Chapter 30 Advantages: "She really does treat me differently than she treats others."...
Tang Yi looked at Bai Zeyu as if he were a joke, and only spoke after a long while.
"If you're really serious, why did you suddenly leave the country without saying a word back then?"
Bai Zeyu's eyes were unfocused: "Didn't I already say that I went abroad to study? This is to pursue my future career. As my girlfriend at the time, you shouldn't have objected, right?"
"Pursuing a career? When I was falsely accused and slandered, you just said 'Do what you want' and then blocked me on WeChat and left the country without saying a word?"
"I......"
"Yes, back then you were just my boyfriend. You had no responsibility or obligation to handle my emotions. After hearing what happened to me, you impatiently pushed me away, left without saying goodbye, and cut off all contact. I didn't contact you again either. I told myself that maybe we were just not compatible, so I never blamed you. And you? Now you're back and trying every means to contact me. What exactly do you want?"
Tang Yi poured out all the emotions that had been building up for years in one breath, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from her heart.
Bai Zeyu was about to say something when Tang Yi interrupted him: "Stop talking nonsense. Just one question: what do you want to do?"
Bai Zeyu fell silent, seemingly finding it difficult to speak.
Tang Yi had no patience to sit any longer. She picked up her bag and prepared to leave.
"Wait! I'll tell you!"
Bai Zeyu panicked and quickly called out to her.
"I need to get married."
As he finished speaking, even he himself lacked confidence.
Tang Yi breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.
She already knew that the man in front of her was hypocritical, cold-blooded, and selfish. If he didn't need her help, he probably wouldn't even glance at her, let alone invite her to the coffee shop.
She sat back down, just as the latte was brought over and placed on the table. Tang Yi politely looked up and smiled at the waiter.
The waitress's eyes widened when she saw her face clearly.
She stared at Tang Yi for a few seconds, but then walked away with the tray. On her way back to the front desk, she kept turning her head, struggling to recognize who she was and why she looked so familiar.
Bai Zeyu continued to explain urgently, "Last year, I discovered that my father was having an affair and even had an illegitimate child. If I don't get married immediately to inherit the property and the company, my family's business will be handed over to someone else!"
He was extremely agitated and no longer cared about the gentle persona he had been trying to cultivate and maintain.
Tang Yi acted as if she hadn't heard, offering no comment or reaction.
She even had the leisure to reach out and touch the inside of her coffee cup, which was covered with water droplets from the ice.
He grabbed Tang Yi's hand, which was resting on the table, and pleaded, "We are exes, that's true. But please help me out, considering the year or two I spent with you. I really have to get married right away in the next two months."
The coffee shop was quiet, filled with the soft murmur of whispers. Bai Zeyu lowered his voice and looked at her with pleading eyes, which made Tang Yi feel utterly disgusted.
She forcefully pulled her hand out of his grasp and pulled out a tissue to vigorously wipe the skin he had touched.
"Ex? You still know we've broken up?" Tang Yi said sarcastically. "You kicked me aside when you didn't need me, and now you're thinking of me when you're getting married and fighting for your inheritance? What are you dreaming of!"
Realizing that there was no hope of marrying her, Bai Zeyu released all his strength and lay back on the chair like a lump of mud, his eyes instantly turning gloomy.
"Dreaming? Hmph! Someone like you, spending all your time surrounded by men, enjoying their praise, you must be very proud of yourself, right?"
Bai Zeyu has completely broken off relations with her.
Tang Yi felt no anger at all when she heard such blatant rumors and speculations.
She could even sit calmly and listen attentively to what other outrageous and disgusting things this person might utter.
Seeing that his words had failed to anger her, Bai Zeyu became even more aggressive.
"Do you know why I left the country without saying a word back then? Because I despised you! I was disgusted by you! When you called me to tell me you were almost sexually assaulted, I just felt disgusted! I'm a grown man, I wouldn't even look at a woman who's been used..."
Before he could finish speaking, a whole cup of latte was splashed all over his body and face. The sticky liquid soaked through the entire shirt on his chest, and even ice cubes flew onto his hair, which was sprayed with hairspray. He looked extremely disheveled.
Tang Yi put down her cup expressionlessly, the glass clinking against the table. Many people around turned to look at the woman exuding an aura of authority and the man across from her, covered in coffee.
She stretched out two slender fingers, pulled out a few tissues from the tissue box, wiped her sleeve where liquid had splashed on it, then stood up, picked up her bag, and looked down at him.
"You should be glad you didn't order hot coffee."
After saying that, she turned around and walked to the front desk without hesitation. Looking at the waiter who had served her coffee, she smiled kindly and said, "I'm very sorry to have troubled you. Please be sure to charge the sofa cleaning fee to the gentleman I spilled it on, thank you."
The waitress nodded blankly, staring in disbelief as she walked leisurely away from the coffee shop in her high heels.
She remembered who she was.
"Cheng Cheng, what are you standing there for? Go clean the sofa!"
Cheng Cheng suddenly realized what was happening and quickly ran backstage to get a rag.
At night, Cheng Cheng finished her part-time job and saw a message on her phone from her brother Cheng He telling her to "go back to Minglang's house immediately." She took a taxi and rushed there.
"Finally back, little sister. Come, come, come, I have something to discuss with you." Upon hearing the knock on the door, Cheng He jumped up from the sofa and pulled Cheng Cheng to sit down on the living room sofa.
Zhang Minglang sat cross-legged on the carpet in front of the sofa, intently playing the game controller while watching the TV screen, and didn't turn around to look at his brother and sister when he heard the noise.
Cheng He decided to start with a few casual words: "How's your part-time job going, sis?"
"It's great. Oh, by the way, I saw a lady I know today..."
"Okay, okay, we'll talk about that later," Cheng He waved his hand to interrupt Cheng Cheng, "I'm asking you now, if I book you a hotel right now and you stay somewhere else by yourself, is that okay?"
Cheng Cheng was startled: "You're so stingy, why are you booking a hotel for me? What are you up to?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Minglang, who was playing the controller, let out a soft chuckle of agreement.
Cheng He turned around angrily and slapped him, then complained to her sister with a pained expression, "What nonsense are you talking about? Am I that kind of person? Just tell me straight, are you willing or not?"
"Of course I'd like to! But why are you suddenly asking me to stay in a hotel?"
“Because…” Cheng He turned her head and secretly glanced at the back of Zhang Minglang’s head in front of her, lowering her voice, “because your brother Minglang is about to start dating, and it will be inconvenient for you to stay here.”
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Zhang Minglang warned without turning around, "Cheng He, stop spreading rumors."
Cheng He didn't care that the crickets had heard him; instead, he raised his voice: "What's wrong? I didn't say anything wrong!"
Cheng Cheng asked sincerely, "Minglang is going to date? What about the girl you met at the supermarket the other day?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Minglang felt a pang of guilt, touched the back of his neck, and remained silent.
Cheng He sensed something was off: "What supermarket? What sister? Zhang Minglang, you're so lucky with women?"
“Don’t talk nonsense,” he said weakly while busy operating the handle, “...it’s still Tang Yi.”
"That woman's name is Tang Yi? I saw her sitting with a man at the coffee shop today while I was working part-time, but I'm not sure if it's her. I even took a video..."
Upon hearing Cheng Cheng's words, Zhang Minglang was startled, dropped the controller, and turned around abruptly.
Cheng Cheng was startled by his sudden movement. Her hand trembled, and she pressed the play button on the video.
Zhang Minglang took a long stride and sat down next to Cheng Cheng on the sofa.
So the situation escalated to the point where the three of them huddled together, intently focused on the small phone screen in Cheng Cheng's hand.
All you can see in the video is her straight back and the elegant man sitting opposite her.
Zhang Minglang recognized Tang Yi and Bai Zeyu at a glance.
Seeing Tang Yi calmly raise her hand and splash an entire cup of coffee at the other person, Cheng He gasped, Cheng Cheng made a strange noise, and Zhang Minglang smiled with a good mood.
As the video drew to a close, Zhang Minglang calmly got up and sat back on the carpet, while Cheng He and Cheng Cheng, the two siblings, were still marveling at him from behind.
Cheng He: "Wow, is this really the Tang Yi I know?"
Cheng Cheng: "You're so cool, sister! That was the right thing to do! Scumbags deserve to be splashed!"
He had long lost interest in playing games; all he could think about was Tang Yi in the video, deftly splashing coffee on her ex.
Tang Yi was still the same Tang Yi, just like when he met her for the second time in Heaven, still the Tang Yi who was very good at splashing water on smelly men.
He unconsciously curved his lips into a smile, his heart filled with renewed confidence.
His ex-boyfriend was no match for him.
Even without his interference, Tang Yi was able to resolve the situation decisively on her own.
They've been bickering for so long, and she's never splashed water on herself even once.
She really does treat me differently than she treats others.
Zhang Minglang thought to himself with a smug smile.
After his initial joy and elation subsided, he began to wonder why Tang Yi, who was usually emotionally stable, would suddenly act this way.
Bai Zeyu must have said something offensive because he didn't think before he spoke.
He recalled Bai Zeyu's unclear voice in the video.
What dissatisfaction, what phone calls?
Before he could finish speaking, he had already won Tang Yi a whole cup of coffee.
So Zhang Minglang turned his head, his expression becoming somewhat serious: "Cheng Cheng, send me a copy of the video."
Cheng Cheng, who was still swooning over the endlessly looping video, looked up from her phone and agreed, seemingly confused.
As night fell, the outside world was pitch black and silent, with only a few calls of unknown origin lingering in the darkness.
The world was asleep in peace, but Zhang Minglang was still tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep.
Unable to sleep, he turned over, unlocked his phone, connected via Bluetooth, and opened the video sent by Cheng Cheng, repeatedly scrutinizing Bai Zeyu's words.
But his voice always sounded as if it were through a thin film, and it was always hard to hear clearly; you could only make out a few scattered words.
Zhang Minglang held his phone in both hands, casually draped it over the blanket covering his stomach, and stared blankly at the ceiling light.
What did she go through all those years before she met Tang Yi?
Until Monday morning, Zhang Minglang firmly believed that Cheng He's words the day before, "I'll accompany you to work," were just a joke.
He hadn't slept all night. Exhausted, he tied his tie and looked speechlessly at the other person in the mirror, dressed smartly and looking energetic, urging him to hurry up.
"You're just joking, but you're actually coming with me?"
"Of course! Let me experience what it's like to be a 9-to-5 office worker." Cheng He was excited just thinking about it and couldn't wait to fly to Junmao.
Zhang Minglang: "......"
As Zhang Minglang strolled into Junmao, he was greeted by a constant stream of people.
After passing by another employee who greeted her, Cheng He couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering her: "Why didn't you respond when someone greeted you?"
Zhang Minglang was puzzled: "I replied."
"So... that's it, we're back?" Cheng He mimicked his stern face, her head drooping slightly.
"Otherwise? Responding to them one by one would exhaust me before I even get to the office."
Just as Cheng He was about to retort, she suddenly heard a greeting from not far away.
"Good morning, Tangmi! Your dress looks great today!"
"Thank you, good morning." Tang Yi smiled politely. "I bought the dress from a physical store; there's no link."
"Oh, what a pity~"
Tang Yi wore a V-neck apricot-colored knitted dress, which perfectly accentuated her slender figure.
Her long, straight black hair flowed smoothly down her back, and a delicate silver necklace hung on her bare chest, the light reflecting off the diamond pendant and emitting a faint glow.
Zhang Minglang stared blankly at Tang Yi, who seemed to be glowing in the distance.
Cheng He turned her gaze away in surprise and found that Zhang Minglang was still staring straight in Tang Yi's direction, his eyes filled with indescribable complex emotions.
Cheng He understood immediately from his expression.
This guy seems to be a carefree and unruly person all day long, and he gets chased and scolded by Grandpa Zhang for being improper. But he is actually a genuinely pure-hearted man with high aspirations.
The person who could move him and make him fall for her must be no ordinary person.
After greeting her colleagues, Tang Yi turned and headed towards the elevator.
Even as she reached the elevator, she still didn't notice Zhang Minglang standing in the corner. Several more colleagues greeted her, and she smiled and responded to each one.
"His attitude is much better than yours, why didn't you learn from him?" Cheng He whispered, nudging the man next to her.
"Can you talk less?"
Zhang Minglang's expression changed instantly upon hearing his teasing.
Cheng He muttered something and then shut up.
He's still the same old deadbeat, completely unable to crack a joke.
The elevator doors opened, and Tang Yi squeezed in with the flow of people. Zhang Minglang followed closely behind, but was stopped by Cheng He.
"Dude, with a company this big, don't you have a private elevator for the CEO?"
Zhang Minglang looked at Tang Yi, who had already entered the elevator, and, afraid of missing the few minutes he could spend with her, hurriedly pulled Cheng He inside, saying, "Stop talking nonsense."
"President Zhang?" Tang Yi finally noticed Zhang Minglang. She glanced next to him and saw Cheng He, who had been squeezed into a meat pie.
With so many people around, Zhang Minglang had no choice but to suppress his many questions and simply hummed in agreement.
But Cheng He, standing beside her, was completely different. He looked very excited and forced a friendly smile at Tang Yi: "Hi, we meet again. You remember me, right? I was yesterday...!"
Cheng He felt a heavy blow to his abdomen and stopped speaking.
The men and women in the elevator heard the noise and all looked at him.
Under Zhang Minglang's threatening death stare, Cheng He pretended to be nonchalant and smiled: "It's nothing, it's nothing, I just suddenly have a stomachache and feel like I need to go to the toilet."
Zhang Minglang couldn't bear to look at him, turning his head to the side as if he didn't want to know this person at all.
Several employees around her burst out laughing, and Tang Yi smiled too.
She saw Zhang Minglang's elbow strike and understood that he did it to prevent Cheng He from accidentally revealing his identity as a bartender.
Having known each other for so long, she had to admit that although Zhang Minglang was a bit of a smart aleck, he was actually quite thoughtful.
The elevator reached a certain floor, and most people rushed out. For a moment, only the three of them remained in the elevator.
The atmosphere wouldn't be awkward with Cheng He around. He glanced at Zhang Minglang beside him, and an idea popped into his head.
He leaned closer to Tang Yi and asked mysteriously, "Miss Tang, what do you think of my buddy?"
Zhang Minglang and Tang Yi were both startled by his sudden and blunt question. They both turned to look at him at the same time.
Tang Yi took a step back without leaving a trace: "Just call me Tang Yi."
Zhang Minglang reacted, took a step forward, stretched out his arm, and grabbed him under his armpit.
Why are you pulling me? Let go!
"Are you out of your mind?" Zhang Minglang squeezed out each word through gritted teeth, his voice low, but Tang Yi still heard him.
"President Zhang is a very good person, with strong leadership and organizational skills..." Tang Yi's businesslike voice rang out while the two were still arguing.
She looked up at him, her voice filled with conviction: "When employees encounter injustice, he will not hesitate to uphold justice."
Zhang Minglang was stunned.
He looked up at her, trying to decipher the emotions in her eyes, and unconsciously loosened his grip on Cheng He's hand slightly.
Cheng He quickly slipped out of his grasp, smoothed the wrinkles in her clothes, and teased him earnestly, "I asked you to talk about his good points, why are you faking it?"
Tang Yi shook her head and firmly retorted, "I'm serious."
It was the first time Zhang Minglang had heard her genuinely praise him, and he felt a little embarrassed.
The elevator doors opened. To hide his slight panic, he quickly looked away, stepped forward, put his arm around Cheng He's shoulder, and walked out.
"What do you mean, huh? What kind of image do you have of me?"
"What kind of image do you have? You're arrogant and have a sharp tongue..."
The sounds of their argument faded into the distance, and Tang Yi followed behind, smiling to herself.
Cheng He is right.
Zhang Minglang is arrogant and sharp-tongued, and always gets angry, but he can be easily calmed down.
But more importantly, he treats people with sincerity.
Therefore, those traits that seem like flaws are no longer worth mentioning in Tang Yi's eyes.
Because Cheng He stayed in the office and wouldn't leave, Zhang Minglang couldn't find a suitable time to ask Tang Yi about what happened at the coffee shop yesterday.
He repeatedly hinted to Cheng He through words and glances that she could go and check on Chairman Zhang upstairs. After all, Cheng He and he had grown up in the same courtyard, and their families had always had a good relationship.
Zhang Minglang thought that Cheng He had no reason not to go and visit him, right?
However, whether Cheng He was genuinely naive or pretending to be stupid, she always waved him off, saying, "I'll go later, I'll go later."
After finally being pushed upstairs, Zhang Minglang breathed a sigh of relief. He figured he should have seen Chairman Zhang by now, so he prepared to send a message to Tang Yi to come in and have a good chat.
Zhang Minglang had just taken out his phone and hadn't even started typing when Cheng He suddenly flew in from outside the door.
Yes, it flew in.
The loud noise at the door startled Zhang Minglang so much that his heart stopped, and the phone in his hand tumbled several times like a hot potato.
Cheng He swaggered in with his hands behind his back and sat down at his desk.
Feeling guilty, Zhang Minglang turned off his phone screen and asked irritably, "What is it now?"
Cheng He spread his hands at him: "It's not that I don't want to go, it's just that the old man isn't here, so there's nothing I can do about it."
Zhang Minglang closed his eyes.
He had never hoped so much for the old man's presence.
Therefore, he was filled with resentment and had nowhere to vent it, so he could only stare at Cheng He's every move and find fault with him.
Cheng He idly tugged at the green plants by the window.
As if he had radar installed on his head, Zhang Minglang accurately looked up from a pile of documents: "Don't pinch randomly, it's water that Tang Yigang had someone water."
Cheng He touched the clear glass of the French windows.
Zhang Minglang stopped typing: "Don't rub it. Tang Yi just had the cleaning service clean it this morning."
Cheng He wandered around, feeling thirsty, and picked up the coffee cup on the table to pour some into her mouth.
Zhang Minglang jumped up and carefully snatched the cup from his hand, placing it carefully to the side: "Go get some water yourself, Tang Yi made this for me."
Cheng He scoffed, returned to the coffee table, picked up a disposable paper cup, and drank it all in one gulp: "Who hasn't had water personally fetched by you, Secretary Tang? Really."
Aside from occasionally picking a fight with Cheng He, Zhang Minglang spent the entire morning buried in his work. The files on his desk piled up higher and higher, requiring him to replace them with new ones every now and then.
Zhang Minglang even went out for a short meeting that lasted several tens of minutes.
Cheng He never expected that Zhang Minglang would be so serious about his work that he would completely disregard family ties, a stark contrast to his private self.
Then look at Tang Yi, she's constantly running up and down, coming in four or five times just to sign urgent documents.
He observed them for most of the morning but couldn't detect the slightest hint of intimacy between them.
The two had the most conversation that morning:
Zhang Minglang heard the knock and said, "Come in."
Tang Yi pushed open the door: "President Zhang, there's a document that needs your signature."
At most once or twice, Tang Yi would come in to refill his coffee. Even so, the two still didn't exchange a single word, because Tang Yi would always quietly come in, take the coffee cup, and bring in a new one a few minutes later.
If they keep working like this, what's the point of dating? They should just pack up and prepare to apply for model worker status.
Cheng He shook his head silently, exasperated, and pointed at his good friend who was buried in his work: "All you do all day is say 'Tang Yi poured it for me,' 'Tang Yi had someone clean it,' what's the point? Huh? Can anyone hear you talking about her through such a thick door?"
Zhang Minglang took his words to heart and stopped what he was doing. He slowly raised his head and looked at Cheng He opposite him.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Cheng He asked innocently, spreading her hands.
Zhang Minglang cleared his throat awkwardly, glanced at the closed door as if trying to cover up his unease, and finally fixed his gaze on Cheng He, his eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge.
"Then tell me, what should I do?"
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