Chapter 1: So What?

Summer.

The night carried a faint chill.

"Hello… Su Ning? This is Yi'er's mother."

A woman's voice came through the phone — not particularly pleasant.

The distance of the call gave it a mechanical, almost cold edge.

"Hello, Auntie Su." Su Ning's tone was calm and even.

"I heard you and Yi'er had another falling out???" Auntie Su's voice carried a note of accusation.

This woman was his would-be mother-in-law — or more precisely, his former would-be mother-in-law. After he and Su Yi broke up, that title no longer applied.

"I'm not trying to be harsh, but you're almost thirty. No car, no house, no savings — how do you expect me to feel comfortable handing Yi'er over to you?" The woman on the other end of the line grew more agitated with every word.

Su Ning listened in silence.

He didn't know how to respond.

Most people would fall silent at a question like that.

Money is a strange thing. The harder you try to hold onto it, the more it slips through your fingers — sometimes leaving you buried in debt.

No matter how hard you work, you end up getting cut down like a crop of leeks, over and over again.

Su Ning was certain he had tried his hardest, and yet he was still flat broke.

Four or five thousand a month — food, rent, utilities, transportation, the occasional small gift for a holiday…

And somehow, inexplicably, the money was always gone.

A salary that seemed perfectly calibrated to keep you alive — nothing more, nothing less.

That was the cruel joke of reality.

It was as if some invisible hand had decided you were allowed just enough to eat and breathe, but never a single yuan more.

"Tell me — no money, nothing to your name — what gives you the right to marry my daughter? Can she be happy with you? What kind of material foundation can you even provide her?!" The woman's voice continued its relentless interrogation.

The words stung.

"I'm not being materialistic. Go ask anyone on the street — who would hand their daughter over to a man with nothing? Or think about it this way… if you had a daughter someday, would you give her to someone just like yourself?"

Su Ning remained silent.

Because he knew she wasn't wrong. He had no rebuttal.

"Still… Yi'er has had it hard these years being with you. Thank you for putting up with her." The woman's tone softened slightly.

"I know you're a good person — someone worth entrusting a life to."

"How about this: your uncle and I have saved up a little nest egg over the years. We'll transfer it to you shortly. Use it to buy a place, or at least put down a deposit. Once you have a home, we can rest easy." Those words sent a pang through Su Ning's chest.

"Auntie Su… Su Yi and I have already broken up. There's no need for that…" Su Ning forced the words out with difficulty.

"What do you mean broken up? It's just a little spat! That foolish girl has been spoiled rotten by you — always throwing tantrums. When she gets home, I'll break her legs!" Auntie Su's voice rose with indignation.

"We don't accept this breakup. You're our son-in-law, and that's final — you're practically our own son!"

"Auntie Su, I'm sorry… our situation is more complicated than you think. This time, I'm afraid it really can't go on." It was clear from Su Ning's voice that this wasn't a joke.

Auntie Su picked up on it immediately.

"Xiao Ning, don't do anything rash… let me call that girl and give her a piece of my mind. If she dares throw away such a good son-in-law, I'll wring her neck!"

"Auntie Su, please don't—" Before Su Ning could finish, the line went dead.

He stared at his phone screen.

Su Ning stood there for a long time, and finally let out a helpless sigh.

"Haah…"

A bittersweet feeling settled in his chest.

His former would-be mother-in-law — sharp tongue, soft heart. Her whole family had always treated him well. So well that there was a time Su Ning had thought of them as his second home.

But… from now on, he and Yi'er were truly finished.

Su Yi shared his surname.

Their feelings for each other had begun back in high school — a shy, uncertain kind of love. High school… university… then out into the working world…

Eleven years together.

In that time, they had been through so much.

Beautiful memories, bitter arguments.

Too much to put into words… and yet, when he closed his eyes, it all came flooding back.

But that was the past now.

They say that as time goes on, a man's feelings only deepen, while a woman's heart grows more clear-eyed and practical. A woman's love doesn't accumulate the way a man's does.

Once she matures, her choices are guided less by emotion and more by a careful weighing of gains and losses — always reaching for something better.

And so, Su Ning and Su Yi had drifted further and further apart.

Su Ning never blamed anyone.

Matters of the heart were beyond his control — and so was another person's growth.

As Su Yi herself had said: some things are simply not meant to be.

Of course, that was only one reason Su Ning refused to look back.

There was another reason.

He was dying.

ALS — sometimes called the "undying cancer" — in its late stages.

He had no idea how much time he had left. A month, maybe? Three months?

If luck wasn't on his side, perhaps just a week.

How could he, in good conscience, drag another person down with him?

"Ha… when it rains, it pours." Su Ning laughed bitterly at himself.

Ding.

"Transfer received from Auntie Su…"

An odd, specific amount.

Attached message: [Xiao Ning, don't listen to whatever Yi'er says. I'll talk some sense into her. Keep the money for now.]

[Honestly, a person like you — if she doesn't treasure you, who will she ever treasure?]

"Well… at least the world isn't entirely cold and heartless." Su Ning felt a little better.

Auntie Su's family truly treated him like their own.

He had not let them down in that regard.

He declined the transfer.

[Refund successful…]

Su Ning sent the money back, and fearing Auntie Su would send it again, he blocked her number.

Now that they had broken up, he could accept it even less.

That was their hard-earned money — the savings of a lifetime.

After learning of his illness, Su Ning had quit his job and returned home without delay.

To enjoy his final days in peace.

His parents had passed away long ago. When he thought about it… there wasn't much left in this world that tied him down.

Ding.

Another message on his phone.

He thought it was Auntie Su, but it wasn't.

Uncle [Su Jianguo]: "Xiao Ning, Auntie Su just called and said you and Su Yi seem to have had some trouble. You've been keeping that girl waiting for so many years — that's not really fair to her.

We heard that getting married these days is quite an ordeal — buying a car, buying a house and all that. We haven't saved up much over the years, but see if this can help you out a little…"

Attached was a transfer of over thirty thousand yuan from his uncle.

After his parents passed, Uncle's family had raised him as one of their own.

Auntie Su's family. Uncle's family.

Su Ning's heart trembled without end.

"I'm sorry… you've all been so good to me. If I'd had the chance, I should have found a way to repay you properly. But… I'm sorry…" Su Ning murmured quietly to himself.

He sent his uncle's money back as well.

He had considered telling them about his illness, but after a long hesitation, he pushed the thought aside.

"Forget it. Telling them won't change anything — it'll only make them worry. Let it be."

"Facing it alone isn't so bad."

He hadn't even told Su Yi.

Since they were breaking up, he would make it a clean break.

Let her go live the life she wanted.

And as for me…

Whatever bitterness there is, I'll swallow it myself. No need to burden others with needless grief.

Su Ning was, in truth, desperate — part of him longed for someone to share the weight. But he also hated the idea of being a burden. Sometimes he found himself wondering if there was some place he could go to die without troubling anyone at all.

This wasn't weakness.

It was simply who he had always been.

He never wanted to be a burden.

After a long while of thought, he concluded that no matter where he died, it would affect someone.

So he might as well return to his old country cottage, wait quietly for death to come, and enjoy whatever beauty remained in his final days.

He could tidy up the house when he felt like it, clear the weeds from the yard, tend a small garden, brew some tea, eat the things he loved, do the things he enjoyed…

That didn't sound so bad.

"I wonder if I'll even live long enough to eat what I plant.

Maybe I'll be gone before any of it grows.

But… so what?"

Proofreader & Editor: Fat Goose 🪶