Su Jin had been relatively busy these days, so she had not looked at her phone much at all. Besides, she was often talking to Lu Hao about the dimension and their supplies, so she was worried about the people “eavesdropping” on her phone. Sometimes she would rather bury their phones into the couch… Even Lu Hao thought she was being a bit paranoid. Of course no one was listening on their phones. Nevertheless, he went along with her requests and rarely touched his phone since. After all, he was on break for his “honeymoon” now, so no one would be stupid enough to call him without good reason.
It was only when Su Jin reached home that she saw she had a dozen missed calls…
All of them were from her parents.
Su Jin stuck out her tongue and hurriedly called back. They picked up almost immediately.
Su Jin’s mother asked Su Jin in a rush, “Why didn’t you pick up, Lil Jin? Your dad and I even bought plane tickets to G Province to go look for you!”
“What? What happened, Mom?” Su Jin was shocked too. She had to admit that she felt a little guilty for not picking up their calls.
“You nearly turned your grandparents’ place upside-down! What are you thinking? Why did you buy so many things?!” Everyone in the family could not comprehend what she was thinking. They thought that she had been traumatized or something.
Food, clothes, ovens… The things were filling up her grandparents’ yard.
To make things worse, Su Jin’s father’s youngest sister ran over to them that day and said that she saw Lu Hao at a property agency with a pretty young thing next to him. Su Jin’s aunt had waited until the two of them had left and then she asked the agents, only to hear that the couple had been here to sell their house in the center of town.
There was no way her family could sit still after hearing that! Their Su Jin was still working outstation, and they had just gotten married! Yet Lu Hao had found a mistress and was trying to sell their house while Su Jin was away? That little–!
So her parents kept trying to call her, and when that did not work, they hurriedly bought plane tickets so they could go console their daughter.
Aside from her drama-loving youngest aunt, everyone in the family was now filled with righteous anger. Even Lin Xiuyuan furiously was volunteering to “tear that cheating scum apart”. Mao Qiqi had even thrown away the birthday present Lu Hao had given her, her favorite colorful crystal airplane chess set.
Since Su Jin’s aunt wanted everyone to know about this spicy drama, even Su Jin’s maternal grandparents found out. Her grandmother’s blood pressure shot up as a result.
Su Jin was both furious and amused to hear all this. That aunt of hers was always glad to see others in trouble. In the past, she had been someone who liked taking advantage where possible. When she realized later that their family was a united front, she became a fly buzzing around in search of gossip to spread around like a stink.
Her family usually ignored her and her nasty habits, but Su Jin was involved this time. Their ‘half-baked strategist’ Lin Xiuyuan summarized everything and concluded that his beloved cousin had discovered her husband’s adultery not long after their wedding and decided to run away to G Province to heal her broken heart. She must have bought so much outdoor equipment because she planned to go on a long solo trip once she was back from work, so she could forget all about these mortal pains…
Su Jin’s entire family thought that Lin Xiuyuan’s explanation made a ton of sense. That would explain why Su Jin bought so much outdoor equipment and camping supplies. Lu Hao was surely the scum of the earth!
“But Brother Xiuyuan, why would Sis Su Jin buy so much rice and flour then?” Mao Qiqi asked, confused.
“Sigh! She must have bought them as a gift for our grandparents because she knew they would worry about her while she was away!” Lin Xiuyuan said confidently.
Mao Qiqi thought that something felt off, but she did not dare to say or ask anything… ‘Oh, sis Su Jin, please come back ASAP! Everyone’s gone mad.’
Su Jin hung up and looked at the ‘scumbag’ Lu Hao, her tone a little guilty as she said, “Honey~ You might have to make a trip home with me…”
When Su Jin said “home”, she meant their home base, meaning her grandparents’ place. She had told her mother earlier that she was back from G Province and the truth was not what they thought it was. She was getting along very well with Lu Hao, and she would explain everything once she got back, so everyone should not worry.
Her reassurances put her mother’s heart at ease. Both her parents planned to cancel their plane tickets and go home to wait for Su Jin there.
Lu Hao was exasperated to hear that he had been labeled as ‘cheating scum’ too. He remembered Su Jin’s youngest aunt. It seemed that both her personality and her eyesight were below par.
“What should I tell them after we get back, Lu Hao?” Su Jin had not gone home at all before this, so she really had no idea how to explain everything to them.
“Let’s see who’ll be there tonight. Don’t say anything if that aunt of yours is there,” Lu Hao said.
If someone like her aunt found out about Su Jin’s secret, it was only a matter of time because everyone in the world heard about it. Su Jin did not want to be captured and made into a science experiment.
The two of them came to a consensus and then drove to Su Jin’s grandparents’ place.
Su Jin did not say much on the way. She was trying to figure out how she should clear her family’s misunderstanding of Lu Hao and how to explain why she had suddenly returned from G Province. There was also the fact that she had bought so many things…
Lu Hao held her hand. Although he was listening to the navigation system attentively, he also knew what Su Jin was conflicted about. Su Jin felt the warmth coming from his hand and felt her heart settle somewhat. Right, she was not even scared of zombies. Why should she be afraid of this?
Lin Xiuyuan heard the gate opening and immediately ran out to open the door. As he thought, he saw Su Jin and her husband outside.
As soon as he saw Su Jin, he ran to her and yelled, “You’re finally back, Su Jin! Everyone’s waiting for you!”
Then, he saw Lu Hao, who was approaching them after parking the car. Lin Xiuyuan’s expression changed in an instant. Hmph, he was not going to call Lu Hao Brother-in-law like he used to. The scum did not deserve it!
Su Jin and Lu Hao, “…”
Lu Hao did not even blink when he went into a crime scene, but when he pushed open the door and walked in, the scene that greeted him gave him quite a scare.
Th-They were putting him on trial here… He finally knew why Su Jin looked at him so apologetically earlier. The next moment, Lu Hao remembered how she had called him “honey” and held his chest up high.
Behind them, Lin Xiuyuan closed the door with a slam. Both Lu Hao and Su Jin felt their hearts jolt from the impact.
The huge living room was filled with people. On the two long L-shaped couches, they saw, in order, Su Jin’s youngest maternal aunt, her uncle, and Mao Qiqi; her maternal grandfather and grandmother; then her father and her mother. Her maternal uncle and his entire family were sitting on the opposite couch.
No one said a thing, not because they were trying to intimidate Lu Hao and Su Jin, but because they were stunned by the couple’s unbelievable good looks. Why had Su Jin become so beautiful and Lu Hao so handsome? Especially Su Jin. She was still dressed and made-up the same way, but she simply looked different from before.
Her maternal uncle’s wife, Huang Yunxiang, was the first to stand up and take Su Jin’s hand. “You’re finally back, Lil Jin! Hurry up and explain everything to your grandparents, they’re worried sick.”
“I know, Aunt Yunxiang. Don’t worry, everything’s fine.” Aunt Yunxiang was always direct and generous, so she got along well with the rest of the family.
Huang Yunxiang had spotted Lu Hao behind Su Jin too. She pulled a plastic stool out from under a nearby table and handed it to Lu Hao, who used to be a VVIP in this household.
Lu Hao accepted the stool and even thanked Huang Yunxiang with a smile.
Su Jin burst out laughing. Lu Hao was feeling cramped on the stool, but she had no time to deal with him now. She headed straight for her grandparents.
“Grandma, have all the things I ordered arrived?” Su Jin hugged her grandmother Li Xiuying’s arm and sat next to her.
“Tell me honestly, Lil Jin, why did you buy so many things?” Li Xiuying asked, feigning anger. Li Xiuying actually adored Su Jin because she had raised the girl almost single-handedly. Besides, these elderly folk tended to prefer the oldest children in their family, so she pampered Su Jin more than she did her own daughter. Even now, she was certain that Su Jin had a reason for buying all these things. Nevertheless, she owed everyone an explanation.
“That’s right, Lil Jin. What’s up between you and Lu Hao? Tell us!” her mother Lin Tianhui asked anxiously as well. Su Jin had explained briefly over the phone, but she did not know the whole story either.
Su Jin stood up and walked over to Lu Hao, putting her hand on his shoulder as she addressed the others. “Aunt Xiangmei did see Lu Hao go to a property agency to sell the house with a woman by his side. That much is true. But the woman was me. As for whether she mistook me for a stranger on purpose, well, we gotta ask her.”
Everyone turned to look at Su Xiangzhe at once. He felt quite put upon too. “Don’t look at me like that, I don’t know what her problem is either.” That Su Xiangmei was always such a troublemaker. If it were not for the fact that she lived nearby, he would have loved to phase her out of his life a long time ago.
“Wait, you and Lu Hao want to sell your house?” Su Jin’s maternal uncle Lin Cheng asked with a frown.