After I Gave Up/Let Things Slide, I Became Famous Across The Entire Internet - Chapter 22

The warm touch of lips still lingered on her cheek. Although it was a fleeting touch, Tang Shuxia still found it strange.

Looking back, no one had ever dared to do such an intimate thing to her.

Tang Shuxia’s sharp glare shot over, but Xu Yujing’s soft voice had already exploded in her ear, “Someone is standing by the window watching us.”

Tang Shuxia, “???”

Had her vigilance regressed to this extent?

Tang Shuxia was about to turn her head when Xu Yujing already grabbed her hand. The slightly cool hand slipped in and interlaced with hers, fingers locking together. Xu Yujing even playfully pinched her fingertip. Tang Shuxia looked at their intertwined hands, “What are you doing?”

Xu Yujing asked innocently, “Shouldn’t girlfriends hold hands? I see most couples on the street interact this way.”

Tang Shuxia paused, digging up a few memories from the dusty corners of her mind: couples feeding each other sweets, shopping, and playfully fighting. People in this world were different from her era; it seemed quite normal for couples to openly hold hands, kiss… She quickly accepted Xu Yujing’s series of unusual actions, “Fine.”

Xu Yujing, in a cheerful mood, dismissed Zhang Zeyang, “You go back first.”

Zhang Zeyang woke up as if from a dream and quickly left. He had endured too much this morning and needed a place to properly digest this ton of public display of affection that had fallen from the sky.

Tang Mingcheng heard that Tang Shuxia had brought someone back and initially thought this unfilial daughter had finally realized her mistakes. However, when he went downstairs, he saw Tang Shuxia talking gently with a woman in a wheelchair, head bowed. Her smile was genuine, and her posture was relaxed. Upon closer inspection, the woman in the wheelchair was none other than the cousin Xu Yujing mentioned by Xu Heng. Xu Yujing was someone who always left a lasting impression, not only because of her overly dazzling and delicate face but also because of her missing legs.

This flaw made the originally perfect beauty seem to have a slight blemish, inspiring both pity and vivid memory.

Tang Mingcheng plastered on his usual professional smile, “Miss Xu, what a coincidence. You’re alone today. Why didn’t I see my nephew, Xu Xianzhi?”

Xu Yujing glanced at Tang Shuxia. The latter was too lazy to waste words on Tang Mingcheng. She simply and openly presented their clasped hands, which had been linked since they entered the door, “See? She didn’t come to see you as Xu Heng’s cousin. She came to visit you as my little girlfriend.”

Little girlfriend?

Xu Yujing silently repeated these three words several times, a slight curve appearing at the corner of her lips.

Tang Mingcheng was stunned, then clutched his chest, taking several deep breaths. Although he noticed their intimacy at the hotel last time, he never considered that direction. If Tang Shuxia hadn’t openly admitted to liking women, these two… these two… Yu Huimei, seeing Tang Mingcheng’s face turn pale, quickly helped him slowly sit down, “Shuxia, it’s not the auntie talking, but how can you be so insensible now? Your father just got out of the hospital. Is there anything that can’t be discussed properly? Why must you anger him? If you send your father back to the hospital, will you be happy then?”

Tang Wenjing also jumped out to condemn, “Exactly, exactly. You want to anger Dad to death so you can directly inherit the Tang family fortune, don’t you?”

Tang Mingcheng almost lost the breath he had just caught.

Yu Huimei gave Tang Wenjing a warning glare, “Go get your dad’s medicine.”

Tang Shuxia glanced at the other’s unconcealed excitement, almost certain that the person peeking from the window just now was Tang Wenjing. Could such an easily emotional person be related to the original owner’s mistress scandal? On the other hand, the original owner’s stepmother always seemed so understanding.

“You’re overthinking. I’m just bringing my little girlfriend home for my father to meet. Didn’t Father say that as long as I find a marriage partner, the coming-of-age gift my mother left me should be handed over to me?”

Xu Yujing maintained a polite smile, but Tang Shuxia’s direct statement caused all three people in the room to change their expressions.

Tang Shuxia naturally didn’t miss their hesitant looks. The corner of her lips curled up, “Why do you all look like you’ve seen a ghost? Does Father’s promise no longer count? Just like when Father claimed he’d keep it for me for a few years because I was young. How many years was vague, he only said he’d trust me once I got married and settled down.”

Tang Mingcheng was choked by her sarcastic words and coughed violently, especially with Xu Yujing, an outsider, present. He couldn’t help but scold, “Tang Shuxia!”

Tang Shuxia lazily shifted her posture. The other hand in her palm finally gained a bit of warmth, but it was still too cold this person’s constitution was truly poor. “Father’s voice is strong. It seems his illness is completely cured.”

Yu Huimei quickly played the peacemaker, “There are no overnight grudges between father and daughter. Besides, we have a guest. Please both of you restrain yourselves.”

Tang Mingcheng was so angry his chest started to hurt again. Only in the past few days did he realize how sharp-tongued his daughter was. Previously, he only knew she was stubborn, never anticipating a day when she’d infuriate him so much. Although the recent physical exam only suggested he should reduce excessive socializing and found no heart-related issues, he still felt that if this continued, he would eventually be angered into a heart condition by this wicked daughter. “I am your father. Would I embezzle your small possession? Don’t worry, the item your mother left for you will be given to you in its original state on your wedding day.”

He stared at Xu Yujing, the topic shifting, “But, choosing her won’t do.”

Although Xu Yujing shared the same surname as Xu Heng and claimed to be a cousin, based on his knowledge of the Xu family, there was no such person as Xu Yujing. This cousin was likely a distant relative of the Xu family, possibly someone Xu Heng deliberately found to test the Tang family’s attitude.

Tang Shuxia raised an eyebrow, “If she won’t do, will anyone else?”

As soon as she finished speaking, her palm was scratched twice, like a small animal’s claws not sharp, but it made her heart itch. It was a strange feeling. She looked down and saw Xu Yujing tightly pursing her lips, her eyelids lowered, seemingly a little unhappy.

Tang Mingcheng gave Tang Shuxia a deep look, “Besides Xu Heng, don’t even think about anyone else.”

Tang Shuxia, “…”

This old man is taking advantage of having the coming-of-age gift in his hands and acting recklessly, isn’t he?

Tang Shuxia was about to completely dismantle his carefully calculated plans when Xu Yujing coldly shattered Tang Mingcheng’s illusion, “Uncle, Xu Heng hasn’t contacted you for so long, hasn’t that already shown his stance? Why do you insist on misleading Tang Tang here?”

It took Tang Shuxia about a minute to connect the nickname “Tang Tang” with herself.

After he was sent to the hospital last time, Xu Heng visited him once, quickly exchanging a few words before leaving. When the marriage with Tang Shuxia was brought up, he dodged the question, clearly indicating he didn’t want to discuss it further. This engagement was likely off.

Tang Mingcheng knew it, but having this fact stated by an outsider no, by someone involved in a twisted female-female relationship with his daughter made Tang Mingcheng feel like a painful spot had been hit. The polite smile on his face became hard to maintain, “Miss Xu, I’m stating it here today: I don’t care if you are Xu Heng’s cousin or what relationship you have with Xu Heng. Even if Shuxia’s future spouse isn’t Xu Heng, that person will absolutely not be you. I don’t recognize your peculiar relationship. I advise both of you to stop now, otherwise, don’t blame me for disregarding my years of friendship with the Xu family.”

Starting with threats again.

Tang Shuxia was genuinely defiant, “I’ll tell you too: my marriage partner can only be Xu Yujing, and no one else will do.”

Xu Yujing looked up. From this angle, she could see the other person’s attractive neck and beautiful jawline. She thought that this person truly seemed to radiate a dazzling light wherever she went, making one’s gaze involuntarily follow her.

Tang Mingcheng’s chest heaved with anger. He randomly grabbed an object from the coffee table and hurled it at Tang Shuxia. Tang Shuxia, quick with her eyes and hands, firmly caught it just as the wheelchair underneath her was turning, preparing to block it. She looked at it was a heavy, large glass ashtray. “Throwing things at people at the drop of a hat, is this a family tradition?”

Xu Yujing’s face clouded over after clearly seeing the ashtray, “Uncle, do you know what would happen if that thing hit Tang Tang?”

Tang Mingcheng also felt a bit of fear, but mostly shame, “Xu Yujing, don’t forget this is the Tang family, not your Xu family. And does the matter of me educating my own daughter need an outsider to point fingers?”

Tang Shuxia casually threw the ashtray to the ground. Clatter. The ashtray, like the bowls and chopsticks last time, couldn’t escape the fate of being shattered. Yu Huimei and Tang Wenjing were already so frightened by her frequent destruction that they retreated two steps. Tang Shuxia, however, clapped her hands nonchalantly, “Father, Xu Yujing is not an outsider. As long as you agree, she will be your future… daughter-in-law?”

Xu Yujing’s ink-like complexion immediately turned scarlet upon hearing this, like someone who had applied too much rouge.

Tang Mingcheng gasped loudly, his trembling hand pointing towards the Tang family’s front door, “Get out! I absolutely will not agree! Don’t even think about it!”

Tang Shuxia hummed a little tune in a cheerful mood, happily pushing Xu Yujing out of the Tang family home. Only after stepping outside did she realize the car that brought them was gone.

Xu Yujing listened for a moment but couldn’t recognize the song Tang Shuxia was humming. For the first time, she regretted not listening to more music. “You seem particularly happy.”

Tang Shuxia, “Tang Mingcheng is furious. Naturally, I’m happy. Aren’t you?”

Xu Yujing remembered the few confident statements Tang Shuxia had just made. The curve of her lips lifted, but quickly, a hint of coldness flashed in her eyes, “As long as your father doesn’t acknowledge our relationship, you won’t get the coming-of-age gift your mother left you.”

A gift left by a mother for her child is always incredibly precious.

Tang Shuxia, seeing the expressions of the three people in the house, knew something fishy was going on. This coming of age gift was probably…

Tang Shuxia sneered, “If they dare to swallow it, I’ll make them all spit it out, one by one.”