MTL - 30

Everyone has pride and fears being the first to lower their head, fearing loss.

They say that whoever falls in love first loses. I’m afraid too, but I still fell in love without hesitation.

— The Diary of a Little Rich Girl

First, she drew him a pig’s head, then called him sick.

Now, Tang Xin was like a porcupine; if he wanted to get close, he had to endure her pricks.

Tang Yu tightened his grip on the phone, standing at the entrance without moving, paused for a few seconds before reaching out to turn on the switch. As he walked in, he frowned: “Besides cursing me, do you have nothing else to say?”

Finally, she took the initiative to talk to him, and the first thing she did was curse him—it was all because he spoiled her.

Tang Xin was angry and huffed: “No!”

Tang Yu: “...”

At that moment, he deeply doubted himself. Did he really like Tang Xin, who was as prickly as a porcupine?

No, maybe he made a mistake.

Tang Yu unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt, revealing a manly and well-defined collarbone. He restrained his temper and lowered his voice: “Really nothing?”

The low and controlled voice of the man was strangely captivating at night. Tang Xin had never heard such a voice before. The current flowed through her eardrums, penetrating deep into her heart, gently stirring and creating ripples.

Tang Xin stopped stroking Juanhua’s belly, even feeling the illusion that “her ears were about to get pregnant.”

She quickly dug her ears, somewhat aggressively opening her mouth: “Nothing! What do you want me to say? Thank you for advertising for me, bringing me onto trending topics? Promoting my movie early?” She paused, generously saying, “Alright, thank you, Mr. Tang.”

Tang Yu walked to the coffee table, placed the book with the pig’s head on it, listened to her words, glanced at the book, bent down to pull out a box of cigarettes from under the table, picked up the lighter on the table, and walked towards the balcony.

He asked: “Anything else?”

Tang Xin: “What?”

“Words to scold.” Tang Yu leaned against the railing, facing the night breeze, pulled out a cigarette from the pack and put it in his mouth, lit it with the lighter, but failed. He frowned, turned around, leaned back against the railing, lit the cigarette, his voice still low and calm. “Get it all out at once.”

After venting, let’s reconcile.

He didn’t want their relationship to remain cold and tense; he wanted to ease things.

Hearing the sound of the metal lighter igniting, Tang Xin froze, imagining Tang Yu smoking, somewhat surprised.

She had only seen Tang Yu smoke three times.

All three times were when he was working overtime. She shamelessly stuck around for the free dinner just to spend a few more hours with him, happening to see it. Gao Assistant said that Mr. Tang didn’t have a nicotine addiction; he smoked only when tired, to refresh and invigorate himself.

Tang Yu...

Everything he did seemed so attractive.

Good-looking people had this advantage.

Suddenly, her anger deflated, bowing to his good looks, softly saying: “I’ve finished cursing for today.”

Tang Yu laughed bitterly, asking: “What do you mean by ‘finished cursing for today’?”

Tang Xin pouted, speaking confidently: “It means I don’t feel like cursing anymore today. Cursing too much can affect one’s mood and make one age faster or even go bald. So, I don’t want to curse you today.”

She found a perfect excuse for her softness and fluttering heart.

She couldn’t bring herself to curse him anymore.

Tang Yu: “...”

He glanced up into the distance, exhaling a puff of smoke, lips slightly curved: “Alright, you have a lot of twisted logic.”

Tang Xin frowned, what did he mean by saying she had a lot of twisted logic? Her computer logged into WeChat, and the editor kept bombarding her: “Sugarheart! How many powerful connections do you have?! Just received news, another reprint is needed!!”

This was already the umpteenth reprint this month.

Her editor was extremely excited, messages flooding in non-stop.

Tang Xin lowered her eyes, humphed: “Anyway, I’m not paying you for the advertisement! Bye!”

With that, she hung up.

Tang Yu listened to the dial tone, took the phone away, and frowned.

Seriously...

Did he ask her for advertisement fees?

…

Tang Xin checked Weibo again, still the same overwhelming scene.

What exactly did Tang Yu want to do? It couldn’t be that he simply wanted to push her onto the trending lists for netizens to curse at.

She’d been too busy cursing and getting angry earlier, forgetting to ask...

Distractedly replying to the explosive stream of messages on WeChat, including those from her parents. Perhaps due to her slow replies, Ms. Zhong directly called. As soon as she spoke, she startled everyone: “Tell me, which one of the directors or the CEO are you involved with?”

Tang Xin: “...”

Ms. Zhong huffed: “Or both interested in you?”

Tang Xin: “...”

She collapsed on the fabric sofa, her sleep dress rolled up to her thighs, her long, straight legs glowing white under the light. She swung her legs, turned inward on the sofa, and sighed: “Ms. Zhong, you’re overthinking. No one’s interested in me...” She thought for a moment, finding a suitable reason, “It’s just publicity for the new movie. Don’t worry, it doesn’t harm me. At most, I’ll be cursed by trolls online. Am I afraid? My editor just told me my book is being reprinted again. Isn’t that great?”

Ms. Zhong didn’t believe her: “You’ve been on the trending list twice with them. You, an unknown screenwriter, are almost breaking into the mainstream. You say there’s no connection? How could your father and I possibly believe that!” She huffed, “Just confess. Which one of them made you heartbroken?”

“…”

Tang Xin stubbornly denied: “No, really. Mom, you’re so capable, why don’t you become a screenwriter? Here’s the pen for you.”

If she confessed, she wasn’t sure if her dad would come swinging an iron rod.

That thuggish aura… She feared Tang Yu wouldn’t stand a chance.

“You’re being clever. Do you like your boss?” Ms. Zhong knew her daughter’s tastes. Since childhood, she liked elite men from magazines. That Tang Yu was genuinely handsome and very much aligned with her aesthetic.

Tang Xin’s heart skipped a beat, calmly saying: “No, I don’t like him, and he doesn’t like someone like me either.”

Tang Dawei directly grabbed the phone, frowning: “Xinxin, are you lying?”

Tang Xin dreaded being interrogated alternately by these two. She exclaimed in exasperation: “Really not! He likes someone like Ming Zhu, even pursued Ming Zhu. We really have no connection…”

Tang Dawei and Ms. Zhong exchanged a glance, reluctantly believing her.

Ms. Zhong snatched the phone back, changing to a smiling face: “Will you return for May Day?”

Upon hearing this tone, Tang Xin knew her mom definitely planned another blind date, hurriedly saying: “Busy during May Day, won’t return this time. Will visit you sometime later.”

Ms. Zhong was disappointed: “Alright.”

After hanging up, Tang Xin was exhausted. She blinked at the ceiling.

How to break free from this crazy love?

…

Over the May Day holiday, You Huan’s shop was bustling. Qu Wei hadn’t returned, and they hadn’t hired a shop assistant yet.

Tang Xin volunteered to help watch the store.

Three busy days passed, and the May Day holiday ended. Her appointment with Lu Zhixing was approaching.

Tang Xin inquired with Han Xiaoxiao and chose an afternoon when Tang Yu was at the company. She drove to Shiguang Pictures. Upon arrival, she went directly to Tang Yu’s office floor. Exiting the elevator, Secretary Chen saw her and quickly stood up, smiling: “Miss Tang, good afternoon.”

“I’m here to see Mr. Tang.” Tang Xin smiled back.

“Please wait a moment.”

Secretary Chen quickly knocked on the door to report.

Hearing this, Tang Yu’s expression paused briefly, showing little emotion. He glanced at Gao Heng: “Let her in.”

Gao Heng adjusted his glasses: “Alright.”

He walked to the door, looking at Tang Xin: “Miss Tang, Mr. Tang invites you in.”

Tang Xin smiled at Gao Heng and walked past him. Gao Heng considerately closed the door, glancing at Secretary Chen, whose face was full of curiosity, saying indifferently: “Back to work?”

Secretary Chen furrowed her brows, whispering: “Can’t I be curious?”

Gao Heng coldly responded: “No, last time it cost me a month’s overtime pay.”

Secretary Chen: “...”

Inside the office.

Tang Yu set aside his work, hand resting on the armrest, lazily eyeing Tang Xin walking over step by step. Today, Tang Xin wore a yellow spaghetti strap long dress, the bright color making her skin look as delicate as tofu. Her hair was longer than before. His eyes narrowed slightly, suddenly thinking she looked very beautiful.

He lowered his eyes, calculating the time. It seemed they hadn’t met for quite a while.

The last time they met was in the underground garage, where she said he never understood her world and refused to sign with him.

“Mr. Tang.”

Tang Xin stopped in front of his desk, smiling slightly.

Tang Yu’s gaze landed on the shallow dimple on her cheek. He lightly tapped his fingers on the armrest, retracted his long legs, straightened up, and walked out, lowering his eyes to look at her: “Want some juice?”

Tang Xin was taken aback, looking up at him.

For some reason, Tang Yu felt that her coming here wasn’t a good sign.

He leaned on the desk, pressing the intercom button: “Secretary Chen, send in a glass of juice, orange juice.”

Tang Xin frowned, looking at him: “No need, I’ll leave after I speak.”

Tang Yu leaned on the desk, arms crossed, gazing at her for a while, mockingly curving his lips: “What are you going to say? That you’re here to resign?”

“Ha, you guessed it? Very impressive.”

Tang Xin laughed, lowering her head to search in her bag. A strand of hair slid down with her movement, lightly swaying against her cheek.

Tang Yu fixedly watched her, frowning.

After a few seconds, Tang Xin pulled out a resignation letter and handed it to him.

He didn’t move, coldly eyeing her. She glanced at his crossed arms, stepped forward, placed the resignation letter on the desk, and smiled at him: “I’ll join the project team in a few days, and I can’t continue here, so I have to resign.”

She looked at his handsome profile, paused, waiting for his response.

Tang Yu slightly turned his eyes, gaze falling outside the window. After a few seconds, he turned back, looking at her face, calmly and restrainedly saying: “Joining the project team has little to do with your resignation. After finishing that script, you can still come back.”

Still come back?

Tang Xin was taken aback. She smiled: “No need, I don’t want to come back.”

Why would she come back?

Tang Yu grew somewhat irritated, frowning: “Why?”

Tang Xin blinked, truthfully saying: “Because our relationship is awkward, and it’s not appropriate for me to stay here. Moreover, Shiguang isn’t suitable for me. There’s no possibility for development here. Being idle isn’t good either.”

“Now I have other good opportunities.” She smiled, tugging her bag: “I’ll go now, see you when I have a chance.”

With that, she turned to leave.

What does “see you when I have a chance” mean?

Tang Yu turned his face, hand dropping to the desk, leaning forward to grab her wrist.

The young girl’s wrist was thin but soft and cool, warming gradually against his warm palm.

Tang Xin froze, turning her head to look at him.

Tang Yu looked down at her, his eyes like bottomless pools, unreadable yet filled with something. He said: “Are you really this carefree? Saying goodbye and leaving just like that?”

Author’s Note: Tang·Rebellious·Xin: Do you like clingy types? Not me!

Little Boss Tang: ...Piercing heart.