Chapter 539 - 538: Grand Reunion (Part 2)

As Su Li snickered, Little Tang Mo’s face flushed an even deeper shade of red, his eyes filled with exasperation.

’Mom is usually the best,’ he thought, ’but at times like this... I just can’t deal with it.’

Little Tang Mo avoided looking at Su Li’s excited, eager eyes. Sighing to himself, he reached out to take Little Tongtong’s hand.

"Let’s go."

"A ki—" Little Tongtong started, dissatisfied. Before she could finish, Little Tang Mo, unable to bear it any longer, clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Take that back," Little Tang Mo said, pulling her by the hand toward the stairs.

"He’s getting shy, he’s getting shy..." came the muttered whispers from Su Li and Tongtong’s mother. Little Tang Mo sighed in exasperation.

Holding his little son, Tongtong’s father watched Little Tongtong and Little Tang Mo with a truly complicated expression on his face.

Even though the kids were still tiny and it was far too early to worry about her getting married, Tongtong’s father couldn’t help but feel a sense of resignation as he watched his daughter, who was always ready to pucker her lips for a kiss.

A daughter is a father’s precious treasure, loved beyond words. He would normally find any little brat who dared to glance at his daughter completely detestable, but... Tang Mo was a genuinely good kid.

’I can’t lie to myself and say he’s not good enough for my daughter...’

Tongtong’s father looked at Little Tang Mo with the eyes of a future father-in-law, his feelings a tangled mess of contradictions.

Of course, nobody there had any idea what was going through the father’s mind.

Little Tang Mo didn’t know either, but he felt a scorching heat on his back. When he turned and saw the complex, peculiar look in Tongtong’s father’s eyes, he instinctively let go of Little Tongtong’s hand.

Too bad for him, the moment he let go, Little Tongtong immediately latched onto his arm.

"Brother Mo, we get to see Sister Yang Mei again, right?"

Though they hadn’t known each other long, they had met under the unusual circumstances of their abduction, which forged a deeper bond and a more lasting memory. Little Tongtong missed Little Yang Mei a great deal.

"Mhm," Little Tang Mo nodded.

Little Tongtong was happy for a moment, then grew anxious. "Brother Mo, you can’t like Sister Yang Mei more than me. You have to like me the most."

It was the typical logic of a little girl: she liked Little Yang Mei, but she was afraid Little Tang Mo would like Little Yang Mei more than he liked her.

Little Tang Mo said resignedly, "Just watch where you’re going so you don’t trip."

"You haven’t promised me yet..."

The two of them whispered back and forth as they walked ahead. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, they saw a familiar car parked right in front of them.

"Little Point!" Wu Sheng’s familiar voice called out.

"Uncle!" Little Tang Mo’s eyes brightened at the sight of Wu Sheng, and he called out at once.

"Uncle!" Little Tongtong piped up right after, her eyes shining. She liked this cool, handsome uncle too!

’This uncle is so handsome, way better looking than Dad!’

"Little Little Point," Wu Sheng greeted Little Tongtong, who was even smaller than Little Tang Mo.

The pretty, adorable little girl was just so endearing that Wu Sheng couldn’t help but like her too.

Wu Sheng had driven over. He wasn’t alone in the car; Father Miao and Miao Zhi were with him.

Miao Zhi opened the car door and saw Su Li and Little Tang Mo. "Su Li, Tang Mo."

Su Li’s eyes lit up when she saw Miao Zhi. She immediately gave her a once-over, and a smile spread across her face when she saw that her friend’s complexion had improved considerably.

"Miao Zhi."

Then she turned to greet Father Miao. "Uncle."

"Yes, yes," Father Miao replied. With Miao Zhi back, his spirits had returned completely. His face broke into a wide smile upon seeing Su Li and Little Tang Mo, and his greeting was even warmer than the one he’d given Wu Sheng.

He was grateful to Su Li for helping rescue Miao Zhi, a gratitude that words could not fully express.

"Come on, Little Mo, have some candy." Father Miao affectionately patted Little Tang Mo’s head and pressed a handful of sweets into his hand.

"Thank you, Grandpa," Little Tang Mo accepted with a smile.

Su Li introduced everyone to each other, and they exchanged pleasantries for a moment.

"...We said we could get here on our own, but we still ended up troubling Wu Sheng to come and get us."

Father Miao felt quite awkward. He had no prior connection to Wu Sheng, who held a high position, and it had taken him a great deal of effort just to get used to calling him by his name.

"It was on the way. Come on, let’s get going."

Wu Sheng waved a dismissive hand. He had driven, and Su Li had her car, so the two vehicles were just enough for everyone.

Miao Zhi felt a strong sense of closeness to Su Li and Little Tang Mo now, so she insisted on riding with them. Ultimately, she, Little Tongtong, and Tongtong’s mother all piled into Su Li’s car.

In the end, Wu Sheng’s car was left with only Father Miao, Tongtong’s father, and Tongtong’s little brother—the men of the group, young and old.

There wasn’t much conversation among the men; they just made small talk the whole way. Su Li’s car, on the other hand, was much livelier.

The same Miao Zhi who had once been an impulsive hothead that exasperated Su Li had, after this incident, grown up in an incredibly short time—much like Little Tang Mo had during the time he was being abused by Mrs. Tang.

In fact, she’d been forced to grow up far too quickly.

Previously, she had loved reading books and novels. She believed in the supremacy of love, yearning for a passionate romance full of grand, sweeping vows. She was fiercely devoted to her friends, believing one could sacrifice anything for friendship and love.

Back then, she would sob her heart out watching stories about couples eloping or protagonists who abandoned their parents and gave up everything for their lover. Now, however, she had finally matured.

Perhaps she had matured a little too much, especially when it came to matters of the heart.

After being treated like an animal, after seeing the vile nature of the men in Taoyuan Village, and especially after what the village chief’s son did to her, she had become completely immune to the creature known as "man."

Or perhaps it was more that she was repulsed by men. It wasn’t quite misandry, but she couldn’t help but feel like she was looking at something vile whenever she saw one.

During the few minutes of greetings just now, she hadn’t spared Tongtong’s father a single glance, though she did look at her own father and Wu Sheng.

This was a psychological trauma. Having experienced such things herself, Su Li knew Miao Zhi would have to overcome this, or it would affect her future happiness.

Su Li thought this, but it wasn’t appropriate to talk about it in the car, so she could only keep these thoughts to herself.

Miao Zhi, unaware of Su Li’s thoughts, sat in the front passenger seat, chatting with the others and speculating about the grand reunion.

"I wonder how many people came? It should be a lot, right?"

"Mhm, probably a lot," Tongtong’s mother nodded, her tone filled with emotion.

Miao Zhi continued to chat idly, her gaze drifting out the window. Her expression was complex, with a hint of coldness.

In truth, she had almost missed this grand reunion.

As a young woman who had been abducted by traffickers, all anyone cared about before her rescue was getting her back, no matter what. But once she was truly safe, a whole new set of worries suddenly emerged.

It was hard to say who started the talk, or maybe it had been there all along.

On the second day after she returned to the family courtyard, still basking in the joy of her rescue, she overheard gossip speculating on whether she was still a "maiden," or even if she might be pregnant.

None of it was pleasant to hear. The bottom line was, they were worried it would affect her marriage prospects.

Later, with school about to start, everyone advised her not to let others know about her kidnapping, lest she become the subject of gossip.

But so many people already knew she had disappeared, that she had been abducted. Trying to hide it now would be pointless—a clumsy cover-up that would only invite more talk.

So, even though she hadn’t returned to school yet, she had insisted on coming to this reunion dinner.

Those words were hurtful, tragic even, but she was still grateful to be alive and rescued. How could she possibly miss a grand reunion like this?

The car drove slowly toward its destination. It wasn’t just Su Li’s group; people from all over were flocking to the location of the grand reunion dinner.