The Abandoned Daughter's Second Chance

Chapter 197: Chapter 184: Favoring One Over the Other

After the matter was concluded, Secretary Mo offered to arrange for a simple lunch so the leaders could at least have something warm to eat before they left. Citing a lack of time, Mr. Ye and Mr. Wang declined. Once an officer from the Public Security Bureau delivered a camera to them, they said their goodbyes to everyone and got into their car. The others saw this and followed suit, making some professional pleasantries before getting in their cars and leaving.

Tang Qingyun didn’t leave with them, nor did he ask anyone to stay. The leaders understood his mood and were tactful enough not to linger.

The moment the officials were all gone, Tang Yaxuan ran from Liu Fengying’s side and threw herself into Wu Xiaowen’s arms, wailing, "Mom! Mom..."

Her heart aching, Wu Xiaowen hugged her tightly. "My baby, my sweet daughter!"

Then, she said to Tang Qingyun, "Look how upset the poor child is. Dad, come and comfort her!"

Tang Yaxuan then rushed into Tang Qingyun’s arms. "Dad! You said I’d always be your daughter, that I’d never leave... WAHHH!"

Tang Qingyun stroked Xuanxuan’s hair. Seeing her face swollen from crying, he felt terrible too.

Mo Xiaoman watched coldly for a moment before pushing her way out of the crowd. She ran over to her Grandpa and Grandma, took her Grandma’s arm, and said, "Let’s go home."

"Well..." Grandpa began.

Grandma shot him a look. "Let’s go home. It’s time for lunch. This is other people’s business, we can’t do anything about it!"

The three of them walked home along the side of the road. Tang Haocheng rose onto his toes and, after a moment of thought, decided not to follow.

But Guan Ailan, Mo Linghui, and Mo Shuixia were waiting halfway down the road. They surrounded Xiao Man and asked anxiously, "Why are you back already? Shouldn’t you at least have waited until that Mo Yaxuan went home with Liu Fengying? Now that you’ve left, she’s just going to monopolize your real parents again, isn’t she?"

Xiao Man said, "My birth parents dote on someone else, not me. What can I do? You saw it for yourselves. They barely even looked at me. They were just waiting there for Mo Yaxuan to run back to them! All that hugging and crying... I can’t take it. If any of you can, and if you’ve got the skill to win them over, then you can have that pair of parents!"

"I wouldn’t want them even if you gave them to me!" Mo Shuixia said.

Mo Linghui clicked her tongue. "She’s right. What kind of parents are they, anyway!"

Guan Ailan stomped her foot. "How about I go and ask them what they think they’re doing? Does the decision from the brigade headquarters even count for anything anymore?"

"Oh, come on. Do you have nothing better to do?" Xiao Man replied. "School starts the day after tomorrow. We need to go back tomorrow, so let’s hurry up and pack!"

"Ah, what’s there to pack? It’s not like we have much stuff," one of them said. "There’s no hurry. Registration is the day after tomorrow, so we can just head back on the day."

The girls huddled together, muttering for a bit, before dispersing to their own homes for lunch.

Meanwhile, Tang Qingyun turned around and realized Xiao Man had disappeared. "Where’s Manman?" he asked urgently. "I don’t know," Wu Xiaowen replied. "She was right here a moment ago. This is her village, she won’t get lost, will she?"

Tang Haocheng pointed toward the east end of the road. "Sister went home with Grandpa and Grandma. Dad, Mom, let’s go too!"

Tang Qingyun nodded, but Wu Xiaowen said, "I don’t think that’s a good idea. We’ll just make the old folks uncomfortable. Besides, those village courtyards are so dirty and messy, with chickens and ducks running everywhere... Is that Xiao Feng in the car? Have him drive over and pick up Manman. Then we can go straight back to Wancheng. The doctor left with Mr. Ye’s group, and Xuanxuan is sick. We can’t let her stay in the countryside for too long!"

"Mom, Grandpa and Grandma’s house is perfectly fine. It’s not dirty or messy," Tang Haocheng said. "Dad even stayed there last night!"

Wu Xiaowen looked up at Tang Qingyun, brushed some dust from his shoulder, and said with concern, "You must not have slept well, right? No wonder you look so pale and your hair is a mess. You too, Hao Hao."

She pointed at Tang Haocheng’s clothes. "We need to get you changed as soon as we’re home. Everything is mismatched, you look awful! You should learn how to dress from your Sister Xuanxuan. Manman grew up in the countryside; she doesn’t know about these things! And another thing, you’re forbidden from running off to the countryside like this again. Do you have any idea how dangerous it is?"

Tang Haocheng pressed his lips together. He looked at Tang Yaxuan, who was nestled in Tang Qingyun’s arms, and asked with confusion, "Dad, didn’t they decide that they would both return to their respective families? If you and Mom are taking Sister Xuanxuan back home, then... what was the point of today’s meeting?"

Tang Yaxuan, who had just calmed down thanks to Tang Qingyun’s comforting, burst into tears again at Tang Haocheng’s words. "Hao Hao, how can you treat me like this? I’m your sister! I’ve always loved you and doted on you, taking you with me everywhere we played. We had such a wonderful time together, haven’t you forgotten? AHHH... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!"

Wu Xiaowen gave Tang Haocheng a reproachful look. "See what you did? You upset your sister with your thoughtless words. She’s still sick. Apologize to her right now!"

Tang Haocheng was exasperated. "I wasn’t being thoughtless. I’m just stating a fact."

"Hao Hao, you..."

"Xiao Wen, that’s enough."

Tang Qingyun, who had been lost in thought, stopped Wu Xiaowen. He helped Tang Yaxuan to her feet and said, "Xuanxuan, I’ve thought about it, and there’s no other way. For now, you must go back to the Mo family. Thankfully, you’re already in junior high, so you can just board at school. That way, you won’t have to live in the Mo house with... those people. I’ll leave you money for living expenses. You’ll have to find a way to get into the county junior high, then continue on to high school. We’ll figure out what comes next after you graduate..."

Tang Yaxuan stared blankly at Tang Qingyun, unable to believe her ears. Wu Xiaowen exploded. "Qingyun, have you lost your mind? How can you do this to Xuanxuan...?"

"Xiao Wen!" Tang Qingyun looked at Wu Xiaowen, his expression more serious than ever before. "This is Father’s decision! Not only do we have to switch the girls back, but he has also forbidden us from interfering in Xuanxuan’s future! At least, not until Manman has officially returned to the Tang family. If he discovers we’re still doting on Xuanxuan like we used to, then our whole family, and everyone connected to us, can forget about ever returning to Beijing! Do you understand? Are you willing to risk that?"

Stunned, Wu Xiaowen muttered, "But why? Xuanxuan has been a Tang family granddaughter for thirteen years. She’s so exceptional—think of all the glory she’s brought your Tang family. Don’t you agree?"

Tang Qingyun replied, "There’s nothing to discuss. Father and Mother only want Manman! And Manman refuses to return to the Tang family!"

"Refuses? She’s part of the Tang family, why would she refuse? How do you know she doesn’t want to come back? I’ll go talk to her! Come on, let’s go right now!"

Tang Haocheng said, "Mom, calm down. Sister really doesn’t want to acknowledge us. She’s hurt!"

"She’s hurt? Why would she... Am I not hurt, too? She heard what happened. That mistake all those years ago was entirely Liu Fengying’s fault. How can she blame me for that?"

"Xiao Wen!"

Wu Xiaowen wiped away a tear and nodded. "Fine! I won’t say another word. I’m not angry anymore. I’ll go and apologize to that child, okay? If she agrees to return to the Tang family, that gives Xuanxuan a chance, right? Xuanxuan, come here. Come with Mommy, we’ll go beg her!"

Tang Yaxuan immediately moved to Wu Xiaowen’s side.

Tang Qingyun sighed and shook his head. "Stop it. It’s no use. This is Father’s decree; it has nothing to do with Manman. The reason he’s making this demand is... sigh... in short, it’s to prevent us from playing favorites and wronging the Tang family’s true, biological granddaughter!"