Strike Back, Proud Goddess!

Tang Xi got up early the next morning and went to the yard to do yoga before going in for breakfast. Before she finished breakfast, Xiao Hongli and his family had come to see her. When Tang Xi saw them, her eyes had a gleam of excitement and she ran over. “Mom, Dad, Sa… Yao, you’ve come back home?”

Xiao Yao smiled at Tang Xi and rubbed her hair as usual, saying gently, “Yes, I heard about what happened to Aunt as soon as I came back from the capital, and to my surprise, my sister is not home! If we want to see you, we have to come here early, or else we won’t be able to even catch a glimpse of you.”

Tang Xi smiled and asked them to have breakfast with her. At this point, Grandpa Xiao came out of his room. They respectfully greeted him and he nodded and looked appreciatively at Xiao Yao who stood upright, saying, “I’ve heard about your promotion. You’re the pride of our family. I’m proud for you.”

Xiao Yao smiled and thanked Grandpa Xiao. He then greeted Xiao Hongyi who came out of the dining hall. The tension between the two families had been eased because of what had happened recently. Xiao Hongyi politely asked them to have breakfast with them, but Xiao Yan was not happy with their visit. He knew how his sister cared about this family. If they came, Xiao Rou would only see them.

Yang Jingxian said they had already had breakfast and they merely came to see Lin Ru and Xiao Rou. Tang Xi said, “Then I’m going to have breakfast.” Xiao Yao followed her in, saying, “Let me send you to school later.”

Tang Xi blinked and looked at Xiao Yao. “Yao?”

Xiao Yao said, “I haven’t sent you to school for a very long time. I’m going to Mexico this afternoon. Let me send you to school today.”

Tang Xi frowned when she heard this. “Why are you going to Mexico?”

Xiao Yao smiled and when he was about to speak, Tang Xi said, “You haven’t fully recovered. Why do they send you to Mexico so soon?! Does your boss think you’re Ironman?”

Xiao Yao felt warmth in his heart when he saw Tang Xi so concerned about him. He gazed at Tang Xi and said in his heart, “That’s why I have loved her for so long. She is always so caring…”

Feeling Xiao Yao’s gaze, Tang Xi suddenly felt guilty and asked, “Yao, what’re you thinking of?”

Xiao Yao said, “I’m thinking as my good sister, you really care about me.” He paused, looked at Tang Xi who was drinking porridge and said, “Don’t worry. I’m not going to deal with terrorists this time but investigate a company, investigate it in the dark behind the scenes, so I’ll be fine.”

Tang Xi nodded. Although she was worried about Xiao Yao, she couldn’t make him quit his job. She knew he loved his job. No matter how dangerous it was, he would not quit, not even for her.

At this time, Xiao Yan came in only to see Tang Xi and Xiao Yao were sitting together and chatting. Tang Xi smiled as she drank porridge. They seemed to have a lot to talk about. He frowned as he recalled when he tried to talk with his sister, she usually only answered a few words and was even a bit impatient. They didn’t look like brother and sister at all. He put on a smile and said, “Rourou, Aunt asks if you have finished your breakfast yet and wants you to go to her if you have.”

Tang Xi looked up at Xiao Yan. “My mom called me over?”

The word ‘mom’ was just like a sharp thorn being stuck into Xiao Yan’s heart. He frowned and shook his head. “Yes. Have your breakfast first. I gotta leave. Take care on the way to school.”

Tang Xi nodded with a smile and bowed her head to finish the porridge. Watching her swallow the porridge, Xiao Yao, sitting opposite to her, shook his head with a smile. “Nobody will snatch your food. You don’t have to eat in such a hurry.” He then asked, “Are they kind to you?”

Tang Xi nodded. “Very kind. I even feel that they’re ingratiating themselves with me. Perhaps they want to… make it up to me. Having come this far, I think I can give them a chance, so Yao…”

“I know. I can understand you. You’ve always been a good girl. You just didn’t know how to express yourself before. Now since you want to do this, just follow your heart.” Xiao Yao looked at Tang Xi with a smile and said gently, “Little… Xi, please remember you don’t owe anybody. You just need to be yourself. Don’t feel indebted to any of us, okay?”

Tang Xi’s eyes became red. She nodded hard and said, “I know, Yao. Thank you.”

Xiao Yao stood up and held out his hand towards Tang Xi. “Let’s go, my sister. Let me send you to school.”

Tang Xi stood up, patted Xiao Yao’s hand and walked outside. Xiao Yao looked at his empty hand, raised his eyebrows and blankly retracted his hand. Soon he restored his usual deadpan expression and walked outside. Yang Jingxian asked Tang Xi about Lin Ru’s condition. Tang Xi told her in detail and said, “Perhaps Mother will be able to stand up again in a month, and then I can come back home.”

When Yang Jingxian heard Tang Xi was going back, her eyes lit up. “Really?”

Tang Xi nodded. Xiao Hongyi, sitting on the sofa, frowned when he heard Tang Xi would leave in a month. After Tang Xi, Xiao Yao and Xiao Sa left, he said to Xiao Hongli and Yang Jingxian, “Brother, Jingxian, let’s have a talk.”

Xiao Hongli raised his hand to stop him from talking and said sternly, “Brother, I have nothing to talk about with you, if it’s about Rourou. I think you still remember what you said back then, right? You’d better keep quiet about it if you don’t want to ruin our brotherhood. We only care about Rourou’s feeling. If she is willing to come back, we’ll surely welcome her.”

Grandpa Xiao, sitting at the side, cast a surprised glance at Xiao Hongli and sighed secretly. He then struck his crutch against the floor and said angrily, “Didn’t I say nobody shall talk about this matter again?! You didn’t want Rourou yourself. How can you take her back now? How can you have the cheek to mention this?!”

“Dad!” Xiao Hongyi shouted, “But Rourou is the daughter of Ah Ru and I. How can you be so partial to Brother as to let them dispossess us of our daughter?!”

“What?” Grandpa Xiao snapped angrily, “You would have driven your daughter to the streets if it weren’t for your brother! I tell you, if you dare mention this matter again, I’ll expel you out of the Xiao Family!”