"I’m going, he didn’t blow up, Ling Xiao has been... completely tamed?"
Shen Yiming hooked the corner of his mouth lightly and nodded.
The Leng Lingxiao he knew was decisively ruthless and couldn’t stand the slightest flaw in his eyes.
As night fell, the city streets glowed brightly, and Tang Xiaowan rode her black motorcycle, weaving through traffic and racing along like a cheerful sprite.
Leng Lingxiao sat upright, his gaze always following Tang Xiaowan, quietly watching her.
"Tangtang, I haven’t aged, right?"
The breeze brushed Leng Lingxiao’s cheek, and his eyes revealed deep affection for Tang Xiaowan, as if the whole world had come to a standstill.
Seeing this scene, Shen Yiming couldn’t help but exclaim, "This girl has really changed a lot!"
Leng Lingxiao smiled slightly and replied, "Tangtang’s personality has always been unique, in every aspect... always full of confidence. Actually, she’s been since she was a child, you just didn’t know."
Come on, I didn’t mean that, she finally looks like a girl now!
The way she was before, she had Ling Xiao completely smitten, and now he’s probably going to end up under her thumb?
Hmm, the power of love!
At that moment, Tang Xiaowan suddenly stopped at the entrance of a snack shop, hopped off her motorcycle, and walked in cheerfully.
Leng Lingxiao immediately signaled Zhao Renjie to follow and stop by the roadside at the shop’s entrance.
After getting out of the car, Shen Yiming asked curiously, "Couldn’t wait to get home for dinner, needed to grab a bite?"
Leng Lingxiao explained with a smile, "She really enjoys the spicy skewers from this shop. Whenever we pass by, she buys some to take back... and shares them with me. The taste is quite good, very fragrant."
"You’ve become fond of eating chili peppers too?"
"Yes, everything is delicious when I’m with Tangtang, and gradually, it didn’t feel spicy anymore."
"Aren’t you going in?"
"No need to, she’ll be out soon."
"Oh... how about... I hide and scare her?" Shen Yiming ventured tentatively.
He knew Leng Lingxiao wouldn’t like it but still jokingly broached the topic, just to see what kind of reaction Ling Xiao would have.
Leng Lingxiao’s face darkened instantaneously.
"I happen to have a piece of land in the East Suburb of Huang City that your brother seems to be interested in."
Shen Yiming frowned, "Hey, do I look like someone who can’t measure the consequences? What’s my brother got to do with this? Such a buzzkill, hahaha."
The response he got was a cold glare.
"Alright, alright, my mistake."
"Yiming, Tangtang has grown up, so things like pranks..."
"I know, I know, I definitely won’t."
As they were speaking, Tang Xiaowan came out of the shop with a bag of spicy skewers. When she saw Leng Lingxiao by the roadside, it was a pleasant surprise.
"Huahua! What are you doing here? I bought some... Shen Yiming? You’re here already?"
"Hey, long time no see!"
Both men responded at the same time.
Shen Yiming, that guy, even he followed along?
Never mind, I bet he wouldn’t dare mention it.
A big man, such an embarrassing thing, if spoken about, would be quite face-losing.
Tang Xiaowan laughed awkwardly, "Oh, long time no see. Since you’ve come... let’s eat it while it’s hot, then we can go back."
"Great, great, I’m actually pretty hungry."
Both men answered in unison again.
Knowing Zhao Renjie was the driver, Tang Xiaowan specifically included him when dividing the food.
Although it wasn’t worth much, it was very heartwarming!
Then, Leng Lingxiao led Tang Xiaowan to where they had parked the motorcycle, while Shen Yiming went back to the van very consciously.
It was as if the two had it all arranged.
After Lingxiao had eaten a few bites, he asked softly, "Did you curl your hair at noon?"
Tang Xiaowan opened her eyes wide, not understanding.
"I mean... these little curls on top."
"Oh, this! It’s the effect after unraveling a twisted braid. How do you like it, nice?" Tang Xiaowan chuckled as she stroked the ends of her hair.
She did get up early to braid her hair in pigtails.
"Pretty nice, but I still like..." Leng Lingxiao trailed off.
"You still prefer the old style?"
"Not exactly, both look good, both are pretty," Leng Lingxiao hastily explained.
"Oh, okay then. By the way, Huahua, why did that guy go back to the car?" Tang Xiaowan asked with a teasing smile, worried that Shen Yiming might snitch on them.
"I didn’t want to be a third wheel."
"Oh, I thought he felt guilty, like a thief in the night." Thɪs chapter is updated by novel·fire·net
"What, still holding a grudge? I explained yesterday, didn’t I? You were young back then, I was just teasing you. Besides, afterwards... I did stand up for you, it was quite the scene, haha."
Could it be that Huahua knew about my pranks all along back then?
Was Huahua the one who ambushed Shen Yiming?
"Tangtang, what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing, what grudge? Of course not," Tang Xiaowan retorted with a pout.
"That’s good to hear, come on, open your mouth."
"Wow, this tastes so good, you should try it too."
Shen Yiming inwardly sighed: Are they deliberately trying to irritate me? Acting as if I’ve got nobody!
Just over some skewers, and I’m being force-fed dog food?
Frowning, he looked at Zhao Renjie.
"Old Zhao, lend me your phone for a bit."
"Little Baby, when are you coming? If you don’t get here soon, I’m going to be annoyed to death by them. They’re spreading dog food even while eating spicy skewers!"
"Didn’t you say 24 hours?"
"Close enough, Ling Xiao already believes it."
"Don’t you love acting?"
"Little Baby, I was wrong, please come over! Otherwise, that girl will think of new ways to mess with me."
"Alright, I give up, I actually miss you. Little Baby, please come over."
"If only you’d said that earlier!"
Suddenly, a burst of hearty laughter rang out. Shen Yiming realized that something was wrong, and when he turned around, he saw Leng Lingxiao and Tang Xiaowan standing behind him.
Now I’ve really botched the play!
Shen Yiming thought the next moment would involve some back-and-forth teasing between them, but unexpectedly, Tang Xiaowan turned to look at Leng Lingxiao directly.
"Huahua, can you drive me to work tomorrow? Otherwise, I’ll miss you too much on the way."
Leng Lingxiao’s mouth curled slightly: "Sure."
"I don’t want to take the car, is the motorbike okay?"
After their brief exchange, they walked straight to the business car, completely ignoring Shen Yiming.
Just like a loving couple in sync.
During dinner, Leng Lingxiao’s gaze kept falling on Tang Xiaowan, but each time he looked at her, he was reminded of what Shen Yiming had mentioned in the car about the midlife crisis.
Even when he later went to his study, he found it difficult to calm his mind.
I’m 30, and Tangtang is just 20!
Have I been hesitant to get married because I’m worried that I’m too old, and it might affect our life after marriage?
Shen Yiming observed all this.
He planned to stoke the flames further.
Thus, he looked at Leng Lingxiao meaningfully: "The guys at Haisong R&D Department, they’re mostly the science and engineering type like us, right?"
"They say science and engineering guys are pretty straightforward, especially when it comes to chasing girls; what do you think?"
"Not sure." Leng Lingxiao responded coldly and then stood up, "I’ve got some work to do, so I’ll leave you be, make yourself at home."
"Do your thing, don’t mind me."
After Leng Lingxiao left, Shen Yiming sneered: Friends should intervene when it’s time!