He had seen it all clearly: the twisted, frenzied glee on Qin Shanshan’s face and the way she’d handed the stone to Mrs. Tang.
She was the one behind everything—why Mrs. Tang had come looking for Su Li, and how she’d been able to find her!
Tang Yuanxiao knew it all too well.
"Tangyuan, say something!" Mrs. Tang ignored Qin Shanshan’s attempt to shift the blame, her attention fixed solely on Tang Yuanxiao.
Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes flew open. He pushed through the wave of darkness that washed over him, steadied himself, and reached up to touch the back of his head.
His hand came away covered in bright red blood.
Mrs. Tang shrieked when she saw the blood. "Ah, blood! Tangyuan, what do we do? Why were you so foolish? You actually blocked that stone."
Qin Shanshan gasped, a mix of terror and shock on her face. "What do we do? What do we do?"
She glanced at the back of Tang Yuanxiao’s head just in time to see a trickle of blood run down his neck.
"Ah, Brother Tangyuan, quick, we have to get you to a hospital."
Tang Yuanxiao violently shoved her hand away, sending her stumbling to the side.
Ignoring Qin Shanshan, Tang Yuanxiao bent down, bracing himself on Mrs. Tang’s wheelchair. His face was grim as he spoke.
"I warned you. I told you not to come to the Imperial City, not to show your face in front of Momo, and not to cause trouble for Su Li. Why didn’t you listen? Do you want me to send you back to prison before you’ll finally give up?"
A drop of bright red blood trickled down Tang Yuanxiao’s cheek and landed on Mrs. Tang’s face.
As the drop landed, Mrs. Tang’s pupils constricted violently.
"Blood... Tangyuan, blood, you’re bleeding..." she trembled all over. "You can’t send me back to prison. They won’t take me in prison, not like this..."
Tang Yuanxiao’s gaze was so terrifying that Mrs. Tang’s tone instantly shifted to pleading and wailing.
"I’m your mother, Tangyuan! How could you say you’d send me back to prison..."
Tang Yuanxiao finally moved. Without a word, he picked up the large, blood-streaked stone that had hit him.
"Hitting someone with a stone like this can kill them. Do you understand that you were attempting murder?"
Before Mrs. Tang could react, Tang Yuanxiao suddenly put his strength into it and smashed the stone down.
The stone slammed heavily onto the armrest of Mrs. Tang’s wheelchair, which instantly broke off.
The force of the impact threw Mrs. Tang to the ground.
"Ah!" Mrs. Tang cried out in terror.
Tang Yuanxiao’s hand was trembling, and blood began to well up in his palm from the impact.
He stared grimly at Mrs. Tang on the ground and the trembling Qin Shanshan.
"If someone had died, one of you would be the principal offender, the other an accomplice. Death penalty or life in prison—neither of you would escape!"
Terrified by Tang Yuanxiao, Mrs. Tang lost control of her bowels and bladder. A foul stench filled the air, but she was too scared to make another sound.
Qin Shanshan’s eyes were filled with terror. She trembled, a mixture of fear and hatred consuming her.
’Tang Yuanxiao really can’t forget Su Li. For Su Li’s sake, he actually... he’d actually go this far!’
Qin Shanshan’s venomous gaze snapped toward Su Li.
’It’s all because of Su Li! It’s all her fault!’
’Before, I was happy that Su Li had taken that little bastard, that burden, away. But now it’s clear this was all Su Li’s scheme!’
’By keeping that little burden with her, she ensures Tang Yuanxiao will never stop thinking about her, will never stop thinking about that little burden!’
’This was my mistake. I only wanted Tang Mo out of my sight, but I never thought that not seeing him would make Tang Yuanxiao miss him even more.’
’If I had known, if only I had known, I would have found a way to keep Tang Mo here.’
’With Tang Mo in my hands and Tang Yuanxiao so busy, I could have tormented him however I pleased!’
’Su Li and Tang Mo are my nemesis, they’ll always be my nemesis! For them, Tang Yuanxiao is abandoning me, disowning his responsibilities, and even turning on his own mother!’
Qin Shanshan was consumed by fear, hatred, and jealousy. Her gaze toward Su Li was filled with such venomous killing intent that she looked like she wanted to swallow her whole.
The situation had spiraled out of control. Qin Shanshan didn’t bother to hide her expression; she couldn’t hide it.
How could Tang Yuanxiao not notice such intense hatred and emotion?
Even without turning around, he knew Qin Shanshan was staring at Su Li.
Blood rushed to Tang Yuanxiao’s head. The blood from his wound slowly soaked his collar red, and waves of dizziness washed over him. He bit the tip of his tongue to stay conscious.
Tang Yuanxiao turned to look at Su Li.
Su Li took off her shirt, draped it over Little Tang Mo’s head, and picked him up to leave.
As Tang Yuanxiao turned to her, Su Li was just getting ready to leave with Little Tang Mo in her arms. Her eyes swept over his bloodstained collar. Her hands clenched into tight fists. She gave Tang Yuanxiao a deep look, then turned and walked away without a word.
’If Tang Yuanxiao hadn’t rushed over, if he hadn’t thrown himself in front of us to protect us, if he hadn’t gotten hurt... I would never... I would never have let Mrs. Tang and Qin Shanshan off the hook.’
Su Li clutched Little Tang Mo and strode past them, but Tang Yuanxiao grabbed her arm.
"Are you hurt?" Tang Yuanxiao knew it was a stupid question.
There was a bloody scratch on Su Li’s cheek. He couldn’t see her other injuries, but he knew they had to be there.
’How could there not be?’
Before he arrived, Su Li had been repeatedly pelted. He had felt the full force of his mother’s strength.
Usually, Mrs. Tang acted as if she had no strength for anything, but today, it was as if all her power had returned.
"Let go." All Su Li wanted was to hold Little Tang Mo and get away from this place.
She shook off Tang Yuanxiao’s hand and hurried past him.
The words on the tip of Tang Yuanxiao’s tongue went unsaid.
He wanted to ask Su Li if she was badly hurt, if she needed to go to the hospital.
He wanted to ask if Momo was okay, if he should carry him.
But he never got the chance to say it.
He didn’t have the face to ask, and Su Li didn’t give him the chance.
Little Tang Mo’s attitude toward him had just started to soften. The last time, Little Tang Mo had eaten the popsicle he’d bought, and Su Li had even accepted one from him. The joy he’d felt then was still vivid in his mind.
But in an instant, everything had reverted to this.
’It’s back to the same old way again...’
It was like they were trapped in a loop, or rather, a vicious cycle.
A nightmare they could never escape, a malignant cycle repeating endlessly. No matter how hard he tried, Mrs. Tang always found a way to drag everything back to the worst possible situation...
Again and again...
Su Li could guess, or perhaps she understood, all of Tang Yuanxiao’s grief, his helplessness, and the words he wanted to say.
She should have been grateful to him for shielding them from disaster, but he was also the source of all these disasters.
Su Li didn’t know what was going on between Tang Yuanxiao and Qin Shanshan, but it was clear that Qin Shanshan’s failure to get what she wanted from her had only fueled her hatred.
This time, she was obviously the one fanning the flames behind the scenes again.
Mrs. Tang and Qin Shanshan were each destructive enough on their own. Them teaming up was even worse.
Any connection to Tang Yuanxiao brought with it an endless stream of disasters that would never stop.
Su Li hurried forward with Little Tang Mo in her arms, the sound of Mrs. Tang’s terrified wails echoing behind her.
"Tangyuan, you unfilial son! How could you treat your own mother like this..."
Besides Mrs. Tang’s hysterics, there were also the hurt, suppressed sobs of Qin Shanshan.
It had all happened so suddenly. No one expected Mrs. Tang and Qin Shanshan to suddenly start screaming insults and throwing rocks, so the nearby shopkeepers and passersby hadn’t reacted at first.
But now, a crowd had gathered around them.
Su Li, holding Little Tang Mo, brushed past them.
She rushed home with Little Tang Mo, and only after closing the door did she carefully lift the shirt covering him.
"Little Mo?"
Su Li called out tentatively, her heart trembling.