Free Web NovelChapter 76: Chapter 76: Contrast
It wasn’t yet dawn and still pitch-black outside, but Mrs. Tang was already up, fumbling in the dark to cook for Tang Yuanxiao.
Hearing the stirring, Tang Yuanxiao got up. He watched his mother bustling about in the kitchen under the light of the kerosene lamp, a complicated look on his face.
"Mom, let me help you."
"What are you doing up? Did I wake you? Go on, go back to sleep. I don’t need your help," Mrs. Tang said urgently, trying to shoo him back to bed.
"I can’t sleep anyway." Tang Yuanxiao shook his head.
All of Xinghua Village lay in silence. Afraid of waking Su Li and Little Tang Mo, mother and son worked quietly in the kitchen, occasionally exchanging a few whispered words. The atmosphere was both warm and wistful.
As the sky to the east slowly began to brighten, Mrs. Tang looked up, then suddenly wiped away a tear.
"Tangyuan, I’m so sorry... You finally get to come home for a visit, and something like this happens. It’s all my fault... I’ll be good to Su Li from now on, I promise..."
Tang Yuanxiao let out a deep sigh.
"Mom... please don’t cry..."
He paused for a long moment. "For the next six months, you absolutely cannot act impulsively again. With Su Li... don’t do anything to annoy her, and don’t expect her to forgive you or greet you with a smile."
"Just... interact naturally. That’s enough."
Mrs. Tang stared blankly for a moment. "Tangyuan, what are you talking about? A family should be close and affectionate. Don’t worry, I’ll do whatever it takes to earn Su Li’s forgiveness..."
"Mom, don’t." Tang Yuanxiao cut her off. "Just listen to me. Stop obsessing over getting Su Li to forgive you."
He sighed. "If someone stabbed me twice, then came back and said they didn’t mean it and begged for your forgiveness, could you forgive them?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? ’Stabbed you twice’? If anyone laid a hand on you, I’d be looking to stab them back, not forgive them! How could I possibly forgive that...?"
Mrs. Tang answered matter-of-factly, but her words trailed off as she suddenly froze.
Tang Yuanxiao watched her quietly. "Mom, you stabbed Su Li in the heart twice. Do you really have to force her to forgive you?"
"I didn’t mean to, Tangyuan! I didn’t mean to..." Tears streamed down Mrs. Tang’s face.
"Yes, we all know you didn’t mean to..." Helplessness flickered in Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes.
’The fact that she didn’t mean to is what makes it even more infuriating, more terrifying.’
"Mom, from now on, don’t think about things like being as close as mother and daughter, and don’t keep bothering Su Li. It’s best to just keep your distance. And don’t blame Su Li for being cold to you."
Mrs. Tang covered her mouth, sobbing. "Tangyuan, when you say it like that, I... I’m scared of Su Li. What if she hates me? And with you not being at home... I’m afraid..."
Tang Yuanxiao was speechless for a moment. He looked earnestly into his mother’s eyes, shook his head, and said flatly.
"Mom, Su Li won’t do anything to you. You have nothing to be afraid of."
Tang Yuanxiao’s tone was flat, yet filled with absolute certainty.
Mrs. Tang mumbled to herself for a long moment, then, recalling something, she suddenly asked.
"Tangyuan, why do you trust Su Li so much?"
Tang Yuanxiao glanced at his mother and countered, "Don’t you?"
The rift between Su Li and his mother was wider than Tang Yuanxiao had imagined, but he knew Su Li wasn’t the kind of woman who would torment her mother-in-law like others might. He had no concrete reason for it; he just felt an unshakable certainty.
The five-day vacation had been short, but it had been long enough for him to learn a lot about Su Li.
Seeing the look on Tang Yuanxiao’s face, Mrs. Tang was at a loss for words.
Su Li was up at the crack of dawn.
Mrs. Tang and Tang Yuanxiao had already finished cooking. "You’re up just in time," Mrs. Tang said. "Go wash your face and eat. You can leave right after."
Su Li didn’t waste words, simply sitting down to eat.
"Su Li, you’ll be able to come back today, won’t you?" Mrs. Tang asked cautiously during the meal.
Tang Yuanxiao’s chopsticks froze, and his ears instantly pricked up.
Without looking up, Su Li replied, "I don’t know what the situation is. I’ll be back tomorrow."
Mrs. Tang looked like she wanted to say more, but after a glance at Tang Yuanxiao, she closed her mouth sheepishly. "Oh."
After breakfast, they put everything they were taking with them in the courtyard. Tang Yuanxiao looked up at the sky.
"I’m going to check on Momo."
He wanted one last look at Little Tang Mo. Just as he said it, he heard a CLICK. The bedroom door opened, and Little Tang Mo appeared in the doorway, rubbing his eyes.
"Dad, Mom, Grandma." Little Tang Mo looked at Su Li and Tang Yuanxiao, then pressed his lips together. "Are you guys leaving?"
"Yeah." Tang Yuanxiao strode forward and swept Little Tang Mo into his arms. "Dad has to leave now. You be a good boy at home and listen to Mom and Grandma, okay?"
"Okay." Little Tang Mo wrapped his small arms around Tang Yuanxiao’s neck. "Dad, I’ll miss you."
"Yeah, Dad will miss Momo, too." Looking at his son, Tang Yuanxiao couldn’t resist kissing his forehead.
A shy blush crept onto Little Tang Mo’s face, but he cupped Tang Yuanxiao’s cheeks and gave him a kiss back.
After the kiss, Little Tang Mo immediately turned and threw himself at Su Li. "Mom!"
Su Li rushed forward to catch him. Little Tang Mo buried his face in her neck, giggling to himself. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Watching him, Tang Yuanxiao touched his own face, which had flushed with emotion, and gave the boy a light pat on the bottom. "Dad’s leaving now."
"Okay." Little Tang Mo obediently slid down. "Mom, come back early."
"Mom won’t be back until tomorrow. Little Mo, you be a good boy at home, and don’t go wait for me at the village entrance, understand?" Su Li stroked his head.
The light in Little Tang Mo’s eyes dimmed, but he still nodded vigorously. "Okay."
Tang Yuanxiao and Su Li picked up their belongings, and Mrs. Tang, holding Little Tang Mo’s hand, walked them all the way to the village entrance.
"Mom, Momo, you should go back now. Don’t see us off any further," Tang Yuanxiao said in a low voice.
"You two should get going..." Mrs. Tang waved, tears streaming down her face.
"Mom, take good care of yourself... Momo, goodbye." Steeling himself, Tang Yuanxiao turned and strode away without looking back.
"Bye, Dad! Mom, come back early! I’ll be waiting at home for you!" Little Tang Mo waved, not forgetting to add a reminder for Su Li.
Su Li nodded and fell into step behind Tang Yuanxiao.
Even after they had walked quite a distance, they could still look back and see the large and small figures standing at the entrance to the village.
Tang Yuanxiao kept his head down, walking forward in silence.
Only when they were about to cross the mountain did he finally turn back for one last look at his mother, his son, and his home.
Once they were over the mountain pass and out of sight of Mrs. Tang and Little Tang Mo, Tang Yuanxiao’s pace immediately slowed, his steps growing heavy.
He waited for Su Li to catch up, then reached for the bag on her back. "Let me carry that."
Su Li frowned. "I’m fine."
"Give it here," Tang Yuanxiao insisted, taking it from her without another word. "This little bit is nothing to me."
Tang Yuanxiao shouldered all their things, leaving Su Li with only her small personal handbag and feeling much lighter.
"You walk in front. We can rest if you get tired," Tang Yuanxiao told Su Li.
Su Li understood he was letting her set the pace. Without wasting any words, she started walking ahead.
Having grown up walking mountain paths, she was no stranger to them, and her pace was not slow.
The two walked toward the county in silence. Tang Yuanxiao tried to start a conversation a few times along the way, but he was clumsy with words and couldn’t think of much to say. Su Li didn’t respond anyway. After several failed attempts and noticing her sour expression, he gave up and fell silent as well.
"Are you thirsty? Have some water." After they had been walking for over an hour, Tang Yuanxiao tried again.
Su Li shook her head and kept walking.
Tang Yuanxiao stood where he was, his gaze deep as he watched Su Li’s retreating back.
Four and a half hours later, just before noon, they arrived at the Public Security Bureau in Fengcheng County.
They had just reached the entrance of the Public Security Bureau and hadn’t even had a chance to tell the guard they were looking for Fang Luo when he spotted Su Li from inside and strode out to meet them.
"Su Li!" Fang Luo was all smiles.
"Fang Luo." Su Li’s perpetually cool expression instantly bloomed into a smile when she saw him.
Tang Yuanxiao saw the smile on Su Li’s face, and his own expression froze.
