Free Web NovelChapter 244: Chapter 244: Let Me
Su Li heard Mrs. Tang’s voice and glanced outside. By the time she realized something was wrong and turned around, it was too late to react.
The IV stand fell with a crash. Amid the chaotic clatter, Su Li watched Little Tang Mo curl into a ball on the floor, her heart twisting in agony.
The IV needle had been ripped from Little Tang Mo’s hand, and blood slowly seeped from the wound.
Little Tang Mo didn’t seem to feel a thing, simply pulling the blanket over himself and curling into a tight ball.
"Momo, Grandma didn’t mean it! Grandma’s just gone mad, Grandma was wrong..." Mrs. Tang’s sobs drifted in from outside again.
"Mrs. Tang, don’t go in..." Aunt Chang’s voice followed, trying to stop her.
"No, I have to go in! I have to see my Momo! Momo, Grandma didn’t mean it, Grandma was wrong. Please forgive Grandma..."
Outside, Mrs. Tang was wailing inconsolably.
Inside the room, Little Tang Mo hid under the covers, curled into a ball beneath the hospital bed, pressing his hands tightly over his ears.
Su Li collapsed to the floor and reached out, pulling Little Tang Mo, blanket and all, into her arms.
"Little Mo, Mama’s here. It’s okay, don’t be scared, don’t be scared... Mama’s here."
Su Li’s voice trembled as she held Little Tang Mo tightly.
"Mama will take you away from here. You don’t have to be afraid. From now on, you’re staying with Mama. You’re not going anywhere else. Nowhere."
When the trembling in her arms subsided a little, Su Li tentatively lifted the blanket and gently covered Little Tang Mo’s ears.
Little Tang Mo’s tightly shut eyes fluttered open. Only when he saw Su Li’s smile did his trembling finally begin to subside.
"It’s okay, don’t be scared. Go to sleep..." Su Li whispered soothingly, her hands still covering his ears.
When Aunt Chang came in and saw the mother and son on the floor, a flash of pain crossed her eyes. She went back outside and, unable to hold back any longer, dragged the wailing Mrs. Tang further away.
After pulling her some distance away, she saw Mrs. Tang was still crying and couldn’t help but shout.
"You still have the nerve to cry? Are you trying to scare Tang Mo to death?! Stop crying!"
Mrs. Tang’s crying stopped abruptly, her face full of disbelief.
"I didn’t mean to scare Momo. I regret it, I was wrong..." Mrs. Tang grabbed Aunt Chang’s hand and began to apologize.
"I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t control myself..." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Aunt Chang looked at Mrs. Tang’s face, but any words she might have said were caught in her throat.
She had seen Little Tang Mo’s tragic condition, but she had also seen Mrs. Tang’s remorse.
In that moment, Mrs. Tang’s remorse was genuine; there was no faking it.
Why hadn’t she noticed anything unusual before? Why hadn’t she noticed anything strange when she went to check on the Tang Family? It was all because of Mrs. Tang.
After her call with Su Li, she had gone to the Tang Family home as she’d said she would. At that time, Mrs. Tang was boiling eggs, saying she was making them for Tang Mo.
When Aunt Chang saw Mrs. Tang back then, the maternal love in her eyes when she spoke of Tang Mo was undeniable.
It was because Aunt Chang saw Mrs. Tang like that that she left without any suspicion.
Who could have predicted that Mrs. Tang would do something so insane right after that?
And now, after committing such a monstrous act, Mrs. Tang was once again full of remorse.
Faced with this side of Mrs. Tang, Aunt Chang was at a loss for words, filled only with a profound sense of helplessness.
Aunt Chang thought back on Mrs. Tang’s behavior over the past few days and realized she must have been like this for a while.
She wasn’t wrong. Mrs. Tang had been like this for several days.
Ever since Mrs. Tang found out that Little Tang Mo was not her biological grandson, she had been in a strange state.
After being provoked by Little Tang Mo’s phone call to Su Li, she started to lose control of herself. It was from that day on that she began to hit Little Tang Mo and starve him.
But the next day, she would be filled with regret. She would repent, and as soon as morning came, she would cook a delicious meal for Little Tang Mo.
But then Little Tang Mo would sit before her, smiling timidly, and the sight of his face would remind her that he was not her biological grandson. Once again, she would lose control, hitting and cursing him.
She forbade Little Tang Mo from speaking, unable to stand hearing him call her "Grandma." She would curse at him, screaming that he was not a grandson of the Tang Family.
The cycle was relentless: a fit of madness, an act of violence, a wave of regret...
She lay awake night after night, especially in the dead silence of the late hours.
Thinking of all the little moments of Little Tang Mo growing up, thinking of all her hopes and all her love, and then remembering he wasn’t her own flesh and blood—the pain was more than she could bear.
Once, in the middle of the night, Mrs. Tang lost control in a delirious fit and began to strangle Little Tang Mo. She nearly killed him, only to stop at the last possible moment.
And so the cycle continued...
And so, Mrs. Tang lived in her own hell, and she dragged little Tang Mo down into it with her.
Little Tang Mo had been raised by Mrs. Tang since infancy, so his affection for her was immense. One can only imagine the devastating blow it was for the person closest to him to suddenly turn on him like this.
Seeing what his grandmother had become and hearing that he wasn’t Tang Yuanxiao’s son, Little Tang Mo—already old enough to distinguish between Cui Yun and Su Li—understood the implications far better than any other child his age.
Mrs. Tang’s volatile behavior tormented Little Tang Mo again and again, making him feel what a terrible crime it was that he wasn’t Tang Yuanxiao’s son.
The blow was devastating to Little Tang Mo. Once an innocent, lively child who was quick to laugh yet easily shy, he gradually shut himself away inside the hellish world Mrs. Tang had created.
Where the sound of Mrs. Tang’s voice once made Little Tang Mo smile in his sleep and allowed him to drift off peacefully, it had now become a source of terror.
Hearing her voice—whether angry or, later, filled with remorseful affection—terrified him all the same.
The days passed, one by one. There was no one to save Little Tang Mo, no one to notice his plight.
He couldn’t make a sound, couldn’t cry. All his sounds, all his sobs, were smothered by Mrs. Tang.
There was nowhere to run and no one to save him.
Only Qin Shanshan had seen what Mrs. Tang was like during her fits. Little Tang Mo had pleaded with her for help, but it was useless.
Qin Shanshan wasn’t stupid. Being so perceptive, she had noticed something was wrong long ago.
She was secretly delighted, even wishing she could join in. But she knew how serious the matter was, and being rational and clever, she didn’t get involved. Instead, she chose to stop visiting the Tang Family, keeping her distance and pretending she knew nothing.
As for Little Tang Mo’s pleas for help, she felt not a shred of pity, only a twisted sense of satisfaction.
’Serves him right,’ was her only thought.
And so it went, day after day, until the rumors spread, Aunt Chang noticed something was wrong, and Su Li arrived.
But... it was already too late.
Now, the sound of Mrs. Tang’s voice only made Little Tang Mo tremble with fear.
Su Li finally managed to calm Little Tang Mo down, but he remained tense, too scared to close his eyes. In the end, left with no other choice, a doctor gave him an injection with a sedative, and only then did he fall asleep again.
"We should move him. Staying here won’t be good for his recovery..."
"I’m taking him to the Imperial City. He’s afraid of this place..."
The doctor and Su Li spoke at the same time, both expressing the same idea.
Both fell silent. Nothing more needed to be said.
Evening was falling, and they had to leave as soon as possible. Su Li rushed to pack. She had just finished securing Little Tang Mo to her back with a baby carrier from the nurse when the hospital supervisor walked in.
"I’ve had someone notify Tang Yuanxiao. He’ll be back soon."
Su Li’s movements froze, and a scornful smile played on her lips.
"So what if he comes back?"
Su Li looked coldly at Mrs. Tang outside the room. "The Tang Family doesn’t want Little Mo, but I do. If they won’t raise him, I will!"
The supervisor was just about to speak when Su Li’s icy gaze fell upon him.
"You people can’t take responsibility for him, you can’t protect Little Mo. So I will. I, the ’outsider,’ will!"
