"The recipient of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics is --- from China, Wei Jingyao!" The moderator's impassioned words echoed from the television.
"China has not been significantly successful in the field of Physics for many years..."
Tang Xi, sitting in front of the television, was already brimming with tears, watching the screen with tearful eyes blurred. "That's wonderful, just wonderful!" China had finally risen in the field of Physics, and things could only get better from here!
In her over-excitement, Tang Xi's breath came in raggeds. In an instant, her control over half her body evaporated, and she heavily collapsed before the coffee table.
The sound from the television reverberated by her ear as Tang Xi was struggled to hear. She could faintly discern that Wei Jingyao was unable to personally accept the prize, and his nephew was receiving it in his stead.
Nephew? Tang Xi lay sideways in front of the sofa, her vision blurred. In hindsight, she remembered that Wei Jingyao was a lifelong bachelor and it was natural for his nephew to stand in for him. At that moment, she realized her solitude without a kin to call her own, a sense of desolation filling her heart. If an accident were to occur, who knows when she would be found?
Family...
As Tang Xi's consciousness blurred, snippets of her past began to replay in her mind. Her only regret in this life was not being able to show kindness to her biological parents.
If there was an afterlife, she would want to be their daughter again...
In the hospital ward, the doctor glanced at the medical report, checked the fluid in the infusion bottle, and looked at the patient for a few seconds. "It's about time she wakes up," he murmured to himself.
"Has the patient woken up at any point?" the doctor asked the nurse standing next to him.
The nurse shook her head. "No, not yet."
Tang Xi heard the voices, and she blinked open her eyes to a burst of white light. She instinctively raised her hand to block the light, inadvertently pulling the intravenous needle, causing a pang of pain and forcing her eyes to squint.
"The patient has regained consciousness," the nurse noticed with delight, and informed the doctor.
The doctor also observed this and quickly signed off on the medical report. "Notify the family," he instructed.
"Family?" Tangxi put down her hand and noticed that she was in a hospital. The walls were pure white, and there were no tiles to be seen. Her eyes shifted to the door to her room which appeared to be a style from the 198s.
What kind of hospital was this? Tangxi was confused. According to her status, the national kitchen shouldn't dare to casually arrange for her a normal ward.
The doctor briefly checked Tangxi's complexion and found nothing serious. Before leaving, he instructed her, "Drink some more soup for nourishing blood and vitality when you get home."
"Don't think that just because you're young, it doesn't matter."
"Young?" Tangxi was still a little confused and couldn't understand the doctor's meaning. She was already of age, was she still considered young? She raised her eyes to ask the doctor for clarification, but he had already walked away.
Now only a door was left in her field of vision.
Tangxi looked down and was suddenly startled to find her hands as delicate and white as tofu just taken out of water, smooth and exquisite. The scars from knife wounds of past years were all gone.
A conclusion suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Her heart pounded. Not daring to believe, she looked around the ward and said, "This is clearly a hospital from the 80s!"
Only basic equipment would be this crude.
A dull ache came from her forehead, Tangxi winced in pain, her hand touched the bandage on the wound, and she confirmed that she had returned to when she was fifteen years old.
My goodness, life has really given me a break.
Tangxi's eyes reddened.
In her previous life, the Tang family's real heiress, Tang Yun, was found and brought back. Only then did Tangxi discover that she had been switched at birth and her actual parents were workers. Tangxi had believed that she would have to return to her birth parents now that Tang Yun had come back. However, Mr. and Mrs. Tang were reluctant to part with Tangxi and asked her to stay.
Tangxi, too, was loath to leave her foster parents and agreed to stay.
Looking at Tang Yuner, Tangxi felt quite guilty. She secretly made up her mind to be extra nice to Tang Yuner. She brought her into the circle, explained the difficult problems in her studies, and so on. Tangxi believed she was sincere, but she never expected that Tang Yuner's feelings towards her were not just jealousy, but a bone-deep hatred.
Repeated traps had made her foster parents extremely disgusted with her. Even her childhood sweetheart, her fiance, despised her. Moreover, Tang Yuner had also hindered her from taking the college entrance examination.
Recalling the high fever during her college entrance examination period, Tangxi's heart felt suddenly empty. Her foster parents ignored her, it was her biological parents who had spent all their family assets to save her life. But it was then that her biological father injured his waist trying to work for money to buy nutritional supplements and ended up paralyzed in bed.
Since then, Tangxi had come to her senses. She began her apprenticeship trying to earn money to support her family. She didn't go home to visit her parents before she became famous, instead sending only living expenses every month. Tangxi thought these were temporary and believed that one day she would gain fame, and then she would proudly bring her parents to live a comfortable life. However, on the day she became the head chef of the state banquet, both of her biological parents had already passed away.
Tangxi took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
This time, she just wanted to return to her biological parents' house as soon as possible and treat them better.
*
In the hospital corridor, Tang Yuner hesitated at the entrance of the ward with Tang's mother's arm in her hand. She lowered her eyes anxiously, "Mom, will Tangxi be upset if she knows that I have been living in her room these past few days?"
She did not give her mother a chance to reply before continuing, "I have never lived in such a large and bright house before. A small bed in the living room would have been enough for me."
Tang's mother was both sad and distressed, she comforted her, "From now on, you will live in that room. Tangxi won't disagree. If she does, I will tell her off!"
"No, no," Tang Yuner quickly shook her head, extremely scared, tears almost rolling down, "That is Tangxi's, how can I deserve to live in such a good room?"
Seeing Tang Yuner so genuinely scared, Tang's mother was heartbroken, soon followed by a surge of anger, "You deserve it, if anyone doesn't, it's her. She took your life from you. You don't have to be afraid, that will be your room from now on, let her live in the living room."
"Mom, that's not right." Tang Yuner gently shook her head, "Tangxi is still sick..."
"That's the decision!" Tang's mother patted her arm firmly, not allowing Tang Yuner to refuse.
Tang Yuner obediently nodded, "I will listen to what you say, mom."
Tang's mother was very pleased with Tang Yun'er's obedience, naturally failing to realize the slight hint of satisfaction that flickered in Tang Yun'er's eyes as she lowered her head.
After pushing the door open, Tang Yun'er and her mother saw Tang Xi had awakened. They were about to speak when...
Tang Xi looked at them with a clear and cold gaze, taking the initiative to speak first, "No need."
"What?" Tang's mother didn't understand Tang Xi's words and furrowed her brows.
Tang Xi lowered her gaze, looking at the thin quilt, recalling that cozy little cottage. Though it was hard times, my biological parents were genuine in their treatment of others.
In fact, being poor wasn't a big deal, what was important was a complete family. Tang Xi opened her eyes slowly and explained, "There's no need to change the room."
"I want to go back to my biological parents' home."
"What?!" Tang's mother immediately knotted her eyebrows. Tang Xi wasn't related by blood, but she was also a daughter she had brought up for fifteen years.
How could she just decide to return?
Tang's mother could not accept this.
