Free Web NovelChapter 54: Chapter 54: More Important Than My Life
If you wanted a textbook definition of "give an inch, take a mile," Mrs. Tang was it!
"COUGH, COUGH..." This time, Tang Yuanxiao really did choke, coughing his lungs out.
"Honestly, what is with you two..." Mrs. Tang looked at them, completely exasperated.
"That’s enough! Stop talking!" Su Li blurted out, barely suppressing the urge to swear.
’Dammit, can’t a person even eat a meal in peace anymore!’
’Is it really so hard to have one quiet meal?’
’How could she make such lewd jokes to a couple on the verge of divorce? And if that wasn’t bad enough, she had to drag Little Tang Mo into it.’
Little Tang Mo put down his bowl and chopsticks, stood up, and hurried to pat Su Li and Tang Yuanxiao on the back. With one hand for each of them, he was quite busy.
Once things calmed down and they resumed their meal, Little Tang Mo’s eyes kept darting to Su Li’s stomach, filled with confusion and curiosity.
His bright, curious eyes darted back and forth, making it impossible for Su Li to ignore him.
"Little Mo, just focus on your food," Su Li said.
"I’m full." Little Tang Mo finished off the rest of the rice in his bowl, set it down, and went back to carefully studying Su Li’s stomach.
Mrs. Tang watched them, a wide smile on her face.
Tang Yuanxiao kept his head down, shoveling rice into his mouth and pretending not to see a thing.
Su Li was speechless. ’I can also pretend I don’t see anything!’
The awkward meal finally stumbled to a close. Although Mrs. Tang had launched one attack after another at the dinner table in an attempt to ruin everyone’s appetite, her efforts were clearly in vain.
Because Tang Yuanxiao had cleaned off every single plate on the Tang family’s table.
Su Li was only just now realizing the true capacity of Tang Yuanxiao’s appetite, but what she didn’t know was that he was actually feeling a bit stuffed.
Between Mrs. Tang’s comments and Little Tang Mo’s staring, he’d had to keep his head down and focus on eating, and as a result, he’d accidentally eaten a little too much.
After lunch, Mrs. Tang went to tend to the cattle. Her first instinct was to take Little Tang Mo with her, leaving Su Li and Tang Yuanxiao alone to work on their relationship. But on second thought, she decided that Little Tang Mo and Tang Yuanxiao also needed to work on their father-son bond, so she left the boy behind.
The moment Mrs. Tang was gone, Su Li couldn’t hold back any longer and approached Tang Yuanxiao to discuss serious business.
"Tang Yuanxiao, let’s just get this divorce over with. Once the papers are filed, we won’t have to deal with situations like what happened at dinner today."
Tang Yuanxiao ignored her and changed the subject.
"Mom wrote to me about you saving Momo."
Tang Yuanxiao looked at Su Li intently, thanking her with the utmost sincerity. "Thank you, Su Li. I mean it, thank you."
He knew the words "thank you" weren’t enough to express the gratitude in his heart, but he had to say them.
"I don’t need your thanks."
Instead of softening at his gratitude, Su Li’s expression grew even more tense.
The mention of it caused events from her past life to flash through her mind like a chaotic slideshow, and her tone became stiff.
Tang Yuanxiao was confused by her strange mood and obvious aversion to the topic.
"I didn’t mean anything else by it, I just wanted to thank you. Momo... he’s more important to me than my own life."
Su Li lowered her head. "You don’t have to tell me that. I know."
’Of course your own child is more important than your own life.’
A flicker of pain crossed Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes as he looked at her, and he forced a tight smile.
"You don’t understand... Su Li, he’s special. I can die, but he can’t. He’s more important than my life. Saving him... I’m more grateful for that than if you had saved my own life."
Tang Yuanxiao repeated, his tone stubborn.
Su Li found his words a bit strange, but she didn’t dwell on it and just replied dismissively, "Oh."
’It’s probably because he was born through a trade—his beloved woman’s life for his son’s,’ she thought. ’That’s why the boy is more important than his own life.’
Tang Yuanxiao could tell from her expression that she hadn’t understood him. ’Then again... who could possibly understand what I mean?’
He didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he beckoned to Little Tang Mo, who was playing off to the side. "Momo, come here."
Little Tang Mo scampered over on his short legs, and Tang Yuanxiao bent down to pick him up.
"Momo, do you still remember when Mama saved you?" he asked.
Little Tang Mo nodded vigorously. "I remember. Mama got hit. Mama was hurting."
His expression fell as he spoke, and he reached out his arms to Su Li, asking for a hug.
Tang Yuanxiao patted his son’s head and shot Su Li a complicated look. But instead of handing the boy over, he looked him seriously in the eyes.
"Tang Mo, you must remember this for the rest of your life. You have to be good to your mother, understand?"
"I know. I will," Little Tang Mo promised, his little face solemn.
"Good boy." Tang Yuanxiao held out a hand.
"A gentleman never goes back on his word. Tang Mo, let’s seal our promise with a high-five."
Tang Yuanxiao’s words and actions radiated the distinct air of a solemn pact between men.
As Su Li watched in silent exasperation, Little Tang Mo, his face still serious, slapped his hand firmly against Tang Yuanxiao’s, sealing the pact between men.
"Alright." Tang Yuanxiao set Little Tang Mo down. "Go on and play now."
Su Li lowered her voice. "Tang Yuanxiao, can we please talk about the divorce now?"
He gave her a long, steady look. "Wait here a second."
He strode over to the door of the side room, glanced back at Su Li, and said, "I’m going in."
Su Li opened her mouth, then closed it again.
The luggage he’d brought back was still in the side room. Last night, he had fled in a panic after being scared off by her period, and he certainly hadn’t taken his bag with him.
Su Li stood on her toes to get a better look and saw him, just as she’d expected, rummaging through his bag.
He came back out a moment later, his right hand clenched tightly around something. He walked over and stopped in front of Su Li. freewebnøvel.com
And then... he just stood there, completely still and rigid.
Just as Su Li was starting to frown with impatience, he finally moved. "Here."
He turned his head, avoiding her gaze as he held out the object in his hand.
In his haste to hand it to her without looking, his hand shot out and smacked right into her.
Smacked... yes, that was the right word.
Caught completely off guard, Su Li let out a cry of surprise and stumbled backward, hugging her arms to her chest.
Belatedly realizing what had happened, Tang Yuanxiao’s face turned the color of beet root. "I didn’t do it on purpose."
The warm, soft sensation still lingered on his fingertips, and his hand began to tremble as he spoke.
"You..." Su Li was furious, flustered, and mortified all at once. Her face flushed crimson, and she was so angry she felt she could spit blood.
In this era, undergarments like bras weren’t widely available; you couldn’t find them in ordinary shops. After her rebirth, Su Li couldn’t get used to going without one, so she had made her own.
’And since it was homemade, while functional, it was more like a sports bra. So for him to touch her there was just...’
Goosebumps erupted all over her skin.
"I didn’t do it on purpose," Tang Yuanxiao repeated, his face and ears burning.
"If you’d dared to do that on purpose, I’d have slapped you into next week!" Even a fool could see it was an accident, but Su Li still gritted her teeth, her arms crossed tightly.
Tang Yuanxiao felt like he was going to spontaneously combust. He never could have imagined an accident like this would happen.
"I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to. I’ll take responsibility for it... no, wait, I’m already responsible for you..."
Su Li couldn’t stand listening to his increasingly incoherent rambling and cut him off.
"That’s enough! I don’t need you to ’take responsibility’!"
’She’d just have to pretend a dog’s paw had brushed against her! The last thing she wanted to hear about was him taking responsibility.’
Tang Yuanxiao awkwardly fell silent. He unconsciously tightened his grip, nearly crushing the object still in his hand.
The atmosphere was awkward to the extreme.
