Everyone has countless firsts in their life, and these countless firsts are always special, especially for someone like Tang Man. Since she could accept that first person, there must have been qualities that attracted her.

Bei Ling had been searching for these qualities for a long time and finally discovered that it was purity, or you could say vulnerability, or good looks without being too dashing.

Tang Man’s past relationships all ended without incident, mostly with her unilaterally declaring a breakup. Many reasons were jealousy or arguments. It seemed that docility was an extremely important quality for her partners.

So in the past few years, he had unconsciously changed himself into this appearance, approaching the type that Tang Man liked.

He knew his appearance was quite good. When he was in school, girls confessed to him, and boys used his name to invite girls out for meals. He knew all this, so his inferiority in front of Tang Man was slowly covered up.

But now, just like when they first met, all his inferiority complex surged like billowing waves, catching him off guard.

He thought, the woman in front of him just had this charm, seemingly an innate cold and aloof temperament, endowing her with good looks, but also bestowing her with a naturally cold heart.

On this ordinary afternoon, Bei Ling, like those sitting in the bookstore watching the woman in the cafe, had a wish arise in his heart.

He wished he had endless charm to make the person in front of him fall in love with him, to like him.

“Senior, don’t you like me?”

Tang Man smiled. She seemed to be talking to a child, because most adults wouldn’t talk about feelings so straightforwardly.

She said, “Not all likings can end up together. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many sad stories and star-crossed lovers in the world.”

“But senior is not the type to play out sad stories,” Bei Ling said, “I thought senior would like me a little.”

He thought, it couldn’t be that there wasn’t a bit of liking. Otherwise, chasing for so many years would seem like a joke.

But he wasn’t used to showing sadness in front of others. He could only suppress the various emotions surging in his heart, as if this way, he wouldn’t be so sad.

Tang Man didn’t like sad stories, because most sad stories were due to the male and female leads lacking communication. These sad stories were like dumplings with unknown ingredients. Only after eating them would one discover that the filling had already gone moldy.

But she was afraid of trouble.

Bei Ling’s uncle was Madam Yang’s boyfriend. With this layer of relationship, it was simply a time bomb that could explode at any moment. For Old Tang’s little bit of family property, she wasn’t about to let it go and give it to those Tang family members who were constantly bickering and nauseating to look at.

In a word, she did like Bei Ling, but there were many likes in the world. Love wasn’t the only one. What she liked was just a type. Since it was a type, there were many men of this type in the world. She didn’t need to have such an unpleasant relationship with Old Tang for the sake of one person.

After all, Old Tang had never shown a good face to any of Madam Yang’s previous boyfriends, and had even taken out his anger on others quite a few times.

So Tang Man said, “You know, I have a boyfriend.”

Hearing this, Bei Ling turned his head and looked at Tang Man for a while. When Tang Man felt that she might have given something away and couldn’t help but start to hesitate, Bei Ling just smiled. This expression wasn’t quite like the one that should have appeared on his face.

The youth’s tone was light and casual, “Senior, it’s graduation season now.”

There’s a saying that goes, graduation season is also breakup season.

Tang Man blinked.

At this moment, the waiter came over with the dishes. The two of them stopped talking at the same time. They weren’t the type to like discussing private matters in front of outsiders.

After saying that, Bei Ling’s expression returned to normal, as if he hadn’t been rejected. He said, “Senior, let’s eat. Some things don’t need to be rushed.”

Since he had already said that, Tang Man was too lazy to be conceited. She took the washed bowl and chopsticks from his hand and quietly lowered her head to eat.

Perhaps it was because she had been busy using her brain all morning, but now she was so hungry that her chest was sticking to her back. If she hadn’t downed a few cups of water before leaving, her stomach would probably be growling by now.

The meal ended quickly. For some reason, Bei Ling didn’t eat much. In the end, he just politely handed over the bowl and chopsticks and quietly waited for Tang Man to finish eating.

However, just as they were about to leave, Tang Man received a phone call.

It was from Xie Li.

Since that night, Xie Li had never contacted her again. She thought he would never take the initiative to call her again.

But since he called, there must be something. Tang Man glanced at Bei Ling, said she would take a call, and walked to the window.

Then she pressed the answer button.

Before she could speak, the voice on the other end had already come through.

“Tang Man, something happened at the hospital. Come over now.”

Tang Man glanced at Bei Ling waiting not far away, withdrew her gaze, and let it fall on the red paint on the window frame. She frowned, unable to imagine what could have happened at the hospital. It couldn’t be that Old Tang suddenly discovered he had a terminal illness before being discharged, right?

“Director Tang got into a fight with a gentleman and accidentally sent him to the hospital.”

Tang Man couldn’t suppress her voice. A cry of surprise was transmitted over. Bei Ling in the distance was attracted by the sound and looked over, but Tang Man couldn’t be bothered anymore. She asked the person on the other end, “Why did my dad hit someone?”

Xie Li fell silent on the other end.

Tang Man didn’t know why, but her eyes flashed, thinking of something. “Was it because of my mom?”

“Did my dad find out that my mom is getting married?”

After a brief silence, Xie Li asked, “You knew?”

So that’s why he had asked him to call and notify her if Director Tang showed any abnormalities before.

Tang Man didn’t care about anything else now and only asked, “Was the police called?”

Xie Li said, “No, there’s a bit of a special situation here. You’ll know when you come.”

In the end, Xie Li couldn’t help but remind, “Director Tang is in a bit of a bad mood right now. A lot of your family members have come. It would be better for you to give Madam a call when you’re on your way.”

Then he hung up the phone.

Tang Man stood by the window for a long time without reacting, purely feeling irritated in her heart.

Madam Yang was a love-obsessed person, and Tang Zhengfeng was also a love-obsessed person. Two love-obsessed people together were a disaster, but this disastrous pair happened to be her parents.

After standing for a good while, Tang Man finally made up her mind. Things had to be resolved anyway. She was afraid that if she went a bit later, those Tang family members would have told Old Tang who knows how many tall tales.

But she didn’t drive out today, so she could only have Bei Ling give her a ride.

She walked over, and before she could speak, Bei Ling had already spoken first, “Is there anything you need help with?”

He said, “You don’t look too good.”

Tang Man pressed her temples. It wasn’t just that she didn’t look good. Her temples were throbbing, giving her a feeling of impending doom.

Moreover, she had a bad feeling about the “bit of a special situation” that Xie Li mentioned. Sometimes a woman’s sixth sense was quite accurate.

She felt a bit embarrassed. After all, she had just rejected him. Thinking about it this way, Tang Man felt a bit sorry. “I’ll have to trouble you to give me a ride to the hospital. Next time I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Only then did Bei Ling smile, “Your word counts.”

But after walking a few steps and getting in the car, Tang Man suddenly remembered something as she was fastening her seatbelt. She looked at him with some hesitation.

If she understood correctly, the person Old Tang hit was Yang Qing’s boyfriend. Calculated this way, wouldn’t that be Mr. Gu? And that happened to be Bei Ling’s uncle.

Bei Ling noticed Tang Man’s expression and looked over without any reaction. After meeting her gaze, he asked, “Is something wrong?”

It was just that Tang Man’s expression was too strange to ignore. At first, he even subconsciously checked his own appearance.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Tang Man fastened her seatbelt and remained silent for a while before asking with some difficulty, “How is your relationship with your uncle?”

Bei Ling had just started the car at this time, and the vehicle drove out. He turned the steering wheel and looked in the rearview mirror, pondering the purpose of Tang Man asking this question, but he had no clue. This question was too abrupt, leaving him with no way to guess. So in the end, he still decided to answer truthfully, “Actually, we’re not very close.”

Feeling Tang Man’s gaze, Bei Ling explained, “My father remarried a year ago and brought over a daughter from that side. Mr. Gu is actually my sister’s biological uncle and isn’t very close to me.”

Only then did Tang Man find it strange, “Then last time?”

Bei Ling glanced at Tang Man and deliberated in his heart before speaking, “It was also a coincidence. I learned last time that Mr. Gu was your mother’s boyfriend and that you were going to have a meal together, so I took the initiative to mention that I could go.”

He said, “It was also the first time Mr. Gu met you. He was a bit nervous and was afraid of not finding common topics with you, making you feel awkward sitting together, so he invited me, a peer, to accompany.”

Hearing this, Tang Man was deep in thought. She leaned against the car window, looking at the young man’s profile.

Her gaze swept over his full forehead, long lashes, straight nose bridge, and thin lips. She couldn’t help but sigh, “Bei Ling, I can’t imagine that you’ve never been in a relationship.”

“Under such pursuit, very few people can refuse you.”

Hearing this, Bei Ling suddenly laughed. It was truly a case of spring breeze suddenly arriving overnight, causing thousands of pear trees to bloom.

Sometimes white flowers are sweet white, and sometimes they are pale and light.

Si Jiahe was the former, while Bei Ling should be the latter. Tang Man thought idly.

He turned his head and glanced at Tang Man’s expression, quickly passing over the look on her face as she said that, and then let his gaze fall on the road ahead.

Then, in a very casual and nonchalant tone, he said a sentence, trying to make it not seem too deliberate, more like an unintentional joke.

“Senior, can you refuse then?”

However, after he said this, he suddenly remembered that he had already been rejected once. The bit of joy that had just risen in his heart instantly vanished. At the moment when his mood took a sharp turn downward, he pursed his lips, about to change the subject, but heard Tang Man’s casual voice resound inside the car.

“Can’t refuse.”

It was really very hard to refuse. Tang Man suddenly discovered that with some temptations, no matter what, you would eventually find that if you didn’t take a bite, you wouldn’t be able to get over this hurdle.