Control (Futa) - Chapter 4
4. Showing Up
On the way home, Tang Mingling appeared calm in the back seat, but her heart was restless with regret over why she had asked Ji Xun to stay the night before, leading to that night of debauchery. She regretted it and was afraid Ji Xun would disclose the incident to others. Although their social circle wasn’t small, good news never traveled far, but bad news spread fast. A scandal, once it broke, could spread everywhere overnight.
She could not allow her hard-earned reputation to be damaged again. However, besides last night’s accident, she and Ji Xun had no other connection. To ask for help, let alone from Ji Xun… Tang Mingling couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Tossing and turning the matter in her mind, she was utterly frustrated. When she returned home and stepped through the door, she did not see her daughter, who should have been practising the piano according to her schedule. In an instant, all her anxiety turned into rage.
“Where is Tang Ximin? Why isn’t she practicing the piano? Who gave her permission to rest?” She stood by the door and called the over to question her. Was the house going to fall apart after just one night away?
“The young miss had a fever last night. She felt unwell but didn’t say anything all night. She endured it until today’s lesson, when she really couldn’t sit still, so the teacher allowed her to rest for a day,” the replied cautiously. The first thing a normal parent would do is check on their child’s health, but this family was never a normal family.
“She has a fever, so she stops class and doesn’t practice the piano?” Hearing that her only biological daughter was sick, Tang Mingling showed no sign of distress. She narrowed her eyes and sneered coldly. “When I was her age, I never dared to skip class casually. Even with a fever or a cold, I still studied, just afraid of losing to others. I provide her with so many resources; it’s bad enough that she isn’t grateful or cherishes them.” She turned her head to the : “Who authorized you to let her rest? Don’t I need to be informed?”
The never imagined a mother could be so cold-blooded, not even allowing a sick child to rest. She was instantly mortified and too scared to speak.
Seeing her remain silent for a long time, Tang Mingling’s anger did not subside. “Forget it. Remember, in the future, you must tell me everything first. Don’t take matters into your own hands.” With that, she went up to the second floor and returned to her bedroom, with no intention of checking on her daughter’s condition or even asking if a doctor had been called.
The hesitated downstairs for a long time. Ultimately, she didn’t dare to offend her employer again by calling a doctor. She had no choice but to bring her own stock of medicine to the child’s room to see if it could be used.
After returning to her room, Tang Mingling immediately took a shower. However, while bathing, seeing the mottled marks on her body brought back the memories of the night before and the accompanying irritation.
She finished washing in a hurry and sat at her dressing table for a long time, the fear and anxiety deepening as time passed. She thought panickedly, If this matter gets out, I am completely finished.
Before long, the circle would be saying that Tang Mingling was not only abandoned by a man but was also self-destructing and being played by a woman.
This thought constantly played in her mind, and she couldn’t help but sweep all the items on the vanity onto the floor. Even so, the panic did not decrease at all.
The butler, who was passing by, heard the loud noise from her room and hurried over to knock and express his concern.
“It’s none of your business. Don’t worry about me,” Tang Mingling said sharply.
The butler had taken care of Tang Mingling since she was a child. After her divorce, her parents, fearing she couldn’t take care of herself, sent him over from their home. Seeing her become so extreme over a man, even the Tang parents didn’t dare to provoke her and could only cautiously offer distant care. Thinking of the cute and clever young miss turning into this, he was heartbroken but dared not offer any more advice, so he quietly left.
Tang Mingling sat for a while, unable to endure being alone in the room. She changed into long-sleeved clothes, covering all the marks, and then sent for her driver to take her to a hot spring villa in the nearby suburbs.
Not long after she left, the butler encountered the coming out of Tang Ximin’s room, and the finally couldn’t help but plead with the butler. A group of people then hurriedly went to call a doctor.
The next day at noon, when Tang Mingling returned, there was no sign of the previous night’s panic in the house. The servants and the butler unanimously kept silent about it.
When Tang Mingling came home, she paid no attention to her daughter’s health and went straight upstairs to her room. While relaxing at the hot spring hotel yesterday, she realized she had nothing to fear. Because she also had leverage over Ji Xun—who would think that such an excellent woman actually had a physical abnormality? Perhaps she only needed to subtly remind Ji Xun to forget about that night.
“Miss, the young miss’s classmate has come to visit,” the butler asked for her instructions.
“Tang Ximin’s classmate? Isn’t she running a fever? How can she arrange for a classmate to visit? I think she’s just faking her illness.” A suspicious thought arose in Tang Mingling’s mind. “Ask her to wait in the living room. I’ll go down and see what kind of classmate this is.”
The butler agreed and left immediately.
Tang Mingling wasn’t in a hurry to go down. She first fixed her hair, then changed her clothes, and finally applied makeup. It took a whole hour for all of this. Only then did she leave the room and go downstairs to greet her daughter’s “good” classmate. She wanted to see which family’s child was so ill-mannered as to be a bad influence on her own.
However, when she walked downstairs and saw who was waiting in the living room, her expression subtly changed.
“Long time no see.” Ji Xun, who was waiting with her niece, saw Tang Mingling come downstairs immediately and smiled politely, her meaning clear.
“What is her relationship with you?” Tang Mingling asked coldly, pointing to the little girl beside her.
“Shuyu?” Ji Xun looked down at her niece. “She’s my elder sister’s daughter, my niece.”
Tang Mingling then remembered that Ji Xun’s sister was married to the heir of the Tang family—a story completely different from her own.
She had prided herself on pursuing true love, insisting on marrying a man with no background who only talked about ideals, despite her parents’ objections. After the marriage, the man was submissive and deliberately flattering. After gaining many benefits from her, he began to talk about his self-respect, criticizing her selfishness, and finally abandoning her to run off with someone else.
Ji Jue (Ji Xun’s sister), on the other hand, although her marriage was for commercial alliance, was known as a harmonious couple with her husband, and they treated each other with respect.
“So, what are you here for today?” Facing someone else’s happiness, Tang Mingling unconsciously put up her guard and spoke coldly.
“Auntie, Ximin said she was sick, so I wanted to come and see her,” Tang Shuyu said softly, feeling the strange atmosphere between the adults and Ximin’s mother’s unwelcome attitude.
Under Tang Mingling’s scrutinizing gaze, Tang Shuyu’s eagerness to see her friend gave her the courage. She held Ji Xun’s hand and asked her friend’s mother, “Can I go up?”
“Ximin!” Tang Shuyu pushed open the door and saw a mound under the blanket on the bed. Without thinking, she rushed over to the bedside on her little legs.
The blanket covering her slowly pulled down, revealing a small, pale, and uncomfortable face beneath. When the girl saw her friend, her eyes sparkled with tiny light. She spoke weakly, “Shuyu, you really came.”
“Didn’t you say you were sick and scared? I asked Auntie to bring me to see you,” Tang Shuyu explained earnestly. Her small hand laboriously reached up to touch her forehead. “Did you take your medicine?”
Tang Ximin glanced at the adult standing by the door, lowered her eyes, and shook her head.
Tang Shuyu immediately became anxious, turning to Ji Xun, who she believed could solve anything. “Auntie.”
Having already overheard the children’s conversation, Ji Xun softly told her not to worry. She turned to the person behind her and said, “Can you arrange a car to take the child to the hospital? Or do you have a family doctor you work with?”
Tang Mingling stood by the door. After being home for so long, this was the first time she clearly saw her daughter’s condition, with the intervention of an outsider. Her expression turned ugly. Pressed by Ji Xun, she suppressed her anger and ordered the to call a doctor immediately.
With the problem solved, Tang Shuyu let out a sigh like a little adult and turned back to comfort her friend. “Auntie called the doctor.” She put down her small backpack and rummaged inside, finding a handful of candies to put in front of her. “If you eat candy, you won’t be afraid of the bitter medicine.”
“Will you stay here with me?” Tang Ximin glanced at the candies, then looked back at her friend, asking quietly.
Upon hearing this, Tang Shuyu turned to look at Ji Xun again.
Ji Xun returned the gaze to the owner of the house.
Tang Mingling really wanted to refuse, but when she saw the reflection in Ji Xun’s eyes, she was silent for two seconds and coldly agreed. She didn’t notice Tang Ximin looking at her in surprise.
The doctor arrived quickly. After a series of examinations and a diagnosis, he gave the child an injection with the nurse’s assistance and prescribed medicine, clearly explaining the precautions for the medication.
Tang Mingling remained silent. The carefully recorded all the medical advice in front of the doctor. Tang Shuyu held Tang Ximin’s hand to keep her friend warm. Ji Xun leaned against the door, watching the scene thoughtfully.
“That’s everything.” After saying this, the doctor paused, and when he spoke again, there was a tone of reproach: “Children’s bodies aren’t as strong as adults’. When they get sick, they must see a doctor immediately. Ximin’s fever was already ; if it had been delayed any longer, it could have led to pneumonia.”
Tang Mingling was expressionless, but Ji Xun could see her regret and embarrassment.
After saying this, the doctor instructed the to watch over Tang Ximin and call him immediately if the fever returned. The agreed repeatedly while seeing him out.
In an instant, only the four of them remained in the room.
To cheer up her friend, Tang Shuyu talked about popular cartoons among elementary school students. Tang Ximin had secretly watched them too and liked the characters, so she listened intently.
The atmosphere between the two adults was not so harmonious.
Tang Mingling stared at her daughter on the bed for a while, then suddenly stood up and walked out of the room. As she passed Ji Xun, she paused, but ultimately walked away in silence.
Ji Xun immediately followed her.
“What are you following me for?” Tang Mingling noticed her action, stopped, and asked defensively. “You’ve seen the person you wanted to see. You can leave after this.” Although this was impolite, because she was dealing with Ji Xun, Tang Mingling didn’t dare to have too much contact with her.
When Tang Mingling finished speaking and intended to leave, Ji Xun grabbed her arm, casually opened the nearest door, and pulled Tang Mingling inside. She closed the door, cornering her between the wall and herself.
“What are you doing?” Tang Mingling was startled, having been suddenly pulled into the dimly lit room. She looked up into the gloomy look in Ji Xun’s eyes, felt a little intimidated, and scolded her in a defiant tone: “This is my house. You don’t think you can do anything to me here and walk away unscathed, do you?”
Ji Xun lowered her eyes, staring at her with the patience of someone teasing her prey, until Tang Mingling quieted down. She smiled faintly, “I’m not the one who came to see your daughter.” She reached out, pinched her delicate little chin, and forced her to look up. “But I’m the one who came to see you.”
“I want to talk to you.” Ji Xun didn’t wait for her response. “You know I’m a little different… I didn’t originally plan to look for a partner domestically, but I slept very well last night.” Her tone was deliberately lowered when she said slept very well, causing Tang Mingling to tremble slightly. “I will pursue you until you agree to my proposal. But we won’t talk about feelings. When you want to end the relationship, we can end it anytime.”
“You are the one who cares the most about these external reputations, aren’t you? You understand that this will be beneficial to you, don’t you?”
Tang Mingling hadn’t expected this woman to be so two-faced. An accidental one-night stand, and they should have gone their separate ways, but she actually enjoyed it so much that she wanted to find her to be her partner? She gritted her teeth and refused, “Don’t even think about it. Don’t forget that I know your secret. If you want me to keep it, stay far away from me.” She reached out to push her away, and the other party surprisingly moved. She glanced at Ji Xun in surprise and then dashed out the door.
Ji Xun remained alone in the dim room. After a long moment, a faint, condescending laugh broke the stillness. She calmly walked out of the room and returned to the children’s room next door.
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