Volume One, Chapter Two: You Know Nothing!

A heavy slap echoed through the air, as if the sky itself had responded.

The blow not only stunned Song Niannian but also turned Gu Hanxiao’s gaze icy cold.

Seeing Su Nuan still ready to strike, he stepped forward and grasped her wrist firmly.

Su Nuan’s expression darkened. “This is my family matter; it has nothing to do with Captain Gu.”

“Without knowing the full story, I won’t judge your family affairs, but hitting someone is wrong and illegal,” Gu Hanxiao said, his voice as cold as his face. “If you attack again, I’ll have no choice but to take you to the police station.”

Song Niannian, noticing Gu Hanxiao’s protection, felt a flutter in her heart. Covering her face, she feigned weakness and said, “Brother Gu, I’m fine. Please don’t arrest Sister Su Nuan; she didn’t mean it.”

Su Nuan smiled bitterly. That was a mistake—she had meant every bit of it. If Gu Hanxiao hadn’t stopped her, she would have beaten that hypocritical, vicious woman senseless right then and there.

“Beating someone in public, huh? Li Man, is this the kind of daughter you’ve raised?”

At that moment, an angry male voice came from behind them.

Su Nuan turned her head, pupils trembling uncontrollably.

She leapt past the despicable Su Xunan and threw herself into the arms she had longed for day and night.

“Mom!”

...

That single word drenched Li Man’s eyes in tears.

Her daughter’s hatred and rejection had been her torment for two lifetimes. Now, hearing her call “Mom,” Li Man wondered if it was merely a hallucination brought on by having been submerged in water too long.

“Nuan Nuan… is it really you?”

“It’s me, Mom, it’s me! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” Recalling her past life of complicity in evil, Su Nuan clung to Li Man, sobbing uncontrollably. “It’s all my fault. I believed their slanders and caused you so much pain… and hurt myself as well. I’m such a fool! I’m a complete fool!”

Li Man was astonished by her daughter’s transformation, and Su Xunan nodded slightly.

“Hmm, the child is teachable. Since you know your mistakes, go apologize to your sister Niannian.”

Yet, Su Nuan ignored him completely, not even sparing him a glance. This wounded the proud patriarch Su Xunan deeply; his face darkened instantly, and in fury, he raised his hand to strike Su Nuan.

“You unfilial daughter, how dare you—”

“Try laying a finger on Nuan Nuan, just try!”

Li Man roared, knocking Su Xunan’s hand away and shielding Su Nuan behind her.

The determination in the woman’s eyes stunned Su Xunan. He could not believe that the wife who had always obeyed him had now learned to resist.

It was like fine sand slipping uncontrollably through his fingers.

This realization made Su Xunan restless. He gritted his teeth and said, “Xiaoman, you’re aiding evil! No wonder Su Nuan has turned out so badly; it’s because you, as a mother, never set a good example!”

Su Nuan was furious at her stepfather’s words, but before she could speak, Li Man cut him off coldly.

“That’s your opinion. Nuan Nuan and I walk upright and true. Whether we are good or bad, you have no right to judge.”

Both Su Nuan and Su Xunan widened their eyes in surprise.

No one expected the usually meek Li Man to suddenly stand firm.

Su Nuan even wondered if her mother, like herself, had been reborn because of this flood.

Unfortunately, she had no time to ponder further as the floodwaters surged toward them, carrying countless screams.

“Head for higher ground!”

They followed Gu Hanxiao’s lead, retreating to a small hill nearby that would serve as their temporary refuge.

Watching the raging flood below, Su Nuan’s heart pounded with lingering fear.

Beside her, Li Man cautiously comforted her, “Nuan Nuan, don’t be afraid. Mom will protect you. Before… before, I was too weak, and that let you suffer others’ harsh judgments…”

Though outsiders saw Su Nuan as a rebellious troublemaker, Li Man knew it was only a defense wall built by her daughter’s insecurities about her body.

Her Nuan Nuan was so good and kind—she would even shed tears for injured stray dogs by the roadside.

Li Man blamed herself for being too timid, for not standing up and defending her daughter, which had caused her so much misunderstanding and criticism.

The thought filled Li Man with shame and sorrow.

“Mom was useless. I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Nuan Nuan. I promise you from now on, no one will ever hurt you again.”

Su Nuan’s throat tightened, and seeing Li Man’s tear-red eyes, she wanted to ask the questions swirling inside her. But before she could speak, Su Xunan approached with pursed lips.

“Feng Lan was injured and has been moved to a nearby safe point… She’s not here. Xiaoman, I thank you for saving Niannian. Also… I wasn’t trying to be angry with you just now. It’s Su Nuan who’s always causing trouble and giving me headaches.”

Su Nuan scowled at the tearful, pitiful-looking Song Niannian beside her. “Causing trouble? It’s clearly Song Niannian who couldn’t understand a word, clinging to the tree branch refusing to go upstream, pulling on my mom’s wrist so hard that both Mom and I fell into the water and nearly drowned!”

The truth changed Su Xunan’s expression. But seeing Song Niannian’s frightened and pitiful face, he couldn’t say a word and instead vented his frustration on Su Nuan.

“That’s because you talk so harshly, the troublemaker! Niannian was scared and lost control!”

Su Nuan bit her teeth, anger making them chatter.

Li Man squeezed her hand and said coldly, “Nuan Nuan can be blunt sometimes, but she would never harm anyone intentionally. Su Xunan, I know you favor Feng Lan and her daughter, but you have no right to keep slandering my Nuan Nuan.”

This seemed to give Su Xunan an escape route. Pointing at Su Nuan’s nose, he shouted, “Hah! You say I slander her? Does she need me to slander her? Do I not know what kind of daughter I gave birth to?!”

You don’t know a thing!

You don’t even know what shoe size your own daughter wears.

Su Nuan silently cursed in her heart.

Compared to her, her mother was remarkably composed and said calmly, “Whether you understand or not doesn’t matter. Su Xunan, I’ve had enough of you and the Su family. Let’s get a divorce. I’ll take Nuan Nuan with me.”

The hill was small, but Li Man’s words spread like wildfire, carried by the flood’s roar to everyone’s ears.

Divorce was scandalous in this era.

Not only Su Xunan and Su Nuan were shocked, but even the onlookers, including Gu Hanxiao, were stunned.

Nearby relatives all began to urge her to reconsider.

“Husbands and wives fight but make up in the end. Whose home isn’t full of quarrels?”

“Yes, and your daughter is already grown. If you divorce now, won’t you be the laughingstock for life? Besides, Xiao Su is a teacher at our No. 2 Middle School. A day as husband and wife is a hundred days of grace. Even if you don’t think about yourself, think about your husband’s face.”

These words stabbed at Li Man’s heart, causing intense pain.

For Su Xunan, she had given up a special recruitment to the Cultural Troupe; for him, she endured twenty years of hardship and disdain from in-laws; for him, she tolerated her husband’s partiality toward his beloved and her daughter’s rival, hurting her own child.

But what had all this yielded?

Nothing… absolutely nothing.

“Xiaoman, you really want a divorce…?”

Seeing Li Man silent, Su Xunan grew anxious.

He couldn’t afford to lose face, nor did he want to separate from Li Man, who was not only his wife but also a dutiful daughter-in-law with no complaints from the Su family.

He tried to soothe her, “Xiaoman, after all these years, can you really bear to leave me? Besides, you’re from the countryside and only have an elementary education. Without me, how will you and Nuan Nuan survive?”

...

Su Xunan’s confident words only fueled Li Man’s disgust. She glanced at Su Nuan and Gu Hanxiao in the corner, already forming a plan in her heart.