Chapter 189: Chapter 177: Seeking Refuge

On the way back to Wancheng, Tang Haocheng was sullen and unhappy. Zheng Shaolian couldn’t get anything out of him and just assumed the two kids were still upset over that incident from last summer vacation. After offering a few words of advice, he didn’t press the matter further.

When he got home, Secretary Huang was waiting at the door to take him to dinner. His father still hadn’t returned. Tang Haocheng had eaten his fill in Gongdao Village at noon and wasn’t hungry, so he thanked Secretary Huang and declined dinner. After Secretary Huang left, he picked up the phone and made a long-distance call to Beijing.

Over the phone, his grandparents confirmed it: Mo Xiaoman had indeed visited their home in Beijing a while ago. Grandma’s health had improved, also thanks to Xiao Man. Grandpa, Grandma, and his eldest uncle all liked her and were calling her Tang Manman. They hadn’t told Hao Hao yet because things weren’t completely clear! Grandpa comforted Tang Haocheng, "Since you know about this now, just focus on getting along with Sister Xiao Man. Be patient. Someone will be coming down to investigate soon. It’s almost certain she’s your biological sister!"

Tang Haocheng usually put on a cool and indifferent front, acting like a little adult, but he still retained a bit of his childishness in front of his grandparents. Hearing their words, he couldn’t help but say excitedly, "She is my real sister! There’s no mistake! But she’s so cold and distant to me... She even glared at me and said she wouldn’t acknowledge me!"

As he spoke, his nose began to tingle and something welled up in his eyes. He lifted his sleeve and wiped them away. The little adult, who had always been so particular about hygiene and cleanliness, couldn’t be bothered with any of that now.

That night, Tang Haocheng slept restlessly. He had many dreams, each one seemingly connected to the last. He didn’t seem to be in the dreams himself, but the people in them were incredibly familiar. He saw a grown-up Tang Yaxuan and Mo Xiaoman... Tang Yaxuan was poised and elegant with a noble air, the very picture of a high-society lady. She was getting married. The ceremony was grand and lively, and his parents’ faces were beaming with joyous satisfaction. It was a Western-style wedding. Tang Yaxuan wore a pure white wedding gown, her smile sweet and blissful beneath the thin veil. The groom was outstanding—tall, graceful, and handsome. But, shockingly, it wasn’t Brother Shaojun!

Tang Haocheng was stunned, but then it clicked. ’Mo Xiaoman is the true daughter of the Tang family, so of course Tang Yaxuan can’t marry Brother Shaojun!’

But when he turned to look at Mo Xiaoman, he was stunned again. ’Mo Xiaoman... How did she become so ugly?’

Sallow and emaciated, the muscles on half of her face were twisted, her skin a patchwork of black and white blotches, with several dark marks on her forehead... She was even uglier than the "Mo Xiaoman" from his uncle’s house! But looking closely, Tang Haocheng could see traces of the Tang family in her face and bearing.

She was huddled in a corner. Around her was a scene of splendor and luxury—perfumed clothes, elegant figures, and cheerful chatter—yet no one approached her. Everyone kept their distance. She was so lonely and helpless, her eyes filled with terror, her expression panicked and lost...

A sharp pain seized Tang Haocheng’s heart. He broke into a run, heading straight for her. Just as he reached out his hands to grab her, Mo Xiaoman suddenly vanished. Tang Haocheng yelled, "Don’t go! Please, don’t go..."

He kicked off his blanket and woke with a start, his face covered in tears.

He sat on his bed in a daze for a while, recalling how Mo Xiaoman had been angry with him yesterday. It was probably because of what he’d said—that if she became ugly, he wouldn’t be willing to take her out in public and admit she was his real sister.

’Is that the reason?’

Tang Haocheng pressed his lips together. ’Mo Xiaoman, you’re even sillier than I am! Family is family. Does refusing to acknowledge it make it not true? You aren’t ugly now. And even if you really did become like the person in my dream, I wouldn’t abandon you... I’ll grow up and protect you. I won’t let you end up like that!’

It was the Lantern Festival, and Tang Qingyun still hadn’t returned. After washing up, Tang Haocheng remembered what Secretary Huang had told him the previous night: if Secretary Tang wasn’t back today, he was to take Haocheng to his home to celebrate the festival.

Tang Haocheng wasn’t keen on eating with strangers. His eyes darted about for a moment before he jumped up, slung on his schoolbag, left a note on the table, and ran out the door toward the bus station. He was just in time to catch the bus heading toward Gongdao Village!

After the bus left Wancheng, Tang Haocheng realized he wasn’t wearing a coat—only a long-sleeved undershirt and a wool sweater. Although the weather in the South wasn’t like the North, where it frequently dropped below zero degrees Celsius, the cold wind blowing in through the bus window was still unbearable. Along the way, it started to rain, the downpour growing heavier and heavier, with small hailstones mixed in, making it even colder. Tang Haocheng hadn’t eaten breakfast and had no warmth in his body. His little face turned pale from the cold, and he shivered uncontrollably.

When he finally arrived at Gongdao Village, the driver, who only knew the village’s name and not a specific stop, simply pulled over at the entrance and let him off.

Tang Haocheng was a bit bewildered as he stepped off the bus. The countryside was, after all, different from the city; houses were scattered here and there with no rhyme or reason. He stood there foolishly in the rain for a moment. Instead of asking for directions, he recalled that Mo Xiaoman’s house was by the main road, so he started walking along it to find her.

After crossing the entire village, getting stones thrown at him by rural children, and then being chased by a dog, a disheveled Tang Haocheng finally found Mo Xiaoman’s house.

He knocked on the door, and someone quickly came to answer. It was Mo Xiaoman, who called out in a clear voice from the other side, "Who is it?"

Tang Haocheng replied, "Me."

There was a pause from inside. "People have last names, dogs have given names. Who are you?"

Tang Haocheng: ...

"I’m Tang Haocheng!" he shouted, his voice loud and indignant.

Xiao Man had already recognized his voice but refused to open the door. "I told you not to come here again! Now, you can just stand by the road and wait. In an hour, the bus will make its return trip. Go back to where you came from!"

"Open the door!" Tang Haocheng was soaked to the bone, without a dry thread on him. Cold and hungry, he felt a desperate urge to cry.

But the person inside had already run back into the house and didn’t hear him at all.

About half an hour later, Grandpa returned from outside, wearing a bamboo-leaf hat and covered in a plastic sheet. He was shocked to discover Tang Haocheng sitting on a stone stool by the door, his face bluish-white and his teeth chattering from the cold. He quickly called for the door to be opened and carried the boy into the house.

Xiao Man was still in the kitchen by the fire pit, nonchalantly skewering meat, when Grandpa and Grandma called her to the main hall. When she saw the indescribably pathetic state Tang Haocheng was in, she was stunned too. ’How did it come to this? Couldn’t the stupid kid have used an umbrella or something? If I didn’t open the door, couldn’t he have just knocked a few more times? And he’s supposed to be a child prodigy? So stupid!’

For the first time ever, Grandpa and Grandma scolded Xiao Man severely. Grandma went to Xiao Man’s room to get a towel blanket, while Grandpa stripped the unresisting Tang Haocheng bare and wrapped him in it. There was already hot water on the kitchen stove. Xiao Man washed her hands with soap, then mixed some water from the Spiritual Spring into two buckets of hot water. Just then, Mo Chengfu returned. Grandma said the rain had lightened up, so there was no need to walk all the way to the washroom in the backyard. Grandpa and Mo Chengfu carried Tang Haocheng out to the grain-sunning ground. Using some kind of body wash and shampoo that Xiao Man had made herself, they washed Tang Haocheng clean with the two buckets of hot water. Then, they wrapped him in the towel blanket again and carried him back to Xiao Man’s room. Xiao Man had plenty of new, unworn clothes in her closet. Grandma found a set of moon-white long johns for Tang Haocheng to wear. Afterward, they tucked him directly into the quilt. As they dried his hair, Xiao Man brought over a bowl of warm, sweet ginger water and had him drink it all down. Watching the color slowly return to his face, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Grandma quietly chided Xiao Man a little more, instructing her to take good care of her younger brother, before heading to the kitchen to whip up something for Tang Haocheng to eat.

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