Back to the 1980s: Transmigrated as the Bigshot's Pampered Wife-Chapter 83: Endless Heartache

Su Shuochi hadn’t even finished drying his wife’s hair before she fell asleep. He smiled indulgently as he patiently finished drying it for her.

The day’s events had been more momentous than anything in his twenty-five years of life, leaving him utterly shaken.

’He clung to his wife’s every word. Each one struck a chord, leaving him mesmerized. Meeting her was his greatest fortune. He would spend the rest of his life loving her properly.’

After his IV drip finished, he removed the needle himself and lay down beside his wife, completely content.

He thought he would be too excited to sleep, but he was out the moment his head hit the pillow.

「The next day.」

The moment Gu Jiaojiao woke up, she was met by a pair of deep, fervent eyes. "You’re still awake?"

"I slept," he said, his voice hoarse from sleep. "I just woke up myself. I was about to get you up for breakfast before school."

Gu Jiaojiao glanced at her watch—it was only six-thirty. She was tempted to stay in bed for a few more minutes, but a delicious aroma wafted toward her.

"Time to get up and have breakfast."

"Mmm..." Su Shuochi agreed reluctantly. ’I really wish I could kiss my wife before we get up,’ he thought.

Mr. Su and Su’s mother were selling buns at the entrance to the textile factory, while Mr. Gu, Second Brother Gu, and Su Qinchun were selling them at the school gate.

After Su Shuochi and Gu Jiaojiao washed up, they came out to find Grandpa Gu, Geng Ruixian, and Eldest Brother Gu sitting in the living room.

Mrs. Gu was in the kitchen, heating up some soybean and pig’s trotter soup. Seeing that her daughter and son-in-law were awake,

she ladled the soup into bowls, then went back to the kitchen and brought out a plate of hot buns.

"Jiaojiao, you two are up! Dad, Comrade Geng, Jinghua, come and have breakfast."

"Thanks, Mom. You’ve gone to a lot of trouble," Su Shuochi said politely to his mother-in-law.

"Oh, it was nothing. Your mother prepared everything; I just warmed it up."

The couple greeted Grandpa Gu and the others, and then everyone sat down to eat soup and buns together.

Those who had gone out to sell buns had already eaten their share of the soup and buns.

The remaining portion was just for them. Gu Jiaojiao had told them that all they needed was to eat nourishing food to recover.

Grandpa Gu and Geng Ruixian were eager to recover, so their appetites were excellent. Even Eldest Brother Gu had two bowls of soup.

Grandpa Gu could tell which were the meat buns and which were the pickled cabbage buns just by looking at the folds on top.

"Grandpa, I’d like a pickled cabbage bun. Shuo Ci likes the meat buns." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Gu Jiaojiao was nearly full after just one bowl of soup, but she knew everyone would worry if she didn’t eat at least one bun.

"Haha... Jiaojiao, this one’s for you. And this meat bun is for Shuo Ci," Grandpa Gu said with a hearty laugh.

"Here, Ruixian, you have a meat bun too. Jinghua, want Grandpa to pick one for you?" Grandpa Gu asked proudly.

"You go ahead and eat, Grandpa. I like to grab one myself. I’ll just eat whichever one I get."

Although Gu Jinghua couldn’t tell the difference between the buns, he enjoyed the random surprise of it and never grew tired of the game.

"Grandpa, Mom, Uncle Geng, Eldest Brother, I’m taking Jiaojiao to school now. I’ll go out to buy some things afterward, and then I’ll pick Jiaojiao up at noon to come back for lunch."

Su Shuochi announced, his voice filled with excitement. He seemed even more thrilled than Gu Jiaojiao, the one who was actually going to school.

"Go on, don’t you worry. We’ll stay home and read, play some chess with your Uncle Geng. Your mom will get lunch ready and wait for you to come back and eat."

"We’re off, then." Gu Jiaojiao waved, then pushed the wheelchair as they left.

Class started at eight, and it was only seven-thirty, so they didn’t have to rush.

The Sheng Family was also having breakfast. The entire family was seated around the table, and Mrs. Sheng was busy ladling porridge for her daughter and putting fried dough sticks and buns on her plate.

Sheng Shiwen watched his younger sister eat with such a sense of entitlement. He wasn’t sure when it started, but nowadays he could hardly bear to look at her.

So, he turned to his eldest brother and asked, "When did you get back, Eldest Brother?"

"I got in late last night. You were all asleep, so I didn’t wake you. Yueyue, I’ll take you to school in a bit."

"No need... Eldest Brother... Zijin is coming to pick me up."

Sheng Yueyue mumbled through her food, wolfing it down and making loud, SMACKING sounds.

It was as if she wanted to swallow all the food in one go. She was chewing on a fried dough stick while her right hand shoveled spoonfuls of porridge into her mouth without pause.

Mr. Sheng glanced at his daughter. The show-offy light in her eyes when she mentioned Song Zijin, in particular, was a bit cringeworthy.

’What makes that kid so much better than any of my sons?’

Sheng Shiwu kept his head down, focused on his breakfast. He had to get to school to sell his spicy strips and had no time to spare for his sister.

Sheng Shijing gave his sister a long, hard look. ’A thousand people, a thousand faces, all with different hearts,’ he thought.

"Dad, Mom, I’m leaving after lunch today. I’m being deployed to the Southern Border, and I’m not sure when I’ll be back."

Mr. Sheng and Sheng Shiwu had already learned this last night, so they weren’t very surprised.

"Shijing, you’re going to the Southern Border?" Mrs. Sheng asked, her attention finally shifting to her eldest son.

Her worry was written all over her face. ’The Southern Border is so dangerous,’ she thought. ’If it were up to me, I wouldn’t let my eldest son go.’

"Eldest Brother, do you have to go? It’s too dangerous there," Sheng Shiwen added, also looking worried.

"Second Brother, how can you be so selfish! If everyone thought like you, who would be left to defend the motherland?"

Sheng Yueyue struggled to swallow the food in her mouth before indignantly rebuking Sheng Shiwen.

’Going to the Southern Border is a great thing! In my previous life, I returned to the Sheng family right around the time Eldest Brother performed a great service and was promoted.’

’He got injured, sure, and couldn’t fight on the front lines anymore, but he achieved a very high rank.’

Sheng Shiwen stared at his sister in disbelief. ’Does she have any idea how dangerous the Southern Border is?!’

"Yueyue, you don’t understand..."

"Why wouldn’t I know it’s dangerous on the front lines? What’s the big deal if he comes back with a few injuries? Then Eldest Brother will get a high rank and a fat salary, and we’ll get to ride his coattails!"

The entire Sheng family: ...

When this daughter (and sister) had first been acknowledged and brought home, they had all pitied her and felt nothing but heartache for her.

But as they spent more time together, her flaws were gradually revealed.

Admiration for a person begins with their appearance, is earned by their talent, harmonizes with their personality, endures through their kindness, and is ultimately decided by their character.

Their affection for her began with kinship. They tolerated her, pitied her—all because she was their own flesh and blood.

No one is obligated to look past a sloppy exterior you yourself don’t care about to discover your wonderful inner qualities.

"Dad, Mom, why are you all looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"

Sheng Yueyue took a huge bite of her meat bun, and the savory juice from the filling trickled down onto her hand.

She licked it off, the crumbs of bun on her tongue mixing with the juice on her hand. It was an incredibly vulgar sight.

Mrs. Sheng was an exceptionally refined woman, and the sight made her shudder from head to toe.

She closed her eyes. "Yueyue... please, eat slowly. It’s not like we’re short on food here."

"I knooow, Mom," she whined. "I’m just in a hurry! I don’t want to keep Zijin waiting too long!"

"Yueyue, I can take you to school. You shouldn’t lose yourself over some man."

Sheng Shijing said, his heart aching. ’A daughter of the Sheng family has no need to lose her self-respect over a man.’

"You? Can you even compare to my Zijin?" Sheng Yueyue blurted out.