Chapter 583 - 502: Little White Lotus
Chapter 583: Chapter 502: Little White Lotus
After Luo Chunxiang left, the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department was suddenly flooded with patients. Xiao Man and a few other TCM physicians were so busy they hadn’t seen everyone by the time their lunch break arrived. Yang Liu’er called to ask her out for lunch, but Xiao Man had to decline.
The next few days were just as hectic. Most medical students couldn’t have handled starting at the hospital before their official internship, but Xiao Man was a special case. Before she had even enrolled in the Medical College, she had already thoroughly mastered not just Sun’s Traditional Chinese Medicine but the field of Huaxia medicine as a whole. Now in school, she only needed to focus her energy on Western medicine. With Sun Yiming, a medical doctor, available to give her private tutoring anytime, she faced no real problems—except for the fact that her schedule was tight and time was always in short supply.
The Sun father and son had their own reasons for pulling Xiao Man into the hospital for an early internship. They wanted to cultivate a new generation of outstanding TCM physicians under the Sun Family’s name, ensuring that Sun’s Traditional Chinese Medicine would flourish, and all of this required Xiao Man’s participation.
So, whenever Xiao Man was so busy she didn’t even remember to drink water, she couldn’t help but mutter to herself. ’Maybe taking that stake in the Sun Family’s business wasn’t such a big deal after all, right?’
On Saturday, Xiao Man was supposed to return to the Tang Mansion as usual. That morning, she got a call from Yang Liu’er, who said she’d promised to pick Weiwei up from school in the afternoon and take him to the First Department Store. She asked if Xiao Man wanted to join them. Xiao Man thought for a moment and decided she would hang out with them for a couple of hours before they all went their separate ways for dinner. She hadn’t been home for dinner last weekend, so she definitely had to go this time.
Xiao Man also wanted to ask Yang Liu’er about Luo Chunxiang’s situation. She hadn’t been to De Ren Hospital in the last two days, so she wouldn’t have run into Luo Chunxiang even if she’d come for acupuncture. ’I hope no one at the Bai Mansion tampered with or switched out those pills I gave her.’ There was also a bit of gossip she was curious about. ’About Luo Chunxiang’s divorce... will the Bai Family really go through with it? If they do, does that mean Bai Lihua will marry Wu Xiaowen?’
She was a bit taken aback by the thought. ’Where did that come from?’ She knew she wasn’t hoping for a happy ending for Wu Xiaowen; she was merely speculating based on the current situation.
’How could marrying into the Bai Family possibly be a happy ending? Besides, Wu Xiaowen and her life have nothing to do with me.’
In the afternoon, Xiao Man left school early and found Yang Liu’er and Weiwei at the main gate. She handed Weiwei a newspaper cone filled with bright red wild strawberries. Xiao Man explained that she had picked them by the lake at the school’s herb garden. Weiwei laughed with delight. He fed two berries to Yang Liu’er and two to Xiao Man before starting on the rest himself. The little guy was so extravagant! These were wild strawberries from the foot of Feilai Peak in the Treasure Pearl Cave Heaven, little berries brimming with Spiritual Energy, yet he wasn’t savoring them one by one—he was stuffing them into his mouth by the handful!
With one hand on the back of Weiwei’s head, Yang Liu’er reminded him to watch where he was going as he ate. The three of them chatted as they walked toward the bus stop.
After they had walked a dozen or so steps, a woman’s voice shouted, "Tang Manman, stop right there!"
Xiao Man glanced toward the tree-lined path to her left, her brow furrowing slightly. ’Speak of the devil. I was just thinking about Wu Xiaowen this morning, and here she is, popping up out of nowhere!’
Beside her was Lin Aizhen, and an even more detestable person, Wu Qin. The three generations—grandmother, mother, and daughter—were sitting on a wooden bench along the path, looking perfectly content and harmonious. ’So why bother stopping me?’
Wu Xiaowen helped Lin Aizhen get up from the bench. Lin Aizhen put on a benevolent expression, smiling broadly as she waved to Xiao Man. "Manman, my sweet granddaughter, come here! Come to Grandma!"
Xiao Man was speechless.
She glanced around. The concrete path was wide and crowded with pedestrians. She truly wished the woman had been calling out to some random passerby and not her. ’Who wants a wolf for a grandmother? I certainly don’t.’
Wu Qin had already risen from the bench and was standing off to the side. She wasn’t looking at Xiao Man; instead, her eyes locked with Yang Liu’er’s. With her chin tilted up in an arrogant pose, the disdain in her gaze was unmistakable.
Yang Liu’er was already annoyed just seeing Wu Qin, but when Wu Qin struck that pose, she flew into a rage. Shoving Weiwei toward Xiao Man, she rolled up the sleeves of her new blouse, looking ready to charge over and land a few punches. Xiao Man quickly grabbed her arm, silently urging her to be patient. ’There are too many people around,’ she thought. ’If Wu Qin starts screaming and attracts a crowd, it’ll be a hassle. Better to wait.’
Wu Xiaowen’s face was a mask of irritation as she shouted at Xiao Man, "You ungrateful child! Your grandmother adores you and misses you so much! She rushed all the way here just to see you and even twisted her ankle. It’s hurting her! Why aren’t you rushing over to take a look?"
After a moment’s thought, Xiao Man walked toward them. Yang Liu’er shot Wu Qin a vicious glare, then took Weiwei’s hand and followed close behind.
Once on the tree-lined path, Xiao Man stopped about three paces from them. "I recall Uncle Tang divorced you," she said, her tone light and detached. "You’re no longer Aunt Tang, so why are you looking for me? If it’s about Tang Haocheng’s situation abroad, I’m not very clear on it either. He should be calling you regularly, so you likely know more than I do."
Wu Xiaowen stared at Xiao Man, her face turning pale as her body trembled. Suddenly, she lunged forward and swung her hand to slap Xiao Man across the face!
Earlier that afternoon, while on the phone with Bai Lihua, she had heard a woman’s voice in the background calling out, "Honey..." She had been livid, but Bai Lihua, instead of arguing, simply hung up. She was already in a terrible mood when her mother insisted on dragging her here to find Xiao Man. Upon arriving on campus, they had asked practically everyone and still couldn’t find her, which made her angry enough to kill. Now, this damned girl had the audacity to talk back to her and even mention the divorce—it was like a knife twisting in her heart! ’If it weren’t for this wretched girl, would I be in this situation today?’ Wu Xiaowen’s head throbbed. Old and new hatreds surged through her, and she snapped, all she wanted was to give Xiao Man a brutal beating.
But would Xiao Man really let her have her way and just stand there waiting for the blow?
Xiao Man made no obvious defensive move. She simply used the momentum to push Weiwei and Yang Liu’er aside as she dodged. With her strength, she could have easily lifted them both and shifted them several meters away, but there was no need for such an exaggerated display. She merely sidestepped Wu Xiaowen’s attack just in the nick of time.
Wu Xiaowen’s hand slapped empty air. Her lunge had been too forceful, and the trio had dodged too quickly. Somehow, she ended up sprawled out on the ground, eating a mouthful of dirt.
For more than ten seconds, there was dead silence. Lin Aizhen, apparently having forgotten her "grandmother" role, stood with her mouth agape, staring blankly at Wu Xiaowen on the ground like a wooden statue. Finally, Wu Xiaowen stirred. "PTHOO... PTHOO..." She spat out a mouthful of dirt and began to whimper. Wu Qin snapped out of her stupor and rushed over, dropping to her knees with a THUD. "Mom?" she cried, her voice thick with tears. "Mom, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
She looked up at Xiao Man, her face streaked with tears. "Sister! How could you be so cruel? That’s our mother!"
Xiao Man’s anger flared. ’This girl’s act is so fake, it’s disgusting. Hasn’t she realized she’s terrible at playing the innocent victim?’
Before Xiao Man could react, Yang Liu’er had already shot forward. She bent down, grabbed Wu Qin’s collar with her left hand, and with her right, delivered a rapid series of four or five hard slaps. SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! To finish, she straightened up and kicked Wu Qin forcefully, sending her tumbling. Wu Qin landed right on top of Wu Xiaowen, who had just been trying to struggle to her feet. Sure enough, Wu Xiaowen went down again, eating another mouthful of dirt...