Chapter 33: Once It Arrives, It Cannot Be Stopped

Mr. Tang!

You are...?

You certainly do not know me, but I know you! My husband and I have bought goods from your company before.

As if she had stumbled upon a long-lost relative, Wu Xiuli sprang down from the bed, almost throwing herself into Tang Songyuan's arms. It was hardly surprising; in her eyes, Tang Songyuan was money, and who in this world does not love money?

"You are Miss Wu."

Tang Songyuan actually knew who she was. Wu Xiuli was even more startled than before, and thrilled so brightly that her face seemed to glow with light. She reached out eagerly to shake his hand. He returned the gesture politely, then let go at once.

"I never thought you would know me! I thought people like us, running a small business, would never be worthy of your notice."

"Miss Wu is too modest."

Tang Songyuan had no wish to continue the conversation, much less to build rapport with a minor client here. He set the shopping bag on the bedside cabinet, unfolded the little tray table, and poured a bowl of soup. With an apologetic smile toward Tao Fei, he said, "I went to the clay-pot restaurant to buy you the five-finger fig soup you like best, but traffic was terrible on the way and I only just got back. It is still hot, so drink some while it is warm. Oh, and this too."

From his pocket, Tang Songyuan took out a black widescreen phone and handed it to Tao Fei.

"Your old model is no longer in production, so see whether this one feels comfortable to use. I have already replaced your SIM card; it is the same number as before. I also installed the apps you use most often."

"Thank you."

The phone Tang Songyuan had bought was the newest model on the market, yet in Tao Fei's eyes it looked like a relic, outdated and obsolete. Tao Fei liked studying antiquities, though, and after taking the phone she casually swiped through it a few times, her interest only deepening.

Tang Songyuan reminded her to drink the soup first, and only then did Tao Fei set the phone aside. By then Wu Xiuli had understood the relationship between Tao Fei and Tang Songyuan, and began praising Tao Fei extravagantly, with Wu Xiuli's mother joining in and flattering her as well, insisting that Tao Fei was clearly a virtuous wife and devoted mother, without the slightest airs of a rich lady.

Tang Songyuan listened with obvious pleasure, smiling as he watched Tao Fei finish the entire can of soup. He poured mineral water for her to rinse her mouth, wrung out a hot towel to compress her face, and even remembered to take out face cream and apply it for her.

Watching Tang Songyuan's succession of tender gestures, Wu Xiuli and her mother exhausted every compliment they knew.

"If my husband were even half as good as Mr. Tang, no, even one-tenth as good, I would be satisfied for the rest of my life. Sister Tao Fei, you are so lucky. Mr. Tang not only knows how to make money, he is also so thoughtful and gentle. How did you find such an excellent husband? Did you save the galaxy in your previous life?"

Wu Xiuli was truly envious of Tao Fei, and truly wanted to hear the story of Tao Fei and Tang Songyuan's marriage and courtship. Tao Fei only smiled without speaking, and Wu Xiuli begged Tang Songyuan to share his experience, saying that in the future she would use him as the standard for finding husbands for her three daughters.

Wu Xiuli was only thirty-one or thirty-two; how old could her eldest daughter possibly be?

I married through an introduction from a matchmaker. There was nothing especially unusual about it. Back then, marriages were mostly like that.

What? Introduced by a matchmaker? My husband and I were high school classmates. We fell in love freely and then got married. I always thought marriages arranged by a matchmaker would never be as happy as those born of free love, but seeing how affectionate you two are, I will have to change my mind.

Wu Xiuli said half-jokingly.

Then you must be very well matched. Only a marriage between equals is truly stable. That is why arranged introductions are fashionable again now, and why there are one reality show after another on television. The successful pairs are all those who are well matched. Rich people look for rich people; good looks alone are useless.

Wu Xiuli's mother gave a neat summary of Tao Fei and Tang Songyuan's marriage, then sat there with an air of certainty, waiting for Tang Songyuan and Tao Fei to affirm her.

In those days, I was the one who married up.

Sister Tao Fei must have been a great beauty when she was young!

She is still beautiful now.

Tang Songyuan laughed softly, while Tao Fei continued to smile without speaking. Such conversation was rather relaxing, and Tao Fei did not find it irritating to listen to.

Men are more considerate when they are a little older than their wives!

Not necessarily. Old He is more than ten years older than his wife, and he still beats her all the time...

Wu Xiuli's mother tugged at Wu Xiuli's sleeve. Wu Xiuli instantly understood that her mother was helping her flatter Tang Songyuan. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Tang Songyuan was quite a bit older than Tao Fei.

It still depends on the person. A mature, refined man like Mr. Tang is the kind who spoils his wife.

Mr. Tang is obviously a truly good man. Unlike those men who fool around outside, keeping mistresses three, four, five, and six when they have money.

It is already half past two. The patient needs her afternoon rest.

Tang Songyuan interrupted the mother and daughter's chatter, helped Tao Fei lower the bed, and Tao Fei very much wanted to study the antique phone. Seeing Tang Songyuan bend over to cover her with the blanket, she quickly pulled it up to her chin and pretended to sleep.

Wu Xiuli sensibly fell silent. Less than a minute later, she and her mother were whispering again about what they should eat before five o'clock. After reaching an agreement, they greeted Tang Songyuan and slipped out of the ward to go shopping.

The ward fell silent at once.

Tang Songyuan leaned back on the sofa by the window and closed his eyes to rest. The afternoon sunlight cast a wash of color over his hair.

Tao Fei watched him quietly and somehow kept feeling a trace of sorrow gathered between his brows. Suddenly Tang Songyuan opened his eyes, and Tao Fei hurriedly turned over.

The woman who had been so fierce in her threats did not come to the hospital in the afternoon to demand money. Tao Fei had rested fully and was simply waiting for the moon to appear.

A round orange moon hung silently in the sky, and Tao Fei's heart began to beat faster. Same time, same place, same moonlight. The moment to witness a miracle was at hand.

Wu Xiuli and her mother had not yet returned, and Tang Songyuan had been sent out by Tao Fei to buy fish porridge.

She gripped the doorknob and opened and closed the door several times. The ward, the corridor, everything remained as it had been. She stepped outside and pushed and pulled the door again, but still no miracle appeared.

Tao Fei was unwilling to accept it. She believed the timing must simply be off. She turned back into the ward, opened the door again, closed her eyes, walked out, and then suddenly opened them.

At the far end of the long corridor, beneath the gentle and comforting lights, a young nurse hurried into a nearby ward.

The familiar laboratory still did not appear.

Forcing herself onward, Tao Fei repeated the opening and closing of the door several more times. Standing at the threshold of the ward, she could hear the sound of her own heart breaking.

The red digits on the electronic clock at the nurses' station in the middle of the Y-shaped corridor changed again.

One last time!

Perhaps her hopes were too intense. With her eyes shut tight, Tao Fei trembled as she pulled open the door. Even after stepping outside, she still did not dare to open her eyes. She expected to hear her instructor calling her name, and then to find herself standing in the medical school laboratory when she looked up...

The expected voice did not come. Instead, she felt a scorching breath before her.

Tao Fei opened her eyes and, startled by the man who had suddenly appeared before her, stumbled back several steps, nearly falling back into the ward doorway.