I Love Her Because She’s Dim-Witted And Filthy Rich - Chapter 54

Su Miao subconsciously wiped her nose; sure enough, it was blood.

She said embarrassedly, “It’s too dry here, I don’t know why my nose started bleeding all of a sudden.”

Seeing that Duan Bainian remained silent, she added an explanation, “I really wasn’t because I was looking at those girls!”

Duan Bainian sighed, got out of the car, and helped Su Miao apply pressure to stop the bleeding.

After a moment, seeing that Su Miao’s nose was no longer bleeding, the two got back into the car and continued on their way to buy moisturizing spray.

After purchasing the spray, the two continued their journey.

In the afternoon, they passed a temple. Su Miao clamored to go inside to make a wish and light butter lamps.

Duan Bainian said helplessly, “You actually believe in this?”

Su Miao said seriously, “If you believe it, it exists. I believe in cause and effect and reincarnation.”

Duan Bainian smiled, “Alright then, go ahead.”

Watching Su Miao slowly walk past the prayer wheels, then light a butter lamp with a face full of piety before putting her hands together in prayer with great formality, Duan Bainian followed suit and lit a butter lamp as well.

Coming out of the temple, Duan Bainian asked tenderly, “What wish did you just make?”

Su Miao said guardedly, “I can’t say that, can I? If I say it, it won’t come true.”

Duan Bainian said amusingly, “Did the gods make such an agreement with you?”

Su Miao curled her lip, “Forget it if you don’t believe me. Anyway, I’m not saying it.”

Duan Bainian blinked, “What I wished for was that the two of us can keep each other company for a lifetime.”

Su Miao cried out in panic, “Oh no! Why did you say it out loud! It won’t work now that you’ve said it!”

Duan Bainian patted Su Miao’s head, “Don’t worry, if the gods truly intend to protect us, they certainly won’t care about that.”

Su Miao said with annoyance, “You’re so annoying, I don’t even want to talk to you anymore!”

Duan Bainian made a gesture of stepping back, “You don’t? Fine then, I’ll leave first. You stay here for a couple of days, and I’ll pick you up when I come back.”

Su Miao jogged to catch up with the person in front, “You want me to stay here just because you said so? I won’t!”

As she spoke, she slipped into the car, “I’m going to follow you.”

Duan Bainian suppressed a smile, “Then follow along.”

The sky was very blue, the clouds very white, the road very winding, and the wind very surging.

Along the way, the two checked in at Chaka Salt Lake, Emerald Lake, Ghost City, and the No-Man’s Land Highway.

On the evening of the third day, they arrived at Dunhuang.

Su Miao still had a deep memory of that trip to Dunhuang two years ago.

She and Duan Bainian had eaten their way through the Shazhou Night Market from start to finish, went to see a performance, and even met a staff member who was a “CP fan” (shipper).

At that time, she and Duan Bainian had not yet confirmed their relationship, and every day she struggled between saying yes or no.

Now, arriving in Dunhuang again, a feeling Su Miao couldn’t quite describe rose in her heart—partly nostalgic, and partly expectant.

Upon arriving at the pre-booked hotel, the two put down their backpacks and prepared to head out to find something to eat.

As they passed the front desk, Duan Bainian casually asked, “Do you know where there’s good food nearby? Somewhere with good reviews.”

The receptionist said enthusiastically, “Are you going to eat now? You two could go to the desert camping; there’s good food, a bonfire party, and you can see the stars at night.”

Su Miao exclaimed in wonder, “Watching stars in the desert? How romantic!”

The receptionist chimed in, “It’s definitely very romantic! Do you two want to go check it out?”

Su Miao nodded, “Yes, yes, yes!”

Beside her, Duan Bainian was practically speechless with criticism; the hard-selling receptionist must truly love “silly” customers like Su Miao.

The receptionist smiled, “Then you two can pay the fee. I’ll call them now to arrange for someone to pick you up.”

Only now did Su Miao remember she hadn’t asked for Duan Bainian’s opinion, so she turned to the person beside her and asked, “Should we go?”

The expectation in Su Miao’s eyes was so obvious that Duan Bainian didn’t have the heart to refuse, “Let’s go.”

As she spoke, Duan Bainian paid the money.

Duan Bainian thought for a moment, “We’ll drive there ourselves later; there’s no need to send someone to pick us up.”

The receptionist agreed, “Alright, then I’ll leave you a phone number. If you can’t find the place, give us a call.”

After going out and getting into the car, Duan Bainian slapped Su Miao on the head, “How can you believe whatever anyone says? ‘Romantic’? Do you think there are stars tonight?”

Su Miao instinctively looked out, only to find that the sky had turned overcast at some point, with layer upon layer of gray clouds.

Su Miao said disappointedly, “Why did it turn cloudy!”

Duan Bainian continued to twist the knife, “In a tourist city like this, places recommended by the front desk—you just wait to be scammed.”

Su Miao said unconvinced, “That lady looked very kind, I don’t think she would scam us.”

Duan Bainian smiled, too lazy to argue further.

Following the navigation, they drove out of the city for a good while and passed through a village before finding the camping site.

It wasn’t peak season yet, but the place was still very lively.

One side near the village was an open-air restaurant, and the other side was the desert where many people were sandboarding.

Su Miao immediately became excited, “Let’s go play too!”

So Duan Bainian accompanied Su Miao to go sandboarding. Within a few steps, her shoes were full of sand.

Su Miao giggled, “It’s so itchy.”

Two hours of climbing the sand, two minutes of sliding down.

After playing just once, Su Miao sat on the ground with a thud, exhausted, “Not playing anymore, not playing anymore. Let’s just wait to eat.”

The campsite provided hot pot.

To avoid being recognized, the two specifically found a corner to sit in. As darkness fell, no one could see anyone else clearly.

After having hot pot, the campsite organized a bonfire party.

In the center, the flames of the bonfire drifted recklessly upward, painting everyone’s faces bright red.

Firelight flashed in Su Miao’s eyes. She pulled Duan Bainian along, stepping unsteadily into the fine sand, jumping and dancing with the crowd.

Duan Bainian usually didn’t like these things, but Su Miao was dancing so wholeheartedly that she could only join in.

At this moment, the campsite was like a small world of its own.

Surrounding them was endless darkness, with only the passionate and bright bonfire here.

Every person here had temporarily forgotten their troubles, immersing themselves in the brief revelry.

At the final moment of the carnival, fireworks bloomed across the sky. One after another, colorful fireworks burst open, lighting up the entire desert.

A moment later, the fireworks burned out. Watching the sky fall back into darkness, Su Miao said sadly, “Fireworks are so brief. If only they could burn forever.”

Duan Bainian said, “If they could burn forever, you wouldn’t think they were beautiful anymore.”

Not far away, the campsite was already distributing camping tents. Su Miao stepped forward to take a look and was a bit disgusted, “They feel so dirty. Let’s just go back to the hotel to sleep.”

Duan Bainian teased, “Not watching the stars anymore?”

Su Miao looked at the sky disappointedly, “There are no stars.”

Duan Bainian smiled, “Alright then, back to the hotel.”

Returning to the hotel before nine o’clock, Su Miao couldn’t sleep, so she casually scrolled through Weibo.

She inexplicably scrolled onto a post from a marketing account.

[Eating Melons Come to Me]: A netizen broke the news that Duan Bainian has terminated her contract with Nanyang  Entertainment. I heard it was because the boss of Nanyang  Entertainment was dissatisfied with the news of Duan Bainian accompanying someone for drinks a while ago. No wonder Duan Bainian’s activities have decreased a lot lately.

Su Miao complained, “These marketing accounts really say anything nowadays. They actually said you terminated your contract with my mom. With our relationship, how could you possibly terminate the contract?”

Beside her, Duan Bainian, who was applying a facial mask, froze and didn’t speak.

Su Miao continued, “I’ll tell my mom later to send lawyer’s letters to these marketing accounts. They’re always talking nonsense!”

Duan Bainian was silent for a moment and said, “It actually has been terminated.”

Su Miao’s eyes widened as she looked at Duan Bainian. After a long while, she asked, “When was it terminated?”

Duan Bainian replied, “The last time your mom came to find me.”

Su Miao said anxiously, “Why did you want to terminate it? Isn’t it good for you to stay here?”

Duan Bainian smiled, “I want to try going out on my own.”

Su Miao was both angry and anxious, “You call me stupid every day! I think you’re the stupid one! Staying here, all the good resources are yours. If you go out and do it yourself, how hard will it be to find resources!”

Being poked in her sore spot, Duan Bainian suddenly became somewhat irritable, “You think if I go out on my own, I won’t be able to get good resources?”

Su Miao quickly explained, “That’s not what I meant. I’m saying, you could obviously have things easier, why bother yourself? At Nanyang , my mom can give you more resources!”

Mentioning He Aizhi was fine, but once He Aizhi was brought up, Duan Bainian felt as if she was about to explode.

He Aizhi’s words from that day repeated in her ears over and over, constantly reminding her of how cheap she was in He Aizhi’s eyes.

She irritably ripped off the facial mask, “Anyway, I don’t want to stay there anymore.”

Su Miao asked, “But why?! I think the resources my mom gave you were all very good!”

Duan Bainian endured and endured, but finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. “The resources your mom gave me—weren’t they all given because of your face? So what? If I’m on good terms with you, I get good resources, and if I have a conflict with you, my resources get cut? What am I? Do I live by looking at your face for a meal?”

Su Miao froze. She didn’t know such a thing was happening; she had always thought her mother prioritized giving the best resources to Duan Bainian.

She said in a small voice, “When I go back, I’ll talk to my mom properly and tell her not to cut your resources randomly. And… we’re in a relationship now, so you and my mom are like family. My mom will definitely treat you as well as she treats me. There must be some misunderstanding. Wait a moment, I’ll call my mom later and once it’s cleared up, it’ll be fine.”

Duan Bainian suddenly laughed at the sound of that. “Su Miao, how can you be so naive?”

Su Miao was somewhat confused.

She didn’t understand what was wrong with what she said. Why did Duan Bainian’s expression look as if she had just told a joke?

She said helplessly, “I really think that way. Just wait for me to talk to my mom properly, it can definitely be solved.”

Duan Bainian turned her head to one side, no longer responding to Su Miao.

Su Miao hurriedly unlocked her phone, stuttering, “You… don’t disbelieve me. I’ll… I’ll call my mom right now!”

Perhaps out of anger at her own powerlessness, or perhaps out of hatred for Su Miao’s naivety, Duan Bainian snatched the phone away. Her long-accumulated grievances gushed out.

“Su Miao, I am not you.”

“Having such a powerful mother is your luck. Even if you only learned the multiplication table in the fifth grade, you could still debut as the female lead.”

“I am different from you. No matter how good my acting is, she still has to consider the output-to-input ratio before deciding whether to give me resources.”

“She is your mother, not mine. She and I will never become true family.”

Su Miao’s head was buzzing. Her mind was filled with “multiplication table.”

So, Duan Bainian also thought she wasn’t a normal person? All that talk about liking how she only learned the multiplication table in the fifth grade was just to coax her…

Frames of images began to flash before her eyes.

On a rainy night, under orange-yellow lights, her father and mother were arguing in the living room.

“She’s already been diagnosed with ADHD. The doctor also said her learning would be different from others. Of course we need to have another son, so he can take care of her in the future!”

“She’s not really stupid, she’s just not very good at studying. And didn’t the doctor say she’ll get much better when she grows up, and there won’t be any difference from a normal person? She doesn’t need a younger brother to take care of her.”

“Just keep being stubborn! She’s in the fifth grade and still can’t recite the multiplication table. If that’s not stupid, what is? If word gets out that the Su family has a stupid daughter, even I would be embarrassed!”

“She is your biological daughter! How can you say that about your own daughter? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?”

“Anyway, I’m laying it out here. If you’re willing to give birth, then do it. If you’re not, let’s get a divorce. I can’t just have one ‘idiot’.”

The images in her memory became clear bit by bit.

The anger on her father’s face was exactly the same as the anger on the person in front of her right now.

So, Duan Bainian actually looked down on her too.

Being in a relationship with her must have been truly difficult for her.

Seeing Su Miao standing still as if in a trance, Duan Bainian was startled and hurriedly approached, “What’s wrong with you?”

Su Miao looked blankly at the person in front of her, “Nothing. I’m tired, I want to sleep.”

Having vented her frustration, Duan Bainian gradually calmed down and realized that what she had just said was a bit too much. “I’m sorry, I was too impulsive just now and spoke without thinking.”

Su Miao gave an “um,” “It’s okay, I’m sleepy, I’m going to sleep now.”

Seeing that Su Miao didn’t want to say more, Duan Bainian hesitated for a moment and then turned off the light. “Then sleep. If there are any problems, we’ll talk tomorrow.”

After the lights were out, Duan Bainian tossed and turned, unable to sleep. At some unknown point, she finally dozed off groggily.

When she woke up again, it was broad daylight.

She instinctively turned her head to look beside her; it was empty.

She immediately sat up, looked around, and found that all of Su Miao’s things were gone.

Duan Bainian sat blankly for a while, then got up to wash, and headed out.

As she passed the front desk downstairs, the auntie at the desk said warmly, “Why is it just you? Where is that cute little girl?”

Duan Bainian smiled, “She had something to do and left first.”

The auntie’s expression held some regret, “Such a cute girl, I was planning to give her some local specialties today.”

Duan Bainian nodded slightly and left the hotel.

After getting into the car, she didn’t move for a long time.

She didn’t know where she should go.

This trip was originally meant to accompany Su Miao. Now that Su Miao was gone, there was naturally no meaning in continuing.

She had thought about going straight back to Beijing to find Su Miao so they could have a good talk.

But no matter how they talked, the problem still couldn’t be solved.

She would still feel inferior and sensitive in front of He Aizhi; no matter how much they talked, she would remain that way.

Her phone suddenly rang, startling Duan Bainian. Seeing the caller ID, she became disappointed again.

It was just a landline number; it was probably an advertisement.

She answered the phone and heard the person on the other side say, “Yesterday you said you wanted to book a hotel, why haven’t you placed the order yet? I’m checking with you; if you don’t place the order soon, I won’t be able to hold it for you.”

She said disappointedly, “No need, let someone else stay there.”

Hanging up the phone, she decided to return the car in the city and then go back to Beijing.

It was eight o’clock at night when she returned to her apartment in Beijing.

Having not eaten all day, Duan Bainian felt her whole body was a bit weak.

She rummaged through the fridge and boiled a small bowl of noodles.

The room was extremely quiet; only the gurgling sound in the pot could be heard.

This apartment had finally returned to its original state.

No cat, and no Su Miao.