Chapter 390: Chapter 390: Almost Choked to Death Again
Adrian Hawthorne could barely contain his excitement. He hadn’t heard a word from his father in four whole years and had even begun to think he’d passed away. To suddenly get news of him now... and it sounded like this Mad Master knew his father very well.
"When did you last see my father? Where is he now?" Adrian Hawthorne pressed, his usual composure gone.
Tang Xiaonan slowly chewed her shrimp dumpling, her heart racing with excitement too. ’In the book, Adrian Hawthorne and his father, Ethan Hawthorne, aren’t supposed to reunite for another four and a half years. But now, we’ve gotten news of him ahead of schedule. This must be my influence, right?’
So, this meant that everyone’s destiny—Adrian Hawthorne’s, the Thorne family’s, and my own—was going to change. It had to.
The Mad Master glanced at Tang Xiaonan, who hadn’t stopped eating. The shrimp dumplings were almost gone. ’This little girl can really pack it away,’ he thought. ’No wonder she’s so chubby.’ He grabbed a few more steamers from a passing cart and set them in front of her. "Eat!"
Tang Xiaonan snuck a peek at him but didn’t dare refuse. She lowered her head and started eating again in silence. ’As long as the big boss is happy, that’s all that matters.’
A corner of the Mad Master’s mouth lifted. He was in a good mood. He said to Adrian Hawthorne, "Your father just picked up a shipment from me last month. If you’d come a few days earlier, you would’ve run into him."
Adrian Hawthorne grew even more agitated, his hands fidgeting restlessly. "Do you have a way to contact my father?" he asked urgently.
"Not your father’s, no. But I have your mother’s."
"HIC..."
Tang Xiaonan let out a hiccup she couldn’t suppress, and then they just wouldn’t stop. The violent spasms made her eyes roll back as she gasped for breath. Her stomach was painfully full, the food practically up to her throat.
"Here, drink some water."
Adrian Hawthorne grabbed the teapot and put the spout directly to Tang Xiaonan’s lips, pouring half of it down her throat in one go. Tang Xiaonan choked so hard she thought she was going to die. A pain worse than a heart attack seized her chest, as if a fist had clenched around it, making it impossible to breathe.
’This is going to be the death of me!’
’Am I really going to be the first unlucky soul in history to choke to death on water?’
"Xiaonan, try to shout! Just make a sound and you’ll be okay!"
Goldie Thorne and Adrian Hawthorne were in a flustered panic, slapping Tang Xiaonan on the back again and again. A mouthful of water was still lodged in her throat; she was in pain and couldn’t breathe. ’Getting pounded on by these two morons is really going to kill me,’ she thought.
"Hey! You guys have no idea what you’re doing! Get out of the way!"
Aston Marsh, just returning from the restroom, saw Tang Xiaonan being practically tortured to death by a bunch of clueless idiots. He shoved Goldie Thorne and Adrian Hawthorne aside, scooped up Tang Xiaonan in one arm, flipped her upside down over his knee, and started patting her on the back.
"COUGH, COUGH..."
Tang Xiaonan coughed up a mouthful of shrimp dumpling. Water shot up her nose, and her face became a mess of snot and tears. She was a sorry sight, but at least she could breathe again.
"Ugh..."
Tang Xiaonan let out a long sigh of relief. Her chest still ached terribly, her stomach was bloated, and her face felt even more disgusting. But she was completely spent, lying limply over Aston Marsh’s leg, unable to move. ’Besides,’ she thought, ’this chubby guy’s knee is digging into my stomach and it hurts.’
"Alright, alright. You all were just acting recklessly. You can’t just pour water down a choking child’s throat. And slapping her back so hard? You could’ve broken her bones, you know that?"
Aston Marsh shot the morons a disapproving look. The little girl had nearly died at their hands.
Scolded, Goldie Thorne and the others didn’t dare make a peep, simply listening to Aston Marsh’s lecture. After all, the man was a father of two sons. He had the right to talk.
Adrian Hawthorne felt a wave of guilt. He thought chugging water was the cure for hiccups—it was what he always did. ’Maybe little Fatty Tang’s throat is only as wide as a straw,’ he mused. ’No wonder you have to raise girls so delicately. Otherwise, the slightest bit of carelessness could break them.’
