MTL - 37

Today, I’ll reveal a little secret.

Tang Yu, the first time I saw you, I thought you looked like my husband.

— The Diary of a Little Rich Girl

When Tang Xin was little, the family living across from her consisted of a middle-aged couple who were both university professors. They had a refined appearance and dressed in an elegant manner. Their son, in his early twenties, had just graduated and started working. Every day, he wore black trousers and a white shirt to work, clean-cut and handsome.

That family was a sight for sore eyes.

She then turned to look at her own parents. When Tang Wei was young, he was quite rough around the edges, with a large tattoo on his back that made him look like a thug. He was also rather rugged and would curse whenever he felt like it. Oh, right—when Tang Xin was little, Tang Wei ran a debt collection company and specialized in fighting for others. Even in middle age, he couldn’t completely hide his gangster-like demeanor.

Zhong Lijun often sighed as she looked at Tang Xin: “Thank goodness you look like me; otherwise, you’d never get married.”

Tang Wei wasn’t unattractive, just more rugged. Young Tang Xin grew up seeing the neighboring family of three every day, especially the neighbor big brother in his white shirt and black trousers looking so handsome. Then she’d look at her father and feel he was never quite good-looking enough.

Back then, to please her, Tang Wei wore suits and shirts every day. But no matter what, his temperament always seemed a bit off.

Later, when she was in elementary school, the neighbor’s older brother got married. Tang Xin went to the wedding with Tang Wei and Zhong Lijun. Seeing the neighbor brother in a formal suit, her eyes sparkled with admiration. She turned to Zhong Lijun and said: “When I grow up, I want to wear a wedding dress and marry a groom as handsome as him.”

The princess dreams she had as a child could later become fatal weapons.

The first time she saw Tang Yu, she thought his appearance in a suit was truly lethal.

And his appearance in a white shirt?

Equally lethal.

Tang Yu, standing at 187 cm tall, looked down at her condescendingly. Just as the elevator doors were about to close, he took a step forward and held them open.

The doors reopened.

He leaned against the doorframe and looked back at her: “Come in.”

Tang Xin stared blankly at the man who seemed to have descended from the heavens. She hadn’t fully processed the situation yet. It had been almost two months since she quit her job, and they had only met twice since then. Once was outside the bar, and the other time was during their contract discussion that night.

Counting the days, it had been nearly a month since they last saw each other. She had almost believed that this was how things would remain between them.

Seeing that she hadn’t moved, Tang Yu reached out, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into the elevator. He released her, placed his hand near the buttons, and looked down at her: “Which floor?”

Only then did Tang Xin snap out of it. She glanced at the man who effortlessly carried two large bags in one hand and frowned: “What are you doing here?”

“Just passing by,” Tang Yu said nonchalantly, looking at her. “Which floor?”

“…”

Passing by? Why didn’t he just say he dropped from the sky?

Tang Xin rolled her eyes and pressed the button for the fifteenth floor.

She didn’t retreat further but stood in front of him. Tang Yu looked down at the small whorl on top of her head. People said those with two whorls on their heads tend to have bad tempers. He narrowed his eyes slightly and called her softly: “Little Rich Girl.”

Tang Xin: “… “

Why did he suddenly call her that?

She turned her head and looked up at him, smiling sweetly: “Tang Yu, you didn’t follow me here, did you?”

Tang Yu looked at her dimples, which appeared carefree, and recalled his previous experiences of being pricked whenever he got too close. He felt that if she found out he was responsible for the house and planned to live across from her, she would probably immediately call the moving company and have everything packed up again.

Moreover, the transfer procedures hadn’t been completed yet, so she might not even buy the house.

Before this, Tang Yu had never imagined he would lie to a woman in his life.

“Dingding told me you’re moving today. I happened to be passing by and decided to stop by.”

“…”

Tang Xin had hesitated before asking Dingding to help find a place because she didn’t want Tang Yu to know. But Dingding assured her it would be fine, and Tang Xin trusted her. She knew Tang Yu would eventually find out anyway, so she didn’t think about hiding it. They weren’t enemies, and they were in the same circle—it was impossible to avoid meeting forever.

However—

What did he mean by coming to see her?

Tang Xin hadn’t forgotten Dingding’s analysis that Tang Yu liked her at a four-out-of-ten level or You Huan’s comment about him keeping her as a spare tire. For over a year, she had willingly played the role of his backup.

Being rejected was her fault. She had indulged in wishful thinking, but now she was trying to move on.

Couldn’t she slowly let go?

Why did he still have to provoke her?

Did he suddenly realize he missed her after she left and upgraded his feelings to five out of ten, deciding to pursue her?

Every time Tang Xin thought about these things, it felt like needles were crushing her heart.

If she and Tang Yu were on opposite ends of a scale, her heart was full of him, heavy and grounded. But him? Only four or five out of ten, floating lightly in mid-air, always looking down on her. Every time she looked at him, she had to tilt her head up at a 45-degree angle with sadness.

Ignorance is fearless. Before, she didn’t know better and thought that spending more time with him might make him fall for her.

Now, after being clearly rejected and understanding his rating system, Tang Xin couldn’t convince herself to accept it calmly.

She glared at him angrily, not knowing whether she was mad at herself for liking him too much or at him for not liking her enough.

The elevator doors opened.

Without looking at him, she turned and walked out.

Tang Yu wasn’t upset. He followed her out calmly. Tang Xin stood at the door, entered the password, and opened it to reveal piles of unpacked boxes. After living in Beijing for several years, she naturally had accumulated a lot of belongings. She was someone who loved to shop impulsively, so she had heaps of books, clothes, shoes, and bags.

After entering the apartment, Tang Yu placed the items next to the pile of luggage, glanced at the stack of boxes, and turned to look at her: “Where should I put these things? I’ll help you move them in.”

There were over a dozen boxes scattered in the living room, some of which needed to be moved to the study and the bedroom.

Tang Xin rummaged through the bag and pulled out a pair of scissors. She turned to look at him and asked directly: “Tang Yu, why are you really here?”

Tang Yu rolled up his sleeves and looked at her frankly: “To curry favor and mend our relationship. Is that answer acceptable?”

Tang Xin: “… “

Her gaze swept over his handsome face and landed on his white shirt. Suddenly, a mischievous thought crossed her mind, and she smiled slyly: “Alright, then help me move these three boxes of books to the study.”

Tang Yu knew exactly what she was thinking, but he had indeed rushed over without having time to change clothes.

He hummed softly, bent down, picked up a box of books, and headed toward the study. The box didn’t touch his clothes.

After watching him move several boxes of books and still keeping his clothes clean, Tang Xin couldn’t help but frown.

She then instructed him to move boxes of clothes and miscellaneous items into the bedroom.

Tang Yu worked tirelessly. After several trips back and forth, his sleeves were smeared with a few noticeable spots of dirt, and sweat formed on his forehead. His short black hair was damp, and he skillfully undid two buttons, revealing his long, toned neck. Sweat trickled down his cheeks into his collar, exuding a seductive charm.

Tang Xin had been sitting on the carpet, unpacking things from the boxes. She looked up at him and suddenly remembered she hadn’t turned on the air conditioning. She wasn’t particularly sensitive to heat and didn’t do physical labor, so she hadn’t noticed.

However, with the scorching June weather, it was no wonder he sweated after exerting himself.

“I’ll turn on the air conditioning.”

She stood up and began searching for the remote control.

She crouched in front of the TV cabinet, opening drawers one by one. Tang Yu stood behind her, moved the magazines on the coffee table, found the air conditioner remote, and turned it on.

Beep—

She turned to look at him and blinked.

Then she returned to continue organizing her things.

Tang Yu looked down at her: “Is there anything else you need me to do?”

By the time the house was transferred to her, he had already arranged for it to be thoroughly cleaned. Besides her personal belongings, there was nothing else to do.

Tang Xin couldn’t ask him to help organize clothes, shoes, or the like. For a moment, she couldn’t think of any tasks to assign him. Sullenly, she lowered her head: “No, just do as you please. If you’re leaving, help me close the door.”

With that, she ignored him and continued unpacking her little trinkets one by one.

Tang Yu looked down at her, his face devoid of emotion, but his throat was parched. He turned to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door.

It was empty, nothing inside.

He frowned, went into the kitchen, filled the kettle with water, and turned it on.

After leaving the kitchen, he saw a bottle of mineral water on the entrance cabinet. He walked over, picked it up, and glanced at the girl sitting on the carpet, ignoring him. “Can I drink this?”

Without lifting her head, she casually replied: “Mm.”

When Tang Yu unscrewed the cap of the mineral water bottle, he found it unusually easy to twist. However, the bottle was full, so he didn’t hesitate and tilted his head back to drink.

After placing a glass bottle on the table, Tang Xin suddenly remembered something, looked up, and saw Tang Yu drinking from the bottle she had taken a sip from earlier. Her brows twitched, and she quickly stood up, taking a few hurried steps toward him. In her haste, she tripped over a shoebox on the floor and stumbled forward.

Tang Yu swiftly stepped forward and caught her just in time.

Tang Xin’s forehead collided with his hard chest. The man’s chest was rock-solid, making her dizzy. She flailed her hands and grabbed onto his arm holding the water bottle. The bottle tilted—

Water gushed out of the bottle, soaking half of Tang Yu’s shoulder and chest. Tang Xin wasn’t spared either, as her clothes were splashed with water. She was momentarily stunned, looking up at him in confusion, then at his shirt, now clinging tightly to his body due to the wetness. Awkwardly, she didn’t say anything for a moment.

She was still leaning against him, her waist held securely by his warm, dry hand. The atmosphere became somewhat ambiguous.

Tang Yu steadied her, looked down, and frowned: “Why are you so jumpy?”

Tang Xin suddenly felt a bit embarrassed to speak, took a deep breath, pursed her lips, and stepped back. She pointed to the bottle in his hand, now only half-full, and whispered: “I already took a sip from it.”

She remembered Tang Yu had slight cleanliness obsessions and wouldn’t possibly drink from something someone else had already drunk from.

Tang Yu paused, his throat bobbed slightly. He set the bottle down and asked nonchalantly: “And then what?”

“…”

What “and then”?

She had already drunk from it!

They had indirectly kissed!

As if he knew what she was thinking, Tang Yu leaned lazily against the entrance cabinet, half of his body soaked, but he didn’t seem to care. With a teasing smirk, he looked at her: “Don’t forget, you bit and licked me in the office… for three minutes. Now you’re worried about sharing a bottle of water? Are you really that bothered?”

With that, he turned and went to the bathroom to find a towel.

Tang Xin: “… “

________________________________________

Author’s Note:

Little Boss Tang: You’ve already licked and bitten me. Why would I care about drinking from the same bottle as you?

Little Rich Girl: … So shameless!

—To those who say Little Rich Girl is being overly dramatic, let me explain something on her behalf. She thinks Tang Yu’s feelings for her are still at a four-out-of-ten [spare tire level], not even reaching five. And after seeing him drop everything to fly off and see Ming Zhu, she naturally feels some comparison. She was clearly rejected by him, and there’s a significant gap between how much they like each other. Knowing his feelings aren’t strong enough yet, it’s impossible for her to just accept his pursuit right away. Her personality is fiery… [The ten-out-of-ten love theory from Little Lamb has caused quite a bit of trouble for her own brother, haha.]

Let’s be honest, when we fall in love, none of us are completely rational or perfect. A little drama keeps things interesting, right?~