Ch. 1531..1540

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1531

Ever since that day, Xiao Su had become a different person; he would no longer do anything that would cause Jiang Xiaobai to be upset. Now, he would only show up whenever she needed him and would disappear from her sight whenever he was no longer needed.

This was a different Xiao Su to Jiang Xiaobai—he was not the Xiao Su who would stick around her all day. At the outset, she was surprised to see this change, as she thought that he was probably afraid of making her upset again, so he kept his distance. After giving it more thought, Jiang Xiaobai reckoned that this was just a change in his tactics. However, no matter what kind of tactic he was employing now, nothing could ever change Jiang Xiaobai’s mind: she still insisted on being separated from him for a while.

However, after spending a lot of time with her child recently, the child seemed to get attached to her. Perhaps this was something magical between a mother and her son that people often talked about whether or not it was real. She had the hunch that her child somehow knew that she was going to leave. Every time he looked at her, he would give her a pitiful look and be particularly obedient whenever he was around her. It was as if her child was telling her, ‘I will behave well. Please don’t leave me behind.’

Perhaps Jiang Xiaobai was overthinking things; it could just be that her child was always obedient. Sometimes Jiang Xiaobai would gently stroke his cheek and pinch it while he was in her arms before asking, “If you had to choose, would you pick Daddy or Mommy?” Of course, a newborn would not respond to her question. So, Jiang Xiaobai would continue bitterly, “I’ve probably lost my mind. Why would I ask you that question? You don’t even understand what I’m saying, much less give me a response.” As she said this, she gently stroked his head. She realized that the little hairs that he had on his head were so soft. And she would continue to stroke it.

“It kills me to leave you. Do you think Daddy is going to be upset if I were to bring you with me? However, I don’t think he’ll let me go that easily if I were to take you with me.” Jiang Xiaobai exhaled gently and placed her face against her child’s cheek. A teardrop rolled down her cheek.

Jiang Xiaobai initially thought she would be able to leave her newborn child. But after a few days of nursing him, she found it increasingly difficult for her to do so. That was why she reckoned she should not even have contacted or carried the baby when she foresaw that it was going to be difficult for her to be parted with him. D*mn it. Why did I cave that day? Even though she knew that it was their plan, as the mother of the child, she could not help but enter the room.

As the days went by, after her confinement period, no one had the right to keep Jiang Xiaobai in the house any longer. During her confinement, Jiang Xiaobai had done ample preparation—she made a lot of purchases for the child after doing extensive research on the internet. She had probably purchased everything that the child would need until he turned eighteen.

Xiao Su saw everything and had also thought it through. That was why he did not stop her from doing all these. When everything was done, Jiang Xiaobai purchased a flight ticket, packed up, and quietly took her suitcase with her to head downstairs where she ran into Xiao Su.

Seeing her with her suitcase, Xiao Su’s heart sank. All this while, he had tried to show up in front of her less so that he would not annoy her, hoping to give her some time to calm down. He hoped that she could get through it. But perhaps, he was too ambitious.

This unexpected encounter surprised Jiang Xiaobai. Is he trying to stop me from leaving?

“Do you really have to go?”

However, what surprised her more was how calm Xiao Su sounded—it was emotionless as if he was mentally prepared for this to happen.

Looking at how calm he was, Jiang Xiaobai did not want to start a fight, so she nodded. “Uh-huh.”

Expecting that Xiao Su would get upset, she was shocked to find him remaining calm. He nodded and asked, “Did you buy a train ticket or a plane ticket? Let me give you a ride.”

Before Jiang Xiaobai could react to his question, he had already taken out his car key.

“That won’t be necessary.” It would be strange for him to give her a ride since she was the one who wanted to leave. So, Jiang Xiaobai decided to reject this offer.

At this point, Xiao Su walked up to her and helped her with the suitcase in her hand. “Let me give you a ride. One last time.”

His proximity enabled Jiang Xiaobai to smell the thick cigarette smell on him. Before this, Jiang Xiaobai had learned that Xiao Su would drink a little when he was having a bad day. But this was her first time finding out that he smoked. “Did you smoke?” she asked subconsciously.

Xiao Su paused before answering, “Just a bit.”

“Did you recently pick it up?”

“Not really. I picked it up a while ago.” He lied—he picked up smoking a couple of days ago—as he feared that telling her the truth would saddle her with a burden. Since he had already decided to let her ago, he did not want to burden her anymore.

Hearing his response, Jiang Xiaobai stopped asking. Later on, when Xiao Su was carrying her suitcase and putting it into the trunk, Jiang Xiaobai noticed his bony back while he bent over. He had lost considerable weight, and his eyes had sunk. Even though seeing that made her feel miserable, she still could not get over what happened. Jiang Xiaobai turned around and got into the passenger seat, fastening her seatbelt.

After Xiao Su got into the car, she said, “To the airport.” Then, she closed her eyes, indicating to him that she no longer wanted to speak.

The entire car ride was extremely quiet on the midnight road. The whole city had gone to sleep apart from the lights on the road that were still brightly lit, seemingly accompanying them to the airport.

When they had arrived, Xiao Su took her suitcase out of the trunk. Before Jiang Xiaobai could reach for it, he commented, “I’ll walk you to the security checkpoint.” He then proceeded to walk with her suitcase. Seeing this, Jiang Xiaobai had no choice but to follow suit. Then, Xiao Su helped her with all the procedures before bringing her to the line at the security checkpoint.

Even though it was the middle of the night, there were many long lines at the airport. Some of them were shorter, but Xiao Su intentionally picked a longer one and waited in line with her. As the crowd was moving, he asked her in an extremely calm voice, “When will you be back?”

“I don’t know,” Jiang Xiaobai responded.

“Okay. I’ll wait for you at home, so you can come home whenever you want.”

Jiang Xiaobai remained silent, causing the atmosphere between the two to be awkward. When it was almost her turn at the security checkpoint, Xiao Su pulled her into his arms. Jiang Xiaobai was startled by his sudden act. Before she could respond, Xiao Su had already ruthlessly placed his lips on hers.

This is an airport! Jiang Xiaobai tried to push him away, but Xiao Su’s hands were wrapped tightly around her shoulders, and his lips were firmly attached to her lips, which caused her to be in pain.

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1532

The kiss was strong and painful. Jiang Xiaobai was unable to push him away as he freely rubbed his lips against her lips and teeth. She felt that he had a strong cigarette smell on him earlier when she stood close to him, but now that they were practically all over each other, that cigarette smell had amplified and made her wonder how much he had smoked.

After some time, Xiao Su let her go. He placed his forehead against hers and affectionately looked her in the eye. “You may go now. No matter how long it is, I’ll always be here waiting for you.” Xiao Su loosened his grip on her shoulders and gently pushed her to the security checkpoint. Just as Jiang Xiaobai thought he was never going to let her go, that kiss turned out to only be a goodbye kiss.

“Don’t look back. If you don’t want to be with me, please don’t give me any hope.” Xiao Su’s eyes turned red.

Just like that, a man over six foot tall stared at Jiang Xiaobai, teary-eyed, in that crowded place. She felt a sharp pain in her heart. Nonetheless, she forced herself to walk up to the security checkpoint before her tears rolled down her cheeks.

After passing the checkpoint, although she felt a pair of eyes locked on her, Jiang Xiaobai never looked back. After she retrieved her suitcase, she moved along. From Xiao Su’s perspective, her receding figure showed nothing but determination and resoluteness.

Even though he had told her not to look back, it was her own teary face that caused her to not have the boldness to do so. After spending so much time together, her feelings toward Xiao Su had intensified. Choosing to leave at this point made her heart ache. But, without leaving him, she felt that she could never get through certain things. She did not want to keep compromising herself for her child, as she believed that Xiao Su had the sense of responsibility to raise the child by himself. She was indeed a cruel mother.

Dragging her suitcase, Jiang Xiaobai hurriedly moved on, as she did not have the mental capacity to be bothered by the strange and curious looks given by those around her. After arriving at the departure gate, she went to the bathroom to freshen up. After that, she tapped her cheeks and tried to let out a smile while looking in the mirror. Everything’s fine. Since he doesn’t love me, I’m leaving. I should be happy for myself for being able to make such a decision. If he no longer loves me, I’ll be making a fool of myself to try to still be with him. Look at how brave you are, Jiang Xiaobai. After encouraging herself, Jiang Xiaobai felt slightly better and started to walk toward the departure gate with her suitcase.

On the other side, after pushing the door open, Xiao Su was planning on taking a look at the nursery but instead saw Liang Yahe and Du Xiaoyu sitting in the living room; they were teary-eyed and had the lights on. He could tell that the two had just cried.

After they saw each other, Liang Yahe abruptly stormed up from the couch and began yelling at and hitting Xiao Su. “You trash! It’s such a waste to give birth to you. What can you achieve in your life when you can’t even keep your wife with you?”

Xiao Su did not fight back or resist her yelling and hitting—he stood there like a dummy, taking in everything.

In the end, Du Xiaoyu could no longer bear it. She walked up and stopped Liang Yahe. “That’s okay. Stop it. Xiaobai has already left. It won’t change anything even if you beat him to death.”

“Why won’t it change anything? At least I can vent my anger. I’m utterly disappointed in this b*stard!”

“Stop it!” Du Xiaoyu increased her volume as she pulled her aside. “Can you please stop? Even though Xiao Su is your child, it doesn’t mean you can do this to him. Just forget it. Xiaobai isn’t entirely right either. Since these young ones have the right to choose what they want, we shouldn’t interfere.” Du Xiaoyu paused before she continued, “Despite what the fortune-teller told us last time, they still insisted on getting married. We should just react the same way and respect their decisions.”

Liang Yahe was convinced and silenced by Du Xiaoyu’s words and closed her eyes. All of a sudden, the baby in the nursery started to give out a loud and angry cry that prompted Liang Yahe and Du Xiaoyu to quickly go check on him, leaving Xiao Su by himself.

He was still able to stand straight while relying on Liang Yahe’s grip on his collar earlier. Now that she had let go, he weakly fell to the wall and slid to the floor. Xiaobai is gone. She’s really gone. She’s left me. Is she ever going to come back? Even though he was willing to wait for her, would he manage to see her return? Xiao Su closed his eyes. His heart was completely shattered, and flashing through his eyes were images and memories of him and Jiang Xiaobai.

Unbeknownst to him, his heart was already occupied by that loud and generous lady. Due to his ignorance, he had been dragging his feet and never confessed his feelings to her in a serious way. If he could go back in time and relive this part of his life, would he still do the same? The thought of this kept circling in his mind, causing him much pain.

The following morning, Du Xiaoyu made some porridge and asked him to have some.

“Thanks, Mom, but I’m not hungry.” After Xiao Su indirectly rejected her thoughtful offer, he got up and began walking toward his room.

“Stop, Xiao Su!” Du Xiaoyu called him out. “Are you going to starve yourself and not sleep? Do you think Xiaobai is gonna appreciate that?”

Xiao Su paused.

“Xiaobai is already gone. If you don’t pull yourself together, how are you going to take care of the child? She left the child so that you can raise him well.”

Du Xiaoyu took a deep breath and continued slowly, “I know these words may sound selfish coming from Xiaobai’s mother, but Xiaobai is my daughter, and I understand her well. She would never do something so drastic without reason. I believe there must be some reason that caused her to leave, but I choose not to find out what it is.”

Her words hit home. Indeed, Xiaobai left for a reason, and the reason was him. “My apologies. It’s my fault.”

“So what do you think you are doing now? After telling Xiaobai about what the fortune-teller told me, she still insisted on marrying you. I’ve never seen her so stubborn about something growing up. And what happened? I thought she had finally found her true love, but it didn’t take long before something like this happened after you two got married. Now, tell me the truth—did you have an affair?”

Xiao Su could not bring himself to answer this question from his mother-in-law.

“Are you unable to answer or are you too ashamed to answer?”

Xiao Su remained silent.

“If you can’t give me an answer, go and finish your breakfast then get some rest and pick yourself up. I understand my daughter well. Once she’s thought it through, she might come back.”

All of a sudden, Xiao Su’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1533

“Of course. I understand my daughter. Besides, I’ll never lie to you.”

The assurance from his mother-in-law seemed to have resurrected Xiao Su, who quickly went to eat his breakfast and get some rest after. Perhaps having turned hopeful, Xiao Su became more enthusiastic in his daily living: raising the baby, making milk formula for the baby, changing his diapers, and so on.

Xiao Su had transformed into a homemaker from a strong youngster, bearing the entire responsibility of raising his family. While awaiting Jiang Xiaobai’s return, Xiao Su kept his integrity. He would leave work for home to be with his child every day at 2pm, and there was even a female co-worker of his who tried to hit on him upon discovering that he was now single. She approached him and expressed whole-heartedly, “I don’t mind that you’re already married and have a child. I’m willing to treat your child as my own.”

Xiao Su responded with a stern look on his face. “I’m sorry, but I mind. I’m still waiting for my wife to come home.”

Shock flashed across her face as she whispered, “She’s already gone, and I’m afraid she will probably never come back. How long are you going to wait for her?”

Xiao Su responded with a little smile on his face, “I can wait until any time since she’s the only one for me in my life. There won’t be any other woman.” His voice was firm with a hint of gentleness.

Xiao Su’s reaction saddened the girl but at the same time attracted her admiration. How nice would it be to be loved by a man like this? Knowing that she could not force him, she replied, “That’s alright. I wish you all the best; I’m sure you’ll be able to see your wife again.”

Finally, Xiao Su had some facial expressions. He looked up at her. “Thank you. I wish you all the best in finding the love of your life too.”

Tucking her hair behind one of her ears, the lady began to tear up as she saw him look her in the eye. “I suppose I’ll never find mine. To be honest, I’m not actually into you. I used to have a boyfriend, but we broke up after he found out that I’m unable to have kids.” She paused before continuing, “I suppose I can never have babies, which was why I told you I would treat your child as my own.”

The fact that she could never conceive stunned Xiao Su, who began to sympathize with her. In return for her kind words to him, he consoled her, “No worries. You’ll definitely find someone who loves you for who you are.”

“Thank you.”

After Xiao Su came home, he wrote in his diary and browsed on the internet the recent works that Xiaobai published. These were his daily routines. Even though Jiang Xiaobai was no longer around, Xiao Su would still view her latest works that were published on her website daily. Perhaps this was a habit that Xiao Su had cultivated to know how she was doing.

Every time he read the contents of her newly published posts, he would feel her presence; he felt like he could still see and feel her all the time. Previously, Han Muzi had called to ask about the situation. She exhaled and comforted him after learning that Xiaobai had left.

All in all, the person who felt the worst was Yan. After finding out what happened, Yan was too ashamed to send Jiang Xiaobai a message. ‘I’m sorry’ was all that Yan sent her in the end and they were never in touch ever since.

Each time she opened WeChat, Jiang Xiaobai would linger on those words from Yan. She had thought of responding but did not know what to say. In the end, she would scroll past it and continue reading the messages from those who had shown her their care and concern. There were messages from Fang Tangtang, her editor, her mother, her mother-in-law, her father, and a bunch of friends and relatives.

But Jiang Xiaobai had responded to none of them. Besides, she had also stopped updating her Instagram. The only thing she did was publish new posts on her website and read the comments from her readers as she got paid to live her almost lonesome life. Half a year later, loneliness had become her friend, and recently Jiang Xiaobai had stopped enjoying this life of hers. She missed her child and wondered how he was doing. It’s been half a year. Does he walk now? Does he speak now? Is he able to call me ‘mommy’ when he sees me?

The longing in her grew rapidly like vines climbing and entwining all over her heart, giving her the urge to fly back to visit her child. Therefore, on that same day, Jiang Xiaobai packed up and bought a plane ticket to fly home. This time around, she was merely planning a short visit without meeting Xiao Su.

Once again, she was back in this city after half a year. A sense of familiarity engulfed her the moment she stepped out of the airplane. She was surprised to still find this sense of belonging after not being here for half a year—perhaps it was because this was her birthplace. She walked and looked around at all the familiar little things around her. On the flipside, after being abroad and living on her own for half a year, every day when she opened her eyes in her bedroom, the unfamiliar surroundings around her would still make her wonder where she was. But it was different with this city.

Perhaps due to boredom, a middle-aged woman on the same flight had been talking with Jiang Xiaobai throughout the entire plane ride. The two even ended up on the same bus after they got off the plane. Seeing Jiang Xiaobai on the bus, she quickly came over and chatted with her in a friendly manner. “Hi Miss, good to see you again. Are you heading home?”

Jiang Xiaobai paused for only an instant before nodding. “Yes.” She was not going home; she was merely going to take a peek at her son. This was why she hesitated before nodding her head.

Without noticing her hesitation, the middle-aged woman remained hospitable. “You’re so young. Are you coming home from school abroad?”

Feeling embarrassed, Jiang Xiaobai shook her head. “Not really. I was just traveling.”

“Oh, I see. Are you married?”

Her question on Jiang Xiaobai’s marital status instantly made Jiang Xiaobai feel suspicious. Was this middle-aged woman a matchmaker? As expected, before she could respond, the middle-aged woman commented with a smiley face, “It’s fate that brought us to meet each other again on the bus. Anyway, my son’s still single. Would you like to meet him? From our time on the plane, I find you rather friendly and approachable.”

Jiang Xiaobai forced a smile on her face. Me? Friendly and approachable? She’s too warm and friendly, so I couldn’t refuse to talk to her. And now she wants me to meet her son? Smiling awkwardly, Jiang Xiaobai whispered, “I’m sorry, madam. I can’t meet your son. I have a child.”

The middle-aged woman was startled. “You have a child?”

“Yes. I’m back home this time to visit him.”

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1534

Hearing that Jiang Xiaobai was back to see her kid, the middle-aged woman suddenly didn’t know what to say. After all, she had wanted to introduce her son to Jiang Xiaobai before, but Jiang Xiaobai already had a family and even a son. This was rather awkward to her. “Wow, you look so young. You don’t look like a mother at all!”

In the end, the middle-aged woman could only say something random to pass off the topic, while Jiang Xiaobai smiled and nodded politely at her. After Jiang Xiaobai got down from the car, she took a train back. Then, she booked a hotel room at a nearby hotel. After putting her luggage away, she started thinking of ways to see her kid.

After all, her son was still very young. It wasn’t realistic to go to his home to see him, but how should she get him to come out? Jiang Xiaobai had rushed back here before she could really think about her current relationship with him. If she went to his house to see him, would Xiao Su think that she had come back for him instead? Until now, she still didn’t know how she truly felt about him. Even though she missed him all the time, that moment when he abandoned her was etched too deeply in her memory. Since the pain from that incident hadn’t dissipated even the slightest yet, she had no way of looking past it. Her return this time was only to glimpse her son and then leave. I’ve got to think of something! Should I just call my mom? After all, this is the most straightforward plan, but if I let my mom know that I’m back, will she tell Xiao Su?

After thinking back and forth about it, in the end Jiang Xiaobai still hadn’t thought of anything good. She stayed in her hotel room for two days and didn’t leave at all. Whenever she was hungry, she would get the room service to deliver her food. The days passed by in a daze. In the end, she drank some wine to muster up her courage and called Du Xiaoyu.

As the call connected, Jiang Xiaobai mocked at herself internally. She had never thought that she would one day need to drink some wine to muster up courage before calling her own mother. It’s really pathetic when I think about it! My life used to be so carefree. But why am I like this now? What has happened to me?

“Hello?” Du Xiaoyu’s trembling voice pulled her back to reality.

Jiang Xiaobai came back to her senses and tugged her lips. After a long time, she finally found her voice. “Mom…”

Hearing her voice, Du Xiaoyu almost broke down in tears on the other end of the line. Since Jiang Xiaobai had left home so resolutely, she had never contacted her mother even once. Du Xiaoyu wanted to contact her badly, but all her calls failed to connect. Thus, it was truly surprising that Jiang Xiaobai would take the initiative to call her on that day. That was why Du Xiaoyu became really agitated. “X-Xiaobai.”

As both of them called out to each other, their eyes started welling up with tears.

“You finally called me. I thought that you didn’t care about me anymore.”

Jiang Xiaobai’s eyes were red as she kept widening her eyes, trying her utmost not to let her tears fall. She pressed her lips together lightly before saying slowly, “No, why wouldn’t I care about you anymore? It’s just that I didn’t dare to call you all this time. I was worried that you’ll keep persuading me.”

“Silly girl.” Du Xiaoyu reprimanded her in a soft voice, “This is your own choice, so why would I scold you for it? I’m just worried that you won’t be happy. It’s been half a year, have you thought about this properly?”

As she brought out this issue, Jiang Xiaobai fell silent. Du Xiaoyu knew that she had said something wrong when she didn’t hear a reply from Jiang Xiaobai after a long while. She laughed awkwardly and changed the topic, “How could I ask such a question? Our Xiaobai can do anything she wants, right? Where are you now? Are you still overseas?”

Jiang Xiaobai didn’t respond for some time. Her gaze fell on the windowsill and stared at the bright sunlight filtering in from outside. Closing her eyes, she savored the warmth from the sun before speaking softly, “I’ve returned, actually.”

Hearing this, Du Xiaoyu almost jumped in shock. It was a pleasant surprise that her daughter had called her, but it was even more of a bombshell that Jiang Xiaobai was in the country! For a moment, she was so excited that she didn’t know what to say. She kept stammering for a while because she was afraid that she would say something that Jiang Xiaobai didn’t want to hear, which would then cause the latter to hang up on her or, even worse, disappear again. Her daughter had left home for half a year. It was so difficult to pass the time when one was pining and yearning for one’s daughter. It wasn’t just simply yearning. There were so many other mixed emotions and concerns. She was concerned all this time whether her daughter could sleep, whether she had suffered, whether she had met someone bad or whether she had fallen sick. Thus, Du Xiaoyu had to mind her words.

Mom isn’t like this toward me just half a year ago. Ever since I rebelled against her once, she has become so cautious toward me in both her words and actions. Since when have we become like this? As she thought about it, Jiang Xiaobai felt her heart squeezing with pain. She took a deep breath and said softly, “Mom, don’t be flustered. Just say what you want to say. I won’t hang up the phone, so don’t worry.”

Du Xiaoyu didn’t expect that her daughter could see through her thoughts and felt both awkward and touched. She sniffled a bit before saying, “I just want to ask you if we could meet?”

After the call ended, Du Xiaoyu hugged her phone closed to her as her body wracked with an onslaught of sobs and tears. Her husband Jiang Yanke came in and saw his wife’s terrible condition. Thinking that something bad had happened, he rushed over to her. “What’s wrong?”

Du Xiaoyu lifted her head as tears continued to stream down her cheeks. “Our daughter called me just now.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yanke was startled for a moment. “She finally called you?”

“Yeah.”

“Sigh. This girl is now all grown up and has her own thoughts and plans. She’s now beginning to leave our control, so you have to think on the bright side of all this. After all, she’s an independent individual.”

“It’s not that I’m not thinking on the bright side. I’m just worried that she would face problems out there. She doesn’t even call back often.” In other more brutal words, she was worried that something really bad would happen to Jiang Xiaobai, yet they would have no idea of it. That was probably the worst thing that could happen to any parent.

Jiang Yanke knew what she was thinking about. Walking toward her, he sat down beside her and reached out to hug her. “Now, now, don’t think too much about it. She has already called you, so she’s safe and well. But have you told the in-laws about this yet?”

“Not yet.” Du Xiaoyu shook her head and continued, “When Xiaobai called me, she didn’t bring them up and didn’t tell me directly whether I should let them know. But through our conversation, I felt that she doesn’t want to contact Xiao Su.”

“This girl is really…”

“You’re not allowed to criticize her! As long as Xiaobai is willing to come back, everything is fine. We’re going to meet and have lunch later, but don’t tell anyone about it!”

Jiang Yanke smiled helplessly, “Okay, I got it. I’m Xiaobai’s father after all, so it goes without saying that I’ll support you both. In any case, I’m not a blabbermouth.”

“Okay.”

In the afternoon, Jiang Xiaobai came to the small restaurant where they had agreed to meet. She had booked a cubicle so that they could chat more conveniently. Furthermore, a cubicle would be quieter and offered more privacy. However, it would attract much attention if they inevitably broke down during the meeting later.

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1535

Inside the cubicle.

Jiang Xiaobai sat quietly. She had ordered a hot pot, and it was bubbling. Du Xiaoyu hadn’t arrived yet, so she put a few potatoes and cabbage inside the pot first.

Then, she ordered a few bottles of beer too.

The cabbage and potatoes were almost done. After picking them up and putting them on her plate, she added a plate of beef slices into the pot. She then squeezed some sauce on a sauce plate. When the beef slices were done, she picked them up with her chopsticks, swirled them in the sauce, and put them on top of the cabbage. Finally, she picked them all up with her chopsticks and put the food in her mouth.

This was her favorite way of eating hot pot.

Then she ate some potatoes and opened a bottle of beer.

All of those tasted familiar to her. At the thought of not eating hot pot for half a year while she was overseas, Jiang Xiaobai sniffled a little and picked up a piece of tissue paper to wipe at the corners of her eyes.

Knock knock!

Someone was knocking on the door, and Jiang Xiaobai raised her head. It’s probably Mom.

She put down the chopsticks in her hand and got up to open the door.

Du Xiaoyu had dressed up specially for the meeting with her daughter. She had put on makeup and changed into a pretty dress.

Although Du Xiaoyu used to dress up like this before, her mood had gone down ever since Jiang Xiaobai went overseas. For a long time, she hadn’t dressed up and styled herself. Even her skin had become worse than before because she didn’t have the mood to carry out her skincare routine.

But since she was meeting her daughter today, she even used a facial mask before putting on makeup so that she would not look so old and pale.

As the mother and daughter saw each other, they fell silent for a long time. After a while, Jiang Xiaobai tugged her lips into a smile with some effort.

“Mom.”

Du Xiaoyu stepped inside the cubicle cautiously.

Bang!

As the door closed, Du Xiaoyu saw that Jiang Xiaobai had ordered hot pot.

“I didn’t know what time you’ll be here, so I’ve eaten a little by myself and drank some beer.”

Then, Jiang Xiaobai burped. The two of them were startled, then couldn’t help but laugh suddenly.

After laughing, tears welled up in their eyes, and they started crying uncontrollably.

The makeup on their faces were ruined, but they didn’t bother to touch up their faces since they were family after all. They sat down and started to eat the hot pot.

Seeing the hot pot, Du Xiaoyu said immediately, “This isn’t hot pot. If you really want to eat hot pot, you must order a spicy one. Have you lost the ability to eat spicy food after being overseas for so long?”

“Who told you that I can’t eat spicy food? I didn’t order anything spicy out of concern for you, okay?”

“Oh, who are you to be concerned about me?” Du Xiaoyu suddenly mocked Jiang Xiaobai, “Are you joking? Your ability to eat spicy food comes from me when you were in my womb. How could your ability ever be better than mine?”

“Mom, you’re outdated. Haven’t you heard of the new overthrowing the old? You will lose if we compete with eating spicy food.”

“Let’s get the waiter to add some spicy food and compete then!”

“Sure, I’ll compete with you!”

Afterward, both of them called the waiter over to add more chillies to the pot. The entire pot boiled in red as if it contained lava. As they put the ingredients into the pot, the hot oil made the food look bright red. When the food was picked up from the pot, it was still emitting hot steam. The two of them competed with each other and kept eating.

The mother and daughter ate as if they were taking revenge out on each other. They only stopped when their sweat poured down like rain and their stomachs felt as if on fire.

Du Xiaoyu glanced at Jiang Xiaobai and scolded, “You dumb girl, I thought that you’re no longer used to eating chillies after being overseas for half a year. Who knew that you can still eat so much of it? Can’t you just let me win?”

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaobai blinked her pretty eyes and said, “The elders must be kind to the youngsters and let them win. Mom, I’m your daughter. Do you still want to compete with me?”

“No, let’s stop now.” Du Xiaoyu waved her hand and chugged down some beer. “If we continue, my stomach is going to blow up.”

Actually, Jiang Xiaobai was in the same condition too. But they were too energetic just now and hadn’t realized their bodies were suffering.

Jiang Xiaobai’s stomach was burning with pain but she could not drink anything any longer. She stopped and lay on the table. “Mom.”

Her voice was soft and full of longing, as if they had gone back in time.

Over ten years ago, Jiang Xiaobai was still a little girl and stayed by Du Xiaoyu’s side all the time. If she had something to beg of her mother, she would lay on the table like this and stared at her pitifully, calling her ‘Mom’ in the same soft voice.

Suddenly, Jiang Xiaobai, who was already a mother herself, turned into that cute little girl from the past in front of Du Xiaoyu.

“Mom, I really miss him.”

Jiang Xiaobai’s face flushed red from drinking too much beer. Her gaze was cloudy and distracted as she gazed at her mother. Du Xiaoyu knew that Jiang Xiaobai was rather drunk and was speaking without much awareness.

“I miss him.” Jiang Xiaobai pouted her lips and tears welled up in her eyes. “But, why didn’t he look for me? He still has Yan in his heart, right? I knew it. I shouldn’t have come back. I’ve been gone for half a year and yet he hasn’t even sent me one single text message. Before this, he even said that he would wait for me to come back. But now I think that he really wished hard for me to leave quickly!”

She suddenly slammed her hand on the table in anger. “After I left, he could then go and look for Yan whom he loves so much!”

The more she talked, the more irritated Jiang Xiaobai became. With a sudden violent move of her hand, she accidentally swept all the plates off the table. The plates fell onto the floor with a loud crash.

“Ah!” Jiang Xiaobai jumped in shock. She clutched her chest in fright and curled up in her chair. “I was almost scared to death! Why is that bastard Xiao Su not here to protect me yet? He must have gone to look for his Yan. Every time there’s a problem, he would go to her!”

“But I’m his official girlfriend! But I can only watch him leave me and run after someone else. Why is he doing this to me?”

Something streamed from her eyes down her cheeks and fell onto her hands. Jiang Xiaobai was already drunk, and she reached out like a little kid to catch them in her hands as they fell. Holding them in her palms, she stared at them curiously.

“What are these?” She held the tears in her palms as she looked up at Du Xiaoyu sitting across her.

Initially, Du Xiaoyu was feeling terrible because her stomach was burning from all the spicy food she had eaten. But hearing Jiang Xiaobai’s words made her feel very worried. She almost couldn’t breathe from the pain.

She glanced at the tears in Jiang Xiaobai’s hands and took a deep breath. After calming herself down, she spoke.

“Silly girl, these are your tears.”

“No!” But Jiang Xiaobai shook her head and refuted vehemently. Her expression was extremely earnest. “These aren’t tears!”

She lowered her head and her expression turned mocking as she said bitterly, “This is my heart.”

Hearing this, Du Xiaoyu’s heart jolted as if it was suddenly stabbed by a knife. “Xiaobai…”

“I’ve already given my heart to him. Why doesn’t he love me?” Jiang Xiaobai started mumbling to herself and acted ridiculously. But to Du Xiaoyu, seeing Jiang Xiaobai like this only caused her heart to break and shatter into pieces.

She turned around and wiped off her tears. Then, she stood up and walked to Jiang Xiaobai. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to Xiao Su and ask him for an explanation. Let’s ask him why he is treating you this way!”

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1536

Hearing that Du Xiaoyu wanted to bring her to Xiao Su, Jiang Xiaobai became flustered. She hurriedly withdrew her hands and curled back into her chair, shaking her head vehemently.

“I’m not going. I’m not going to look for him. He didn’t even look for me, and he only wants his Yan. If I go look for him, I would be so embarrassed!”

“So what if you’ll be embarrassed?” Du Xiaoyu was upset as she said, “Is that more important than your happiness? If you miss him, then you should go look for him.”

“No.” Jiang Xiaobai was stubborn. “I won’t look for him. I was always the one initiating things in this relationship. I’m tired and I want to rest.”

Saying this, Jiang Xiaobai stood up, grabbed her bag and prepared to leave.

Shocked, Du Xiaoyu ran after her. “Where are you going?”

“Um, I want to leave. I want to make sure that the bastard Xiao Su won’t be able to find me. Since he likes to abandon me for another person so much, then I’ll let him know how capable I am. I, Jiang Xiaobai, have my dignity too!”

Jiang Xiaobai rushed out at such a speed that Du Xiaoyu could not stop her and had no choice but to follow her quickly. But as they came downstairs, Du Xiaoyu who was a little slower was blocked by the waiter.

“Excuse me, Madam. Please pay the bill.”

“Just wait for a moment. My daughter has run off. I’m going after her for a bit, and I’ll come back to pay later.”

“No, Madam. This is against the rules.”

Since the waiter would not agree to let her go, Du Xiaoyu had no choice but to stop and open her purse. “How much?”

Then, she took some cash out and stuffed it in the waiter’s hand. “I’ll give this much first. I’m going after my daughter first. She’s drunk and it’s dangerous for her to be alone.”

The waiter counted the bills but found that it wasn’t enough. So he went up to block her again, “I’m sorry, Madam. The money isn’t enough.”

Du Xiaoyu was so angry that she wanted to curse at him, but felt that it wasn’t proper of her to do so. So she had to stop and count the money properly before giving it to the waiter.

“Thank you.”

In the end, as Du Xiaoyu finally came out from the restaurant and wanted to find Jiang Xiaobai, she found that the girl had run off and disappeared out of sight. She hurriedly ran around the area several times but could not find Jiang Xiaobai at all. Agitated, she called Jiang Xiaobai’s number.

But Jiang Xiaobai was drunk and not in her right mind now, so she did not pick up the phone.

Du Xiaoyu was so pissed off at this moment. Why did they not choose a restaurant where they could pay upfront and chose this one instead? If she had paid upfront, she wouldn’t have lost her daughter.

This dumb girl Xiaobai will always become crazy if she gets drunk. I hope she won’t be in danger.

Xiao Su had finished discussing a project and had completed all the other tasks in the company. He tidied up his desk and prepared to leave.

As he got into the elevator, he coincidentally met that woman who had confessed her love to him before.

She too didn’t expect to see him as she walked into the elevator and was startled for a moment. Then, she asked him upfront, “Can I come in?”

Xiao Su didn’t have any objection to that, so he pursed his lips and said, “Come in.”

The woman hobbled in. Xiao Su glanced at her and asked out of concern for a coworker, “What’s wrong?”

The woman blushed in embarrassment as she replied, “I’ve never worn high heels before, so I accidentally sprained myself just now.”

Xiao Su glanced at her feet and realized that she was indeed wearing a pair of high heels today. The elevator became silent as they both didn’t say anything else.

Previously, the woman was rejected by Xiao Su. She was well aware that he didn’t like her, and she wasn’t planning on clinging to him anymore. After all, it’s not possible to force someone to love another, and every person had his own fate.

Forcefully clinging onto someone was not something she was able to do.

Therefore, even though she had sprained her foot, she didn’t plan on asking Xiao Su to send her to the hospital.

After a while, Xiao Su felt rather awkward and asked, “Do you need me to send you to the hospital?”

After all, there were only two of them in the elevator. He had asked her about it out of concern and knew that her foot was injured. It would be rude of him if he didn’t offer to send her to the hospital.

Hearing this, the woman was pleasantly surprised as she lifted up her head. But then she seemed to have thought of something as the light in her eyes dimmed and she lowered her eyes, shaking her head.

“Thanks, but it’s fine. I’ve already called for a cab and it will be here when I reach the lobby.”

Already called for a cab? Since it was so, Xiao Su didn’t say another word.

The elevator reached the ground floor and Xiao Su walked out. The woman clung onto the wall as she hobbled after Xiao Su. Staring after his back, she felt rather depressed. If only he is willing to help and hold me for a moment!

No, he’s waiting for his wife to return. How can I hope for him to be nice to me? Instantly, the woman’s imagination was shattered by reality.

After a few steps, she realized that Xiao Su was slowing down. He turned back to glance at her and asked, “Your cab is outside?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Xiao Su wasn’t planning to bother about her, but seeing how aware she was of her position, he felt bad for not helping her. So he went up to her and held her hand. “Let me help you to the cab.”

“Thanks.”

Xiao Su helped the woman up the car, closed the door and prepared to go back to his own car. As he turned around, he saw a familiar figure standing not far away from him.

At first, he thought he was hallucinating and was in disbelief. But as he stared more closely, the figure was still standing there. Her face was streaked with tears.

“Xiaobai?” Xiao Su was shocked and stood rooted to the ground for a long time. Suddenly, he came back to his senses and strode toward her.

Seeing him moving suddenly, Jiang Xiaobai suddenly turned around and ran away. Anxiety and panic spread across Xiao Su’s heart as he quickly ran after her.

But as he was chasing after her, he realized that she was running haphazardly, as if she didn’t know where to run to. Although she ran here and there without knowing her way, she was very fast.

Jiang Xiaobai was tall and had a pair of long, slender legs. When she ran, she was so fast as if she was standing on a shooting star.

Actually Xiao Su wasn’t any slower than she was, and their speed was equal. But since Jiang Xiaobai was some distance away from him in the first place, he still couldn’t catch up to her.

Xiao Su increased his speed to catch up to her. Finally, he leaped forward and caught Jiang Xiaobai in his arms.

At that split second when he caught her, Xiao Su heard an explosion going off beside his ear. He was really afraid that she was just an illusion and she would disappear once he caught hold of her.

But now it was different. Jiang Xiaobai was well and truly caught in his embrace, but because his force was too strong, they were going to fall over.

Xiao Su’s arms tightened as he turned her over and used his own body to cushion her fall.

Then, his back hit the ground. The pain shot through his body and awakened all his senses, while the woman in front of him was still lying in his arms safe and sound.

But she had come to her senses and was struggling with all her might.

Xiao Su hugged her tightly and couldn’t help but growl, “Don’t leave me anymore!”

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1537

Don’t leave me again!

If she left him again, he was afraid that he really wouldn’t be able to bear it anymore. All this while he was living like a zombie. Other than going to work, he was looking after the kid. If it weren’t for a sliver of hope, and if it weren’t for Han Muzi’s words, he would have broken down long ago.

He really wanted to go look for Jiang Xiaobai and bring her back home. However, he was worried that, if he looked for her, she would resist him strongly like before and they wouldn’t be able to solve their problems.

So, all he could do was bear with it.

Young Lady had said that whether Jiang Xiaobai would return was all up to Jiang Xiaobai’s feelings for him. He thought that she would never return, but she had now returned!

She had returned!

It was just like how Young Lady had said. Before this, Jiang Xiaobai had left him so that she could think more clearly. It was a surprise that she decided to return to him.

Since she had returned, Xiao Su would not let her leave again.

“Let go of me.” Jiang Xiaobai struggled with all her might as she tried to push Xiao Su away. “Let go of me! Xiao Su, you bastard. I don’t want to care about you anymore from now on! You’re with another woman again. Who is she? Is she your new lover?”

At first, Xiao Su was confused. Then he realized that Jiang Xiaobai had seen him helping that female coworker of his just now.

Xiao Su scolded himself in his heart. If I had known this earlier, I wouldn’t have cared. That woman has nothing to do with me anyway!

He immediately explained, “It’s not what you think it is. She’s just a female coworker in the company. She sprained her foot, so I just helped her to get into the cab.”

“Sprained her foot? So, another woman has injured her foot yet again. Why do you have so many women that you need to save? Then just go and help her. Don’t hold onto me. Let me go!”

Despite her struggle, Xiao Su ddi not release her. He hugged her even tighter as if he wanted to merge her into himself.

It was a large and busy road that they were standing in, and this scene had shocked many of the people passing by. Some of them stood and watched them, while others shook their heads and walked away.

“I won’t let you go. Since you’ve come back, I won’t let you leave me ever again. I’ve had enough of that, Xiaobai!”

After saying that, Xiao Su pinched her chin and kissed her without caring about anything else.

He didn’t bother about the onlookers surrounding them on the busy road and just kissed her passionately.

His deep longing for her all these months were infused into the kiss. Pulling her in, he hungrily and intensely claimed her mouth and parted her lips, feeling her front teeth and sending wild tremors into her heart.

Although it had been six months since they had kissed, he was still familiar with her mouth and her body. Her entire body tingled and her knees gave in as he invaded all her senses. It was easy for him to find those sensitive spots of hers. Before Jiang Xiaobai knew it, she had gone from resisting him to kissing him back.

The onlookers thought that they were going to argue about a love triangle when they first heard their initial conversation. But suddenly they had gone from an argument to a kiss. Quite a number of girls couldn’t help but take out their phones and take videos of the scene.

But as the kiss went on, the girls’ expressions darkened as they stared at their phone cameras.

What kind of world is this? We’re just walking on a road and minding our business. Why would we stumble upon such a blatant public display of affection!

After the kiss ended, Jiang Xiaobai gave Xiao Su a slap.

Slap!

The girls who were taking videos thought that it was just a straightforward public display of affection, and they didn’t expect that the woman was unwilling. All of them started whispering and gossiping about them.

“Do you only know how to do this?” Jiang Xiaobai stared at him coldly. Before this, she was drunk from the beer, but now most of her drunkenness had dissipated.

She was extremely aware of herself right now.

At first, she had come here to find Xiao Su to see how he was living his life now. After he had lost her, was he living life as usual, or was he in deep agony?

Then she had watched him helping another woman out of the company with her own eyes.

She left him for six months and all this while, he hadn’t gone looking for her but helping another woman instead. Ironically, she herself was missing and yearning for him all this time.

How ridiculous!

Although she had drunk a lot today, Jiang Xiaobai had never been so conscious before.

She stood up and towered over Xiao Su.

“That kiss was the last one I’m giving you. Xiao Su, it’s over between us.”

Jiang Xiaobai turned and left.

But she had only taken a few steps before Xiao Su ran after her.

“Is it because of that scene you saw just now? I can explain. We have nothing to do with each other. She’s just a female coworker, and I was only helping out of pity for her.”

Jiang Xiaobai wiped her tears away and kept on walking with a hardened face, ignoring Xiao Su no matter what he said.

Seeing her ignoring himself, Xiao Su had no choice but to explain further, “Everything I say is true. She had sprained her ankle when she entered the elevator, so I just helped her to the cab. After she got in, I didn’t care about her anymore. You saw that too, didn’t you?”

As Jiang Xiaobai continued ignoring him, Xiao Su changed the topic and asked, “When did you come back? Why didn’t you tell me so that I can go and pick you up?”

Pick me up?

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaobai laughed coldly in her heart. She didn’t answer him but instead asked, “Where’s the kid?”

Her question about the kid made Xiao Su rather happy. “He’s at home. Do you want to see him?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Xiaobai nodded in a frosty manner, as if that woman who had run off while sobbing wasn’t her at all.

After that, Xiao Su brought Jiang Xiaobai back home. Liang Yahe was at home taking care of her grandson. Hearing the door unlocking, she thought that Xiao Su had got off work. For these six months, she was deeply upset at her own son and she would leave whenever he got home since she didn’t want to see him at all.

So, Liang Yahe started to tidy up her things and prepared to leave when she heard him unlocking the door.

But when she came to the entrance, she realized that the person who entered was…

“Xiaobai?” When Liang Yahe saw Jiang Xiaobai, she thought something was wrong with her eyes. How could Jiang Xiaobai be back?

Jiang Xiaobai didn’t think that she would meet Liang Yahe. Blinking in surprise, she called out, “Mother.”

Hearing her, Liang Yahe’s eyes reddened. For a long time, she didn’t know how to react except standing there with her teary eyes.

Jiang Xiaobai had just cried and tears were starting to burst from her eyes again. She hastily blinked back her tears and walked forward. “Mother, I’m back to see the boy. Where is he? Is he awake?”

Liang Yahe regained her senses as she wiped the tears away from the corners of her eyes and nodded quickly.

“He has just fallen asleep and he’s in the nursery room now. Why did you…”

“Then will you accompany me to go and see him?”

“Sure.”

Liang Yahe and Jiang Xiaobai then went to the nursery room to look at the kid.

Jiang Xiaobai hadn’t seen her son for six months. He was no longer the little infant she knew six months ago. Although his features were still babyish, his face had changed subtly, and his body had become sturdier than before.

Xiao Su stood at the door and did not enter.

As Jiang Xiaobai looked at her son’s calm sleeping face, her gaze turned gentle. “Does he have a name?”

Liang Yahe shook her head. “No, Xiao Su said to wait for you to give him his name when you return.”

Jiang Xiaobai was startled upon hearing that. Wait for me to give him his name when I return? So that means Xiao Su has been waiting for my return?

But if he has been waiting for me all this while, why did he let me bump into that scene of him with another woman just now?

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1538

As Jiang Xiaobai thought about that, she still felt rather angry about it. She drew in several deep breaths to calm herself down and didn’t say anything else. Staring at her for a moment, Liang Yahe suddenly said, “Spend a few quiet moments with him.” Then, she went out of the room and helped Jiang Xiaobai to close the door. After that, she dragged Xiao Su away and asked him, “What’s going on?”

Xiao Su pursed his thin lips but didn’t respond. Liang Yahe felt that it would probably be difficult for him to speak for a while, so she didn’t pursue the topic. At first, she had intended to go back home, but now that Jiang Xiaobai was here, she didn’t want to leave anymore and so decided to stay.

“Xiao Su, go to the supermarket and buy some ingredients for me. I’ll stay and prepare dinner here tonight. Xiaobai has returned, but look at how thin she became! We need to prepare more for her to eat.”

Xiao Su didn’t want to leave. He was distraught that if he went out, Jiang Xiaobai would leave and disappear again. So, he pursed his lips and stood rooted to the ground without agreeing or disagreeing with it.

“What are you standing here for? If you won’t go and buy the ingredients, what would she eat tonight? After all, she has returned, so she won’t leave again. Why are you so worried?”

Xiao Su was extremely paranoid. Jiang Xiaobai’s expression and reaction made him feel that she hadn’t returned because she wanted to come back to him, but only because she wanted to see her son. As for her going to look for him at the company… That was probably because she was drunk and thus lost control of herself. After all, Jiang Xiaobai had never lost control when she was sober, even during that time when she was dealing with Yan’s matter. Her loss of control this time had allowed Xiao Su to see into her heart clearly, but he also became worried at the same time.

“Just go quickly. I’ll guard Xiaobai for you. Before you come back, I’ll think of ways to make her stay.” Since Liang Yahe kept urging him, he had no choice but to leave to buy the ingredients at the supermarket.

Jiang Xiaobai sat and accompanied her son for a long time in the nursery room. She even took her phone out and captured a few photos of him, then sat there in silence so that she wouldn’t wake him up. But suddenly, the little boy woke up not long after she took some photos of him. He stared at her earnestly with his clear eyes without making a fuss.

“Baby.” Jiang Xiaobai was immediately agitated at the sight of him waking up. She put down the phone and quickly scooped him up in her arms and cooed, “I’m Mommy.” She hadn’t seen him for six months, so she thought that he would cry or refuse to let her carry him, but surprisingly her son simply reached out a hand and touched her chin, then babbled at her in a soft voice.

“What are you saying? Mommy can’t understand you. I’m your Mommy, do you know that?” Jiang Xiaobai held his little fist and laughed as tears threatened to spill over her eyes. She hugged him closer to her and pressed her cheek against his. “Mommy misses you so much. Did you miss me?” The mother and son spent quite some time in the room. Liang Yahe stood waiting outside and didn’t enter to disturb them.

After a while, the door opened. Liang Yahe stood up quickly and saw Jiang Xiaobai carrying the kid out of the room. “Xiaobai, he’s awake? What do you think? We’ve started teaching him to say a few words, but he’s still too young to learn properly.”

Jiang Xiaobai’s face was pale, and her smile was rather awkward. “It’s alright. He’s still very young, so it’s normal that he can’t learn how to speak yet.”

“You can teach him personally in the future. Babies usually call out ‘Mama’ as their first word after all. If you teach him yourself, he will learn quickly.” Liang Yahe was clearly trying to hint at Jiang Xiaobai. The latter could clearly hear the hint in her words and knew that she wished for her to stay. Jiang Xiaobai didn’t respond but merely looked at Liang Yahe silently.

Facing Jiang Xiaobai’s expression, Liang Yahe’s smile was slipping off. She forced a wider smile and asked, “Is there anything wrong?”

Jiang Xiaobai finally opened her mouth to ask, “Mom, I wish to take him away to stay with me for a few days, is that alright?”

Hearing this, Liang Yahe was truly panic-stricken. Before this, when Jiang Xiaobai wanted to leave, she wasn’t as panicked as she was now. Since Jiang Xiaobai left the baby with Xiao Su, this meant that there was a high possibility of her coming back. But after six months, she had returned to take the kid away. What did it mean? It probably meant that this time, she was firm on her decision to leave Xiao Su. Taking the kid away was the first step. After that…

Liang Yahe didn’t dare to think further about it. The more she thought, the more panicked she became. For a long time, she couldn’t find her own voice, and even the color had drained from her face.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I’ve not seen him for such a long time, and I miss him so much. I’ll just take him away to stay with me for a few days, okay?”

“X-Xiaobai.” Liang Yahe finally regained some composure, and she tugged at Jiang Xiaobai’s sleeve in worry, like a kid who was abandoned by her parents. Anxiously, she said, “Why do you want to stay outside? Haven’t you returned? Look at this house; there are so many rooms in here. You can just pick any room you like. Do you not like this house? How about this, Mr. Xiao and I will take out some money and buy another house for you two, okay? Or are you thinking that it’s not convenient for you to stay here because I’m here? Don’t worry about that. I don’t stay here. Actually, I’m usually just here to help Xiao Su take care of the kid during the day. He’s the only one taking care of the kid at night.”

A torrent of words had burst out from Liang Yahe in a panic. Her lowly, subservient attitude made Jiang Xiaobai feel really sorry for her. “Mom, please don’t think that way. I just want him to stay somewhere else with me for a few days.”

“I’m fine. I’m just giving you a few suggestions. Which one do you think is best?”

Jiang Xiaobai didn’t respond.

“Then I’ll let you think for a while, okay? When you’ve decided, just tell me, alright?”

“Mom, I just want to bring him out for a few days. I… don’t want to stay here.”

The smile on Liang Yahe’s face finally slipped and disappeared slowly. She sighed heavily, her eyes dimming with utter sadness as she said, “I told Xiao Su to go and buy ingredients from the supermarket just now so that I can prepare a delicious dinner for you later. But he refused to go, even after I kept persuading him. Now I finally understand. After half a year, you still haven’t forgiven Xiao Su, right?”

Jiang Xiaobai hugged the kid in her arms tightly and blinked without a word. Liang Yahe saw her action and sighed helplessly. “What are you afraid of? You gave birth to the kid. If you really want to take him away for good, nobody will fight with you for him.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaobai raised her head in shock.

“I understand how you feel. I’m a woman myself. Even though the Xiao Family wants an offspring too, I would suggest that the kid follows his mother if I really care about his welfare.”

At that instant, Jiang Xiaobai became tearful. This mother-in-law of hers was truly the best mother-in-law one could ever have! There was no one like her.

“But Xiaobai, won’t you reconsider it? How long have you been with Xiao Su? Are you certain that for the past six months, all you’ve thought about is breaking up? Are you sure that during that period, you’ve never once felt regret, even for a brief moment? Although the kid can and should be with you, do you think that his life will be happy and complete without both of his parents’ love and care?”

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1539

Jiang Xiaobai had indeed thought about this before.

However, she felt that she wasn’t the type of woman who would compromise her entire life just for her kid.

She chose to give birth to the kid; thus, she would be responsible for his wellbeing and provide him with everything he needed. But first, she had to live a life that she wanted before she could give him her all.

She could give him a better life even if she became a single mother.

If she stayed with Xiao Su and they weren’t happy together, even though the kid received love and care from both his parents, he would surely be sensitive to the family situation and learned that his parents did not truly love each other.

She did not want her son to be exposed to this kind of loveless relationship since young.

“Sigh, if I talk too much, you’ll be annoyed. I won’t say anything more.” Liang Yahe swiped at the wet corners of her eyes tearfully. She was so heartbroken that she could not control her feelings any longer. “For the past six months, I’ve watched Xiao Su’s ceaseless habit of going to work, getting off work, and taking care of the kid every day, all while waiting for you to come back. I kept thinking that everything he did must be of some use, and you would one day be able to see his effort and patience. Even if you didn’t come back so soon, it would be good as long as you would come back one day. But who knew that you wanted to take the kid away with you the moment you came back?”

Liang Yahe finally couldn’t control her tears anymore, and a great sob escaped her as she covered her face with her hands. Jiang Xiaobai’s heart sank into her boots as she looked at Liang Yahe’s tear-streaked face, but there was nothing she could do.

She stood rooted to the ground and could only wait for Liang Yahe to finish crying. The latter then stood up and said, “Just go now, when Xiao Su isn’t back yet. When he’s home, I’ll explain it to him.”

Jiang Xiaobai was stunned. “Mom?”

“Go now. But you have to promise me that you’ll spend some time thinking over this properly. Don’t sentence Xiao Su to death instantly. I know a thing or two about what happened between you two, but dear, don’t cling to the past too much. Now, Xiao Su’s heart is completely yours.”

Jiang Xiaobai felt something stir within her heart at that last sentence, but it was just for a brief second. She nodded quickly. “I understand, Mom. I’ll think over this properly. I will take my leave now with my kid.”

“Just go.”

Jiang Xiaobai carried her son and left. Liang Yahe dared not turn her head to look at them. She was afraid that if she glanced at them even one more time, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from rushing up to stop them.

Liang Yahe was a mother as well, so she would definitely side with Xiao Su. But since she was aware of this, she tried seeing from Jiang Xiaobai’s point of view as well. Jiang Xiaobai was a mother too, so she would definitely want to be with her own kid.

If Jiang Xiaobai wanted a divorce, she would definitely wish to raise her son if she had the means to.

Bang!

Even when the door slammed shut, Liang Yahe still sat motionless on the couch.

She was so happy when she saw Jiang Xiaobai at first, but now she was devastated when Jiang Xiaobai left with the kid. The contrast in her emotions was so huge that it was like falling from heaven into hell.

She was already so devastated as the mother-in-law. It would certainly be inconceivable how terrible her son would feel when he found out.

Liang Yahe had no idea how long she sat there. Xiao Su finally came back, carrying many bags in his hands. He put all the things he brought into the refrigerator silently while Liang Yahe watched him from the couch. After stuffing the refrigerator full, he hadn’t even asked about Jiang Xiaobai.

This silly boy, does he still think that Xiaobai is still here with the kid?

As she thought about this, she said, “You don’t have to prepare anymore. She has left.”

Hearing this, Xiao Su’s hands paused briefly in mid-air. Then, he continued stuffing the ingredients into the refrigerator woodenly like a robot.

A wave of sudden anger surged through Liang Yahe, and she walked up to him, scolding loudly, “Didn’t you hear me? Xiaobai is gone. She left with the kid. Why aren’t you responding? Why are you like a zombie? Are you a husband and a father or not?”

Xiao Su still didn’t respond. After a while, he said with a tired voice as if he had lost all energy, “What can I do?”

“What?”

“What can I do? She isn’t willing to come back to me. It’s been six months; perhaps she really has made up her mind.”

Xiao Su lowered his gaze and twitched his lips helplessly. “Perhaps I should respect her decision. I don’t want to force her anymore.”

“What do you mean by forcing her?” Liang Yahe couldn’t seem to understand her son at all. She was dumbfounded by what he said and pushed at his shoulder. “You’re the kid’s father. You’re striving for happiness, not forcing her. Do you understand?”

“Mom, don’t say anything anymore.”

Xiao Su pushed her hand aside and turned away to enter his room.

He locked himself in the room and closed his eyes to ponder about everything. For six months, he had tried his utmost to calm down and not disturb Jiang Xiaobai, but what did he get in the end? Jiang Xiaobai had returned and taken the kid away with her. To tell the truth, if this really was her decision, he had no way of stopping her either.

After all, during Jiang Xiaobai’s confinement period, she was by his side, but she wasn’t happy at all.

Perhaps, they were ultimately not suitable to be married.

Sure enough, it was like what that fortune-teller had said. Between them, there was nothing but separation and death.

Xiao Su covered his face with his hands and laughed bitterly.

After a while, something clear seeped out between his fingers.

After Jiang Xiaobai took the kid away, she called Du Xiaoyu, who was going crazy looking for her. When Du Xiaoyu saw that Jiang Xiaobai had called, she immediately picked up the phone.

“Xiaobai?”

“Mom, I’ve picked up the kid.”

Du Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment. Then she asked, “Where are you now?”

Jiang Xiaobai told her an address and sat by the roadside with the kid in her arms. After a while, Du Xiaoyu rushed over.

At first, she could not believe it, but then she saw the baby in Jiang Xiaobai’s arms. It was indeed her grandson! Du Xiaoyu was shocked beyond belief.

“X-Xiaobai, did you meet Xiao Su?”

Jiang Xiaobai sat there motionlessly as if her soul had left her body. After a long time, she finally regained her senses and raised her head to look at her mother.

“Yeah, I just met him.”

Du Xiaoyu stared at her expression and felt that something was wrong. She reached out toward her and offered, “Let me help you to carry him.”

“No need. I’ve not seen him in a long time, so I want to carry him.”

Jiang Xiaobai then stood up and asked, “Mom, do you have baby items at home? I want to bring him there for a few days.”

“Of course.” Du Xiaoyu nodded. Ever since her grandson was born, she had prepared many baby items at home. Xiao Su would bring over the boy every weekend, so her place was well-stocked, and everything was new.

“Okay, then that should be no problem. Let’s go.”

On the way home, Du Xiaoyu really wanted to ask Jiang Xiaobai what she was thinking about. But in the end, she still controlled herself and only sighed helplessly in her heart.

What more was there to ask? After all, no matter what her daughter’s decision was, she, as the mother, would support her unconditionally. So if this was the case, then there was nothing more she needed to ask.

But as they neared their house, Jiang Xiaobai suddenly initiated the conversation and said, “Mom, I’ve decided to divorce Xiao Su.”

Hearing this, Du Xiaoyu stopped breathing for a second. It was such a shock that she felt as if she wasn’t able to regain her composure.

“D-Divorce?”

Nothing To Give But My Heart Chapter 1540

When they got off the car, Du Xiaoyu pulled at Jiang Xiaobai’s sleeve.

“What’s going on? You’ve gone overseas for six months, and a divorce is what you’ve decided after thinking for so long? Xiaobai, are you sure that… this is what you want?”

Du Xiaoyu wanted to ask her if she knew what she had said when she was drunk.

But her daughter was stubborn since young. If she told her daughter what the latter was like in her drunken state, would her daughter think that she was lying to her?

It might also hurt her pride and dignity.

“Yeah, I’ve decided.” Jiang Xiaobai smiled unconcernedly. “I had been torturing myself for the better half of this year. Actually, I don’t like this kind of life where I’m perpetually affected by my relationship every day. I’m a human, so I should learn how to control my feelings and emotions instead of letting them take over my life. If this goes on, I’m just wasting my youth and time.”

“So, what do you plan to do?”

“Divorce. I want the kid and live my own life.”

Du Xiaoyu looked at the kid in Jiang Xiaobai’s arms and suddenly said, “If you take the kid with you, it’s hard for you to remarry.”

“What’s good about marriages anyway? I won’t remarry after getting the divorce, Mom.”

You won’t remarry because you still have Xiao Su in your heart. Of course, Du Xiaoyu could only retort internally.

“I want to live a single life. I must have gone crazy in the past to marry him. I’ve wasted so much time on a man who didn’t even love me and have me in his heart. It’s so pointless.”

Jiang Xiaobai shook her head and lowered her gaze to the baby in her arms. “I want to live my life with him. I may even change my career.”

If she only relied on her writing, she wouldn’t be able to give her kid a good environment to grow up in.

I have to get myself together!

Du Xiaoyu was still very shocked. As they entered the house, she asked Jiang Xiaobai, “Do you think that you’ll get him if you just ask for it? Xiao Su’s family only has one son. Are you sure that your parents-in-law will agree to hand over the kid to you?”

“My mother-in-law has agreed.”

“What?” Du Xiaoyu was so shocked that her mouth fell open. “She has agreed so quickly? Your mother-in-law is truly generous. Did she not have the heart to reject you? Or perhaps she thinks that you won’t be with Xiao Su anymore, so she decided to let you leave with the kid, hoping that this will allow for a clean break? After all, men are different from women. Remarried women are worthless, but it is alright for men to remarry. I really don’t know what this world is coming to.”

“Mom, don’t talk about my mother-in-law like that. She’s a good person.”

“Even if she’s a good person, she wouldn’t be so good as to give away her grandson like that. I myself wouldn’t be able to do this. I’m not so generous.”

As she said this, she couldn’t help but sigh. “She is willing to give away her grandson. This means that she’s really good to you. Before this, she did say that she wants to treat you like a biological daughter, but I didn’t believe it at that time. Since she didn’t give birth to you, how is it possible for her to be so kind to you like you’re her biological daughter? But who knew that she was actually honest then? Perhaps she has really thought of you as her own daughter, which is why she’s so good to you now.”

“Yeah.”

“This kind of in-laws are hard to come by. That boy Xiao Su, even though you two have some problems between you, I actually haven’t seen him going anywhere for the past six months. He only alternated between going to work and taking care of the kid every single day, and he didn’t have any other intentions.”

“Mom, don’t speak for him. I’ve made my decision.”

She could love him and could also not love him. She, Jiang Xiaobai, was able to let things go. If she was in a marriage, she wanted to be the one and only woman in her husband’s heart. Initially, she thought she could be, but then she realized that it wasn’t possible. So that was that.

She could live a wonderful life by herself too. Let that b*stard Xiao Su regret his choices!

“I’m not speaking for him. I’m just telling you facts. I know that I’m old now and I may not understand youngsters nowadays. But when your father and I were younger, we had many issues between us too. As a married couple, there will inevitably be some misunderstandings and problems along the way. But I believe that we need to compromise with each other from time to time so that we can fix the issues and ensure that we fit better together. You didn’t give him a chance and just want a divorce immediately, even taking his kid away from him. To be honest, I feel that he’s really pitiful from his point of view.”

Initially, Du Xiaoyu didn’t intend to speak up for Xiao Su. But seeing how her daughter was so determined and unconcerned, she started to feel sorry for Xiao Su and couldn’t help but speak up for him.

She truly sympathized with Xiao Su and felt that he was rather pitiful. Jiang Xiaobai had left him for six months, and in return, he had waited six months for her. Now that she was back, she even took the kid away from him, and he could do nothing about it at all.

Wasn’t he pitiful? Du Xiaoyu felt that he was extremely pitiful!

“Pitiful?” Jiang Xiaobai tugged at her lips with some effort. “Compared to being pitiful, I think being pathetic is worse.”

When he ran into that huge fire to save the one he loved and abandoned Jiang Xiaobai to send his lover to the hospital, she felt that she wasn’t pitiful but pathetic.

She had wallowed in self-pity and tied her heart and future to such a man for half a year. Enough!

Du Xiaoyu looked at her daughter and knew from her attitude that she had made a firm decision, just like how she had decided to leave six months ago. Her fixed decisions weren’t something her parents could change.

Jiang Xiaobai settled her kid down once she got home.

At night, Du Xiaoyu pushed open her bedroom door and walked in. Then, she put an account booklet down in front of Jiang Xiaobai.

“Mom, what is this?”

“This is what your father and I have saved up over the years. It’s all for you. When you got married, we wanted to use it, but your in-laws refused to let me use it. Everything came from their own pockets. They probably spent a lot on that house. They have been so good to you, so if you want a divorce, you need to return some of their money back to them.”

Otherwise, they have given so much money but got nothing in return.

Jiang Xiaobai did not take it from her. After a brief pause, she said, “Mom, I have money. You don’t have to give it to me. Since this is your hard-earned savings over the years, then you should spend it with Dad. We don’t have much time in this life, so you don’t have to keep thinking on my behalf.”

“What are you saying? Your father and I saved up this money for your use. What do we need to spend it on? We’re old now, and we have no use for so much money. But you’re different. After the divorce, you still need to raise the kid on your own. Do you think that you can still work as much as now when you’re single? There’s no one to help you out, so you need money. Take this money in this account booklet and return some of it to the Xiao Family. Xiao Su’s mother surely spent a lot buying presents for you, and after returning some of the money to her, the rest is yours.”

“I won’t take it. If you want to return the money, you should return it yourself.”

Then, Jiang Xiaobai turned and got into bed. She fed the baby some milk from a bottle, and then she lay on the bed after the baby fell asleep.

“I’m going to sleep now, Mom. You and Dad should rest early too.”

Seeing her stubbornness, Du Xiaoyu became annoyed and left in a huff. Of course, the account booklet was left on the table, and she didn’t take it away.