Chapter 367 - 322: Changing the Surname
Chapter 367: Chapter 322: Changing the Surname
Tang Yaxuan’s lips parted slightly, her eyes red and pitiful as she looked at Tang Haocheng. "Hao..."
Tang Haocheng raised a finger, pointing at her in warning. Tang Yaxuan turned to Lin Aizhen, and tears instantly flooded her eyes. "Grandma... SOB SOB SOB!"
Lin Aizhen sighed and placed the fruit plate back on the nightstand. Just then, Wu Xiaowen came in, her cheeks still slightly flushed. When she saw Tang Yaxuan wiping away tears with one hand while holding an apple in the other, she quickly asked, "What’s all this?"
Tang Yaxuan stood up, tears streaming down her face. She glanced timidly at Tang Haocheng and said softly, "It’s nothing, Mom!"
Seeing her daughter’s state, how could Wu Xiaowen not understand? She shot Tang Haocheng a look of displeasure. "Hao Hao, how could you..."
Tang Haocheng shoved his hands into his pockets and said indifferently, "I’ve paid my visit to Grandma. You should rest well, Grandma. Listen to the doctors and cooperate with your treatment. You’ll get better. I’m leaving now."
"Don’t go yet, dear. Sit with your grandma a little longer!" Lin Aizhen reached out to grab Tang Haocheng.
Wu Xiaowen also wouldn’t let her son leave. "You just got here and you’re already leaving? You haven’t even said more than a few words to your grandma. What was the point of coming at all?"
Tang Haocheng said, "It was pointless to begin with. I’m not a doctor, and I can’t stand Xuanxuan. All this shouting and crying is just going to disturb Grandma’s rest."
Speechless, Wu Xiaowen turned to Tang Yaxuan. "Stop crying. Since Hao Hao won’t eat the apple, you can have it."
Tang Yaxuan offered the apple to her. "You eat it, Mom!"
"I don’t want it. You eat it."
"This apple is so juicy; it must be very sweet. Take a bite, Mom! It’ll be refreshing."
Wu Xiaowen smiled. "Alright, I’ll take a bite. Such a good girl!"
Having been praised, Tang Yaxuan finally smiled. The mother and daughter then began taking turns biting into the apple.
Tang Haocheng’s face was as cold as ice. Seeing this, Lin Aizhen sighed and said impatiently, "Alright, alright, stop making such a fuss over a single apple. There are more here, just help yourselves!"
The mother and daughter quieted down. Wu Xiaowen stopped eating the apple and began speaking to Tang Haocheng. "Hao Hao, about your grandmother’s illness... your grandfather used to have the same thing. He got so much better after taking the medicine Manman prescribed that he hasn’t even been back to the hospital. I went looking for Manman yesterday but couldn’t find her. I wanted her to come check on Grandma today, but she’s so stubborn! I just chided her a little, and she turned and ran off! When you get back to the Tang family home later, try to persuade your sister. She’s a doctor; she should know they have a duty to save lives. This is a life on the line, and it’s her own grandmother! Tell her to hurry over, examine Grandma, and prescribe some good medicine!"
Tang Haocheng remained silent. When Lin Aizhen heard that Manman refused to come because Wu Xiaowen had said something to her, her face darkened instantly. She snapped at Wu Xiaowen, "Look at you! What happened to your old competence? The older you get, the less reliable you become. I’m in this state, I nearly died, and you couldn’t just coax her a little? That’s your biological daughter, a promising child! You have to coax her back no matter what. Have you forgotten everything I taught you? Oh, for heaven’s sake..."
Lin Aizhen’s face contorted in pain as she clutched her chest, groaning. Wu Xiaowen quickly sat by her mother’s side to help soothe her. "Mom, Mom, don’t get worked up. Hao Hao is here now, isn’t he? That stubborn girl Manman has a terrible temper, but she listens to Hao Hao. We’ll have Hao Hao go back and talk to her..."
Tang Haocheng grew even more speechless. He knew his mom must have had a reason for dragging him all the way from school.
He just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. He didn’t refuse, but he didn’t give a definite promise either. "I’ll only pass on the message. As for whether my sister will come to treat Grandma, I can’t guarantee anything."
Wu Xiaowen frowned. "What do you mean you can’t guarantee it? This is your own grandmother!"
Lin Aizhen’s voice was faint and weak. "Hao Hao, just tell your sister that when Grandma gets better, I’ll dote on her twice as much... Grandma is really suffering. Ask her to take pity on your grandma!"
Tang Yaxuan couldn’t help but add anxiously, "That’s right, Hao Hao! Grandma dotes on us both so much, doesn’t she? Remember all those things sent from abroad? Grandma always let you pick the best ones first. And every time we went to Grandma’s house, we’d get the biggest red envelopes..."
"Shut your mouth!" Tang Haocheng shot Tang Yaxuan a sharp glare. "What ’us’? My last name is Tang. What’s yours?"
Tears welled in Tang Yaxuan’s eyes. Biting her lip, she said, "Grandma loves Mom the most, and she dotes on me just as much. Now that Grandma’s sick and suffering, Mom can’t rest easy. I don’t want Grandma or Mom to be sad; I just really want Grandma to get better! Hao Hao, I know you and Manman can’t stand me. If you can convince Manman to come and cure Grandma, I... I’ll change my last name and my first name. I never should have been a Tang to begin with... As long as you two can cure Grandma, I’ll do anything!"
The hospital room fell silent for a moment. The patients in the two adjacent beds, who had been sleeping, now opened their eyes to peek over.
Lin Aizhen stopped groaning. She looked at Tang Yaxuan and sighed. "You poor child, thinking so much about your grandma."
Wu Xiaowen reached out and pulled Tang Yaxuan into her arms, smoothing her hair. She pressed her forehead against Tang Yaxuan’s and said, "You’re such a good, kindhearted girl! I support you. It’s okay if your surname isn’t Tang. We can use Wu, your grandfather’s last name, alright?"
"Mhm!" Tang Yaxuan glanced ingratiatingly at Lin Aizhen and smiled. "Or we could use Grandma’s last name. I’d like that too!"
Lin Aizhen smiled and nodded, then looked at Tang Haocheng. "You see, Hao Hao? Xuanxuan really is a good girl."
Tang Haocheng sneered. "Why didn’t you change it when you switched identities with my sister? Even if the Tang family doesn’t acknowledge you, your household registration and all your connections are in Beijing now. You’ve successfully become my mother’s adopted daughter, so what difference does changing your name make? Are you bringing this up just to prove how filial you, the fake granddaughter, are? To show you’re so much better than my sister? You think you’re in any position to bargain with my sister and me? There are plenty of people with the surname Tang in this world. As long as you’re not my family, I couldn’t care less what your name is!"
Completely mortified, Tang Yaxuan stood there, stunned, her mouth agape.
Tang Haocheng said to Wu Xiaowen and Lin Aizhen, "I’m leaving now. I only promised to pass on the message. Nothing else is guaranteed!"
Wu Xiaowen chased Tang Haocheng out of the hospital room. Meanwhile, Lin Aizhen watched Tang Yaxuan, who was looking down and fiddling with her fingers, her expression flickering and thoughtful.
When Wu Xiaowen returned, Lin Aizhen said, "I suspect Manman won’t be so quick to come treat me. Your mother-in-law is no pushover, and she wishes I were dead. She’ll definitely stop Manman from coming! This won’t do. Later, when your sister-in-law comes to relieve you, go home for dinner and don’t come back tonight. Get some rest. Then, tell your father to come pick me up tomorrow morning. We’ll go to their home ourselves! Usually when we visit, nine times out of ten they pretend no one is home. But Hao Hao went straight to the Tang family home from here. He’s an honest, soft-hearted boy; he won’t let us get the door slammed in our faces! As long as he lets us in, Manman will have no choice but to examine me and prescribe medicine!"
"But Mom, are you able to get out of bed and walk?"
"I’ve been in the hospital for two days, I’m fine. Tomorrow, we’ll wait until after the doctor’s rounds, after I’ve had my shot and my medicine, and then we’ll go!"
Wu Xiaowen nodded. "Okay. Besides, Dad also needs to get that jade carving from Manman."
"Sigh, your father... that’s one hundred and fifty thousand yuan! In the past, our family wouldn’t have thought twice about that much money, but now... Well, we’ll see tomorrow. Manman, such a bright, elegant girl... she shouldn’t be so obsessed with money."