As far as she knew, Xie Li’s parents only had him, which also meant that Xie Li carried all the expectations of his parents. Tang Man didn’t think that these ordinary parents would be happy to hear about Xie Li’s decision to marry into another family, even if they heard that the Tang family was wealthy.

But this was not a problem she should solve, Tang Man naturally thought. This was a problem that Xie Li should solve.

Even if they were together, Tang Man didn’t want to have too close of a relationship with Xie Li’s parents. She could no longer adapt to such an intimate relationship.

The long-term neglect from Old Tang and Yang Qing had already shaped her personality. She didn’t yearn for love or family affection; instead, she detested such overly close relationships.

So she naturally fell silent, not saying another word.

Xie Li also noticed Tang Man’s sudden silence. He glanced at the person beside him. The night had darkened, and no matter how bright the light was, the light and shadow would still hide certain hidden emotions.

So he couldn’t guess the reason for Tang Man’s sudden silence, because even he couldn’t guess that Tang Man was currently worried about suddenly having an unfamiliar set of parents.

In this silent atmosphere, the two of them gradually fell into silence, as if they had just realized the change in their relationship after the previous clamor.

They returned to the car together. Tang Man sat in the passenger seat. Just as she was fastening her seat belt, her phone in her hand suddenly vibrated.

After fastening her seat belt, the car had already started. Tang Man didn’t pay attention and didn’t even look at the screen. With one hand, she picked up the handbag that had fallen at her feet, and with the other hand, she swiped the button on the screen to answer the call, put it to her ear, and said hello.

The other end didn’t make a sound.

Tang Man picked up her handbag and looked at the phone screen in confusion. On it was a familiar name.

Si Jiahe.

Her hand paused for a moment, and she subconsciously glanced at the person in the driver’s seat. It was purely because the words Xie Li had said in that old noodle shop earlier had left too deep of an impression on her, making her, with her rich history, feel a bit guilty.

After all, Xie Li basically knew about every one of her romantic experiences, especially Si Jiahe. This person was clingy and never tried to hide it in front of Xie Li.

However, after a brief pause, Tang Man still spoke up, naturally and casually, as if there was no hesitation from earlier.

“Jiahe, what’s the matter? Did you need something from me?”

The other end fell silent for a moment, as if there was the sound of rapid breathing that instantly calmed down.

Tang Man pursed her lips, clearly feeling the gaze from the person beside her, as well as the suddenly slowing speed of the car.

“Man Man, I miss you.”

Suddenly, there was a suppressed crying sound coming from the other end, like a kitten whimpering, crying in a way that tugged at one’s heartstrings and made one’s heart soften uncontrollably.

Si Jiahe really brought out the crying act to the extreme. No other man could make Tang Man’s heart soften just by crying.

She answered the phone without much thought, so the volume wasn’t low. Although Si Jiahe’s voice was soft and low, Xie Li in the driver’s seat still heard it clearly.

He could now truly feel Du Henian’s feelings, as if something was stuck in his throat, uncomfortable but unable to spit it out, strangely and abruptly lingering in that place.

His hands tightly gripped the steering wheel. When he noticed that Tang Man couldn’t help but speak up, he suddenly stepped on the brakes and quickly turned the steering wheel, stopping the car under the tree-lined street on the side of the road.

Tang Man was startled, and the phone in her hand slipped and fell into the gap beside her, still lit up and in a call.

Her chest was tightly restrained by the seat belt, and she was thrown back by inertia, hitting the soft back of the seat.

She thought something had happened, but when she looked up, she found that everything was calm. The only thing that seemed unusual was Xie Li.

Si Jiahe on the other end of the phone also heard the piercing sound of the brakes, followed by Tang Man’s exclamation, and couldn’t help but start asking loudly what had happened.

The sound spread in the silent car.

Tang Man glanced at Xie Li in the driver’s seat. The other party’s expression was unpleasant, but he still showed consideration for her. His hands were on the steering wheel, tightly gripping it, with no intention of speaking up.

So, she bent down to pick up the phone from the gap, but after reaching for a long time, she found that her fingers couldn’t grasp it. When she wanted to squeeze herself down, Xie Li stopped her.

The man pulled her arm, his gaze calmly looking at her, staring at her. When he heard the voice coming from the phone below, Tang Man inexplicably also suddenly fell silent.

Xie Li’s lips moved. Hearing the voice coming from the phone that seemed to be mixed with static, he pursed his lips. In the end, he still didn’t say anything and just silently looked at Tang Man, almost silently conveying a certain thought.

After a moment, Tang Man finally lowered her eyes and looked at the phone screen that was still lit up below. She said, “Jiahe, the car I was driving had a problem. The phone accidentally fell into the gap, and I can’t pick it up. You hang up first. I’ll call you back when I’m back at the apartment, okay?”

Thinking that Si Jiahe was currently undergoing treatment, Tang Man’s words were as soft as possible, not wanting to hurt the other party, trying to reduce the sense of alienation between them after the breakup.

Sure enough, the other end only fell silent for a few seconds and then chose to believe her words, softly humming in agreement before hanging up the phone.

After a while, the phone screen finally went dark.

Tang Man glanced at Xie Li’s hand that had suddenly tightened a bit more on her wrist after she responded and said, “You can let go now.”

Xie Li looked at Tang Man and let go of his hand, but still didn’t say anything. He glanced at Tang Man and then turned his head to look at the windshield.

Tang Man suddenly noticed Xie Li’s attitude.

The other party seemed to be inexplicably angry, and this anger came out of nowhere.

Tang Man touched the mark left on her collarbone by the seat belt. The braking was too sudden. When the brakes were applied earlier, if it wasn’t for the seat belt, she would have almost been thrown out.

She spoke first, “Xie Li, you know he’s sick now. We can’t stimulate him too much.”

Xie Li’s hand on the storage box moved. He suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable because of Tang Man’s words.

She seemed to have never considered his position. She had just agreed to his words and then cast them aside.

“Tang Man, you just promised me that we would get engaged and maintain a one-on-one relationship,” Xie Li said, his hand sliding across the storage box. “I don’t like you continuing to be involved with him.”

“We broke up,” Tang Man said.

“A few weeks ago.”