novelraw Chapter 279: Makes You Want to Rip His Buttons Off
Chapter 279: Makes You Want to Rip His Buttons Off
The two sisters were there to plead for mercy, sent by their father, of course.
The Zhang Family ran a scrap collection station. It was a small business that barely kept them fed, but recently, people had been showing up to cause trouble. They were so menacing that no one dared to bring their scrap to sell anymore.
Xu Su’s paternal aunt’s husband had a limp and couldn’t find a proper job to begin with. If they couldn’t even keep the scrap shop running, their family of four would truly have nothing left to eat.
Zhang Yingying and Zhang Tingting both attended the No. 2 Middle School next door. They didn’t know the schedule for the "rocket class," so every time they came, the classroom was packed with students. Thinking class was in session, they never dared to knock. They looked utterly pitiful.
Xu Su never intended to make things difficult for the two girls, nor did she want to involve her aunt’s family. After comforting them, she turned around and told Zhou Mochen to stop.
From the two Zhang sisters, Xu Su also learned what the Xu Family had been through over the past two months.
After work resumed following the New Year, Xu Weiping was reported by one of his subordinates. As the workshop supervisor, he had discovered that substandard materials were being brought into the warehouse but failed to report it. Instead, he took kickbacks along with the procurement staff. This directly led the factory to waste manpower and resources weaving a batch of greige cloth that was completely unsellable, resulting in a loss of several hundred thousand yuan.
As expected, Xu Weiping lost his job, and the company apartment he had been assigned was taken back. Now, not only had they lost the new apartment, but the old two-bedroom one they had before was gone as well. The family of three had no choice but to move back to the old Xu Family home and squeeze in with Xu Weiguo’s family.
Chen Shulan still had her job. Working in logistics, her monthly income of a few hundred yuan meant they were living on a tight budget, barely enough for the three of them to get by. Xu Weiping tried to find another job, but all he could get was manual labor. However, his hand was injured and hadn’t healed yet, so of course, he couldn’t do strenuous work and could only rest at home.
Xu Weiguo wasn’t doing much better. He used to work at a dyeing factory and wasn’t considered a skilled worker. He had somehow offended his team leader, who used a mistake as a pretext to fire him. Now, he and his wife ran a stall outside an elementary school, selling sesame seed cakes and fried skewers, occasionally picking up odd jobs.
Xu Su felt no stirrings in her heart upon hearing all this. That is, until a few days later, when she received a call from her maternal uncle’s home.
Chen Shulan finally couldn’t take the sudden turn of events at home anymore. Terrified of Zhou Mochen after that night, she didn’t dare contact her daughter herself. So, she finally thought of her own mother.
On the phone, Grandma Xu was silent for a long time. Xu Su’s heart skipped a beat.
’It finally dawned on me. The Xu Family can contact my grandma. What would they tell her?’
Xu Su clutched her phone tightly. She could ignore everyone else’s opinions, but she couldn’t bear to see disappointment in her grandmother’s eyes. More than anything, she didn’t want her grandmother to misunderstand her the way the Xu Family did.
"Susu, your mother said you’re trying to sue your father and send him to prison. Is that true?"
Over the phone, Grandma Xu asked, "Your mom and dad made a special trip back to the countryside. She hasn’t been back in five or six years, and she looked so worn out. Your dad’s finger is broken—they said... your man had it chopped off. Was it that guy from the wedding banquet?"
"...It wasn’t him. The one at the wedding banquet was his friend. Grandma, after I finish my college entrance exams, can I bring him back to meet you?" Xu Su stood in the hallway, looking out at the students running on the track in the distance. Her voice was stiff as she said, "As for the finger... they’re right. My boyfriend had someone do it."
Grandma Xu let out a soft sound of understanding. "I raised you myself, so I know your character. You’re stubborn and might seem aloof, but you’re actually the softest-hearted person there is. You wouldn’t do this to your father for no reason. Tell Grandma, did your dad hit you?"
"Yes... he hit me." Xu Su’s nose tingled, and she blinked hard to hold back her tears. "He hit me so hard I almost went deaf. Grandma, I don’t want this father anymore. I don’t want a mother either. Is that okay?"
"I knew it! I just knew something was wrong." On the other end of the line, the old woman cursed angrily in her local dialect. "They didn’t raise you, so they don’t know how to cherish you! How could they lay a hand on you? Susu, is your ear okay?"
She completely forgot that her son-in-law’s finger had been broken, her concern entirely focused on her granddaughter.
There was none of the blame she had expected. Xu Su slowly let out a breath, relaxing enough to speak in a wheedling tone. "Don’t worry, Grandma. It just hurts a little from time to time. The doctor said it will heal on its own in a few months. I’m not deaf."
"Almost beating their own daughter deaf... that’s just like that couple. No wonder they couldn’t explain what happened when your two uncles asked them." Grandma Xu grew angrier as she spoke, wishing she could call her daughter and son-in-law, who had already returned to the city, back for a harsh lesson.
Xu Su spent a long time coaxing her until the old woman, who had wanted to come to Chang City to see her, finally believed that nothing was seriously wrong.
Once things calmed down, the conversation finally shifted to another topic.
Grandma Xu’s tone turned extremely stern. "You’re still a student. When did you get a boyfriend? Haven’t I taught you that a girl shouldn’t let a man’s sweet nothings sweep her off her feet and make her forget who she is?"
Xu Su said in a small voice, "Not long... Grandma, don’t believe what other people say. My boyfriend is a really good person. Grandma, I promise I’ll bring him back to meet you after my college entrance exams, okay?"
Grandma Xu couldn’t possibly imagine how "good" a man who would have his own girlfriend’s father’s finger chopped off could be. She could only think that her granddaughter had been bewitched.
"You’re a pretty girl, so those little hoodlums love to pester you. How can you be so muddle-headed!" The old woman sounded exasperated, as if scolding a promising child for not living up to their potential. She asked urgently, "You tell Grandma, has he taken advantage of you?"
"..." Being asked this by a close elder, Xu Su was a little embarrassed. "No."
"Susu, listen to Grandma. Don’t you do anything foolish. You got into such a good school, you should be focusing on your studies. You’re a good girl; don’t go messing around with little hoodlums, you hear?"
’Little hoodlum...’
Afraid of worrying her grandmother, Xu Su didn’t dare to refute her. "I know. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing."
’Little hoodlum it is, then. After all, anyone who hears about someone chopping off fingers at the drop of a hat wouldn’t think he was a respectable person.’
She kept coaxing her until it was time for evening self-study, and even then, Grandma Xu hung up the phone with great reluctance.
Back in the classroom, Qian Jia, assuming the call was from Zhou Mochen, sidled up with a grin to tease her.
Xu Su explained irritably that it was her grandmother.
She thought about what her grandmother had said about Xu Weiping getting sued...
When evening self-study ended, Xu Su packed her books and walked out of the classroom to see Zhou Mochen waiting for her in the hallway, not far from the door.
’His style is getting younger and younger. He was wearing a smoky-gray denim jacket with dark pants and sneakers. Tall and straight-backed, he was a walking mannequin. What was that phrase Huang Feng used last time...? Graceful and handsome! No, that’s not right. Dressed like this, he’s just devastatingly handsome! "Graceful and handsome" only fits him when he’s in a suit, with that touch of asceticism that makes you just want to rip his buttons off.’