Chapter 114: Not a Bad Person

It always feels good to receive money willingly given by a man—especially when that man is, in the eyes of the law, family.

Even though she knew about his current financial situation, Su Qinghu still accepted the money. Seeing the look of relief on his face after handing it over, she couldn’t help but let out a silent, amused sigh.

Ha, men!

She suddenly wanted to give this adorable man a loving hug. Su Qinghu blinked, spread her arms wide, and tilted her head with a playful smile at Chen Lie.

Chen Lie froze, his pupils contracting. After swallowing a couple of times, he glanced around awkwardly. Spotting a few people nearby watching them with wide eyes, clearly waiting to see what would happen next, he forced himself to look calm as he turned back to Su Qinghu. He opened his mouth, hesitated, then left her with, “I’ll come find you tonight.”

And with that, he turned and walked away.

Su Qinghu stood there, arms still open, dumbfounded. “…”

This man… just ran off like that?

She’d even held back for a moment, wanting to let him come and hug her, but… that was it?

Taking a deep breath, Su Qinghu laughed.

Fine, no hug, huh? Then she’d set a rule for herself too: from now until the end of the year, she absolutely wouldn’t initiate any physical contact with him! No hugging, no cuddling, no snuggling—none of it!

The “let’s see who can hold out the longest without touching each other” challenge she’d once forgotten about suddenly resurfaced in her mind, this time underlined and bolded.

Putting the money away, Su Qinghu headed back to the guesthouse.

Inside, Sister Li and Yuan Hang were chatting with the door wide open, clearly waiting for her.

As soon as she walked in, Yuan Hang started making a racket. Su Qinghu prided herself on her thick skin and strode in confidently, not the least bit embarrassed as she looked at Yuan Hang.

Before she could say anything, Sister Li laughed and chided, “Yuan Hang, quiet down! Can’t you see Xiao Su’s blushing?”

Su Qinghu: “???”

She was blushing? Was that possible?

She reached up to touch her face and, feeling the warmth there, her hand paused. Then she sheepishly pulled her hand back.

She really was blushing?

“That’s your husband, right?” Yuan Hang’s eyes sparkled. “He doesn’t look like an ordinary guy!”

That aura—definitely not something a “regular family” could produce.

Su Qinghu grinned and nodded, teasing him, “Getting married early wasn’t such a bad idea, huh?”

“More than just not bad—it was genius!” Yuan Hang gave her a thumbs-up. “You picked well. I don’t know about the rest, but he’s clearly understanding and manly! Broad-minded!”

Not the jealous type at all!

Honestly, if his partner were someone like Su Qinghu, even if he tried to protect her first thing, there’s no way he could keep such a calm, unfazed face.

Su Qinghu had just spent quite a while alone with that man, and now she was back, showing not a hint of having been given a hard time—if anything, she looked a bit smug, maybe even a little playfully proud?

“Let’s have dinner together tonight,” Su Qinghu said with a smile, sitting down next to Sister Li. “My husband’s treating.”

Yuan Hang immediately raised his hand. “Me! I want authentic Su cuisine!”

Su Qinghu nodded. “We’ll take a stroll later and ask some locals where to find the most authentic Su-style restaurant.”

“Alright, enough of Yuan Hang’s nonsense, and you don’t need to make a fuss either. Any old restaurant will do,” Sister Li interrupted, shooting Yuan Hang a look.

Even though it had been a few years since the reforms, eating out still wasn’t an everyday thing. Yuan Hang’s request would probably cost Su Qinghu two or three months’ salary.

“Let’s just go for a walk first and decide later,” Su Qinghu said enthusiastically. “Who knows, maybe we’ll run into a surprise before dinner.”

Yuan Hang jumped up. “Wait for me, I’ll bring my camera. If we come across something amazing, I can snap a photo and make a fortune!”

Hearing this, Sister Li also put a soft leather notebook and pen into her bag. “Alright, I’ll see if there’s anything worth recording along the way.”

The three of them got ready and headed out, full of excitement.

The difference was, while the other two were thinking about work, Su Qinghu was pondering how to double her money.

Sure, putting money in the bank earned interest, but not enough to keep up with inflation. But spending it all—spending it well, and turning a profit—wasn’t easy either.

“Xiao Su, what are you looking at?” Sister Li fanned herself and followed Su Qinghu’s gaze to a young woman in a pale yellow dress. “Is there something special?”

Yuan Hang chimed in, “Don’t tell me you want to ask where she bought that dress?”

Ever since Su Qinghu started working, her outfits had become the trend among the young women in the office. Even women from other departments would come chat with her at lunch to ask about her clothes.

Su Qinghu nodded, her eyes still on the girl. “Her dress is really nice.”

From a modern perspective, both the color and style of that dress would never go out of fashion.

“What’s the big deal? Just take a picture and find an old tailor back in the capital—they’ll make you an exact copy,” Yuan Hang joked, raising his camera.

Su Qinghu stopped him. “Don’t. I’ll go ask her.”

People didn’t have much awareness of copyright in this era, and it was hard to explain. After all, in the future, once a piece of clothing became popular, copycat sellers would pop up like mushrooms after rain…

Su Qinghu walked straight over, not tapping the girl on the shoulder but instead speeding up to get a step ahead and gently blocking her path.

The girl gasped, startled. Oh my god, was this person for real? How could someone be so beautiful?

Su Qinghu spoke, then waited for the girl’s response. When she didn’t reply right away, the girl suddenly snapped out of it, blushing. “Sorry, could you say that again?”

Her voice was soft and sweet, gentle—typical of a southern girl.

Su Qinghu repeated herself.

“Oh, this dress was made by my aunt,” the girl replied shyly. “It’s not store-bought.”

Su Qinghu smiled. “Your aunt—?”

“My aunt runs a tailor shop,” the girl said, a bit nervous but clearly excited. “She made the sample and then had it produced at a clothing factory. Do you like it? If you do, I can take you there!”

Su Qinghu narrowed her eyes slightly, still smiling at the girl but saying nothing.

—She was being so enthusiastic, Su Qinghu couldn’t help but recall her failed attempt at being a good Samaritan yesterday…

“Don’t worry, I’m not a bad person!” the girl quickly explained. “My aunt’s shop is just down the alley!”

Her aunt had been stuck with a batch of these dresses for a while. The cost was already sunk, and selling at a loss would hurt too much, so they’d just been sitting there. Today was her day off, and her aunt had given her one to wear home. Now that someone was asking, if she could help her aunt sell even one, that’d be one less loss."