Chapter 43: The Net of Love Unfurls

Mr. Tang!

Who are you?

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

Wu Xiuli sprang off the bed as though she had just spotted a long-lost relative, almost throwing herself into Tang Songyuan’s arms. It was hardly surprising; in her eyes, Tang Songyuan was money itself, and who does not love money?

“You are... Miss Wu.”

Tang Songyuan actually remembered her. Wu Xiuli was even more astonished than when she had suddenly seen her own god of wealth here just now. Her face lit up with excitement as she held out her hand. Tang Songyuan shook it politely, then let go at once.

“I never expected you to know me! I thought that people like us, running such small-time businesses, would never catch your attention.”

“You are too kind, Miss Wu.”

Tang Songyuan did not wish to continue the topic, nor did he want to build rapport with one of his minor customers here. He set the shopping bag on the bedside table, unfolded the tray, and poured a bowl of soup before looking at Tao Fei with an apologetic smile.

“I went to Clay Pot House to buy you the five-finger fig root soup you like best, but traffic was terrible on the way, so I only just got back. It is still hot, so drink some while it is fresh. Oh, and there is this too.”

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

“Your old model has been discontinued. See whether you are used to this one. I have already arranged a replacement SIM card for you, with the same number as before, and I have also installed the apps you use most often.”

“Thank you.”

The phone Tang Songyuan had bought was the very latest model, but in Tao Fei’s eyes it looked like a stale relic from a bygone age. Yet Tao Fei was fond of studying antiques. She took the phone and casually swiped at it a few times, growing even more interested.

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 she showered Tao Fei with compliments, while Wu Xiuli’s mother chimed in with flattery of her own, saying over and over that Tao Fei was clearly the image of a virtuous wife and good mother, with not a trace of the airs of a rich lady.

Tang Songyuan listened with evident enjoyment, smiling as he watched Tao Fei finish the entire thermos of soup. He then poured mineral water for her to rinse her mouth, wrung out a warm towel to wipe her face, and even remembered to apply her face cream for her.

Watching Tang Songyuan’s string of attentive gestures, Wu Xiuli and her mother exhausted every compliment they could think of.

“If my husband were even half as good as Mr. Tang, no, even one-tenth as good, I would be content for the rest of my life. Sister Tao Fei, you are so fortunate. Mr. Tang not only knows how to make money, he is also so considerate and gentle. How did you ever find such a wonderful husband? Did you save the galaxy in your past life?”

Wu Xiuli was truly envious of Tao Fei, and she also sincerely wanted to hear about Tao Fei and Tang Songyuan’s romance. Tao Fei only smiled and said nothing, so Wu Xiuli begged Tang Songyuan to teach her whatever experience he could. That way, in the future, she could use his standard to find husbands for her three daughters.

Wu Xiuli was only thirty-one or thirty-two at most. How old could her eldest daughter possibly be?

“My husband and I were introduced by a matchmaker. Nothing special, really. People in our day generally got married like that.”

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

Wu Xiuli half-joked as she spoke.

“Then you must be well matched. Only a proper match is truly dependable. Otherwise, why has matchmaking become fashionable again now? There are television programs about it everywhere. Which successful couple is not a good match? Rich people look for rich people. Looking pretty is useless on its own.”

Wu Xiuli’s mother summarized Tao Fei and Tang Songyuan’s marriage with a self-assured air, then waited with confidence for them to agree.

“I was reaching above my station back then.”

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

“She is still very beautiful now.”

Tang Songyuan smiled softly, while Tao Fei continued to smile without speaking. Such conversation helped relax both mind and body, and Tao Fei did not find it irritating.

“Men who are older than their wives tend to know how to care for people!”

“That is not always true, though. 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 her sleeve. Wu Xiuli immediately understood that her mother was helping her flatter Tang Songyuan. Anyone with eyes could see that Tang Songyuan was quite a bit older than Tao Fei.

“It depends on the man! A mature, decent man like Mr. Tang is the sort who spoils his wife.”

“Mr. Tang is obviously a wonderful person! Unlike those men who fool around outside and keep mistresses, then keep a third, a fourth, a fifth, and even a sixth once they have money.”

“It is already half past two. The patient needs to rest after lunch.”

Tang Songyuan cut off the mother and daughter’s chatter, helped Tao Fei flatten the bed, and Tao Fei, very eager to study the antique phone, quickly pulled the blanket up to her chin and pretended to fall asleep as he bent down to cover her.

Wu Xiuli sensibly fell silent. Less than a minute later, she and her mother were whispering again, discussing what they should eat before five o’clock. Having reached an agreement, they greeted Tang Songyuan and slipped quietly out of the ward to go on a shopping spree.

The ward immediately fell quiet.

Tang Songyuan leaned back on the sofa by the window and closed his eyes to rest. The afternoon sunlight cast a sheen over the top of his head.

Tao Fei watched him covertly and somehow felt that a trace of worry had settled between his brows. Tang Songyuan suddenly opened his eyes, and Tao Fei hurriedly turned over.

That fierce threat the old woman had made did not materialize at the hospital in the afternoon. Tao Fei had rested enough, and now she was just waiting for the moon to appear.

A round orange moon hung silently in the sky, and Tao Fei’s heart began to pound faster. The same time, the same place, the same moonlight. The moment of witnessing a miracle was almost here.

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

She gripped the doorknob, opening and closing it back and forth several times. The ward, the corridor, everything remained unchanged. Even after stepping outside and then pulling the door open again, there was still no miracle.

Tao Fei was unwilling to give up. She was certain the timing was simply off by an instant. She turned back into the ward, opened the door once more, closed her eyes, and stepped outside. Then she suddenly opened them.

Under the soft, warm lights of the long corridor, a young nurse was walking briskly into a nearby ward.

The familiar laboratory did not appear.

Forcing herself onward, Tao Fei repeated the opening and closing of the door several more times. Standing at the ward entrance, 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 ticked over again.

One last time.

Perhaps because her hopes were too intense, Tao Fei closed her eyes, trembling all over as she pulled the door open. After stepping outside the room, she did not dare open her eyes for a long while. She expected to hear her supervisor calling her name, and then, when she opened her eyes, she would be standing in the medical school laboratory...

The sound she had been waiting for did not come, but she did feel a scorching breath before her.

Tao Fei opened her eyes and was so startled by the man who had suddenly appeared before her that she staggered back several steps, nearly falling back into the ward.