Chapter 4: Jiahe, Long Time No See (Revised)

Tang Man’s…

Tang Man’s mother, Madam Yang, was extremely beautiful, a rare beauty. Since childhood, she was the flower of the alley, famous for her beauty. Who didn’t say that the Yang family’s daughter was good-looking? When she was in college, she was even more of a celebrity, but she was spoiled by her parents and developed a naive personality.

The naivety here did not mean that Yang Qing was a silly sweetheart who knew nothing.

It was that this woman simply pursued happiness. Whoever treated her well, she would go with them. She was so innocent that it was difficult to resist temptation. She also liked new things and got tired of old ones, enjoying all things fresh, exciting, and passionate.

Sometimes Tang Man thought that her current personality was not unrelated to Madam Yang.

Back then, Old Tang was also a young and promising, handsome young man. He secretly fought with quite a few men before Madam Yang broke up with her boyfriend at the time. Soon after, they got married because of pregnancy. It can be said that his path to getting the beauty was very difficult, no less than the journey of Tang Seng to get the scriptures from the West.

But a dog can’t change its habit of eating feces. At that time, Old Tang was a talented youth and the heir of the Tang family. At a business dinner party, he couldn’t resist the skirts and lipstick marks of women and had an affair, keeping a mistress outside like a wealthy son.

He thought he could be like other men, with the colorful flags flying outside while the red flag never fell at home.

Later, the mistress was not content with being kept in a golden house, so she made a scene at the door. Madam Yang was so disgusted that she didn’t even want Tang Man. That night, she went back to her family, hired a lawyer to draft a divorce agreement, and made a big fuss.

Old Tang cried like he was going to die, regretting it immediately. The previous tenderness was gone. He found someone to ruin the mistress’s family, using various means, torturing himself into a mess to beg for Madam Yang’s forgiveness. As a tool, Tang Man was dragged out many times, but it didn’t win Madam Yang back.

Moreover, in less than a year, Madam Yang found a new boyfriend and fell into the sea of love.

This woman struggled in love all her life, stubbornly pursuing happiness, and no one could stop her.

Perhaps the Old Tang of the past could, but at that time, the man was probably too young, or maybe his eyes were blinded by power, and he gave up the only opportunity.

How many opportunities are there in life to regret? For Madam Yang, Old Tang was just one of the countless men in the past, and he was the one who made her feel the most disgusted.

In Tang Man’s opinion, Old Tang probably had no hope of winning her mother back in this life. The few years they spent together before were the only bit of fate they had in this life.

She casually picked up an orange from the coffee table, wrapped it in a tissue to peel off a layer of skin, and saw the greenish-yellow orange juice on the white tissue.

She thought that two months ago, when she and Du Henian went to a restaurant for a date, they happened to see Madam Yang sitting opposite a handsome man like a little girl, shy and bashful, with intimate actions and smiling eyes, falling into a passionate love.

Well, one couldn’t tell at all that she already had a daughter in her twenties.

That woman was always as young as a girl in her early twenties, even in appearance. At the age of forty, she could still fall into love so innocently.

But the man lying on the hospital bed was so angry at Tang Man’s words that his face turned pale. He cursed “unfilial daughter” several more times.

In the end, he became decadent again and said, “But, I love your mom. Manman, your mom is the only woman I have ever loved in my life.”

Tang Man ate a segment of orange and resisted the urge to roll her eyes again.

“Yes, yes, yes, you love my mom, the most in the world.”

Old Tang was so angry at his daughter’s tone that he directly threw the pillow on the bed, unable to curse a few words, only able to shout “unfilial daughter, unfilial daughter”.

In fact, one point that made Madam Yang feel disgusted about this marriage was that although Tang had an affair at that time, he still said he loved her, insisting on not divorcing, and entangled her for so many years.

When Tang Zhengfeng got married and had an affair with a mistress, he got divorced. Anyway, he became serious and started to practice abstinence and nourish his health, saying that he would remain chaste for Madam Yang.

But he didn’t even think that his body was no longer jade, not knowing how many times it had rolled in the filthy place. Who would be surprised by his abstinence?

Sometimes Tang Man didn’t quite understand her father’s thoughts, making things so ugly over the years, without leaving a situation that could end peacefully. Madam Yang refused to see this man even now.

So Tang Man said that Old Tang’s life truly summed up the sentence “Cheating in a moment, but half a lifetime was scattered in ashes at the crematorium.”

Perhaps for men, sex and love were separate. That was the only way she could understand Old Tang’s behavior over the years.

However, Tang Man did not pity her father at all, mocking him hard where it hurt.

Old Tang sat on the bed, complaining like a deep boudoir resentful woman in ancient times. Tang Man let it go in one ear and out the other, eating fruit while watching the variety show. After a while, when she felt that she had fulfilled her filial piety and Old Tang should not change the will he had made earlier, she prepared to leave.

After a while, Old Tang seemed to break free from his past emotions and regained his usual wisdom, at least in Tang Man’s view.

After looking at his leisurely daughter sitting on the sofa for a long time, the man on the hospital bed suddenly spoke, “Aren’t you about to graduate? Do you want me to have Assistant Xie arrange a position for you in the company first?”

Tang Man looked at Old Tang in surprise, “Do you have a terminal illness?”

“What are you talking about? Cursing your dad!” Old Tang roared at Tang Man with vigor, which put her at ease.

She shook her head, “No need, I found a job at an accounting firm and have been working for several days. I don’t want to change jobs at the moment.”

But Old Tang said, “This time I had a car accident, and some company affairs need to be handed over. You don’t want your father’s company to eventually fall into the hands of others, right? While I still have the strength to manage, you should come back and slowly take over my position.”

Others naturally referred to those uncles of the Tang family.

Except for Old Tang, who only had one daughter, Tang Man, his other uncles had quite a few children, a bunch of male cousins, not to mention the illegitimate children out there. They had started the power struggle since Tang Man was in her teens, even proposing the matter of adoption, which made Old Tang so angry at that time.

Tang Man didn’t say a word.

She silently finished watching a small episode of the variety show and ate the last small segment of orange in her hand. After wiping her hands with a tissue, she said a few words to Old Tang to recover well and prepared to leave.

Tang Man felt that she was not the type to be a leader. Since her student days, she was the kind of person who just got by. In terms of personality, she was more like Madam Yang. Perhaps it was because of this aspect that Old Tang loved the house and the crow, and was quite indulgent with her.

Old Tang was still persuading her while lying on the hospital bed, but her phone on the sofa started vibrating.

The caller ID showed Du Henian.

She said a word to the person on the bed, picked up the phone, and walked outside.

Seeing this, Old Tang couldn’t help but mutter a few words, “Answering a call, acting so sneaky.”

Tang Man ignored him.

Old Tang had no choice but to say at least one sentence before she closed the door, “Tell Assistant Xie to come in for a moment, I’ll instruct him on some company matters that need to be handed over.”

Tang Man grunted and walked out. While answering the phone, as soon as she left the room, she saw Assistant Xie standing by the window in front, looking outside the building.

She took the opportunity to appreciate the man’s figure while listening to Du Henian inquiring on the phone about what had happened to her.

When their eyes met, she didn’t say a word, only pointed in the direction of the ward, indicating that Old Tang had something to find him for, and then stood where Xie Li had been standing to answer the phone.

Xie Li nodded and walked towards the ward. Before entering, he couldn’t help but look back.

The woman by the window was leaning against the windowsill, her face half-turned to look out the window, her eyelids lowered, and the loose hair on her temples falling on her smooth, fair skin like mutton fat jade, actually showing a docile laziness.

But he knew this was an illusion. He had been by Chairman Tang’s side for many years and had handled quite a few matters for this Miss Tang. When he first arrived at Chairman Tang’s side, the first thing he handled was related to this Miss Tang.

At that time, Tang Man was still in high school. Chairman Tang received a call from the school teacher, saying that Miss Tang had gotten into a fight at school and caused big trouble.

Chairman Tang was busy with affairs at the time and couldn’t spare the time. After making sure his daughter was not at a disadvantage, he very boldly let Xie Li, who had just started working on the first day, go to that private high school.

The students at that private high school were all children from wealthy families. For someone of Xie Li’s social class, he would not have had contact with this place before.

Entering the school, he found the office.

Inside, it was a chaotic scene. The teachers stood by helplessly, while several boys were pulling and tugging at each other, occasionally spitting out some dirty words.

At that moment, Xie Li suddenly realized that those educated children from the upper class were no different from those who came out of broken buildings when it came to cursing.

“Are you the one sent by Old Tang?” The girl leaning by the window in her school uniform skirt spoke up at that time, calling out to the dazed people here.

He looked over.

“Yes, I am Xie Li. Chairman Tang sent me to handle Miss Tang’s matter.”

Thinking back now, the sunlight that day was too dazzling. It shone through the window into the room, all with endless halos, enveloping that girl in a layer of sunlight.

But the girl, who was only in her teens at the time, had a cold expression. Her gaze only lingered on him for a few seconds before casually shifting away, looking at a pot of flowers on the windowsill, as if the withered branches and leaves on it were more interesting than the chaos in front of her.

“Since you’re here, you handle the rest. I have classes to attend later.”

After saying this, she left leisurely, leaving behind the boys in the office who were still arguing because of her.

In the prime of their youth, they fought each other for a glance from the girl, uttering malicious words, pinning crude terms like “bitch” on their classmates. Their jealousy and possessiveness at a young age made them unable to suppress the anger in their bodies.

But until the end, that girl never looked back.

The still young Xie Li stood in the office, looking at the chaotic scene in front of him. Somehow, a word suddenly popped into his mind—heartless. It seemed a bit too precocious and one-sided to describe his boss’s daughter, but it left a deep impression on him.

After standing for a few seconds, he withdrew his gaze and walked into the ward.

Tang Man did not notice Xie Li’s gaze on her. Her attention was drawn to a person downstairs.

It was not very clear from the upper floor, but she only needed to see that person’s back to know it was him. His body was thin and slender, his waist so slim that she could wrap it with one hand. When he leaned on her like a spoiled child, the shoulder blades on his back would tremble slightly.

After all, they had been together for more than two years. She had once loved that boy so much. During their passionate love in their youth, the two of them almost wanted to be together all the time, holed up in a small apartment without going out for a day, cuddling and hugging as if it were the fertilizer for their bodies.

At first, she was still casually and randomly responding to the man on the phone. After seeing the boy downstairs, her thoughts paused for a moment, and a pair of reddened cat eyes appeared in her mind, looking at her with tears.

It had been a long time.

After what happened back then, Tang Man never saw him again. Sometimes she missed him, but their relationship ended in such an unsightly state that she never contacted him.

Because she was not sure if this person, who was her ex-boyfriend, oh, now her ex-ex-boyfriend, still wanted to see her.

Under an unspeakable and inexplicable feeling, Tang Man’s gaze fell on the thin figure below, and she slowly said a sentence to the person on the phone.

“Henian, let’s break up.”

The other end of the phone fell silent for a moment, perhaps not reacting. Just as Tang Man had already assumed that the other party had accepted her proposal and was about to hang up, Du Henian spoke.

His voice was calm, but with a hint of trembling.

“Why?”

Tang Man narrowed her eyes slightly, her hand gently resting on the window frame, her back leaning against the cold wall.

She smiled, “Henian, I thought you knew.”

Du Henian did not speak, only the faint sound of breathing told her that he had not hung up.

Tang Man said, “That afternoon, you touched my phone. I know.”

She had always been mindful of her privacy and hated people messing with her things without permission. Du Henian should have known that.

In fact, Tang Man had long been tired of this kind of restrained life, but she just never said it.

It was only after seeing Si Jiahe, an old acquaintance, that she suddenly realized that she was no longer quite like herself.

The man on the other end seemed to be shocked by this sentence and was silent for a long time. Tang Man actually did not want to put it too bluntly, as it was not graceful and making the other party feel awkward was not her intention.

The person downstairs was still on the phone. Seeing that Du Henian was not speaking again, Tang Man did not give him a chance to think and refute. In the end, she gently said, “Henian, I hope you live well and don’t get stuck on me alone. Let’s not meet again in the future, or it will only increase the awkwardness.”

After saying this, she resolutely hung up the phone.

But she did not return to the ward and instead took the elevator downstairs.

The elevator was fast.

When she reached the ground floor, Si Jiahe had not left yet. He was on the phone. Tang Man did not approach him but stood a few steps away, looking at him.

It had been a long time. This boy seemed to have lost a lot of weight and become even thinner, as if he would be blown over by the wind. Lowering his head slightly, one could see the protruding bones on his back.

She looked at him for a long time until he hung up the phone and turned around.

When the boy saw her, his bright eyes widened in surprise.

In an instant, they turned red, as if he was about to cry. His whole body was a little flustered and at a loss. His feet moved a few times, but he couldn’t bear to take the first step.

Caught off guard.

Tang Man’s heart inexplicably relaxed a bit. It seemed that he still could not forget her. She smiled and spoke gently, “Jiahe, long time no see.”