Chapter 58 The Journey "Next time you want to slap me, you don't need to make up an excuse."...

As soon as Tang Yi entered the guesthouse, she urged Zhang Minglang to take a shower. She then sat cross-legged on the bay window, fiddling with her phone, adding Zhang Minglang on WeChat again, and preparing to call Xu Xiaoxiao.

However, before she could decide what to say, Xu Xiaoxiao preemptively attacked.

As soon as the call connected, Xu Xiaoxiao's voice came through first: "Hello, Xiaoyiyi, where are you playing?"

Tang Yi chuckled and narrowed her eyes: "And you, where are you playing?"

Xu Xiaoxiao paused for a few seconds before saying, "Where could I go? I've been to all the places around here, there's nothing fun to do, so I just picked a random little place."

As if feeling guilty and afraid that Tang Yi would think something was wrong, Xu Xiaoxiao immediately asked, "Who took that photo of you in that cheongsam?"

Tang Yi reached out and touched her neck, her confidence waning: "I hired a photographer."

"Come on, photographer! If you're a real professional photographer, you're probably going to be out of a job."

She paused, her tone becoming ambiguous: "Is this your CEO Zhang? Wow, you two are going on a trip together so soon. How many rooms did you book?"

Tang Yi knew which direction Xu Xiaoxiao was trying to steer her towards, and she was about to say something when she suddenly heard the rustling of clothes behind her. Then a warm chest pressed against her, stimulating her back skin through her thin cheongsam.

Tang Yi turned her head in a bit of a panic, and Zhang Minglang had already moved closer. He stretched out his arm across Tang Yi's slender waist and rubbed against her lower abdomen through the fabric of her cheongsam.

He hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, without saying a word, just holding her like that.

Tang Yi felt a drop of cool water fall onto her neck and slide down. She raised her elbow and gently arched her back, silently mouthing to him, "Go blow-dry your hair."

But Zhang Minglang was different. He even deliberately shook his head violently, flicking the water droplets from his hair onto her face, looking exactly like a big dog.

Tang Yi couldn't help but click her tongue.

Xu Xiaoxiao, on the other end of the microphone, was unaware of the situation: "What's wrong? Is this question so difficult to answer?"

Tang Yi then realized she was still on the phone. She hurriedly answered, "We booked a guesthouse, a suite with two small rooms..."

As if deliberately trying to make things difficult for her, Zhang Minglang tightened his grip on her from behind, and Tang Yi was practically sitting in his lap.

But Tang Yi was a patient person, and she endured it without uttering a sound.

Xu Xiaoxiao was still laughing across from her, muttering something, but Tang Yi could barely hear her anymore. She wasn't comfortable sitting there, so she shifted her position slightly, only to feel herself bumping into something.

Zhang Minglang responded to her guess with a low groan.

She turned her head stiffly.

Hearing the noise, Xu Xiaoxiao asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Tang Yi's voice trembled slightly, but she remained calm: "I bumped my knee."

Unable to predict what Zhang Minglang might do next, and wanting to finish the call quickly and get away from him, Tang Yi went straight to the point: "Stop talking about me, let's talk about you. You and Cheng He, how did you end up together?"

Xu Xiaoxiao on the other end of the phone seemed to be muted, remaining silent for a long time.

This created a great opportunity for Zhang Minglang.

He pressed his body closer to Tang Yi's back, reached out and brushed aside Tang Yi's long hair, which had been untied and was now loose, and gently kissed her neck, moving upwards.

Tang Yi's cool skin suddenly pressed against her warm, moist lips, feeling an itch as if she were being bitten by ants.

The more she tried to break free, the tighter she was held.

A thin layer of sweat clung to her body, clinging to her thin cheongsam. She tried to kick him away, but found her legs were also pinned down by his.

On the other end, Xu Xiaoxiao was excitedly recounting the whole story, while Tang Yi was tightly held by this heartless man, unable to move, and could only let him kiss her.

As if discovering that Xu Xiao had a lot of jokes and that Tang Yi could hardly get a word in edgewise, Zhang Minglang became even more audacious, reaching out to grab her chin and making her turn her head to kiss him.

Tang Yi kissed him tenderly, her fingers pressing hard against the phone speaker, trying her best to reduce the sound transmission.

She felt the blood rushing through her body, until Xu Xiaoxiao asked her something on the other end of the phone. She wanted to respond, but found that she didn't have a moment to speak.

So she went all in, using some force to push Zhang Minglang away from behind, and said apologetically into the phone, "Sorry, Xiaoxiao, I'm a little busy right now. Can I call you back tomorrow?"

Xu Xiaoxiao seemed to realize something, and repeatedly said "You're busy, you're busy" before hanging up the phone.

The world finally quieted down. Zhang Minglang's scheme had succeeded, and he was about to move closer to continue when Tang Yi pushed him away. She hadn't controlled her strength properly, and with a soft "smack," Zhang Minglang turned his head away.

Tang Yi felt a chill in her heart. She glanced at her palm.

Did she accidentally slap him?

Zhang Minglang, who had turned his head away, turned back and looked at Tang Yi with a confused expression.

Not only was he confused, but Tang Yi was also staring at her own palm in confusion.

Tang Yi knew she was in the wrong and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I didn't control my strength. I meant to push you away..."

However, Zhang Minglang grabbed the hand she used to slap herself, pressed it against his cheek, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Next time you want to slap me, you don't need to make up an excuse."

Tang Yi was stunned, her mind filled with the word "pervert".

The two lingered on the bay window for a while, but Zhang Minglang eventually stepped back first, letting her take a shower and go to bed.

Tang Yi's lips were red, even slightly swollen. She hooked her arms around his neck, pulling Zhang Minglang, who had already sat up, back down, her voice soft and seductive: "Just like that?"

Zhang Minglang's Adam's apple bobbed: "What else do you want to do?"

Tang Yi glanced meaningfully at the room door.

Zhang Minglang's palms were burning hot, and when he pressed them against the cool tiles on the balcony, his palms were covered in sweat, making it hard for him to stay still.

He stared at Tang Yi in silence for a long time. She showed no sign of backing down; instead, her eyes shone with a eager, almost provocative light.

Zhang Minglang finally lowered his head and whispered, "I don't want us to move too fast, and I don't want you to regret it. I'm clinging to you now because I like you, and I'm restraining myself because I'm afraid of disturbing the past you."

Now it was Tang Yi's turn to fall silent.

She never expected that the reason he kept avoiding her initiative was for this reason.

Tang Yi sighed softly, hugged his neck, and said, "Are you silly? I would have told you if I didn't want to."

Zhang Minglang shook his head again: "We have plenty of time, let's take it slow, okay?"

Tang Yi nodded up and down, the fluffy hair tickling his neck.

*

The two of them spent a very pleasant short holiday in the water town.

Zhang Minglang was clearly making travel plans for the first time, and he couldn't figure out the exact location. Sometimes he would follow the navigation and go the wrong way, and sometimes he would find the location after a lot of trouble, only to find that it was already closed.

Fortunately, Tang Yi doesn't care about these things. She's not the type of person who needs to check off tourist spots and take photos when traveling. For her, it doesn't matter where she goes as long as she's with people she wants to hang out with.

With this mindset, Tang Yi fully demonstrated her emotional stability and easygoing personality throughout her travels.

When Zhang Minglang was blindly confident in his terrible straight-man photography skills, Tang Yi would step forward, point to the camera screen, and teach him how to frame the portrait according to the proportions.

However, when she saw Zhang Minglang squat down for the nth time and subconsciously tilt his phone diagonally, she wasn't entirely without anger.

Tang Yi's lips curled into a straight line: "Try taking another picture with that phone tilted to the side?"

Zhang Minglang scratched his head: "But this way we can frame the buildings and scenery behind you."

At this moment, Zhang Minglang realized he had taken the wrong turn on the navigation, causing the two of them to wander into the alleys and get lost. After circling back to where they started, Tang Yi made a quick decision: they would just wander around the alleys.

Zhang Minglang looked a little dejected and put the navigation device back in his pocket.

Tang Yi's mindset is clearly much better than Zhang Minglang's.

She held his hand comfortingly: "It's okay, maybe aimless wandering will bring some surprises."

The two stopped in front of a small pushcart stall in the alley. Tang Yiyang looked up and asked, "You led me astray today. Are you feeling guilty?"

Zhang Minglang nodded in frustration: "I'm sorry, my strategy was terrible."

Tang Yi released his finger and pointed to the stall in front of her: "Then, to make up for your mistake, buy me a bowl of this."

Zhang Minglang looked up and saw several pieces of osmanthus cake neatly arranged on the stall, each piece sprinkled with tiny yellow flowers and emitting a fragrant aroma.

To express his apology, Zhang Minglang bought two servings.

Tang Yi nodded as she put the osmanthus cake in her mouth, "It's delicious."

Zhang Minglang turned to look at her bright eyes, and his mood lightened considerably. He naturally reached out and wiped away a bit of crumb from the corner of her mouth, then looked up and sighed softly, "Being a secretary isn't easy. I understand from your perspective."

As he spoke, he lightly slapped his face, his voice tinged with resentment: "How could I have been so mean back then, only thinking of making things difficult for you?"

Seeing him like this, Tang Yi smiled and pulled his hand down to hold it: "No, my work doesn't usually involve making such detailed travel plans. Besides, this is your first time doing it, and I had a lot of fun, isn't this perfect?"

Zhang Minglang lowered his eyelashes: "I just feel like I couldn't let you have a peaceful and enjoyable holiday. There were always all sorts of mishaps. I'm pretty useless."

Tang Yi lowered her head, forked a small piece of osmanthus cake, and held it to his lips. Zhang Minglang turned his head to look at her.

"I'm very happy. It's okay that something went wrong. Just treat it as a little episode that deviates slightly from the main plot. It's fine this way."

Tang Yi released his arm as she spoke, took two steps forward, and then stopped. Zhang Minglang looked up at her.

In the alleyway ahead, Tang Yi wore a beautiful navy blue midi skirt, blending seamlessly with the color scheme of the town's cobblestones. Bathed in the warm yellow sunlight streaming into the alley, even the strands of her flowing hair seemed to shimmer.

She smiled and pointed to a spot at the end of the alley, her voice light and cheerful: "Sometimes, if you walk slowly and look around, you can unintentionally find yourself at the place you want to go."

Zhang Minglang looked in the direction she pointed. A small, antique-style bookstore sat quietly at the end of the alley. A small triangular piece of cloth hung outside the door, with the words "Alley Bookstore" embroidered on it in white silk thread.

Several cats lay lazily on the wooden floor, enjoying a rare sunbath.

He looked down at the navigation page on his phone.

The route on the phone automatically terminated, and the words "Destination reached" appeared in the center of the screen.

Zhang Minglang put away his phone and followed with a smile.