prepared two cold dishes as well.
And with that, the feast was complete!