After hearing that, Su Fu couldn’t help but admire them.

A good life wasn’t built by one person—it was earned through generations of sacrifice.

So she couldn’t expect Su Yi alone to work harder. She’d have to expect her grandparents to have worked harder too…

On second thought, relying on herself was probably more realistic.

“Your family elders are incredible.”

Li Mingyu nodded.

“My brothers and sisters-in-law are amazing too. I’m the most useless person in the family.”

Su Fu scooped the finished meat sauce into a bowl and washed the wok before cooking the noodles.

“You’re impressive too. At least nobody can beat your reincarnation skills.”

Li Mingyu sneaked a spoonful of sauce and immediately burned her mouth.

“That’s true—ow, ow… This is so good! We’ve known each other this long, and I never knew you could cook like this!”

Su Fu glanced back and curled her lips into a smile.

“Are you falling for me yet?”

Li Mingyu nodded vigorously.

“Absolutely. I don’t even want you to leave anymore.”

She needed to think of a way to keep Susu around.

After all, friendships faded when people spent too much time apart.

Su Fu chose not to respond to that.

She couldn’t keep freeloading off Li Mingyu forever.

She wasn’t exactly a saint, but she knew where the line was.

She took out two bowls and seasoned them with lard, soy sauce, salt, a pinch of scallions, and a little water.

After fishing the noodles out of the pot, she topped them with two generous spoonfuls of tomato meat sauce.

A steaming bowl of tomato meat sauce noodles was complete.

At the dining table, Su Fu let down her half-dried hair and sat beside the fan.

Li Mingyu slurped noodles while continuing to shower her with compliments.

“When I first got sent to the countryside, I should’ve partnered up with you. Sleep with you, eat with you—I would’ve covered all the food expenses.”

She probably would’ve gained a few pounds before returning to the city.

What a waste.

Su Fu laughed.

“With the reputation I had back then, you would’ve dared come near me?”

Even though feudal superstition was officially discouraged nowadays, being labeled a “jinx” wasn’t exactly flattering.

Privately, some people even spread rumors that she was the reincarnation of a death-bringing spirit—anyone who got close to her would suffer bad luck.

Li Mingyu stopped eating.

“If I’d really cared about that, I wouldn’t have accepted the carrots.”

Her expression was completely serious.

Su Fu stared blankly for a moment before finally recovering and teasing her.

“Wasn’t it because you liked eating them? I honestly thought you were a rabbit back then.”

Li Mingyu shot her a glare before returning to her noodles.

Once her hair was mostly dry, Su Fu tied it back casually and began eating as well.

After everything they’d been through that day, they were exhausted.

When dinner was over, Li Mingyu carried the dishes into the kitchen.

By the time she finished washing up and returned, Su Fu had already fallen asleep on the sofa.

Quietly, Li Mingyu fetched a blanket and draped it over her stomach.

“Actually, no matter what you’d handed me that day, I would’ve taken it.

My grandmother always said people with round faces are blessed.

Susu was never a jinx.”

The house was quiet.

Only the hum of the fan could be heard.

As the sun set, an orderly carrying groceries walked slightly behind Li Zhengshan.

“Leader, aren’t you going to the train station today?”

Li Zhengshan stopped walking.

“The roads are full of buses. Can’t she take one home herself?”

If she’d had the nerve to secretly run off to the countryside, then she should deal with the consequences herself.

Xiao Zhang had worked under Li Zhengshan for five years.

One look was enough to tell that the man was still angry with his daughter.

He wisely said nothing more.

After opening the gate and stepping inside, he froze at the sight of neatly stacked sacks in the courtyard.

Immediately stepping aside, he didn’t need to say a word.

The moment Li Zhengshan saw them, he knew Li Mingyu had returned.

Hmph.

Good thing he hadn’t gone to pick her up.

Otherwise he’d have looked ridiculous.

Still harboring resentment, he strode into the living room.

“You—”

The words died in his throat.

The two girls were squeezed together on the small sofa, sleeping soundly.

Li Zhengshan swallowed the rest of his lecture.

With a glance from him, Xiao Zhang quietly carried the groceries into the kitchen, saluted, and left.

The moment they entered the house, Su Fu had already sensed their presence.

But remembering this was Li Mingyu’s home, she relaxed and went back to sleep.

A father wanting to secretly look at his daughter after so long apart was understandable.

As both a junior and an outsider, she felt obligated to indulge him.

Li Zhengshan looked at his daughter’s dusty face.

Her dry hair.

The calluses on her hands.

His heart twisted painfully.

Such a foolish girl.

She’d insisted on going off to suffer.

Why had he worked so hard all these years?

Wasn’t it so his children could live good lives?

He sighed.

Hopefully this experience would help his daughter grow up a little.

When Xu Wenfang returned home, she was surprised to see no lights on.

“Old Li’s working late again?”

The moment she opened the gate and saw the sacks piled in the courtyard, her heart clenched.

She hurried into the house.

“Is my little girl home?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Li Mingyu woke instinctively.

Still groggy, she sat up on the sofa and looked around.

“Am I dreaming again?”

Xu Wenfang switched on the lights.

With reddened eyes, she pulled her daughter into a tight embrace.

“You’re not dreaming. Mommy’s here. Don’t be afraid.”

Feeling a little in the way, Su Fu quietly stood up and vacated the space for the reunited family.

Li Mingyu burst into tears.

“Mom! Waaaah—”

Li Zhengshan glanced at Su Fu before sitting beside his daughter.

In a stiff voice, he asked,

“Will you still dare run off secretly in the future?”

Xu Wenfang immediately shot him a glare.

“Are you trying to scare our daughter away again?”

“That’s not what I meant…”

Sitting on the staircase, Su Fu watched the warm scene unfolding in the living room.

For a brief moment, she suddenly felt like a rat hiding in a gutter, secretly peeking at someone else’s happiness.

Her father had always said that her mother loved her deeply.

Loved her enough to give her life for her.

But Su Fu had never experienced that love.

She couldn’t even imagine it.

Her father probably loved her too.

But that love had been brief.

Over time, it had faded into something indistinct.

Her godparents loved her as well.

Yet somehow, that felt different too.

Su Fu scratched her head.

No one had ever taught her how to love others.

The Su family only knew how to scheme.

When her father died, they schemed over compensation money.

Schemed over the house.

Schemed over her.

Her memories drifted back to when she was five years old.

That day, Wang Xiaojiao had unexpectedly left her a chicken drumstick.

Su Fu had thought…

She’d thought maybe the woman had finally grown a conscience.

Thought she might receive a tiny bit of family affection.

But after she ate the drumstick and woke up again, she found herself locked inside a woodshed.

An unfamiliar old woman stood outside.

Words like child bride and sold off floated into her ears.

From that day onward, Su Fu understood something clearly:

No one would ever be kind to her for no reason.

She’d spent five whole hours escaping through the mountains.

When she finally reached town, she knocked on the Li family’s door.

The soles of her feet had been shredded raw.

Yet she hadn’t felt any pain.

“Susu? Susu?”

Li Mingyu called several times without getting a response.

Finally, she gently shook her arm.

“Susu, what’s wrong?”

Su Fu tilted her head back and forced a smile.

“You finished talking with your family?”

Li Mingyu pulled her to her feet and led her over to the sofa.

“Mom, this is my very, very, very best friend—Susu. Her full name is Su Fu.”

The smile on Su Fu’s face grew slightly warmer.

“Hello, Auntie.”

Her voice carried a faint raspiness.

Combined with her obedient-looking face, it somehow made her seem even more well-behaved.

Xu Wenfang took both girls by the hand and sat them down.

“No need to be formal. Just treat this place like your own home.”

Su Fu was emotionally intelligent and exceptionally good at reading people.

“In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony.

Auntie, you have no idea—back then, Lili used to secretly cry all the time—”

Li Mingyu immediately puffed up like an angry little pufferfish.

“Hey! You can’t expose my embarrassing stories like that!”

Xu Wenfang looked interested.

“Good girl, go upstairs and take a shower first. Dinner will be ready soon.”

As Li Mingyu left, she kept shooting Su Fu meaningful looks, silently begging her not to reveal any of her embarrassing childhood stories.

Su Fu’s response:

I choose temporary blindness for the next ten seconds.