After lunch, Wu Xiaowen saw that Tang Yaxuan was listless and dispirited. Her eyes, often rimmed with red, were welling with tears. It made Wu Xiaowen's heart ache. She thought about how nothing had gone smoothly since their return to Beijing—it had been one frustrating thing after another. With her own mood souring, she decided to take her daughter out of the restaurant. They hailed a taxi and went on a tour of the major department stores. Fortunately, she had plenty of money and significant purchasing power. As mother and daughter picked up one coveted item after another, the knot of frustration in her chest gradually loosened. By the time they returned to the hotel in a taxi half-full of their "spoils of war," their spirits were much higher and their complexions much brighter. They were even talking and laughing.
However, when they went upstairs to their temporary room and discovered that Tang Qingyun still hadn't returned, Wu Xiaowen's mood soured once more.
