Chapter 19 Be a Decent Person (Please Vote and Add to Favorites)

Hu Mingcheng got beaten up again!

And it was worse than before.

Second Brother Tang was nothing like Brother Tang; his strikes were brutally precise, and he could inflict pain without leaving visible marks; he had trained for this.

Only when Hu Mingcheng could do nothing but moan in pain on the ground did he stop.

"Tell your Young Master what you just said," he demanded.

Crying like a dog, Hu Mingcheng dared not utter a word.

Mr. Hu and Mrs. Hu, feeling distressed for their son, were now angrily looking at Second Brother Tang.

But Second Brother Tang wasn't afraid of them; he grabbed Hu Mingcheng by the collar and lifted him up.

"Speak up!"

Hu Mingcheng shivered, and liquid started dripping down from the tip of his shoes.

Second Brother Tang cursed a plant's name and tossed him aside.

It was disgusting!

Mr. Hu and Mrs. Hu felt humiliated but still tried to maintain their son's dignity.

"Tang Jianjun, are you sick?"

Mrs. Hu screamed. Before Tang Jianjun, who was also Second Brother Tang, could retort, they heard Madam Tang slapping a bright red marriage certificate onto Mrs. Hu.

"You're the one who's sick; after all these years, you still carry such a selfish demeanor!"

The bright red marriage certificate belonged to Hu Mingcheng, and when Mrs. Hu opened it to confirm it was her son's, she pocketed it.

"You..."

She hadn't lost her reason and didn't start fighting Madam Tang; she simply had to suppress her frustration.

Father Tang spoke to Mr. Hu, "Since the children are not fated to be together, let's leave it at that. After all, the original engagement was just a playful word from the elders; calling it off now is for the best!"

Mr. Hu's face darkened, "Mr. Tang, you know that's not what I mean. The kids just have their own thoughts, and it's not about breaking off ties entirely, just switching the children, and that shouldn't cause any trouble!"

Father Tang felt a twinge of pain on his cheek, Madam Tang had really hit him hard; if he dared agree, he might not be able to save his other cheek, considering how fiercely his second son had just fought; he might end up getting involved too.

He quickly waved his hands, "Don't even think about it; our daughter isn't something to be picked and chosen by others!"

The engagement was agreed to be broken off, but another agreement wouldn't be so easily reached.

After saying that he warned Tang Wanqiu, "If you dare do something to disgrace the Tang Family, I will absolutely disown you as my daughter!"

Tang Wanqiu's face turned as pale as snow, but she dared not make a sound.

Her fists were clenched so tight that her knuckles might burst.

Mr. Hu gave an awkward laugh, "It shouldn't be like this; it was supposed to be about uniting two families. Why has it come to this?"

But the more he said, the angrier Father Tang became.

What nonsense.

Do they really think the Tang Family has no pride?

"Goodbye, no need for you to see yourselves out!"

Father Tang directly drove them away.

Mr. Hu had never expected Father Tang to refuse after hearing from his wife and son that it was almost a certainty.

Now, it truly was an enormous embarrassment.

The Hu Family was thrown out by the Tang brothers, and many onlookers at the door, all acquaintances, having heard the gist of it, commented on how despicable the Hu Family was.

Any household with a daughter found such unclear in-law behaviors disgusting.

When Second Brother Tang dragged Hu Mingcheng out, he even kicked him on the butt, making him sprawl on the ground, "Remember this well, show up near my house again, and I'll beat you every time I see you!"

At that moment, Hu Mingcheng's face burned with shame, and he got up from the ground and ran like mad.

Meanwhile, some children in the background shouted, "What's with his pants? That's so weird!"

"They peed in their pants!"

"Such a big person still peeing in their pants?"

"That's so embarrassing!"

...

Children's words are the most straightforward and the most hurtful.

Hu Mingcheng probably wouldn't reappear near this alley anytime soon,—he couldn't afford the loss of face.

"What about him do you fancy so much?"

Second Brother Tang looked at Tang Wanqiu, examining his sister up and down.

He hadn't been home when Tang Wanqiu was brought back and had missed their grandparents' funeral because he was out on a mission.

Tang Wanqiu yelled, "Tang Chuxia liked him too, why don't you talk about her?"

Second Brother Tang muttered, "Xiaxia, well, they were engaged before. Isn't it normal for her to like him?"

Brother Tang covered his face.

When it came to spoiling his sister, he never acted rationally in their family.

It was just mindless.

Whatever Xiaxia did was right; whatever Xiaxia liked was good.

Such a foolish level of brotherly love was rare.

Tang Wanqiu was left speechless.

She knew it would be like this; that's why she was so angry.

With the degree to which Tang Chuxia was favored, she felt like exploding every day.

Eventually, she just broke down in sobs, truly losing all composure.

Tang Jianjun grabbed a teapot and poured himself a cup of tea, downing it in one gulp before asking Tang Jianbing wordlessly, "Has she been like this since she came back?"

Tang Jianbing rubbed his nose, "Not until after Hu Mingcheng rebuffed Xiaxia humiliatingly and Xiaxia revealed Wanqiu's feelings for Hu Mingcheng."

Before, she had been quite clever; they didn't dislike her much and even thought Tang Wanqiu was sensible, which eased their parents' worries. Instead, it was Tang Chuxia—who was lovestruck—that bothered them.

"Does Xiaxia still like him?"

Second Brother Tang asked worriedly, only to see Brother Tang shake his head: "Not anymore. She's clear-headed now. She even had the mood to draw up plans for me to make a stove; look at the plans, little sister is truly talented!"

Brother Tang pulled a piece of paper from his bosom and handed it to Second Brother Tang.

Second Brother Tang wanted just to praise his sister, but when he saw the drawing Tang Chuxia had made, his eyes lit up.

"I'm going to talk to little sister about something!" He grabbed the drawing and ran out, not forgetting to warn Tang Wanqiu at the door, "If you like that pants-peeing boy, I won't acknowledge you as my sister!"

Tang Wanqiu burst into tears.

"You never acknowledged me anyway, always calling Tang Chuxia 'little sister,' even though I'm the youngest!"

Second Brother Tang had long since disappeared; the response came from Brother Tang: "It's a misunderstanding on your part. The reason we call Xiaxia 'little sister' is because it was the pet name our grandmother gave her."

Tang Wanqiu: ...

With such an unexpected explanation, how could she continue to cry emotionally?

Tang Jianguo added, "Yeah, when grandma saw how frail little sister was, she felt so sorry and feared a name wouldn't allow her to survive. She only allowed the whole family to call her 'little sister,' until Xiaxia started primary school!"

Tang Wanqiu looked sullen.

Such bizarre things one could expect only from Zheng Family's old lady, who was nominally her grandmother.

"You both say less," Madam Tang interjected. "She knows she's not my biological child; if she ever wants to leave, don't you dare stop her!" she continued and Brother Tang exclaimed in shock, "Really not?"

Tang Wanqiu ended up not being able to cry. So not everyone knew?

Why the differential treatment, then?

Tang Jianguo reacted nonchalantly, "What about the name Wanqiu, then? Do you want to take it back?"

Tang Wanqiu: ...Can you try being human?