"Huh? Tangyuan... no, wait, Tang Yuanxiao? What are you doing here?"
Tang Yuanxiao: "..."
’That’s what I wanted to ask.’
Lin Huanzhu and Tang Yuanxiao had only been apart for about ten minutes, but they ran into each other again at the nursing home.
"I’m here to see my mom. She lives here. You...?"
’What are you here for?’
Lin Huanzhu nodded in understanding. "Oh, so when you said you had something to do, you meant visiting your mom here. I’m visiting my aunt."
Lin Huanzhu pointed to the middle-aged woman in a white coat whose arm she was holding. "This is my aunt, Doctor Liao Jin. She’s a doctor here."
Tang Yuanxiao had met Liao Jin before. "Hello, Doctor Liao."
Liao Jin recognized Tang Yuanxiao as well; he’d made a strong impression on her. This wasn’t just because of his looks, but more importantly, because of his mother, Mrs. Tang.
Mrs. Tang hadn’t been there long, but she had already made a deep impression on everyone. With her personality, combined with the fact that she was on medical parole when she should have been in prison, it was hard for her not to stand out.
"Hello," Liao Jin greeted him, then looked at Lin Huanzhu. "How do you two know each other?"
"He’s the one I was just telling you about, the person who saved me," Lin Huanzhu explained.
’It’s because I ran into this guy named Yuanxiao, also called Tangyuan, that I got a craving for tangyuan in the first place! I was just pestering my aunt to make some for me, and now here’s the man himself.’
"Oh, thank you so much," Liao Jin said, her expression turning serious as she thanked him sincerely.
"This child... insisting on being a rescue worker, a job even brave men might shy away from... She just rushes straight into danger. I swear..."
Whenever Liao Jin talked about this, she was filled with a sense of helplessness.
Tang Yuanxiao shook his head. "You’re welcome, there’s no need to thank me. She’s... a good person. Very helpful."
He was being honest.
Before Liao Jin could say anything, Lin Huanzhu burst out laughing. "Not sure what to call me? You look a little older than me, so just call me Xiao Lin."
Tang Yuanxiao nodded. "Okay."
"It’s getting late, Tang Yuanxiao. You should go see your mother," Liao Jin said, glancing at the time and then at Tang Yuanxiao’s half-dry, half-damp clothes.
"Okay." Tang Yuanxiao said goodbye to Lin Huanzhu and her aunt once more.
It was late October, and the weather was getting cooler, especially after the sun went down.
Tang Yuanxiao had gotten soaked while saving someone earlier. After some time had passed since the rescue, his clothes were mostly dry, but still felt damp.
The clothes underneath hadn’t dried either, and now that he had stopped and was moving again, he felt a bit of a chill.
Tang Yuanxiao had been to the nursing home several times recently and had run into Liao Jin before, but he had never met Lin Huanzhu.
They had met by chance outside today, and unexpectedly, he had run into her again as soon as he arrived.
Thinking about what Lin Huanzhu had said about eating tangyuan, Tang Yuanxiao rubbed his stomach. He felt hungry too.
’Too bad he’d just have to stay hungry. This wasn’t home, where a hot meal would be waiting for him the moment he walked in the door.’
When Mrs. Tang saw Tang Yuanxiao, she seemed both relieved and a little surprised. "I thought you weren’t coming. Why are you so late?"
"I ran into a delay," Tang Yuanxiao explained briefly, then studied his mother carefully. "How are you? Mom, is everything okay?"
Mrs. Tang noticed his clothes. "Why are your clothes so dirty? And what happened to your hand?"
Tang Yuanxiao had gotten ointment applied to the burn on his hand at the hospital. He glanced at it. "It’s nothing serious."
He had no intention of telling his mother about the fire or that he had gone in to rescue someone. After hearing his vague reply, Mrs. Tang dropped the subject and let out a deep sigh.
"Tangyuan, when is your subsidy going to be paid out? Do you have money for food? Have those people gone to our home to demand money? Have they been saying anything about you?"
These were the same questions Mrs. Tang asked every time Tang Yuanxiao visited.
Perhaps because she was constantly worried that the things she feared would come to pass, Mrs. Tang had, for some reason, stopped making a fuss about wanting to leave these past few days.
Besides getting used to it and realizing that causing a scene was useless, her tendency to bury her head in the sand when faced with trouble was kicking in again.
Life in the nursing home meant no freedom and wasn’t good at all, but at least she didn’t have to face those debts. If she got out...
These thoughts lay deep in Mrs. Tang’s heart, but she probably wouldn’t consciously think about or even realize them herself.
Hearing his mother ask the same old questions, Tang Yuanxiao gave her the same old answers.
"The subsidy comes next month. I have money for food, and the meals in the cafeteria aren’t expensive. It’s late today, so I’m not going back to the family compound until tomorrow. I don’t know if anyone has gone to the house to demand money or what they might be saying behind my back."
Tang Yuanxiao watched with a cool gaze as his mother remained quiet and docile. This only strengthened his resolve not to tell her that the debt had already been paid off.
It wasn’t that he was unfilial or that he intentionally wanted his mother to worry. He simply had no choice.
If she knew the money had been repaid, who knows what kind of trouble she would stir up. And if she figured out that Su Li and Wu Sheng had given him the money, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The current situation was for the best. The family had no income right now; his subsidy was the only source.
Based on his subsidy, after covering daily expenses, it would take several years to pay off that enormous debt.
If this could make Mrs. Tang behave and live quietly for a few years, then it was a good thing.
Mrs. Tang had no idea what Tang Yuanxiao was thinking. Hearing his words, she didn’t know whether to feel relieved or more anxious.
"I see... I see... If only there were a way to make some money."
As Mrs. Tang spoke, her thoughts drifted. According to the caregiver who helped her write it, the letter she’d sent should have been delivered by now. She wondered how Su Li would react and whether she would give her any money.
’It would be great if she did. If she doesn’t... that ungrateful wretch! I was so good to her back then, I treated her so well...’
Mrs. Tang’s heart burned with greed as she recalled the talk from the village about the money Su Li was making from her factory. If they had that money—not even all of it, just half—what was a mere seven thousand yuan!
’It was all a miscalculation on my part...’
Filled with regret, Mrs. Tang glanced at Tang Yuanxiao’s expression and finally couldn’t resist testing the waters.
"Tangyuan... has Su Li contacted you?"
Tang Yuanxiao’s gaze suddenly sharpened as he stared grimly at his mother.
"Why are you asking that? Have you forgotten what I told you?"
His tone turned instantly icy.
Startled by his look, Mrs. Tang felt both angry and scared. "I’m not doing anything. What could I possibly do? I was just asking casually."
Her eyes darted around. "I saw an old man’s family visiting him today, his son and grandson. It made me think of Momo. Is Momo okay?"
’Su Li was always good to Tang Mo, always willing to spend money on her. If I hadn’t hit Tang Mo back then, I could probably beg her for four thousand yuan right now!’
As Mrs. Tang schemed, she failed to notice the flash of harshness and pain in Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes.
"You scared Momo the last time you saw her. Don’t even think about Momo anymore," Tang Yuanxiao said stiffly.
His words infuriated Mrs. Tang. "Fine, I won’t mention her. I won’t mention her at all. I was just trying to show a little concern."
’Little brat. Scared? What’s there to be scared of? She looks plenty brave to me, living the high life with Su Li. She has no idea how good she has it.’