Chapter 642 - 641: Face-Changing Art

Just as Mu Haoye was complaining, he saw Tang Mo get up to make a phone call.

The call connected quickly, and then Mu Haoye once again witnessed Tang Mo’s magical face-changing act.

The cool and aloof Tang Mo instantly transformed into the warm and sweet Tang Mo. The Tang Mo who rarely smiled—or at most offered a faint, fleeting one—was now grinning from ear to ear.

The Tang Mo who was a man of few words—who avoided speaking whenever possible and would brush people off with just a word or two—had instantly turned into a chatterbox.

But that was whatever. Mu Haoye had gotten used to it. So what if his personality flipped? The thing Mu Haoye found most unacceptable was how Tang Mo could instantly become smaller!

That’s right, smaller!

Over here, Tang Mo was clearly their rock, their patriarch. He was impossibly calm about everything, treating major issues as if they were nothing, and would even comfort them.

But when faced with Su Li... Tang Mo would become a little kid appropriate for his age—exceptionally fragile, a poor little thing who needed their support.

"I’ve already eaten. My auntie’s cooking is delicious, but I really miss your cooking, Mom... At night, when I go to sleep, you’re not here to tell me a story, and it feels so empty..."

Mu Haoye shot him a disdainful side-eye. ’It’s always like this! Every single time!’

’And the normally so-sharp Su Li actually falls for it!’

Mu Haoye really couldn’t listen to any more of it. He turned and went back to his room to rest.

As for Cui Jiaren, she had already gone back a step ahead of him.

What else could she do? She couldn’t stand listening to it either.

They didn’t want to see Tang Mo’s personality switch, nor did they want to see it switch back after he hung up. It was just better not to watch him make his calls at all.

Tang Mo, however, didn’t notice the two of them. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have cared.

He was completely focused on talking to Su Li. The mother and son had a ton to talk about and always found a deep sense of connection.

"...Every time I get home and see the empty house, my heart feels empty too. I don’t even have the heart to cook."

Humans are social creatures. Once you get used to living together, it’s definitely hard to adapt to a sudden separation.

After so many years of Su Li and Tang Mo relying solely on each other, and with both of their situations being somewhat unique, their mutual dependence was quite strong, which only made things more severe.

Mu Haoye and the others might have found it exaggerated, but in reality, it wasn’t.

Every time Su Li came home to an empty house, it was truly, deeply painful. It was a little better now that she was getting used to it.

In the first two days after Tang Mo left, she couldn’t stop herself from crying several times.

She would often call out, "Little Mo, Little Mo," as if talking to him. She couldn’t get used to the evenings before bed or the mornings when she woke up. She’d find herself opening the door to Tang Mo’s room several times a day.

Every time Su Li felt sad, she would also think that perhaps it was for the best. She had to get used to this kind of situation.

Sooner or later, Tang Mo would have to grow up, venture out into the world, and eventually leave her to marry, have children, and build his own life. It was better for her to adapt early, lest she end up clinging to him and affecting his future.

It was a fine thought, but difficult to put into practice. The moment she heard Tang Mo’s voice, she found herself speaking her mind as well.

"I can come back in just over a month, Mom. Half the time has already passed. I’ll be back before your wedding and before the New Year."

Hearing what Su Li said, Tang Mo then turned around and comforted her.

"Mhm," Su Li nodded hurriedly, then immediately launched into her usual string of repetitive questions.

What did you eat and drink today? Are you full? Are you thirsty? Is it cold? Did you put on more clothes? Has it snowed? Are you adjusting to school? Your classmates aren’t bullying you, are they? Have you made any friends?

This barrage of questions would go on for a good ten minutes.

Tang Mo didn’t show the slightest bit of impatience, answering every single question earnestly.

"...They’re not really my friends yet, but they all talk to me now. They tried to bully me before, saying all sorts of things about me, but they don’t dare to anymore."

Tang Mo sounded a little proud as he finished his answer.

With his yellow skin and black hair, Tang Mo hadn’t been very popular at first. Some nasty kids had even tried to bully him, but... who was Tang Mo? He dealt with them in a flash.

Su Li was both worried and proud.

After Tang Mo finished talking about his side of things, Su Li told him about hers, sharing all the bits and pieces of her day.

"Today, your uncle and I went to your Auntie Ling Zhen and Uncle Yu’s wedding... It looks like it’s going to snow again. The temperature has dropped..."

"Don’t worry, I’m dressed warmly, so I won’t get cold. Your uncle already went home after he dropped me off."

They talked back and forth for over forty minutes before the mother and son reluctantly hung up the phone.

Although Su Li felt that the days passed quite slowly after Tang Mo went abroad, that was really just an illusion. In reality, time was still flying by.

In the blink of an eye, December arrived. As far as the eye could see, the Imperial City was covered in a blanket of white snow.

Wu Qihua was already in full swing preparing for Wu Sheng and Su Li’s wedding. Wu Xia always found time to help despite her busy schedule, and even Wu Dong was occasionally dragged over to do some heavy lifting.

And that wasn’t all. Word was that Grandma Wu and his little aunt would also be rushing to the Imperial City to help. In any case, the whole affair was shaping up to be a grand one.

Compared to the time Su Li married Tang Yuanxiao, it was simply... incomparable.

Back when Su Li had married Tang Yuanxiao, although both the Tang Family and the Su Family had held a wedding, the whole affair had been on a much smaller scale.

The Tang Family had been busy for five days before the wedding at most. As for the Su Family, they had been even less busy.

Mr. Su had already passed away by then, and the so-called dowry Miao Fenghua had prepared for Su Li consisted of just two new quilts, two enamel basins, a thermos, and one new set of clothes.

And even that had only been prepared to save face; she had picked out the cheapest things available.

Although Su Li’s heart ached at the time, she didn’t raise much of an objection, as she had already expected it. Fortunately, she still had some dowry money that Mr. Su had secretly left for her, as well as the gift money from relatives for her trousseau.

The Su Family’s side of things was simple. Since the Tang Family was welcoming a daughter-in-law for the second time, their celebration was a bit livelier, for which Su Li had even breathed a sigh of relief at the time.

As the old saying goes, comparisons are odious. The Tang Family’s wedding, which hadn’t been that simple, seemed almost unworthy of comparison to what the Wu Family was now preparing.

Su Li wasn’t intentionally making a comparison. After all, the Tang Family’s and the Wu Family’s circumstances and social standing were completely different, so it wasn’t right to compare them. Seeing the sincerity was enough.

And yet, Su Li couldn’t help but recall the wedding from her past life.

In her past life, her heart had been filled with panic and helplessness. There had been a trace of anticipation, too, but in truth, none of it had ever felt real.

From being sent to the Tang Family, to seeing Tang Yuanxiao for the first time, to the wedding banquet itself, nothing felt real. If they had consummated the marriage, Su Li surely would have been hit with a dose of reality, but Tang Yuanxiao had simply walked out.

So, even though this was technically Su Li’s second time getting married, it somehow felt... like her first.

Wu Qihua’s preparations were a whirlwind of activity, and there was much Su Li didn’t understand. Every time she saw all the bright red, festive decorations, her face couldn’t help but flush. But it was precisely these things that finally made it feel real.

’I guess... I’m really getting married.’

’To Wu Sheng.’

She had lived two lives, yet she knew very little about weddings, especially when it came to the various rules and customs. That was why Wu Qihua kept telling her to just wait patiently to be married and not worry about helping out.

Anything the bride needed to prepare, they would either guide her through it or simply prepare it for her outright.

When there was something Su Li had to prepare personally, they would give her pointers. In a bit of a daze, Su Li was simply carried along by their efforts and didn’t have to put much thought into it.

Compared to the wedding preparations, which she couldn’t help much with, Wu Sheng’s birthday present was something that required much more of her attention.