Volume 1, Chapter 18: Su Nuan's tears pierced Gu Hanxiao's heart with sharp pain.

After observing for several days, Song Niannian was certain that Su Nuan would be at the library at this hour, which is why she dared to be so reckless.

Yet, who could have foreseen that she had only just made the first cut when Su Nuan returned!

"Speak! Why did you ruin my clothes?"

Grandma Gu, returning from an errand, and Zhang Ping, just off work, stepped in one after another. Hearing Su Nuan’s angry questioning echoing in the courtyard, they paused for a moment before hurrying toward the small courtyard. On the way, they happened to run into Gu Hanxiao, and the three of them walked toward the source of the commotion together.

Song Niannian, sharp-eyed, spotted the three approaching. She immediately pinched her thigh and began to wail, "Wuwuwu, Su Nuan, you’ve misunderstood! I really didn't steal your things... I—I saw you leave your clothes on the floor and thought you didn't want them anymore, so I thought I’d cut them up to resize them for the neighbor’s little ones to wear."

"But I locked my clothes away before I left," Su Nuan interrupted her lie.

Song Niannian bit her lip, feigning innocence, "Su Nuan, are you implying... that you think I picked the lock on your bedside drawer?"

"Whether or not you did, you know the truth in your heart."

"I didn't!" Song Niannian shook her head, looking at Gu Hanxiao and the others with teary eyes as she explained, "Brother Gu, Grandma, Auntie, I truly did not open Su Nuan’s drawer. If I did, may I be struck by lightning!"

Su Nuan couldn't help but laugh.

Song Niannian had made more false oaths in these past few years than she had eaten bowls of rice. Su Nuan knew that this woman was about to perform that same "the weak are always right" act she used to pull back at the Su household.

Unfortunately for her, Song Niannian did not know that Su Nuan had been reborn, and she knew these tricks by heart!

Since moving in, Su Nuan had made it a habit to sprinkle a layer of chalk dust inside her drawer every day. To ensure she had a witness, she had specifically informed Grandma Gu of this habit.

Su Nuan explained, "Back home, my belongings had been stolen by relatives' children visiting for the New Year, but the culprits refused to admit it and even tried to shift the blame onto me. Ever since then, I’ve made it a habit to sprinkle chalk dust in my drawer as evidence."

"Xiao Nuan did tell me about this, and I have indeed seen it," Grandma Gu nodded in confirmation. "I watched Xiao Nuan sprinkle the dust in there with my own eyes today, and I was the one who saw her off when she left."

In other words, Su Nuan had not touched the contents of the drawer today; she had a perfect alibi. Conversely, Song Niannian had been home all morning, making her the prime suspect.

Zhang Ping then said, "The chalk marks are very obvious. If we want to know if Niannian used a key to open Xiao Nuan’s bedside drawer, we just need to check if there is chalk dust on her."

This statement turned Song Niannian’s face deathly pale. Before she could even steal a glance at her own body, she saw Gu Hanxiao staring unblinkingly at her fingers.

Song Niannian instinctively hid her hands behind her back.

Su Nuan noticed, grabbed her hands in a flash, and asked coldly, "Sister Niannian, what is that white powder between your fingers?"

"T-this is..."

Song Niannian was in a panic, and Zhang Ping’s displeased voice rang in her ears.

"Niannian, how could you steal Xiao Nuan’s key to open her bedside drawer!"

Grandma Gu was even more indignant, "You child, do you have any idea that this is called theft? If it were serious, you could be arrested by the police and sent to jail!"

"I—I..."

Faced with irrefutable evidence and the accusations of everyone present, the tears in Song Niannian’s eyes began to fall out of sheer terror.

"Sister Niannian, why did you have to rummage through my things? All I have left to my name is thirty cents and these few old clothes..." Seeing her shed tears, Su Nuan refused to be outdone and began to fake a cry as well. "I shared my father with you, gave you my rations, and even let you have my high school enrollment spot and my room... Song Niannian, why did you have to steal and cut my clothes... Why... why..."

Although Su Nuan was faking the tears, the things she spoke of had truly happened. Thinking of the grievances she had suffered, her eyes turned red uncontrollably.

This scene made Grandma Gu and Zhang Ping look on with heartbreak; even the usually cold-faced Gu Hanxiao furrowed his brow, unable to bear it.

"Don't worry, I will do everything in my power to stay in Pengcheng!"

"..."

Whenever he recalled Su Nuan saying those words in the past, Gu Hanxiao had only felt disgust. But now, he could read the pain and helplessness behind them.

She could have grown up to be so much more, but the Su family never gave her the chance. Su Xunnan favored another man’s daughter, and the Su family made Su Nuan and her mother sleep in a tiny kitchen only a few square meters large...

As Gu Hanxiao thought of this, his heart ached with a dense, throbbing pain.

"I—I was wrong... I know I was wrong!"

Song Niannian suddenly let out a loud cry and knelt before Su Nuan, kowtowing in agony.

Everyone was stunned by her actions, left momentarily at a loss.

Song Niannian looked at the clothes on the floor, gritting her teeth to feign a look of guilt and sorrow. She said, "This piece of clothing was made by my mother for Su Nuan by hand; it still carries my mother’s scent... I—I missed my mother so much that I had a moment of weakness, wanting to sneak a small piece of fabric to keep as a memento while you were away... I’m sorry, Su Nuan, I know I was wrong. I will never dare to do it again. Please, forgive me!"

Song Niannian spoke through tears, and combined with her already red and swollen face, she looked all the more pitiable. Hearing that she had stolen the clothes out of longing for her mother, the anger of Grandma Gu and Zhang Ping began to fade; they even couldn't help but start to sympathize with Song Niannian.

Grandma Gu shook her head and sighed, "Sigh, child, we all know that missing one's mother is human nature, but you still shouldn't have done such a thing..."

"Exactly. Xiao Nuan isn't a bad person; if you had just been honest, I'm sure she would have been willing to give you the clothes directly," Zhang Ping added.

Song Niannian’s eyes darted, and she played along with their words, acting aggrieved, "I was afraid that Su Nuan would hold a grudge against me because of the unfair treatment in the past, so I didn't dare to speak..."

As she spoke, Song Niannian looked up at Su Nuan and pleaded, "Su Nuan, I am so sorry. I sincerely apologize to you. If you’re unhappy, you can scold me or hit me, but I beg you to cut me a scrap of fabric from the clothes... No, even just a loose thread would do. Please, I beg you."

Grandma Gu and Zhang Ping were both mothers themselves and could not bear to see a child suffer because of their mother, so they began to persuade her.

"Xiao Nuan, your sister had her reasons for making a mistake. Why don't... why don't you let her off this time?"

"That’s right, she has already knelt and apologized. Xiao Nuan, just forgive her."

Facing their well-intentioned advice, Su Nuan remained silent.

Seeing her pursed lips and the wet tears swirling in her eyes—tears that felt like tiny needles pricking his heart—Gu Hanxiao felt a sharp pain in his chest.

"Don't worry, I will do everything in my power to stay in Pengcheng!"

"..."

Su Nuan, are you compromising yourself because of that?

Gu Hanxiao was desperate to know the answer, but unfortunately, Grandma Gu did not give him enough time to think; she and Zhang Ping were pressuring Su Nuan to make a decision.

"Xiao Nuan, harmony is the most precious thing in a family. Just do it as a favor to Grandma Gu, alright?"

"I..."

"Su Nuan."

As Su Nuan contemplated, Gu Hanxiao suddenly spoke up.