Chapter 36: Senior, Don’t You Like Me?

The youth’s expression was quite sincere, at least not giving the feeling of being deliberately scheming.

Tang Man smiled, “You added me on WeChat. If you have something to ask, you can ask me directly. There’s no need to make an extra trip.”

Hearing Tang Man’s high-sounding words, Bei Ling couldn’t help but smile, “Senior, I’ve messaged you a few times, but you didn’t reply.”

He had indeed sent messages to Tang Man privately, but most of the time she didn’t respond.

Tang Man’s reason was that the timing of the messages was too ambiguous, either late at night or during mealtimes. Moreover, she felt that some of Bei Ling’s messages didn’t require a response.

Sometimes trust between people is built up in mysterious ways. Just look at how many couples have established their relationship through online dating.

After hearing these words, Tang Man looked at Bei Ling for a good while before slowly nodding, agreeing to Bei Ling’s invitation.

She could already feel her stomach growling from hunger, not having the spare thought to consider other things.

Besides, this way she could save the cost of a meal, even though she wasn’t short of money. But even a mosquito is still meat, right?

Since Bei Ling was treating, she followed him the whole way. They left the teaching building together and got into a car parked on the roadside, driving straight out of the school and stopping at a food street near the campus.

She rarely came to the restaurants here. When she was with Du Henian, they mostly went to restaurants outside or Du Henian invited her to his home to share dinner together. To be honest, Du Henian’s cooking skills were quite good.

In this regard, Tang Man considered him to be a good househusband. Perhaps for most people, such a man would be very suitable as a partner to live with for decades in the future.

But for Tang Man, Du Henian was not a very suitable person to date because he lacked a sense of boundaries.

Many people in relationships overlook these boundaries, but Tang Man doesn’t. No matter how much she likes someone, her bottom line principles are still there.

Many people date simply because they are too lonely and crave companionship.

But she doesn’t date to seek emotional distraction, just to purely enjoy the happiness that comes with dating.

Bei Ling brought her to a private kitchen restaurant. However, since there were schools all around, the prices here were quite affordable. Many students would choose to have meals together here. Tang Man had come a few times when she first started school, having various gatherings with seniors and such, but later it became less frequent.

Now that she came to look, she found that the shop had been renovated again, with a few more private rooms added on the second floor.

There was a menu on the table. Tang Man didn’t stand on ceremony and directly picked up the menu. But out of politeness, she still asked in advance if he had any dietary restrictions.

Bei Ling shook his head, “Senior, feel free. I don’t have any restrictions.”

Seeing his expression, Tang Man suddenly became a little curious, “Can you eat offal?”

Bei Ling froze, a slightly conflicted expression appearing on his face. After some hesitation, he said, “I remember senior doesn’t like eating this kind of food.”

Tang Man was also stunned for a moment when she heard this. She looked at him. After a few seconds, until Bei Ling’s face showed some embarrassment, she casually withdrew her gaze and let it fall on the menu in front of her. She marked a few dishes at random and spoke casually.

“How do you know I don’t like eating offal?”

Tang Man rarely interacted with her classmates. Perhaps even her roommates of three years might not necessarily know her taste. Probably only her ex-boyfriends were familiar with her preferences.

After all, even Old Tang might not know some of her preferences, and her mother Madam Yang didn’t know either. When it came down to it, apart from her elderly relatives on her mother’s side, most of her love didn’t come from her family.

However, there was also some love that she didn’t need.

Bei Ling smiled.

Of course he knew.

When they first met, he discovered that Tang Man was actually very picky. She didn’t eat wasabi, and she didn’t eat foods with too strong flavors. At the dining table, some foods on the plate were basically untouched. His observation skills were quite good, so he easily noticed these clues.

Later it was through some coincidences.

At university, good-looking people easily receive adoration, and some information and photos even get spread on forums and message boards. In such a chaotic situation, it’s not surprising that some of Tang Man’s personal information was uploaded.

Moreover, he attended the same high school as Tang Man. Even now, legends about Tang Man still circulate in the school. Although these stories passed down from the previous class about Tang Man have become a bit distorted, it’s not hard to imagine how much of a sensation she was at school back then.

However, Bei Ling didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he just smiled and casually replied, “Most people don’t like eating offal.”

Tang Man wasn’t very curious, so she didn’t dwell on this topic. It seemed like she had just asked casually. Hearing Bei Ling’s answer, she just nodded and didn’t expect any further response from him.

She ordered three dishes and handed the menu to Bei Ling. He ordered one more dish before calling the waiter.

Before the food arrived, there was still some time. Tang Man raised her eyes to look at Bei Ling, half propping her hand on the table while replying to company messages. She asked, “Tell me, what questions do you have for me today?”

Bei Ling’s expression was gentle, his gaze falling on Tang Man’s hand holding the phone. He smiled, “Do I have to have a question to invite senior for a meal?”

Hearing his tone, Tang Man subconsciously looked up and met the youth’s gaze. A few seconds later, she also smiled, put away her phone, and her expression became a bit more serious.

After some deliberation, she spoke, “Bei Ling, if I’m not mistaken, I feel like you seem to have some feelings for me.”

Bei Ling looked at Tang Man, his smile unchanged, appearing quite composed. But one hand under the table involuntarily clenched, the black fabric of his pants already wrinkled into a ball.

Seeing his expression remain the same, Tang Man hesitated for a moment before continuing, “But we don’t have a chance.”

The smile on Bei Ling’s face disappeared. Tang Man’s words were like a sudden death sentence for him. After tightly clenching his hand into a fist, he loosened it and placed it on his leg, feeling the texture of the fabric, trying to calm his heart so as not to be too greatly affected.

“Why?”

He persisted, a hint of vulnerability appearing on his face. Coincidentally, this kind of vulnerability was exactly what Tang Man liked. He had learned about all of Tang Man’s past boyfriends, including her first boyfriend in high school.