Chapter 102: Mr. Mo Is Jealous (Dedicated to Natural Diamond)
At last, she could hold it back no longer. Bitterness surged up her throat. She turned and stumbled past the gathered crowd, fleeing in haste, and hid herself in a deserted corner, weeping in silence.
Linglan’s right hand pressed against the wall; she felt weak all over. With the other hand she clutched at her mouth, trying to stop the hot tears from spilling, but it was useless.
The dampness spread like a river breaking its banks, pouring relentlessly over the cold palm of her hand. In her ears rang a little girl’s tender voice, innocent and unworldly, asking:
“Grandma Director, why do I not have a father, and why do I not have a mother?”
Why?
Child, from now on the orphanage will be your home.
That voice seemed to come from some far-off age, unlocking feelings she had sealed away for so long. So she had not been as strong as she had imagined.
Linglan slowly sank to the ground. Curling up with her knees drawn to her chest, she hugged herself and felt the warmth of her tears soaking through her clothes, yet still she could not stop that bitterness from spreading.
As a child, she had witnessed too many partings and deaths. Some children suffered from grave illnesses and would not live long enough to grow up. As for her, she had been exceedingly fortunate: gifted with a keen mind, and through her own diligence and the support of the Ye family, she had been admitted to the finest university in Nanjing. She was the orphanage director’s pride, and she was proud of herself too.
She had never given in to despair, never indulged in self-pity. One should not punish oneself for the mistakes of others. Though her parents had abandoned her, she could not abandon herself. She had worked so hard, determined to prove that she could overcome the demons within her and live a better life.
Her thin body trembled. Then, at some point, a voice reached her ear.
“Don’t cry...”
Memory flickered like a passing light, crossing the long years.
“Linglan, don’t cry...”
“I’ll give you candy!”
...
“Mr. Ye...” she murmured.
Slowly she lifted her head, and saw the tissue extended to her at just the right moment. She froze slightly. Clear tears fell upon the pure white paper, spreading like ripples, dissolving her bitterness even more deeply.
Linglan looked up. Through the blur of tears, she finally made out the man’s face. It was not Mr. Ye. It was not Mo Zhicheng. With a hoarse voice, she called out:
“Brother Xiaotang!”
Tang Pei looked at her, tear-streaked and pitiful, the tip of her nose red from crying, her expression lost and confused, like a rabbit that had wandered off and no longer knew what to do.
He placed the tissue in her palm. “Wipe your tears. There are still reporters over there. If you look like this, they’ll make something out of nothing and blow the whole thing up.”
Every word struck straight at her heart.
Linglan looked at him. “Mm.” Her reply was soft, her voice still thick with sobs. “I’m sorry. I just saw those children, and I lost control for a moment.”
She clenched the tissue and murmured to herself. Tang Pei supported her and helped her to her feet.
Linglan lowered her eyes, unwilling to let him see her like this.
So she turned away at once, quietly wiping the tear tracks from her face, though she could not erase the red rim around her eyes.
When she had composed herself and looked back, Tang Pei was still behind her. Mo Zhicheng was being surrounded by the media, and the donation event continued as before. This brief lull happened to give Tang Pei and her a moment alone.
Seeing that her emotions had settled a little, Tang Pei asked, “Feeling better?”
“Yes.” She nodded, though her breathing was still uneven with residual sobs.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen you cry so hard. What touched you so deeply?”
Linglan’s brows drew together slightly as she looked at him. “If they chose to give birth to these children, why do they not take responsibility as parents and abandon them instead? Having a natural defect is not their fault. To lose a parent’s love from such a young age—how cruel must that be?”
Once her emotions steadied, her words too had become calm.
Tang Pei gave her a faint smile but said nothing. He simply stood beside her and followed her gaze to the row upon row of buildings.
In the midst of the silence, a voice called out from not far away:
“Mommy Linglan...”
The two of them looked over at the same time.
A little boy was running toward them with unmistakable excitement.
“Mommy Linglan...”
It was Little Wind Chime.
Joy lit up Linglan’s face, but seeing how fast he was running, the crease between her brows returned. She hurried forward with open arms and gathered Little Wind Chime tightly against her.
It turned out that the orphanage in the old district had already been moved to the outskirts of the city. Linglan was both surprised and delighted. She had not expected to run into Little Wind Chime here.
Though delighted to see him, she still scolded him a little in irritation. “Who told you to run so fast?”
Little Wind Chime noticed that Mommy Linglan’s brow was tightly furrowed, and his excitement became cautious. “Is Mommy Linglan angry?”
“Didn’t you remember what Mommy Linglan told you?”
“No running too fast.” Little Wind Chime pouted and replied in a childish voice.
“Then why were you running so fast just now?” Linglan knew very well that Little Wind Chime’s heart could not take it.
Unexpectedly, the little fellow threw his arms around her neck and clung tightly to her. “But... Mommy Linglan hasn’t come to see me in a long time. Grandma Director lied to me. I think of Mommy Linglan every day, but I can’t see you. I can’t see you!”
The child’s words were innocent, but they still left Linglan feeling guilty, because she had not been able to visit him for quite some time due to her injury.
Linglan hugged him tightly and promised, “Then I’ll come see you every weekend from now on, all right?”
“Yes!” Little Wind Chime nodded vigorously. Over Linglan’s shoulder, he secretly glanced at the man not far behind her, then leaned close to her ear and asked softly, “Mommy Linglan, that uncle has been staring at you.”
She froze.
Little Wind Chime went on, “He’s still staring at Mommy Linglan...”
Linglan was amused and burst into laughter. Tang Pei was looking at her?
She turned and glanced back at Tang Pei. Seeing the smile on Linglan’s lips, Little Wind Chime asked again curiously, “Mommy Linglan, is he your boyfriend?”
“What?” Linglan stared.
What would a child know about such things? Yet Little Wind Chime shouted toward Tang Pei, “Uncle, are you my Mommy Linglan’s boyfriend?”
“Hehe...” Linglan laughed. “All right, stop fooling around.”
But Little Wind Chime insisted on asking, “Uncle, you keep looking at my Mommy Linglan. Do you like my Mommy Linglan?”
When Mo Zhicheng arrived, this was the very sentence he heard. As he walked slowly toward the woman, he saw her carrying the child as she moved toward Tang Pei.
The child’s clear laughter drifted in the air. Little Wind Chime kept asking, “Uncle, are you? Are you?” He would not stop.
Tang Pei stroked the child’s hair and deliberately answered, “Yes...”
That single word made Linglan freeze slightly, but Little Wind Chime joyfully clung tighter to Linglan. “If uncle is Mommy Linglan’s boyfriend, then does that mean I have a father now?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the two adults exchanged a glance.
Linglan awkwardly curved her lips. “Children speak without thinking.”
Tang Pei smiled without speaking, only feeling a warmth rise in his heart. He turned away from the topic and asked casually, “Why does the child call you Mommy Linglan?”
Linglan looked at him thoughtfully before answering simply, “He was a child I began supporting when I graduated from university. His name is Little Wind Chime. He started first grade this year.”
“Is that so?”
Tang Pei’s features softened little by little. Faced with the child, he wore a gentle, kindly smile. But when his gaze passed beyond her shoulder, he saw Mr. Mo walking toward them. Tang Pei knew he had overstepped. Yet beautiful moments were always so fleeting.
“Mr. Mo, you’re here...” he said, using the chance to hint to Linglan that Mo Zhicheng had arrived.
Sure enough, a trace of panic flashed in the woman’s eyes. She set Little Wind Chime down and turned to look at the man behind her. She had not expected the donation event to end so quickly.
Seeing Mo Zhicheng’s stern expression, Little Wind Chime’s tender face was full of fear. He shrank timidly behind Linglan, clutching at the hem of her clothes, and asked carefully, “Mommy Linglan, who is he?”
Mo Zhicheng saw all of Little Wind Chime’s changing expressions. As he drew nearer, Ye Linglan shielded the child behind her like a mother hawk protecting her young.
“You’ve frightened him,” she said. Realizing her tone had turned a little reproachful, she quickly addressed him. “Mr. Mo...”
The drive fell into silence.
Mo Zhicheng pressed a hand to his temple and closed his eyes to rest. All the way, neither of them spoke. Linglan sat not far from him and kept sneaking glances in his direction. There was a note of caution in the way she looked at him.
From the end of the donation event to leaving the orphanage, Mo Zhicheng had remained in this same quiet state. His cold expression revealed nothing. Linglan tried to guess whether he was angry because she had left midway through the orphanage visit, or because she had spent time alone with Tang Pei, or because... she had not told him about Little Wind Chime.
“Mr. Mo...” Linglan called softly. “Mr. Mo...”
Mo Zhicheng still kept his eyes closed, only feeling that the woman’s voice was not far away, respectful and careful. He did not respond. Then he heard her ask, “What’s wrong? You don’t look happy.”
At a turn, Linglan’s body lurched forward unsteadily with the car’s movement. But a strong arm pulled her back, and in the next instant she stumbled into a warm embrace.
Her cheek came to rest against his chest. Hearing the powerful beating of his heart, her own heart began to pound like a drum.
Thud... thud...
His heartbeat and hers mingled together.
She could also feel the rise and fall of his breathing, and the unique scent of him wrapped tightly around her, impossible to resist, impossible to refuse, leaving her only to sink, inch by inch, into it.