Chapter 283 - 258: New Year’s Eve
Chapter 283: Chapter 258: New Year’s Eve
The dinner party wasn’t even over when Wu Xiaowen, her face a mask of cold fury, whisked Tang Yaxuan away. She didn’t bother to inform Tang Qingyun, instead telling Tang Haocheng to come with them. But Tang Haocheng only walked them to the door and asked the driver to take the mother-daughter pair back to their hotel. He refused to get in the car as Wu Xiaowen demanded. She reached for him but missed, so furious she felt her chest constrict and her vision darken.
Tang Qingyun insisted on staying at the Tang Mansion to entertain their guests. From time to time, elders and peers would offer him a few words of "tactful" advice regarding Mo Xiaoman and Tang Yaxuan. He listened humbly and accepted their counsel. After he and his older brother, Tang Qingshan, saw off the last guest, Grandpa Tang summoned him to the study. Father and son talked until one in the morning.
When he returned to the hotel, Wu Xiaowen was still awake, deliberately waiting up for him. The couple barely exchanged two sentences before they started arguing. The fight lasted late into the night, ending with each of them shutting themselves in separate rooms to fume. Neither got a wink of sleep.
Tang Yaxuan was another who couldn’t sleep. She leaned against the back of her door, silently listening to the couple fight. The dim bedside lamp illuminated her pale, round face. She had just finished a crying session with Wu Xiaowen, and her eyes were still puffy. Though her tear stains were gone, her expression was now intent and serious, tinged with anxiety.
She was getting very anxious on her mother’s behalf. ’Didn’t we agree that our family needed to stick together? That she shouldn’t fight with Dad anymore? How could she get worked up and start an argument again!’
’Why has Mom, who’s usually so elegant and composed, been losing her temper so often lately? And Dad, who has always been gentle, refined, and doting, has stopped acting like a gentleman. His words toward Mom have become merciless and sharp... This can’t continue!’
’They’d made up this morning after last night’s fight. It’s all because of everything going on at the Tang Mansion, having to host a banquet right at the end of the year. Mom and Dad started arguing again over whether or not to bring me to the banquet. Dad stormed out, and Mom was left sobbing. After she finished crying, she called Grandma, who was also furious about the Tang Family’s attitude. It’s true that Grandma told Mom to be tougher, but not to the point of alienating Dad. She was supposed to keep Dad firmly in their camp. Mom had agreed readily enough, but then she immediately forgot Grandma’s advice and kept fighting with him. Dad used to be so good-natured, but now he’s become irritable and quick to anger. Can’t Mom see that? I’ll have to remind her tomorrow not to provoke him anymore.’
Recalling how differently everyone at the Tang Mansion banquet treated her tonight, Tang Yaxuan couldn’t suppress a wave of resentment and sorrow, nearly biting through her lip. She had been mentally prepared, but it still hurt. Then she remembered the phone call between her mother and grandmother from earlier today, and she breathed a secret sigh of relief, feeling much more secure. ’My maternal grandparents are returning to Beijing soon. While the Wu Family isn’t part of the political elite, they are a respected scholarly family. With my own family’s backing, Mom’s status will be different. The Tang family won’t be able to look down on her anymore! As for me, as long as I hold onto Mom and Dad’s affection, even if I can’t return to the Tang Mansion, who can deny that I’m the Tang family’s adopted daughter? With that identity, a bright future is practically guaranteed!’
’I was raised to be a proper young lady. Since the age of seven, I’ve been known as the future wife of the Gu family’s eldest grandson. Brother Shaojun and I have years of history together. With Mom and Dad’s support, I’m still more than qualified to marry into the Gu family.’
’Mo Xiaoman... what does she have that can compare to me? Etiquette, upbringing, talents, tastes, worldview, wisdom... she’s a country girl, she’s bound to lose! Is her status as the true Tang granddaughter enough? Forcing a relationship won’t make it sweet. Even if they make Brother Shaojun spend time with her, they’re just starting from zero. How can that compare to the six or seven years he and I have known each other?’
’Besides, there are plenty of men in the world. Why does she have to fight me for him?’ After facing Mo Xiaoman a few times, Tang Yaxuan had gotten a sense of her personality. ’She’s inexperienced yet arrogant. People like that are easy to deal with. A few provocative words are usually all it takes for them to back down on their own.’
Tang Yaxuan clenched her fists, psyching herself up. ’Brother Shaojun belongs to me. I will absolutely not hand him over without a fight!’
「On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, Gu Shaojun, the subject of so many people’s thoughts, finally returned to Beijing.」
He had returned on a military plane. After making a call home from the airport, he borrowed a car and, instead of going to his own house, headed straight for the Tang Mansion, hoping to make it in time for the family’s New Year’s Eve dinner.
This year, Grandma Tang and Grandma had taken charge of the New Year’s Eve feast, with Grandpa Tang and Grandpa acting as their sous chefs. They didn’t let Xiao Man in the kitchen, insisting that during the New Year, the adults should handle the food while the children just put on their new clothes and have fun. Tang Qingshan had bought a huge pile of fireworks and firecrackers for Xiao Man and Hao Hao. The two were having the time of their lives setting them off around the courtyard when they saw Gu Shaojun’s jeep pull through the iron gate.
The jeep rolled to a stop, and Xiao Man and Hao Hao ran up to it. Hao Hao grinned and shouted, "Brother Shaojun is back!" Peeking through the window, Xiao Man pointed to the military greatcoat tossed in the back seat and urged Gu Shaojun to put it on quickly. The weather was frigid, with the north wind howling. Even just running around the courtyard, she and Hao Hao had to wear winter hats, scarves, and gloves. ’How can Gu Shaojun be wearing just a thin uniform, and in a jeep, no less? Isn’t he afraid of freezing to death?’
Gu Shaojun watched Xiao Man with a smile, his bright eyes like stars studded with diamond dust. He tried his best to suppress the joy bubbling up inside him. ’She’s so worried about me. She really does care!’ But how could he possibly be cold? Since returning from the front, he’d wished he could sprout wings and fly straight to her side. It felt like he had a blazing furnace in his chest, making him radiate heat. He couldn’t feel the slightest chill!
To show he was fine, Gu Shaojun made a point of shaking Hao Hao’s hand, then smoothly took Xiao Man’s and refused to let go. Xiao Man struggled a couple of times but couldn’t pull free, so she just let him hold it. She also stopped nagging him to put on his coat. ’His palm is scorching hot, like a personal furnace. He probably really isn’t cold.’
Back inside, Gu Shaojun greeted each of the elders. When he announced he wanted to stay for New Year’s Eve dinner, Grandpa Tang and Grandma Tang were naturally delighted. Tang Qingshan clapped him warmly on the shoulder and pulled him over to the liquor cabinet to pick out drinks for the evening.
Grandma Tang and Grandma’s culinary skills were no joke. The New Year’s Eve dinner was a magnificent feast. Following the style Xiao Man had set last year, the table was laden with both northern and southern cuisines. The dishes were a delight to the eyes and nose, and the flavor was, of course, exquisite. Though the ingredients had been purchased in Beijing, Xiao Man had secretly swapped them out. Even the water used for cooking came from the Spiritual Spring in her space.
Just before dinner began, Tang Qingyun returned alone. He offered only a single sentence of explanation about Wu Xiaowen: "Xiao Wen took Tang Yaxuan to visit a cousin this morning. She called this afternoon to say they’d been asked to stay over."
No one asked any further questions. Everyone cheerfully gathered around the table. Xiao Man served soup, Gu Shaojun poured drinks, and Hao Hao busied himself running into the courtyard to light a string of firecrackers. And with that, the New Year’s Eve banquet, full of festive cheer, officially began.
They savored the meal, talking and laughing as they ate. With so many people at the table, conversation flowed freely, and the dinner lasted for nearly two hours.
In 1980, the Spring Festival Gala didn’t exist yet. The black-and-white television was on, playing some pre-recorded festive song-and-dance numbers that weren’t particularly captivating. When Gu Shaojun overheard the siblings, Xiao Man and Hao Hao, plotting to stay up for the New Year’s vigil, he decided to spend the night at the Tang Mansion. He would keep watch with them and then head back to the Gu family residence in the morning, bringing them along to pay their New Year’s respects.