CH 45

When Tang Er Yuan woke up, his face was covered with a red mark from the phone, he rubbed it and left it alone.

He sat up from the blanket and stretched lazily, then picked up his mobile phone and looked at the address that Li Can had sent him last night. He forwarded it to Zhou Ze, asking Zhou Ze’s parents to have dinner there. The place that Li Can had introduced him to would not be bad anyway.

Tang Er Yuan finished washing up and the red marks on his face had faded. He patted his face in satisfaction and gave a smile to the mirror.

When he walked out, Zhou Ze had already replied with a message, “Received, good morning.”

Feeling a bit bored, Tang Er Yuan replied with a ‘see you at noon’ and tossed his phone to the side.

He had been in the studio all morning, working on his designs. He studied design at university and opened his own studio as soon as he graduated. As such, he had free time during the day, drawing when he was inspired, or playing around for inspiration when he wasn’t, which suited his personality of not being tied down.

Li Can’s mother owns a fashion company and Tang Er Yuan has worked with her company a few times. He is familiar with the location of her company and the restaurants nearby are not unfamiliar either. It’s just that he hasn’t been to the shop that Li Can mentioned. It may be a newly opened.

By noon, he finally put down his pen, went to the cloakroom, found a slightly more formal jacket and set off.

As he descended the stairs, he unconsciously stared at his toes, he took each step steadily, not seeing the slightest leap of joy, not even as happy as when he had made the appointment with Li Can to go to the hotel.

He savoured it, his mood could be described as very calm, no apprehension, no nervousness. It seemed that when he was proposed to by Red Rose, he was not as excited as he thought he would be, and when he met Red Rose’s parents, he was also not as excited as he thought he would be, so was it possible that even if he did get married to Red Rose in the future, he would not be as excited as he thought he would be?

Tang Er Yuan thought as he reached the car park, he retracted his thoughts and drove to the agreed place according to the navigation. He arrived a little earlier than the agreed time, after all, the other party was the elder and he, as the junior, should be early.

The shop was just as Li Can had said, decorated in a vintage and elegant way. The shop’s realistic scenery of small bridges and flowing water was pleasing to the eye, the indoors was filled with the fragrance of tea, it was indeed the type of place an elder would like.

“Give me a quieter seat.”

The waiter said, “Sir, I’m sorry, we have a membership system here, only members can enter to eat.”

“How do I get a membership?” Tang Er Yuan frowned.

“Sir, membership in our shop is only available if you are introduced by an acquaintance, you can’t handle it yourself.”

Tang Er Yuan frowned and said in his heart, I should not have come here if I had known earlier, it is almost time for the appointment and it is inconvenient to change places.

He picked up his mobile phone to call Li Can but before he could dial the number, a person with the appearance of a foreman hurried over, looked at Tang Er Yuan twice, smiled and asked, “You are Mr. Tang, right?”

Tang Er Yuan nodded his head, “You know me?”

The foreman smiled attentively, “Naturally I don’t have the chance to know Mr. Tang, it was President Li who said you would come over for a meal these days and instructed us to treat you well, he even said that all the money you spent would be counted on his account.”

Tang Er Yuan put away his mobile phone, it seemed that Li Can had already greeted them, he asked with some confusion, “How did you recognise me as the person he mentioned”

“President Li gave me a photo.”

“A photo?” Tang Er Yuan didn’t remember that Li Can had a photo of him and couldn’t help but be a little curious, “What photo?”

The foreman took out his intelligent brain and flipped through it for a while, then found a photo and handed it to Tang Er Yuan, “This is the one that President Li sent me.”

In the photo, Tang Er Yuan was wearing a bathrobe, holding a glass of red wine in his hand, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the hotel, looking at the rain outside the window. His face was white, his lips were red, and his expression looked a bit lazy, which should have been taken by Li Can secretly after a certain ‘incident’.

Tang Er Yuan looked at the familiar hotel background and his cheeks reddened unnaturally as he transferred the photo to his Intelligent Brain and completely deleted the photo from the foreman’s Intelligent Brain before returning it to the foreman.

“When did Li Can tell you that?”

He was quite quick, he had only asked him which restaurant was good last night and he had already made a reservation in advance today.

“It was just now.” The foreman looked at Tang Er Yuan with some surprise, then smiled and said, “President Li is having a meal inside, I thought you had an appointment to meet.”

Tang Er Yuan was a little surprised, “He’s here?”

The foreman pointed in the direction inside the shop, “President Li and his mother are having their meal, right there.”

Tang Er Yuan looked in the direction he pointed, the place was hidden by an ecological wall. Tang Er Yuan took two steps to the side before he saw a familiar figure. Li Can was sitting with his back to him and there was a person sitting next to him. Tang Er Yuan could not see the person’s face, mother Li was sitting opposite of Li Can, Tang Er Yuan looked over and met mother Li’s eyes.

When mother Li saw Tang Er Yuan, her eyes lit up and she waved enthusiastically. It was Li Can who introduced Tang Er Yuan to her, saying that he had a friend who was very talented and that she could work with him. She originally thought that her son said this to try and help his friend. After all, the other person was just a newly graduated child and she didn’t have much hope. As a result, she didn’t expect Tang Er Yuan to be really talented in design and every time he designed something, she was very satisfied.

She had to admit that it was a great pleasure to work with Tang Er Yuan. She originally opened a design company and naturally appreciates Tang Er Yuan’s talent from a professional point of view. Later, when they got along, she found that Tang Er Yuan had a lovable personality, his temper is very harmonious, and she couldn’t help but like this child more and more.

Tang Er Yuan also liked mother Li and smiled at her from afar, then instructed the head waiter, “Find a seat for me, a quieter one, four people in total. As for the dishes, just pick the shop’s signature dishes and prepare them, if there’s not enough, I’ll add more when everyone arrives. I’ll pay for it myself later, don’t charge President Li for it.”

“Okay, Mr. Tang, please come inside, I’ll go and arrange it now.” The foreman smiled and answered in a low voice.

Tang Er Yuan nodded and walked over towards Li Can’s table. He was almost there when he happened to see the side of the person beside Li Can.

Tang Er Yuan’s footsteps gave a pause, the person next to Li Can was Li Xin Ran.

……Li Can and Li Xin Ran are also here to meet their parents?

Tang Er Yuan looked dark, inexplicably wanting to turn round and walk away but his reason made him stop. He pursed his lip, and walked past with a smile on his face.

He smiled at mother Li, “Auntie.”

Mother Li looked at him with a happy face, patted his hand and asked in a soft voice, “Yuan Yuan, you’re here to eat too?”

Ok, mother Li always followed Li Can and called him Yuan Yuan.

But the Yuan Yuan called by mother Li sounded good, so Tang Er Yuan didn’t retort and nodded with a smile before he turned his head to look at Li Can and Li Xin Ran and said in a salty manner, “President Li, Director Li, what a coincidence.”

Li Xin Ran smiled gently, “Er Yuan, we meet again.”

When Li Can heard Tang Er Yuan’s unfamiliar address, he looked up at Tang Er Yuan with a somewhat accusing look in his eyes.

They had been in bed so many times, how come he had turned back into President Li again?

Tang Er Yuan was unmoved and didn’t even look at him.

Probably because the way Li Can glared at Tang Er Yuan was too obvious, mother Li scolded him, “Don’t bully Yuan Yuan.”

Li Chan smiled mischievously at his mother, “How would I dare.”

Mother Li laughed twice and let him go for now.

Li Can looked up at Tang Er Yuan and asked in a warm voice, “Yuan Yuan, didn’t you say you were coming with the elders? Why are you alone?”

Before Tang Er Yuan could say anything, Zhou Ze’s voice rang out behind him, “Er Yuan.”

When Li Xin Ran heard Zhou Ze’s voice, he did not turn around but his body visibly stiffened, and the smile on his face disappeared.

Tang Er Yuan looked at Zhou Ze, and then at Li Xin Ran and Li Can.

It was awkward, really awkward.

He regretted very much, he shouldn’t have asked Li Can where a good restaurant was last night, nor should he have invited Zhou Ze’s parents to dinner near mother Li’s company.

When Zhou Ze saw Li Xin Ran, his eyes only changed imperceptibly and then he quickly returned to his calm appearance, looking like he had really let go of Li Xin Ran as he said.

Zhou Ze’s father was standing behind him, he looked very much like Zhou Ze, only with more wrinkles on his face. He had been in the business for a long time, his eyebrows were full of hostility and his skin was darker than Zhou Ze’s. He also saw Li Xin Ran and immediately grunted from his nostrils, pursed the corners of his mouth and turned his head disdainfully.

He had disliked Li Xin Ran since back then and now he disliked him even more.

Zhou Ze’s mother was in poor health, sitting in a wheelchair, pushed in front by Zhou Ze, a thin blanket covering her legs. Her hair already white, her face haggard, her expression nonchalant and having little reaction when she saw Tang Er Yuan and Li Xin Ran.

Tang Er Yuan walked over and gave a respectful greeting, “Uncle, auntie.”

Mother Zhou nodded indifferently, not looking as eager to meet her son’s future partner as Zhou Ze had said.

On the contrary, father Zhou instantly revealed a smile, different from the expression he had when facing Li Xin Ran, and said to Tang Er Yuan with a smile on his face, “Er Yuan, you are handsome and dignified in appearance, General Tang is really blessed.”

“You are too polite.” Tang Er Yuan smiled modestly.

Father Zhou went over and exchanged a greeting with mother Li, everyone had been in the market and known each other for a long time, Li Can also stood up and greeted father Zhou and mother Zhou with a sullen face.

Father Zhou looked at Li Can, then looked down at Li Xin Ran from above and said, “President Li is young and talented and the Li family is strict, you must not let those who want to find a rich man make it to the top, have a chance to take advantage. President Li must be careful when choosing friends.”

Li Xin Ran’s face turned white, the water in his eyes rolled, and he bit his lower lip tightly, not raising his head.

Li Can frowned unhappily and was just about to retort when mother Li spoke nonchalantly, “I don’t need to bother Mr. Zhou with our Li family’s affairs, the friends my son chooses has always been of upright and noble character, there will be no problem, I trust him.”

Father Zhou grunted lightly in displeasure but in the end he withdrew his voice and said no more, after all, the Li family was now becoming more and more powerful and not something he could offend.

Tang Er Yuan smiled a little awkwardly and guided them in the direction where the foreman had just arranged, “Uncle and auntie, you guys go over and sit down first.”

Zhou Ze was also full of embarrassment but he couldn’t refute father Zhou. He just glanced at Li Xin Ran’s stiff back intentionally or unintentionally, then looked up and said softly to Tang Er Yuan, “I’ll take Mom and Dad over first.”

“Ok.” Tang Er Yuan nodded his head.

Zhou Ze turned his head to father Zhou and said, “Dad, let’s go.”

When Zhou father saw that Zhou Ze did not react to seeing Li Xin Ran, he was finally satisfied a little and followed Zhou Ze over.

Tang Er Yuan turned back to mother Li and said, “Auntie, I will also go over first, you take your time.”

“Go on.” Mother Li looked inquisitively between Tang Er Yuan and Zhou family but did not ask more questions.

Tang Er Yuan turned his head and noticed that Li Xin Ran’s eyes were slightly red, looking a little pitiful.

Li Xin Ran looked up and smiled at him reluctantly before lowering his head again.

And Li Can……was glaring at Tang Er Yuan with a blue face, if he had known that Tang Er Yuan was coming to dinner with Zhou Ze’s parents, he would have recommended the worst restaurant!

Tang Er Yuan glared back at him, turned around and walked away.

Mother Li looked at Tang Er Yuan’s back as he walked away and opened her mouth before she could say anything. When she saw Tang Er Yuan sitting down beside Zhou Ze, she couldn’t help but show a heartbroken look, covering her chest and moving her eyes to Li Can’s body, glaring at him with hatred.

Li Can: “???”