The ex-wife of a former CEO regrets resigning to raise her child and retire from public life.

Chapter 177 From Beginning to End... There Was Only One Thing

"No, we didn't have a fight."

Su Chen continued Xing Ruo's words, his voice carrying an undisguised hoarseness.

His two right hands were haphazardly mixing the fine foam in the sink.

Water splashed onto the surrounding tiles, but Su Chen's two reddened fingers continued to entangle and grope underwater.

My throat is so dry.

"I just went over and yelled at him a couple of times, then I came back."

Xingruo listened from the side, somewhat bewildered. She blinked her big eyes, her delicate eyelashes trembling slightly in her eye sockets, and tilted her head to one side in confusion.

I once gave someone a severe scolding... Doesn't that count as arguing?

But Xingruo is, after all, a gentle and thoughtful girl.

Looking at that profile filled with regret and pain, I hesitated for a moment before voicing my inner complaints and doubts.

She didn't waste time arguing with the bewildered Su Chen about this pointless argument, and quietly replied, "I see. So... do you feel better now?"

The tap was still running.

As those words fell, a heavy silence once again enveloped the two of them tightly.

However, Su Chen seemed to fall into a deeper and more inescapable state of self-doubt and self-blame after hearing this gentle question.

He gripped the greasy porcelain bowl tightly, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.

Finally, it seemed he had been holding it in for too long and could no longer contain himself.

"Xingruo... there are some things I've struggled with in my heart for a long time."

While washing, Su Chen's hoarse voice suddenly rang out:

"When I was very young, my relationship with Su Ang... was actually really good."

Su Chen's right hand remained motionless in the pool, his eyes somewhat vacant, staring at the thick foam, his voice extremely slow:

"Once, also on a rainy day, I was throwing a tantrum on the grass because I failed to make a wooden windmill. I cried and shouted that I never wanted to touch that piece of junk again."

Back then... it was Su Ang standing behind me, telling me: "Be patient. He said setbacks are a part of life; falling down isn't scary. As long as you get back up, you'll always see the windmill turning in the wind one day."

Su Chen took a deep breath and gave a self-deprecating snort:

"But later, Su Ang's business acumen was discovered."

He was taken in by my old man for training, and he spends every day with a bunch of cunning old foxes whose hearts have been corrupted by greed.

Gradually, he changed. He became blinded by greed, and extremely arrogant and concerned with saving face.

"He was a consistent winner in the business world, almost never losing, and always had a smooth journey."

At this point, Su Chen bitterly tugged at his shirt collar:

"And me? Because of that experience of making a windmill when I was a child, I became hopelessly fascinated by wood carving."

Furthermore, I genuinely lack Su Ang's shrewd business acumen. In the Su family's opulent mansion, where profit always reigns supreme, my parents, my brother, and even everyone on the board of directors believed I was always neglecting my duties.

"This time, Su Ang mobilized thirteen chain stores overnight to target 'Human Fireworks' because he felt that I, the second young master of the Su family, was disgracing the Su family by working as a waiter who served dishes and wiped tables."

Su Chen closed his eyes in pain, his hands gripping the edge of the pool tightly.

"Regarding this... I've always felt sorry for everyone."

"If it weren't for me, this good-for-nothing second young master, 'Human Fireworks,' Brother Chen, you, Mengmeng, and these old neighbors wouldn't have encountered so many accidents."

"Brother Su Chen, don't say that..." Xing Ruo's eyes were full of heartache when she heard this, and she was about to say a few words of comfort.

"But... I'm also quite selfish."

Su Chen interrupted her, his eyes slightly moist:

"Today... when I saw Su Ang slumped back in his chair, completely dejected, I couldn't bear to watch him fall into such a state of despair."

I want to give him a good scolding to wake him up and make him stand up again!

"But after I finished yelling and turned around to walk back, I felt more and more uneasy and anxious."

Su Chen's right hand stirred up a large splash of water in the pool, as he growled awkwardly:

"If that madman Su Ang really recovers and uses even more despicable and terrifying methods against 'Human Fireworks' because of my two words... then I, Su Chen, will be the biggest sinner on this old street, the most deserving accomplice to be punished by heaven!!"

"Brother Chen is very perceptive. He probably knew from the beginning that I was going to do this, but he didn't ask a single question just now."

Su Chen turned his head, looking at Xing Ruo with guilt, his voice extremely hoarse:

"I feel extremely awkward."

I actually wish Brother Chen had just given me a good scolding, or even kicked me out! But... I truly can't bear to part with everyone, I can't bear to part with Brother Chen, I can't bear to part with you and Mengmeng!

The guilt and awkwardness that had been bottled up inside him poured out in front of the sink. Su Chen leaned against the edge of the sink, completely exhausted, panting heavily.

After listening to Su Chen's outburst, Xingruo stared intently at the pool with her clear, spring-like eyes.

She gently placed the washed bowl on the drainer, her two small, fair hands gently and confidently clasped together in front of her.

Her delicate face showed no wavering at that moment, only a pure and unwavering belief.

Xingruo lowered her head and thought for a moment, then replied firmly:

"Brother Su Chen, you're overthinking it."

"Master...Master definitely wouldn't care about these things."

Xingruo's beautiful voice had just landed.

"Snap—"

Chen Feng was seen leaning against the edge of the door frame.

His expression was calm, and there was no trace of blame in his eyes, only a profound sense of tolerance and magnanimity, as heavy as a mountain.

As Chen Feng pulled a rag from his apron pocket, he spoke naturally:

"What's there to feel guilty about?"

"Su Chen, Xingruo is right. Does the iron pot in my hand, Chen Feng, not hold your brother's petty schemes?"

Chen Feng calmly met Su Chen's red and astonished eyes, and said, word by word:

"Even without Su Ang today, without your brother's so-called blockade."

"In this area, tomorrow and the day after, there will always be Li Ang, Zhang Ang, and all sorts of Angs coming over to pull strings, throwing money around to try and establish some kind of capital monopoly. That's how business is in this world; it doesn't care about the people around you, it only cares about the capital broth. It's just a matter of time."

Chen Feng tilted his head slightly, his somewhat weathered face bearing a domineering air of confidence:

"What we have to do, from beginning to end... is only one thing."

"That is, to cook our meals right here at this stove."

"To place every bowl of steaming hot, delicious food on the table... to fill the hearts and stomachs of every diner who walks in!!"