Chapter 641 - 640: Going Abroad

Cui Jiaren and Tang Mo only saw each other three to five times a year. It wasn’t very often, but perhaps thanks to their blood ties, they had always been quite close.

Grandma Cui’s health had been poor for some time, and in the end, she couldn’t hold on and passed away.

After Grandma Cui passed away, Cui Jiaren was completely dispirited and listless. She would cry at any little reminder. So, when it was decided Tang Mo would go abroad, and Su Li was looking for a companion for him, she immediately thought of Cui Jiaren.

Cui Jiaren was already fond of Tang Mo, and it would be a perfect opportunity for her to find a distraction and lift her spirits. Even though she didn’t speak the language, she would have Tang Mo with her.

It was an opportunity to go out, see the world, broaden her horizons, and even slowly learn a new language.

Most people never get to go abroad in their entire lives. Cui Jiaren knew a good opportunity when she saw one. She also wanted to look after Tang Mo, the boy her Grandma Cui had felt guilty about and worried over right up until her death. In the end, she chose to go abroad with him.

Of course, Mu Haoye went with them as well.

Mu Haoye was essentially sent abroad in a package deal with Tang Mo. His situation was a bit unique, though. He was also an exchange student, of a sort, but his was for academic research.

Mu Haoye had studied the foreign language, but he was mediocre at best. Once they were abroad, however, it was Tang Mo who took the lead like a parent, while Cui Jiaren and Mu Haoye obediently did as they were told.

Cui Jiaren’s main responsibility was looking after the two of them and managing their daily lives.

Though Tang Mo was initially unwilling to leave Su Li, he calmed down and accepted it after seeing her resolve and being sent abroad.

You see, his teacher, Mu Feng, had actually suggested it to him several times before. He said that studying abroad on an exchange might help him get past the block he’d run into.

Tang Mo’s project had been progressing smoothly, but eventually, he hit an inevitable roadblock.

He was completely stuck; nothing he tried could solve the problem. Mu Feng suggested that Tang Mo take a break to study and exchange ideas elsewhere, speculating that the solution might then come to him naturally.

He hadn’t gone abroad before, and that was that. But now that he had already left Su Li, he was determined to make the most of it.

Mu Haoye also needed to mature, and they could look out for each other, so they were sent over together as a package deal.

In any case, Tang Mo ended up adapting to the unfamiliar environment incredibly well, taking to it like a fish to water. Compared to Mu Haoye and Cui Jiaren, it was as if he’d grown up there.

Hmm... but you couldn’t really say Cui Jiaren and Mu Haoye were slow to adapt.

Half the credit for Tang Mo’s rapid adaptation belonged to Su Li. She had taught him the foreign language, so he had no trouble communicating with people, which solved more than half his problems right there.

Furthermore, knowing that Tang Mo would one day step onto the world stage, Su Li had often told him about the local cultures, customs, and lifestyles from all over the globe.

Wu Sheng had given Su Li many books, and Su Li would buy more in her free time. With the Love Reading Bookstore backing her up, the one thing Su Li never lacked was books.

Travelogues from around the world made up a large portion of these books. Su Li would read them, discuss them with Tang Mo, and have him read them on his own.

Over time, Tang Mo had unknowingly accumulated a vast amount of knowledge. Like a gentle spring rain that nurtures silently, Su Li had prepared everything she could think of, paving the way for him.

So how could Tang Mo not feel at home? While Mu Haoye and Cui Jiaren were still bewildered by the things they saw and heard—be it food or everyday items—he would already know about them or would grasp and accept them in no time. That’s why he adapted so quickly.

After adapting to his new school and getting up to speed with his classes, he quickly developed even more ambitious study plans. Before long... he had become a regular fixture at the research institute where Mu Haoye was only just starting to find his footing.

While Su Li worried that Tang Mo wasn’t eating well or staying warm, picturing him as a poor, helpless little thing, Mu Haoye, in that foreign land, saw Tang Mo as a weed.

A weed that could adapt and take root anywhere, its life force was simply overwhelming. It made Mu Haoye unbelievably envious.

Just over a month after arriving abroad, Mu Haoye found himself sighing as he watched Tang Mo for the umpteenth time.

"How can someone like you even exist, Tang Mo? You’re so incredible it’s not even cute anymore."

Tang Mo glanced up at Mu Haoye without a word, but the corner of his mouth curled up for a fleeting moment as a thought crossed his mind.

"That’s a very meaningful look. What are you thinking about?" Mu Haoye pressed.

"Nothing," Tang Mo said, his expression placid.

"You’re definitely thinking about someone. Come on, tell me!" Mu Haoye persisted.

Tang Mo paused before finally answering, "I miss my mom."

Mu Haoye was speechless. "...You miss your mom all day, every day."

"That’s perfectly normal. Who else would I miss, if not my mom? And she misses me all day, every day, too."

Tang Mo only ever became talkative when the subject was Su Li. Once the floodgates were open, he continued.

"You were just wondering why I adapted so quickly. It’s all because of my mom."

Mu Haoye was exasperated. "Even that is because of your mom? That’s a bit of a stretch, don’t you think? She’s back home, and you’re here."

"Yeah, but it’s the truth." A smile flashed in Tang Mo’s eyes. "I’ve only started to realize it myself recently. The reason I’ve been able to adapt so well is all thanks to Mom."

’It’s because Mom started teaching me the language so early, and because she always told me about various things both at home and abroad. She made sure I understood how big the world was long ago, so I wouldn’t be like a frog in a well. Knowing all those things is why I was able to adapt so quickly.’

’He missed the globe at home. He missed the maps. He missed all the books he’d read. But most of all... he missed his mom.’

As Tang Mo listened to Mu Haoye’s dramatic complaint, his gaze gradually grew more profound.

’Mom started teaching me so much from so early on... was it because she knew long ago that I would leave Huaguo?’

’Such painstaking care...’

Tang Mo exhaled, his gaze firming with resolve.

’I can’t let this trip be for nothing. I have to learn as much as I possibly can and get back to Mom sooner. I miss her so much.’

Tang Mo looked at his watch, silently counting down the minutes.

Mu Haoye knew what he was thinking just by looking at his face. "Time to call her?"

Tang Mo nodded. "Three minutes left."

Mu Haoye: "..."

Tang Mo and Su Li had a phone call every single day, without fail.

Due to the time difference—it might be night on one end and day on the other—they had picked the most suitable time to connect.

Noon for Tang Mo was right when Su Li got home from work, making it the perfect time for a phone call.

So, Tang Mo used his entire lunch break to talk with Su Li.

Mu Haoye, in contrast, only called home once a week, or every few days at most. And even then, his mom would nag him about how expensive the international calls were. But Tang Mo and Su Li...

They would talk for as long as they possibly could. Even though they called each other daily, they could still chat for ages—easily half an hour, and sometimes, for an entire hour.

It was as if the phone calls were free.

But Heaven knew those phone bills were staggeringly expensive.

’And more than half of their daily conversation was just repeating the same things over and over again! It was all just nonsense, damn it!’

Tang Mo’s phone bill was higher than his living expenses, but neither he nor Su Li seemed to even notice.

At first, Cui Jiaren would also complain about how expensive the calls were. By now... she just turned a blind eye. Or rather, she just closed both eyes and pretended not to see.

’She had to. Just thinking about the cost of those calls was enough to make her heart ache and want to cry.’