Ketika Wu Xiaowen tiba-tiba melihat Bai Lihua muncul di hadapannya, dia sangat gembira. Ia langsung menghambur ke pelukannya, menangis dan tertawa bagaikan gadis remaja yang sedang kasmaran. Namun, Bai Lihua sudah kehilangan sentimen romantis semacam itu. Ia menarik Wu Xiaowen masuk ke dalam mobilnya agar tidak terlihat orang lain. Sambil menghadapi luapan emosi dan bibir cemberut wanita itu, ia membayangkan di dalam hati, ’Alangkah baiknya jika aku bisa membuat wanita ini sedikit lebih pintar, cukup untuk mendapatkan lebih banyak ramuan herba yang dimiliki oleh Tang Manman.’
Pil suplemen yang baru-baru ini disediakan oleh Klan Gongsun untuk Keluarga Bai kualitasnya sangat buruk, meninggalkan terlalu banyak Racun Dan di dalam tubuh setelah dikonsumsi. Bai Junfan adalah kesayangan Keluarga Bai; Tuan Bai sebelumnya telah membiarkannya meminum beberapa kotak pil berkualitas tinggi, sehingga dia tidak perlu mengonsumsi pil-pil inferior ini. Bai Junjie masih muda dan tampaknya bisa memetabolisme racun tersebut, karena ia sama sekali tidak merasakan efek apa pun. Namun, Bai Lihua merasa tidak enak badan saat meminumnya, dan Tuan Bai mulai menunjukkan gejala setelah hanya dua atau tiga dosis. Meskipun pingsannya baru-baru ini—di mana ia muntah darah—dipicu oleh kemarahannya terhadap Bai Yifen dan adiknya, penyebab utamanya sebenarnya adalah Racun Dan.
Bai Lihua tahu situasi ini tidak bisa dipertahankan. Ia telah menghubungi Klan Gongsun, tetapi tanggapan mereka sangat suram: Segelintir "Tanaman Spiritus" dari sebelumnya sudah lama habis. Setelah Wu Qin dikirim kembali ke kampung halamannya, ia lenyap tanpa jejak. Klan Gongsun saat ini sedang mengalami bencana besar dan tidak punya waktu untuk mengurus urusan luar. Mereka bahkan berjuang untuk bertahan hidup, apalagi menghasilkan herba yang bagus. Merupakan sebuah keajaiban jika mereka masih bisa memurnikan pil apa pun.
Keluarga Gongsun tidak merinci bencana apa ini, tetapi Gongsun Chongshan tiba-tiba mengambil alih posisi Pemimpin Klan secara mendadak. Selain itu, setelah Tuan Bai mengirim orang untuk menyelidiki dan mereka kembali dengan laporan mereka, lelaki tua itu menjadi tidak bersemangat dan menarik diri, menolak mengucapkan sepatah kata pun. Sejak saat itu, kesehatan dan semangatnya merosot tajam. Bai Lihua menduga bahwa Keluarga Gongsun pasti benar-benar mengalami bencana besar.
Jadi pepatah lama itu benar: lebih baik mengandalkan diri sendiri daripada orang lain. ’Aku harus mencari solusi sendiri,’ pikirnya.
’Keluarga Bai dan Keluarga Tang dulunya berhubungan baik, tapi lalu kenapa? Bahkan jika kita berhasil mempertahankan hubungan itu dan mendapatkan beberapa keuntungan, dengan campur tangan Bai Qingyue, Tuan Tua akan memberikan segalanya kepada Bai Junfan tanpa berpikir panjang. Cabang keluarganya bahkan tidak akan mendapatkan secuil debu pun—kita mungkin tidak akan diizinkan sekadar melirik sisa-sisanya.’
’Itulah mengapa bagaimana aku menangani urusan dengan Wu Xiaowen dan Tang Qingyun tidak lagi penting. Dan kemudian ada Bai Qingyue, yang merasa dirinya begitu pintar, menetapkan rencana agar Bai Junfan mengejar Tang Manman. Tapi Bai Junfan hanya punya otot tanpa otak. Logikanya, jika dia gagal memenangkannya, dia seharusnya mundur begitu saja. Mereka masih bisa berteman, menjaga hubungan lama antar kedua keluarga. Tapi entah bagaimana, dia berhasil membakar setiap jembatan yang ada, dan sekarang kedua keluarga telah memutuskan semua kontak. Sungguh kacau. Tuan Tua pasti sedang murka, bukan? Dia awalnya ingin melimpahkan kesalahan itu kepadaku, mengklaim perselingkuhanku yang bersemi kembali dengan Wu Xiaowen telah menyebabkan perceraian Tang Qingyun dan merenggangkan hubungan antara Keluarga Tang dan Bai.’
Sebenarnya, Bai Lihua tidak bisa lagi memastikan apa niat aslinya saat bersatu kembali dengan Wu Xiaowen untuk menyalakan kembali api percintaan masa lalu mereka. Mereka benar-benar saling mencintai di masa muda mereka, dan ia tidak bisa mengatakan bahwa tidak ada perasaan yang tersisa bahkan sekarang. Hanya saja dunia ini terus berubah, dan kenyataan bisa sangat kejam. Beberapa perasaan dalam hidup memang ditakdirkan untuk dikorbankan.
Sekarang setelah Bai Lihua dan Wu Xiaowen kembali merajut hubungan, Wu Xiaowen mulai mengganggu Xiao Man lagi.
Wu Xiaowen merasa tindakannya sangat dibenarkan, bertindak dengan amarah yang benar: dialah ibu kandung Xiao Man! Xiao Man dan Gu Shaojun akan segera melangsungkan upacara pertunangan mereka, dan undangan telah disebarkan. Itu adalah acara besar sehingga bahkan Bai Lihua pun telah mendengar beritanya, namun tidak ada seorang pun yang repot-repot memberitahunya. Dan Keluarga Wu, kakek dan nenek dari pihak ibu Xiao Man yang layak mendapatkan penghormatan tertinggi, bahkan tidak menerima satu pun undangan. Keluarga Tang telah bertindak keterlaluan!
Mengikuti saran Bai Lihua, Wu Xiaowen memutuskan untuk mendatangi Xiao Man terlebih dahulu guna menjajaki sikapnya. Bergantung pada bagaimana kelanjutannya, ia kemudian akan memutuskan apakah akan mendatangi orang tuanya dan mengajak mereka bersama untuk menuntut penjelasan dari Keluarga Tang.
Di sekolah, Xiao Man bisa menjaga jarak dari Wu Xiaowen, tetapi rumah sakit adalah cerita yang berbeda. Dua kali, saat Xiao Man sedang fokus melakukan akupunktur pada seorang pasien, Wu Xiaowen menerobos masuk dan mulai mengatakan apa saja sesuka hatinya, sama sekali mengabaikan orang lain di dalam ruangan. Ketika Xiao Man tetap diam dan tidak mempedulikannya, ia disambut dengan caci maki yang kasar. Xiao Man berhasil tetap tenang dan terkumpul saat bekerja, namun para pasiennya mau tidak mau merasa terganggu. Mereka yang lebih penakut menjadi gelisah, dan efektivitas pengobatan mereka pun secara alami menjadi terkompromikan.
Xiao Man tahu melaporkan hal ini kepada Dekan Tian tidak ada gunanya. Dia akan merasa terikat untuk mempertimbangkan "hubungan ibu-anak" Xiao Man dengan Wu Xiaowen dan kemungkinan besar akan bersikap longgar kepadanya. Bahkan menyuruh bagian keamanan mengusirnya mungkin tidak akan berhasil. Wu Xiaowen bukan lagi wanita pendiam seperti dulu; dia telah mempelajari berbagai cara untuk membuat keributan. Xiao Man tidak boleh membiarkannya membuat kehebohan besar di Rumah Sakit De Ren—konsekuensi dari hal itu sangat mudah dibayangkan.
Xiao Man telah memperingatkan Wu Xiaowen bahwa jika wanita itu membuat masalah lagi baginya, ia tidak akan segan-segan bertindak tegas. Dan alhasil, Wu Xiaowen sekali lagi mendapati dirinya tidak bisa berbicara. Kali ini, durasinya sedikit lebih lama—Xiao Man menetapkannya selama tiga bulan!
Dengan beberapa tusukan jarum perak pada tangan dan kakinya—sebuah metode yang bahkan lebih efektif daripada Bubuk Pelunak Otot—anggota tubuhnya akan lumpuh setidaknya selama sepuluh hingga lima belas hari. Ia bisa melupakan niat untuk keluar rumah.
Lalu ia menelepon Tang Qingyun. ’Bukankah Tang Haocheng mempercayakan Wu Xiaowen dalam tanggung jawabnya? Kalau begitu, biarlah dia yang membawanya pulang. Bagaimana cara wanita itu diurus mulai sekarang adalah urusannya.’
Jarang sekali Tang Qingyun dipanggil oleh putrinya, jadi ia bergegas datang dengan penuh semangat. Namun, ketika melihat Wu Xiaowen terbaring lumpuh di ranjang rumah sakit dan mendengar penjelasan Xiao Man, ekspresinya berubah menjadi keputusasaan yang mendalam.
Tang Qingyun membawa Wu Xiaowen pulang, menyewa dua pengurus untuk merawatnya secara bergantian, lalu menelepon Wu Xiaofeng. Ia memberi tahu pria itu bahwa Wu Xiaowen mengalami serangan medis akut, tetapi seorang dokter telah memeriksanya dan ia sudah keluar dari bahaya. Ia hanya perlu mengambil cuti panjang untuk pemulihan di rumah dan akan segera sembuh. Sebagai kakaknya, dia harus datang menjenguk dan mengobrol dengannya kapan pun ada waktu luang.
Namun, dunia Xiao Man tidak menjadi damai. Wu Xiaofeng mencarinya, memohon dengan sungguh-sungguh agar ia merawat Wu Xiaowen demi ikatan ibu-anak mereka dan membantunya pulih dengan cepat. Xiao Man hanya bertanya kepadanya,
Chapter 580
When Wu Xiaowen suddenly saw Bai Lihua appear before her, she was overjoyed. She threw herself at him, a mess of laughter and tears like a young girl madly in love. Bai Lihua, however, had lost that romantic sentiment. He pulled Wu Xiaowen into his car to avoid being seen and, while dealing with her emotional outbursts and pouting, thought to himself, ’It would be great if I could make this woman a bit more clever, enough to get her hands on more of those herbs Tang Manman has.’
The supplemental elixirs the Gongsun Clan had recently provided the Bai Family were of truly abysmal quality, leaving an excessive amount of Dan Poison in the body after consumption. Bai Junfan was the Bai Family’s favorite; Mr. Bai had previously let him take several boxes of high-quality elixirs, so he hadn’t had to consume these inferior ones. Bai Junjie was young and could presumably metabolize the poison, as he surprisingly felt no effects. Bai Lihua, however, felt unwell when he took them, and Mr. Bai began showing symptoms after just two or three doses. While his recent collapse, where he’d vomited blood, had been triggered by his anger toward Bai Yifen and her sister, the primary cause was actually the Dan Poison.
Bai Lihua knew this situation was untenable. He had contacted the Gongsun Clan, but their response was grim: The handful of "Spirit Plants" from before had been used up long ago. After Wu Qin was sent back to her hometown, she had vanished without a trace. The Gongsun Clan was currently in the throes of a major catastrophe and couldn’t spare any attention for outside matters. They were struggling even to survive, let alone produce good herbs. It was a miracle they could refine any elixirs at all.
The Gongsuns didn’t specify what this catastrophe was, but Gongsun Chongshan had suddenly taken over as Clan Leader out of the blue. Furthermore, after Mr. Bai sent men to investigate and they returned with their report, the old man became listless and withdrawn, refusing to say a word. From then on, his health and spirits declined sharply. Bai Lihua guessed that the Gongsun Family must have truly suffered a major disaster.
So the old saying was right: it’s better to rely on yourself than on others. ’I’ll have to find a solution on my own,’ he thought.
’The Bai Family and the Tang family used to be on friendly terms, but so what? Even if we managed to maintain that relationship and gain some benefits, with Bai Qingyue interfering, the Old Master would give everything to Bai Junfan without a second thought. My branch of the family wouldn’t get so much as a speck of dust—we probably wouldn’t even be allowed a glimpse of the scraps.’
’That’s why it no longer matters how I handle things with Wu Xiaowen and Tang Qingyun. And then there was Bai Qingyue, who thought she was so clever, hatching a plan for Bai Junfan to pursue Tang Manman. But Bai Junfan is all brawn and no brains. Logically, if he failed to win her over, he should have just backed off. They could have still been friends, maintaining the families’ long-standing acquaintance. But somehow, he managed to burn every last bridge, and now the two families have cut off all contact. What a mess. The Old Master must be seething, right? He originally wanted to pin the blame on me, claiming my rekindled affair with Wu Xiaowen caused Tang Qingyun’s divorce and strained the relationship between the Tang and Bai families.’
In truth, Bai Lihua could no longer say for certain what his original intention was in reuniting with Wu Xiaowen to rekindle their past romance. They had genuinely been in love in their youth, and he couldn’t say there were no feelings left even now. It was just that the world was ever-changing, and reality could be harsh. Some feelings in life were simply destined to be sacrificed.
Now that Bai Lihua and Wu Xiaowen had resumed their relationship, Wu Xiaowen started harassing Xiao Man again.
Wu Xiaowen felt she was perfectly justified, acting with righteous indignation: she was Xiao Man’s biological mother! Xiao Man and Gu Shaojun were about to hold their engagement ceremony, and the invitations had already been sent out. It was such a major event that even Bai Lihua had heard the news, yet no one had bothered to tell her. And the Wu Family, Xiao Man’s maternal grandparents who deserved the utmost respect, hadn’t received a single invitation. The Tang family had gone too far!
Following Bai Lihua’s suggestion, Wu Xiaowen decided to first confront Xiao Man to gauge her attitude. Depending on how that went, she would then decide whether to go to her parents and bring them along to demand an explanation from the Tang family.
At school, Xiao Man could keep Wu Xiaowen at a distance, but the hospital was a different story. Twice, while Xiao Man was focused on performing acupuncture on a patient, Wu Xiaowen burst in and began saying whatever she pleased, completely ignoring everyone else in the room. When Xiao Man remained silent and paid her no mind, she was met with a harsh tirade. Xiao Man managed to stay calm and composed while working, but her patients were inevitably affected. The more timid ones became agitated, and the effectiveness of their treatment was naturally compromised.
Xiao Man knew it would be useless to report this to Dean Sun. He would feel obligated to consider her "mother-daughter relationship" with Wu Xiaowen and would likely be lenient with her. Even having security block her probably wouldn’t work. Wu Xiaowen was no longer the reserved woman of the past; she had learned all sorts of ways to cause a scene. Xiao Man couldn’t let her create a huge uproar at De Ren Hospital—the consequences of that were easy to imagine.
Xiao Man had warned Wu Xiaowen that if she caused her any more trouble, she would not hold back. And so, Wu Xiaowen once again found herself unable to speak. This time, the duration was a bit longer—Xiao Man had set it for three months!
With a few pricks of a silver needle on her hands and feet—a method even more effective than Soft Muscle Powder—her limbs would be useless for at least ten to fifteen days. She could forget about leaving the house.
Then she called Tang Qingyun. ’Didn’t Tang Haocheng entrust Wu Xiaowen to his care? Then he can be the one to take her back. How she’s looked after from here on out is his problem.’
It was a rare occasion for Tang Qingyun to be summoned by his daughter, so he rushed over in high spirits. But when he saw Wu Xiaowen lying paralyzed on the hospital bed and heard Xiao Man’s explanation, his expression turned to one of utter despair.
Tang Qingyun took Wu Xiaowen home, hired two caretakers to look after her in shifts, and then called Wu Xiaofeng. He told him that Wu Xiaowen had suffered an acute medical episode, but a doctor had already seen her and she was out of danger. She just needed to take an extended leave to recuperate at home and she would recover. As her brother, he should visit and chat with her whenever he had the time.
But Xiao Man’s world did not become peaceful. Wu Xiaofeng sought her out, pleading earnestly for her to treat Wu Xiaowen for the sake of their mother-daughter bond and help her recover quickly. Xiao Man simply asked him, "Back when she dumped that fake Xiao Man on you to take to the countryside, not even sparing her a single glance, did you urge her to consider our mother-daughter bond then?"
Wu Xiaofeng was left speechless and could only depart in disgrace.
Lin Aizhen, however, was far more cunning. Claiming that she herself had fallen ill from anxiety over Wu Xiaowen’s condition, she never appeared in person. Instead, she incited Wu Yu Xuan to pester Xiao Man every other day. He would nag incessantly in her ear like a broken record, urging her to visit her biological mother. Xiao Man had no desire to waste her breath on him and could only endure it. If she hadn’t heard from Mrs. Hao that Wu Yu Xuan was currently helping to compile a historical manuscript, Xiao Man would have been sorely tempted to give the old man a few needle pricks to "loosen his muscles" and leave him without the strength to come bother her again.
「In early July」
Xiao Man was busy checking in on a few friends from her hometown who were preparing for their college entrance exams when she received a call from Gu Shaojun. He confirmed the date of his return to Beijing, and her mood instantly became bright and sunny, all the recent unpleasantness swept completely from her mind.
School let out for summer vacation, which meant Xiao Man also had to temporarily step away from her work at De Ren Hospital. Her colleagues, knowing about her impending engagement, all offered their congratulations.
Sun Yiming had actually known about it for some time, but as long as no one brought it up, he could pretend he was unaware. Now, however, the news had spread throughout the entire hospital, and he could no longer feign ignorance. Sun Yiming sighed to himself, then walked over to invite Xiao Man out for a nice meal to celebrate. Xiao Man was delighted and asked if she could bring a few of the female interns along. Concealing his disappointment, Sun Yiming smiled and nodded.
’To love her means wanting her to be happy. If someone else can make her happy, and she’s more willing to accept him, then there’s only one thing for me to do: offer my sincerest blessings!’
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