I Love Her Because She’s Dim-Witted And Filthy Rich - Chapter 51

Su Miao was always a step behind.

That day, when Duan Bainian told her she needed a period of calm and that they shouldn’t contact each other for a while, Su Miao didn’t cry.

She felt it was normal for Duan Bainian to be in a bad mood; after all, her recent work had been heavily affected. She truly believed she needed to give Duan Bainian space.

So, upon hearing those words, she replied obediently, “Then I won’t look for you for a while. Take care of yourself. If you feel better, tell me, and I’ll come see you again.”

In the blink of an eye, another week passed, and Duan Bainian’s mood still hadn’t improved.

During this week, Su Miao hadn’t cried once. Aside from feeling as if a heavy stone was pressing against her heart, there was nothing else wrong.

It would have been fine if things had just continued like that.

What was terrifying was that after she started crying because of An Qiu’s words, her sorrow became like a breached levee; it erupted with the force of a landslide, a thunderous explosion of emotion.

Because she suddenly, belatedly realized: perhaps Duan Bainian really didn’t like her all that much.

She didn’t have much experience in love, but who hasn’t watched TV dramas?

Among all the couples she had seen, she had never seen one where a partner proposed a temporary separation just because work wasn’t going well.

Isn’t it normal to need your partner by your side even more when work is stressful?

So, in reality, did Duan Bainian not need her at all?

To Duan Bainian, was she just someone expendable?

Yes, to Duan Bainian, she was indeed expendable.

She wasn’t that important to Duan Bainian. That was why, when Su Miao felt jealous because of a so-called friend, Duan Bainian always said she was being paranoid and making a scene out of nothing, rather than being willing to make any changes for her.

If Duan Bainian felt even a shred of heartache or care for her, she would have made a change, wouldn’t she?

The light in Su Miao’s eyes dimmed bit by bit.

She understood now.

Except for her mother, no one would truly love her.

No one would truly love her.

That night, Su Miao developed a high fever.

She burned with a recurring fever for two consecutive days; naturally, she couldn’t act.

Her assistant, Xiao Song, felt that something was wrong and hurriedly called He Aizhi.

He Aizhi rushed to Hengdian overnight.

When she arrived, Su Miao was still in a deep sleep. Seeing her daughter’s pale face, He Aizhi felt as if a knife were twisting in her heart.

She asked Xiao Song, “How did Su Miao suddenly get a fever? Wasn’t she quite normal in Beijing a couple of days ago?”

Xiao Song replied, “I’m not sure either. Everything seemed normal, but it was like this the next morning. It’s been back and forth these past two days; the fever goes down with an IV drip, but it comes right back up once the drip stops.”

He Aizhi waved her hand. “It’s fine. It’s late; go get some sleep.”

Su Miao, who had been sleeping fitfully, woke up in the middle of the night. she moved slightly and saw her mother sleeping beside her.

He Aizhi woke up as well. “Why are you awake? Are you thirsty?”

Su Miao said in a raspy voice, “A little.”

He Aizhi got up to pour some water. “What did you do? How did you suddenly get a fever?”

There was a long silence; no answer came.

This silence made He Aizhi alert.

Although Su Miao wasn’t the quickest, her physical health had always been good. She usually only got a fever once every few years. To have recurring fevers like this for two days was truly rare.

She scrutinized her daughter’s expression. “Is it because of Duan Bainian again?”

Su Miao instinctively denied it. “No.”

“Then why do you have a fever?”

Su Miao said impatiently, “I just caught a cold.”

Su Miao drank the water and fell back into a heavy sleep.

He Aizhi, however, could not fall back asleep.

Back then, it was out of heartache for Su Miao that she had compromised and allowed the two to date. She had thought that if it meant Su Miao could stay happy and healthy, she would accept it.

But looking at things now, not a single wish had been met.

She shouldn’t have softened her heart back then. No matter how much it hurt at the time, it would have been better than this—this slow, agonizing torment of Su Miao, cut by cut.

Duan Bainian hadn’t been busy lately; compared to the previous period, she could even be considered idle.

Because of that scandal, He Aizhi had turned down many of her less important activities. She said they should try to keep a low profile to give netizens time to forget the incident.

Duan Bainian never raised any objections to He Aizhi’s arrangements; she only needed to do as she was told.

As for the plan to establish her own studio, it had to be temporarily shelved.

Since things couldn’t get much worse, Duan Bainian actually became quite calm.

She flipped through her phone and noticed that Su Miao hadn’t sent her a message in several days.

During this time, Su Miao had frequently forwarded internet jokes to her, trying to make her happy.

Aside from the jokes, Su Miao hadn’t said a single word, so Duan Bainian had never replied with a single word.

She clicked on her chat log with Su Miao and found that Su Miao hadn’t forwarded a joke in four days.

After thinking for a moment, she sent a message to Su Miao: “Are you still with the crew? My mood has improved a bit these past two days, and I’m quite free. How about I go see you tomorrow?”

Duan Bainian waited until dark, but she never received a reply from Su Miao. Just as she was wondering why Su Miao wasn’t responding, she heard a knock at the door.

Could it be Su Miao? Did she intentionally not reply to give her a surprise?

Thinking this, Duan Bainian couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile.

Duan Bainian opened the door. Standing there was He Aizhi.

Duan Bainian was full of surprise. “Auntie, why are you here?”

He Aizhi’s brow furrowed slightly. “I came to discuss something with you.”

Duan Bainian had a faint sense of foreboding, but she stepped aside to let He Aizhi in.

He Aizhi sat on the sofa near the door and got straight to the point. “I hope you will break up with Su Miao.”

Duan Bainian was stunned. “Auntie, you heard that Su Miao and I had a conflict, right? Don’t worry, we were just playing around. We quarrel and then we make up.”

He Aizhi was full of mockery. “Playing around? Then do you know that because of what you call ‘playing around,’ Su Miao is currently on an IV drip?”

Duan Bainian said hurriedly, “She’s sick? Is it serious?”

He Aizhi’s brow remained tightly knit. “No matter what her condition is, she doesn’t need you to worry about her anymore. I came today to make things clear and to terminate your contract.”

He Aizhi took several sheets of paper from her bag. “I’ve brought the termination agreement. Sign it, and then don’t contact Su Miao ever again.”

Duan Bainian didn’t have much of a reaction to the contract termination; after all, she had planned to find time to talk to He Aizhi about it recently anyway.

But as for breaking up with Su Miao, she truly couldn’t stay calm.

She glanced at the contract. “Terminating the contract is fine, but I can’t do the part about not contacting Su Miao. Auntie, I really don’t understand. Why must you insist on breaking up a couple? Do you really think I’m that terrible?”

He Aizhi sneered. “Duan Bainian, Su Miao is immature, but are you immature too?”

Duan Bainian forced a smile. “Auntie, I don’t know what you mean.”

He Aizhi took a deep breath to suppress the anger in her heart. “Before, I assumed you truly liked Su Miao and would treat her well, so I compromised. But now? Su Miao is crying because of you every few days, and she’s even fallen ill. Duan Bainian, is this the ‘liking’ you speak of?”

“Yes, Su Miao is a bit mindless, but you can’t just bully her recklessly just because she likes you, can you? Even putting aside whether you truly like her or not, based on the film and television resources I’ve given you, shouldn’t you at least treat her a bit better? You should have some professional integrity, shouldn’t you? You took the resources, yet you still treat Su Miao poorly?”

Duan Bainian’s nails dug into her palms. “You think I’m only dating Su Miao because of the resources?”

Seeing Duan Bainian’s face turn flush red, He Aizhi realized her words might have been a bit too harsh.

She didn’t actually think Duan Bainian was dating Su Miao for resources; having been in contact with Duan Bainian for so long, she knew Duan Bainian wasn’t that kind of person.

However, as a businesswoman, she had unilaterally made a deal with Duan Bainian in her heart. As long as Duan Bainian could make Su Miao happy, she could give Duan Bainian everything she had. But if Duan Bainian made her daughter unhappy, she would naturally take back everything she had given.

These thoughts were her true feelings, but they were obviously not suitable to be brought out into the open.

Seeing Duan Bainian become agitated, He Aizhi wanted to explain; it wasn’t her intention to hurt Duan Bainian.

However, in the moment she opened her mouth, He Aizhi changed her mind.

Perhaps, the more excessive her words were, the more decisively Duan Bainian would break things off?

He Aizhi organized her thoughts and spoke unhurriedly, “Aren’t you that kind of person? You could accompany people for drinks for the sake of resources; what does dating Su Miao count for?”

Duan Bainian looked at He Aizhi as if she had been pricked by a needle, saying in disbelief, “You’ve always thought that? I told you the truth behind that video of me accompanying people for drinks.”

He Aizhi regained her usual elegant and steady demeanor. “There’s no point in saying these things. I believe the resources I’ve given you over these past two years are enough. I hope you know when to quit while you’re ahead.”

Duan Bainian stared fixedly at He Aizhi. After a moment, she took the contract and signed it.

He Aizhi carefully put the contract away and got up to leave.

The moment she stepped out of the door, she looked back at Duan Bainian with a complex expression. “I’m sorry, Bainian.”