Chapter 28 Awakening "I didn't blame you."
Zhang Minglang felt a strange touch on his back and realized it might be Tang Yi. He froze, and goosebumps rose all over his body.
He turned his head stiffly to look behind him, like a wound-up robot.
Tang Yizheng stretched out a few thin fingers to cover the tip of her nose.
Seeing the man in front of her turn around, she pointed somewhat embarrassedly to his back and said, "You got your foundation smudged on."
Tang Yi's eyes were bright, but now a rare hint of panic flickered within them. She instinctively lowered her gaze, trying to conceal her disarray, like a pebble suddenly thrown into a calm lake.
Zhang Minglang had never seen her with such an expression before. It was as if something had struck his heart, and a certain emotion was about to overflow.
"It doesn't matter."
He was already responding to her through physical reflexes, but his soul had long since drifted away.
Sun Yuyang took in the seemingly familiar interaction between the two. He clenched his fists on his knees, gritted his teeth, and felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.
Zhang Minglang turned around and saw Sun Yuyang, only then remembering what he had come for.
He snapped back to reality in an instant, cleared his throat, and resumed his arrogant demeanor: "Young man, focus on running your bar well and making money, otherwise who's going to date you?"
He looked up at the ceiling, a look of deep emotion on his face: "Back then, I studied abroad for several years, came back and became the CEO of the company, under immense pressure to achieve results every day..."
Upon hearing the word "President," Sun Yuyang was struck by a sore spot. Forgetting everything else, he impulsively interrupted him and poured out all the words that had been bottled up for so long.
"What are you so high and mighty about? You white-collar workers may look glamorous, but you know perfectly well how many shady dealings and messy affairs you have behind the scenes! You say you're the CEO, but can you honestly say that you and your secretary have a purely professional relationship?"
Tang Yi felt a chill in her heart and looked incredulously at Sun Yuyang, who had already lost his composure.
Based on their frequent interactions, she could sense that he might always feel somewhat inferior about working in a bar.
But she never realized that Sun Yuyang, like millions of ordinary people, had deep-seated prejudices.
Zhang Minglang was clearly angered by his words. He sneered and said in a sharp and urgent tone, "Is your thinking really that filthy? The moment you hear the words 'president's secretary,' you start thinking about those things? That's your inexplicable prejudice! If I thought like that, I would say that you have ulterior motives for running a bar and don't have a proper job."
Sun Yuyang retorted, sticking his neck out: "We're all human, what gives you the right to look down on my job?"
“Yes, we’re all human, so why do you view the secretary profession with prejudice?” Zhang Minglang pressed on. “Besides, all I’ve ever done is advise you to work hard and earn money; I’ve never looked down on your profession.”
He paused for a moment before speaking again, each word ringing out and piercing Sun Yuyang's heart: "You react defensively to the word 'white-collar' because you're insecure. You've never truly respected your own profession. If you don't even have the courage to respect yourself, what right do you have to demand respect from others?"
Sun Yuyang felt as if he had been struck hard by his words.
He had to admit that Zhang Minglang was right.
He's just insecure; he looks down on himself.
He was suppressed by his parents and ridiculed by his relatives. Over time, he even began to get used to other people's different views and comments about his "unorthodox" profession.
If one day someone stands up and says that there's nothing wrong with your profession, that you earn money with your own hands and feet, and that it's no less shameful than being a glamorous white-collar worker.
He would instead feel that the other person was mocking him.
Sun Yuyang said weakly, "What can I do? My parents and they..."
"You said it yourself, they are your parents, not you."
These words not only made Sun Yuyang raise his head, but also made Tang Yi, who had been listening silently behind him, tremble in her heart.
Yes, parents are parents, not her.
She thought about herself over the years.
Compromise after compromise, concession after concession, only resulted in increasingly harsh ridicule and coercion.
They set her up on blind dates, and she went. They made her do whatever they asked, and she even naively hoped for the next one.
"Maybe," she told herself, "maybe next time, my parents will learn to respect me."
Five years have passed, and her almost pleading hopes have ultimately been met with deception.
Tang Yi felt her eyes were very sore.
After Zhang Minglang finished speaking, all three of them fell silent.
"What are you doing, staring at each other like that?" Xu Xiaoxiao and Cheng He returned from not far away and saw the three of them looking at each other in a strange manner. They asked in confusion.
Sun Yuyang seemed to wake from a dream, and Tang Yi also came to her senses from her memories.
He sniffed, hurriedly called out "Sister" to Xu Xiaoxiao, and then disappeared in an instant.
Cheng He watched his figure disappear into the distance without even saying goodbye, her mouth agape as she pointed at herself: "Am I invisible?"
Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter, and the previously tense atmosphere instantly warmed up.
Zhang Minglang turned to look at Tang Yi with a smile. She didn't notice his gaze and was looking at Xu Xiaoxiao, who was laughing so hard she was doubled over, with bright eyes.
He looked at her profile and smiled contentedly.
Actually, he had ulterior motives when he said those things to Sun Yuyang.
From their very first meeting, he knew that Tang Yi's parents didn't support her work. Considering her unpleasant blind date with the overseas returnee, even a fool could guess that she wasn't happy sitting there.
Like Sun Yuyang, she was someone who was coerced by her parents' so-called filial piety.
But Tang Yi is much better than Sun Yuyang.
She has a strong and confident heart, and she truly loves her work, so she seems to have gotten used to her mother's harsh words.
But he didn't want to see her like that.
They don't want to see Tang Yi shining brightly in her secretarial role, but they always have to look back and care about the quagmire that drags her down.
But Zhang Minglang really had no right to say these things to her.
Don't worry about it, just be yourself.
He tilted his head back and downed the whiskey in one gulp, then turned to Tang Yi and said, "Cheng He and I are leaving now."
"What?" Tang Yi was focused on looking at Xu Xiaoxiao, only noticing the man beside her turning his head to look at her and his mouth opening and closing, but she didn't notice what he said.
Zhang Minglang didn't think much of it, leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I said, I'm leaving, have fun."
The hot breath hit Tang Yi's earlobe, and alarm bells went off in her mind. She jumped up almost instantly and distanced herself from him.
He was startled by her sudden movement and wide eyes. He only realized what he had just done when he saw Tang Yi awkwardly smoothing her hair behind her ear.
"No, would you believe me if I said I didn't do it on purpose?" He blushed instead, unable to express his grievances.
Tang Yi silently sat back down, holding the wine glass in front of her, without making a sound.
Seeing that she didn't express her opinion, Zhang Minglang became anxious: "Wait, say something! Do you want to call me a pervert or warn me to have some boundaries in the future? At least say something!"
Tang Yi said in a low voice, almost as if she were possessed, "I didn't blame you."
"What?" This time, Zhang Minglang didn't hear clearly.
The two were pulling and tugging at each other when Tang Yi finally lost her patience: "Fine, fine, you're a pervert. Stay away from me from now on, okay?"
Zhang Minglang patted his chest and let out a long sigh of relief: "That feels better."
Tang Yi looked at him as if he were a lunatic.
"Alright, I'm leaving." He stood up, waved to her, grabbed Cheng He (who was still arguing with Xu Xiaoxiao), and disappeared at the entrance of Heaven.
Although having such a large person sitting next to her made Tang Yi somewhat uncomfortable, it was undeniable that he provided a degree of protection. Tang Yi clearly felt that the intrusive and offensive gazes that had been pressing against her had decreased significantly.
Xu Xiaoxiao waved her hand in front of Tang Yi's eyes, and Tang Yi came back to her senses.
"Wow, sis, your boss is really something else!"
Xu Xiaoxiao clicked her tongue in amazement, picked up a piece of fabric from Tang Yi's shoulder, and continued, "Are you so familiar with each other that you can wear a coat on her?"
Tang Yi then realized that he hadn't taken his coat. She looked up and peered out the door, but the two of them were long gone.
She thought to herself, "I'll get it dry-cleaned on Monday and then send it to his office."
"Still reminiscing? He's gone!" Xu Xiaoxiao teased, seeing that she hadn't said anything for a while.
Tang Yi lowered her head, swirled the little wine left in her glass, touched her earlobe, and admitted, "I did play some tricks."
"Be careful not to get scammed. This person looks experienced and is quite shrewd."
"What are you thinking? Who's stupid enough to date their boss...?"
Tang Yi's first reaction was to refute. She firmly believed that, based on her many years of work experience, it was not difficult for her to draw a clear line between work and life and avoid unnecessary trouble and speculation.
However, this time her rebuttal lacked the confidence of any of her previous ones.
My alcohol tolerance definitely deteriorates if I don't practice.
Tang Yi felt her face burning and her head spinning. She immediately decided to go back. After discussing it with Xu Xiaoxiao, the two decided to go back to Tang Yi's house together.
After washing up, Tang Yi came out of the bathroom feeling much more awake, but also less sleepy, and found it hard to fall asleep.
Xu Xiaoxiao had already fallen asleep under the covers. She tiptoed into bed, staring at the ceiling with her eyes open, trying to drift off to sleep.
As I pondered this, my mind began to wander.
She carefully recalled the almost fantastical encounter and acquaintance with Zhang Minglang that had taken place over the past month.
From accidentally deleting her boss's WeChat on a blind date, to a chance encounter at a bar, to yesterday's "confession," and today, the scent of him lingering on her coat and near her earlobe.
Tang Yi felt her ears starting to burn again. She reached out and gently touched them, only to find it was just her imagination.
She glanced again at the windbreaker hanging on the clothes rack, and her mind became a jumbled mess once more.
When did Zhang Minglang begin to invade her life in every way?
Listening to Xu Xiaoxiao's regular breathing beside her, Tang Yi thought for a long, long time before slowly falling asleep.
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