Chapter 54: Chapter 54: I Will Always Be Good to You

Jinbao cried and screamed, refusing to leave, his hands clamped tightly onto the table.

He looked utterly ridiculous.

One moment he was threatening Su Tang, the next he was a blubbering mess.

“Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law, I’m not lying, I swear! If you don’t believe me, just go ask around when you’re back home! That’s what everyone is saying! I… I just embellished it a little.”

Su Tang couldn’t be bothered to respond to Jinbao’s incoherent rambling.

Without another word, the two young soldiers moved forward. They hauled the wailing, pleading Jinbao to his feet and dragged him out like a dead dog.

Jinbao was truly terrified now, howling like a stuck pig. Soon, his cries faded away outside the door.

The room fell silent, leaving only the sound of Li Xiulan’s stifled sobs.

Mr. Lu and Mrs. Lu hadn’t seen their son in a long time. This should have been a happy occasion, but it had turned into such a mess.

Neither of the old folks felt good about it.

Mr. Lu sighed heavily, seeming to age several years in an instant. He waved a hand at Mrs. Lu. “Xiulan, help me to our room to rest. Let the young couple have some space to talk.”

He looked at Su Tang, his eyes full of guilt. “Tangtang, I’m so sorry. It’s my fault for not keeping that beast of a relative in line. You shouldn’t have had to put up with such nastiness.”

Mrs. Lu’s eyes were also rimmed with red. She came over and took Su Tang’s hand. “That bastard Jinbao… he’s not even human.”

After that, the elderly couple left, leaving only Su Tang and Lu Xiao in the room.

“It’s okay now, Tangtang.”

His voice was low and gentle, carrying a comforting power.

Su Tang buried her face in his solid chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and smelling his familiar scent. Only then did her tense nerves finally begin to relax, bit by bit.

After a good while, Su Tang finally lifted her head from his embrace. Her eyes were red like a rabbit’s, and the tip of her nose was red, too.

She looked at Lu Xiao and mumbled, “Was… was I too harsh just now?”

She had even sworn, which was completely out of character for her.

Lu Xiao looked down at her, the iciness in his eyes long gone, replaced by pure heartache.

He raised his hand, gently wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. A fond, indulgent smile touched his lips. “Not harsh at all. You did great. That’s exactly how you should deal with scum like him—one fatal blow, so he can never recover.”

He paused, then added, “But next time something like this happens, don’t try to handle it all by yourself. Call me immediately. I’m your man. If the sky falls, I’ll be here to hold it up for you.”

Any lingering sense of having been wronged that Su Tang felt was completely soothed by his words.

She looked down at the cut on Lu Xiao’s hand and took it in hers. “Even though Jinbao was spouting nonsense, I have a nagging feeling that it didn’t come from nowhere.”

“Lu Xiao, I want to write a letter to my parents.”

Su Tang thought that since she’d left Shanghai a while ago, perhaps something had indeed happened that she didn’t know about.

Mr. Su and Mrs. Su would definitely know about it.

“Just treat it like Jinbao was spouting nonsense.”

Lu Xiao didn’t want Su Tang to get upset over this again.

Today’s incident made Lu Xiao feel that there were some things he needed to have a serious talk with Mr. Lu about.

He didn’t have any siblings, but Mr. Lu had quite a few.

Previously, when the family found out that Lu Xiao was doing well for himself in the Northwest, they all wanted to send their own children over.

Only after Lu Xiao politely refused them a few times did they finally give up on the idea.

But Jinbao had managed to come straight to the Northwest, essentially asking for forgiveness instead of permission. What if others decided to follow his example?

Would Lu Xiao and Su Tang ever have a moment’s peace?

“It’s fine. I’ll write a letter to my parents and ask.”

Besides, Su Tang also wanted to ask how Mr. and Mrs. Su were doing over on the island.

Lu Xiao nodded and didn’t say more. “Okay. I have some things here that can be sent to Professor Su as well.”

Hearing this form of address, Su Tang leaned closer to Lu Xiao and asked, “Professor Su? Who’s Professor Su?”

’I’m already calling his parents Mom and Dad,’ she thought, ’so why is he still calling mine Professor Su?’

Su Tang was a little displeased.

Lu Xiao was taken aback for a moment, then immediately understood her unspoken meaning.

He hadn’t wanted her to think he was being presumptuous, so he had been restraining himself by calling him Professor Su.

“So you agree?”

His throat felt tight as he asked the question. Su Tang was confused. “What did I agree to?”

“To me calling them Mom and Dad.”

“Do you need my permission? If I said no, were you planning on never treating my parents as your own?”

Su Tang shook off Lu Xiao’s hand, sat down to the side, and turned her head away.

“And you call yourself my man, but you won’t even call them Mom and Dad.”

Seeing how careful and hesitant he was being, she didn’t know whether to be angry or to laugh.

She was angry that he was such an idiot, a total blockhead, for still not understanding how she felt after all this. But it was also funny. Lu Xiao wasn’t dumb or foolish at all; when it came to things like this, he was just adorably dense.

It finally clicked for Lu Xiao. He walked right over to Su Tang and squatted down beside her.

“Su Tang, you’ve accepted it, haven’t you?”

’She no longer sees our marriage as just a contract, as something optional. From now on, I’m not just someone she’s making a life with out of convenience.’

“I’ll go get the things for Mom and Dad. We can send them out with the letter.”

Lu Xiao saw the smile gradually blooming in Su Tang’s eyes, and he couldn’t contain the joy in his heart.

He scrambled to his feet, calling out “Mom! Dad!” several times. He looked like he wanted to fly to the island to find Mr. and Mrs. Su that very instant.

“Keep your voice down.”

Su Tang grabbed Lu Xiao, signaling for him to be quieter.

“Su Tang.”

Lu Xiao looked down at Su Tang, who was gazing up at him. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke.

“I will always treat you well.”

Hearing this, Su Tang was deeply moved. She reached out, took Lu Xiao’s hand, and nodded slightly.

She had found her home here, a place where she belonged. For her, this was nothing short of a blessing.

The two looked at each other, their eyes full of love.

Lu Xiao felt as if his entire heart was floating.

He had Su Tang go rest while he cleaned up the outer room.

Su Tang sat down at the table in the inner room, thought for a moment, and picked up a pen to write a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Su.

Everyone thought Jinbao was spouting nonsense, but Su Tang couldn’t shake the feeling. If no one had ever mentioned it, why would he choose to fabricate a story about that specific topic?

So she had to get to the bottom of it. This was no small matter.

Especially given her sensitive background. If something went wrong, it could be a life-or-death matter.

It could even drag Lu Xiao down with her, and she couldn’t bear that responsibility.

By the time Lu Xiao finished cleaning up, Su Tang’s letter was written.

He made a special trip to the mess hall to get food, having Su Tang and Mrs. Lu eat together while he took Mr. Lu to eat somewhere else.

Su Tang was a little worried, but Mrs. Lu just shook her head and said it was fine.

That was business between the men; it wasn’t her place to get involved.

Her son was a grown man now, and some conversations weren’t for his mother to hear.

But Mrs. Lu guessed it was probably about those poor relatives from back home.

“Tangtang, don’t worry about them. Let’s just eat.”

Seeing Su Tang keep looking toward the door, Mrs. Lu pressed two cornbread buns into her hand.

“Oh, right. Are your parents still in Shanghai? We went by your house before we came, but the door was locked and no one was home.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep