Tang Yuanchu was a pure and forthright person.His sudden remark was undoubtedly embarra.s.sing for Xie Wanwan.
The room was quiet in just a second.
Xie Wanwan was dumbfounded. Even though she had met many types of men, no one was as straightforward as Tang Yuanchu.
Silly fellow.
Silly fellow.
What a silly fellow.
His eyes were too bright, like the stars in the sky.
He sounded a little hurt which made it difficult for her to reject him. She couldn"t bear to.
Xie Wanwan used at least half a minute to regain her usual cool and friendly self. Her laughter was clear and melodious but it sounded as though she was treating Tang Yuanchu as a young kid. On her beautiful face, her smile made her looked like a nymph that didn"t belong to the mundane world. However, that smile left Tang Yuanchu"s heart throbbing in pain.
"What are you talking about, Detective Tang?"
Although the polite form of address was sweet and pleasant to the ears, it fully showed that she didn"t want to have anything to do with him.
That playful wink of hers didn"t last more than 3 seconds before it turned friendliness of an elder sister to protect Tang Yuanchu"s pride.
"Have I said something wrong before that made you misunderstood something?"
Tang Yuanchu did not talk.
Both of his cheeks were a shade of red and he seemed pathetic.
But he refused to admit defeat and stared at Xie Wanwan"s eyes just like this.
He thought that the eyes wouldn"t deceive him. The eyes will tell me the truth, he thought.
He had seen her feelings in those beautiful eyes of hers before.
At that moment, he tried very hard to search for that…
Xie Wanwan did not shy away from his inquiring eyes. She said sincerely with a smile, "Detective Tang saved my life at Vulture"s Mouth. I"m full of grat.i.tude towards you. There was even a period of time that I"m in a state of panic as I have never owed so much to another person…"
After that, she propped her forehead with a hand and sounded apologetic. "Did my behavior at that time cause you some confusion that you got a wrong impression? It"s my fault, I"m sorry…"
Her excuse seemed perfect.
But was it an apology that Tang Yuanchu wanted?
People tend to be fragile and sensitive in the emotional aspect, excluding those who were overly sentimental and overly confident. When a person was with someone he or she liked, there would be tiny details where it would show the feelings of a person toward another. He or she might be able to fool everyone with their acting but never themselves.
That period of time in Xi City; the greetings that came from her were filled with some ambiguity in it. Tang Yuanchu did not believe that it was a misunderstanding.
But she was so cold and distant to him now, and he couldn"t blame anyone for it.
He knew very well that his mom had gone out of line to have done that.
Not to mention that Xie Wanwan was such a famous starlet that many fans idolize and looked up to her. If it was an ordinary girl who encountered something like this, he was quite sure that the girl would most probably be angry and give him the cold treatment. Due to his mom"s hostile statement, Xie Wanwan was being ridiculed by too many keyboard warriors and anti-fans. Every day, these people who would leave all kinds of hurtful, nasty "greetings" at her social media accounts, seemingly indulging themselves in doing so.
"Hey Miss, do you have any feelings for my Tangtang today? Don"t think too much, I"m just here to show my concern. Have you seen the statement made by Tangtang"s mom? I suggest you should recite it every day so as to remind yourself not to go the wrong way."
"Look at the age difference between you two. B*tch Xie should have a good look at herself down there. Disgusting! Tangtang is still very young, don"t target him!"
"Meili Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery offers the warmest care for the most intimate part—bleach red or pink, reconstruction of hymen… protects your privacy so you can become a complete woman. Contact: 119-119-1119."
"…"
These crude and malicious remarks made Tang Yuanchu"s blood curdle.
Even though he made a statement and denounced cyberbullying, that didn"t help the situation at all.
The young female fans thought that their beloved Brother Tangtang was really kind-hearted and insisted that Xie Wanwan was the shameless person. They hoped that Brother Tangtang would find a pleasant and kind girl as a girlfriend. They even openly said that Xie Wanwan was too "soiled" for him…
Because of all these, Tang Yuanchu could understand why she was cold to him.
He was also in pain when he saw that she had to put up with all the cyberbullying.
He wanted to salvage their relations.h.i.+p but her eyes…
They felt cold and distant. She had already kept her distance from him.
Tang Yuanchu didn"t feel good at all.
But he couldn"t find any reason that he could blame Xie Wanwan for behaving this way.
"I"m sorry."
Everyone was looking at him. He lowered his head and clenched the paper napkin that he was holding. "Looks like I"ve misunderstood." He finally heard his not-so-confident and seemingly distracted voice.
"Don"t worry about it, I"m the one who didn"t handle this properly and caused this trouble!"
Tang Yuanchu opened his mouth and wanted to explain.
But the next second, he stopped.
After a pause, he looked at Xie Wanwan eagerly.
"About what happened the last time, my mom shouldn"t have said that. She didn"t understand the whole thing at all. Please let me apologize to you on behalf of my mom. I hope you can forgive her?"
"Mm? What happened the last time?" Xie Wanwan seemed as though she was puzzled.
Tang Yuanchu was dazed for a moment as he looked at her.
For a good while, Xie Wanwan didn"t show any other expression on her face.
After that, she seemed to recall such an incident and suddenly chuckled.
"My manager"s the one who manages my Weibo, so I don"t really know much. She did say something but I didn"t really pay attention. Haha, aunty"s a rather humorous person. Don"t worry, there are many people who don"t like me and leave all kinds of hate comments. One more or one less doesn"t make a difference. You need not take it to heart."
The harm and hurt that he had thought was a storm was just a small episode. Maybe it was never a storm, to begin with.
Tang Yuanchu didn"t know if he should be glad or sad when he saw her like this.
"What"s the matter?" Xie Wanwan looked at him like an amiable elder sister. "Is Detective Tang still bothered by it?"
"…"
Tang Yuanchu was left speechless… and helpless.
Her sophistication and tactfulness made him seem too… childish.
The current him and her, was their social standing and poise exactly what a Chinese idiom had suggested "difference between the clouds and mud"?
In the past, in terms of social standing and wealth, Xie Wanwan was already way beyond his reach, much less to mention that Xie Wanwan was now the biggest shareholder in Meng Entertainment Group?
He was too naive.
Or rather, he was stupid.
Tang Yuanchu lowered his head, he wished that the ground would swallow him up so he could preserve at least some pride.
All of the embarra.s.sing and pathetic situations that happened in his life couldn"t be compared to what he had suffered that day.
Including his ex-girlfriend who dumped him when he couldn"t afford to buy a branded handbag for her…
He was not too bothered about this. He even felt fortunate that he had seen through such a girl in the early stage—
"I…" Tang Yuanchu used a lot of strength to utter one word. But, the remaining words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat, as if a martial arts expert had blocked his acupoint that he was unable to say anything.
"Mm?" Xie Wanwan tilted her head slightly, she seemed she was ready to hear him out.
Tang Yuanchu: "…"
Silence.
Nothing came out.
Finally, he gazed at Xie Wanwan deeply before looking away.
That was his way of bidding goodbye to this inexplicable relations.h.i.+p that didn"t even manage to start.
"Captain Bai, Teacher Xiang, and… Teacher Xie, Teacher Ye, please enjoy your meal. I still have something on, and have to leave now."
His excuse was lame and cowardly.
Tang Yuanchu knew that he must have looked silly and stupid.
But besides leaving that place, there was nothing else that he could do.
He had no other choice.
If he stayed for one more second, he was worried that he might go crazy.
He clenched his hand into a fist and smiled awkwardly as he said goodbye to them.
After that, he left without turning back.
This time, Bai Muchuan did not keep him. Even if he wanted to, it was too late as well.
Xie Wanwan looked at the entrance of the private dining room where she could no longer see his back view. She was holding the wine bottle when he left and was still holding on to the wine bottle tightly for a long time…