CHAPTER 287: CHAPTER 277 MEETING AT THE CONCERT

However, this had nothing to do with her. She was just taking her mom out to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

She and Shu Hui looked at the menu together. Shu Hui kept giving her meaningful glances; she understood what her mom meant: she thought the dishes were too expensive. She pretended not to notice her mom’s glances and ordered the food.

"So, would you like anything to drink?" the waiter asked.

"No, no! Just water!" Shu Hui exclaimed, then added, "Do you have free water?"

"Yes, we have lemon water," the waiter replied with a smile.

"Then lemon water it is!"

"Alright!" The waiter smiled amiably, with no hint of mockery.

Tu Hengsha let it go.

After the waiter left, Shu Hui lowered her voice again, "You silly girl! These dishes are so expensive! The money for one steak could buy ingredients to eat at home for a month! Every day! You are really extravagant! And this water costs hundreds a bottle? What kind of water is it? Does it make you immortal?"

"Mom! You can’t eat for a month, can you? That’s an exaggeration, right? As for the water, who cares what kind of divine water it is? Can’t we just not have it? There’s free water!"

"Next time, you can’t do this again!" Shu Hui glared at her admonishingly.

Tu Hengsha saw that Teacher Shu was about to start a lecture and quickly assured, "Okay, okay, I got it!"

"Don’t just say one thing and do another!" Shu Hui lightly pointed at her. "Life is long! Spending money is easy, but earning it is hard. If you spend two for every one you earn, what will you do when you eventually have a family and kids to support?"

"Mom!" she acted coquettishly, "Don’t you know me well enough? Am I the kind of person who spends carelessly? It’s just that, to bid goodbye to the old and welcome the new, we add a bit of ceremony. It’s not like it’s unaffordable, and it’s only once a year."

Shu Hui stopped talking, after all. Her daughter had been independent since she was young and had no extravagant habits.

"Mom! Rest assured! Like I said, your days of enjoying life are yet to come!" She grinned, trying to flatter.

Shu Hui half chided and half smiled. Deep down, she was happy or her daughter’s filial piety.

When the steak arrived, Tu Hengsha kept asking her mom, "Is it good? Is it good?"

Shu Hui, seeing her daughter’s anticipation, couldn’t bear to dampen her spirits. Besides, it was indeed delicious. She replied, "For something this expensive, if it weren’t good, the restaurant would be embarrassed."

Tu Hengsha smiled. This was what she wanted: to work hard and provide her mom with the best she could offer, just hoping for her mom’s approval and happiness.

After a pleasant dinner, the mother and daughter headed to the concert hand in hand, while the two people in the private room had also just about finished eating.

Su Rongxing finished the last sip of her after-dinner drink and praised, "The best thing about this restaurant isn’t the steak, but their wine collection. Too bad you’re driving today and can’t drink."

The person opposite her glanced at his watch, "Let’s go."

Su Rongxing took out a mirror and slowly reapplied her lipstick, "By the way, Second Brother, I bought tickets for the New Year concert. It’s almost time."

"Concert?" Su Ronggui turned around as he buttoned his coat, "Why didn’t you tell me earlier?"

"Didn’t I?" Su Rongxing tilted her head, thinking, "I might’ve forgotten because I was busy."

Su Ronggui frowned slightly, "It’s unnecessary, isn’t it? We should head back. There’s a lot to do at home."

Su Rongxing waved her phone, "I’ve already posted the tickets on Weibo..."

Su Ronggui didn’t say anything more.

"Let’s go! Hurry up!" Su Rongxing stood up with a smile.

At the concert hall.

Tu Hengsha and Shu Hui arrived relatively early. Her seats were on the second floor, and they had already sat down. Watching the bustling audience entering and the magnificent stage, she remarked to her mom with a smile, "Even though I don’t understand music, just sitting here makes me feel the atmosphere is both intense and sacred."

Shu Hui was amused and a bit apologetic, "It’s my fault for not raising you with more musical training."

She waved it off, "No, it’s not! This isn’t about nurturing, it’s about talent! I surely didn’t inherit it from you! No matter how much training, without your musical genes, it wouldn’t work! Besides, do you think I’m someone who’d sit down to practice piano for hours? No, I don’t want to endure that!"

Shu Hui knew her daughter was comforting her, and though there was a slight pang in her heart, she mainly felt consoled and proud. Who said you have to understand music? Her daughter was healthy and strong, no worse than anyone else! She humored her daughter for a change, "That’s right, my girl is already this outstanding without understanding music. If she knew music too, how would the other kids cope?"

"Exactly! Mom, your comments are spot on!" She proudly tilted her chin towards Shu Hui, but just then, she caught another glimpse of the pale pink figure.

It was Su Rongxing again...

And this time, she saw clearly the person beside Su Rongxing. From her vantage point, the two were quite conspicuous as they headed straight for the center seats of Row Zero. How could she not see clearly?

So, he said he didn’t have time because he was attending a concert with Su Rongxing?

What happened in the three days she was gone?

"Little Sha? I’m talking to you!" Shu Hui’s voice suddenly sounded.

"Huh? What?" Tu Hengsha quickly redirected her gaze, consciously avoiding letting her mom see the two.

"I said I need to use the restroom." Shu Hui scolded, "What were you thinking? Didn’t even hear me."

"Oh, I just... suddenly remembered an article that needs a bit of revision. I’ll fix it later," she said hastily.

"You!" Shu Hui shook her head, standing up to leave.

Tu Hengsha’s gaze returned to the pair, who were already seated. Su Rongxing removed her coat and placed it on him.

For some reason, her heart felt like a lemon, squeezed until the sour juice ran out.

Su Rongxing fixed her hair and started taking photos with her phone—of the stage, selfies, and finally even leaned on Su Ronggui’s shoulder for a photo together.

Watching it all, Tu Hengsha felt inexplicably like she was in another dimension. Was this another parallel universe? How had the world changed in just three days of her business trip?

Tu Hengsha always knew Su Rongxing loved clinging to him. She wasn’t surprised that Su Rongxing would want to stick to him after the incident with the Su family. What surprised her was his response and cooperation; he was willing to sacrifice New Year’s time with his girlfriend to accompany Su Rongxing? And even let Su Rongxing rest on his shoulder for a selfie?

She suddenly remembered that she and he had never taken such selfies before...

Afterward, all she saw was Su Rongxing looking at her phone.

Suddenly inspired, she opened her own phone, intending to check if Su Rongxing was posting on social media, only to remember they hadn’t added each other on WeChat. So she went straight to Weibo.

Although she didn’t follow Su Rongxing’s Weibo, she knew her username was "Night Star."

A quick search revealed it, and she discovered Su Rongxing was a verified user with over hundreds of thousands of followers and even a public account.

She quickly skimmed through it. The posts were a variety of things: hot topic commentaries, makeup insights, relationship analysis. It was an account full of content about the modern independent woman, aiming for beauty, career, and equality, always positive and inspiring. Oh, and the latest post was today’s concert ticket stub.

She had no interest in a detailed read. Just as she was about to close it, she refreshed the page and saw a new post. It had three photos: one of the concert stage, one selfie, and one photo leaning against Su Ronggui’s shoulder. Su Ronggui looked at the camera with his usual poker face, while Su Rongxing pouted. The edited photo had a pink heart between them, with two pink words on the side: "Muah muah~"