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Chapter 146: Chapter 143 I Really Like Chen Cheng
Wanbao Hall, by the tea table.
Chen Cheng and Wen Shulin sat opposite each other, waiting for Xiao Meier and Su Liya to return.
Chen Cheng poured a cup of tea for Wen Shulin. After the time spent over the meal, he had also thought things through.
"I want to tell you something."
Wen Shulin smiled and lifted the teacup, "What? Getting scared?"
Chen Cheng shook his head, his expression serious.
Seeing this, Wen Shulin thought he was angry and put down the teacup she had brought to her lips, whispering:
"Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore, alright?"
"That’s not what I want to talk about."
Wen Shulin furrowed her brows, "Then what do you want to say? About my investment in Xiao Er?"
Chen Cheng still shook his head, took a deep breath, "Li Ya, she..."
Before he could finish, Su Liya who had changed her clothes, came bouncing in, smiling broadly: "Mommy, we can go now!"
Both of them turned towards the source of the sound.
Chen Cheng felt Su Liya’s clothes were familiar.
So did Wen Shulin.
Both of them, seeing her stand before them again, couldn’t help but frown.
Indeed, her upper body was well covered, but Chen Cheng’s polo shirt, worn by Su Liya, had turned into a short skirt, performing a disappearing act on her lower body, leaving her long, slender legs utterly exposed.
As a mother, how could she not understand the little tricks in her daughter’s heart?
She abruptly turned back, staring between Chen Cheng’s brows.
Though Chen Cheng didn’t speak, his gaze seemed to tell Wen Shulin: this was exactly what I wanted to talk about.
"Xiao Cheng, my clothes, Li Ya couldn’t wear them," Xiao Meier awkwardly said, "We had to take yours."
Wen Shulin frowned, "This is not appropriate."
However, Su Liya didn’t mind and, laughing, twirled around, "I think it’s quite nice! Mommy, I did cover it all up like a good girl!"
Wen Shulin still retained her decorum and did not publicly puncture Su Liya’s lies.
"I don’t feel very well, let’s not go to the Ghost Market," she stood up, "Xiao Er, I’ll head back first."
Xiao Meier expressed concern, "Sister Lin, did you get heatstroke again?"
Wen Shulin smiled, holding onto Xiao Meier’s hand, "I think I’m just tired from walking around all day. Maybe next time, we’ll come again."
After saying this, she turned to look at Su Liya, "Li Ya, let’s go home."
"But..."
Before Su Liya could finish, Wen Shulin had already crossed Wanbao Hall’s threshold without turning back.
Su Liya bit her lower lip, "Sister Xiao Er, I’ll be leaving first."
"Alright, be careful."
She then looked towards Chen Cheng, unable to hide the disappointment in her eyes, "Mr. Chen, I..."
"Take good care of your mother."
After saying that, Chen Cheng shifted his gaze away, fiddling with the teapet on the table.
Reluctantly, Su Li also walked out.
Xiao Meier sat next to Chen Cheng, "Why would Sister Lin suddenly feel unwell?"
Chen Cheng chuckled, "Don’t women get a few days each month where they feel upset?"
Xiao Meier sighed, "I was looking forward to liven up the spirit by going to the Ghost Market together."
Chen Cheng thought for a moment, "How about we take a stroll ourselves? It’s been half a month since we met there again, right?"
Xiao Meier covered her mouth and laughed, "You remember?"
"Of course, how could I forget?" Chen Cheng stood up, reaching out his hand to Xiao Meier, "Shall we go?"
"Yeah!"
In the car, Wen Shulin’s face was stern.
She turned her head away, looking out the window, saying nothing.
Su Liya was also showing her stubbornness, clearly they had agreed to go to the Ghost Market, and now abruptly they were to go home.
Her lips pouted enough to hang a teapot.
"Mommy, what’s wrong with you?" Li Ya couldn’t help but ask, "Wasn’t everything fine during dinner?"
Wen Shulin slowly turned her head, looking at her daughter with a hint of helplessness and complexity in her eyes.
"Li Ya, you shouldn’t do this."
Su Liya pouted, "What did I do? We were having a good time, and you suddenly said you felt unwell and needed to go home."
"Wearing Chen Cheng’s clothes, what does that look like? Don’t think I don’t know the little thoughts in your heart."
Su Liya’s face instantly flushed, "Mommy, I... I just thought it looked nice."
Wen Shulin suppressed the fire in her heart, "If you really have a serious romance, Mommy won’t stop you, I will support and bless you."
Su Liya turned her head, murmuring under her breath, "I just like him, how is that not serious?"
"He’s taken."
Su Liya: "Sister Xiao Er, I know! I don’t care, I like him for who he is!"
Wen Shulin’s hands suddenly seized her knees, gripping hard, then released a second later.
"Li Ya, you are still young and don’t understand that feelings aren’t so simple."
"You can’t mistake gratitude for love, he has helped you, but you shouldn’t..."
Wen Shulin paused for a moment, reorganizing her words,
"Love needs time to settle and experiences to test. What you feel for Chen Cheng right now, is more likely just a momentary impulse and gratitude."
Su Liya bit her lip, stubborn tears glistening in her eyes:
"Mommy, you don’t understand me at all. I know the difference between gratitude and love. My feelings for Chen Cheng are love, not what you’ve described!"
She grabbed Wen Shulin’s arm, "Mommy, why can’t you just support me this time? Aren’t you and he always partners? If you speak up, he will definitely listen!"
"I am confident that if Mr. Chen knows enough about me, he will definitely..."
"Li Ya!"
Wen Shulin interrupted Su Liya’s endless talk, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself slightly.
"We shouldn’t talk about this anymore; you can’t be with him."
Su Liya was completely baffled, "Why? Why can’t I?"
"He’s so righteous, so just, and so successful, why can’t I?"
"If I get together with him, won’t your CGG benefit as well?"
"Li Ya!!"
Wen Shulin’s heart twisted, as if violently grabbed by Su Liya.
She fell silent for a long time before slowly speaking:
"Chen Cheng is a good person, but the relationship between him and Xiao Meier is not so easily broken. If you rush into this, you will only end up hurting yourself."
Su Liya’s tears swirled in her eyes: "Mommy, can’t I even try? I don’t want to just give up."
Wen Shulin looked at her daughter with heartache: "Li Ya, life offers many choices, and you’re still young. You will meet someone more suitable for you."
Su Liya stubbornly wiped away her tears: "I won’t, I’ve set my heart on him!"
"Li Ya!!!"
Numerous words were stuck in Su Liya’s throat.
She never expected that the biggest obstacle between herself and Chen Cheng wasn’t Xiao Meier, nor was it Xia Yubing or anyone else.
It was her own daughter.
"Chen Cheng doesn’t have only one woman, he is a good man, but not a monogamous one. Li Ya, you deserve someone who is entirely devoted to you," Wen Shulin pleaded earnestly.
Su Liya’s eyes widened, "What does that have to do with me liking him?"
Those words left Wen Shulin at a loss for a response.
Looking at those teary eyes, Wen Shulin’s heart clenched painfully.
She knew her daughter was truly smitten.
"Li Ya, your mother doesn’t want to see you get hurt. Love is not just about impulse and liking someone; it also needs loyalty and lasting companionship. With Chen Cheng, it’s hard to provide you with these."
Su Liya sobbed: "But liking someone is something I can’t control. I don’t want it this way either, but my heart is drawn to him."
"Mommy, please don’t interfere in this matter, okay?" Su Liya pleaded.
The usually indulgent Wen Shulin, this time, did not agree.
Her expression was stern, her voice became severe,
"Then calm down and think it over. I don’t want to discuss this now."
"Mommy!"
Wen Shulin turned her head away, "Tomorrow you’ll go to school with me, and Mrs. Shen will pick you up and drop you off every day."
"You’re not allowed to see Chen Cheng anymore," she said emphatically.
Su Liya was incredulous, "Mommy, you’re restricting my freedom!"
Wen Shulin turned around, her eyes cold: "I am your mother, and you must listen to me!"
Su Liya’s tears streamed down again as she shouted, "You don’t understand me at all, this isn’t for my own good, this is hurting me!"
A flicker of pain crossed Wen Shulin’s eyes; she had never argued with Su Liya like this before, nor had she ever spoken to her in such a manner.
"You may hate me, but if it prevents you from going astray, I’m willing to do anything," Wen Shulin’s voice trembled.
Su Liya fell silent, only continuing to cry.
When the car arrived home, she rushed straight to her room and slammed the door shut.
Wen Shulin stood still for a long time.
She leaned weakly against the foyer, thinking about her relationship with Chen Cheng, and looking at the closed door, her suppressed tears finally fell silently.
"Why? Why did you have to fall for him!" Wen Shulin cried out in her heart.
Inside the room, Su Liya buried her face in her pillow, sobbing convulsively.
In her mind, she thought: "Why can’t Mommy understand me? I truly like Chen Cheng, is it wrong to like someone?"
Not knowing how long she had cried, Su Liya gradually stopped.
She sat up, looked down at the POLO shirt she was wearing, "I won’t just give up like this!"
She took out her phone and sent a message to Chen Cheng.
"Uncle, I like you!"
Su Liya pressed the send button, but the next second, a bright red exclamation mark appeared on the screen.
[Message sent, but rejected by the recipient]
Looking at the light gray text, Su Liya’s freshly stopped tears slid down again.
"It must be Mommy! She must have said something to Chen Cheng!"
Reflecting on Wen Shulin’s domineering demeanor in the car, Su Liya’s anger and grievance intertwined.
"How could Mommy do this!" she bit her lip, hands tightly clenching the phone.
She abruptly stood up, took a step forward, but then stopped.
"No, I can’t just rush to confront Mommy impulsively." Su Liya murmured, "Given her personality, she might not even let me leave the house."
She slowly sat back on the edge of the bed, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.
At that moment, a breeze from outside blew through the window, stirring the curtains and seemingly her troubled thoughts.
The image of Chen Cheng lingered in her mind, tightening her heart again.
"What should I do? Why won’t Mommy let me be with him?"
Su Liya hugged her arms tightly, curling up into a ball, "Is it wrong to like him?"
