Chapter 13: A Chance Encounter
When Xia An returned with Angel Su playing the extended-night version, Tang Wan had already cleared the dining table and was washing the bed sheets in the bathroom.
Such efficiency...
Xia An was certain she hadn’t been drunk earlier.
A woman who truly likes you is more proactive than you.
Xia An recalled a report he had once come across in a past life, a social study conducted by an American expert.
They placed 100 married wives with unfamiliar men in a three-bedroom apartment for seven days.
The result? Yes, the probability of intimate relations exceeded 90%.
He had managed to reach ninety percent in just three days—no hesitation.
Later, this news was censored worldwide.
Anyone who imagines society as purely good and beautiful will never understand the truth.
Humans are, after all, animals.
It’s not surprising that many sordid things happen.
Xia An poked his head into the bathroom and said, “Use cold water to wash.”
Tang Wan didn’t even dare to look at him. “I know. It’s cold water.”
“But you shouldn’t touch cold water now.”
Xia An shoved a plastic bag and his sports shorts, which he had just found in the room, into her hands and carried the washbasin out of the bathroom.
“I originally wanted to buy you new ones, but the new ones need washing too. Wear mine for now. Tomorrow I’ll go buy women’s underwear for you.”
From the sofa earlier, he had clearly noted Tang Wan’s size.
Her face reddened like a blushing shrimp.
Bang—
The bathroom door slammed shut heavily.
Sitting on the toilet, Tang Wan rubbed her hair fiercely.
She felt as if a little deer in her heart had gone wild.
How could this happen?
How could it be like this?
What was she doing?
...
...
The night was alluring, a cicada hit the living room screen window.
It didn’t cry, seemingly going to sleep.
After several days, the TV at Xia An’s home finally had power.
The prime time just ended, and the rerun was the just-ended prime time.
Huang Xiaoming’s right arm was gone, Liu Yifei wore a flower crown swinging on a swing.
Tang Wan hugged her knees and asked Xia An, “Am I prettier, or is Little Dragon Girl prettier?”
Xia An honestly said, “You’re prettier.”
Tang Wan asked, “Was your ex-wife prettier or Little Dragon Girl?”
Xia An was a little caught off guard.
Shouldn’t the question be who’s prettier: her or him?
The bed sheets were stretched flat and hung next to the dining table, like a large screen, enclosing the two of them on the small, cozy sofa.
While hanging the sheets, Xia An clearly saw Tang Wan’s hesitation.
He took the initiative to tell her about Le Ning’s identity.
A junior high, high school, and soon-to-be university classmate.
One afternoon in ninth grade during a PE class, Xia An single-handedly beat up five boys who persistently pestered Le Ning after she rejected his love letters.
That battle cost Xia An one cavity but sent the five boys to the hospital for two weeks.
Since then, every time after school, Le Ning followed Xia An like a little tail, keeping five or six meters distance, walking slowly.
In eleventh grade, Le Ning asked Xia An why he had done that back then.
“Why? Because I was the class monitor, and it was my tough responsibility to ensure no one in the class was harassed.”
Seeing Tang Wan laugh until she bent over clutching her stomach, Xia An solemnly said, “That’s right, I remember I said exactly that.”
In eleventh grade, Le Ning told Xia An, “I swore in ninth grade that I would marry you.”
And then, until now.
Until 2019, it finally happened.
Tang Wan asked Xia An if he liked Le Ning.
Xia An didn’t answer.
Tang Wan didn’t ask again, nor say anything.
At 10:15, Guo Xiang jumped off a cliff.
---
Tang Wan quietly and cautiously rested her head on Xia An’s shoulder.
“This past year, everything inside me has been chaotic. I didn’t know this day would come.”
Xia An said, “Heavy?”
Tang Wan said, “Very heavy.”
Xia An said, “That’s good, it means you’re recovering your health.”
He could imagine the mental torment Tang Wan had endured the previous year.
Rapid deterioration in cancer patients is mostly caused by fear.
Like an experiment: blindfolded, a blunt knife cuts an artery, even dripping mineral water could scare a person to death.
Tang Wan pinched him a few times again.
“I suddenly remembered, how do you know so many things only adults usually understand?”
“Am I young?”
Tang Wan blushed again.
Xia An randomly flipped through channels and found many good dramas actually aired in 2006.
“Legend of the Condor Heroes,” “Schemes,” “Qiao Family Courtyard.”
The future of the film and TV industry was complicated.
Xia An secretly glanced at Tang Wan’s profile and suddenly had the idea of making money again from the entertainment industry.
It seemed to be the perfect era.
Afterwards, cinema exploded, film commercialization boomed, box office shattered records...
Tang Wan suddenly asked him, “Don’t you want to say anything to me?”
Xia An thought for a long time before calmly saying, “There’s still a long way to go.”
Tang Wan seemed to misunderstand, twirling her hair and looking at him, “If you’re still thinking about this, I promise, next time we meet, I’ll definitely give it to you.”
Next time meeting...
Yes, her parents would return the night after tomorrow; Tang Wan would leave.
Xia An originally didn’t want to explain anything. As he had thought before, like with Le Ning, the best way was not to provoke.
But somehow, his gaze couldn’t focus on the TV screen, and he blurted out:
“How many years older is Little Dragon Girl than Yang Guo?”
The little deer in his heart seemed to have a sudden heart attack, frozen in place, dead on the spot.
Tang Wan felt warmth rise from her toes.
Lowering her head, the 25-degree air conditioning breeze swept her hair on her forehead, her small hand clenched tightly.
After a long moment, she took a deep breath, linked her arm with Xia An’s, and said, “Let me lean on you for a while. I feel especially sleepy when I’m with you. If I fall asleep, just let me stay on the sofa.”
Those who have love in marriage should know: one sign of physiological affection is that lying beside a loved one helps you fall asleep.
It’s a feeling that words cannot express.
Like a baby finding its cradle.
Xia An wasn’t sure how much of Tang Wan’s feelings for him were like a drowning person’s dependence.
But seeing her fall asleep within five seconds, curling up like a little kitten by his side, he softly replied:
“Okay.”
...
...
Xia An lied.
After waking, Tang Wan found herself lying in the warm morning light in Xia An’s bedroom.
She smiled quietly, not aloud.
Then hugged the quilt, rolling and kicking her legs.
The single bed was 1.2 meters by 1.9 meters, wedged between walls.
If this was to be her future home, her lifelong princess bed, Tang Wan would accept it sweetly.
Peeking out of the room on tiptoe, Xia An was gone.
A note on the coffee table read: “Meal is ready, went shopping.”
The second line: “Slippers exist to be stepped on, don’t randomly reward my floor.”
Tang Wan laughed aloud.
The porridge was warm, brown sugar water in the thermos.
Tang Wan wanted to cry; she missed her father.
---
Damn it!
After walking three blocks and circling a kilometer, that S600 was still following.
Xia An angrily cursed.
Do they take me for a fool?
Can they stake out in a less conspicuous car?
Although, the old S-Class was definitely more imposing.
Xia An took out his phone and called the contact labeled “Tool.”
“Something came up, let’s meet tomorrow. Okay, don’t worry, what I’ve arranged won’t change. Alright, I’ll send you the address tomorrow.”
After hanging up, he grabbed a 120-yuan women’s lingerie, hailed another cab, and headed to the electronics market near the mall.
At noon, Tang Wan had prepared two dishes and a soup.
She looked at Xia An expectantly for feedback.
“Tastes good.”
A bit of an exaggeration, but not bad.
That afternoon, he sat beside Tang Wan, watching her play two rounds of the Landlord card game, amazed.
Against a pair of sixes and an eight, she calculated the opponent wouldn’t dare to play a single six and won.
Switching to Texas Hold’em.
With a three as hole cards, she dared to call.
In the semifinals, she held pocket aces and went all in.
The final prize was 10,000 yuan; she lost and got third prize: 100 yuan phone credit.
Xia An noticed a problem.
She had calculation skills, but Texas Hold’em tested human nature.
He said, “It’s normal. In these apps, the system won’t let amateurs take most of the prize. They can see your hole cards from the backend. Just play to win the prizes, maybe like before, you can get a computer, phone, or small cash rewards.”
Tang Wan said, “That’s no fun. I’m tired.”
Xia An said sleeping more is also part of body recovery.
After Tang Wan went inside, Xia An secretly put the electronics market purchases into her small bag.
Not too big, Tang Wan peeked her head out, blushing, signaling him over.
Xia An approached, but Tang Wan didn’t let him in.
She opened the door just a crack, stepped back, and presented herself.
Xia An swallowed instinctively. The north room had gone dark, but he felt this scene glaringly bright.
It was the Ghost Festival night, when ghosts were easy to see after dark, but no fear, because a fairy was guarding the place.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Tang Wan wore only the new lingerie, nothing else.
“One, two, three, four…”
Counting to five, Tang Wan pressed her lips tightly and closed the door.
Through the door, she said to Xia An, “I’ve decided what I want to do in the future. Don’t ask, this is my own choice.”
Xia An said okay.
“Just show you once. Next time might be a long time from now. Can you wait?”
---
The next morning, Xia An, sleeping in the master bedroom, heard movement from Tang Wan.
Rustling sounds. He knew she didn’t want to say goodbye face to face.
After locking the door, Xia An went out and found his pillow missing.
He sat at the computer for two hours.
The crude GPS page showed Tang Wan’s movements in those two hours.
She first went to a printing shop, lingered a while at a bun shop, then went to the Marriott Hotel.
Xia An rummaged through the wardrobe in the master bedroom, found a white shirt, put on his beige casual cropped pants, slipped on freshly cleaned white sneakers, and smiled lightly as he left.
In the taxi, he sent a text to “Tool”: Marriott lobby bar, I’ll wait only twenty minutes.
By the time he arrived, Tang Wan had already been chatting with Tang Tianxing for a while.
Seeing Xia An, Tang Wan looked as if she had seen a ghost.
Her unease made Tang Tianxing ask, “What’s wrong, Xiaowan?”
Tang Wan saw Xia An didn’t even glance at her, instead calmly ordered at the neighboring seat, then casually crossed his legs and played on his phone, exuding the aura of a... startup entrepreneur.
Shaking his head, Tang Wan smiled, “Nothing, Uncle, please review this agreement, if it’s acceptable…”
At that moment, Xia An smiled and waved toward the main entrance.
Two young men with backpacks, plaid shirts, and jeans approached.
As they neared, their steps quickened and they bent slightly.
“You must be President Xia?”
“Please sit.”
Xia An smiled faintly at the two.
Tang Wan lightly furrowed her brows, thinking to herself: What is this guy up to?