The sun came out today. The pale golden sunlight covered the yard, adding a bit of warmth to this winter afternoon.
Su Jialan was sitting in a wheelchair, looking at the flowers and plants in the yard.
Xiao Yanzhi was about to go in with Jiang Li, but she stopped him.
She winked at him. "I want to talk to Mrs. Su alone. Will you wait for me in the living room?"
"Don't you need me to accompany you?" Xiao Yanzhi asked her.
Jiang Li nodded.
Maybe Su Jialan had something to say to her alone.
And she felt the same way.
There was still unmelted snow in the corner of the garden. All the plants had entered hibernation, waiting to sprout and grow again next year.
"Mrs. Su."
Su Jialan looked back at her, then slowly turned the wheelchair around to face her.
"You still like to trim these flowers and plants into the same shape."
Jiang Li walked over, smiling slightly. She held the wheelchair with both hands. "The weather is nice today. Let me take you for a walk?"
Su Jialan sized up Jiang Li.
Her expression was neither overbearing nor humble. The smile on her face was just right, showing respect for the elder but not completely submissive. It was more like a polite kind of respect.
Anyway, there was absolutely no flattery or obsequiousness.
Actually, Su Jialan didn't dislike Jiang Li. What she disliked were those petty thoughts of trying to change one's fate by marrying into a wealthy family.
But she couldn't find such a shadow in Jiang Li.
She was more like a flower standing proudly in the heavy snow. Even if the temperature was extremely low, she would never lower her head.
She had an innate sense of pride.
After walking about half - a - circle around the garden, Su Jialan finally spoke softly. "What are your plans for the future?"
She was asking about the future of Jiang Li and Xiao Yanzhi.
Hearing Su Jialan take the initiative to talk, Jiang Li stopped. "I should continue acting."
"For how many years do you plan to act?"
Jiang Li thought for a moment and said with a smile. "I'll keep acting until I'm out of fashion and no one wants to watch me anymore."
Su Jialan was silent for a while, then said again. "It's good to have ambition, but a woman's focus should gradually return to her family in the end. You're still young now. After you get married and have children, after a few years..."
"Mrs. Su," Jiang Li interrupted her. "Can I ask you a question?"
"... Go ahead."
"Was your ambition to be a housewife taking care of your husband and children when you were studying? Or was the content of your composition about 'My Ideal' when you were a child to be a virtuous wife and good mother praised by others?"
Su Jialan was at a loss for words for a moment.
When Jiang Li had coldly said before that she wasn't interested in marrying into the Xiao family, Su Jialan had known that Jiang Li had a kind of lofty spirit. But she didn't expect her to ask such a question directly.
It was a bit straightforward, but not too offensive.
"Of course not..."
Su Jialan recalled for a couple of seconds and said with a tug of her lips. "But that was just a wild fantasy when I was young. It's enough to think about it occasionally."
"Because your dream was to be a florist or open a flower shop. Anyway, you wanted to be with fresh flowers every day. But such a dream wasn't acceptable to the Su family?"
Su Jialan was stunned.
She had never said anything like this, nor had she ever mentioned it to anyone. But Jiang Li had guessed it right.
"Who told you?"
"I just guessed. Did I guess right?"
Su Jialan didn't answer.
Jiang Li smiled slightly and pointed at those flower pots of various sizes. "You like to play with these potted plants so much. Even when your body was in trouble, you never neglected them."
"What is the ideal of a seed?" Jiang Li seemed to be asking and also talking to herself. "Her dream should be to germinate and bloom, to stretch out her leaves, to enjoy the sunshine and dew - surely it shouldn't be to think about spreading seeds from the very beginning."
"The education and family influence you received since childhood have shaped your concepts and thoughts. There's actually nothing wrong with that. But you shouldn't stand on your own position to deny another kind of life."
"Everyone has the right to choose. One can choose to be a star, a florist, or a virtuous wife and good mother. There's no so - called correct answer among these options."
"No one stipulates that a woman must be a virtuous wife and a kind mother. A woman can be anything. She can have her own career, dreams, and hobbies as long as she likes."
She looked at Su Jialan. "Similarly, a man can also have his own hobbies and dreams, such as being a painter."
"If you pull out a bird's wings and stubbornly make it walk like a human, this isn't love. This is imprisonment. This is forcing it to gradually lose hope."
Su Jialan was in a daze for a moment.
She finally understood why the son she had educated from childhood to adulthood would turn against her regardless of everything for a woman.
Because Xiao Yanzhi had said exactly the same thing to her.
When it came to his education, he had also rebelliously roared at her that she was pulling out his wings and making him a puppet at others' mercy.
No wonder he loved her.
Su Jialan was quiet for a long time, as if carefully savoring what she had said.
"For more than forty years, this is the first time someone has talked to me about these topics." Su Jialan took a deep breath. Her smile was a bit forced. "To be honest, my thinking is really a bit rigid."
In her more than forty - year life experience, there had really never been a similar experience, let alone realizing any dreams.
But Jiang Li was completely different from her.
She lived freely. She was chasing her own career and enjoying it.
That was an experience that Su Jialan had never had in her entire life.
"I'm old," she finally sighed. "You're right. At my age, I should also let go and enjoy the relaxation that I should have at this age."
Following her words, Jiang Li asked with a smile. "Do you want me to open a flower shop for you? I can go and help often."
...
When they came out of the garden, Su Jialan said she was a bit sleepy. They also didn't plan to stay for dinner.
When they were about to leave, Su Jialan specifically told Xiao Yanzhi. "I won't urge you on other things. You two should get married as soon as possible. Let the rest take its natural course."
Jiang Li smiled. She knew that Su Jialan had compromised.
Since they hadn't announced it to the public yet, Su Jialan didn't know that Jiang Li was the biological daughter of Sheng Shuocheng. She asked. "Do you have any other relatives? Make an appointment sometime. Our two families can sit down and talk about the engagement."
Jiang Li was stunned for a moment and immediately looked back at Xiao Yanzhi.
"Mom, I forgot to tell you," Xiao Yanzhi said with a smile as he glanced at Jiang Li. "Lili has found her biological parents."
...
Su Jialan was extremely shocked. She said she needed to calm down and quickly drove them away.
Jiang Li was laughing uncontrollably in the car. She also said that Xiao Yanzhi was so tight - lipped that he didn't even tell his own mother.
Xiao Yanzhi said calmly. "If I had told her in advance, you would have minded whether she really liked you or just accepted you because of Director Sheng's status."