Strike Back, Proud Goddess!

Tang Xi’s brain suddenly buzzed and she couldn’t hear anything. Grandpa knew she had that accident? Could he accept it? He had been in bad health for years. What if he suddenly collapsed?

Tang Xi jerked up. She wanted to go back home to see Grandpa! Fortunately, Qiao Liang had been paying attention to her reaction. He pressed her down to stop her from moving. Seeing Tang Xi so unconcerned about her own health, Qiao Liang frowned and said angrily, “What are you doing? You’ll fall over and hurt yourself if you leave the bed. You can’t even reach the door of the ward. How are you going to see your grandpa?”

Tang Xi’s eyes turned red. She looked at Qiao Liang and said with a hoarse voice, “Grandpa only has me. He only has me and the photos of Grandma, Mom and Dad accompany him. In the future, can he only see my photos too?”

Qiao Liang’s heart hurt when he heard the last part of her words. He leaned over Tang Xi and kissed her forehead and cheek repeatedly. “No, I won’t let it happen. I’ll help you go back to accompany your grandpa, you’ll go back to him.”

“But I don’t know how to get back,” Tang Xi said, turning to Qiao Liang and leaning her head against his neck, her tears soaking his collar. “I was brought up by Grandpa. I’d rather give up everything than seeing my grandpa sad.”

“I’ll call your grandpa, okay?” Qiao Liang looked at Tang Xi and whispered, “Even if you can’t accompany your grandpa, I’ll accompany him in your place. You can’t take care of him, so I’ll serve as his grandson and take care of him in your place, okay?”

His words touched the softest part of Tang Xi’s heart. She giggled with tears on the corner of her eyes and said to Qiao Liang, “Grandpa hates you. He hated you a lot after he found out that you broke up with me. Don’t you know that?”

Qiao Liang raised his eyebrows and looked at Tang Xi with a smile on his lips. He took out his phone and shook it. “Let’s try it, alright?” he suggested.

Tang Xi also wanted to listen to her grandpa’s voice, so she pursed her lips and nodded. To her surprise, Qiao Liang had saved Grandpa’s phone number. Qiao Liang looked at her, lowered his head and kissed her on the forehead, then he called Tang Zhenhua. Soon, someone answered the phone. Tang Xi could tell it was Tang Zhong’s voice. Tang Zhong sounded very respectful. “Mr. Qiao Liang, may I ask why you are calling Master so late?”

Qiao Liang looked down at Tang Xi and replied, “I have something to tell Grandpa Tang.”

After a moment of silence, there came Tang Zhong’s voice again. “Sorry, but Master is in bed right now, so…”

Before Tang Zhong finished speaking, Qiao Liang continued, “I know he doesn’t want to meet me at this time, but I want you to know, I don’t want to accept the fact that Xixi is dead either, but I have her…” Qiao Liang felt a pricking pain in his heart as he spoke. He looked down at Tang Xi and the pain in his heart eased slightly. He said in a low voice, “I’ve stayed in the Pacific Ocean for a month, but only found a finger of hers…”

On his side, Tang Zhenhua, sitting with Tang Zhong, pressed the hand-free button and carefully listened to what they were talking about. When he heard this, he suddenly took the phone and asked seriously, “What did you say you found?”

When Tang Xi heard her grandpa’s voice, she firmly covered her mouth with her hand so as to not cry aloud. Qiao Liang sat up and held Tang Xi’s other hand. “Hello, Grandpa Tang. I’m Qiao Liang,” Qiao Liang said respectfully.

Tang Zhenhua replied impatiently, “I know you’re Qiao Liang. I’m asking about what you found.”

Qiao Liang pursed his lips. “A finger. I spent a month in the Pacific Ocean but only found her finger. I’ve brought it back.”

On his side, Tang Zhenhua’s hands trembled and he almost dropped the phone. Tang Zhong came forward to hold the phone for him, but Tang Zhenhua stopped him and asked coldly, “My Xixi will never come back, will she?”

Qiao Liang fell silent. If you could accept that your granddaughter’s soul was reborn in someone else’s body, then your granddaughter might come back, but… Qiao Liang knew the man wouldn’t be able to accept it.

If it hadn’t been for the many coincidences, the similarities between Tang Xi and Xiao Rou and what happened to him in Long Beach, he wouldn’t have believed Tang Xi was still alive, in another person’s body. So he didn’t tell Tang Zhenhua that Tang Xi was alive and would come back.

Not getting Qiao Liang’s response, after a long silence, Tang Zhenhua said, “Can you let Xixi come back home? She must be homesick.”

His voice was gentle and low. At this moment, he didn’t sound the least like the chairman of Empire Group, but like a poor grandfather who wanted his granddaughter to come home.

Qiao Liang looked at Tang Xi sideways. Tang Xi looked at him imploringly and whispered, “You have me with you, but Grandpa has only that finger now.”

“Okay. Tomorrow I’ll go to Empire Garden to visit you with that finger. Please wait for me there.” Qiao Liang paused before continuing to speak. “As for Tang Feng, whom you sent to work in the Pacific, I think you can let him go back. He has been there for more than a month and it’s time for him to return. Then those people can’t make an issue of it. Please believe me, Grandpa Tang.”

There was a long silence on the other side, following which came the old man’s voice. “Mr. Qiao Liang, I’ll wait for you at Empire Garden tomorrow. Please help me bring my granddaughter home.”

Qiao Liang frowned and answered firmly, “Okay, see you tomorrow.”

Qiao Liang hung up the phone, looked at Tang Xi and said in a low voice, “I’ll go to see your grandpa in your place tomorrow. I’ll definitely ask the doctor to check his body before I come back, okay?”

“Thank you, Ah Liang,” Tang Xi said gratefully, putting her arms around Qiao Liang’s body. “Thank you for recognizing me at first sight. Thank you for all you have done for me. Thank you for listening to me and comforting me. Thank you for helping me take care of Grandpa. And thank you for everything.”

Qiao Liang looked deeply at her, then lowered his head and kissed Tang Xi on the forehead. “I’m sorry. Even though you thank me so much, I still can’t make it so you can come back to your grandpa and call him grandpa. Forgive me for my incompetence.”

Tang Xi lifted her head to kiss Qiao Liang on his lips. “You fool, you’re already competent enough. I know what you’ve done for me. Thank you.”

Qiao Liang stretched out his hand and rubbed her head, then lay on her side and kissed her forehead. “Sleep,” he said.

Tang Xi blinked innocently. “But… I want to go to the bathroom.”