Free Web NovelChapter 139: Chapter 139: The Application
The family housing complex was full of children of all ages, and mischievous ones were a common sight. Tang Yuanxiao mentally compared them all and felt that not a single one could measure up to Little Tang Mo.
It wasn’t just the kids his age; even the older ones weren’t as smart and capable as he was.
"Momo is so smart. You’ve taught him really well," Tang Yuanxiao said to Su Li, his praise genuine.
When he had visited home on leave before, he’d always thought Little Tang Mo was smart, but that had been more of a blind, fatherly pride. Today, however, he felt it for real.
He now had concrete reasons to believe his son was intelligent.
"Little Mo has always been smart. He’s a little genius," Su Li replied. "You’ll see."
"Mom..." Little Tang Mo mumbled, growing shy from all the praise.
"Alright, time for bed," Su Li said with a smile.
"Okay. Goodnight, Dad." Little Tang Mo said goodnight to Tang Yuanxiao and went into the room on his own.
Su Li glanced at Tang Yuanxiao. "You come in, too."
She went inside, pulled a storybook from the desk, and handed it to Tang Yuanxiao. "You can read Little Tang Mo a story tonight."
’Little Tang Mo needs his bedtime stories now!’
Tang Yuanxiao took it, at a loss for words.
Su Li walked over and stroked the head of Little Tang Mo, who was lying obediently in bed, his bright eyes watching them.
"Tonight, I’m letting your dad read you a story. I’m going to wash up outside."
Little Tang Mo hesitated for a moment. "Okay."
Su Li gestured for Tang Yuanxiao to come over. Once he was seated on the edge of the bed, she closed the door and left.
"Goodnight, Little Mo."
"Goodnight, Mom."
After closing the door, Su Li glanced over the care instructions for Little Tang Mo that she had written out earlier. Seeing no issues, she set the notes aside and went to wash up.
Inside the room, Little Tang Mo and Tang Yuanxiao were once again staring blankly at each other.
Having never told a story in his life, Tang Yuanxiao cleared his throat repeatedly before finally opening the book and beginning, "Once upon a time..."
The moment Tang Yuanxiao began to speak, an ’I knew it’ expression crossed Little Tang Mo’s face.
Five minutes later, having finished reading the story without a single ounce of expression, Tang Yuanxiao looked over at Little Tang Mo.
Little Tang Mo was still wide awake.
Tang Yuanxiao was silent. ’Time for another one!’
Four minutes later, the story was over, but Little Tang Mo was still wide awake.
Tang Yuanxiao asked, "...Was my reading that bad?"
Little Tang Mo replied, "Dad, you were just reading words. That’s not telling a story."
Tang Yuanxiao was at a loss. "...Er, how does your mom do it?"
Little Tang Mo glanced at Tang Yuanxiao, then at the door, and let out a deep sigh.
"Mom’s way... you’ll never be able to learn it. I’ll just go to sleep on my own."
Feeling rebuffed, Tang Yuanxiao rubbed his nose in embarrassment. He tucked Little Tang Mo in and then tentatively began to pat him gently.
The corner of Little Tang Mo’s mouth twitched into a fleeting smile, and he let his father continue patting him.
As Tang Yuanxiao patiently continued his gentle patting, Little Tang Mo finally drifted off to sleep.
Tang Yuanxiao watched Little Tang Mo’s peaceful, sleeping face, his gaze filled with a complex mix of emotions. He sat there quietly for a long while, lost in thought.
After about half an hour, Tang Yuanxiao leaned down and kissed Little Tang Mo’s forehead, then turned off the light and left the room.
Su Li was sitting quietly in the living room.
"He’s asleep?"
"Yeah," Tang Yuanxiao answered softly.
Under the light, Su Li looked even more beautiful. Tang Yuanxiao took just one glance, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as his back suddenly went rigid.
The two of them were alone in the living room. The occasional sound of a child crying or an adult scolding from the neighbors’ only made their own living room feel even quieter.
"Have a seat."
Su Li spoke, breaking the silence.
Tang Yuanxiao sat down, his back bolt upright, as straight as a pine tree.
Seeing his posture, Su Li subconsciously straightened her own back as well.
"I wrote these down earlier. Take a look. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be taking care of him yourself whenever you have time."
Su Li handed the list of instructions to Tang Yuanxiao. Because they were both sitting so rigidly, the gesture felt especially formal.
Tang Yuanxiao took the papers, glanced through them, and set them aside.
"If you really can’t bear to leave Momo, then..." Tang Yuanxiao began, making one last attempt.
"You’re not willing to give me custody of Little Mo, are you?" Su Li cut him off.
Tang Yuanxiao frowned. Su Li gave a short, bitter laugh. "I know it’s impossible. That’s why, no matter how much I wanted to, I never dared to bring it up or even think about it. I love Little Mo dearly. He’s... very special to me. After the divorce, I can still come and see him, right?"
"Of course... you can." In the end, Tang Yuanxiao never finished his earlier sentence.
"Over the next two days, I’ll slowly explain things to Little Mo and help him accept the fact that he’ll be living with you and we’ll be apart. If he cries or gets upset, you... please be patient. Just comfort him and spend time with him."
Su Li quietly went over the details concerning Little Tang Mo with Tang Yuanxiao.
"Then there’s the division of our assets. We’ve been married for less than two years. Aside from some money we spent early on, we have no shared property to argue over. The money I have is my own earnings, and I’ve already returned all of yours."
Su Li handed the money and the ring to Tang Yuanxiao again.
"If you have no objections to what I’ve said, you can go ahead and write up the application. I’ll sign it when you’re done."
Su Li’s gaze was intense, while Tang Yuanxiao remained utterly silent.
"You... wait a moment." After a long silence, Tang Yuanxiao finally spoke, getting up and heading to the room. He was about to close the door when he saw Su Li following him.
He paused. Su Li forced a smile and placed the money and ring she was holding on the table.
"Put these away, then you can write. I’ll be waiting outside." Su Li then pulled the door closed.
She walked back to the living room and sat down. Her eyes fixed on the bedroom door as she let out a deep sigh.
Inside the room, Tang Yuanxiao stood frozen like a statue for a long time before slowly shuffling over to the desk.
A thick stack of old bills was neatly wrapped in a handkerchief. Other than being a bit thicker, it looked no different from the last time. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Tang Yuanxiao’s gaze finally fell upon the gold ring.
He could still vividly recall the feeling of buying this ring. The image of Su Li after she put it on was still fresh in his mind. But now... it was back in his hands once more.
He had told Su Li to just throw it away if she didn’t want it.
But in the end, the ring had come back to him anyway.
’Su Li... that’s just the kind of person she is.’
’She holds fast to her principles, yet she’s so stubborn.’
’And in her presence, time and time again, he was the one to back down.’
’And why did he always back down? It was simply because of his own guilty conscience.’
Tang Yuanxiao thought about what Su Li had gone through in Xinghua Village. He thought about what his mother had done, and how, after Mrs. Tang had broken her arms and legs, Su Li had taken care of both her and Little Tang Mo...
’What must have been going through her mind as she did all of that?’
Tang Yuanxiao recalled Su Li’s earlier words, shut his eyes tightly, and clenched the ring in his fist.
’Su Li... she has truly done more than enough.’
’Whether it was for Mrs. Tang or for Little Tang Mo, she had done enough. What right did he, who had done nothing, have to selfishly force her to stay just to satisfy his own heart?’
’He couldn’t be that selfish. He had no right to be.’
’What was the point of dragging this out any longer? Nothing could be salvaged.’
Tang Yuanxiao’s knuckles cracked as he clenched his fist. Finally, he pulled open the drawer containing the draft of the divorce application.
Su Li sat quietly in the living room, her eyes drifting to the bedroom door from time to time.
She waited and waited.
She didn’t know how long she had been sitting there when, with a CLICK, Tang Yuanxiao finally opened the door and came out.
