“Did something unpleasant happen between you and Shi Hanchu?” Lin Nuan asked.
Su Manman was rendered speechless.
Su Manman smiled helplessly. “Do you always have to relate it to Shi Hanchu whenever I have a headache and a hot temper?”
Was there even another reason? The image of Su Manman pursuing Shi Hanchu had long been deeply rooted in everyone’s heart.
“It has nothing to do with Shi Hanchu? Then what happened to you? You wouldn’t call me out for a meal for no reason…” Lin Nuan raised her cup and took a sip slowly.
“My question might offend you…” Su Manman adjusted her posture as she asked, “But how did you forget about Wen Moshen back then? Why did you love him so deeply?”
Lin Nuan paused in her action of setting down the cup and looked at Su Manman. “Do you want to forget Shi Hanchu?”
Su Manman stared at the glass of water in front of her and rubbed her index finger against it, not saying a word.
She asked Lin Nuan this question because her current situation was similar to Lin Nuan’s in the past. The men they loved didn’t love them back, so they had to give up…
Lin Nuan didn’t press Su Manman for details, merely replying, “I was probably waiting for too long. Time is a healing element. Furthermore, I met Huai’an!”
“Shall I start a new relationship too?” Su Manman asked.
“I met the right person!” Lin Nuan’s lips curled up, and the smile in her eyes was so blissful that it would dazzle everyone. “Even if you decided to start a new relationship with someone else, if that person wasn’t the right person, you might still not be able to forget the other person! But if you meet the right person, then you’ll naturally forget!”
Lin Nuan spoke in a roundabout manner, but Su Manman understood what she meant. She was telling her not to give up.
Su Manman turned her head away, one hand supporting her chin as she looked outside the window. She was deep in thought…
“Tell me if there’s anything that you don’t understand. I’ll explain it to you!” Lin Nuan smiled and said.
Su Manman pursed her lips and shook her head as she looked at Lin Nuan. “No, it’s okay. Just have a good meal with me! Tell me if the food here tastes good or not!”
“Aren’t you going to eat too?” Lin Nuan asked Su Manman.
Su Manman took a sip of water and set down the cup. She looked up at Lin Nuan and slowly asked, “Did I not tell you that I lost my sense of taste four years ago?”
Lin Nuan paused in surprise…
“Oh, I don’t have a good memory, so I probably haven’t told you! I’ve been keeping this matter a secret from others. Even my parents don’t know about it. The only people who know are Shi Hanchu and my assistant. I thought I also told you. After all… there aren’t many people whom I can talk to!” Su Manman said.
“What happened?” Lin Nuan asked.
Seeing Lin Nuan frown like an old lady, with genuine concern in her eyes, Su Manman couldn’t help but laugh. “What kind of expression is that? Actually, it’s not a big deal… It’s just that there’s no taste in anything I eat!”
Su Manman didn’t want to say the reason she had lost her sense of taste. Lin Nuan didn’t force her to answer either. She merely asked, “Have you gone to a doctor and let them have a look?”
“I have…” Su Manman nodded. “I’ve been to my friend’s private hospital for a checkup. They’ve used up all methods on me, but it’s useless!”
“Have you tried visiting a Chinese medicine practitioner?” Lin Nuan asked again.
“I’ve tried acupuncture and taking all kinds of Chinese herbal medicine! During that period, there was even news of me having a miscarriage and going to a Chinese medicine clinic to recuperate…” Su Manman spoke nonchalantly. “After seeing that it didn’t work after a while, I was afraid more crazy rumors would spread, so I decided to stop treating it! Anyway, the Western medicine side said it might be cured at any time!”
Su Manman’s personality was somewhat similar to Bai Xiaonian’s. She looked carefree on the outside, but she was actually good at hiding things.
When Su Manman said there weren’t many people she could talk to, Lin Nuan felt a pang in her heart for the lady sitting in front of her. From the outside, Su Manman seemed like she wouldn’t lack friends around her. Every time she went out, she would be surrounded by countless people.
According to logic, such a person shouldn’t be lonely. Didn’t she have so many people by her side!
A lot of people even adored her…
But in actual truth, she was an incredibly lonely person. Su Manman didn’t even have anyone to talk to.
“What’s with your expression? You look as though you’re looking at an abandoned dog,” Su Manman couldn’t resist letting out a chuckle. She found Lin Nuan adorable. “It’s just a sense of taste. I’m not as pitiful as you think. It’s not like I can’t eat!”
Lin Nuan looked at Su Manman. “Then, about you losing your sense of taste… how do you manage to hide it from your parents?”
Lin Nuan had once met Su Manman’s mother at Old Madam Fu’s place. She could clearly see that Su Manman’s mother was very attentive towards her daughter and cared for her greatly. Even Su Manman’s grandmother was the same!
Su Manman had lost her sense of taste for so many years. How was it possible that a family member, who cared about her, did not notice Su Manman’s loss of taste?
It was unfathomable.
“That’s simple… The auntie at home knows my taste. At home, they would cook the meals according to my taste. After eating there for years, nothing could go wrong. Whenever I go out for a meal with my family, the butler would usually arrange it according to my schedule and make an appointment in advance. I’ll then bring my assistant to have a meal at the designated restaurant in advance, and get her to tell me the taste of every dish. I’ll note it down and repeat it in front of my family!”
Su Manman had done this often, and she had never failed…
Lin Nuan nodded. “Who are you going to eat with this time? Do you need me to help you taste it?”
“I’m going to eat with Shi Hanchu!” Su Manman smiled and said, “But I don’t want him to know that my taste buds haven’t recovered yet. I don’t want him to pity me. So… after this, I’ll probably have to eat here with you a few more times to try all the dishes before the dinner with Shi Hanchu! Based on his character… he’ll definitely test me! I don’t need other people’s sympathy!”
Su Manman had asked for Lin Nuan’s help because her assistant’s mother had gotten into a car accident. Her assistant had applied for leave to take care of her mother at the hospital…
The only person other than her assistant who knew about Su Manman’s loss of taste was Shi Hanchu. Su Manman had called Lin Nuan over, thinking that she had told Lin Nuan about it. She hadn’t expected that she had remembered it wrongly. Her memory had also been getting worse lately.
After their ordered food arrived, Lin Nuan carefully tasted every dish and meticulously described the taste to Su Manman. She then asked her if she could remember everything.
Su Manman was an actress and was used to memorizing scripts. She could remember almost everything that Lin Nuan told her after listening to it once.
Sometimes, when she heard Lin Nuan mention the taste of a dish, she would pick up the food and try it herself. Although it was like chewing wax to her, she still had to fill her stomach.
After the meal, Su Manman yawned and said that she was going home to sleep for a while.
Seeing Su Manman’s listless state, Lin Nuan couldn’t help but worry.