North of the city, Fengxi Village
Tang Jiaojiao, who had just returned from a manicure, stepped out in five-centimeter heels and a moon-white qipao. Her graceful stride and exquisite attire seemed out of place in the alley filled with the smell of everyday life.
Yet, everyone in the alley recognized her.
"Sister Jiaojiao is out shopping. What good things did you buy?"
"Oh, where did you get this qipao made? It looks so unique, must have cost a lot, right?"
"Did you just get your nails done? They look so pretty!"
"Sister Jiaojiao, your figure is just unbeatable. How much good karma did your Old Su accumulate in his past life to marry a wife like you!"
Tang Jiaojiao enjoyed the street residents' flattery all the way, her smile beaming. "Oh, no, I just bought it casually on the street... My fingernails are the most expensive thing I'm wearing, two hundred yuan!"
The Su family had always been low-key, adhering to the good tradition of not flaunting wealth. A two-thousand-yuan qipao had to be described as just over a hundred. In short, nothing she wore could be expensive, lest it attract unwanted attention.
"How is that possible? Such a beautiful dress for just over a hundred?" Some among them were discerning enough to know.
"I bought it on sale at the mall. It was the last one, so they sold it cheap." Tang Jiaojiao's words flowed smoothly, and she managed to brush them off with a few sentences. "I can't chat anymore, my Old Su is waiting for me to cook dinner. Let's play cards together later."
With that, she returned home in an extremely good mood, her snake-like waist swaying.
After she left, the women continued their work while gossiping behind her back.
"Tang Jiaojiao is truly a temptress! At forty or fifty, she still dresses up like a young bride every day. So shameless!"
"She has a loving husband, doesn't need to do any chores, and spends her days eating, sleeping, and shopping. How can she not look young! Unlike us, who get up early and work until late, enduring the sun and wind!"
"Old Su is too trusting! His wife dresses so flamboyantly and walks around town every day, isn't he afraid she'll misbehave outside?"
"Da Zhi is an honest man; he believes anything with a few sweet words!"
"I've seen plenty of women like Tang Jiaojiao! Spending her husband's money while having fun outside, who knows where she's up to! They say she can't have children due to 'cold uterus,' but I bet she's just played out!"
"Keep your voices down, don't let anyone hear! We're neighbors, after all!"
"She's the one doing it, so why is she afraid of what people say?"
These women weren't deliberately lowering their voices, and Tang Jiaojiao could hear them perfectly well. However, she was long accustomed to it and didn't care. In fact, their jealousy was a form of indirect acknowledgment of her beauty, wasn't it?
Thinking this, her heart instantly found balance.
Tang Jiaojiao used her key to open the door and placed her newly bought handbag in the most prominent spot in her walk-in closet. Despite the dilapidated exterior of the house, the interior was decorated luxuriously. A hundred-square-meter apartment boasted not only two bathrooms and three bedrooms but also a long, narrow passage converted into a walk-in closet filled with Tang Jiaojiao's treasures.
"This month, I'll dote on you!" she tapped the six-figure crocodile leather bag with her fingertip, smiling radiantly.
Just then, footsteps sounded at the door.
Tang Jiaojiao snapped back to attention and ran towards the person, her face charming. "Honey, you're back!"
Su Dazhi, seeing his wife rush over, quickly took two steps back. "I just came from the construction site, my clothes are dirty..."
"It's okay, I don't mind." Tang Jiaojiao stepped forward, threw her arms around his neck, and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Su Dazhi immediately broke into a happy, simple smile.
His wife was indeed clingy.
"Where did you go shopping today?" Su Dazhi knew she had been out as soon as he saw her attire.
"To the CBD. How do you like this qipao?" Tang Jiaojiao preened, twirling in front of him.
"It's beautiful. My wife looks good in anything!" Su Dazhi said with a simple grin.
"But it wasn't cheap, it cost over two thousand." Tang Jiaojiao said with a look of guilt.
"As long as my wife likes wearing it, the price is not an issue!" Away from outsiders, Su Dazhi was quite generous.
"I also bought a bag and maxed out my credit card." Tang Jiaojiao confessed before he could speak. "Do you think your wife is very extravagant?"
"Extravagant about what! I earn money for you to spend!" Su Dazhi corrected her.
"Thank you, honey!" Tang Jiaojiao immediately brightened up, hugging him and kissing him a few more times.
Su Dazhi savored it. But thinking he was indeed dirty, he gently pried her arms off and coaxed, "I'll go take a shower. Honey, can you find me a clean set of pajamas?"
"Okay." Tang Jiaojiao smiled sweetly and turned towards the bedroom.
When Su Dazhi emerged from the shower, clean and refreshed, he saw his wife with a solemn expression, lost in thought.
"Why are you unhappy again?"
"I'm not unhappy, I just suddenly remembered something." Tang Jiaojiao pulled him to sit down. "Today, Su He called me and asked about the sleepwalking incident. Although I managed to brush it off, that girl is always so sharp; I'm afraid she's already suspected something."
"You think she's remembered something?" Tang Jiaojiao's heart clenched at the thought of what Su He had suffered in the past.
Although Su Dazhi was a rough man, his heart was quite sensitive. Seeing his wife's worried frown, he felt great pity and patiently coaxed, "Don't worry too much. Su He is an adult now. Even if she remembers some things, she can handle them..."
"I just feel sorry for that girl!" Tang Jiaojiao said, biting her lip. "Every time I think of her lying in a pool of blood, my heart aches. She finally forgot that past and can live a normal life. I don't want her to be troubled by this again."
"How about we try to probe her?" Su Dazhi scratched his head.
"No! That would be confessing without being asked! We can't let her think in that direction." Tang Jiaojiao, though appearing delicate, was actually quite opinionated.
"Then let's find an excuse to invite her over for a meal and keep her company." It had to be said, Su Dazhi truly doted on this adopted daughter. Among his adopted children, he favored Su He the most.
"Lately, there's been talk online about her divorcing Lu Jingyang. Let's ask about it. If she's really unhappy, then divorce! If the Lu family doesn't want her, she can come back and I'll support her!"
"Speaking of which, it makes me angry!" Tang Jiaojiao had no good feelings for the Lu family at all. "How dare the Lu family bully my Su Su! Lu Jingyang even has a mistress outside, and he still has the nerve!"
"If I run into him someday, I'll beat him up!" Su Dazhi clenched his fists with a crackling sound.
"Hitting people is wrong," Tang Jiaojiao chided him playfully. "If you're going to lay a hand, you should find a secluded place, put on a sack, understand?"
"My wife always thinks of everything. Heh heh..."
As the two were snuggling on the sofa, their phones suddenly rang simultaneously.
The couple picked up their phones and glanced at them, their eyes widening in unison.
"Am I seeing things? They really divorced?"
"This photo was taken at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau; it shouldn't be fake..."
"Let me calm down..."
"This is truly cause for celebration! I'm going to send my daughter a red envelope to congratulate her on regaining her freedom!" Su Dazhi exclaimed after recovering from his shock, grinning and making a transfer.
"Look at how easily pleased you are!" Tang Jiaojiao couldn't help but tease him.
Then, with her freshly manicured fingers, she slowly replied to Su He: "What kind of guys does Su Su like? A cold CEO, a sweet puppy, or a model with an eight-pack? Who do you want to sleep with, Mom will arrange it..."
Su He, who was drinking water at the time, saw the message and couldn't help but spit it out.