He had already registered for the advanced training course, which was set to begin in September. There wasn’t much to do before the term started, and everyone knew about his situation, so they simply let him handle his family matters.
For the past two days, Tang Yuanxiao had done nothing but find a caregiver for Mrs. Tang.
The caregiver was referred by an acquaintance. She was sturdy and strong, with a fierce appearance and an imposing presence. Plus, she was not the timid type.
Tang Yuanxiao offered her a high salary to watch over and care for Mrs. Tang around the clock. From now on, Mrs. Tang would be her responsibility.
Mrs. Tang was not allowed to leave the family compound unless necessary, and even then, she could only go into town.
Mrs. Tang was now forbidden from doing many things. She couldn’t argue with people or gossip. Aside from not having to do any chores, it was comparable to being in prison.
Who would be happy being supervised like that? Mrs. Tang certainly wasn’t. She threw a tantrum the moment the caregiver arrived, but Tang Yuanxiao ignored it.
This time, he had truly hardened his heart.
After hearing Tang Yuanxiao out, Wu Sheng shook his head. "You’ve only understood half of my meaning."
"Actually... I also wanted to give you a suggestion."
Wu Sheng took out a slip of paper and handed it to Tang Yuanxiao. "These are the nursing homes I asked about over the past two days. The addresses and phone numbers are on here. You have two options."
"One is a closed facility. The residents there are all elderly people with special circumstances. Some have minor mental issues but aren’t aggressive, while others have memory loss. They can’t take care of themselves, so their families send them there for professional and effective care."
"The medical staff inside provide twenty-four-hour supervision. The residents won’t cause trouble, and they won’t go hungry. They have cases similar to your mother’s."
"The other one is a semi-closed facility. The management there is a bit more relaxed, and the elderly residents have fewer special conditions. It’s more like a standard retirement home."
Wu Sheng had carefully vetted these two places and thought they were quite good.
"I’ve already spoken with both nursing homes. Whichever one you choose will be fine."
Tang Yuanxiao stared at the slip of paper, his expression incredibly complicated. "You..."
He hadn’t expected Wu Sheng to give him this kind of information.
Wu Sheng added a few more words. "A lot of people think sending the elderly to retirement or nursing homes is unfilial, that it’s a failure to fulfill one’s duty to care for them. But I believe the most suitable option is the best one."
"You’re about to leave for your training course, so you can’t watch your mother around the clock. And even if you hire a caregiver to watch her, sometimes..."
They couldn’t send Mrs. Tang back to prison, but for everyone’s safety, she had to be in a state of constant supervision.
This was for Tang Yuanxiao’s own good, and it would also protect Su Li.
Mrs. Tang would show up out of nowhere to beat Su Li. Wu Sheng felt that enough was enough.
This reminded Wu Sheng of the incident where Mrs. Tang had attacked Su Li with rocks.
"I hope that was the last time. If anything like that happens again, Tang Yuanxiao, I’ll tell you straight—I won’t stand by and do nothing. You may not be able to handle your mother, but I can, and I’ll personally step in to manage her for you."
Wu Sheng let out a breath. "And once I step in, I won’t care that you’re her son."
Wu Sheng had always admired Tang Yuanxiao, both for his abilities and his character. He really didn’t want their relationship to sour because of Mrs. Tang.
"I know. I understand what you mean." Tang Yuanxiao understood Wu Sheng’s words, and he understood his feelings as well.
Tang Yuanxiao closed his eyes, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking, "Is Su Li badly hurt? Is... Momo okay?"
Hearing this, Wu Sheng didn’t answer immediately.
Tang Yuanxiao watched him and gave a bitter smile, his heart aching terribly.
He knew he shouldn’t have asked, especially not Wu Sheng. No one would be happy to be asked such a question.
But he just couldn’t help himself.
He was too ashamed to face Su Li and Little Tang Mo. So, despite being worried sick about them, he had forced himself to stay away.
He just wanted to know if they were all right.
Wu Sheng looked at Tang Yuanxiao and remained silent for a long moment before finally replying.
"Su Li has lumps all over her back, body, and head. Her back is especially bad—it’s one large, dark bruise. If the rocks had hit any harder, the consequences would have been unthinkable."
"Little Point has been having consecutive nightmares. It triggered his previous bad memories. He’s only started to get a little better these past two days."
Wu Sheng’s gaze turned cold, and the corner of his mouth twitched. "So you tell me... should I say they’re doing well or not?"
To be honest, Wu Sheng was a little disappointed in Tang Yuanxiao.
True, she was his mother, and many children feel helpless when it comes to their parents, but no matter what, one shouldn’t be blindly filial or overly indulgent.
The same went for the incident with Qin Shanshan. The whole thing happened because the situation wasn’t handled properly from the start, which allowed Mrs. Tang and Qin Shanshan to be together.
With those two together, it was only a matter of time before something happened.
"Old Tang, let me give you a bit more advice. I hope you don’t get angry."
Seeing Tang Yuanxiao nod, Wu Sheng continued, "Being too indecisive and failing to make a clean break will only lead to endless trouble."
Tang Yuanxiao took a deep breath. "I know."
He knew it clearly, knew it deeply. Wu Sheng was speaking the plain truth.
"Go check out the nursing homes when you have time. Let me know if you need any help." Wu Sheng stood up. "I’ll be going now."
Tang Yuanxiao also stood and said in a low voice, "Thank you."
The two men walked out, one after the other, and that was when they ran into Bai Xinyue.
Whether Bai Xinyue did it on purpose or not, her foot "slipped" as she passed by them.
Tang Yuanxiao, having just been through the ordeal with Qin Shanshan, saw her falling toward him and reflexively pushed her away with the back of his hand without a second thought.
His push sent Bai Xinyue stumbling directly toward Wu Sheng.
Wu Sheng was so annoyed. Tang Yuanxiao was wary of women, and so was he! He tried to stay as far away from them as possible.
He reacted quickly and dodged, narrowly getting out of the way, but he was still brushed.
And of all the rotten luck, it was her lipstick-covered lips that brushed against him, which led to the scene where Su Li discovered the lipstick mark.
Wu Sheng didn’t notice anything unusual. Under everyone’s strange gazes, he gave the fallen Bai Xinyue a wide berth and walked away.
He paid no mind to the extent of the psychological blow to the fallen Bai Xinyue.
And so, the meeting between Wu Sheng and Tang Yuanxiao came to an end.
That night after meeting with Wu Sheng, Tang Yuanxiao collapsed. Perhaps it was because he had temporarily dealt with the matter of Mrs. Tang, Wu Sheng had given him advice, and he had heard that Su Li and Little Tang Mo were recovering. The great weight on his heart had lifted, and he finally gave out.
He had fallen ill.
Tang Yuanxiao, a man so robust he probably never even caught a cold, had completely broken down.
From the divorce, to Little Tang Mo being abused, to Mrs. Tang’s imprisonment, to his training, and then to being drugged by his mother and falsely accused by Qin Shanshan.
One thing after another, this past year had kept Tang Yuanxiao in a constant state of tension, utterly exhausting him.
Tang Yuanxiao could no longer hold on, neither physically nor mentally.
His body had already been harmed when he was drugged, and then he was hit by Mrs. Tang, making his physical condition even worse.
He hadn’t collapsed immediately only because he had a strong constitution and was forcing himself to keep going.
Now that things had reached this point, Tang Yuanxiao finally couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed.