Various fruits and refreshments were already prepared.
"Is being cut off from the world fun?" Leng Lingxiao asked while making tea.
"Well... why don’t you try it out for yourself? It’s just... completely different from your world here."
"Oh, playing coy, are we?"
"Let’s not talk about me right now. What about you and that girl? Did you... succeed?"
He and Leng Lingxiao hadn’t seen each other for a year, and they’d only spoken on the phone a couple of times.
So, Shen Yiming was completely in the dark about Tang Xiaowan, including the part where Li Zishen suddenly came into the picture, Tang Xiaowan’s tragic memory loss, and her being poisoned and chased after.
"Get lost, what are you talking about!"
"Don’t play dumb, I’m talking about Tang Xiaowan."
Leng Lingxiao cleared his throat, took a sip of tea, looking as if he had everything under control.
"You’ll see when Tangtang gets back tonight."
Shen Yiming slammed his teacup on the table and took a deep breath.
"You mean we have to wait until tonight?"
"Tangtang went to work, said she’d eat at the company cafeteria for lunch, and won’t be back until after work. Let’s talk about your situation first."
"Ah, actually, we... already..."
"Did you two... have a fight?" Leng Lingxiao asked tentatively. "Is she still on that island, and you came back alone?"
"Women are as unfathomable as the sea!"
"Hm? Trouble in paradise?"
"I blame myself, really. I shouldn’t have agreed to go to some deserted island with no signal to begin with. Love there is just like the weather, unpredictable."
"So you really did have a fight?"
"Well, she seems to be pretty happy there, like she’s found her true love."
The air suddenly grew still.
"True love?" Leng Lingxiao looked shocked and quickly took another sip of tea to calm his nerves.
Shen Yiming nodded: "She fell in love with someone... Though he’s kind of average, she... she really likes him. And she’s pregnant."
"Pregnant?!" Leng Lingxiao frowned deeply. "I remember you once mentioned that she didn’t want kids, was committed to DINK life. I’m not mistaken, am I?"
"No, you’re right, but now, she says she loves kids and wants to keep the baby."
Leng Lingxiao shook his head in disbelief: "Don’t worry, you’ll find someone even better."
"No, she is the best!" Shen Yiming sighed deeply. "I just don’t know where I... I think I already love her a lot. Maybe that’s what she wanted, to get away from the city."
"Different strokes for different folks. It’s all good once you make peace with it."
"Yeah!" Shen Yiming said with a bitter smile, "Indeed, different strokes. Knowing that she’s... already like that, I still had to stay there for an extra month, just watching her. I even admire my own patience."
Leng Lingxiao understood this feeling all too well.
In mid-August, when Tang Xiaowan was targeted for assassination, Li Zishen rescued her from Mei Garden and, to protect her, took her to Jin City.
During that time, Leng Lingxiao was tormented by constant longing.
But Grandma Tang would not let him go to Tang Xiaowan, saying that if she could fall in love with him again after her memory loss, it would mean it was true love.
Leng Lingxiao disagreed; how could he let another man protect the woman he loved?
To his surprise, Tang Mei even used the Qingxin Pill recipe as a bargaining chip, claiming it was the key to restoring Tang Xiaowan’s memory and coincidentally curing her chronic headaches.
That’s why Leng Lingxiao had begrudgingly held back.
Fortunately, Tang Xiaowan fell in love with him again and still chose him.
"Ling Xiao, tell me, am I being foolish?" Shen Yiming lit a cigarette and suddenly asked.
"No, you’re a good man."
"I knew you’d say that."
"Well, just for some peace of mind."
After speaking, a gleam flashed in Leng Lingxiao’s eyes as he slowly picked up his teacup: "Here’s to you, a toast to the good man, Mr. Shen Yiming... welcome back, and may you reach even greater heights in the near future!"
Shen Yiming stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. Read complete versıon only at N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
"You’ve really got a way with words now!"
"I learned from the best." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
The two exchanged smiles, clinked cups, and although it was just tea, it was quite satisfying.
Just when Shen Yiming was about to say something else, Leng Lingxiao’s phone suddenly rang. It was Tang Xiaowan.
With a smile in his eyes, Leng Lingxiao quickly pressed the answer button: "Tangtang, what’s up?"
"Why are you giving Cheng Shi work to do?"
"Cheng Shi? I didn’t!"
"So why did he show up at Hai Sheng? Applied to be a security guard and deliberately hangs around our R&D department, refusing to leave no matter what."
Leng Lingxiao barely knew whether to laugh or cry.
As a bodyguard, Cheng Shi truly was devoted; he couldn’t relax with just waiting outside, so he actually went inside under the guise of work to protect her up close.
Straight men really are so direct!
"I’ll call right now... I’ll have someone take care of it, don’t worry, okay? It’ll be quick, just focus on your work and pretend you don’t know him."
"Then hurry up, get him out of here." Tang Xiaowan urged, clearly annoyed.
"Okay, don’t worry, it’ll be quick."
After the call ended, Leng Lingxiao was about to make a call but saw Shen Yiming grinning mischievously.