Free Web NovelChapter 47: Chapter 47: Couple’s Outfits
Just like that, without any warning, Tang Yuanxiao appeared at the door. He had returned to Xinghua Village, to the Tang family home, and now stood right in front of Su Li.
Su Li stood frozen, staring at the man in the doorway for a long moment.
She was truly shocked.
’I was all set to go find him tomorrow, and now he just shows up out of the blue!’
With his luggage on his back, Tang Yuanxiao wore his usual work clothes. His features were sharp, his gaze piercing and as cold as a blade. He stood ramrod straight in the doorway, his deep, complex eyes shifting from the house to Su Li.
He was just as she remembered him—stern-faced and serious, silently watching her.
Su Li stared back. Now that the initial shock had passed, her thoughts were a chaotic mess as she faced him once more.
Their last meeting at the hospital was still vivid in her mind. But in the blink of an eye, a version of Tang Yuanxiao more than twenty years younger stood before her. He wasn’t the red-eyed, murderous man from her past life, but a calm man with a slightly awkward and peculiar air about him.
Yes, awkward and peculiar.
Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes landed on Su Li’s clothes, his expression turning a little strange and uneasy.
Su Li didn’t have the energy to pay attention to his gaze. "Why... why are you here?" she asked in a low voice, a hint of accusation in her tone.
’First Little Tang Mo, then Mrs. Tang, Qin Shanshan, Miao Fenghua, Su Dan, and Zhao Wenming... they all appeared one after another. And now, Tang Yuanxiao is here too.’
Su Li felt her emotions spiraling out of control.
"I came home for the holiday."
Distracted by the green sweater Su Li was wearing, Tang Yuanxiao failed to notice her unusual emotional state.
His voice was deep as his gaze shifted toward the side rooms. "Where are Mom and Momo?"
"In the kitchen."
Su Li answered while staring intently at Tang Yuanxiao’s face, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
’Tang Yuanxiao... He actually came back first! He came back the day before I was supposed to go find him!’
"Mm," Tang Yuanxiao grunted. He opened his mouth to say something more but stopped when he saw the look in her eyes.
They stood a few meters apart, shrouded in silence.
They had been married for a year, yet this was only their second time meeting. It was only now that Tang Yuanxiao was finally getting a clear look at his wife’s face, committing it to memory.
For Su Li, however, this was far from their second meeting. His face was etched into the deepest corners of her mind, but a blood feud from another lifetime lay between them.
"Mama..." The silence was broken by Little Tang Mo.
The moment he stepped out of the kitchen, he saw Su Li and called out joyfully. But then his eyes landed on Tang Yuanxiao in the doorway.
At the sight of him, Little Tang Mo’s cheerful expression vanished, and his smile froze on his face.
Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes lit up with pleasant surprise when he saw his son. He tugged at the corners of his mouth, forcing a stiff smile, and was about to call out to him when the boy gasped and ran away.
"Momo..." Tang Yuanxiao froze in place.
He had always been mature for his age, and after enlisting in the military, he’d grown even more serious. It had become a habit for him to keep a stern expression. Yu Le always said he was like a little old man, that his face alone was enough to make children cry.
Tang Yuanxiao knew he wasn’t popular with kids; they usually kept their distance from him. He was well aware of this, but the current situation still stung him deeply.
His stiff smile remained plastered on his face as he stood half-poised to step forward. He turned to Su Li with a pleading look, his eyes filled with an undeniable sense of loss and helplessness.
The fact that his own son ran away at the sight of him was a heavy blow.
Su Li looked at Tang Yuanxiao, then at his pleading gaze, and a strange expression crossed her face. ’I want to laugh. It feels strangely vindicating, but at the same time, it’s all so absurd.’
’Tang Yuanxiao is asking *me* for help? What could he possibly need my help with!’
Su Li ignored him, turning her head away as she strained to hear Little Tang Mo’s slightly high-pitched voice.
"Grandma, Grandma, come quick! Outside, outside..."
"Stop pulling me! What’s going on outside? Did someone come?" Mrs. Tang’s voice was filled with fond exasperation.
"I think... I think it’s Dad..." Little Tang Mo stammered.
"Your dad! Tangyuan is back?" Mrs. Tang’s voice suddenly shot up, and an instant later, she was at the kitchen door.
The moment she saw Tang Yuanxiao, her face lit up. She clapped her hands in delight. "Tangyuan!"
She rushed over to him. Tang Yuanxiao’s smile was still a bit stiff as he took two steps forward to meet her.
"Mom, I’m back."
"Oh, you! Why did you just show up without a word? You could have at least let us know."
Mrs. Tang grabbed his arm and tilted her head back to look him over carefully. "You’re thinner! You’ve lost more weight!"
It seemed that in every mother’s eyes, a child who left home always came back thinner.
Tang Yuanxiao let his mother fuss over him while he, in turn, looked her up and down. He stiffened for a moment when he noticed the silver strands at her temples.
"Mom, I haven’t lost weight, and I’m doing great. How about you? Is everything okay?"
"I’m fine, just fine. Everything’s great," Mrs. Tang said, finally managing to contain her excitement. She turned to look for Little Tang Mo.
"Momo? Momo, come say hi to your dad. Your dad is home!"
Little Tang Mo had already run to Su Li’s side. He clung to her hand, staring at Tang Yuanxiao with wide eyes.
He saw a man who was tall, strong, and stood as straight as a pine tree. A mix of curiosity and fear filled his eyes, along with the kind of admiration unique to little boys.
’I want to be that tall and strong and imposing, too.’
Hearing his grandmother’s call, he looked at Tang Yuanxiao’s expectant gaze and stiff smile, then immediately ducked behind Su Li without making a sound.
"The boy’s just shy," Mrs. Tang said, laughing heartily at her grandson’s behavior.
"What’s there to be shy about? That’s your dad! Don’t you look at his picture all the time? See? He looks exactly the same as in the photo."
Little Tang Mo could see that he looked exactly the same as in the photograph. But a real person was different from a picture. He was used to calling the man in the photo "Dad"—that was easy. Facing the real person, however, was another matter entirely.
As his grandmother and father watched expectantly, Little Tang Mo buried his face against Su Li, hiding behind her and refusing to make a sound.
"Momo, stop hiding. Come on, call him ’Dad.’ It’s not often he gets to come home..."
Mrs. Tang started forward to pull the boy out, but Tang Yuanxiao stopped her.
"Mom, don’t rush it. Let’s take it slow. Don’t force him."
Watching how attached Little Tang Mo was to Su Li, Tang Yuanxiao felt a pang of disappointment, but there was also a hint of a smile in his eyes.
His son’s attachment meant that his greatest fear—an evil stepmother mistreating her stepson—hadn’t come to pass. Mrs. Tang had also told him all about how Su Li had rescued Momo from human traffickers and had even knitted him a sweater and a hat. He felt a deep sense of relief.
’Everything is good. Our family is going to be okay.’
Tang Yuanxiao found his gaze uncontrollably drawn back to Su Li’s clothes, a flash of bashfulness in his eyes.
Mrs. Tang, who had been watching him intently, didn’t miss his change in expression. She couldn’t help but cover her mouth to stifle a laugh.
"Tangyuan, you got the sweater Su Li knitted for you, right? Does it fit? Your sweater and hers are the same color."
"Ahem... I got it." Tang Yuanxiao let out an awkward cough. He fiddled with his collar, his eyes darting away, not daring to meet Su Li’s gaze.
Hearing this, Su Li belatedly looked down at her own sweater. Only one word remained in her mind—*crap*.
’Matching couple outfits? I seriously never even considered that!’
