Chapter 198 - 186: Mistakes Must Be Corrected
Chapter 198: Chapter 186: Mistakes Must Be Corrected
No matter how much Tang Yaxuan protested, or how heartbreakingly she cried, in the end, Tang Qingyun still took her by the hand and personally handed her over to Mo Guoqiang and Liu Fengying.
Wu Xiaowen covered her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut, sobbing uncontrollably. She was utterly helpless. This time, even if Tang Qingyun had stood firmly by her side, she wouldn’t have been able to keep Xuanxuan. She didn’t dare to defy Mr. Tang, and it wasn’t a gamble she could afford to take.
’It would be one thing if it were just her and Qingyun. No matter what, Qingyun was a son of the Tang family, and Hao Hao was the eldest grandson of the main line; the Tang family would never truly abandon them. But her own parents and siblings were anxiously waiting, desperate to return to Beijing. All their hopes rested on her. She couldn’t—and wouldn’t—let her entire family down, especially not her mother and father!’
’All she could do was let poor Xuanxuan suffer this injustice!’
The thought of her precious daughter—doted on from birth, so well-behaved, sensible, and sweet—having to live in this poor, filthy village was like a knife twisting in Wu Xiaowen’s gut. The agony was unbearable.
She never once questioned if the girl was her biological daughter. All she knew was that from the moment she was born, Xuanxuan had been by her side, sticking with her through thick and thin. The girl’s cleverness and sweet nature had been a constant comfort. They had been a team, mother and daughter, getting through those difficult years together.
Even at two or three, Xuanxuan had been incredibly bright, far more clever and sensible than other children. When Wu Xiaowen was teaching at the rural school, her little girl would squat and play quietly by the classroom door, never wandering off and making her mother worry. Back in their dorm room, she’d fetch a stool for her mother or bring her a cup of water. At night, they would huddle together in the pitch-black room with no electricity. Whenever Wu Xiaowen cried out of fear or from missing Qingyun and her son, her daughter would wipe away the tears with her soft little hands and whisper, "Daddy will be here tomorrow, Mommy. Let’s not cry!"
By six or seven, she was already fiercely defending her mother with sharp words against gossips trying to slander her name. She would block women with ulterior motives from getting near her father, doing everything she could to protect her mother and her home. She wouldn’t even let her own aunt—who had helped raise her and doted on her—do anything to upset her mother. Such a wonderful, caring daughter, a true comfort to her mother’s heart. How could she not cherish her? How could she possibly let her go?
’If only Mr. Tang weren’t so unfeeling, using his power to force their hand. Now there was truly no way to resolve this without someone getting hurt!’
"Xuanxuan, my baby! For now... just listen to what your father says and stay here, okay? Don’t you worry, Mommy won’t forget you... Mommy... will come back for you. I promise..."
Tears streamed down Wu Xiaowen’s face as she choked on her sobs, crying until her limbs felt like jelly. A part of her desperately wanted to march over and slap that detestable Liu Fengying, but she was so overcome with grief she didn’t have the strength.
Tang Qingyun called Xiao Feng over. Xiao Feng emptied his pockets, managing to scrounge up over 160 yuan, coupons for more than thirty jin of grain, ten jin of meat, and five jin of sugar. Such coupons were a rare sight in the village, practically a treasure. He stuffed everything into Tang Yaxuan’s hands and instructed her:
"School is about to start. Go to the local middle school and register yourself. With your grades, you’ll be one of their top students. If you want to go to the county high school, you can do that too, but you’ll have to figure out how to handle the procedures on your own. Whether it’s in the county seat, Wancheng, or the provincial city, Mom and I can’t help you anymore. You have to learn to be strong. You and Manman were born on the same day, just a few minutes apart. You’re the same age. If Manman can manage, you should be able to as well!"
Then he turned to Mo Guoqiang and Liu Fengying, his tone severe. "You abused Manman since she was a child. You didn’t let her go to school, you beat and scolded her, and you buried her in endless chores. And yet you had the gall to lie to our faces, telling us she was living well and attending school. You can clearly see how well we raised Xuanxuan, yet you still want to harm another one of my children? Are you even human? Just you wait. You’ll face the judgment of the law. We won’t let you get away with this!"
Tang Qingyun pulled Wu Xiaowen away. Behind them, Tang Yaxuan’s tragic, desperate cries echoed, "Daddy! Mommy!"
Wu Xiaowen tried to turn back, but Tang Qingyun held her fast. "Qingyun," she sobbed, "Poor Xuanxuan... she’s still sick! I can’t just leave her with Liu Fengying, I don’t trust her!"
Tang Qingyun said, "She should be fine. Even a vicious tiger won’t eat its own cubs. Or... you could stay with her for a few days? You could stay at Manman’s Grandma’s house."
Wu Xiaowen lowered her head, wiped her tears, and followed him away in resignation.
Tang Haocheng, who had fallen behind, was suddenly grabbed by Tang Yaxuan. "Hao Hao! I’ve always been such a good sister to you, please don’t abandon me! Hao Hao..."
Tang Haocheng let her hold onto him, his expression calm. "Xuanxuan, if I can help you in the future, I will. But I won’t call you ’sister’ anymore, because that was a mistake. It’s not entirely anyone’s fault, but a mistake has to be corrected. If you hadn’t been here as my sister, Manman would have been by my side. She’s my real sister, and she would have been even better to me! Do you understand? A real sister... it’s just different. And even if she’s not good to me, I want to be good to her!"
Tang Yaxuan was frozen to the spot, as still as a wooden statue. Xiao Feng, who was standing behind Tang Haocheng, brought a fist to his mouth and coughed twice. He then guided Tang Haocheng into the car, shut the door, and started the engine, driving toward Xiao Man’s house on the east side of the village.
The car paused when it drew alongside Tang Qingyun and Wu Xiaowen. Tang Qingyun glanced at Xiao Feng and gestured for him to go on ahead. The corner of Xiao Feng’s mouth twitched. ’Secretary Tang and Sister Wu’s minds are probably a total mess,’ he thought. ’They need a walk to clear their heads. It’s only a few hundred meters anyway. No harm done.’
After chatting with a few friends, Xiao Man returned home to find Grandpa and Grandma busy with their own tasks. Grandpa was washing rice for a meal, while Grandma was kneading dough. Xiao Man asked her what she was making. Grandma smiled. "Hao Hao wanted meat buns and big steamed buns, so I’m steaming a few for him. He also loves those spicy sticks you make, so I got all the ingredients ready for you. You can make some for him later, just don’t make them too spicy. A little bit of heat is enough."
Xiao Man was at a loss for words. "Grandma, they’re not coming. They’ll just get in the car and go straight back to Wancheng."
"No, they’ll be back," Grandma said with certainty. "I can’t speak for your biological mother, but your biological father is an important official. He’s a reasonable man! After holding such a big meeting and making a decision in front of the whole village and all those other officials, how could he possibly go back on his word? He’ll come back to our house to see you and to speak with your grandpa and me. Whether they take you with them or not, it’s only right that he comes."
Grandma paused, then added, "And Hao Hao, he’s a good boy. He grew up in the city, but when he came to our house, he fit right in. He wasn’t picky or proud at all... He’s so much better than that Xuanxuan! Xiao Man, it’s a good thing to grow up with a brother. You’ll have a companion and someone to rely on in the future. You have to treat your little brother well... Look at me. I wanted to be good to my little brother, but now I can’t..."
Grandma lifted her sleeve and wiped the corner of her eye. Xiao Man sighed. ’Grandma’s thinking about her own brother again.’ She went to wash her hands, told her grandma to rest, and took the basin of dough to finish the job herself.
Grandma went to sit under the eaves by the door and began to sort through the various green vegetables Grandpa had picked.
Just then, a knock sounded at the courtyard gate. The moment she heard Hao Hao’s voice calling out, Grandma immediately dropped the vegetables, called out, "Coming, coming!" and hurried over to open it.