Chapter 45: Senior, I heard you’re engaged?!

After Du Henian left, only Tang Man and Xie Li remained sitting in the car.

After a moment of silence, Xie Li looked at Tang Man and spoke, “Where are you heading?”

“The apartment near Shanhu, it’s closer to work,” Tang Man replied after some consideration.

Xie Li grunted in agreement, started the car, turned in a different direction, and drove towards Shanhu Apartment.

Music played in the car as Tang Man lowered her head to play with her phone. She didn’t know what to say. Perhaps it was due to Du Henian’s appearance, but she sensitively felt that the atmosphere between the two of them had changed. Sometimes, just the identity of an ex-boyfriend was enough to make Xie Li care.

An ex-boyfriend she had been with for two years – oh, not an ex-boyfriend, but an ex-ex-boyfriend – was enough to make any man wary. Moreover, for Xie Li, who was still in an uncertain position, he lacked confidence and wasn’t self-assured that Tang Man had chosen to be with him because she liked him.

Although it was sometimes said that a relationship based on mutual interests was more stable, in reality, this kind of interest-based relationship made Xie Li feel less genuine and lacked a sense of security, like hanging in mid-air, always at risk of falling due to an unstable scaffolding.

Because emotions could sometimes irrationally bind a person, while interests could not. Since their relationship could start due to interests, it could also end because of them.

In the end, it was Tang Man who couldn’t give people a sense of security, like duckweed floating in the water, unable to take root.

“When I have time this week, I’ll accompany you to Du Henian’s place to gather your belongings,” Xie Li broke the silence.

Tang Man grunted in agreement but said after a few seconds of silence, “If you’re busy, I can go alone. They’re not very heavy items, and it’s convenient for me to drive there.”

It would be too strange for Xie Li to accompany her to Du Henian’s place. Moreover, “Or I can have Du Henian mail the items over. There’s no need for you to accompany me.”

Xie Li smiled, “I’m not very busy this week. I told my parents about our engagement. If you have time this week, you can come to my house to meet both sets of parents before we formally get engaged.”

Tang Man knew about this matter. On the night they returned, Xie Li didn’t mention it to her. She couldn’t help but speculate that Xie Li’s parents might not approve of their decision to get engaged, or rather, they didn’t approve of Xie Li marrying into the Tang family. That’s why they had been avoiding the topic for half a month.

Unexpectedly, under these circumstances, Xie Li suddenly brought up this matter to her.

Tang Man remained silent for a long time. Xie Li didn’t receive a response, and the uneasiness in his heart grew. He couldn’t help but glance at her.

“You… don’t want to go?” Xie Li asked this question with some hesitation. He wasn’t quite sure how he felt at the moment. He actually really wanted to ask Tang Man if she regretted it, if she regretted it on this day after seeing Du Henian.

He had been afraid countless times these past few days that one day, Tang Man would suddenly regret it and change her mind.

Tang Man glanced at Xie Li and shook her head, “I don’t regret it.”

She just didn’t like it. There might also be a hint of uncertainty mixed in. She actually didn’t like this kind of relationship where she was tied to strangers because of one person, even if those two people were Xie Li’s parents. They were still strangers, yet those two strangers were about to have such a close relationship with her. When she thought about it carefully, it was a bit scary.

Perhaps this was one aspect of marriage that she found frightening.

She paused for a moment, “You set a time.”

Only then did Xie Li grunt in agreement, and much of the uneasiness in his heart dissipated. He smiled and said with some reassurance, assuming Tang Man was a bit nervous.

“My parents have good temperaments and aren’t the type to make things difficult. They will definitely like you. You don’t need to worry too much.”

Tang Man smiled and grunted noncommittally.

It wasn’t nervousness, just adaptation, and this kind of adaptation made her feel endurance. Once the word endurance was used for certain things, the nature of the matter would silently change.

However, most people were unaware of this, while Tang Man was keenly aware of it. Perhaps this was a skill derived from the extraordinary precocity brought about by her different growing environment.

The car had arrived at Shanhu, and it was already late at night, but the summer night was still a bit sweltering.

Tang Man got out of the car in a hurry. She had an urgent impulse to enter the restroom and cleanse herself. The sweat on her body had already been dried by the cold air from the air conditioner, like a thin film wrapped around her, making it difficult to breathe as if she were confined.

However, Xie Li also got out of the car with her. Tang Man glanced at him in surprise, somewhat puzzled about what other business Xie Li had.

“Tang Man,” Xie Li called her name.

A very quiet voice.

Tang Man couldn’t help but stop in her tracks, then slowly grunted and looked at him. She was at a loss, but also a little touched. She began to have a vague guess as to why he was acting this way.

“I was actually very happy today,” Xie Li suddenly said.

Because that time when he saw Tang Man and Du Henian together at the hospital, he was really uneasy. It was not impossible for Du Henian to be a second Si Jiahe. Since Tang Man could turn back the first time, she might turn back a third time.

Tang Man quietly looked at him.

Xie Li met her gaze but smiled and said, “From now on, I’ll drive over to pick you up for work. It’s not too far anyway.”

After a while, Tang Man also smiled and agreed.

Xie Li grunted.

Only then did Tang Man turn around to leave. She walked a few steps but couldn’t resist glancing back at Xie Li, who was standing behind her. He had been standing in the same spot, watching her.

She thought, light was a strange thing, and shadows were also very strange. People always seemed to be mesmerized by light and shadows, which gave rise to endless emotions.

When Xie Li stood alone in the darkness, it was easy to create a strong atmosphere, giving him a slightly bleak feeling.

So when Tang Man returned to the apartment, the scene of Xie Li standing in the darkness was still in her mind.

She suddenly remembered a question Xie Li had asked her a long time ago.

Why had she never considered Xie Li?

She began to think carefully about this question and finally came to a conclusion: they had met too early.

The first time they met was in high school. She was precocious in temperament and liked fair-skinned and bright boys at that time. She disliked everything associated with maturity in men. It could be observed that the boyfriends she dated in high school were all very youthful, with fair skin, some of whom could almost be described as frail.