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Tang Wan held her breath, her body tense. His approach had already crossed the safe distance between people.
But before she could speak, Jiang Jinsang had already straightened up. As he leaned over, undried water droplets from his hair slid down, splashing onto her shoulder.
It was scalding.
"You were so focused that I called you twice, and you didn't respond," Jiang Jinsang explained the reason for his approach.
The distance between them widened. He stood there, composed and indifferent, strikingly handsome.
"Wearing headphones, I didn't notice. Have you finished your shower?" Tang Wan asked a pointless question, just trying to ease the awkwardness.
"Yes, then I'll leave you now and not disturb your rest," Jiang Jinsang was gentlemanly and restrained from start to finish.
He could make hearts race, yet he never made people feel he was overstepping boundaries.
One had to admit, this was a skill.
"I'll see you out," Tang Wan got up to see him to the door. After closing the door, she leaned against it, exhaling a long breath. This man was too good-looking for his own good, a complete homewrecker.
Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door.
"Miss Tang?"
She was leaning against the door, and the low knocking sounded like a hammer on her back, startling her heart out of rhythm, "What's up?"
"My mother wants to have a word with you. Is it convenient?"
His mother? Mrs. Jiang?
It was likely either a video call or a phone call, probably knowing she wasn't asleep. The two families' elders were so familiar that refusing would be impolite. She had no choice but to open the door. As expected, Jiang Jinsang was holding a phone, only muted, so their conversation hadn't reached the other side.
"It's okay if it's inconvenient."
"It's no trouble; give me the phone," Tang Wan had seen Mrs. Jiang before and knew she seemed very elegant and kind.
She took the phone and couldn't just stand at the door to take the call, so for the second time, she brought Jiang Jinsang back inside.
The Jiang Family stood at the door, exchanging glances:
Seriously, again, yet another time... he went in?
*
Tang Wan cleared her throat and, after unmuting the phone, softly said, "Hello, Aunty — "
No response.
"Aunty?" Tang Wan frowned.
Instead of hearing Mrs. Jiang's voice, she heard a child's milky, muffled voice, "Are you looking for my grandma? She went downstairs, and she'll be back soon. Sister, what's your surname? I'll go call her for you."
To call Mrs. Jiang "grandma," who else but the little ancestor of the Jiang Family could it be? The voice sounded innocent and well-mannered, so Tang Wan's tone softened by a few degrees, "It's okay, I'm not in a hurry."
Tang Wan's voice was gentle and soft, the kind of voice that even women found soothing and attractive, purposely softened, making it even more pleasant.
"Sister, your voice is so nice."
"Thank you."
"What's your surname?" The little fellow was already holding onto the banister with one hand, the phone in the other, walking down the stairs.
"My surname is Tang, like Tang in 'Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing.'"
The little one's brain turned quickly, "Sister, with a voice so nice, you must be very beautiful, too."
With a scoundrel dad and uncle in the house, the little one had long learned the art of being sweet and charming.
"No," Tang Wan said this even as she felt pleased deep down. After chatting for a while, the little fellow found his grandmother, "Grandma, the phone, it's..."
He opened his mouth wide, silently mouthing two words: [Auntie].
Which made Mrs. Jiang laugh, "Drink your milk and go to sleep." She had come downstairs to get milk for her grandson.
Once Mrs. Jiang answered the phone, Tang Wan's tone of voice naturally shifted, behaving impeccably in front of elders.
"... Wanwan, with our Xiaowu going over, he'll surely trouble you in many ways. I do feel a bit bad about it."
"He won't be any trouble for me. You're being too polite." His schedule was managed by the Jiang Family, no need for her to handle anything.
"Sometimes his temper is pretty bad, please be more tolerant and don't take it personally. If he really does something too outrageous, just tell me, and I'll definitely stick up for you."
...
Tang Wan just listened; tattling wasn't something she would do.
It was just that Mrs. Jiang's tone of voice suggested that Jiang Jinsang was a "domineering, malevolent" force at home, totally out of alignment with his image. However, given how Jiang Jinsang nearly "beat Tang Mo to death" today, she really didn't believe that mistaking Tang Mo for a thief was due to it being dark.
The Jiang Family were all martial arts practitioners; it was impossible for everyone to be blind just because one person made a mistake, and Tang Mo had even announced who she was.
The only possibility was...
This Master Jiang Fifth really did want to kill her.
The two of them chatted a bit more and exchanged contact information before Jiang Jinsang took back the phone and returned to his room.
**
Back on the Jiang side, Mrs. Jiang expressed her sentiment after hanging up the phone, thinking that she and Tang Wan got along quite well and it'd be great if she could really marry into their family.
In the adjacent bedroom, the little one holding a glass of milk knocked on his father's study door.
He was still working, video conferencing with some senior executive. Only when he saw the little one enter did he say a summarizing sentence, "Let's pause here for now; talk more when you're in the office tomorrow."
As the video call ended, the little guy had already placed the milk on the table. Like a koala, he clambered onto his father's body via the chair's edge, automatically hanging onto his neck.
"Not sleeping yet?"
"If you really want to find me a stepmother, maybe you can try a little flirtation with Second Uncle's woman."
He pursed his lips, "I've reviewed and I think it's not bad."
Someone got up, one hand supporting the son's backside and the other holding the milk, carrying him back to his room. Only after they left the study did he softly say,
"I'm not going to find you a stepmother."
If there was going to be one...
She would be his real mother!
**
That night, Zhang Liyun and her daughter were busy at the hospital till the early morning hours, while over at Tang Wan's place, having an extra person in the compound made her feel odd, and she couldn't sleep until after midnight.
The next morning
She got ready, opened her door to go out, and froze in place.
All the vacant flowerpots in her yard had been filled with flowers, all sorts and kinds, covering about half of the yard. Jiang Jinsang was holding a potted plant, studying it carefully. Noticing her out of the corner of his eye, he smiled and said, "Good morning."
"Morning." Tang Wan pressed her lips, "This..."
"The flowerpots are quite pretty, too much of a waste to leave empty. I don't have much to do here anyway, and I know how to take care of flowers," he said, walking up to her. "This pot should go in your room."
"What is this..."
"Mint."
"Thank you." Tang Wan didn't think much, accepting the plant and placing it on the desk in her bedroom.
Only later did she realize that when a guy gives mint, it means a pure...
Affection.
The Jiang Family was also puzzled, thinking that he came to recuperate, so why did he suddenly start gardening?
Later, he proved with his actions that once flowers are well taken care of, they are portable and can be carried away with the pot.
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