The week flew by, and before they knew it, it was the weekend. First thing in the morning, they dropped their son off with his grandparents and headed to the auto show. Originally, Su Xiaohui had been thinking of a car in the twenty or thirty-thousand-dollar range. But after everything that had happened, she wanted to go all out and get Zhou Sen something truly nice. She raised their budget to around fifty thousand. Zhou Sen, naturally, protested. It was too much, he said; fifty thousand would wipe out nearly all their savings. "We'll finance it," Su Xiaohui declared. "We won't pay in full. We'll just make monthly payments. Don't worry, it'll be fine. It's decided." Zhou Sen looked at her, moved. "Honey, you're incredible." "That's because you're good to me," Su Xiaohui couldn't help but say. Once they'd agreed, Su Xiaohui went to pay the deposit. When she returned, she found that Zhou Sen was gone. She was about to call him when she spotted him in a corner, tangled up in a tense argument with a tall young woman. "Zhou Sen, what are you doing?" Su Xiaohui's expression soured. As much as she trusted him, no one would be happy seeing their husband in a physical dispute with another woman. "Xiaohui, she's one of my students. Just give me a minute." With that, Zhou Sen went back to trying to reason with the girl. Hearing she was his student, Su Xiaohui relaxed a bit. She kept her distance, unable to make out their entire conversation, catching only fragments: "Why aren't you in class..." "...how many days has it been... you can't..." "You don't need to worry about it, Mr. Zhou..." Finally, the girl saw an opening and slipped away when Zhou Sen wasn't looking. He walked back over, looking utterly vexed. "What's wrong?" Su Xiaohui asked, seeing his frustration. "You know I'm the advisor for one of the classes this semester?" "She's in that class." "Last week, she asked for leave, said someone in her family was sick and she had to go home. I approved it." "Turns out she never went home at all. She came here to work as a car show model." The more Zhou Sen spoke, the angrier he got. "I just told her to go back to class, and she refused. Said she's just there for the diploma anyway. It's infuriating." Zhou Sen looked genuinely furious. The university he taught at was basically a diploma mill; many students were just there to get a piece of paper, not to learn anything. "Let it go," Su Xiaohui consoled him. "She's an adult now. You can't control her." "No!" "I'm their advisor. It's my responsibility to do something." "I have to go back to the university and look up her family's contact information. I can't just let her throw her life away like this." He turned to Su Xiaohui, his face full of apology. "I'm sorry, honey. I can't go back with you." "I have to go to the university." Su Xiaohui knew her husband's temperament. He took everything he did seriously and was incredibly responsible. If he didn't resolve this today, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. She immediately replied, "It's fine. You take the car. I'll just take the subway." "No, I'll take the subway. You drive and go pick up Lele." With that, Zhou Sen hurried off. Su Xiaohui shook her head and walked toward the parking lot. There, she spotted a familiar face: Wen Zhao. He was deep in conversation with someone and didn't notice her. Su Xiaohui, of course, made no effort to greet him. After what had happened last time, her opinion of him had hit rock bottom. She pretended not to see him and drove to the residential community where Zhou Sen's parents lived. It was an old neighborhood, and it took Su Xiaohui a while to find a parking spot. As she was about to head toward the apartment building, she saw her mother-in-law in the community garden, playing with her son. She smiled and started walking over. Just as she got close enough to call out, she overheard her mother-in-law chatting with someone else. "Your daughter-in-law is so capable," a neighbor was saying. "Gave you a healthy grandson right away, and now another one on the way! I'm so jealous." "Isn't your daughter-in-law great, though?" the neighbor replied. "She's highly educated, works at the hospital, and makes good money." At this, Zhou Sen's mother scoffed. "Hah, great for what? So what if she's educated? Being a doctor just makes her think she's all high and mighty. Always so fussy—this has germs, that's not sanitary. Going on about 'scientific parenting' and 'optimal child-rearing,' insisting one child is enough." "I mean, what's the point of raising a girl so meticulously? She just needs to grow up, find a good husband, and get married. That's it. But no, she insists on giving Lele the absolute best of everything." "What's the use of all this effort? She'll just end up belonging to someone else's family anyway. She should be using that money to give me another grandson." Su Xiaohui didn't listen any further, nor did she announce her arrival. She wasn't about to start a fight in front of strangers and become the neighborhood spectacle. Instead, she turned around, walked back to her car, and dialed her mother-in-law's number. She said she was waiting outside the community and asked her to bring the child out. Her mother-in-law brought her son out a few moments later, as warm and enthusiastic as ever. The moment she saw Su Xiaohui, her face broke into a wide, unceasing smile.