Free Web NovelChapter 75: Chapter 75: Give an Inch, Take a Mile
Tang Yuanxiao met her gaze, refusing to give an inch.
"If you really don’t want to go to the city, then stay with the Tang Family. I can guarantee that the villagers won’t dare to bother you, and I’ll talk to Mom about it too..."
"Tang Yuanxiao, are you sure you’re not kidding?" Su Li looked away and asked coolly.
Of course he wasn’t kidding. Tang Yuanxiao’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he tacitly confirmed it.
"Fine, I get it. When we compromised on the six-month deadline, I should have known there’d be another wave. What other demands do you have? Just lay them all out at once."
Su Li gave a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "I don’t want to receive a string of new demands later. If you have any, state them all now."
Tang Yuanxiao didn’t answer, just looked at Su Li in silence.
Su Li spread her hands. "Alright, it seems you have no more demands."
She gave Tang Yuanxiao a smirk, then slowly rose to her feet, looking down at him.
"Tang Yuanxiao, we’ll see about that."
After muttering this, she got up and left the room.
Tang Yuanxiao sat frozen in place, not moving for a long time.
The divorce had been postponed for six months, but achieving this goal had come at too great a cost.
Bitterness filled every line of Tang Yuanxiao’s face.
After their talk, Su Li spent the entire morning in the side room, trying with all her might to calm down and read.
’Reborn into this life, the difficulties I have to face haven’t lessened one bit. All I can do is work even harder.’
’I have to get into university. I have to...’
Tang Yuanxiao made lunch. Su Li didn’t come out of the side room, not even to glance at Little Tang Mo when he returned. Mrs. Tang, meanwhile, also stayed in her room and didn’t get up.
After the meal was ready, it was Tang Yuanxiao who finally went to get Mrs. Tang.
As for Su Li, Tang Yuanxiao deployed her only weak spot in the Tang Family: Little Tang Mo.
With the father-and-son team in action, the Tang Family was grudgingly assembled for lunch.
Mrs. Tang’s eyes were red and swollen. She looked as if she had aged several years, her expression haggard. Who knows what Tang Yuanxiao had said to her, but she didn’t dare to utter a word when she saw Su Li.
The meal ended early amid a tense atmosphere. After everyone put down their chopsticks, Tang Yuanxiao brought up the matter of going to the city with him.
He wanted to persuade Mrs. Tang to go with him and bring Little Tang Mo along. He reasoned that Su Li wouldn’t possibly stay behind in the Tang Family house all by herself and would have to follow.
That was his plan, but unexpectedly, Mrs. Tang was the first to hesitate.
"The wheat at home hasn’t been harvested yet. I have to harvest it before I can go... No, that’s not right. We can’t leave the house empty. I won’t know anyone or anything there. I’d better stay in my old home. Just let... let Su Li and Momo go."
The moment she finished speaking, she was overcome with reluctance to part with Little Tang Mo and began to cry while hugging him.
"SOB, SOB... What will Grandma do? I can’t bear to leave Momo..."
Mrs. Tang had delivered Little Tang Mo herself. From his birth until now, he had never been away from her for more than a day. How could she possibly bear for him to suddenly leave?
Tang Yuanxiao’s head was splitting. "Then let’s all go together. We can just ask Uncle and the others to help with the wheat harvest."
"I still have to harvest it myself. I can only rest easy if I do it myself. The family land can’t be left idle," Mrs. Tang said, shaking her head.
She had relied on the land to eat her whole life; she really couldn’t let go of the family’s crops and fields.
"Even though you’re out there now, your roots are still here. I have to guard this place, stay here."
It’s hard to leave one’s homeland. Mrs. Tang had never thought of leaving the place where she had spent most of her life.
"Mom, you’re getting older now. You should come with me to the army base and get some proper rest. This house will still be here when we come back."
How could Tang Yuanxiao feel at ease leaving her at home alone? After much patient pleading, he finally managed to get Mrs. Tang to agree.
But then, Little Tang Mo refused to go.
The moment Little Tang Mo heard Su Li wasn’t going, he immediately made his choice.
"If Mom isn’t going, I’m not going either. I want to stay with Mom." Those were Little Tang Mo’s exact words.
Little Tang Mo’s choice was unexpected for Tang Yuanxiao, and Su Li hadn’t anticipated it either.
"Su Li, just go," Tang Yuanxiao said, turning to persuade her instead.
Su Li shook her head firmly. ’No way am I going. I have to stay in Fengcheng County for the college entrance exam!’
The plan to go with him to the base, all because Su Li was determined not to go, ended with Tang Yuanxiao failing to convince anyone, and no one going.
"Then let’s just not go for now. We can wait until school starts in September..." Mrs. Tang concluded between sobs.
Tang Yuanxiao’s head was throbbing.
Su Li didn’t care about Mrs. Tang, but Little Tang Mo was giving her a headache too.
"Little Mo, just go with your grandma and dad. You can learn lots of things there..." Su Li tried to persuade him for a long time, but Little Tang Mo just clung to her and wouldn’t listen.
"I’ll be with Mom. If Mom goes, I’ll go. If Mom doesn’t go, I won’t go either." Little Tang Mo repeated the same thing from start to finish.
The matter of going to the city... just fizzled out like that.
Tang Yuanxiao’s last day of leave was spent in helpless silence, under Su Li’s cold gaze.
Tang Yuanxiao’s leave was on a fixed schedule. He had already bought his return ticket when he came back—it was for the next evening.
The trip to Fengcheng County involved a few hours’ walk on mountain roads, so Tang Yuanxiao would have to set out right after breakfast.
However, during dinner, a message forced a slight change of plans.
Police Fang had someone bring a message for Su Li. The four human traffickers who were caught before were going to be tried in court, and he asked Su Li to appear as a witness. The time was the next afternoon.
"Let’s go together tomorrow. We’ll set off early in the morning and reach the county seat by noon," Tang Yuanxiao said at once, his eyes lighting up.
"Then I’ll go pack your things right now." Mrs. Tang glanced cautiously at Su Li before getting up to busy herself.
Tang Yuanxiao watched Mrs. Tang’s retreating back, his gaze dimming. ’It feels like I just got back, and it’s already time to leave.’
He glanced at Su Li, helplessness in his eyes. ’Another parting like this...’
"Su Li..." Tang Yuanxiao wanted to talk to Su Li again, but he had barely started when she stood up, cutting him off.
"In six months, I will come find you." freёwebnoѵel.com
Su Li didn’t say the final word, "divorce," but both she and Tang Yuanxiao knew what she meant.
After she spoke, she smiled at Little Tang Mo. "I’m going to pack a few things too."
With that, Su Li turned and left. Watching her back, Tang Yuanxiao couldn’t help but sigh again.
He had returned full of hope, but the result was...
"Daddy..." Little Tang Mo looked at Tang Yuanxiao. "Are you leaving already?"
’Didn’t you just get back? Why are you leaving so soon?’ Little Tang Mo was filled with reluctance.
"Yes, Daddy has to go." Tang Yuanxiao picked up Little Tang Mo. "I’m sorry, Momo..."
Holding Little Tang Mo’s small, soft body, Tang Yuanxiao’s face was filled with pain and reluctance, his eyes turning red.
"When will Daddy come back to see me again?" Little Tang Mo asked, leaning against him.
"Daddy isn’t coming back to see you. You’re going to come find Daddy," Tang Yuanxiao said, gently patting his back.
"In another six months, you and Mom will come find Daddy, and you’ll live with me from then on, okay?"
"Okay." Little Tang Mo’s eyes lit up, and he agreed without a moment’s hesitation. "Grandma will go too."
"Yes, Momo will bring Grandma and Mom along then." Tang Yuanxiao planned to use the next six months to convince Mrs. Tang and Su Li to come.
"Okay." Hearing this, Little Tang Mo finally perked up, his eyes full of anticipation.
Looking at him, Tang Yuanxiao finally managed a smile.
That night, it was Tang Yuanxiao who put Little Tang Mo to bed.
The night before his departure was long and agonizing. Beyond the melancholy and reluctance, his heart grew even heavier.
But no matter how difficult it was, time still passed, and the moment of parting inevitably arrived.
