Going back to being twenty, taking her heartbroken son to a massage parlor.

Jiangcheng University, library study room.

The afternoon sun shone through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the table.

Su Zhiling pondered life while looking at the advanced mathematics textbook in front of her, her pen twirling rapidly.

Beside her, a small, white hand was pressed against the table, like some kind of mollusk, silently crawling toward the workbook filled with solution steps.

Nearly.

closer.

Just as my fingertips were about to touch the cover.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound drew the attention of several top students who were engrossed in their studies.

Su Zhiling withdrew her hand expressionlessly and pressed the workbook into her arms.

Shang Xiuyan covered her reddened hand, her eyes brimming with tears as she accused him.

"Doubao! What are you doing?!"

"It hurts so much! My hand feels like it's going to break!"

Su Zhiling glanced at her sideways and snorted coldly:

"Serves you right for being in so much pain."

"Don't try that sob story on me, we're not familiar with each other now."

Undeterred, Shang Xiuyan went limp and clung to Su Zhiling as if boneless, nuzzling her head against her shoulder, her voice excessively sweet:

"Good girl, best friend, sweet daughter, let Mom copy your advanced math homework."

"Didn't we agree on this before?"

"Stop."

Su Zhiling pushed her head away with one finger in disgust, speaking righteously and sternly:

"The past is the past, the present is the present."

"Shang Xiuyan, you are a traitor now, you are no longer on my side."

"I kindly helped you gain recognition, spending money and effort, and even giving you a dowry of 380,000 yuan!"

"And you, you betrayed me right there and now? Taking that old Deng's side!"

Thinking about what happened at the school gate yesterday, Su Zhiling was furious.

She meant well and wanted to give her silly best friend a proper status.

The results of it?

This woman is something else; she actually betrayed us at the crucial moment!

Not only did they not speak up for him, they also stood on the same side as that old Deng.

It's like they're rubbing Su Zhiling's face in the ground!

Shang Xiuyan blinked her big eyes, looking completely innocent:

"But... I really don't care about those titles."

"You know I'm a traditional person. As long as two people love each other, nothing else matters."

Su Zhiling rolled her eyes as she listened, feeling a throbbing pain in her head.

She slammed her pen on the table and, in a low, angry voice, yelled:

"Shang Xiuyan, have you been watching too many idol dramas and it's ruined your brain? What kind of traditional thinking is this? This is the 21st century!"

"If you don't fight for anything, you'll suffer a great loss in the future!"

"As a woman, you need to know how to fight, don't you understand?!"

Shang Xiuyan rested her chin on her hands, looking at Su Zhiling's exasperated appearance, and actually found it quite cute.

She asked in confusion:

"Why fight?"

"Husbands and wives aren't enemies. Whatever the man says, just go along with him, right?"

"That way there won't be any internal conflicts in the family, and my husband will love me even more."

She presented her theory with great confidence and conviction.

In her view, only women who don't fight or compete will have the last laugh.

Su Zhiling opened her mouth wide, but couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

This logic...

It actually sounds damn fluent?

wrong!

This is a typical symptom of late-stage "love-obsessed" behavior!

Su Zhiling took a deep breath, trying to pull her best friend, who had gone astray, back to the right path:

"Then let me ask you, what if another woman bullies you in the future?"

"What if you brought home a fierce, domineering wife who forced him to break up with you?"

Shang Xiuyan didn't even hesitate, full of confidence:

"I'm not going to rob him anymore. I don't want his money or a title. I'll just stay by his side obediently."

"How could the father of my child bear to break up with me?"

"He can't bear to part with it."

Su Zhiling: "..."

That makes so much sense, I'm speechless.

Su Zhiling rubbed her forehead, finding the rhetoric impeccable.

Yes, what man would be willing to abandon a gentle, considerate, unassuming wife who is eager to have children for him?

She's every man's dream wife!

Su Zhiling felt her worldview was being subjected to a drastic downgrade, so she gritted her teeth and decided to take drastic measures.

"Fine, even if he doesn't break up with me."

"Then let me ask you, what if old Deng had a child with another woman?"

Shang Xiuyan's eyes lit up:

"Really? Then I'll help you bring it!"

"I love kids the most. Wouldn't it be great if you could have a younger brother or sister, Doubao?"

Su Zhiling almost spat blood onto her textbook.

This woman is beyond saving.

It's completely hopeless.

With trembling hands, she pointed at Shang Xiuyan's nose and unleashed her final, deadly weapon:

"What if Old Deng sleeps with someone else? That would be physical infidelity!"

"It's right in front of you, I don't believe you'll help me push it!!"

This should finally hit a nerve!

This is what simps can't stand the most!

This time.

Shang Xiuyan did hesitate.

She pursed her lips and furrowed her brows slightly, as if she were caught in some kind of difficult internal struggle.

Su Zhiling was overjoyed.

It seems there's still hope!

No human being could tolerate such a fundamental issue.

Even being obsessed with love has its limits!

Just as Su Zhiling was preparing to press her advantage and completely awaken her best friend's independent female consciousness,

Shang Xiuyan suddenly raised her head and said earnestly:

"Then...then I'll make him some soup to nourish his body."

"After all, I'm getting old, and my physical strength can't keep up anymore. Don't overwork yourself."

puff--

Su Zhiling felt as if she had been struck by lightning on the top of her head, leaving her charred and raw inside.

She grabbed the advanced mathematics book from the table and started banging it repeatedly on Shang Xiuyan's head.

"Are you trying to die?! Shang Xiuyan, are you insane?!"

"You spineless woman!"

"I'm so angry! How could I have a best friend like you who treats being a simp as a career?!"

"Do you even know how to love yourself?!"

Shang Xiuyan was so shocked by the knock that she saw stars and clutched her head.

"I do love myself."

"I see things I like in him, so if I love him, isn't that loving myself?"

"..."

Su Zhiling finally broke down.

She buried her head in her arms, slumped on the table like a salted fish that had lost its dreams, and let out a desperate cry:

"I was wrong, I was really wrong."

"I shouldn't have gotten involved in your older generation's relationship. It was horrible, really horrible."

"You're right, you're all right. As long as you're happy, I don't care if the earth explodes."

Shang Xiuyan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Su Zhiling had finally given up on reforming her thinking.

She cautiously moved closer, then began to push her luck.

"Okay, Doubao, don't be angry."

"Since you're not going to try to persuade me anymore, can you make up with your dad?"

"Look at your dad yesterday, wandering around the school aimlessly in the middle of the day. He must have lost his job."

"This is the time when he is most vulnerable and needs the warmth of family the most."

"Also, can I copy your calculus homework? The professor is checking it next class."

You're still thinking about that lousy homework of yours!

Su Zhiling was so angry she laughed.

"impossible!"

She sat up abruptly, her expression resolute.

"Let me tell you, even if I, Su Zhiling, jump out of this study room window and die outside, I will never reconcile with him!"

"There's absolutely no way I'd call him 'Dad'!"

"Not for at least these three days!"

Her eyes held a stubbornness.

I have to teach him a lesson!

"It's all his fault for being so indifferent to this family before, always working overtime, ignoring me, and even forcing me to change my college application!"

Mentioning the past, Su Zhiling's hatred surged up again.

Seeing her resolute attitude, Shang Xiuyan had no choice but to settle for second best.

"Doubao, that advanced calculus homework..."

"No!"

Just then.

Suddenly, the loudspeaker on the ceiling of the study room emitted a static sound.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

The once quiet study room instantly became noisy, with students covering their ears and looking up.

Followed by.

A cough that cleared his throat was broadcast throughout the library and even echoed across the entire campus.

"Cough cough cough."

Su Zhiling froze.

Shang Xiuyan stopped secretly doing her homework.

The two looked at each other and saw the shock in each other's eyes.

That sound...

Why does this sound so familiar?

next second.

The one that Su Zhiling hated so much rang out loudly:

"Feed me?"

"Is my daughter here? Is my daughter here?"