CHAPTER 553: CHAPTER 515: SUDDENLY FEELING GUILTY

The entire afternoon, Wang Junchen and Ye Wanhua were at the tea garden entertaining those friends who had come from out of town.

They didn’t return home until seven in the evening.

Their friends didn’t want to stay in a hotel or to disturb them at Nanfeng Mansion; they were charmed by the beauty of the tea garden and insisted on spending the night there.

Wang Jinghui was late because he wanted to personally select tea leaves for Tang Mei.

"Let’s start dinner now that everyone is here."

"Tangtang hasn’t woken up yet?" Wang Jinghui, noticing his precious granddaughter was not around, immediately turned to Tang Mei, "What’s going on, it’s so late, didn’t you say..."

But he didn’t dare finish his sentence.

Wang Jinghui wasn’t afraid of Tang Mei scolding him; he was afraid she would angrily send him off to sleep in a guest room.

"I would never harm her!"

"No, no, that’s not what I meant."

"Ah, look at these choy sum... so fresh!" Ye Wanhua gestured for her husband Wang Junchen to move the dish closer to Tang Mei, "Mother, please try some."

Wang Jinghui quickly picked a piece of choy sum for Tang Mei, his face bearing a pitying smile.

"We’re all tired from the day, let’s eat."

The atmosphere lightened significantly, and Wang Jinghui eagerly agreed, "Right, let’s eat."

...

Second floor, eastern end, master bedroom.

Tang Xiaowan’s face was no longer so red; she just felt groggy and dreamt of Li Zishen brandishing a gun, his gaze chillingly cold.

"Tell me, where is my mother?"

"Please, this is Nanfeng Mansion, not your mother’s Nanjiang Villa."

"My mother is missing, did you do it? Xiao Wan, tell me, did you do it? If it was you... just tell me, tell me!"

His loud voice startled Tang Xiaowan.

"Yes, it was me."

"Why? Why did you confess? If you just said it wasn’t you, I would have believed you."

"26 years ago, my mother Yi Xiaodan, accepted your father Li Zhenshan’s marriage proposal during the day, but by night, she was kidnapped by Song Dapeng. Do you know how long she was tortured? Do you know how cold the water was when she jumped off Jinyuan Bridge? Do you know how painful it was to walk barefoot up Jinyuan Mountain? The best years of my mother’s life were ruined by your mother!"

"Xiao Wan, please, let her go."

"Let her go? Hah, you’ll never know how much it hurts if the wound isn’t on your own body!"

"What exactly do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do? Haven’t I already said? I’m going to return the favor bit by bit, shoot! I’m avenging my mother, you can too, shoot!"

"Xiao Wan."

"Shoot then! Why won’t you shoot?"

With a bang, a bullet flew past Tang Xiaowan’s ear, striking the vase behind her.

"What’s wrong, scared you’ll kill me and won’t be able to leave Nanfeng Mansion? Rest easy, Cheng Shi isn’t here, Huahua isn’t here, it’s just me."

"Children repay their parents’ debts, let her go."

"Impossible, she is getting what she deserves."

"Xiao Wan, I love you!"

With a thud, Li Zishen fell to the ground, blood quickly staining his shirt red.

...

Tang Xiaowan woke up in a cold sweat.

Her bright almond eyes opened wide like copper bells, and it was a good while before she could speak.

"Miss, don’t be scared!" Wang Meijuan said, wiping her sweat while softly reassuring her, "It’s okay now, the bad guy has been caught, don’t worry!"

"Was... was Granny looking for me?"

"The old lady said if Miss doesn’t feel like coming downstairs, you can eat in your bedroom just for now and avoid anything too spicy, afraid it might hurt Miss’s throat."

"I’m not hungry, how did I fall asleep?"

"When I came back, Miss was already asleep, and you had a bit of a fever too, probably caught a chill."

"A fever? I have a fever, where’s Huahua..."

"Mr. Leng called once, asking why the young lady wasn’t answering her phone," she said. "I told him she was sleeping."

Tang Xiaowan suddenly felt her mind in a whirl, as if several voices were echoing in her ears. It took a long time before she slowly sat up.

"Young lady, here, have some water,"

"Has the boat left?"

"Yes, it has already left Jin City."

"What about Li Wanshan?"

"Cheng Shi called before returning, saying everything went smoothly and told the young lady not to worry. He said he would explain everything in detail when he gets back...?"

These were all plans Tang Xiaowan had arranged in advance. While not to the exact minute, they were not far off.

"No need, just let him rest when he gets back. You should rest too, you’ve been busy all day. I’m fine, there’s no need to stay here with me."

"It’s too early; I can’t fall asleep. Young lady, you should eat something. Granny Yu specially made..."

"My phone, help me find my phone."

Wang Meijuan: "?"

Wasn’t the phone right there?

"Young lady, are you alright?" Wang Meijuan became increasingly concerned after handing Tang Xiaowan her phone, "Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

"Go get some rest. I want to call Huahua. I just had a nightmare and felt a bit scared."

"Oh, alright, call me if you need anything."

Once Wang Meijuan left, Tang Xiaowan bit her lip and dialed Leng Lingxiao’s number.

Logically speaking, the plan had gone smoothly, and she should feel happy. Yet, she was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt, wondering if she had gone too far.

"Where are you?"

"Tangtang, you’re finally awake!"

"I asked where you are?"

"At home, looking over some plans. Shen Yiming, that guy, just sent them, claiming it’s his hard work and insisting I must finish reading them tonight."

Actually, it was a contingency plan for picking up the bride.

Because earlier that morning, Leng Lingxiao had told Shen Yiming that Tang Xiaowan had prepared six bridesmaids, suspecting that picking up the bride would not be easy.

"Oh, you’re at home. I accidentally fell asleep this afternoon. What time did you leave?"

"Around two, close to three."

"Oh, I fell asleep right after you left..."

After a pause of a few seconds, she suddenly remembered the green dumplings, which had tasted so fragrant when she ate them. Because they were brought to her by Leng Lingxiao, she hadn’t given it much thought.

Ah, it must have been Granny!

Indeed, she had managed to dodge the beginning of the month but failed to escape the fifteenth.

"What?" Leng Lingxiao frowned, his tone carrying a hint of jealousy, "What happened right after I left?"

He knew that Li Zishen had gone to Nanfeng Mansion but was unaware of the purpose of Li Zishen’s visit or whether he had met Tang Xiaowan.

"Tangtang, say something."

"I miss you."

"Wait, I’ll come over right now."

"No, there’s no need," Tang Xiaowan said with tear-filled eyes, and after a few seconds, smiled sweetly, "I haven’t sung in a long time. Accompany me to Yelanxiang tomorrow."

Leng Lingxiao understood right away—Tang Xiaowan was feeling guilty and uneasy.

Her every frown and smile tugged at his heart.

"Let’s go now."

"No, let’s wait until tomorrow. I laid in bed all afternoon and am a bit tired. I’m going to take a bath."

"Okay, go ahead, but don’t fall asleep in the tub."

"How could I, I won’t."

After hanging up the phone, Leng Lingxiao immediately walked out of the bedroom and jogged downstairs.

At this moment, Zhao Renjie was wiping a car.

When he saw Leng Lingxiao running over with a complex expression, he quickly realized something was up and swiftly folded the chamois before opening the back car door.