Chapter 24: Brother’s leg is not a leg, spring water by the Seine…

After chatting for a while and agreeing to Madam Yang’s date, Tang Man hung up the phone and then drowsily entered the bathroom, quickly took a shower, and changed into her home clothes.

Although she got up after eight o’clock this morning, she was terribly sleepy now and didn’t want to think about anything else. She threw everything related to Du Henian and Si Jiahe behind her and just wanted to have a good sleep.

So she slept until evening. When she woke up, the room was dark. She picked up her phone and saw that it was already past nine o’clock. She got out of bed, pulled open the bed curtain, and outside it was already late at night, pitch black, with only a few scattered lights in the distance.

She was too lazy to cook, so she ordered a takeaway, and then went to reply to messages.

While she was sleeping, Si Jiahe called her once, ringing for more than thirty seconds, only called once, obviously having made a lot of progress, unlike before, when she would face a barrage of calls if she didn’t answer the phone.

She clicked on WeChat.

About an hour ago, Si Jiahe sent an image of two invitations to an art exhibition, which was scheduled for next weekend.

The meaning was self-evident.

Tang Man casually tied her hair into a bun, sat on the carpet in the living room, leaned against the sofa, and replied to Si Jiahe’s WeChat message.

She thought that there shouldn’t be anything next weekend, so she agreed to his request. As soon as the message was sent, Si Jiahe’s phone call came.

“Man Man.” Before Tang Man could speak, a somewhat elated voice came from the other end, “Did you just get home from outside?”

“No, I slept for a while after coming back in the afternoon and just woke up now.”

She rubbed her temples, feeling a bit dizzy and painful from sleeping too long.

“So you haven’t had dinner yet?”

“I ordered takeaway.”

The light in the living room was turned on. While answering Si Jiahe’s words, Tang Man turned on her computer. The thesis had been submitted and was just waiting for the blind review results. Not long after the results came out, she would have to defend it. Now she had to deal with some other things.

Si Jiahe said, “If I had known earlier, I could have gone over to cook for you.”

His soft voice came from the other end, like he was acting coquettish, “You have a stomach problem, it’s not good to eat too much takeaway.”

“It’s okay to eat it occasionally.” Tang Man didn’t care. She had been eating it for so long anyway and nothing had happened.

Si Jiahe hesitantly suggested, “Then Man Man, how about I cook in the future? If you go to the company, I can deliver it to you. Anyway, I work at home and it doesn’t take time.”

Hearing the innocent voice on the other end, Tang Man laughed and said, “You want to become my good wife?”

Si Jiahe’s slightly excited voice came from the other end. Despite the long distance, the exhilaration and happiness could still be felt.

“Man Man, you agreed?”

Tang Man hesitated for a moment, thinking of the people in the company, and she was not sure about the situation with Du Henian.

She had no idea whether the conversation between the two in the coffee shop that day had worked, whether Xie Li had handled the follow-up after she left, and whether Du Henian would continue to pester her in the future. She only personally felt that Du Henian did not seem to be the type to give up easily.

So after considering for a while, she still rejected him, mainly because she was afraid that the two would accidentally meet and cause trouble.

“No need, it’s too troublesome. Your home is too far from my company. It takes more than two hours for a round trip, plus the time for cooking, and the whole day is gone.”

This was said from the consideration of Si Jiahe’s side.

Si Jiahe’s work could be done at home, but he also needed to set aside a few hours a day to focus on creation. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time to cook for her all day long.

Tang Man had a talent for saying such words seriously and making people believe them.

Si Jiahe immediately believed it and couldn’t help but feel moved. If he were in front of Tang Man, he would definitely have thrown himself into her arms and begged for a hug.

In Tang Man’s heart, Si Jiahe had the power of Baosi and Daji. When he pestered her, even she couldn’t handle it.

“Then – Man Man, did Uncle say anything about the soup you sent over today?”

“Hm?”

Tang Man carelessly made a sound, her tone rising, obviously a questioning tone. She didn’t understand what Si Jiahe was trying to ask.

At the same time, she didn’t stop her hands and opened the computer, first checking her email. During this period, she actually didn’t give up on continuing to apply to companies, mainly to have more choices. She had no intention of going to work at Old Tang’s company and had no ambition to start a business. She just wanted to find a place to settle down and spend her later years.

Si Jiahe mumbled on the other end, finally asking, “Did Uncle say anything to you about what kind of person I am?”

He actually lacked confidence in this aspect and was a bit self-conscious. Last time when they first met, Tang Man’s father obviously didn’t have a good impression of him and even directly ignored him.

He was still thinking about whether his good cooking skills could be considered a bonus point, trying to score some points in Tang Man’s father’s heart.

Tang Man heard it and didn’t care much, “My dad? He said the soup you cooked was delicious. Next time, cook some soup for me too. The soup you cooked today was basically all sent to Old Tang.”

In fact, it was because Tang Man didn’t like to drink pork feet soup, so she didn’t drink a single sip.

Si Jiahe also knew, but he was still happy and said that he would cook other soups for her next time. In Si Jiahe’s heart, this was one of his few strengths. After all, when he used to live in the old building, the old ladies in the neighborhood often joked that whoever married him in the future would be lucky.

He chattered on the phone alone, as if he had endless things to say. Tang Man kept looking at the computer screen, occasionally making a sound to indicate that she was listening, her hands never stopping, and also filling out the form that the class leader asked them to fill out in the group.

In a few days, she had to go back to school to attend a meeting. She had been too carefree recently, always staying off-campus, and had not yet met the academic conference requirements for each semester.

Si Jiahe seemed to have unlimited desire to express himself. He had many things to tell Tang Man. Just listening to her breathing made him feel happy. He didn’t care whether she responded or not, as long as the phone wasn’t hung up.

So, this phone call lasted for an hour, until the takeaway arrived. Si Jiahe was still talking, saying that the art exhibition they were going to see next week was held by a famous painter who had a high international reputation, and he got the invitation through a friend he had collaborated with.