0191 Changes
The next day, Yao Man noticed that the atmosphere between them had softened considerably.
It is said that body language cannot lie. Before this, Jiang Jifan had always been indifferent and resistant to Tantai Qing's physical touch. Today, their physical contact was surprisingly natural, and she no longer had that aloof look. Their interaction mode returned to the intimacy and ease that Tantai Qing had shown when she first came to the house.
"I'm full." Jiang Jifan put down her spoon, and Tantai Qing immediately put down his chopsticks to get a tissue to wipe her mouth. She didn't refuse and obediently sat down to let him wipe her mouth.
Seeing this, Yao Man couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
"President Tan, when do you plan to come back?" Just after finishing his meal, Tantai Qing received a call from Li Yan, who said that there was a lot of work piling up at the company that he needed to go back to handle.
He said something to Jiang Jifan and then turned and went back to his room.
"Where's my dad? Before he left, didn't I tell you that if you're unsure about something, just let him decide?"
"The chairman has been sick these past few days and is resting at home."
With the recent flu outbreak, Tan Jiming has probably caught it.
"President Dan, please come back soon." Li Yan glanced around, then covered his mouth and whispered, "While you and the chairman were away, some people started causing trouble again..."
Tantai Qing frowned. It turned out that the old guys on the board of directors had secretly done a lot of things while he and his father were away.
When he returned after graduation to take over the Tan family business, several senior members of the board of directors made things difficult for him. Ultimately, they were dissatisfied with his young age and took advantage of his lack of experience.
However, Tantai Qing appears to be a gentle person, but in reality he is ruthless. He started with a "courtesy first, then force" approach, and in the following years he broke the old and established the new. Several of the board members who loved to nitpick were all subdued by him.
He had only been out of the company for a few days when some people came attracted by his presence.
Li Yan said that those people had been gossiping about him a lot at the company, and now everyone in the company said that he was blinded by love, and some even went directly to Dan Jiming to complain.
Tantai Qing understood that they were simply holding a grudge because of what happened last time.
Last time, Jiang Jifan was publicly humiliated by Zhang Qing and others, and he held a grudge about it. He promised to prohibit the Tan family from accepting business cooperation with the Zhang family and other families. Several shareholders expressed their dissatisfaction. When Tan Jiming found out, he scolded him for not knowing what was important and losing sight of the bigger picture. The father and son had a big fight over this and parted on bad terms. People who liked to gossip about this used it as fodder for conversation and spread a lot of rumors.
“Even if this Zhang family is gone, there will be another Zhang family.” That’s what Tantai Qing said when faced with his father’s questioning.
"Dad, I won't back down."
Tan Jiming rebuked him for his arrogance and advised him not to let his personal affairs cause the entire Tan family to stand against the other families.
However, Tantai Qing only chuckled lightly upon hearing this. His eyes, hidden behind his gold-rimmed glasses, could not hide his disdain and arrogance. He said in a low voice, "Dad, have you forgotten who has been working tirelessly and painstakingly to make the Tan family the leader among all families these past few years? My efforts are not meant to make the Tan family have to compromise and appease people like the Zhang family."
Tan Jiming was rendered speechless by his words and finally left in anger.
"Understood, I'll be back in a few days." Tantai Qing pulled herself out of her thoughts and specifically instructed Li Yan not to alert the enemy.
He wanted to see what they were up to.
The moment he stepped out of the room, he quickly reverted to his gentle and harmless demeanor.
During their casual conversation after dinner, Tantai Qing hinted that she planned to return to City B within the next few days.
When Yao Man asked him about it, he only said that there was something going on at the company.
Jiang Jifan thought that something tricky must have happened at the company that required him to go back and deal with it.
Yao Man didn't understand business matters either, so she just nodded and didn't ask any further questions.
"Let me know once you've set a date, so I can prepare things for you in advance," she said.
Jiang Jifan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "I won't reply."
As if he had anticipated this, Tantai Qing immediately cast a pleading look at Yao Man.
Yao Man received his signal, pondered for a moment, and asked softly, "What's wrong, Ji Fan?"
She didn't give a reason, only saying that she wanted to stay at home.
Tantai Qing understood why she didn't want to go back to City B with him, but he couldn't say much in front of Yao Man.
Seeing this, Yao Man told him and then pulled her into the house to talk.
I don't know what they said, but when Jiang Jifan came out, her eyes were slightly red, and she looked like she had been crying.
Tantai Qing looked at Yao Man with a questioning gaze, not understanding what was going on.
Yao Man shook her head and quietly mouthed two words to him:
"rest assured."
Jiang Jifan never mentioned not returning to City B again after that.
"What did your aunt say to you?" Tantai Qing couldn't resist her curiosity when she went to bed that night.
Yao Man said a lot to her, mostly things she didn't know how to relay.
"I didn't say anything," Jiang Jifan said calmly.
Seeing that she was unwilling to talk about it, he didn't press her further. After hesitating for a moment, he hugged her tightly and asked softly, "Then...would you like to come back to City B with me?"
Jiang Jifan did not respond.
Just as Tantai Qing was disappointed and thought this was a "silent rejection," she suddenly said, "I want to stay at home for a few more days."
His eyes lit up, but he suppressed his excitement and readily agreed to her request.
They stayed at home for another week. On the day they left, Yao Man prepared a lot of things for them, carrying several large bags of miscellaneous items. If it weren't for the inconvenience of transferring flights midway, she probably would have added even more.
Before leaving, the mother and daughter lingered for a long time, reluctant to part, until Tantai Qing reminded them of the time, and only then did they let go of each other.
"Remember to let Mom know when we arrive." Yao Man reached into the car window and patted her head, her face full of reluctance.
Jiang Jifan nodded in agreement.
Faint wisps of exhaust lingered in the air as Yao Man gazed at the departing car for a long time before finally looking away.
On the other end, the car had only driven a few hundred meters when Jiang Jifan suddenly burst into tears without warning.
Startled by her tears, Tantai Qing quickly pulled her into his arms and whispered words of comfort.
"What's wrong, Ji Fan?"
Jiang Jifan couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she felt an unprecedented sense of reluctance to leave home, along with a fear of the unknown future ahead.
An uncontrollable urge to jump out of the car and escape arose in her mind.
However, as her desire reached its peak, her mother's words came back to her mind.
"Jifan, in moments of fear and helplessness, you can choose to trust the people around you."
The people around you?
She was surrounded by a man's warm embrace and his soft, comforting voice in her ear.
At this moment, Jiang Jifan could only rely on him tightly, trying to draw some sense of security from him.
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