Free Web NovelChapter 153: Chapter 153: Showing Off
This was a private matter for Tang Yuanxiao, but his work unit was a special case. And since he had also applied for allocated housing, things had become this complicated.
Tang Yuanxiao was highly valued, so the factory director had to be informed.
The director wasn’t at the unit for the past couple of days, so they would have to wait for his return.
Once he returned, he would probably want to have a talk with them. If their decision remained the same, then there was nothing more to be done.
"When will your director be back?" Su Li asked Tang Yuanxiao.
"I’m not sure," Tang Yuanxiao answered honestly.
Su Li furrowed her brow. Tang Yuanxiao said helplessly, "It should be in the next day or two. Don’t be too anxious."
Su Li nodded. After all, this was another big step forward, which was already quite good.
Rushing back that evening would have been difficult, so Su Li stayed another night in the family compound.
By the next afternoon, when work was ending for the day, the director still hadn’t returned, so Su Li decided to head back to the Imperial City first.
This time, Su Li didn’t have Little Tang Mo come with her. Tang Yuanxiao had been in a rare, semi-restful state lately.
Little Tang Mo needed to take this chance to get to know Tang Yuanxiao better. School would be starting in a few days, so Little Tang Mo had to familiarize himself with the surroundings and get used to life in the compound.
"For the next couple of days, just stick with your dad. Get to know the other kids in the compound. You’ll be with them when school starts..."
Tang Yuanxiao and Little Tang Mo walked Su Li out, and she talked to Little Tang Mo the whole way.
When they reached the back gate of the family compound, Little Tang Mo, not wanting her to leave, clung to Su Li affectionately for a little while longer.
As they were lingering, they were unexpectedly met by a boisterous crowd.
Leading the group was none other than the Miao Family.
Mr. Miao was also acquainted with Tang Yuanxiao. He spotted them from a distance and waved enthusiastically.
"Ah, we were just wondering why no one was home at your place. Turns out you were waiting for us here! That’s great."
"Exactly! We stopped by your place to get you and thought it was strange that no one was home."
The group bustled over, greeting them warmly and familiarly.
Miao Zhi looked at Su Li and pouted, but then a smug look spread across her face.
Tang Yuanxiao and Su Li: "..."
Without a doubt, both of them had completely forgotten about this. And by a stroke of bad luck—or good—they had run right into the middle of it.
Because it was a happy occasion and they were determined to celebrate, the Miao Family had really invited a lot of people. It seemed like half the family compound had turned out.
Aside from those who were on duty or couldn’t get away, everyone who could make it came, bringing their families with them.
As the crowd approached, everyone, as if by silent agreement, fixed their gazes on Su Li and Little Tang Mo.
They were all used to seeing Tang Yuanxiao, but because of his personality, not many people had the kind of close, playful rapport with him. Only Yu Le was ever completely unrestrained around him.
For the past two days, talk of Captain Tang’s new wife had spread throughout the compound. Everyone was saying that Su Li didn’t seem like she was from the countryside at all, and that her child was even more refined than a city kid.
Everyone was quite curious, but Su Li was rarely in the family compound. She didn’t go to the cafeteria or hang around outside, so no one had a chance to see her.
"Wow, she really is a looker."
"They were right. She really doesn’t look like she’s from the countryside."
In small groups, the wives and older women of the compound watched Su Li, murmuring their opinions to each other.
With a single glance, Su Li could easily distinguish the two main factions among the wives.
One was the down-to-earth faction, who at a glance were clearly the so-called "country wives." The other was the "city wives" faction, represented by the woman with slender eyes whom she had met once before.
Su Li, it seemed, didn’t belong to either group.
Although she was from the countryside, she didn’t look like it in the slightest, so the more down-to-earth women didn’t dare approach her.
The woman with slender eyes and her friends were too embarrassed to approach Su Li because of their previous encounter. In the end, Su Li was left on her own.
Aside from the wives’ cliques, there weren’t many other small groups among the other colleagues.
In addition to the adults, there were plenty of children of all ages. The most eye-catching group was the younger set, which included Miao Zhi.
Teenagers, around fifteen to eighteen years old, formed their own boisterous little clique.
"I was starting to think you weren’t actually in the compound," Miao Zhi said to Su Li with a scoff.
A tall girl with an oval face followed behind her. She was dignified and poised, with a natural grace that made an excellent first impression.
She tugged on Miao Zhi’s arm and greeted Tang Yuanxiao and Su Li with a smile.
"Captain Tang. Hello, ma’am."
She paused for a moment, then smiled at Su Li and introduced herself. "My name is Yang Xiangyun. I’m a nurse at the hospital."
"Hello," Su Li replied with a smile and a nod, then turned to greet Mr. Miao and the others.
Su Li and Tang Yuanxiao had a silent understanding not to mention that they had forgotten about the celebration, letting everyone continue under the same misunderstanding.
Su Li had promised the leadership she would keep the divorce a secret, which meant she had to keep up with these superficial social obligations.
The next two minutes were a chaotic blur. Su Li met a large group of the wives, was addressed as "Mrs. Tang" by a crowd of colleagues, and had to respond to greetings while also teaching Little Tang Mo how to address everyone. She was incredibly busy.
Thankfully, after two minutes of chaos, the bus to take them arrived.
The vehicle was a shuttle bus Mr. Miao had borrowed from the factory. He was paying for the gas out of his own pocket, and it had been specially approved by the logistics department.
There were only two shuttle buses for several dozen people, so seats were pitifully scarce. They were given to the elderly, children, pregnant women, and those who were frail.
Naturally, Su Li and Tang Yuanxiao didn’t get seats either. They stood near where Little Tang Mo was sitting.
An elderly woman held Little Tang Mo on her lap. The woman’s accent was so thick that neither Su Li nor Little Tang Mo could understand much of what she was saying.
After a while of buzzing chatter, everyone was finally on board, and the packed bus set off.
The bus was packed shoulder-to-shoulder, and the road was bumpy. Su Li was being jolted around.
Fortunately... she wasn’t getting squashed.
Tang Yuanxiao stood in front of her, his body a stable shield against the crush of people behind them.
"You can hold onto me with this hand." Tang Yuanxiao had a low center of gravity and stood as steady as a rock. Su Li, in front of him, was another story entirely; she was swaying with every jolt of the bus. frёeωebɳovel.com
Seeing this, Tang Yuanxiao spoke up, gesturing to his own arm. "Hold on here."
Su Li was a full head shorter than Tang Yuanxiao. If she held onto the handrail with one hand and his arm with the other, she would be much more stable and wouldn’t have to struggle so much.
Su Li was essentially enveloped in Tang Yuanxiao’s space. Although he stood ramrod straight and hadn’t intentionally moved closer, the proximity was undeniable.
The air she breathed was filled with his scent, and she could feel the warmth radiating from his body.
Su Li wanted to shift away, but there was nowhere to go. She already felt ill at ease, so when she heard his suggestion, she just glanced up at him without moving.
By just lowering his head, Tang Yuanxiao could see the top of her head and the whorl of her hair.
His gaze traveled from the whorl, down her dark hair, to her fair face and arms. Her skin was so flawless, it looked like porcelain.
Tang Yuanxiao caught her faint, elusive fragrance. He only dared to glance at her once before quickly looking away, staring straight ahead for fear of embarrassing himself.
’He could never forget the humiliating incident of getting a nosebleed the last time he was home on leave.’
But even when he tried not to look at Su Li, his gaze was constantly drawn to her. Watching her sway back and forth made his heart leap into his throat. He tried to hold back, but couldn’t.
"Su Li?" he called out again, tentatively. "You can hold my arm..."
