Free Web NovelChapter 225: Chapter 225: Old Photograph
Tang Yuanxiao glanced from Grandma Cui in the hospital room to Su Li, his face a mask of embarrassment and fury as a vein throbbed on his forehead.
"I haven’t! I don’t feel anything for you. If I had a single indecent thought about you, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"
He gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with wariness and disgust.
Seeing the look on Tang Yuanxiao’s face, Yang Xiangyun finally broke down completely.
"Tang Yuanxiao, how can you do this to me? I rejected so many good marriage proposals for you! I like you so much and I’ve given up so much for you. How can you treat me like this?"
She pointed at Little Tang Mo. "I treat Tang Mo like he’s my own son, and I’m so good to him! I’ve been waiting for you..."
"I never pressured you. I never asked when you were going to leave her. I just kept waiting for you, and this is what I get? Tang Yuanxiao, how can you deny everything? How could you!"
Tang Yuanxiao felt like he was going to lose his mind. "Stop talking nonsense! When did I ever...? And what do your rejected marriage proposals have to do with me!"
He stated adamantly, "There is nothing between us! We’ve never even spoken more than ten sentences to each other!"
"That’s not true! It’s not! Tang Yuanxiao, why are you denying our love...?" Yang Xiangyun wailed, reaching for Tang Yuanxiao’s hand.
"Nurse Yang, listen to me. There is absolutely nothing between us!" Tang Yuanxiao recoiled.
"I can vouch for him." Yu Le’s voice came from outside the door.
He had been on the mission with Tang Yuanxiao and they had just returned together. When he heard Miao Zhi speaking, he had quickly helped close the door, but he couldn’t just stand by and listen from the hallway any longer.
He entered and took a deep breath. "Aside from when we’re sleeping, Tang Yuanxiao and I spend eighty percent of our day together. I was almost always there when you ran into him. Tang Yuanxiao has never spoken more than ten sentences to you!"
Miao Zhi looked from Tang Yuanxiao to Yu Le, completely stunned. "How can this be..."
Yang Xiangyun let out a loud wail, completely unable to accept this reality. "No... no... It’s not like that..."
The room was filled with the sound of Yang Xiangyun’s sobs and the stunned silence of everyone else.
Until a voice broke the silence.
"Nurse Yang, you should go check on your uncle. He tried to hang himself but they got him down."
"Uncle!" Yang Xiangyun cried out. She shot a hateful glare at Tang Yuanxiao and Su Li before scrambling to her feet and running out.
The hospital room fell quiet.
Miao Zhi looked from one person to another. "I... I really didn’t know what was going on. This is all what Sister Yang told me..."
With that, she also ran out.
Su Li let out a breath. A certain saying came to mind:
’Sometimes, the most terrifying thing in the world isn’t the truth, but the fictions we create in our own heads.’
Just like Yang Xiangyun.
Yang Xiangyun was smart and beautiful. She’d graduated from nursing school and become a nurse, and she always appeared poised and graceful. On the surface, everything about her seemed perfect.
But her fatal flaw was her tendency to create fantasies in her head.
In her mind, in the world she had constructed for herself, she and Tang Yuanxiao were entangled in a passionate, life-and-death love affair dramatic enough to be a television series.
But in reality, it was all a product of her own imagination. It was a one-woman show, and Tang Yuanxiao was a completely unwitting participant.
In real life, she and Tang Yuanxiao were merely acquaintances. At most, their relationship consisted of nodding in acknowledgment when they happened to see each other.
After Yang Xiangyun left, an awkward silence fell over the hospital room.
In the end, it was Grandma Cui who broke the silence.
"Yuanxiao, you should go get your wound bandaged."
"Oh, right, right," Yu Le said, scratching his head.
"Dad, I’ll take you," Little Tang Mo said, his little face full of worry.
"Okay." Tang Yuanxiao patted Little Tang Mo’s head, then looked at Su Li. "Su Li, are you okay?"
"I’m fine. Go get your wound taken care of. We can talk about whatever it is after you’re bandaged up," Su Li said, shaking her head.
Tang Yuanxiao nodded.
Tang Yuanxiao’s wound had torn open again.
He had been injured earlier, receiving a large gash on his arm. It had been bandaged and was supposed to be fine, but something happened on the way back. He’d had to rescue someone, and the wound had torn open in the process.
To speed up his recovery, the doctor needed to stitch it up.
As it turned out, Tang Yuanxiao was so exhausted that he fell asleep right in the middle of being stitched up.
The doctor understood the situation, took off his gloves, and closed the door.
"He’s fast asleep. Looks like he’s completely exhausted. He’s so out of it he wouldn’t even feel someone covering him with a blanket. It’s late and there aren’t any other patients, so let’s just let him sleep here."
Su Li froze for a moment, then nodded.
Yu Le glanced at Su Li, then picked up Little Tang Mo and said.
"It’s no wonder he’s exhausted. He was already running on fumes, and when he heard about what was happening here, he rushed back without a wink of sleep. He must have finally relaxed after seeing that you’re all safe."
He finished with a yawn of his own. "I’m beat, too. I’m going to grab a bite and then get some serious sleep. Come on, let’s leave him be."
Grandma Cui glanced at Su Li, seeking confirmation. "We’re just going to let him sleep here?"
"Yeah, let him be. He’ll be refreshed when he wakes up tomorrow."
Yu Le set Little Tang Mo down and hoisted the two duffel bags from the floor onto his shoulder. "Let’s go."
Yu Le carried Tang Yuanxiao’s luggage to the Tang family’s apartment before taking his own and leaving.
Although Grandma Cui’s fever had broken, the illness had taken a toll on her. She was exhausted just from the short walk back to their apartment in the family compound.
Little Tang Mo poured her a glass of water, then pulled Su Li to sit down as well.
"Mom, you sit and rest, too. I’ll take care of you guys."
He poured a glass of water for Su Li, then energetically began dragging Tang Yuanxiao’s luggage over to unpack it.
"Momo is such a good helper," Grandma Cui praised with a smile, closing her eyes to rest.
Su Li sat to one side, unable to tear her eyes away. She watched Little Tang Mo, drinking in the sight of him, her expression complicated.
Little Tang Mo looked back at Su Li and gave her a wide grin before opening the bag to unpack.
He had only pulled out a couple of items of clothing when he suddenly made a small sound of surprise.
"What is it?" Su Li asked, suppressing the prickling sensation in her nose as she forced herself to stand up.
Little Tang Mo held a photograph in his hand, blinking as he looked up at Su Li.
Su Li crouched down to look and froze.
It was a group photograph.
Tang Yuanxiao, Yu Le, and Little Tang Mo’s biological mother, Cui Yun, were all in it.
Su Li took the photo from Little Tang Mo’s hand and examined it closely.
The photo was black and white, clearly taken several years ago, before Little Tang Mo was born.
Besides Tang Yuanxiao, Yu Le, and Cui Yun, there was another man in the photo who looked vaguely familiar.
Tang Yuanxiao stood on the far left. Yu Le was in the middle, his arms slung around both Tang Yuanxiao and the other man. Cui Yun stood next to this unfamiliar man.
On the far right of the group.
Su Li studied it for a moment. Something felt off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.
She tilted her head, about to ponder it further, when Yu Le’s voice sounded from outside.
"Momo!"
"Yeah, Uncle!" Little Tang Mo replied instantly.
"Your dad and I mixed up our bags. I only realized something was wrong when I got back and opened it..." Yu Le said, returning with the bag he’d carried off earlier. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
As he spoke, he noticed Su Li holding the photograph.
When his eyes fell on the photo, Yu Le’s expression shifted slightly, and he trailed off mid-sentence.
"You opened it?"
"I’m sorry," Su Li apologized hastily.
"It’s fine." Yu Le forced a smile. "The bags are identical. I didn’t notice just now, either."
He scratched his head. "My photo..." freeweɓnovel.cøm
"I’m sorry. Little Mo just found it while unpacking, and I took a look," Su Li said, quickly handing the photo back to Yu Le.
"Right." Yu Le shook his head. "It’s fine."
He stuffed the photo into his breast pocket, seeming to let out a quiet sigh of relief as he bent down to sort out his bag.
"Uncle, is that your photo? It has Dad and..." Little Tang Mo glanced at Su Li, but stopped himself from saying the word "Mom."
"It’s mine," Yu Le said with a strained smile. Seeing that Su Li looked like she was about to ask something, he quickly made his excuses.
"I’ve got to go. You guys carry on."
Yu Le hurried away, walking at a brisk pace. He patted the breast pocket where he’d put the photo, a flash of annoyance crossing his face.
