The next day, when they went to Dihong, Hong Xiangfeng did not share a car with Li Tang and others; instead, he asked his driver to take him there.
When Li Tang and Hong Minhang got in the car, Li Tang suddenly asked, “Have you ever thought about buying a car?”
Upon hearing this, Hong Minhang nodded. “I’ve thought about it, but I haven’t decided what to buy yet.”
Li Tang said, “I’ll accompany you to take a look when I’m free.”
Hong Minhang responded, “Okay.”
The two cars drove towards Dihong one after the other. Hong Xiangfeng asked Li Tang and the others to go ahead. As they approached Dihong’s entrance, Li Tang noticed a middle-aged woman sitting on the flower bed outside the door. She was Yue Min’s mother.
After Li Tang called her and conveyed that there was nothing he could do, he stopped answering the other party’s calls. Little did he expect that she would seek him out and wait nearby Dihong.
Hong Minhang said nothing. He held the side of his face with one hand and looked at the figure outside the car window.
Li Tang didn’t choose to park there; instead, he drove the car to Dihong’s underground parking lot. He passed by the woman swiftly, completely unaware that the person in the car was actually Li Tang.
After parking the car and getting out of it, Hong Xiangfeng also got out of his car. He said to Li Tang, “Come to my office later.”
Li Tang responded, “Okay.”
Seeing Hong Xiangfeng get on the elevator first and leave, Hong Minhang stood next to Li Tang and asked, “Why don’t you go out and take a look?”
Li Tang took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. “No, she doesn’t need money. I can’t help her with what she wants, and it won’t work even if I meet with her.”
Hong Minhang suddenly took the cigarette out of his mouth. “You keep telling my dad to drink less and smoke less, so you should smoke less yourself.”
Li Tang smiled and said, “I know.”
Li Tang went to see Hong Xiangfeng. Hong Minhang was left alone in the office, standing next to the window. Looking down from here, he could still clearly see the figure sitting next to the flower bed.
Hong Minhang picked up the phone on the table, called the security department downstairs, and asked them to bring some water to the middle-aged woman outside, and then politely asked her to leave.
This was all he could do. As Li Tang said, if what she needed was not money, then there was really nothing they could do.
Li Tang came back from Hong Xiangfeng’s office less than an hour later.
Hong Minhang asked them what he said.
Li Tang sat opposite Hong Minhang, shook his head, and said, “It’s nothing.”
Hong Xiangfeng didn’t care much about Dihong’s affairs. He mentioned having tasks for Li Tang because he wanted to provide Li Tang with something to focus on, diverting him from other matters. The majority of pending tasks were still on Hong Minhang’s end. Hong Xiangfeng plans to discuss this with Hong Minhang later and request that he organize the workload with Li Tang more effectively.
Hong Minhang said, “When I was a child, I always suspected that you were my father’s biological son.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Li Tang smiled when he heard this. “How come?”
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“Yet he couldn’t even remember my birthday,” Hong Minhang continued. “He never cared about me. No matter what my grades were, he would never ask. I remember one time I called him when I was sick. In the end, it was you who took me to the hospital.”
Li Tang suddenly felt that the weak and pitiful Hong Minhang in his memory was back. He couldn’t help but want to stroke his head, but he was too far away, and there was no other way to reach him, so he said instead, “Gandie was too busy at that time.”
Hong Minhang shook his head. “Later on, I figured things out. He only had eyes for people who could help him make money, and everyone else was probably unnecessary to him, even his biological son.”
Li Tang said, “Don’t say stupid things, it’s not like that.”
Hong Minhang shrugged indifferently. “Forget it, let’s not talk about this.”
Hong Xiangfeng appeared in Dihong for a while in the morning, and left after talking to Li Tang. Li Tang accompanied Hong Minhang to work and had something to eat at noon. In the afternoon, Hong Minhang asked him, “What do you want to eat tonight?”
Li Tang then remembered that he had made an appointment with Bai Xiaoqi and said, “I can’t have dinner with you tonight.”
“Nn?” Hong Minhang looked up at him.
Li Tang said calmly, “I made an appointment with Xiaoqi to have dinner together.”
When Hong Minhang heard this, he smiled slightly and said, “Then I won’t be your third wheel.”
Li Tang said, “What third wheel, let’s have dinner together next time.”
“Okay,” Hong Minhang replied.
Li Tang drove to pick up Bai Xiaoqi after work.
Bai Xiaoqi worked in a restaurant, and the evening was often the busiest time of the day. It was rare for the two of them to get together, so they could only take advantage of her one day off every week. In fact, it was difficult for the two people to fall in love. Li Tang was not the kind of person who gets tired of texting and chatting with others. An occasional phone call was the limit.
Bai Xiaoqi probably felt anxious too. Li Tang was not young anymore. As a woman, Bai Xiaoqi was also at the age where she wanted to get married and settle down. She wanted to work hard to enhance the relationship between them.
The place Bai Xiaoqi found to eat was not a high-end restaurant. She usually interacted with a lot of people and was always aware of a person's mood. She knew that Li Tang would not like those kinds of places; rather, she found a small roadside restaurant with pretty good tastes.
Sure enough, Li Tang was in a good mood and, even after the meal, chatted with the restaurant owner.
The two of them came out after dinner and walked towards the parking lot. Li Tang suddenly said, “It would be great if we could open such a restaurant.”
Bai Xiaoqi walked beside him and said, “It’s not easy to open a small restaurant. It’s very tiring.”
Li Tang replied, “I know, but it feels pretty good to live a life of your own free will. It’s a nice feeling to stir-fry two dishes yourself, especially if you’re interested.”
Bai Xiaoqi smiled. “Stop joking, you can’t leave Dihong. How can you even have the energy to manage such a restaurant?”
Li Tang couldn’t help but look at her. There were some words that he didn’t utter, such as, why was it impossible for him to leave Dihong?
Li Tang drove Bai Xiaoqi home. Before Bai Xiaoqi got off the car, she asked, “Would you like to come up and have a seat?”
Li Tang shook his head. “It’s too late. You should go back and take a rest early.”
Bai Xiaoqi was a little disappointed. She said with a forced smile, “Okay then.”
Just when Bai Xiaoqi opened the door and was about to get out of the car, she suddenly turned around and kissed Li Tang on the cheek, then smiled and said, “Good night.”
Li Tang was startled for a moment, then smiled and replied, “Good night.”
After Bai Xiaoqi left, Li Tang felt that there was still a little fragrance left on his face. He didn’t know if it was the fragrance of lipstick or women’s perfume, but it didn’t have the same feeling that burned in his heart when Hong Minhang kissed him yesterday.
Li Tang shook his head hard and started the car.
Hong Minhang somewhat unexpectedly decided on a car and went through the transaction procedures to buy it.
After getting the new car, he informed Li Tang that he no longer needed a ride to and from work. Coincidentally, Li Tang had daily errands to attend to, preventing him from going to Hong Minhang’s office. Consequently, they didn’t manage to meet each other for a week or two.
It was already the weekend when Hong Xiangfeng suddenly suggested that the whole family should get together. After that, he called Li Tang, Hong Minhang, and his two younger brothers to join him for a meal outside.
At noon that day, when Li Tang went to eat, he took Bai Xiaoqi with him. He habitually arrived first and then responsibly ordered food. Bai Xiaoqi leaned next to him and held his arm.
Hong Xiangfeng and Hong Minhang also arrived.
Hong Xiangfeng recognized Bai Xiaoqi. When he saw her and Li Tang acting intimately, he already speculated in his mind what was going on, his face devoid of surprise.
During the meal, Li Tang formally introduced Bai Xiaoqi’s identity to Hong Xiangfeng. Bai Xiaoqi hurriedly stood up and proposed a toast to Hong Xiangfeng, calling him, “Gandie.”
Hong Xiangfeng didn’t say anything. He simply smiled, raised his cup of wine, and drank it.
After eating, Hong Xiangfeng asked Li Tang to come over to his house in the evening, and Li Tang nodded in agreement.
No one knew what Hong Xiangfeng’s intentions were, but Hong Minhang kept watching coldly, having a few ideas in his mind.
After dinner in the evening, Li Tang went to the Hong family’s house.
As expected, Hong Xiangfeng was at home and didn’t go out. However, Hong Minhang had not returned yet.
Hong Xiangfeng said bluntly to Li Tang, “If you’re just playing around with a woman like Bai Xiaoqi, then I can turn a blind eye to it. But if you’re serious about her, you better cut it out.”
In Hong Xiangfeng’s eyes, Bai Xiaoqi, who was the so-called lobby manager, was just a female drinking partner. As long as the guests would come out to talk and ask her to drink with them, she would still have to drink. Moreover, in this kind of work, flirting with others was inevitable.
Li Tang actually didn’t expect Hong Xiangfeng to look down on Bai Xiaoqi. He was stunned for a moment.
Hong Xiangfeng himself started from scratch and had lived through all kinds of hardships. Li Tang honestly couldn’t figure out why he had any reason to look down on Bai Xiaoqi. Of course, it was possible that Hong Xiangfeng had seen too many women around him in the past two years, especially those who came from entertainment venues and were accustomed to socializing. In his eyes, these women were probably not likable.
Hong Xiangfeng said, “I’m going to make the decision. If you want to play, then you can play. If you don’t want to play, then break off with her. If you think you’re old enough and want to find a woman to get married and settle down with, your Gandie will help you find a good one who is prettier than her and has better conditions. There are a lot.”
Li Tang didn’t refute it in the end. However, he felt that it was a bit absurd. He also felt that Hong Xiangfeng had no right to look down on Bai Xiaoqi.
Until the time he left the Hong family’s house, Hong Minhang still hadn’t come back.
At this moment, the sky was already dark. Li Tang slowly drove his car out of the Hong family’s house and merged with the traffic flow on the main road in front. He received a call from Bai Xiaoqi midway. Bai Xiaoqi was still on duty tonight and took the time to ask him if he had already had dinner. Li Tang replied, “I’ve already eaten, don’t worry.”
After hanging up the phone, there happened to be a red light ahead. Li Tang stopped the car and took advantage of this interval to look out the window.
There was a small square on the edge of the street. There were many shops in the square, with various kinds of restaurants, as well as fast food restaurants such as KFC. There was a parking lot in front of the square, just on the edge of the street.
Li Tang noticed at a glance that one of the cars looked very similar to Hong Minhang’s new car. Li Tang took another look and saw Hong Minhang walking out of a restaurant with an unfamiliar man.
The man was about the same height as Hong Minhang. From a distance, he couldn’t see his appearance clearly, but his bangs fell down to cover his forehead. He must be a handsome man.
Li Tang clenched his right fist and lightly propped it against his lips.
Hong Minhang then got into the car with the man. At the same time, Li Tang heard the horn of the car behind him and realized that the green light was already on. He had no choice but to start the car and leave.
At night, while lying on the bed, Li Tang couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. After seeing Hong Minhang together with that unfamiliar man, the original irritation he had about Hong Xiangfeng’s objection to him and Bai Xiaoqi faded away. On the contrary, all he could think about was Hong Minhang.
Li Tang, at last, couldn’t endure it any longer and called Hong Minhang.
The phone rang several times before it was answered. Hong Minhang’s voice was a little weak, as if he had been woken up from his sleep. He asked in surprise, “Li-ge? Why are you calling this late?”
Li Tang asked back, “Where are you?”
“Where?” Hong Minhang was dumbfounded for a moment. “At home, ah. What’s wrong? I’ve already fallen asleep.”
Li Tang asked again, “Are you alone?”
Hong Minhang fell silent for a moment. Then he asked, “What exactly do you want to ask?”
Li Tang held his forehead with one hand. “I saw you with a man today, is he your…”
“Yes.” Hong Minhang directly replied in a clear voice.
Li Tang called out, “Minhang…” He wanted to persuade Hong Minhang, but he didn’t know how.
Hong Minhang said, “Li-ge, you won’t probably understand, so there’s no need for you to say anything. I know what kind of life I want to live.”
Li Tang sighed softly.
Hong Minhang said, “It’s you, Li-ge. Do you really know what you want?”
Thank you for the update🌺