After passing through the bustling traffic, the beggar took the money she had just given him and went to a small convenience store to buy some food and water.
He continued to walk along the road until he reached a bridge.
Tang Xiaomin and Zhong Li stood on the bridge, leaning over to look down.
The beggar made a small fire, used a very small pot to cook two packets of instant noodles, and then ate them heartily.
Afterward, he curled up on a tattered sofa, pulled a thin blanket over himself, and went to rest.
...
Zhong Li was very confused. "Miss Tang, why are we spying on that beggar?"
"He is Tang Yan."
"Ah!"
Zhong Li was shocked. He knew the scumbags of the Tang family, and he never imagined that Tang Yan would fall to the point of sleeping outdoors and living on the streets.
"This... he has hands and feet. He could find a job and wouldn't have to live on the streets, sleeping outdoors."
Who could say otherwise?
Although society was cruel, even by selling his labor, he wouldn't have ended up like Tang Yan.
Most importantly, Tang Xiaomin had given him several hundred yuan at once. Tang Yan shouldn't have been unable to afford even the cheapest motel.
Not long ago, when Tang Yan disappeared, Tang Yu had investigated and confirmed he was in Shanghai.
A missing person poster was posted online, and the police were also notified, but he couldn't be found.
There was only one explanation: Tang Yan wanted to live this life himself.
What was this?
Clearly, he had stolen her designs.
In the end, it was Tang Xiaomin who was being unreasonable, pushing Tang Yan to the point of living on the streets.
Tang Xiaomin remained silent for a long time. She couldn't understand where she had gone wrong. She had been very lenient with Tang Yan.
Half an hour later, Yan Jue called her.
After a few words with Yan Jue, Tang Xiaomin called Tang Yu.
Another half an hour later, Tang Yu arrived in a used Volkswagen.
"Where is he?"
Tang Xiaomin pointed under the bridge.
Tang Yu's expression was solemn. He turned on his phone's flashlight and went down from the side.
Beneath the dark and damp bridge, it was no exaggeration to call it a desolate wilderness.
A small fire with wisps of smoke flickered with a few red embers. Tang Yan lay curled up on a dilapidated sofa covered by a blanket, unable to straighten his legs.
Before they even got close, an unpleasant smell wafted towards them, and Tang Yu instinctively held his breath.
Tang Yan was hidden under the blanket, and with the noise of traffic from the bridge, he didn't notice Tang Yu approaching him.
Tang Yu suddenly pulled off the blanket.
Startled, Tang Yan sat up.
"Who?"
"Tang Yan, it's me, Big Brother."
"Ah!"
In the beam of the phone's flashlight, Tang Yan recognized Tang Yu.
He frantically pulled down his hat brim, flustered, and tried to hide.
"You've got the wrong person, I'm not. You've got the wrong person!"
Seeing Tang Yan so pathetic, Tang Yu, as his elder brother, couldn't bear it.
He didn't provoke Tang Yan, but stood still and spoke to him.
"You disappeared, Mom is very worried about you, everyone is worried about you. Come home with me."
Tang Yan did not answer Tang Yu and remained silent, his back to him.
Tang Yu was the eldest in the family. He had watched his younger siblings grow up and knew their personalities.
Tang Yan had been spoiled since childhood, was fragile, and was vain.
Tang Xiaomin had unceremoniously exposed his shameful actions. His hiding was actually because he couldn't overcome his own inner struggles and feared the world's condemnation.
The higher one flies, the harder one falls.
"People have to pay the price for their mistakes. When you stole Xiaomin's design, it was destined that you would never overcome your inner struggles."
"Actually, Xiaomin didn't publicize your affairs. She was willing to let you go. No one will point fingers at you, curse you, or mock you."
"What?"
Tang Yan's heart skipped a beat.
"She... she hates me so much, didn't she already publicize my affairs? She's so serious, how could she not have done that? You must be lying to me on purpose. I don't believe you."
Tang Xiaomin's image in Tang Yan's mind was deeply ingrained. She was a devil seeking revenge, who would not stop until her goal was achieved.
She wanted to destroy him.
"Haven't you checked the internet?" Tang Yu said.
"I... I came back to find you. You moved away without telling me, and I lost my phone back then."
Tang Yu sighed helplessly. What a fool, scaring himself and ending up in this state.
He had never felt so speechless in his life.
"She really didn't do that. When have I ever lied to you?"
Tang Yan was shocked. Tang Xiaomin hadn't made him infamous.
"She... how could she be so kind? How is that possible?"
Tang Yu smiled wryly.
"She has always been kind, you just didn't notice it. Think about it yourself."
Tang Yan recalled silently. Tang Xiaomin was always aggressive, as if she wanted to kill them.
But in the end, no one in the Tang family died.
They were all alive, perhaps that was her last act of mercy towards the Tang family.
"Stop scaring yourself and come home. Mom and I are living near Xianfu Group now, in a villa she arranged for us."
So, they had all moved in with Tang Xiaomin. He had thought the whole family had left him, abandoning him alone.
Tang Yan's mood at this moment was as if he had gone from hell to heaven.
It was all his imagination; his life wasn't so bad that he couldn't face people.
His ash-covered face displayed an extremely complex expression.
Tang Yu patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't say anything, let's go home first. Mom will be relieved to see you."
Tang Yan couldn't say a word. With the truth revealed, he couldn't refuse Tang Yu's offer to take him back.
Under the dark bridge, Tang Yan followed Tang Yu, silently shedding tears.
He wiped his face, and new tears flowed out, unstoppable.
Tang Yu didn't look back, but he knew everything and didn't expose it.
After crying, one grows.
When they reached the bridge, Tang Yan stood frozen, his eyes wide with shock and fear, unable to move.
Not far away, Tang Xiaomin stood with her arms crossed, looking coldly in their direction.
This time, Tang Yan didn't hide or run.
Tang Xiaomin slowly walked up to him and looked at him, sneering.
Tang Yan lowered his head, not daring to meet Tang Xiaomin's gaze, and couldn't say a word.
After a long stalemate, Tang Xiaomin suddenly attacked, kicking Tang Yan fiercely several times.
As she kicked, she cursed.
"You coward, how dare you hide? Who gave you the nerve!"
"If you're so brave, why don't you just die! And you expect others to look for you, do you think you're that important!"
"Ah!"
Tang Yan tried to run, but for every step he took, Tang Xiaomin kicked him. He begged for mercy, scrambling on the ground.
"Stop hitting me, I was wrong."
"Ouch, I beg you."
...
Tang Yu looked at Yan Jue, who was standing nearby with a half-smile, and was puzzled.
"My sister is so fierce, Mr. Yan won't mind, will he?"