She silently finished watching a small episode of the variety show and ate the last small segment of orange in her hand. After wiping her hands with a tissue, she said a few words to Old Tang to recover well and prepared to leave.

Tang Man felt that she was not the type to be a leader. Since her student days, she was the kind of person who just got by. In terms of personality, she was more like Madam Yang. Perhaps it was because of this aspect that Old Tang loved the house and the crow, and was quite indulgent with her.

Old Tang was still persuading her while lying on the hospital bed, but her phone on the sofa started vibrating.

The caller ID showed Du Henian.

She said a word to the person on the bed, picked up the phone, and walked outside.

Seeing this, Old Tang couldn’t help but mutter a few words, “Answering a call, acting so sneaky.”

Tang Man ignored him.

Old Tang had no choice but to say at least one sentence before she closed the door, “Tell Assistant Xie to come in for a moment, I’ll instruct him on some company matters that need to be handed over.”

Tang Man grunted and walked out. While answering the phone, as soon as she left the room, she saw Assistant Xie standing by the window in front, looking outside the building.

She took the opportunity to appreciate the man’s figure while listening to Du Henian inquiring on the phone about what had happened to her.

When their eyes met, she didn’t say a word, only pointed in the direction of the ward, indicating that Old Tang had something to find him for, and then stood where Xie Li had been standing to answer the phone.

Xie Li nodded and walked towards the ward. Before entering, he couldn’t help but look back.

The woman by the window was leaning against the windowsill, her face half-turned to look out the window, her eyelids lowered, and the loose hair on her temples falling on her smooth, fair skin like mutton fat jade, actually showing a docile laziness.

But he knew this was an illusion. He had been by Chairman Tang’s side for many years and had handled quite a few matters for this Miss Tang. When he first arrived at Chairman Tang’s side, the first thing he handled was related to this Miss Tang.

At that time, Tang Man was still in high school. Chairman Tang received a call from the school teacher, saying that Miss Tang had gotten into a fight at school and caused big trouble.

Chairman Tang was busy with affairs at the time and couldn’t spare the time. After making sure his daughter was not at a disadvantage, he very boldly let Xie Li, who had just started working on the first day, go to that private high school.

The students at that private high school were all children from wealthy families. For someone of Xie Li’s social class, he would not have had contact with this place before.

Entering the school, he found the office.

Inside, it was a chaotic scene. The teachers stood by helplessly, while several boys were pulling and tugging at each other, occasionally spitting out some dirty words.

At that moment, Xie Li suddenly realized that those educated children from the upper class were no different from those who came out of broken buildings when it came to cursing.

“Are you the one sent by Old Tang?” The girl leaning by the window in her school uniform skirt spoke up at that time, calling out to the dazed people here.

He looked over.

“Yes, I am Xie Li. Chairman Tang sent me to handle Miss Tang’s matter.”

Thinking back now, the sunlight that day was too dazzling. It shone through the window into the room, all with endless halos, enveloping that girl in a layer of sunlight.

But the girl, who was only in her teens at the time, had a cold expression. Her gaze only lingered on him for a few seconds before casually shifting away, looking at a pot of flowers on the windowsill, as if the withered branches and leaves on it were more interesting than the chaos in front of her.

“Since you’re here, you handle the rest. I have classes to attend later.”

After saying this, she left leisurely, leaving behind the boys in the office who were still arguing because of her.

In the prime of their youth, they fought each other for a glance from the girl, uttering malicious words, pinning crude terms like “bitch” on their classmates. Their jealousy and possessiveness at a young age made them unable to suppress the anger in their bodies.

But until the end, that girl never looked back.

The still young Xie Li stood in the office, looking at the chaotic scene in front of him. Somehow, a word suddenly popped into his mind—heartless. It seemed a bit too precocious and one-sided to describe his boss’s daughter, but it left a deep impression on him.

After standing for a few seconds, he withdrew his gaze and walked into the ward.

Tang Man did not notice Xie Li’s gaze on her. Her attention was drawn to a person downstairs.

It was not very clear from the upper floor, but she only needed to see that person’s back to know it was him. His body was thin and slender, his waist so slim that she could wrap it with one hand. When he leaned on her like a spoiled child, the shoulder blades on his back would tremble slightly.

After all, they had been together for more than two years. She had once loved that boy so much. During their passionate love in their youth, the two of them almost wanted to be together all the time, holed up in a small apartment without going out for a day, cuddling and hugging as if it were the fertilizer for their bodies.

At first, she was still casually and randomly responding to the man on the phone. After seeing the boy downstairs, her thoughts paused for a moment, and a pair of reddened cat eyes appeared in her mind, looking at her with tears.

It had been a long time.

After what happened back then, Tang Man never saw him again. Sometimes she missed him, but their relationship ended in such an unsightly state that she never contacted him.

Because she was not sure if this person, who was her ex-boyfriend, oh, now her ex-ex-boyfriend, still wanted to see her.

Under an unspeakable and inexplicable feeling, Tang Man’s gaze fell on the thin figure below, and she slowly said a sentence to the person on the phone.

“Henian, let’s break up.”

The other end of the phone fell silent for a moment, perhaps not reacting. Just as Tang Man had already assumed that the other party had accepted her proposal and was about to hang up, Du Henian spoke.

His voice was calm, but with a hint of trembling.

“Why?”

Tang Man narrowed her eyes slightly, her hand gently resting on the window frame, her back leaning against the cold wall.

She smiled, “Henian, I thought you knew.”

Du Henian did not speak, only the faint sound of breathing told her that he had not hung up.

Tang Man said, “That afternoon, you touched my phone. I know.”

She had always been mindful of her privacy and hated people messing with her things without permission. Du Henian should have known that.

In fact, Tang Man had long been tired of this kind of restrained life, but she just never said it.

It was only after seeing Si Jiahe, an old acquaintance, that she suddenly realized that she was no longer quite like herself.

The man on the other end seemed to be shocked by this sentence and was silent for a long time. Tang Man actually did not want to put it too bluntly, as it was not graceful and making the other party feel awkward was not her intention.

The person downstairs was still on the phone. Seeing that Du Henian was not speaking again, Tang Man did not give him a chance to think and refute. In the end, she gently said, “Henian, I hope you live well and don’t get stuck on me alone. Let’s not meet again in the future, or it will only increase the awkwardness.”

After saying this, she resolutely hung up the phone.

But she did not return to the ward and instead took the elevator downstairs.

The elevator was fast.

When she reached the ground floor, Si Jiahe had not left yet. He was on the phone. Tang Man did not approach him but stood a few steps away, looking at him.

It had been a long time. This boy seemed to have lost a lot of weight and become even thinner, as if he would be blown over by the wind. Lowering his head slightly, one could see the protruding bones on his back.

She looked at him for a long time until he hung up the phone and turned around.

When the boy saw her, his bright eyes widened in surprise.

In an instant, they turned red, as if he was about to cry. His whole body was a little flustered and at a loss. His feet moved a few times, but he couldn’t bear to take the first step.

Caught off guard.

Tang Man’s heart inexplicably relaxed a bit. It seemed that he still could not forget her. She smiled and spoke gently, “Jiahe, long time no see.”