After Su Xiaorui ran out, she happened to see her mother-in-law and quickly ran over, panting, "Mother-in-law, let's go."
Although her mother-in-law was curious about where she had gone, the groceries were bought, so she took her back.
Back at Xiao Yuan's house, Su Xiaorui immediately rushed to her room, picked up her small mobile phone, and called Jin Xiaoxi.
Soon, the call was answered.
"Brother Xiaoxi..." Su Xiaorui called out softly.
Jin Xiaoxi, who had just been upset with his grandmother because of Shao Lin, returned to his room and felt his mood improve upon hearing his little sister Xiaorui's voice.
"Mmm, I'm here."
"Is your dad back?" Su Xiaorui asked weakly.
"No, why? What's wrong?" Jin Xiaoxi was very confused. Why was she suddenly asking about his dad?
"I... I met your dad at the supermarket just now, and he mistook me for you... I, I wanted to experience what it's like to have a dad, so I pretended to be you... I'm sorry, Brother Xiaoxi."
After hearing this, Jin Xiaoxi repeated in surprise, "Dad didn't even realize?"
Su Xiaorui hummed, "I even let Dad hug me."
Jin Xiaoxi found it hard to imagine his dad hugging a child so affectionately. He scratched his head, "What did he say?"
"He asked me why I was here, and I said I came with Auntie," Su Xiaorui honestly confessed.
Jin Xiaoxi had to admire his little sister Xiaorui's cleverness. "Okay, I got it. Don't worry, no one will find out."
Su Xiaorui finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She always felt she had done something wrong by impersonating Brother Xiaoxi to call his dad, and that she had wronged Brother Xiaoxi.
Now she wasn't worried anymore.
Soon, she became happy again, "Brother Xiaoxi, your dad is so handsome."
Jin Xiaoxi agreed with this assessment and was about to continue speaking when he heard a knock on the door.
"Xiaoxi, Auntie made you a fruit platter, come out and try it." Shao Lin's gentle voice came.
Jin Xiaoxi sighed heavily, raised his voice, and said coldly, "No need!"
Afterward, no matter how much Shao Lin spoke outside the door, he didn't reply.
After she left, Jin Xiaoxi explained to Su Xiaorui, "This is the bad woman living in my house. She acts very nice to me in front of Grandpa and Grandma, but she's actually faking it!"
"Why?"
"Two years ago, I overheard her on the phone saying that taking care of me was annoying and that she hated me. If I wasn't Dad's child, she would have hit me long ago..."
Although Jin Xiaoxi was young then, he deeply felt Shao Lin's malice at that time.
It was an expression and tone of extreme disgust, completely different from her usual demeanor.
Even more frightening was that when Shao Lin saw him the next second, her gentle and loving expression seemed so real.
From then on, he was very resistant to this woman.
Hearing Jin Xiaoxi's description, Su Xiaorui also felt indignant on his behalf, "She's more wicked than Cinderella's stepmother!"
Jin Xiaoxi sighed, "But now Grandpa and Grandma both want her to marry Dad, and I want Auntie Su Ding to be Mom."
Su Xiaorui thought that if her mother married Xiaoxi's dad, such a handsome man, it would be a great deal for her.
She quickly said, "I want a dad too."
The two children, separated by the phone, sighed again for a long time.
Su Xiaorui tossed and turned on the bed, her mind racing.
Jin Xiaoxi didn't hang up the phone. Instead, he opened his computer and began investigating the name Shao Xu...
...
Su Ding's knee injury had healed, but her leg still felt a bit uncomfortable when she moved.
In the afternoon, she left the hospital room alone.
Shao Zhenggang was sleeping in the ward. It was said his blood pressure was still unstable, so he had to stay in the hospital for observation.
Wang Meilan was called out by Fu Qing and had gone for a secret date.
The woman who had already cheated couldn't stay quiet for a few days before she became restless again.
Su Ding pushed open Shao Zhenggang's door and looked at the familiar yet strange middle-aged man on the hospital bed, feeling an indescribable emotion.
Before Shao Lin was brought home, this father had been very good to her.
But then, things changed.
She clearly remembered the day her mother passed away; she arrived at the hospital bruised and battered, only to be slapped by her father.
This kind of bone-chilling pain was hard for her to forget.
Perhaps sensing something, Shao Zhenggang slowly opened his eyes.
As he regained consciousness and saw Su Ding, his aged eyes suddenly constricted, "Xiao Xu..."
Su Ding felt a slight tug in her heart. She hadn't heard that name in years.
She pulled at the corner of her lips faintly, "I'm back, are you doing well?"
Shao Zhenggang's hands trembled with excitement. He had sent people to search, but they couldn't find her. He thought his daughter from his ex-wife had died.
Seeing her now, hearing her speak, the feeling of regaining what was lost was difficult to express.
But he remembered the absurd things he had done before and stubbornly said, "I'm doing very well."
"When my mother was alive, your blood pressure was always well-controlled," Su Ding said with a sarcastic smile.
Shao Zhenggang, mocked, didn't feel angry but rather guilty.
He had thought a lot about past events lying in the hospital these past few days. He knew he had been too cruel back then.
"What are you here for?" Shao Zhenggang turned his face away, unsure how to interact with this daughter he hadn't seen in years.
"To see you," Su Ding said softly, "I wanted to ask you, do you regret it?"
Seeing his daughter's indifferent expression, Shao Zhenggang felt an oppressive闷, and blurted out, "Regret what! You unfilial daughter! You haven't come home to see me in five years."
Su Ding smiled mockingly and nodded, "Good, very good. Dad, Wang Meilan's infidelity is just the first gift I'm giving you. The second gift is still on its way. Please take good care of yourself."
After saying that, she turned and left directly.
Her heart, which had softened at the call of "Xiao Xu," now erected a high, hard barrier.
"Su Ding, why are you out?"
Behind her, Jin Ye's voice suddenly rang out. Su Ding's heart skipped a beat in shock.