The words from Lee Yueze stung, and it made Xiao Luo frown. Tan Jianbai’s expression changed immediately. Whether Lee Yueze had said it on purpose or not, his words were too harsh and unkind.
Mrs. Tan, who was washing vegetables in the kitchen, overheard their conversation. She walked out and said, “Mr. Xiao, you should accept Xiao Lee’s money. Oh, and we thank you for your help.”
“What nonsense are you uttering? Go and wash your vegetables, and don’t interrupt us when you don’t know anything!” Tan Jianbai admonished. He was a very principled person and would never allow Lee Yueze to pay the money on his behalf.
“What do you mean that I don’t understand anything? Xiao Lee will become one of our own sooner or later. Spending his money is completely justifiable,” Mrs. Tan retorted, “Isn’t it, Xiao Lee?”
“You’re right, Auntie. I have had a good relationship with Ningfu since high school. I am certain that with my sincerity, I will be able to win Ningfu’s heart.”
Li Yueze did his best to respond as elegantly as he could in a scholarly manner. He was ecstatic that Mrs. Tan was already leaning toward his cause. Mr. Tan was still neutral, but sooner or later, he was convinced that, with Mrs. Tan’s support, he’d get Ningfu’s father to accept him with open arms. As things stood, he felt that he was already holding the winning ticket, and it would only be a matter of time before he would get to embrace the beauty herself.
Tan Ningfu had just walked out of her grandmother’s room when she heard it. “Lee Yueze, I already made it very clear that you and I can only be friends. Besides, I have no plans to get married for the time being,” she said.
“Even if you don’t want to get married, you both can still date for the time being. For such an excellent boy like Xiao Lee, if you miss the chance, you may not find another one like him,” Mrs. Tan chided, annoyed at her daughter’s reluctance.
Lee Yueze tried to put Ningfu at ease and said, “It’s okay, Auntie, she can take her time. I’m not in a hurry.”
“I’m Sorry, Lee Yueze, I don’t want to keep it from you anymore. The truth is, I already have a boyfriend.”
Tan Ningfu suddenly walked up to Xiao Luo, who was drinking tea, and leaned against him affectionately. “He is my boyfriend!” she said.
What?!
Mrs. Tan and Lee Yueze were stunned to silence, and even Tan Jianbai was a little taken aback. A deluge of questions starting popping up in their minds—didn’t she say that he was a doctor she met on the plane? Why did he suddenly become her boyfriend?
Xiao Luo almost spurted out the tea from his mouth. Tan Ningfu was obviously using him as a shield. He had wanted to immediately clarify the matter, but when he saw Tan Ningfu’s pleading eyes, he held back and remained seated in his place without saying a word. He decided that he’d do his part to act the role and see it through to the end with a sigh.
Lee Yueze stood up in utter disbelief and was unable to keep his composure. “Ningfu, you… you must be lying to me, right? How could he be your boyfriend? Didn’t you only meet each other on the plane not long ago?” he asked, as he pointed at Xiao Luo.
Equally anxious, Mrs. Tan also pitched in and said, “Huh, what is this, girl? What nonsense are you talking about?!”
In her heart, she had already accepted Lee Yueze as her son-in-law, and she couldn’t take her daughter having a serious relationship with any other man.
“Mum, I’m not lying, Miste… Xiao Luo here is really my boyfriend,” Tan Ningfu responded. To be more convincing to her family, she purposely sat down next to Xiao Luo and held his arm tightly.
Lee Yueze’s eyelids twitched as he stared at Tan Ningfu and Xiao Luo sitting intimately together, and his eyes burned with anger. Whether Xiao Luo was Tan Ningfu’s boyfriend did not matter, he had long regarded Tan Ningfu as his own. This was unforgivable in his eyes as he couldn’t stand the woman that he fancied being so close to another man.
“Ningfu, you’ve wasted my love for you!” Lee Yueze scowled.
As soon as he said that, he glared fiercely at Xiao Luo and stomped away.
“Xiao Lee…”
Mrs. Tan chased after him to dissuade him, but as Lee Yueze felt thoroughly humiliated, there was no way that he was inclined to listen to her. He opened the door angrily and marched off without looking back.
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Seeing her favorite “son-in-law” leaving in a huff, Mrs. Tan walked back in, pointed her finger angrily at Xiao Luo, and shouted, “You, get out of here!”
Xiao Luo put down his teacup, raised his head, and looked at her. He couldn’t help looking at her with a sense of bemusement. Having come here with the kind intention of helping to treat Tan Ningfu’s grandmother without asking for any reward, it was ironic that he was being thrown out for it.
BAM!
Tan Jianbai was infuriated. Glaring at Mrs. Tan, he slammed the table, stood up, and lashed out, “What do you think you’re doing? Mr. Xiao is our guest, and he came here to treat my mother. Did you just ask him to leave? Don’t you know simple manners? And you dare call yourself a teacher, have all your morals gone to the dogs?”
“Tan Jianbai, why are you yelling at me? We’ve just lost such an excellent son-in-law, just like that. Do you want our daughter to go out with this man with the surname Xiao instead? He can’t even compare to a single strand of Xiao Lee’s hair. How can our daughter get to enjoy a blissful life with this type of man?” Mrs. Tan screamed, raising her voice by several decibels.
“Huh, you still dare to call yourself Ningfu’s mother, when you can’t even tell if Ningfu was telling the truth or not? She was only using Mr. Xiao to reject Lee; she doesn’t like him, can’t you see that? You can take a horse to the water, but you cannot make it drink. Lee is indeed an excellent person, but since Ningfu doesn’t like him, that means the two are not meant to be,” Tan Jianbai retorted, “Do you think we are still in an ancient feudal society where you get to arrange your child’s marriage? Besides, in what way is Mr. Xiao inferior to Lee? He is a man of striking appearance, has superb medical skills, and has an extraordinary temperament; I’d say he is definitely a successful person. He is even willing to humble himself, come to our home, and treat my mother. That is the most truthful, kind, and beautiful act I’ve ever seen!”
Tan Jianbai’s emotions were a little heightened, for he had been feeling very uncomfortable seeing his mother being cast aside by his wife for a long time. But for the sake of harmony in his household, he chose to remain silent at the expense of his mother’s wellbeing. But, now the cause of his mother’s ailment had been determined, and it was evident that it was due to his own inaction over his wife’s mistreatment of her. It had finally come to a head, and he vented all his frustrations accumulated over the years.
“You stubborn old fart, are you cracking a joke or what? If it wasn’t for our daughter’s beauty, do you think he’d come?”
Mrs. Tan sneered in reply and said, “He’s only pretending to act calm from the time he got here. Why do you think he showed up here in person? If this isn’t him trying to catch his prey, what else could this possibly be?” Feeling resentful toward Tan Ningfu for failing to meet her expectations, she glared at her daughter and said, “But of all other tricks, this girl chooses to fall for this. You don’t even know how to cherish a good man such as Xiao Lee; I’ll wait and see your intestines turn green from regret!”
Tan Ningfu bit her lips and did not speak. It was not that she didn’t know how to refute her mother’s allegations but more because this woman was her mother. She didn’t want to argue with her.
“Hah, a women’s opinion! Such stupidity!”
Tan Jianbai sighed heavily and turned to Xiao Luo to express his regret, “Mr. Xiao, I’m really sorry, I apologize to you on her behalf.”
“Don’t mind me, I’m just here to treat a patient. We won’t meet again after the treatment is over,” Xiao Luo said.
After his reply, he got up and walked toward the old woman’s room. It was time to remove the needles, and he didn’t want to stay in this place even for a second longer.
“Mr. Xiao…”
Tan Ningfu hurriedly scampered after him. She felt remorseful, especially after Xiao Luo had already been benevolent and kind enough to have come to treat her grandmother. Seeing her mother ridiculing Xiao Luo in such a way, she simply had no idea how to deal with the situation.
Xiao Luo didn’t pay her any attention. He walked into the room without saying a word and then removed the slender needles he had inserted into the old woman’s body.
As Xiao Luo was removing all the acupuncture needles, the doorbell rang. Tan Jianbai went to see who it was and when he opened the door, he was somewhat surprised to see four people standing before him—two men in suits and two policemen in uniforms.
“Yes, how can I help you?”
“We are from the Public Health Bureau. We have just received an anonymous report from the public that an unlicensed person is practicing medicine here illegally. We are here to investigate this, so please cooperate with us.”
The chubby man leading the party flashed his authority card and then barged in without an invitation.
…