Xia Xiaolan thought Jiang Yuan would either be angry or overjoyed – his emotions would surely be extreme.
After all, hadn’t he followed them to the hospital because he had guessed something?
But Ji Jiangyuan was too calm!
When Tang Hong’en acknowledged his identity, Ji Jiangyuan wasn’t surprised at all, as if he had known all along, had already confirmed it, and had rehearsed this day repeatedly in his mind.
He appeared very composed, even walking from the doorway into the hospital room, and placing the apples he was carrying on the table.
“Sorry? Indeed, you should be sorry. This isn’t quite what I imagined.”
In his imagination, his birth father should have been a terrible person, even living a miserable life. If that were the case, Ji Jiangyuan could have forgiven him – after all, for a poor Chinese person, buying a plane ticket to America would have been especially difficult.
However, Tang Hong’en wasn’t poor at all; he was staying in a private ward.
One needed either money or power, at least one of the two, for Tang Hong’en to avoid sharing a ward with others.
Ji Jiangyuan felt agitated.
His birth father appeared quite dignified, which made him uncomfortable.
He placed the apples on the table and was about to leave when Xia Xiaolan quickly stepped out of the room first, thoughtfully closing the door behind them: “You two should talk properly!”
Only Tang Hong’en and Ji Jiangyuan remained in the room.
The daylight was good; this was Tang Hong’en’s first formal meeting with his son after twelve years, and he could finally see Ji Jiangyuan.
Ji Jiangyuan was handsome, taking after the Ji family’s looks.
The mere thought of the Ji surname made Tang Hong’en’s stomach twinge uncomfortably.
But Ji Jiangyuan was different; Ji Jiangyuan was his son.
Tang Hong’en maintained his composure, pulling out a chair:
“Let’s sit down and talk.”
…
Xia Xiaolan sat on a rest bench in the hospital corridor, and soon Little Wang approached with a stack of documents.
“Oh, why are you out here instead of inside?”
He wondered if the leader was inside packing up by himself.
Xia Xiaolan gestured for Little Wang to sit down and chat:
“Brother Wang, how many years have you been working with Uncle Tang?”
“Is this related to today’s discharge? I’ve been with the leader for four years…”
Little Wang was a bit anxious. Xia Xiaolan was a very clever person and wouldn’t ask such questions without reason. Had the leader mentioned something to her, perhaps about transferring him?
Drivers and secretaries serving leaders couldn’t stay by their side forever.
After a few years of experience, they would be assigned different work.
If one performed well while working for a leader, gained recognition for their abilities, and earned the leader’s trust in their character, their prospects would be good.
Little Wang didn’t want to be transferred elsewhere right away; his relationship with Tang Hong’en wasn’t deep enough yet – how long would the leader remember him afterward? Moreover, Tang Hong’en was just beginning to make his mark in Pengcheng. Everything was difficult at the start, and Little Wang couldn’t possibly leave Tang Hong’en’s side just because of difficulties.
Little Wang’s heart was in turmoil, though he failed to realize that if Tang Hong’en wanted to reassign him, he wouldn’t have Xia Xiaolan deliver the message!
Little Wang was still pulled to sit on the bench by Xia Xiaolan, and while his heart was filled with anxiety, he heard Xia Xiaolan murmur:
“Uncle Tang and his son are having their reunion inside. You’ve been with Uncle Tang for four years, but this kind of scene isn’t quite appropriate for you to witness.”
It wouldn’t be suitable for Little Wang to see if Tang Hong’en broke down in tears.
Xia Xiaolan was being considerate of Little Wang.
Little Wang’s neck stiffened: “Father and son reunion?!”
“Yes, Uncle Tang’s son happens to be my university classmate. Isn’t it coincidental? That day when Uncle Tang came to find me at Huaqing, they ran into each other.”
Xia Xiaolan only said this much, leaving Little Wang to fill in the rest with his imagination.
No wonder the leader’s stomach condition flared up!
He had first accidentally encountered his son at Huaqing, then went to his former in-laws’ house only to be rebuffed.
Little Wang was deeply concerned – having just been cleared for discharge today, could his body handle another major shock?
Little Wang kept glancing around anxiously, but the hospital room door was tightly closed, and no conversation could be heard.
After sitting restlessly for about half an hour, the door finally opened, and Ji Jiangyuan walked out with an unchanged expression.
“Xia Xiaolan, I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
So, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t guess what they had discussed either.
Ji Jiangyuan went downstairs first.
In the hospital room, Tang Hong’en was still quite emotional, but not like what Xia Xiaolan and Little Wang had imagined – there was no tearful father-son reunion. Ji Jiangyuan was too cold, giving Tang Hong’en no chance to enact a scene of familial warmth.
Tang Hong’en would have felt better if Ji Jiangyuan had jumped up and cursed him for being irresponsible.
But Ji Jiangyuan was very calm; he simply asked Tang Hong’en why there had been no news from him all these years.
This question wasn’t difficult to answer. Initially, he feared causing trouble for his divorced wife, so he had to suppress all his emotions. Later, when Tang Hong’en’s problems were resolved and he tried to contact Ji Ya again, the letters he wrote and the money he sent all vanished without a trace.
The Ji family said Ji Ya had taken the child abroad, telling Tang Hong’en not to disturb them.
The family viewed Tang Hong’en as a menace, and across the Pacific Ocean, he truly couldn’t find them.
If Ji Jiangyuan hadn’t been selected for the honor guard this time, Tang Hong’en wouldn’t have noticed him.
Or if Xia Xiaolan hadn’t been in the honor guard, why would Tang Hong’en have gone to watch specifically?
Ji Ya must have known he had taken up a position in the South, which was why she let Jiangyuan attend Huaqing University openly.
Both Xia Xiaolan and Little Wang were secretly observing Tang Hong’en’s expression. Tang Hong’en concealed his complex emotions, “Could you be less obvious with your staring? I just heard from Jiangyuan that you’re having trouble at school?”
Xia Xiaolan immediately cooperated with the change of subject:
“There is some trouble, but it’s not serious.”
Tang Hong’en snorted, “Children of cadres should hold themselves to even higher standards. If everyone uses their family background to bully others, how can this country still belong to the masses?”
Xia Xiaolan’s eyes grew warm; her Uncle Tang sounded so protective.
Tang Hong’en noticed Xia Xiaolan was on the verge of tears and softened his voice:
“What are you afraid of? There are always places in this world where reason prevails, always people who will uphold justice for you.”
“Yes, I understand, Uncle Tang!”
Xia Xiaolan helped pack up the remaining items, and when they were about to leave, Little Wang noticed an extra bag of apples in the room. Tang Hong’en told him to take them along. Little Wang understood – the apples must have been from the leader’s son… Tang Hong’en had this habit of rarely accepting gifts from others. The last time he was discharged from the hospital in Pengcheng, the only thing he took with him was the Chinese yam that Xia Xiaolan had brought.
This time, it became Ji Jiangyuan’s apples that he took with him.
Xia Xiaolan was running back and forth helping, and Little Wang thought she was quite bold – wasn’t she worried at all that now that the leader had found his son, he wouldn’t care about her anymore?
Little Wang and Secretary Peng had privately speculated that Tang Hong’en’s concern for Xia Xiaolan was a displacement of affection.
With his own child not by his side, having someone of similar age constantly around, calling him uncle this and uncle that, and Xia Xiaolan being not only sweet-tongued but also capable – it would be hard to dislike her.
Of course, now that he had acknowledged his son, even though at first glance the son’s face was quite cold – but that was still his flesh and blood. Over time, as they moved from coldness to familiarity, what place would there be left for Xia Xiaolan?