"The one who was betrothed to our family's Beixian by a prenatal agreement was your sister. She unfortunately passed away prematurely, and only then did you have the chance to get close to Beixian. From now on, stop saying that Su Huan is a substitute. You are nothing more than a substitute yourself," the woman said without any mercy, not sparing Chu Suosuo any face. Su Huan turned around.

She saw a woman standing ten meters away, with a noble temperament and lingering charm, tall and slender, wearing a black long trench coat, under which a pair of exquisitely beautiful calves were visible, her back straight as a rod.

It was Gu Beixian's mother, Qin Shu.

Su Huan was slightly surprised, then smiled and called out, "Mom."

Qin Shu elegantly curled her lips and nodded at her.

Chu Suosuo was taken aback for a moment, about to erupt, but seeing it was Qin Shu, she quickly put on a smiling face and exclaimed in surprise, "Auntie Qin, you're back in the country?"

She almost ran over, throwing her arms around Qin Shu's waist, and said affectionately, "I've missed you so much. Just a few days ago, I was talking to my mom about your birthday being coming up. I came today to pick out a gift for you, and unexpectedly, I ran into Sister Su Huan and chatted with her for a bit."

Su Huan somewhat admired Chu Suosuo's thick-skinned nature.

Even though Qin Shu had been so unkind to her.

She could still stick to her as if nothing had happened, chatting and laughing with her, trying to ingratiate herself.

Qin Shu's face showed no expression, she held her arm, moved it away from her own waist, took a step back, creating some distance between them.

Chu Suosuo didn't feel embarrassed at all, still smiling and said, "Auntie, what are you here to buy today? Let me give you some suggestions."

Qin Shu glanced at the bag on Su Huan's shoulder and said indifferently, "I'm here to buy a bag for my daughter-in-law."

The little girl is too frugal. Her husband is so wealthy, yet she insists on carrying a few-hundred-yuan off-brand bag when going out. Some superficial people might laugh at that.” Chu Suosuo's smile froze on her face. These superficial people, she was talking about herself. After a while, she spoke hesitantly: “Ah, that's true, Sister Su Huan is too good at saving. She's so beautiful, yet she doesn't like to dress up. Auntie, you are in the fashion industry, but she is so...” Su Huan could tell that Chu Suosuo was indirectly calling her unsophisticated. She usually wore simple shirts, long pants, trench coats, or knit sweaters, none of which were luxury brands, just casually bought from shopping malls, and she rarely wore jewelry. Compared to Chu Suosuo, who was always dressed in the latest high-end designs, glittering with jewels like a butterfly, she indeed looked rather plain. But she didn't feel there was anything wrong with that; as long as the clothes were comfortable and appropriate, that was enough. Chu Suosuo might think she was unsophisticated, but she thought Chu Suosuo was too showy, always dressed like a star walking the red carpet, with jewelry jingling all over her, looking exhausting. Qin Shu glanced at Chu Suosuo with a cool gaze and said indifferently, “My daughter-in-law is kind-hearted and virtuous, focusing on inner beauty. Even if she went out wrapped in a bedsheet, she would still be so beautiful that people couldn't take their eyes off her. A confident person doesn't need these cumbersome external decorations.”

Chu Suosuo was at a loss for words and bit her lip, remaining silent. Su Huan felt quite moved. She admired her mother-in-law even more for her startling words, each sentence protecting her and every word slapping Chu Suosuo in the face. At this moment, the saleslady approached Qin Shu with a platinum milkshake white bag, saying respectfully, 'Mrs. Gu, the bag you reserved has arrived.' Qin Shu took it and handed it to Su Huan, saying, 'This is from mom for you. Don't just buy bags for mom and Nanyin while you carry one that's only worth a few hundred yuan. This circle is just so frivolous; people judge by the bags they carry. If others have it, you should too.' Su Huan took it and thanked her with a smile, 'Thank you, mom, the bag is beautiful.' 'I'm glad you like it.' Qin Shu handed her card to the saleslady to pay. Su Huan then gave the amber yellow platinum bag she bought to Qin Shu, saying, 'Mom, this is the birthday gift I picked for you.' Qin Shu immediately had the saleslady unwrap it and transferred all the items from her own bag into the one Su Huan bought, saying, 'From now on, I'll only use this bag. A bag given by my daughter-in-law is of great significance.'

Qin Shu kept calling her 'daughter-in-law', like a thorn stabbing into Chu Suosuo's heart with each word. She stood there, motionless, her complexion changing unpredictably. The driver came over to put the goods Su Huan had prepared into the trunk. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law walked out, each carrying a new bag, chatting and laughing. Chu Suosuo was left standing alone, utterly confused. The salesgirl in the store, experienced and knowledgeable, had already seen through some things, and her gaze towards Chu Suosuo became very subtle. Walking outside the store. Qin Shu suddenly asked, 'Ex-girlfriends, such creatures, are quite annoying, right?' Su Huan smiled lightly, 'They are quite annoying.' 'Don't worry too much about whether Bei Xian can forget her or not, what's important now is that he loves you.' Su Huan fell silent. Unfortunately, Gu Bei Xian's heart didn't belong to her at all, but to Chu Suosuo. Now he suddenly doesn't want to divorce her, it's because his grandmother has repeatedly stopped him. Being kind to her is also because during his most difficult and desperate times, she had taken care of him wholeheartedly, he is actually a person who values loyalty and righteousness. Qin Shu glanced at her watch and suggested, 'There's still time, let's have a cup of coffee together?' 'Okay.' Su Huan got into Qin Shu's car and went to a café she often visited. After sitting down, they each ordered a cup of coffee. Qin Shu lightly supported her chin with her left hand, scrutinizing Su Huan, 'Bei Xian was in a really bad temper the past two years, you must have had a hard time, right? As the saying goes, there's no filial son by the sickbed for long, even I, his biological mother, didn't want to take care of him. I originally thought you wouldn't last a few days before leaving, but I didn't expect you to hold on until now.'

Su Huan gently stroked the cup in her hand and said, 'It's alright.' 'One hundred and fifty-six million, how many times must Bei Xian have lost his temper, how badly must he have treated you, to be so desperately making amends? If it were me, I couldn't stand it, no matter how much I loved him.' Su Huan paused. She knew she had heard the conversation between herself and Chu Suosuo. She smiled, 'I've been learning to restore ancient paintings and calligraphy with my grandfather since I was a child, so I've developed resilience and patience. I don't think it's a big deal. He was going through a tough time those two years, and it was better for him to let out his temper. Keeping it all bottled up could lead to heart disease.' 'You're quite considerate of him,' Qin Shu glanced at her injured hand, 'It must have been very sad to have such an important hand caught and broken.' Su Huan looked down at her hand in the splint and gave a bitter smile, 'Indeed, it felt like the sky was falling.' 'It will heal,' Qin Shu comforted. She called over the waiter, handed him the car keys, and asked him to retrieve a gift box from the trunk of her car. The gift box was brought over. Qin Shu opened it and pushed it towards Su Huan, saying, 'This was designed by mom herself, and it was made a long time ago. You'll wear this set at the end of the month for my birthday.' She glanced at Su Huan's white shirt, 'Simplicity is a virtue, but some superficial people always judge others by their appearance. We have the means, so we might as well dress well if we want to.'

Su Huan lowered her eyelids to look, it was a night blue starry sky dress. The soft tulle fabric was adorned with countless twinkling artificial diamonds, likeThe stars enveloping the Milky Way galaxy，starry。 Even without wearing it, she could imagine how stunning this dress would be once worn. Suddenly remembering something, Su Huan said softly, 'Mom, for your birthday, isn't it a bit too extravagant for me to dress up like this?' Qin Shu took a sip of coffee and smiled, 'No, you are my daughter-in-law, the more beautiful you are, the more glorious, the happier I, as a mother-in-law, will be.' Su Huan was almost moved to tears. She always thought Qin Shu was aloof, seldom spoke, and didn't seem to care much for people, but she never expected that beneath her cold exterior, there was such a warm side. Su Huan had just closed the box when her phone suddenly rang. Glancing at the caller ID, it was Gu Beixian calling. After answering, Su Huan asked softly, 'Is there anything wrong? Beixian.' 'Where are you?' 'I'm having coffee with mom.' 'With my mom? Which café are you at? I'll be done here soon, I'll come find you.' Gu Beixian's deep voice suddenly became a bit urgent. Su Huan paused, then said, 'You go ahead and work, there's no need to come over.' 'Give her the phone.' Su Huan handed the phone to Qin Shu. Qin Shu took it and said 'hello' into the phone. Gu Beixian warned, 'Don't make things difficult for Su Huan, if there's anything, just tell me directly.' 'Difficult?' Qin Shu raised her hand to dig at her ear.