The Luo family's daughter did not know exactly what had happened between them, but Huangfu Shaohua had certainly concealed his marital history. Out of politeness and upbringing, she couldn't say much more.
"Susu," Daisy tugged at Susu secretly. She felt a stone lodge in her chest, upset that Huangfu Shaohua had referred to their past relationship as a mistake.
Susu only wanted to stand up for Daisy. She couldn't let Huangfu Shaohua start dating another woman right after his divorce; she didn't want him to have an easy time.
She didn't want to escalate things, so she said with a smile, "Please enjoy your meal. We'll be dining over there. Miss Luo, if you have any questions, feel free to ask us anytime."
After speaking, she pulled Daisy back to their table, wondering if Huangfu Shaohua could still have a pleasant meal with the Luo family's daughter.
She kept glancing at their table coldly. Sure enough, after a short while, the Luo family's daughter got up to leave.
Huangfu Shaohua seemed to try to persuade her to stay, but he couldn't. He then followed the Luo family's daughter out of the restaurant, likely to see her off.
Susu let out a cold laugh twice and said, "That unsightly scumbag is gone. We don't have to be bothered anymore, and we can enjoy our meal happily."
"Thank you for speaking up for me," Daisy said calmly. "Actually, now that he's divorced me, he's bound to find someone to date and marry."
Susu realized Daisy had such a clear understanding of things. Had she acted unnecessarily?
Just then, the restaurant server brought all their ordered dishes. Susu said, "Let's eat."
...
After catching up with the Luo family's daughter, Huangfu Shaohua did not personally escort her back, nor did he offer any explanation. He simply hailed a taxi for her.
He watched the Luo family's daughter leave in the car, standing by the roadside with an empty feeling in his heart, unable to describe his emotions.
He didn't have a driver pick him up. Instead, he remained under the streetlight not far from the restaurant.
After waiting for an unknown amount of time, he saw Daisy and Gu Susu emerge from the restaurant in the distance.
Gu Susu had driven herself and wanted to give Daisy a ride home.
However, Daisy said she had eaten too much and wanted to walk to aid digestion, so she didn't get into Susu's car.
Susu didn't force her. After giving a few reminders, she drove off by herself.
Daisy didn't want to take a car or a taxi; she just wanted to walk back slowly.
She was still living in her old house. Since she hadn't told her parents about the divorce, she couldn't move back in with them.
She walked with a hollow feeling. As she reached the alley leading to her old house, under the dim lamplight, she saw Huangfu Shaohua standing there rigidly.
Her heart stirred slightly, but she decided to ignore him and walk past him.
However, he reached out a hand, grabbed her, and questioned, "Did you deliberately come with Mrs. Qin to disrupt my meal?"
"Susu and I happened to be dining there and saw you. She just wanted to say hello," Daisy said, instinctively trying to break free.
He pulled her even tighter and said coldly, "If you feel this divorce was unfair, tell me now what you want, and I can try my best to satisfy you."
"Let go of me, or don't blame me for being impolite," she said. Her heart had been thoroughly broken by him, and she didn't want to see him anymore.
"You want to lay hands on me..."
Before he could finish speaking, she had already executed a shoulder throw, grabbed his arm from behind, and tossed him to the ground.
Daisy looked down at him, and the heavy emotions that had been suppressed for a long time erupted. She said resolutely, "Huangfu Shaohua, stop being so hypocritical in front of me. It wasn't just that you found me dirty; you also looked down on my status. You can't truly escape that life of luxury. Don't appear before me again. Let's just pretend we never met."
With that, she turned and walked away quickly without looking back.
Huangfu Shaohua sat up from the ground, watching her disappearing back. His heart ached immensely.
Was it his inner wavering that caused them to miss each other from then on?
Could they truly sever this improper entanglement?
...
Daisy walked back to the old house alone. She closed the door and wiped away the tears that had fallen without her realizing it. The suffocating feeling in her heart lingered for a long time.
However, she had also thought it through clearly. If Huangfu Shaohua dared to approach her again, she would not be lenient or polite.
As she was about to take a bath, her phone suddenly rang. She saw it was her mother calling.
She took a deep breath, trying to sound cheerful, and answered.
"Mom..."
"Daisy, can you come to the hospital when you have time?" her mother said quickly.
"Mom! What happened to you and Dad? Is something wrong?" Daisy asked nervously.
Her mother quickly said, "Don't be nervous or worried, just listen to me. Your dad accidentally fell when he went out to take out the trash tonight. He injured his back. The doctor said his back bone is fractured, but there's no danger to his life. He needs to be hospitalized."
Daisy felt slightly relieved and asked, "Which hospital is it? I'll go over right away."
"First Hospital," her mother said, then asked, "Is it alright to ask you to come to the hospital at this time? Will it affect you and Shaohua?"
"Mom, what are you talking about! Dad broke his bone, and you're still worried about that? Of course, I'm going to the hospital to help take care of Dad." She hung up the phone, immediately changed her clothes, and rushed to the hospital again.
During her father's hospitalization, since he had difficulty moving, she was responsible for the night shifts, while her mother handled cooking and daytime care.
Fortunately, she had changed her job and didn't have to teach students at the club at night. Although it was tiring, she could manage.
By calculation, her father had been in the hospital for ten days.
This evening at seven o'clock, she arrived at the hospital to relieve her mother and go home. Just as she reached the ward door and was about to push it open, she heard her parents talking.
She hesitated for a moment and didn't go in immediately. Leaning against the slightly ajar ward door, she heard her father ask, "You said I've been here for so many days, why haven't I seen Shaohua visit? Does he have some dissatisfaction with us?"
Her mother pondered and said, "That's unlikely. After they got married, we didn't interfere much, and we were always polite to him. We haven't offended him in any way, have we?"
"Then it's strange," her father said, thinking of something else. "Xixi stays up all night, and I haven't seen her call Shaohua. Don't they contact each other at night?"
"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen Shaohua for a long time either. Could he have been assigned to work out of town?"
"That's possible," her father sighed.
Her mother said, "Oh, don't overthink it. Once your back injury heals, we'll find a separate opportunity to ask Xixi what's really going on with them lately."
Her father hummed in agreement and said no more.
Daisy took a deep breath, feeling that this matter couldn't be hidden for much longer. However, her father was still hospitalized, and she couldn't let his emotions fluctuate too much. It was best to keep it a secret if possible.
The corners of her mouth turned up, and she put on a smile. She pushed open the door and walked into the ward, acting as if she hadn't heard anything. "Mom, I'm here. I specifically went to a famous restaurant to get some bone broth. Hurry and let Dad have a bowl."
Her father, sitting on the hospital bed, waved at her. "The bone broth is too oily. I won't drink it. I've already eaten tonight."