He would say, why couldn’t Tang Yuan be his daughter? They say a fierce father never raises cowardly sons. He could be considered a fierce father, right? So how did he end up with Tang Man, such an aimless good-for-nothing?

Of course, each time, Tang Man would respond without any sense of guilt, “Maybe I take after my mom.”

Then Old Tang would sigh deeply and stop criticizing her, lost in his own emotions and forgetting about the topic.

Tang Man gave a simple greeting to the people in the ward and found a place to sit not too far from the bed, too lazy to fight for a spot with the two people in front of her.

Her gaze fell on Old Tang’s face, and she couldn’t help but frown, raising her eyebrows.

She didn’t know the situation on Gu Yuanke’s side, but at least from the surface, Old Tang’s condition seemed somewhat severe.

It looked like he had been beaten badly. Old Tang’s face was a patchwork of red and blue, covered in fist-shaped marks everywhere. It was clear that the blows had been deliberately aimed at his face, driven by immense anger.

Tang Man couldn’t help but comment, “Dad, how old are you? And you’re still getting into fights.”

One of the uncles on the side quickly reprimanded her, “Tang Man, is that any way to talk to your father? Show some respect.”

Old Tang didn’t seem to mind, as it wasn’t the first time Tang Man had been impudent.

He waved his hand and told everyone in the ward to leave, keeping only Tang Man inside to discuss some private matters.

Upon seeing this, the two uncles’ faces turned unpleasant. They thought that perhaps it was about group business matters and clearly had more to say. However, when they met Old Tang’s gaze, their hearts skipped a beat, and all the words got stuck in their throats.

Although they were the elder brothers, they had never been the ones in charge at home. It had always been like this, from a young age. Their parents favored the third brother and eventually handed over the main authority of the group to him.

However, the third brother had also proven himself capable. During his decades in charge, the company’s scale had expanded several times, and the industries it was involved in had become increasingly diverse. It had basically turned into a comprehensive enterprise.

Thus, under the pressure of such an imposing presence, they didn’t say a word, not daring to speak. They glanced at Tang Man and walked out somewhat hesitantly.

That cousin also followed them out. Tang Man glanced at her before shifting her gaze back to Old Tang. She smiled and said, “What do you want to talk about? Making such a big fuss and kicking everyone out?”

Xie Li didn’t leave, standing by the door.

Tang Zhengfeng sat on the bed, half-leaning against the pillow, and looked at Tang Man for a while. The restlessness and liveliness brought by the group of people earlier had settled down in the ward. She could even hear the voices of men and women talking in the corridor outside.

However, some things remained, such as the heavy smell of cigarette smoke. Someone had been smoking in the ward just now, or rather, someone who smoked had come in and left the smell behind.

Tang Man felt her nose itching again, feeling uncomfortable. She couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose.

Old Tang noticed this action and spoke in a relatively calm voice, “Not feeling well?”

He turned his head to Xie Li and said, “Open the windows a bit to let some air in.”

Xie Li nodded.

Watching the man’s movements, Tang Man couldn’t help but laugh. “Dad, you kicked all the uncles out but kept Assistant Xie here. Aren’t you afraid they’ll make a fuss?”

Old Tang said indifferently, “They can’t make a fuss.”

As the saying goes, power grows out of the barrel of a gun.

In their family, shares and economic rights were the guns. Without them, one basically had no say. Secondly, most of the Tang family members were good-for-nothings. So sometimes Tang Man felt that she was not like Yang Qing, but more like the Tang family – a nest of salted fish. It was very rare for two carps like Old Tang and Tang Yuan to swim against the current.

Generally speaking, most of the Tang family members were supported by Old Tang. The money given out by the family fund each year was no joke. Obedience was a prerequisite for receiving it.

Xie Li glanced at Tang Man who had mentioned him and quickly withdrew his gaze. He stood in this position again, looking at the pedestrians and green trees downstairs, but in his mind was the man who had followed behind Tang Man in the ward just now.

He looked very young, with delicate features. He was a stranger, yet felt familiar, as if he had been seen somewhere before.

Xie Li trusted his memory. Since there was a certain sense of familiarity, he must have seen this person in some place. He usually attended public occasions and rarely met strangers in private. Most of the time, he dined with company partners or attended banquets and meetings.

In just a short period of time, had Si Jiahe already become a thing of the past?

It was faster than he had imagined, but Xie Li didn’t feel much joy in his heart because of the man who had appeared outside.

It seemed that there was never an empty seat beside that woman. In such a short time, she couldn’t help but find someone else again.

Xie Li couldn’t help but tightly grip the edge of the window sill with his hand. Only when he felt the pain from his fingernails did he come back to his senses.

Snapping out of his wandering thoughts, he faced the two people in the ward and smiled. “President Tang, Young Miss, I have something to attend to and need to go out for a bit.”

He left the ward, looked down at the wound on his thumb, and curled his lips. Passing through the group of people in the corridor, he walked towards the outside. After a few steps, he saw the young man who had followed behind Tang Man earlier at the corner.

The young man was sitting on a chair in the corridor, wearing headphones and swiping his phone. Sensing someone approaching, he subconsciously looked up. At first, he thought it was Tang Man and wondered how she had come out so quickly. But when he raised his head, he met Xie Li’s gaze.

He recognized that this was the person who had opened the ward door and called Tang Man in just now. He seemed to have the surname Xie.

Out of courtesy, Pei Ling still took off his headphones and gave a slight nod in greeting, then quietly waited for the other party to leave. Unexpectedly, the man in front of him seemed to glance at his own thumb. To his surprise, the man didn’t leave but walked towards him.

“Mr. Pei?”

Xie Li sat down beside Pei Ling, calling out Pei Ling’s surname.

Pei Ling turned his head, somewhat surprised. “Mr. Xie knows me?”

He tried to recall but found no images related to this person in his memory. After withdrawing from his recollection and facing Xie Li’s somewhat intrusive gaze, he couldn’t help but frown.

He vaguely sensed an indescribable hostility, perhaps it was his misconception. He wasn’t familiar with the man in front of him, and they could even be said to not know each other.

So, with a distant smile, he said, “I don’t seem to know Mr. Xie.”

However, in that instant just now, Xie Li remembered where he had seen the other party before. Previously, he had accompanied President Tang to attend a conference somewhere. They had encountered each other at the hotel.

At that time, this young man was just a foil, accompanying a middle-aged man. The other party had casually introduced him as a younger member of the family, brought along to gain some experience. He hadn’t been specifically introduced, so Xie Li didn’t recall him at first.

So he briefly mentioned, “We had a brief encounter at a hotel when attending a conference in H City before.”

Only then did Pei Ling recall a fragmentary image. He happened to have time during his summer vacation, so he had followed an elder of the family to the summit and looked around. He studied finance, so he needed to get familiar with this circle early on and have some resources in hand. Otherwise, he would forever remain at the bottom.

At that time, he had met too many people, a bunch of uncles and fathers, and collected a pile of business cards. Most people only left a very faint impression in his mind, and Xie Li was one of those faint impressions.

In fact, even now, he couldn’t recall when he had met Xie Li. But out of politeness, he still nodded, put away the headphones in his hand, and placed them in the pocket on one side of his clothes. He hesitantly opened his mouth.

“So what does Mr. Xie want with me?”

Xie Li smiled, a very polite smile. “Does Mr. Pei have feelings for Tang Man?”