Tang Xu lay on the ground, gasping for breath, his contorted expression a testament to the immense pain he was enduring.
After a long while, he parted his lips, his mouth stained crimson with blood.
“Does this… make you feel any better?”
“You… every time you see me… your hatred… never diminishes…”
Tang Xiaomin’s face was grim.
“What are you talking about?”
She quickly took out her phone and dialed 120. After a moment’s hesitation, she notified Tang Yu.
“Tang Xu is in trouble, hurry over.”
Tang Xu, weak and near death, looked at Tang Xiaomin. He saw no joy on her face.
“Why are you… not happy?”
“Didn’t you say you would be happy seeing me suffer?”
“Is it because… you don’t think I’m miserable enough?”
…
Tang Xiaomin was stunned.
She felt Tang Xu was a lunatic, a pervert.
Who would do such a thing, say such nonsensical words?
“It’s not your fault that your brain is sick, but it’s wrong to go out and harm others. I truly regret bringing you home.”
At this, Tang Xu’s expression was utterly shocked.
“You… what did you say?”
“You… want to take me home!”
Tang Xiaomin sighed, utterly speechless.
“Ms. Zhang misses you and hoped you’d come home for dinner. And you, you’re not even willing to fulfill this small wish of hers. What an unfilial son.”
She had even specially booked a table at a restaurant, and now, thanks to Tang Xu’s actions, the dinner was ruined.
If she hadn’t seen how badly he was injured, Tang Xiaomin would have genuinely wanted to give him a severe beating.
“How could this happen?”
“How could this be?”
Tang Xu was so shocked that he forgot his physical pain. How could Tang Xiaomin have wanted to take him home for dinner?
Tang Xiaomin simply looked at him with disgust, silent, and waited for the ambulance.
Ten minutes later, Tang Xu was placed on a stretcher and taken to the hospital.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Tang Xiaomin called Tang Ye again. Unfortunately, Tang Ye was out of town and wouldn't be back until the next day. Sudancn.com
In this situation, Tang Xiaomin dared not tell Zhang Meiyu.
She waited alone at the hospital for over two hours. Tang Xu had already been moved to a general ward, but Tang Yu still hadn’t arrived.
In the ward, Tang Xiaomin looked coldly at Tang Xu, who was wrapped up like a mummy, and couldn’t help but sneer.
“It’s been three hours since your accident, and no one has come to see you. What do you plan to do?”
In other words, she wasn't going to wait on him.
Tang Xu knew his own situation.
In fact, if Tang Xiaomin no longer looked at him with such resentment and impatience, his injuries would have been worth it.
But so much time had passed, and not only his mother, but even his brothers hadn’t come to see him.
Perhaps his brothers had already lost all hope in him, finding even looking at him tiresome.
At this moment, Tang Xu felt an overwhelming sense of desolation.
“You can leave, I can manage on my own,” Tang Xu said, overestimating his own strength.
Hearing this, Tang Xiaomin’s smile turned even colder.
Tang Xu had extensive abrasions around his arms and knees, requiring skin grafting surgery later, and several fractures.
Without hospital treatment, his condition would lead to disability, if not death.
“You’ve saved your life, it’s up to you now.”
Tang Xiaomin didn’t want to deal with him anymore. She thought Tang Xu was mentally ill and abnormal.
“Xiaomin.”
“Between us… those past things… I…”
“I’m so injured, can you…”
Tang Xu hesitated, as if something was difficult to articulate.
“Can you forgive me, considering I self-harmed?” Tang Xiaomin finished his sentence for him.
Tang Xu couldn’t even manage an “mm.”
He had wronged her and wanted to make amends, only to find he could do nothing.
“Do you like yourself now? How long have you been like this?”
Tang Xu meant, how long had Tang Xiaomin been dead.
How long?
A very, very long time, so long that the underworld had undergone a regime change and been completely renovated.
“I can’t remember.”
The only thing she couldn’t forget was that her closest family members had killed her.
“You all say I’m different from before, but in reality, I’m no longer that person. It’s just that the memories of the past have been haunting me.”
And she herself didn’t want to pretend that nothing had happened, didn’t want to let it go so easily.
Ultimately, she just wanted to vent her anger.
“I’m sorry, and I won’t shirk my responsibility. If you want me to live, I’ll live. If you want me to die, then I’ll die. I owe you.”
“If you want to see me suffer like this, then this is how I’ll be.”
Tang Yiyi was dead, and Tang Xu’s love was dead.
His mind was now solely occupied by the debt he owed Tang Xiaomin and the need to repay her.
Tang Xiaomin ignored Tang Xu and walked out of the ward, no longer concerning herself with him.
Tang Yu arrived late, panting heavily.
“Xiaomin… Tang Xu… how… how is he?”
Tang Xiaomin glanced at the time. It was already 8:30 PM. Tang Yu should have been off work long ago.
“Where did you run off to? If you’d been any later, we could have been collecting Tang Xu’s body.”
“Ah? How could it be so serious!”
“What did you think?”
“I’ll go see him.”
Tang Yu rushed into the ward.
Tang Xiaomin felt even less inclined to bother with Tang Xu’s troubles and left without any guilt.
Upon reaching the underground parking lot, Tang Xiaomin passed Tang Yu’s Volkswagen and noticed someone in the passenger seat, a woman.
When she recognized the woman as Wang Na, she understood why Tang Yu was late.
Today was May 20th, they had gone on a date.
Tang Xiaomin walked over and lightly tapped twice on the car window.
The window slowly rolled down. Wang Na, in the passenger seat, saw it was Tang Xiaomin and said coldly, “What is it?”
Last time, Wang Na, for Tang Yu’s sake, had caused Tang Corporation to shut down for a month.
Later, Wang Na hadn’t compensated Tang Corporation for its losses and had been driven to the brink, attempting to drown herself.
Even after all that, she was still out with Tang Yu. It seemed their relationship was indeed quite strong.
The thought of Tang Corporation’s month-long losses, a considerable amount of money, made Tang Xiaomin uncomfortable.
“Tang Yu is disfigured, and he has no money. And you’re still with him?”
“What I have with him has nothing to do with you,” Wang Na retorted, equally unwilling to back down.
Tang Xiaomin’s gaze fell upon the roses in Wang Na’s arms. There were only a pitiful three. She felt sorry for her.
“You’re right, it really isn’t my business.”
“However, there’s something I need to tell you. Although Tang Yu is the general manager of Tang Corporation, he doesn’t receive any salary.”
Wang Na’s anger was instantly ignited. She had recently gotten back together with Tang Yu.
She had also discovered that Tang Yu was extremely poor, with no more than two hundred yuan in his wallet.
“Tang Xiaomin, you’re going too far. Although Tang Yu always says he owes you and is willing to work for you for free, how can you not even give him his hard-earned wages? Don’t be so greedy.”