Chapter 278: Chapter 278: More Handsome Again
"Little Mo, let’s go. Are you cold?"
Su Li came out of the restroom and held Little Tang Mo’s hand.
Little Tang Mo shook his head, indicating he wasn’t cold.
Su Li adjusted his scarf and hat, then glanced at his notepad and tilted her head.
"Little Mo, you didn’t talk with them much today?"
Little Tang Mo smiled and wrote a single word: "Tomorrow."
"That’s true. You only just met them today. It’s fine to get to know them slowly. Don’t rush it," Su Li said, patting his head.
Little Tang Mo looked at her, smiled, and nodded.
After they got home, Su Li told Little Tang Mo not to help but to rest and play while she went to make dinner.
"If your teacher assigned any homework, you should do it now."
Little Tang Mo obediently went to his room. He opened a book and held his pen, but he didn’t write anything.
He sat at his desk, facing the wall, and moved his mouth over and over, trying with all his might to speak.
No sound came out. Still no sound.
Little Tang Mo’s hands slowly clenched into fists, his small face turning bright red with exertion.
After five, ten, twenty minutes, a thin layer of sweat beaded on Little Tang Mo’s forehead and face.
"Little Mo... dinner’s ready." Su Li’s call broke the room’s silence.
Little Tang Mo wiped his sweat and scampered out of the room.
"Don’t fall."
Su Li cautioned, and Little Tang Mo responded with a wide smile.
Little Tang Mo kept watching Su Li during dinner. Halfway through the meal, Su Li noticed.
"What is it?" she asked, holding her hand out on the table.
"Mama is pretty," Little Tang Mo skillfully wrote on her palm. "That’s why I’m looking."
"Pfft." Su Li burst out laughing. "So young and already a little sweet-talker."
The next day, Su Li took Little Tang Mo to school right on time.
After school let out that afternoon, Little Tang Mo looked at his notepad before leaving the classroom and tore out a few pages.
Little Tang Mo seemed to really like his classmates and showed no signs of difficulty adjusting. After he had been attending for three consecutive days, Su Li gradually began to relax.
Aside from having to drop off and pick up Little Tang Mo, eating at school less often, and coming home every day instead of living in the dorms, Su Li’s life had mostly returned to normal.
On a sunny afternoon when she had no classes, she took a trip to the factory she had bought earlier.
Her original plan was to have all the preparations finished before the Lunar New Year and officially start operations after. But with the recent delay, she’d be lucky to get the renovations done before the year’s end.
As for things like recruiting staff, that would have to wait until after the New Year.
After the New Year, Li Hongqin and Yin Cuihua would come too. They would prepare together and start production. If things went quickly, they could launch the spring and summer collection as a trial run.
Compared to the future, where brands were everywhere, this era was the perfect time to establish a brand, break into the market, and secure a foothold.
Su Li planned to establish the ’Pinjun’ brand next year.
Musing over her plans, Su Li meticulously inspected the entire factory, even taking pictures everywhere with a borrowed camera.
The factory was large, and the existing building was in good shape. With just a few renovations, it could be put into use directly.
What Su Li needed to do now was plan the layout and find a renovation contractor.
’The office will go here. We’ll use this layout for now and can expand it slowly later.’
’It may just be the suburbs now, but it won’t be in the future. This whole place will become a bustling commercial district.’
’If it develops well over the next few years, we’ll have to move the factory again—to a less remote suburban area. Then this place can be dedicated to being our headquarters.’
This was all part of the business plan Su Li was drafting.
But plans are perfect; reality is cruel.
All of this was still in the planning stages. For now, nothing had even started. There was so much to do.
Wrapped up in the grand vision she was painting for herself, Su Li shiveringly finished her work, stomping her feet in the cold wind as she waited for the shuttle bus to head back.
With too many missed classes and club activities to catch up on, plus all her other tasks, Su Li spent the next week spinning like a top.
But all that busyness was nothing. A much more important matter weighed on her mind.
Wu Sheng’s birthday was coming up!
She had to prepare a birthday gift!
Not just any birthday gift, but one that Wu Sheng would actually like.
Su Li wracked her brains trying to figure out what to get him, but after thinking it over and over, she still couldn’t come up with anything.
A fountain pen, a wallet, a military knife, a hat, gloves, a scarf, a water bottle, a towel, a mug... Su Li wrote down a jumble of everything she could think of, and it slowly turned into a list.
She had a whole list, but in the end, she still couldn’t decide.
Ever since it started snowing and Little Tang Mo’s condition improved enough for him to go to school, Wu Sheng had gotten busy as well and hadn’t come by for some time.
But Su Li was certain that unless something truly exceptional came up, he would definitely come for his birthday.
As the birthday drew closer and closer, Su Li started to get a little anxious.
In the end, that list was even seen by Little Tang Mo.
"Mama, what’s this?" Little Tang Mo asked Su Li curiously.
Su Li blinked. "Er... your Uncle Wu’s birthday is coming up, and I have to buy him a gift, but I don’t know what to get."
Su Li thought for a moment. "Little Mo, do you have any ideas?"
Little Tang Mo blinked, looked at the list, and shook his head.
"Then I’ll just figure it out myself," Su Li said, handing the list to Little Tang Mo. "Can you put this back on the table for me?"
Little Tang Mo put the list back on the table and stared at it quietly for a moment.
From that day on, Little Tang Mo gradually spent less time practicing his punches.
A week before Wu Sheng’s birthday, Su Li still hadn’t figured out what to get him.
But Wu Sheng did pay a visit.
Wu Sheng arrived by car, and when he passed Little Tang Mo’s school, he stopped to take a look.
As luck would have it, Wu Sheng spotted Little Tang Mo on the school’s athletic field.
Little Tang Mo’s class was having PE. Since the ground was covered in snow and it was cold, the teacher was having them build snowmen.
The other students were laughing and fooling around, making the unusually quiet Little Tang Mo in their midst particularly conspicuous.
Wu Sheng stood outside the gate, watching for a while.
The teacher and students seemed to treat Little Tang Mo quite well and didn’t exclude him, but it looked like Little Tang Mo didn’t particularly enjoy playing with them.
He listlessly patted at his snowman, looking very well-behaved and quiet. freewēbnoveℓ.com
When the teacher or his classmates spoke to him, he would react by shaking or nodding his head.
But he rarely smiled. His smiles were few and far between.
Wu Sheng couldn’t tell if Little Tang Mo was in a bad mood; he still seemed quite at ease, and his classmates appeared to be used to his ways.
’Little Mo is back to his old self, lively and always smiling... When I pick him up every day, he dashes over to me like a little firecracker, just like he used to.’
’The teacher says he’s doing great, and he gets along well with his classmates. Every day when I pick him up, he’s all smiles, waving goodbye to everyone...’
’I just knew it. Little Mo is so adorable, of course his classmates would like him...’ ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
These were Su Li’s exact words from when she had told him about Little Tang Mo.
Wu Sheng watched Little Tang Mo, a thoughtful expression flashing in his eyes.
He watched quietly from outside for a little while. About seven or eight minutes later, Su Li arrived.
Su Li was pleasantly surprised to see Wu Sheng. "Wu Sheng."
"When did you get here?"
"Just now," Wu Sheng said, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Su Li’s surprised eyes.
"So surprised to see me. Did I get even more handsome in the last few days?"
Su Li: (⊙o⊙)...
’There he goes again. The narcissistic Wu Sheng is back.’
’Although... it’s not like he’s wrong.’