Chapter 596 - 595: Drunk

Ye Xilan had been fuming about the engagement for days. Hearing Wu Sheng praise Su Li again, treating her like a treasure, only made her angrier.

She decided she couldn’t tolerate it any longer.

’Originally, I hoped they would break up on their own, but now it looks like that’s impossible. I’ll have to come up with a plan myself.’

’They’re not even from the same world. I have no idea how they ended up together!’

Ye Xilan grumbled to herself as she made up her mind. ’No, I can’t just hope they’ll break up on their own. I have to do something. I absolutely cannot let them get married!’

Thinking of Su Li, Ye Xilan’s brow furrowed.

’To think he’d fall for a reporter who’s always making a public spectacle of herself. But... Su Li isn’t the only reporter out there.’

’If he likes reporters, then let’s find him a reporter. There are plenty of them who are better and more accomplished than Su Li.’

’Most importantly, she has to come from a better family than Su Li. And she won’t be some divorcee with baggage!’

With this thought, the tight knot in Ye Xilan’s brow finally loosened a bit.

Su Li was still unaware of the plan Ye Xilan was secretly hatching to find Wu Sheng a wife from a more "suitable" background.

She went to work full of vigor every day, as did Little Tang Mo. Mother and son were filled with confidence for the future, their lives full and happy.

After another busy day, Su Li picked up Little Tang Mo and returned home. As she was organizing some files, lamenting how quickly time was passing and how soon the new school semester would begin, the phone rang.

Su Li hurriedly got up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Su Li, it’s me." Tang Yuanxiao’s voice came from the other end of the line.

"Tang Yuanxiao." The smile in Su Li’s voice faded a little as she greeted him softly.

"How are you all doing?" Tang Yuanxiao asked.

"We’re doing great," Su Li replied quickly.

"That’s good. If you ever need my help with anything, just let me know," Tang Yuanxiao added.

"Okay." The conversation felt stilted.

Tang Yuanxiao could feel it, too. He paused, then said, "I’m back in the Imperial City. I want to... see Momo."

"Of course. When do you want to pick him up? Or I can get him, and you can arrange a time with him."

Just as Su Li was about to call for Tang Mo, Tang Yuanxiao’s voice came urgently from the other end.

"Su Li, wait."

"Hm?"

"I have something else to tell you," Tang Yuanxiao said after a pause. "You received the money I sent to pay you back, right?"

"Yes, I received it," Su Li confirmed. ’Why is he bringing this up?’

"I’ve paid back both you and Wu Sheng now, and I’m a little more comfortable financially. I was thinking... I can’t be so thick-skinned anymore. I want to take on some of my responsibility for Momo’s upbringing."

Tang Yuanxiao’s steady voice came over the line. This was a decision he had made after long and careful consideration.

"You don’t have to," Su Li said. "Little Mo is my son now. I can provide for him."

"I should have been doing this all along," Tang Yuanxiao said with a wry laugh, "but I failed. Now that I can afford it, I want to do my part."

He knew Su Li wasn’t short on money and wouldn’t care about what little he could offer, but it was the thought that counted. It was a responsibility he wanted to fulfill.

He was the one who should have been raising Tang Mo. He should have been the one responsible. Instead, everything had been a mess, and Su Li had shouldered it all.

Every time he had seen Tang Mo in the past, he’d felt a mix of joy and guilt.

He just wanted to do a little better by Tang Mo...

Tang Yuanxiao couldn’t bring himself to say these things out loud, but Su Li could vaguely sense his true feelings in the silence.

Su Li paused for a moment and finally spoke.

"If you want to, that’s fine. Whatever you want to give Little Mo, give it to him yourself. Let him keep it and do whatever he wants with it."

’If Tang Yuanxiao wanted to be good to Tang Mo, she had no right to stop him. Even if he gave him money every month, she wouldn’t stand in the way. She’d let Tang Mo handle it himself.’

’He could save it or buy something with it. Of course, if he refused to accept it, Su Li wouldn’t have any objection to that either.’

When Tang Yuanxiao heard Su Li agree and understood her terms, he breathed a sigh of relief, yet he also felt a boundless sense of melancholy.

’He understood her perfectly. It didn’t matter to her whether he contributed or not; she would continue raising the boy just as she always had.’

’Compared to everything Su Li provided for Tang Mo, compared to her wealth, what he could offer was... truly nothing.’

’But it was his way of showing he cared.’

Tang Yuanxiao took a deep breath and agreed. "Okay, then it’s settled."

"I want to take Momo to see his maternal grandmother tomorrow. Grandma Cui’s health hasn’t been good this year."

Even though Su Li was raising Tang Mo, Tang Yuanxiao had continued to look after the Cui family for the past two years, just as he always had, and still visited Grandma Cui whenever he had the chance.

Grandma Cui had been fine for the past two years, but her condition had taken a turn for the worse this year. Perhaps it was because the winter had been colder than usual, but her health had deteriorated significantly. At times, it seemed she might not pull through.

Thankfully, she had made it through the harsh winter, but her energy levels were dwindling, and her memory had begun to fade severely.

Su Li was also aware of Grandma Cui’s condition.

While they didn’t visit frequently, Su Li made sure to take Tang Mo to see Grandma Cui every year, and Grandma Cui would occasionally come to visit Tang Mo as well.

She had no objection to Tang Yuanxiao taking Tang Mo for a visit.

"Okay, you two should go. I’ll get Little Mo so you two can talk."

After Tang Yuanxiao and Tang Mo made their arrangements, they met up the next day to visit Grandma Cui. On the way home, Tang Yuanxiao gave Little Mo the money he had prepared for him.

It wasn’t much—only a hundred yuan.

But it was money he had worked hard to save, a token of his sincerity.

At first, Tang Mo didn’t want to take it. But after Tang Yuanxiao explained that Su Li had already agreed and conveyed his intentions, Tang Mo quietly accepted the money.

Later, during their casual chat, Tang Yuanxiao finally learned that Wu Sheng and Su Li were engaged.

Wu Sheng and Su Li’s engagement was no secret, but no one had gone out of their way to tell Tang Yuanxiao. In fact, most people avoided the topic around him whenever possible.

So it wasn’t until now, after all this time, that Tang Yuanxiao finally found out.

After blurting out the news, Tang Mo looked over at Tang Yuanxiao and saw that he had stopped in his tracks, standing frozen in a daze.

The sense of loss and pain in Tang Yuanxiao’s heart was palpable.

Beyond that, there was also a sense of ’so, it’s finally happened.’

’In the end... it still came to this.’

’They’re engaged. Their bond is growing stronger. Soon... they’ll be married...’

Even though Tang Yuanxiao knew this would happen, even though he thought he had prepared himself for it long ago, the thought still pierced his heart.

He forced himself to act as if he didn’t care, as if everything was fine, and walked Tang Mo home. But after they said their goodbyes, the pain became impossible to hide.

Because of this news, the next time Lin Huanzhu saw Tang Yuanxiao, he was sitting alone, drinking his sorrows away.

He had already had quite a bit to drink; in fact, he was already drunk.

Lin Huanzhu was surprised, but she couldn’t just ignore him. She walked in without a second thought.

"Tang Yuanxiao? Why are you drinking?" Lin Huanzhu asked, sitting across from him.

Tang Yuanxiao didn’t seem to hear her. He just raised his glass and kept drinking, one after another. Seeing that he was already out of it and still drinking so frantically, Lin Huanzhu quickly stood up to stop him.

"Tang Yuanxiao, you’re drunk. You can’t drink anymore. Put it down."

Hearing the words "you’re drunk," Tang Yuanxiao finally reacted. SLAM! He slammed his glass down on the table.

"Who says I’m drunk? I’m not drunk."

"Okay, okay, you’re not drunk..." Lin Huanzhu had just started to speak when she saw Tang Yuanxiao fall straight backward.

"Careful!" Lin Huanzhu lunged forward to catch him.

Unsurprisingly, Tang Yuanxiao collapsed right into her.