Chapter 325 - 288: The Reek of Money
Chapter 325: Chapter 288: The Reek of Money
Wu Yu Xuan’s expression turned grim. "What do you mean? Abandoned? Left for dead? Explain yourself!"
"Long-distance calls are expensive. Mr. Wu, you can just ask your daughter, Wu Xiaowen, who’s right there. She can tell you the whole story. As for that ’Summer Rhythm’ jade carving, I did buy it, but I never planned on giving it away. I bought it for my collection. In ten or twenty years, this piece will definitely appreciate in value. The day it’s worth a million, I’ll sell it. Money is a wonderful thing, after all!"
"You..." Wu Yu Xuan stared, shaking his head speechlessly. ’How can a granddaughter of the Wu Family be so shamelessly materialistic?’
"Manman, listen to Grandpa. ’Summer Rhythm’ has been passed down in our Wu Family for generations. Even if it’s a replica, you can’t sell it! You’re still young, and you don’t know how to appraise or care for jade. How about you give it to Grandpa? I’ll keep it safe for you, okay?"
"No."
"...In that case, could Grandpa just take one look?"
"I’m sorry. I spent a great deal of money on it. It’s a valuable item, and I can’t just show it to outsiders."
"Manman, I’m your grandfather! What is wrong with you, child..."
Xiao Man frowned. ’She hated that tone. Wu Xiaowen often spoke to her like that. So she got it from Wu Yu Xuan.’
She had already made her refusal clear, so she simply hung up the phone without so much as a goodbye.
In the Wu Mansion in Beijing, Wu Yu Xuan stared at the receiver in his hand in disbelief, furious. "Th-th-this... What kind of attitude is that? Hanging up without a word... Utterly impolite!"
Lin Aizhen came forward and helped him sit down. "The girl grew up in the countryside, so it’s only natural she’s a bit coarse. She’ll get better with time."
Wu Xiaowen quickly added, "Dad, don’t be angry. When Manman gets back to Beijing, I’ll have her apologize to you!"
Tang Haocheng, who was standing off to the side, remained silent and expressionless, but inside, he was retorting, ’Why should my sister have to apologize? She didn’t do anything wrong. Besides, as if she’d ever listen to you. You’re just fooling yourself!’
Tang Haocheng found himself looking down on his mother more and more. He couldn’t accept it, didn’t want to believe it, but the truth was undeniable. He had always thought of his mother as gentle and virtuous, a woman of some understanding. But this whole affair with his sister had revealed her vanity and coldness, her shallowness and ignorance. The perfect image he had held in his young heart shattered. Disappointment gave way to despair, and now he just felt numb. Blood was thicker than water; she was still his mother. He could only fulfill his duties as a son, showing her respect and providing for her, but he could no longer adore her or feel close to her as he did when he was a child.
Seeing Wu Yu Xuan sit down on the sofa, Tang Haocheng walked over, bowed slightly, and said, "The call is done. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave."
"You can’t do that! You haven’t eaten yet!" Lin Aizhen said.
"That’s right, Hao Hao, just wait a little longer... I’m not sure what happened with your sister, the line just suddenly went dead. Why don’t you try calling her back?"
Wu Xiaowen grabbed her son’s arm and reached out to stroke his hair, but Tang Haocheng dodged her touch. He had shot up in the past two years and was now nearly 1.7 meters tall—the same height as Wu Xiaowen. He was hardly a little boy to be coddled anymore.
"My sister was in the principal’s office. We talked for long enough. It’s the school’s phone, not her personal line—she can’t just use it whenever she wants. She’s probably back in class by now."
"Well..." Wu Xiaowen glanced at Wu Yu Xuan’s dark expression and felt a pang of guilt. ’Today is Dad’s birthday. My plan was to bring my son over, have him make one phone call, and that girl, Xiao Man, would surely listen to Hao Hao. She would definitely agree to his request and give Dad the ’Summer Rhythm’ jade carving as a birthday gift. And once Dad was happy, he would surely dote on me, his eldest daughter, and trust me even more.’
’But who would have thought Hao Hao would be so uncooperative the moment he arrived? It took every ounce of my strength, a mix of coaxing and threatening, just to get him to pick up the phone and dial. And then he started spouting nonsense. Of course, Xiao Man is a hateful little thorn to begin with. I have no idea what she said to Dad, but she even hung up on him rudely, making him this angry... Honestly... this pair of children must have been sent to collect a debt from me. They just don’t want me to have a moment of peace!’
Wu Xiaowen shot Tang Haocheng a resentful look, then said with a sigh of resignation, "Well, at least stay and sit for a bit. Keep your grandfather company. You haven’t eaten yet, right? You can leave after dinner!"
"It was dinnertime when you showed up at my school. You wouldn’t let me go to the dining hall, and I told you clearly: I can only be gone for one hour. You promised I could go back to school after an hour. But all you did was chat about random things and pressure me to call my sister about the jade, giving me one lecture after another. I made the call. The kitchen staff came in twice to say dinner was ready, but none of you showed any sign of wanting to eat. Honestly, I’m starving, but it’s too late now. I can’t stay for dinner. I have to go!"
With that said, Tang Haocheng shouldered his backpack and strode out the door.
"Hao Hao, wait! I’ll take you to eat right now!" Wu Xiaowen was stunned by his words for a moment. Only then did she remember that she had dragged him away from the entrance of his school’s dining hall. He hadn’t had so much as a sip of water since arriving at the Wu Mansion. He must have been starving all this time. A wave of heartache washed over her, and she hurried out after him.
Lin Aizhen also rushed to shout toward the courtyard, "Is anyone out there? Stop Hao Hao! Set the table right away! Let the boy eat before he leaves. We can’t let him go hungry..."
Wu Yu Xuan slammed his hand on the arm of the sofa twice, his anger flaring even more. "What in the world are you people doing? Hao Hao already said he was short on time, so why didn’t you let him eat first? Muddle-headed! Foolish! Absolutely foolish!"
A young, pretty woman in fashionable clothes was sitting in a chair in the corner. This was Wu Xiaowen’s younger sister, Wu Xiaorui. While Wu Yu Xuan and the others had been on the phone, she had kept her head down, meticulously trimming her nails. Now, she finally looked up, held up her hand, and blew lightly on her five fingers. The corner of her lip curled into a cold smirk as she said:
"Dad, you’ve got it wrong. That isn’t foolishness, it’s selfishness and heartlessness. She only thinks about what she wants and never considers anyone else. To put it more bluntly, it’s cruel and cold-blooded! You’ve both seen the miserable state your younger daughter was in, and it was all thanks to her—a living, breathing example! But you two just love to bury your heads in the sand, always making excuses for her. See her true colors now? So what if he’s her own son? He doesn’t go along with her plans, and he doesn’t get to eat! And that’s not even mentioning the biological daughter from the countryside she disdained and abandoned... Still, seeing her act this way does make me feel a little better. If she doesn’t even care about her own flesh and blood, what chance did I, her own sister, ever have?"
Wu Yu Xuan’s brow furrowed, his pale face becoming as still and dark as deep water. Lin Aizhen shot her younger daughter a reproachful glare and chided softly, "That’s enough. Not another word. Go help your sister set the table. The adults and children are all hungry."
In the courtyard, Tang Haocheng was walking quickly. Wu Xiaowen, trying to run gracefully in her mid-heeled leather shoes, couldn’t keep up. It was Tang Yaxuan, nimble in her white athletic shoes, who managed to catch him at the main gate. She pulled a handful of White Rabbit milk candies from her pocket and held them out to him, panting, "Brother, here’s some candy. They’re milk candies, they’ll tide you over."
Tang Haocheng didn’t give her so much as a glance. He leaped down the steps in a few bounds and vanished from sight.