The Abandoned Daughter's Second Chance

Chapter 190: Chapter 178: Tang Haocheng

Xiao Man glared at Tang Haocheng. "Are you satisfied now that you’ve made such a mess? Who told you to come here? Get lost!"

Tang Haocheng leaned against the headboard, his lips pressed together. He stubbornly lifted his chin, his eyes red and puffy. "Grandpa and Grandma told me to come! I want to be with you!"

Xiao Man: ...

’So you think I’ll listen to you just because you brought up Grandpa and Grandma?’

"You’re lying!"

"I’m not! I called them last night!"

Tang Haocheng wiped his tears away forcefully. "By what right? I never did anything to offend you... I never knew... Even if you... even if you became an ugly monster, once I found out, I’d still look for you... You have no reason to treat me like this! If I became an ugly monster, would you despise me?"

The young boy turned to face the wall, crying his heart out.

Xiao Man was both amused and exasperated. ’If I became an ugly monster, would you despise me? This little Tang Haocheng actually knew how to turn the tables on her!’

Seeing his small frame trembling as he sobbed, gasping for breath, Xiao Man couldn’t help but soften. The Tang Haocheng of today wasn’t even as tall as she was, a far cry from the noble, aloof "god" she remembered from her past life.

In her previous life, he had died in a lab explosion, dedicating his life to scientific research. When Xiao Man heard the news, she had appeared calm on the surface, as if nothing had happened. But only she knew how she truly felt inside. It wasn’t that she was devastated, but it wasn’t a good feeling either. For some strange reason, she suffered from insomnia for several nights, moving things around upstairs and downstairs to pass the time and keep her mind from wandering.

The lawyer had said that while Tang Haocheng wasn’t skilled in the ways of the world, he was no fool. On the contrary, he had a sharp mind. He had been completely unaware of the "switched at birth" incident. When he got leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant, his entire family came to get tested for a match. No one was compatible. The only one missing was Tang Yaxuan, who was always busy and never showed up. Before they could even wait for her, Mo Xiaoman was brought directly from the distant South, from a place where his parents had once worked. The moment she arrived, she was a perfect match. It was impossible for him not to have his suspicions. He had asked his mother, "Is this person a relative?"

But Wu Xiaowen had told Tang Haocheng that Xiao Man, the bone marrow donor, was just a stranger with no family ties. They were simply lucky to have found a match, and they could just compensate her with a large sum of money afterward!

Since she was a stranger and Wu Xiaowen was handling everything, Tang Haocheng saw no need to pay any attention. He had always had that cool, arrogant expression since he was a child, and as he grew up, his disposition became quiet and reserved. He was indifferent to everything outside of his own affairs. So, when it came to Xiao Man, he truly never even gave her a second glance.

But he soon realized something was wrong. If Xiao Man had no family connection to him, how could his parents so directly and accurately bring her from such a remote place? It was like shooting fish in a barrel—effortless and guaranteed. And then there was that Liu Fengying, who was always following the Tang family servants to his hospital room. Why did she look so much like Xuanxuan? And why was she always asking the Tang family servants about Xuanxuan’s situation? When Gu Shaoqin came to visit him, he discovered Mo Xiaoman spying on him from the doorway...

Tang Haocheng asked Gu Shaoqin for help and went to spy on Xiao Man outside her hospital room. Not only did he spy on her, but he also had Gu Shaoqin take many photos of her from various angles!

After seeing her in person and looking at the photos, he had a preliminary conclusion. The hospital already had the technology for paternity tests back then. Disregarding all previous blood type test results, he directly asked a doctor he knew well to find an excuse to draw fresh blood from the relevant people and perform a paternity test!

After that, Tang Haocheng had huge arguments with his parents, especially his mother. During this period, he was supposed to be resting and recuperating peacefully, but due to his emotional turmoil, his recovery did not go well.

He had people intercept Mo Xiaoman on her way back to the South with Liu Fengying, bring her back, and confine her in a remote sanitarium. His plan was to wait until he recovered and finished some urgent matters before dealing with the issue of Xiao Man. He had told Gu Shaoqin at the time: Her disfigurement could be fixed. He would definitely restore Mo Xiaoman’s identity, and he would do it personally, without relying on anyone else!

He could ignore his own health to press on with his work, but he underestimated Xiao Man’s mental fortitude. After being locked up for half a year, she was on the verge of going insane! The pain of the bone marrow extraction was still fresh in her memory. At that point, she felt both resentment and fear toward Tang Qingyun and Wu Xiaowen. The people who confined her explicitly said it was Tang Haocheng’s doing. As they were all part of the Tang Family, who knew what they planned to do with her? She felt like a pig or a sheep being fattened for the slaughter!

That was why she ran away, which led to the tragedy of her being trafficked!

Tang Haocheng did search for Mo Xiaoman, but to no avail. Ultimately, he was still influenced by Wu Xiaowen, worrying about a great many things like dignity and public image. He didn’t want the disfigured Mo Xiaoman to be exposed to the public. Therefore, he relied only on his own limited abilities and didn’t ask his uncle for help. If he had, perhaps Xiao Man could have escaped her sea of suffering sooner.

This was also why Xiao Man detested him.

Reborn in this life, Xiao Man was no longer the same person. Thinking about it objectively, the Tang Haocheng of her past life wasn’t entirely unforgivable. His mistake lay in being too tyrannical, proud, and conceited. He assumed that everyone had to do as he wished, that they should just wait quietly for him after receiving his orders. Not to mention, Xiao Man had already grown wary of the Tang Family by then. She was used to working in the countryside; though it was hard, she was free. The world was hers to roam. How could she possibly endure a life of confinement?

Later, Tang Haocheng entrusted the lawyer to continue searching for Xiao Man. For a long time after that, he didn’t return to the Tang family home, nor did he reveal a single shred of information about Xiao Man to Tang Qingyun or Wu Xiaowen. On this point, he shared a common temperament with the reborn Xiao Man: since the Tang Qingyun couple had abandoned Xiao Man, her existence was none of their business!

Because of Xiao Man’s rejection, Gu Shaojun strictly forbade any member of the Tang Family from contacting her. Therefore, although Haocheng learned of Xiao Man’s whereabouts from the lawyer and contacted Gu Shaojun many times, he was never able to meet her. After Gu Shaojun passed away, the lawyer asked Xiao Man if she would be willing to meet Tang Haocheng. Xiao Man refused, and Tang Haocheng still couldn’t get near her. Anything he sent to Xiao Man was sent right back!

The lawyer said that Haocheng had a fiancée named Lin Shanshan, a cousin from the Wu Family. Their wedding had been postponed because Haocheng got leukemia, but then the incident with Xiao Man occurred. Haocheng had no heart for marriage, and he remained unmarried until the day he died. After so many years of delay, his fiancée had probably run off long ago.

Tang Haocheng’s sobs attracted Grandma. Seeing Hao Hao crying on the bed while Xiao Man stood leaning against the wardrobe, arms crossed and lost in thought, she couldn’t help but raise her voice in reproach. "Aiya! How could you make your little brother cry like that? Is that any way for a big sister to act? Go on, comfort him! It’s so cold today, if he catches a cold he’ll have to take medicine again!"

Xiao Man was speechless. ’I don’t even want to be his sister!’

Still, she obediently walked over to the bed, sat down, and patted Tang Haocheng’s thin back. "Alright, stop crying. It’s time to eat."

Tang Haocheng twisted his neck away. "I’m not eating! You won’t even acknowledge me, so I won’t eat!"

’Oh, give him an inch and he’ll take a mile. Now he thinks he’s in the right!’

Xiao Man wanted to give him a good smack, but she turned to see if Grandma was still there. To her surprise, Grandma was glaring at her. "What are you looking at me for? Isn’t this your doing? It’s cold and raining, and you shut your little brother out. Of course he’s upset! Hurry up and comfort him. If he breathes in any more cold air, he’ll get a stomachache!"

So Xiao Man yelled at Tang Haocheng, "Stop it this instant! If you keep crying, I really won’t acknowledge you!"

Grandma clicked her tongue. ’What kind of way is that to comfort your little brother?’

Grandpa also came in from outside. "What’s all this? All this yelling and shouting, it’s improper!"

But Tang Haocheng stopped sobbing and turned around. "Grandma, I want to eat. I’m hungry!"