Chapter 789 - 683: An Urgent Matter

After seeing off Jiang Junlin and Mo Xinghua at the end of August, Xiao Man moved back into the Tang Mansion. She could spend two more days at home with her adorable baby brothers before her classes started.

In mid-September, Gu Shaojun had to travel to a military region in the Northeast for business, and Granny Gu went with him. Wu Xiangyun hadn’t returned to Beijing for the summer vacation, and Gu Shao Feng wasn’t coming back to the capital after his tour on the front lines. Since they had both just seen battle, a worried Granny Gu wanted to go see her grandson and his wife.

At the end of the month, Lu Jianling gave birth to a baby girl. The newly minted father, Zhao Xian, was grinning from ear to ear. He and Lu Jianling had often gone back to the Lu Family’s home to see little Jiao Jiao and practice holding a baby, but when his own precious daughter was born, he was still so nervous and clumsy. Just holding the tiny infant made him break out in a sweat, and Xiao Man and Yang Liu’er burst out laughing as they watched him.

Yang Liu’er quietly said to Xiao Man, "Jianling had a daughter this time, not a son... It’s changed. So many things have changed. I believe our family, our friends, all of us will be able to live a good, happy, and fulfilling life!"

Xiao Man smiled and nodded in agreement.

In October, the Tang family twins had their birthday. The adorable little treasures, now three years old, were healthy and cute, as exquisitely handsome as two little princes. Xiao Man made a special trip home half a day early to organize the birthday feast. She led the two little ones in making a large, delicious, jungle-themed cake. The jungle had flowers, fruits, and many hidden little animals. The two little brothers were ecstatic, circling their older sister and occasionally offering unhelpful "help." The whole house was filled with the clear, joyful laughter of the three siblings.

They didn’t have a big party for the children’s birthday. It was just the Gu and Tang Families, along with Grandma Hao’s family and Auntie Hao’s family. Everyone had a meal, drank some tea, and celebrated the birthday together.

This year, Grandma Hao seemed especially happy at the twins’ birthday. When toasting Grandpa Tang and Grandpa Gu, she didn’t use juice as a substitute. She downed a full glass of Moutai straight. Tang Qingshan thought she was drinking plain water at first, but then he saw his mother-in-law pick up the bottle on the table, refill her glass, and down it again. He jumped in surprise. Hao Wenli quickly got up to go brew some sobering-up soup.

Xiao Man followed her into the kitchen and said with a laugh, "Grandma Hao is quite the formidable woman when she drinks. She’s so protective of Mr. Cheng, not even letting him have a drop."

Hao Wenli shot her a look. "Mr. Cheng is allergic to alcohol. He’s her husband now, of course she’s going to protect him. You should learn from this. A husband and wife should cherish each other."

"Huh? Mr. Cheng is allergic to alcohol? When we’ve had meals together before, I’ve seen a glass in front of him."

"That glass is always filled with plain water. He doesn’t touch a drop of alcohol," Hao Wenli said with a sigh. "On the other hand, your Grandma Hao can really hold her liquor. She actually didn’t drink when she was younger, but Ai Baoguo loved getting into drinking contests with his colleagues, and he just couldn’t handle his alcohol. He’d get drunk every single time, so Grandma Hao would secretly drink for him, and she slowly built up a tolerance. She’s drinking so much tonight for two reasons. First, she’s toasting on behalf of both herself and her husband. Second, she’s in high spirits and feels like drinking. And there’s another reason for that—Ai Baoguo has finally quieted down. He didn’t come to cause trouble this year, so your grandma is thrilled!"

Xiao Man paused for a moment, then it all came back to her. Last year, Ai Baoguo had constantly tried to send all sorts of things to the twins. Even though Hao Wenli refused to accept the gifts, Ai Baoguo had put on the full airs of a maternal grandfather. When their birthday came, he made a big show of sending gifts, even having his assigned car drive directly to the Hao Mansion, intending to go with Grandma Hao to the Tang family’s home to celebrate his grandsons’ birthday. Of course, Grandma Hao couldn’t be bothered with him. Later, she went so far as to announce her marriage to Mr. Cheng in the newspaper, after which the couple went abroad for their honeymoon. An enraged Ai Baoguo called and cursed out Hao Wenli, saying she didn’t keep a good eye on her mother and that getting married at her age was a complete disgrace to him...

Hao Wenli was so angry she felt faint. Before Tang Qingshan could take her to confront Ai Baoguo and demand to know what right he had to curse at his own wife, Ai Baoguo fell ill, having been provoked by Grandma Hao’s actions.

The illness was quite serious. He spent nearly half a year in a military hospital and was now a decrepit old man who could barely stand even with a cane. He had truly become frail. This year, he didn’t send any more gifts for the children to the Tang family. And for the twins’ third birthday, he didn’t dare show his face or make a peep.

Grandma Hao once said that Ai Baoguo was a jinx. Whoever got close to him would suffer misfortune. She had already lost her son and her parents; she was determined not to let Ai Baoguo harm her daughter and grandsons!

So now that Ai Baoguo was too sick to leave his home, Grandma Hao could finally rest easy.

Come November, the weather grew colder. The depths of winter arrived on schedule with flurries of heavy snow. Beijing was draped in a blanket of silver, a vast world of white ice and snow everywhere you looked.

The wind and snow raged, but work and studies had to go on as usual. Xiao Man continued to shuttle between the hospital and the university. She had already earned her driver’s license and had her own little car, a gift from Dad Tang.

The Gu family had wanted to buy a car for their future granddaughter-in-law, but the Tang family refused. ’Our daughter hasn’t even married into their family yet, so why would she need things from them? We don’t lack the money ourselves.’

Gu Shaojun, however, didn’t mind. He himself belonged to his little fiancée, and he had long since handed over all his salary and bonuses to her. A car was nothing; they could easily afford one. But sometimes, going along with the elders’ wishes was also a form of filial piety.

Xiao Man had now transferred to the Western Medicine department. With Sun Yiming personally mentoring her, combined with her own focus and dedication, she was improving by leaps and bounds. Sun Yiming was very serious and strict when teaching and didn’t praise people easily, but even he couldn’t help but commend her.

On Saturday, around noon and close to the end of the workday, Xiao Man was in her office organizing case files when she heard a nurse pass by the door and say, "Doctor Tang, someone’s here for you."

Xiao Man thought it was Gu Shaojun and her heart leaped with joy. She looked up toward the door, only to see Pang Xiaoji walking in. She couldn’t help but stare in surprise. "Xiaoji? What are you doing here?"

Pang Xiaoji had a smile on her face. She nodded politely to the other people in the office and said to Xiao Man, "Um, it’s quitting time. Let’s go. I’ll treat you to a meal, and then we can go shopping."

Xiao Man was speechless. For the sake of their friendship, she didn’t refuse the girl in front of everyone. ’It’s the weekend, and you just show up out of the blue wanting to eat and shop? Don’t you know people in relationships have dates to go on? You could have at least given me a heads-up.’

She washed her hands, changed her clothes, and slung her bag over her shoulder. As she and Pang Xiaoji walked out of the hospital’s main gate, Gu Shaojun happened to drive up, stopping the car right in front of them. He rolled down the window and said, "Hop in. I’ll take you wherever you want to go."

Xiao Man reached for the car door, but Pang Xiaoji, her face scrunched up, stopped her. She pulled her four or five steps away from the car and whispered a request:

"I... I worked up a lot of courage to come find you today. I really have something important to tell you... Can you ask Brother Gu to leave first?"

Pang Xiaoji was gripping her tightly. Seeing the fine beads of sweat on the tip of her friend’s nose, Xiao Man’s eyes widened with curiosity. "What on earth is it? Look how nervous you are."

"I can’t tell you now! Go say something nice to Brother Gu and ask him to go home first. Then we’ll leave together, and I’ll tell you!" Pang Xiaoji said, taking a deep breath. She was clearly feeling the pressure of sending Gu Shaojun away and monopolizing his fiancée.

Xiao Man thought for a moment, then smiled. "Alright, I’ll go with you. But Gu Shaojun and I haven’t seen each other all week. He called last night to make plans, and he rushed back from outside the city today. How about this? You come with me to a phone booth and call my house. Just say that you and I are going to a friend’s party and won’t be home until late. That way, I can go eat and shop with you, and then you can leave us a little time to catch up. How does that sound?"

Pang Xiaoji nodded eagerly. She felt terrible for interrupting the engaged couple who hadn’t seen each other all week. A little white lie was no big deal. "Okay, let’s go make the call first. Then you can explain to Brother Gu. I don’t dare go near him!"