Tang Xiaomin touched the jade statue.
"Who gave this, and why wouldn't they even tell me their name?"
Tang Xiaomin glanced around at the people present. Her gaze eventually settled on Ye Lingyun. The reason was simple: among those present, Ye Lingyun was the most likely to have the means to afford such a valuable gift.
Ye Lingyun shook his head. "It wasn't me. I wouldn't have thought of such a unique gift." If he had, he would have given it to her long ago, instead of racking his brain and only managing to get her a cheap stuffed bear.
Tang Xiaomin had her principles about things of unknown origin, especially those so precious. "Since we don't know who sent it, it should go back to wherever it came from."
Everyone agreed.
Tang Yu tried to persuade her, "Xiaomin, this thing is so valuable, they must have a reason. You like it, you should keep it."
Tang Xiaomin shot Tang Yu a dismissive look. "Useless." Sudanshu.com
Tang Yu was exasperated. "Xiaomin, I didn't mean it like that. I'm not someone who's blinded by money."
As soon as he said that, it sounded like a confession. Everyone's gaze towards Tang Yu turned contemptuous.
Seeing that Tang Xiaomin was about to send the gift-giver away, Tang Yu couldn't hold back any longer and revealed the truth. "Xiaomin, I said this, and I hope you won't be angry. Actually, this is a gift from Dad for you."
Dad? Tang Zhongcheng! Tang Xiaomin suddenly remembered that she still had a good-for-nothing father, who had become a monk at Changhu Temple, seeking the Buddha's protection.
"How much is this thing worth?"
Tang Yu whispered in her ear, "Over ten million."
Hearing how valuable it was, a ripple went through Tang Xiaomin's heart. There was no reason not to accept something given for free. "Oh, I'll keep it."
Relieved that Tang Xiaomin would accept the gift, Tang Yu seized the opportunity to bring up another matter. "Xiaomin, Dad wants to speak with you on the phone. Just give him a chance to talk to you for a bit."
Tang Xiaomin subconsciously glanced at Zhang Meiyu, who stood silently by, and flatly refused. "A call is out of the question. If you think it's not worth it, take the gift back now."
"Xiaomin, Dad doesn't mean it like that. He said, whether you talk to him or not, this gift is just his token of affection, and he won't take it back."
"In that case, I'll keep it. I'm going to go play with my friends now."
Tang Xiaomin stopped paying attention to Tang Yu and found a spot with Shu Ya and a few others to drink and play games, turning a sophisticated birthday banquet into a casual party. In the past, she hadn't enjoyed such boisterous social activities. Now, only by throwing herself into a crowd could she feel her own existence.
The frequent drinking led to her developing a higher tolerance. In the blink of an eye, Shu Ya and the others were all drunk. During a break, Tang Xiaomin had a sudden impulse. She took a pen and drew on the pink stuffed bear that Ye Lingyun had given her. The originally cute bear face, under her "destruction," was transformed into a ferocious skull. She threw down the pen and looked at the skull with affectionate eyes, her unfocused gaze filled with emotion.
...
Ye Lingyun returned from the restroom and his heart tightened as he looked at the bizarre scene before him. It looked eerie and terrifying no matter how he looked at it. She really had a heavy taste.
"Xiaomin, it's almost midnight, the banquet should be ending soon."
"Mmm, it should end. Please take them home for me."
"Naturally."
After making arrangements for the drunken Shu Ya and the others, Tang Xiaomin left alone, cradling the stuffed bear that was as tall as her. Half-sober, as she looked at the stuffed bear she had turned into a skull, she seemed to see Yan Jue. Her steps were unsteady, and she stumbled. From a distance, she looked like a drunken beauty, mistaking the stuffed bear for her beloved and dancing with it. Tang Xiaomin was completely immersed in her own imaginary world, reliving the night she had gotten drunk and pulled and dragged Yan Jue on the main road. Unknowingly, she had arrived on the main road outside the hotel.
...
In the dimly lit tree-lined avenue, Zhang Guoer had been waiting for a long time. When she saw the figure in a pink evening gown, holding a pink stuffed bear, she immediately recognized her as Tang Xiaomin.
"Tang Xiaomin, go to hell!" Zhang Guoer screamed, her eyes filled with madness. She stomped on the accelerator, and the car's engine roared as it shot out, heading straight for Tang Xiaomin.
At the critical moment, a man shouted. "Xiaomin! Be careful!"
Bang!
...
After a loud crash, someone was violently thrown over ten meters away and fell heavily to the ground. Tang Xiaomin, still holding the stuffed bear, sat on the ground and turned her head to look at the car. She saw that the person inside was Zhang Guoer. And the person thrown far away was actually Tang Xu.
Her drunkenness vanished instantly. She rushed to Tang Xu's side. The perpetrator, Zhang Guoer, used the opportunity to drive away. Blood stained the asphalt road beneath Tang Xu, deepening its color, and it continued to spill.
"Tang Xu!" Tang Xu's condition could only be described as tragic. Part of his head was caved in, and blood continuously poured from the wound on his head. Tang Xiaomin found a phone in Tang Xu's pocket and dialed 120.
"Xiaomin... don't... call... it's too late..." Tang Xu said intermittently, his breath growing weaker.
"Shut up, the doctor will be here soon." When Tang Xiaomin said this, she had no confidence. She knew very well that with Tang Xu's injuries, he wouldn't survive until the doctor arrived.
"Like this... to save you... and... leave... for me... is also... very good..."
"Because... this... is what I owe you..."
"Don't talk anymore!" Tang Xiaomin yelled in despair. She frantically tore at the fabric of her pink princess dress and wound it around Tang Xu's head, trying to stop the bleeding. She held him in her arms, having done all she could, and could only wait for help.
Tang Xu's breath grew weaker, his life force dissipating bit by bit, his soul slowly peeling away from his body.
"Xiaomin... I'm sorry... I'm not a... good brother..."
"This time... I finally... did it once... as a... good brother..."
"I don't dare to ask for... your forgiveness..."
"Can you... before I die... call me... brother... I... will have no regrets... even if I... die..."
When a person is about to die, their words are benevolent. Moreover, this time, Tang Xu was dying to save Tang Xiaomin. He owed her a life, and now he had repaid it. Tang Xiaomin, with a trembling voice, uttered the words Tang Xu had longed to hear.
"Third Brother."
"Heh..." Tang Xu smiled. Severely injured, his pale face was filled with a contented smile.
"Sounds so nice... what a shame... to only hear it... now..."
"Take... good... care of... Mom... Dad..."
"Don't talk, the ambulance is coming soon, hold on."
"No, Xiaomin... listen... Yan... Yan Jue... he... he is..."