I Love Her Because She’s Dim-Witted And Filthy Rich - Chapter 42

Looking at Su Miao lying on the ground with her eyes tightly shut, Duan Bainian’s heart raced instinctively.

She anxiously pushed Su Miao. “Hey?”

After a moment, Su Miao pretended to have just regained consciousness, gasping, “Duan Bainian, I’m dizzy.”

Duan Bainian couldn’t tell for sure if Su Miao was actually fainting or faking it, but since the person was lying on the floor, she naturally felt embarrassed to bring up the idea of seeing her out again.

She frowned. “Haven’t you already seen a doctor? Why are you still dizzy?”

Su Miao said pitifully, “I haven’t been able to eat for the past few days. I only had two sips of porridge today at noon, and I’ve been waiting outside your door for so long… of course I’m dizzy.”

Duan Bainian suppressed her irritation. “Can you get up? Let me take you to the hospital for a check-up.”

Su Miao instantly perked up. She couldn’t go to the hospital; if she went there, wouldn’t Duan Bainian just run away again?

She quickly said, “The doctor said I’m just physically weak because I haven’t eaten. The doctor said if I eat normally, I’ll recover in a day or two!”

Duan Bainian was silent for a moment before standing up. “Then wait a bit, I’ll order some takeout for you.”

Hearing this, Su Miao breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like she didn’t have to leave tonight.

She climbed up from the floor in a disheveled state, peeked at Duan Bainian’s expression, and tested the waters: “The doctor said I should try not to eat takeout. Takeout is full of seasonings.”

Duan Bainian gritted her teeth. “A beggar complaining about the food! I only have takeout here. If you don’t want it, forget it. Go back to your own house and have your nanny cook for you!”

Duan Bainian’s tone sounded like she wanted to eat someone alive, scaring Su Miao into a shiver. “I… I’ll eat it!”

Half an hour later, the takeout arrived.

Su Miao consciously took the food from Duan Bainian’s hand. Upon opening it, she saw a bowl of preserved egg and lean meat porridge and a small side dish of green vegetables.

Actually, she still didn’t have much of an appetite, but because this was takeout ordered by Duan Bainian, she didn’t want to make her angry and decided to finish the porridge in one go.

After finishing the porridge, a sense of nausea wouldn’t subside. Seeing that she was about to throw up, Su Miao quickly found her stomach medicine and swallowed two pills whole.

Duan Bainian glanced at her. “How long did the doctor say it would take for you to get better?”

Su Miao: “I don’t know. Anyway, I still have to go get an injection tomorrow.”

Duan Bainian paused. “Is it that serious? You need injections for a stomach problem?”

Su Miao: “No, I have a fever, that’s why I need the injection. I couldn’t eat because of the fever too.”

Duan Bainian let out an almost imperceptible sigh. “Even if we broke up, you should still take care of yourself.”

This was the first time tonight that Duan Bainian had spoken in such a gentle tone. Su Miao’s nose felt sore hearing it, and she couldn’t help but want to cry.

She sniffled. “My mom said the same thing, but… but as soon as I think about you not wanting me anymore, I just can’t eat anything.”

Duan Bainian remained silent, her eyelids not even twitching, looking like a statue with an unreadable expression.

Su Miao blinked her stinging eyes. “Since I was little, others have said behind my back that I’m stupid and silly, and they wouldn’t play with me. Only you were different. You didn’t dislike me for being stupid, and you were so good to me. Besides my mom, you are the person who has treated me best in this world.”

“You always say I’m thick-skinned, and actually, I don’t want to be like this. But you… you are so excellent. Everyone likes you—directors like you, the actors in the same crew like you, and even so many people chase you. Everywhere we go, we run into guys who want to pursue you. If I wasn’t a bit thick-skinned, you would have run away.”

“I always wonder why you would like me. Compared to you, the people who come to pursue me aren’t even in the same league. They are either after my family’s resources or think I’m stupid and want to take advantage of me. Not a single one likes me sincerely.”

“I’ve thought about it for so long and I still don’t understand why you chose me. But I thought… as long as you still like me a little bit and haven’t rejected me completely, then it doesn’t matter if I’m a bit thick-skinned. As long as I can continue to be with you, what does it matter if you call me thick-skinned?”

Duan Bainian couldn’t listen anymore. “Stop talking.”

Su Miao sobbed, “Please don’t leave me…”

Duan Bainian’s heart throbbed. “I’m not leaving you.”

Su Miao was stunned. “You… you still want me?”

Duan Bainian fell silent once again.

Why did she like Su Miao?

All of Duan Bainian’s memories from before elementary school were of her parents fighting.

They fought during meals, they fought while sleeping; they fought over every trivial thing.

Once she started elementary school, those memories stopped.

Because her parents divorced. Her mother took her and moved back to her maternal grandmother’s house.

In the second year of elementary school, her mother went out to work and left Duan Bainian at her grandparents’ house. Consequently, she could only see her mother during the Lunar New Year once a year.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t cried, but after crying a few times and realizing it was useless, she stopped crying.

When she was in the fourth grade, her mother remarried. Of course, her mother did not take her to the new home; she remained at her grandmother’s house.

The day she found out her mother was getting married, she cried for a long time because she realized that from then on, her mother didn’t want her anymore either.

She lived at her grandmother’s house for several more years, during which her grandfather passed away and her grandmother became seriously ill and was taken away by her uncle to be cared for.

She had nowhere to go, so as a last resort, her mother finally took her in. Unfortunately, having missed those middle years, the mother and daughter had long since lost their emotional bond.

From the moment she gained consciousness, she was constantly being abandoned—abandoned by her father, abandoned by her mother, abandoned by her passing or sick grandparents.

This led to her emotions being very detached as she grew up. She was unwilling to commit her feelings to anyone because she was afraid of being abandoned again after giving her heart. Even when making friends, she only went so far.

Only Su Miao was different.

With Su Miao, she had an endless sense of security. Su Miao was so clingy, so in need of her, that she never worried about Su Miao abandoning her.

Even with this breakup, she was only angry with Su Miao, not insecure. Because she firmly believed that Su Miao would never actively abandon her.

Just like every time she drove Su Miao home, she only had the confidence to do so because she was certain Su Miao would pester her with a thick skin. If it were anyone else, after being driven away twice like that, they would have run off.

Thinking of those harsh words Su Miao said in the recording still made her heart ache. But looking at the pitifully crying Su Miao in front of her, she couldn’t help but feel her heart soften.

It wasn’t exactly a softening of the heart, though.

Because only she knew that it wasn’t that Su Miao couldn’t leave her, but that she couldn’t leave Su Miao.

Doesn’t loving someone mean accepting their imperfections?

She hated Su Miao’s cowardice.

But the reason she first felt protective of Su Miao was precisely because of that cowardice!

So why hold onto this point now?

Duan Bainian sighed and hugged Su Miao. “I’m not leaving you.”

Su Miao’s whole body went stiff, as if she couldn’t believe it. “Duan Bainian?”

Duan Bainian stroked the back of Su Miao’s head as she usually did. “What do you want to eat tomorrow morning? I’ll make it for you.”

Hearing these words and smelling the familiar scent, Su Miao’s whole being relaxed. She murmured, “Duan Bainian, I missed you so much.”

Duan Bainian smiled. “Aren’t we seeing each other now?”

Su Miao couldn’t help but grin. “Yes! We are!”

Duan Bainian hugged Su Miao again. “It’s quite late. Come on, let’s go to sleep.”

The two reconciled, and Su Miao once again took up residence in the apartment.

She rested at home in the mornings and went to the hospital for treatment in the afternoons. All three meals a day were personally cooked by Duan Bainian.

Su Miao was so happy she wanted to roll around on the bed. Previously, Duan Bainian very rarely cooked at home! The two of them usually ordered takeout.

By actively seeking treatment and eating well, after four or five days, the doctor told Su Miao, “No need to come to the hospital anymore. Continue taking the Chinese medicine I prescribed for two more days. As long as you have an appetite for breakfast, you can stop the medicine.”

Coming out of the hospital, Su Miao grinnily hooked her arm into Duan Bainian’s. “Let’s go, to the 4S shop.”

Duan Bainian was surprised. “Are you buying a car?”

Su Miao nodded. “I already bought it; we’re going to pick it up.”

Duan Bainian: “But you don’t even have a driver’s license.”

Su Miao swayed her head. “This is a birthday present for you.”

Duan Bainian was speechless. “Is this the ‘surprise’ you mentioned?”

Su Miao asked confusedly, “Eh? You don’t like it? I bought you a Bentayga. I remember you looked at that car for a long time last time and even did a test drive. I thought you liked it very much?”

Duan Bainian said in disbelief, “Where did you get the money? This amount must be quite a lot for you, right?”

Su Miao was both showing off and shy. “How can I not have some savings at my age? My mom usually gives me pocket money, and I saved up all my New Year’s money and everything. Besides, I did get a little bit of a salary for being on that variety show, okay!”

After saying this, Su Miao waited with an expectant face for Duan Bainian to praise her, only to hear Duan Bainian say in a cold tone, “Return the car later.”

Su Miao was not very happy.

This car had almost drained all her savings; why did Duan Bainian look like she didn’t want it?

She pouted, “The money was paid a long time ago, and the shop has the car ready. We just need to pick it up. I’m afraid it can’t be returned.”

Duan Bainian: “We can just lose a little money as a penalty, can’t we? How could it be unreturnable?”

Su Miao was furious. “This is a birthday gift I prepared for you! Why do you want to return it?”

Duan Bainian said, “It’s too expensive. If you sent something else, I would definitely be very happy to accept it.”

Su Miao turned her small face to the side. “Anyway, I’m not returning it! Whenever you are willing to have it, the two of us will go pick it up. If you aren’t willing, it will just sit in the shop forever!”

Seeing that she couldn’t reason with her, Duan Bainian compromised. “How about this: I’ll drive the car for now, and you go get your driver’s license recently. Once you have your license, you can drive the car. Let’s count the right to use it for these few months as your birthday gift to me, okay?”

Su Miao thought about it; she didn’t know when she would finish getting her license, so she agreed. “That works. Let’s go pick up the car!”

By the time they returned home, it was already eight in the evening. Duan Bainian went to the kitchen and made some light dishes, coaxing Su Miao to eat them, then hurried Su Miao to take a shower and go to bed early.

After showering, Su Miao crawled into the blankets and hugged Duan Bainian tightly. “Hehe, you smell so good.”

Su Miao rubbed against Duan Bainian’s side like she had no bones, rubbing until Duan Bainian’s heart started to flutter.

Duan Bainian pushed Su Miao away slightly. “Stop rubbing.”

Su Miao stopped her movements, her eyes darting around as if she were thinking about something.

After a moment, she said with watery eyes, “Let’s try.”

Duan Bainian said in disbelief, “Try what?”

Su Miao had only summoned the courage to say it, but being asked back like that, she instantly lost her nerve. “Oh, never mind, it’s nothing, nothing.”

Duan Bainian laughed, however. She pulled Su Miao into her arms. “Now that the words have been spoken, there’s no way to take them back.”

Duan Bainian had never believed the saying that one should supplement whatever is missing from their five elements, until tonight; she believed it.

A few months ago, Su Miao had said, “My name was Su Miao (wonderful) when I was a kid. I didn’t change it until the fourth grade; it took a lot of effort back then.”

She had asked at the time, “Why did you change your name?”

Su Miao said, “In the fourth grade, my mom found someone to read my fortune. They said my five elements were missing water, so I changed it to this name (flood/vast water), saying it could supplement the water.”

Looking at it now, this water supplement… was truly a bit excessive.