Chapter 468 - 408: Change
Chapter 468: Chapter 408: Change
Tang Qingshan looked at Tang Qingyun. "What’s this? Are you the one who can’t be seen in public, skulking around just to go out on the street? Or is it that you can’t let go, and you’re afraid you’ll get too sentimental if you see her?"
"Don’t be ridiculous, Brother. That was Mom’s instruction for Hao Hao. I don’t need to skulk around. I don’t want to see her, simple as that. It has nothing to do with what you’re thinking. She’s like a malignant tumor that’s been cut out and thrown away. Who would want to look back and see it again?"
Tang Qingyun pushed his shovel into a snowdrift and turned to walk toward the front yard. "It’s fine that she’s here. We can make a clean break. After this, we’ll be strangers."
Tang Qingshan placed a hand on Xiao Man’s shoulder and said to Tang Haocheng, "You should go too. No matter what, she’s still the woman who gave birth to you. You can show some basic filial piety, but don’t you dare cross the line."
Xiao Man watched Tang Haocheng’s tall, somewhat slender back and sighed. "Hao Hao is in a pitiful spot. He’s caught in the middle."
Tang Qingshan smiled. "He’s doing alright. He’s much luckier than others who are caught in the middle."
Tang Qingyun didn’t go straight to the main gate. Instead, he went inside to his room to change clothes.
Tang Haocheng, however, went ahead to see Wu Xiaowen.
Tang Yaxuan smiled cautiously and waved at him. "Hao Hao!"
Tang Haocheng shot her a look. "Is your memory that bad? It seems I’ll have to use force. Call me Hao Hao one more time, and I’ll have the guards take your picture and throw you out of this alley. From now on, you won’t be allowed to pass through here. If you’re spotted, you’ll be arrested as a dangerous individual and thrown in prison."
Tang Yaxuan immediately snapped her mouth shut, her face turning pale with fright.
She knew Tang Haocheng wasn’t joking. This alley was exclusively lined with courtyard homes of various sizes, and the residents were mostly prominent and influential families, as well as unlisted classified organizations. In addition to the guards, patrols were constantly walking about. Otherwise, when Tang Qingyun and Wu Xiaowen divorced, Lin Aizhen had been preparing to cause a huge scene, but ultimately couldn’t. All the Tang family had to do was issue a single alert, and no amount of preparation would have mattered.
Wu Xiaowen soothingly patted Tang Yaxuan on the back and chided Tang Haocheng, "Stop scaring your sister! Even if Xuanxuan isn’t a biological member of the Tang family, she grew up in this house. Her background is clean. Who would dare treat her like a dangerous person? On what grounds?"
Hearing this, Tang Yaxuan wiped her eyes pitifully and began to sob quietly.
Tang Haocheng was extremely impatient. "If you have something to say, say it. I have to go. Just looking at her makes me sick. If you bring her to see me again, you won’t even see my shadow!"
"Hao Hao, how can you be like this? She’s your sister!"
"She is not! I have no other sister besides Manman! Mom, you are my mother, and you always will be, but you can’t use your position as my mother to force me to do things I don’t want to do. I won’t accept it. If you go too far, you will lose what little respect I have left for you."
"You..." Wu Xiaowen bit her lip. ’I didn’t come here to argue with my son,’ she thought, so she changed the subject. "Your father returned to Beijing a long time ago. Why did you lie to me when I asked you last time?"
Tang Haocheng took a deep breath. "Do we have to talk like this? I really don’t like it. I can only repeat my previous answer: I don’t come home often, and I haven’t seen Dad when I have. Therefore, I don’t know when Dad arrived in Beijing!"
Wu Xiaowen paused, her tone softening. "Hao Hao, Mom was just asking. I didn’t mean anything by it. But since your father is back in Beijing, even if you weren’t home, he should have at least visited you at school."
"Dad has never been to my school." Tang Haocheng turned and glanced into the yard. "Dad’s coming. You two have things to talk about, so I’ll make myself scarce."
"We’re family, what is there to avoid? Hao Hao, the New Year is almost here. Wait for Mom’s call, and we’ll go to your grandparents’ house to pay our respects... Or how about you pack a few things and come stay with me at the Education Road compound for a few days? You’re on winter break, after all!"
As she spoke, Wu Xiaowen reached out to straighten Tang Haocheng’s collar, but he dodged away and strode back into the yard. "I’m sorry, Mom. Even though I’m on winter break, I’m very busy. I can’t go with you to pay New Year’s respects. I’m leaving. Goodbye!"
"Hao Hao, wait!" Wu Xiaowen took a few steps in pursuit, but a black sedan drove up and stopped right in front of her.
Tang Qingyun stepped out of the car. His leather shoes were gleaming, his hair was combed perfectly, and he wore a double-breasted black woolen overcoat with a cashmere scarf. He looked every bit the dapper and handsome British gentleman, a world away from his previous image as a cadre from the mountains, who wore Mao suits and sometimes even rolled-up trousers with canvas shoes. He gracefully pulled open the car door and invited Wu Xiaowen to get in. "We still have one conversation left to have. I apologize, I’ve been too busy since returning to Beijing and couldn’t find the time. Since you’re here, let’s settle it today. I just called the International Hotel and booked a table. Please!"
Wu Xiaowen stared at Tang Qingyun, her heart pounding so hard her eyelashes trembled. ’Is this really Tang Qingyun? How can he look so healthy?’ He had stomach problems, a habit of staying up late, and smoked excessively, which had given him a pale, ashen complexion. His eyes were always bloodshot as if from lack of sleep, carrying a hint of groggy exhaustion. The spirited vigor and sharp agility common in healthy men had been absent from him for many years. But the Tang Qingyun before her now had a rosy, radiant complexion. Paired with his attire, he looked just like the tall, handsome, and omnipotent male lead from some movie, exuding a captivating masculine charm from head to toe.
’Tang Yaxuan was right. He was even more handsome and younger-looking than before, as if he had gone back in time a dozen years!’
Wu Xiaowen stood there in a daze, unmoving. Memories began to replay in her mind, something slowly reawakening, tracing all the way back to when they first met. In fact, the Tang Qingyun from that time was exactly like this!
The only difference was an added maturity and composure.
The first time she laid eyes on him, he had been sitting among a group of young people—his lips red, teeth white, his smile gentle. He was impeccably dressed, elegant, and handsome, so dazzling and outstanding. All the changes in him had come after he was sent down to the countryside. Living in a provincial village, he had gradually become just an ordinary man...
Wu Xiaowen murmured, "Qingyun? Qingyun, is that really you? How did you become... like this?"
Tang Qingyun glanced at her. "Everyone changes. Haven’t you changed too? Life changes us. It’s just a matter of who changes more completely!"
"Qingyun, I..." Wu Xiaowen started to explain something as she took a few steps forward, nearly closing the distance between them.
Tang Qingyun stood his ground, his tone light. "Wu Xiaowen, we’re divorced. I don’t really think we have anything to talk about. If you feel the same way, then let’s not bother, shall we? That way I won’t have to turn down a dinner invitation from my friends."
Wu Xiaowen stopped in her tracks. She met Tang Qingyun’s gaze for a moment with a look of fragile sorrow, then lowered her head and slipped into the car.
Tang Yaxuan hurried to follow. As she passed Tang Qingyun, she called out obediently, "Dad!"
Tang Qingyun shook his head. "Wu Xiaowen and I are divorced. You are her adopted daughter, and hers alone. You have nothing to do with me! Don’t ever call me that again. I forbid it!"
Tang Yaxuan’s eyes reddened and tears fell. "Dad, please don’t scare Xuanxuan. You used to say that Xuanxuan was your heart and soul, the apple of your eye, your most beloved daughter... Don’t you want Xuanxuan anymore?"
Tang Qingyun’s expression turned cold and severe. "That’s right. ’Xuanxuan’ is my most beloved treasure, my heart and soul, but I was referring to my biological daughter, not you! I chose the name ’Tang Yaxuan’ specifically for my precious daughter. You can no longer use it. Manman has resumed the Tang surname, so you should change your surname back to Mo or Wu. Before the next school semester begins, I will go to the Public Security Bureau to check the status of your household registration."