Free Web NovelChapter 263: Chapter 263: A Belated Touching Moment
People are emotional creatures. It’s impossible for there to be no hard feelings.
"Things have already come to this. Why bother..." Su Li trailed off, but her meaning was clear.
Tang Yuanxiao was truly no longer fit to raise Little Tang Mo.
Two years would pass in a flash, and when Mrs. Tang was released from prison, Little Tang Mo would only be eight.
Not eighteen. Eight.
At eight, he would still be just a child.
Given the current circumstances, there was no telling what state Little Tang Mo would be in by then.
What if he still couldn’t speak? What if he still couldn’t overcome his fear of Mrs. Tang?
Forget overcoming his fear of Mrs. Tang—it was uncertain if he could even get over his fear of Tang Yuanxiao.
After spending two years in prison, who knew what kind of person Mrs. Tang would be when she got out.
Would she be more radical, or would she be thoroughly cowed? Neither was a good outcome, whether she became more extreme or lived in constant fear.
She might not dare to physically abuse Little Tang Mo again, but psychological abuse was just as terrifying.
"Tang Yuanxiao, if Little Mo keeps living with you, it’ll be torture for both of you."
"Not just for Little Mo, but for you too. And when your mother gets out, it’ll be the same for her."
Tang Yuanxiao remained silent, so Su Li continued.
She briefly laid out her concerns for him. "...There’s no telling when Little Mo will recover. Your situation is unique—you don’t have the energy or the time to be there for his therapy."
"Please, think carefully about what I’ve said."
Tang Yuanxiao had, in fact, been thinking about it. He had considered everything Su Li said. As much as he loved being a soldier, he was already contemplating leaving the service.
He would transfer to a civilian post, take good care of Little Tang Mo, and look after his mother once she was released.
With him there, the situation from before would never happen again.
He had already failed Mo Jianjun too much. He couldn’t just...
Tang Yuanxiao’s expression was unreadable.
He didn’t want to face Su Li in court over Little Tang Mo’s custody, and neither did she.
She was preparing for both possibilities, but she still hoped they could resolve the matter privately and peacefully.
The conversation ended on a sour note.
The next day, Su Li received a special visitor.
It was none other than Yu Le.
He hadn’t come empty-handed; he brought some of Little Tang Mo’s belongings, including books and luggage from the family compound.
"I came to see Momo."
Yu Le had wanted to visit Little Tang Mo for a while but had held back until now.
Little Tang Mo didn’t seem to reject Yu Le, but he didn’t welcome him either.
"Momo, Uncle is here to see you."
Yu Le had planned to stay for a while since it was a rare visit, but seeing Little Tang Mo’s condition, he was overcome with emotion and left in less than fifteen minutes.
Su Li clearly saw Yu Le’s hasty retreat.
Fearing Little Tang Mo would notice, she quickly drew his attention to sorting through the things Yu Le had brought.
Little Tang Mo obediently helped Su Li sort through the items. Halfway through, he suddenly pulled two crumpled balls of yellow paper from a box.
"What’s this?" Su Li asked, her curiosity piqued.
Little Tang Mo quickly hid the wads of paper behind his back, then scampered out of the room.
"What’s wrong?" Su Li called out, hurrying after him.
Little Tang Mo kept his lips pressed tight and waved his hand, urging Su Li to go back into the room.
Su Li was worried, but Little Tang Mo squirmed a little, pointed to himself, and nodded to show he was all right.
Ever since he’d stopped speaking, Little Tang Mo had resisted expressing himself with gestures or hand signals, and he refused to write things down as well.
Afraid of making him uncomfortable, Su Li had never pushed him. She always went along with what he wanted, preferring to spend a long time figuring out his intentions rather than forcing him to communicate.
Little Tang Mo rarely gesticulated, so this was the first time he’d made so many gestures.
Su Li asked tentatively.
"Does this mean you’re okay, Little Mo, and you want to be alone for a bit while I go back to the room?"
Little Tang Mo nodded emphatically.
Smiling, Su Li also gave an emphatic nod, agreeing to his request.
"Okay, Mommy will go inside then. I’ll come check on you in ten minutes, all right?"
And so, they had an agreement.
Su Li went back to tidying Little Tang Mo’s things in the room, while Little Tang Mo remained in the living room, his back to her, doing something she couldn’t see.
Su Li was dying of curiosity but forced herself to hold back.
After what felt like an eternity, ten minutes finally passed, and Su Li called out right on time.
"Little Mo, can I come out now?"
She asked as she stepped out of the room.
Little Tang Mo, his back still to Su Li, froze, his hands ceasing their movements.
"Can I come over?"
Seeing that Little Tang Mo didn’t object, Su Li slowly approached him.
"Little Mo," Su Li began, but just as she spoke, Little Tang Mo suddenly spun around, thrust the object in his hands at her, and ran back into his room with his head down.
Stunned for a moment, Su Li looked down. What she saw made her gasp in amazement.
The two wads of yellow paper from before had been completely transformed.
They had become two sunflowers.
Two handmade paper sunflowers.
The petals were made from the yellow paper, while the centers and leaves had been carefully colored in on white paper.
Paper petals on chopstick stems.
The two sunflowers were a little wrinkled, probably from being crushed earlier, but to Su Li, they were the most beautiful things she had ever seen.
Su Li stared at the two sunflowers, blinking only after a long moment.
"Are... are these for me?"
In disbelief, she examined them closely and saw Little Tang Mo’s familiar handwriting on the paper wrapped around the chopstick stems.
It was a bit crooked and full of childish innocence, but the words were perfectly clear.
Written on it were three words: "Happy Birthday, Mommy."
This... this was the birthday present Little Tang Mo had made for her.
’So it wasn’t just Wu Sheng. Little Mo remembered my birthday, too.’
He had poured his heart into preparing a gift, but in the end, he hadn’t been able to give it to her.
Su Li clapped a hand over her mouth as tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
A mix of touched affection and heartache flooded Su Li’s heart. It was a bittersweet feeling that made her feel soft and utterly overwhelmed.
Holding the belated birthday gift, Su Li couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face.
Su Li heard a noise behind her and turned to see Little Tang Mo peeking at her, only his head visible from around the doorframe.
He probably hadn’t expected Su Li to cry and had bumped into the door, making a noise.
When Su Li turned back, she didn’t miss the worry in Little Tang Mo’s eyes. She knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Little Mo, Mommy loves your birthday present. I’m crying because I’m just so happy and touched."
Su Li quickly wiped away her tears, walked over, and swept Little Tang Mo into her arms.
"Thank you, Little Mo. I love it so, so much."
Su Li kissed the top of Little Tang Mo’s head again and again.
As he was being kissed, Little Tang Mo looked at Su Li’s happy face, and for the first time in so long, the corners of his mouth turned up in a faint smile. frёewebηovel.cѳm
The smile was there and gone in an instant.
Su Li didn’t notice. Still holding Little Tang Mo, she enthusiastically started looking for a vase for the flowers.
Of course, she didn’t have a vase.
In the end, Su Li temporarily placed the flowers in a glass beverage bottle and set it in the most conspicuous spot in the living room.
"Tomorrow, we’ll go buy a vase. The most beautiful vase we can find."
Whether out of shyness or not, Little Tang Mo waited a moment before nodding.
When Wu Sheng came the next day, Su Li gleefully held up the flowers to show them off.
"Aren’t the flowers beautiful? Little Mo made them for me. Aren’t they gorgeous? Little Mo is so talented, he’s so good with his hands, right?"
The moment Su Li saw Wu Sheng, she launched into a torrent of non-stop, non-repetitive praise.
Little Tang Mo’s face turned a little red from all the praise.
