Chapter 40: Xie Li, Let’s Get Engaged!

When she stepped out the door, she saw Xie Li sitting on a chair not far away. He wasn’t playing with his phone or looking at anything else. He was leaning back in the chair with his eyes closed, as if resting.

His brows seemed to be shrouded in a layer of gloom, and even in such a relaxed moment, his brows seemed to be slightly furrowed. Unlike Si Jiahe, Du Henian, and Bei Ling, Xie Li always seemed to be carrying a mountain on his back, as if bearing invisible pressure.

She stood not far away and watched for a while before walking over before Xie Li sensed something amiss. But almost as soon as she stood still, Xie Li opened his eyes.

Meeting his calm eyes, Tang Man blinked and asked, “You weren’t asleep?”

“Just rested my eyes for a bit.” The man rubbed his brow and blinked a few times, his gaze falling on Tang Man. “You stood there for so long, I thought you had second thoughts.”

He could feel someone staring at him from a distance. That kind of prolonged gaze could easily create an illusion, so in that instant, he resisted the urge to open his eyes.

She rarely focused her gaze on him like this.

Tang Man raised an eyebrow, “Second thoughts about what?”

Xie Li put down his hand, raised his eyes to look at the person in front of him, and said, “Regretting what you said in Chairman Tang’s hospital room.”

Tang Man laughed, “Not quite.”

“I was just thinking, it seems I’ve never looked at you from a proper distance before.”

Xie Li was initially a bit surprised to hear Tang Man say this. He looked at the woman in front of him for a while, his gaze lightly sweeping over her face as she said this. Then he stood up, tugged at the wrinkles on the edge of his sleeve with his hand, and walked out together with Tang Man, casually asking along the way.

“So what did you see?”

What else could Tang Man see? So she just said offhandedly, “I saw that you worked overtime again last night.”

The fatigue on his face couldn’t be hidden.

Xie Li pressed his lips together. He thought she meant his complexion looked bad, so now his expression really darkened.

But Tang Man didn’t notice and sincerely suggested, “I think you should take a proper rest. You should use your annual leave this year to travel and relax. There’s no need to push yourself like this.”

Come to think of it, Xie Li wasn’t that old, about the same age as Du Henian. He started working right after graduating from college, practically climbing up from the bottom step by step. Tang Man had never seen this man relax.

Xie Li glanced at Tang Man without saying anything. When the two were about to take the elevator to the underground parking lot, Tang Man suddenly remembered something.

Bei Ling was still waiting for her at the coffee shop across the street.

She had also forgotten to tell Bei Ling to go back first, so now she could only apologize to him. As soon as she got into Xie Li’s car, she sent Bei Ling a message saying that something had come up and she had left first in someone else’s car, so he didn’t need to wait anymore.

It was now just past four o’clock, almost five, the time for dinner. Bei Ling had waited for her almost all afternoon. Tang Man felt a bit guilty and said that she would definitely treat him to a meal next time when she was free.

But almost as soon as she sent the message, her phone rang.

The incoming call displayed an unnoted number. Tang Man’s eyelids twitched, but she had a guess in her heart. She hesitated for a moment and couldn’t help glancing at Xie Li in the driver’s seat.

The man noticed her gaze. His eyes moved down and almost immediately saw the incoming call display on her phone screen in the slightly dark car. From Tang Man’s gaze, he seemed to understand something. His actions paused, and he lowered his eyelids politely, asking, “Should I step out for a bit?”

As soon as he asked this, Tang Man was at a loss for words. She could only shake her head. This was Xie Li’s car, so asking Xie Li to go out wasn’t quite appropriate either.

“No need, it’s not a call that’s inconvenient to answer.”

Only then did Xie Li shift his gaze away. He started the car and began backing out, heading towards the exit passage of the parking garage.

In the darkness, Tang Man tapped the answer button, subconsciously lowering the volume. This kind of action was a bit like plugging her ears while stealing a bell. In the quiet car, sometimes even the sound of a phone button was so clear.

As soon as the call connected, Bei Ling’s voice came from the other end, “Senior, you’re not at the hospital anymore?”

Tang Man glanced at Xie Li in the driver’s seat out of the corner of her eye. She wasn’t sure if he could hear the voice on her phone, so she just hummed softly in response.

“Something came up, so I left first.” Tang Man heard the slightly low voice on the other end and subconsciously added.

However, almost as soon as she finished speaking, she felt Xie Li glance over from the driver’s seat. So her voice suddenly faltered reflexively, then she pretended to cough and said to Bei Ling on the other end of the phone in a low voice, “I’m really sorry this time for specially troubling you to drive me to the hospital. Next time when you’re free, you choose the time, and I’ll treat you to a meal.”

The other end seemed to sense something from Tang Man’s lowered voice and fell silent for a moment before replying, “Then it’s a deal, Senior. I happen to have some free time in a few days. Let’s have a meal together then. Senior, you can’t stand me up again.”

Tang Man laughed, “I won’t. Today was purely a special situation.”

After getting this response, since Tang Man’s tone was still fairly mild, Bei Ling followed up with concern, “Senior, are Auntie and Uncle alright?”

“They’re fine. My dad can be discharged after a period of observation.”

She didn’t like talking to others about her family situation. Although Bei Ling knew her mother and had an unusual relationship, having even had meals together with them, she sometimes subconsciously had a strange sense of boundaries.

She thought for a moment. Although Bei Ling said his relationship with Gu Yuanke was just so-so, there was still that bit of a familial relationship. So she mentioned, “Mr. Gu also seems to have no major issues, just some flesh wounds. He probably needs to recuperate for a while.”

Bei Ling hummed in response on the other end.

Both sides fell silent at the same time. This only made it seem extremely quiet. Tang Man felt like she could almost hear Xie Li’s breathing beside her. Bei Ling on the other end seemed to have no intention of hanging up, as if in a stalemate. In the end, Tang Man couldn’t stand it anymore and said something first to hang up the call.

This was the trouble with ambiguous relationships. When wanting to take a step back, it would seem like playing hard to get. So this kind of retreat would sometimes inadvertently create an indescribable ambiguity, further advancing the relationship.

Only after hanging up did Xie Li turn on the car’s music player. Familiar music began playing in the car.

“Bei Ling called?”