Chapter 5: This Man is Too Petty
Because of her words…
Because of her words, the boy standing a few steps away had his eyes turn even redder. In just a moment, a red flush appeared at the corners of his eyes.
It seemed as if he was about to cry, with tears ready to fall at any moment.
Yet it was this look of being on the verge of tears that made people feel even more heartache for him.
Si Jiahe roughly rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand several times, wanting to leave, but also reluctant to do so.
In fact, he hadn’t seen this woman for a long time.
Sometimes he could only see her in his dreams, always from a distance, her features blurred. He could only watch her departing figure over and over again.
He stood there, as if making a final defiant gesture, his pair of reddened eyes staring straight at the woman.
Tang Man opened her arms, always feeling distressed when she saw the boy in front of her. Her tone softened a few more degrees, as if coaxing a child. She smiled and said, “Jiahe, do you want a hug?”
These words completely broke through the boy’s defenses. His tears fell, dropping one by one onto the ground. Like a swallow returning to its nest, he threw himself into Tang Man’s embrace.
He couldn’t help but call out “Man Man” in a soft voice, still with a hint of crying.
It was truly a pitiful sight.
Tang Man’s heart instantly softened to the extreme. She reached out a hand to gently wipe away the tears on Si Jiahe’s face, softly comforting him as she did so.
“Why are you crying so badly?” She touched the boy’s eye corners and said, “Your eyes are all red from crying.”
“Man Man, I missed you so much.”
During the past two years, he had missed her terribly. Yet in a city that wasn’t even that big, the two of them had managed to never run into each other.
Unfortunately, it made him start to doubt whether they had any fate between them at all.
The two of them stood at the entrance of the hall. Although there weren’t many people at this time, there was still a constant stream of people coming and going, and it was impossible to avoid being looked at.
Tang Man disliked this kind of gaze. She was about to let go of her hand that was around Si Jiahe’s waist and take a step back, but he grabbed her wrist.
The boy pressed his lips together and looked at her with some unease, calling her name again.
It was as if he was afraid she would run away.
He was already in his twenties, yet still acted like a child.
Tang Man had no choice but to comfort him. She leaned down and gently kissed the corner of the boy’s mouth, then stroked the back of his head with her hand. “There are too many people here, it’s not very convenient to talk. I’ll take you upstairs.”
Only then did the tips of Si Jiahe’s ears turn red. He buried his head and let out a barely audible “en” sound.
Tang Man’s bag was still in Old Tang’s hospital room. Right now, she only had a cell phone on her. Although in today’s society, a cell phone could solve most problems, but–
Tang Man turned her head to look at the boy who was following closely by her side, one of his hands always tightly grasping hers. She sighed and led him towards the elevator.
At this point, Si Jiahe finally noticed that something was off. His hand tightened and he asked with some trepidation, “Man Man, why are you at the hospital? Are you sick?”
Tang Man pulled him into the elevator. As she pressed the floor button, she casually said, “I’m fine. It’s my dad. He got into a car accident today and fractured his right leg. I came to see him today.”
“What about you? Why are you here?” Only after talking about herself did Tang Man look at Si Jiahe.
In fact, she didn’t know much about him. She only knew that he grew up in a single-parent family and that their family circumstances weren’t very good. Beyond that, she didn’t know much. She didn’t like to pry into other people’s private matters and only remembered the patterns on the surface.
After a long time, when the elevator doors had already opened, Si Jiahe finally mumbled out a sentence. “My mom passed away. I came to take care of some procedures.”
Suddenly hearing this news, Tang Man didn’t know what to say.
It had been a long time since the two of them had seen each other. Saying anything would be inappropriate. Moreover, she always felt there was a taboo when it came to topics like death. If it was someone she was familiar with, she could at least say “my condolences”. But Si Jiahe was the ex-boyfriend she hadn’t seen in two years. Saying anything now would become strange and awkward.
So she could only rub her nose bridge and silently pull him towards the hospital room.
However, just as Tang Man was about to push open the door, Si Jiahe, who was beside her, finally reacted. He grabbed her hand and pulled her a few steps away, saying in a low voice, “Man Man, is this your father’s hospital room?”
Tang Man looked at him strangely. “Of course.”
Whose else could it be?
Si Jiahe was silent for a good while, not knowing what to say.
Finally, under Tang Man’s puzzled gaze, he lowered his voice and asked with some trepidation, “Man Man, is it not very good for me to suddenly visit Uncle empty-handed like this?”
This was his first time meeting Uncle. He was afraid of leaving a bad impression.
Tang Man didn’t quite understand his thinking. In fact, she had always been like this. She never had the correct understanding of some worldly etiquette.
When Xie Li first laid eyes on her, he had used the word “heartless” to describe her. It was not without basis. At that time, it was a critical moment in the formation of Tang Man’s personality. It was just that she was still young and didn’t know how to conceal. She was too willful in handling matters and caused quite a bit of trouble. Nowadays, she merely knew how to hide it.
“Then how about… you wait outside and I’ll go in to get my bag and then we’ll leave?” Faced with Si Jiahe’s unease and worry, Tang Man didn’t dwell on it. She only thought for a second before proposing a solution to the problem.
At this, Si Jiahe became unwilling again. He held Tang Man’s hand with both of his own hands, lowered his head, and didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t let her go in, but also didn’t express his own thoughts.
The two of them were still tugging at each other. Just as Tang Man was getting a headache, the door to the hospital room suddenly opened.
Xie Li walked out from inside. He looked at Tang Man and the man standing beside her with some surprise.
In the end, he naturally withdrew his gaze. He casually let go of the door handle. The door wasn’t even closed and Old Tang, who was lying on the hospital bed, could still see the situation outside.
Sure enough, Old Tang’s voice immediately came from inside. “Unfilial daughter, hurry up and come in!”
Hearing this voice, Tang Man couldn’t help but silently retort. Calling her unfilial daughter all day long. If one day she really stopped caring about Old Tang, he would probably cry himself to death on the hospital bed.
Si Jiahe wouldn’t let go of her hand, so she had no choice but to bring him in with her. The boy followed Tang Man like a little wife.
Xie Li watched as Si Jiahe, who was always being pulled by the hand by the woman, walked past him. For a moment, there was a change in his eyes. His gaze lingered on their clasped hands for several seconds before slowly moving away. He stood at the doorway, leaning against the wall. For some unknown reason, he didn’t leave.
As soon as Si Jiahe entered, he attracted Old Tang’s attention. This was the first time his own daughter had brought a man in front of him.
He sat upright on the bed and looked him up and down several times. Then, his face darkened a little. He was somewhat dissatisfied.
Si Jiahe was unaware of Old Tang’s series of complex thoughts. He only shyly lowered his head, said “Hello Uncle”, and then stood beside Tang Man without saying another word.
At this, Old Tang’s expression became even more unpleasant.
He felt that this man was too petty, with an air of being from a small family. He really looked down on him.
Tang Man had no leisure to look at Old Tang’s expression. She motioned for Si Jiahe to bring over her bag that was on the sofa, then said to the middle-aged man on the bed with all her heart, “Dad, I’m going home first. You obediently listen to the doctor’s orders at the hospital. Don’t do things that aren’t suitable for your age anymore. I’ll come see you again when I’m free.”
“If there’s anything, have Assistant Xie contact me.”
After saying that, she pulled Si Jiahe and was about to leave. This made him hurriedly say “Goodbye Uncle” and then follow Tang Man out of the hospital room, still apprehensive about whether he had left a bad impression on Uncle.
