Volume 2 Chapter 20: Parting Ways

  Tang Yiyu thought for a moment and roughly figured out who Du Ju was, it should be Du Dawei from the Construction Bureau. If it were another department, he wouldn't be so polite. With the new city district construction project bidding at stake, Director Du's words carried considerable weight, and naturally, Yao Nei wanted to build a relationship with him.

  Tang Yi didn't respond, humming and hawing, and started chatting with Li Baozi and Yao Nei. When Li Baozi heard that Tang Yi was Director Du's relative, he was delighted and intentionally tried to befriend him. Xiao Li's face turned red and green, realizing he had been fooled for half the day. In the end, neither side gained an advantage, but the unremarkable young Tang became a big shot. Uninterested, they got up to leave, and Li Baozi didn't even nod at Xiao Li, who was now on his bad side.

  He and Li Pangzi and Yao Nei had another bottle of beer, Tang Yi took down Li Pangzi's and Yao Nei's business cards, stood up to bid farewell, walked out of the dimly lit bar, he held Yao Nei's business card and looked at it for a few moments, his mouth gradually curled into a smile.

  ……

  On Monday's Standing Committee, the resolution to hire experts from the Provincial Design Institute for the new city district planning was passed unanimously. Tang Yi returned to his office, and the phone rang "ding ding ding". Tang Yi picked up the phone, and in the receiver, he heard Xiao Jinhua's gentle voice: "Little Yi, were you busy just now? This is my third call to you."

  Tang Yi smiled and said: "Having a meeting, it's been quite busy lately, mom, have you made another fortune?"

  "Go, and you'll know about the money." Xiao Jinhua cursed with a smile, then said: "Xiao Yi, recently there's an opportunity to make some money. Hainan has developed very quickly in recent years, and Mom now has ample funds on hand, planning to invest a sum of money in developing real estate in Hainan. What do you think?"

  Tang Yi smiled and said: "Of course, it's good." He thought that although the real estate industry would only truly boom in ten years, getting in now was also a good way to pave the road.

  Xiao Jinhua smiled and said: "That's settled, I'm short-handed anyway, so lend me that little girlfriend of yours to help out."

  Tang Yi was taken aback, "Little girlfriend?" Was she talking about Qiao Jie? How did mom find out?

  "You silly boy, you got a girlfriend and didn't even tell mom, it was only when your second uncle called the other day that I found out you had a girlfriend. I heard she's pretty? Let mom meet her?"

  Xiao Jinhua's tone was relaxed, but Tang Yi's heart sank suddenly. Needless to say, if Second Uncle knew, then the entire Tang family knew too. Calling Mom would definitely be to ask her to persuade him to let go.

  "Mom, what did Second Uncle say?"

  Xiao Jinhua smiled: "How can you say that you don't have a plan? Xiao Yi, this is your first love, and according to reason, Mom shouldn't stop you. But things aren't as simple as you think. Second Uncle told me something my old father said, 'You have a great future ahead of you, don't get entangled in romantic affairs.'"

  Tang Yi furrowed his brow and didn't speak, although he knew it was bound to come eventually, but he hadn't expected it to stir up the old master so suddenly. He had originally wanted to take a detour and ask his mother to plead on his behalf in front of the old master, but unexpectedly the old master received news before his mother did.

  "Xiao Yi, don't be discouraged, I think this way: your little girlfriend should follow me first. I heard she's just an ordinary girl from the county town, didn't even attend college. Xiao Yi, now maybe you two have a good relationship, but have you thought about the future? As your path gets longer and longer, no matter how much you care for her, with the increasing gap between your social status, will she be happy? Do you want her to spend her whole life anxiously hiding behind you?"

  Tang Yi was silent, Xiao Jinhua's words had struck a chord in his heart. He wasn't unaware of these issues, he just deceived himself into thinking that as long as he loved her, it would be enough. In fact, Tang Yi knew that this way of thinking was somewhat selfish.

  "Xiao Yi, if you really care about her, then give her the chance to leave you. Let go and let her help me see the vast world outside. Give her a choice, even if she ultimately chooses to leave you, it won't be in vain that you liked her once."

  Tang Yi was a bit unhappy: "Mom, why are you talking like this? It sounds like Qijie will leave me as soon as she sees the world!"

  Xiao Jinhua giggled: "Silly boy, it seems you really like her a lot. Then you should give her the opportunity to choose for herself. If she leaves you in the future, that's one less worry for you. There are plenty of girls waiting for you in the capital."

  "Tang Yi sighed and said: 'Mom, what if I don't let Qijie go?'"

  Xiao Jinhua's tone also turned serious: "You should understand your second uncle's temperament, don't harm that child."

  Tang Yi thought of Tang Wanjun's ruthless and unscrupulous methods, and fell silent again. For the sake of the Tang family, Second Uncle would stop at nothing. Now, it seemed that his own marriage was also tied to the interests of the family.

  "Xiao Yi, actually it's good this way. Don't you want your little girlfriend to see the world? You can also calmly think about how you should proceed. Xiao Yi, what you need to do now is make progress politically. Once you can speak up in our Tang family, the issue with your little girlfriend won't be a problem anymore."

  Tang Yi nodded slightly, he didn't blame his second uncle much. Standing at a different angle, the way of looking at problems is naturally different. If you want to blame, you can only blame yourself for not being qualified enough. In Tang's family affairs, he had no right to speak, including his own lifelong events.

  "Xiao Yi, think carefully about it and call me back when you're done."

  Tang Yi fell silent for a moment before saying, "Don't worry about it, I'll persuade Qi Jie to help you in the next few days. Mom, take good care of her from now on."

  Xiao Jinhua smiled with relief: "Not bad, this is the way it should be, can hold and put down, my foolish son has finally grown up!"

  Tang Yi felt a bit bitter in his heart and slowly hung up the phone.

  ……

  The night was deep, the round moon hung in the sky, and the water of Swan Lake sparkled. On a reclining cow stone by the lake, Tang Yi sat shoulder to shoulder with Qi Jie, gazing up at the bright moon. In his heart, Tang Yi let out a soft sigh, and once again tightened his arms around Qi Jie's shoulders.

  "Go!" Qijie shook off his hand, biting her red lips as she looked at Tang Yi: "What are you thinking again?" As she spoke, her face grew hot and flushed. These past few days, he didn't know what was wrong with him, crazily making love to himself every day, exhausting himself to the point of near death. And now, in the middle of the night, he insisted on dragging her out to enjoy the view. No, no, he must be thinking... As she thought about it, Qijie grew a bit frightened and hastily shifted her buttocks to the side, preparing to get up and make a run for it.

  Tang Yi smiled and turned his head to say: "Qijie, have you ever thought of going out to make a name for yourself? Perhaps one day, you will stand confidently at the pinnacle of the world."

  With a charming smile, she reached out and grasped his arm: "You think you're still thinking about something, standing at the pinnacle of the world is what men do, having you is enough for me!"

  Tang Yi smiled and said: "Don't you want to look down on me and taste what it's like?"

  Qijie smiled and leaned into Tang Yi's ear: "I serve you every day, isn't it pleasant?"

  Tang Yi shook her head helplessly, knowing that she was intentionally interrupting. She pulled over Qijie's hand and said softly, "Qijie, let's go to Hainan in a few days to help Mom out. She's mentioned it to me several times already, and she wants to see you..."

  Qijie's face turned pale in an instant, and she looked at Tang Yi nervously, her voice trembling: "Is... is it that your family knows?"

  Tang Yi nodded slightly, grasping Qijie's hand tightly: "Qijie, don't be afraid, as long as you're holding my hand, I won't give up on you." He then relaxed his tone to comfort her: "Don't worry, mom is fine, she'll definitely like you."

  Qijie fell silent for a moment, then spoke softly: "I'll listen to you, whatever you want me to do, I'll do it." She leaned her head on Tang Yi's shoulder, not letting him see the tears falling from her eyes.

  Tang Yi silently held her tightly, and after a long while, he joked: "You helping my mom can also enrich yourself, who knows, in a few years you'll become a rich lady and look down on me, this poor little boy."

  Qijie smiled and said: "That's right, see if you dare bully me again!" Tears, however, kept streaming down from the corners of her eyes.

  Under the bright moonlight, the two shadows leaned against each other, gradually merging into one, as if they could never be separated again.

  ……

  In the dimly lit bar, Tang Yi sipped the green tea that the waiter had just brought over, looking so carefree. No one could tell that he had just experienced the cruelest blow in his life, having just sent away the person he deeply loved.

  Yao Xiaohong sat far away, looking at him, and sighed deeply, but knew that this kind of man did not need her empty comfort.

  On the colorful stage, the female singer sang and danced lightly, singing Alan Tam's "Water Flower" "...like a fragrance floating in the wind, faintly disappearing, but seeing you makes me not want to hide again, I'm not afraid of wind and rain, just wanting to get drunk together..."

  The song's gentle and lingering melody perhaps accurately expressed Tang Yi's current mood, which was also the song he had just chosen.

  The song ended, and Tang Yi stood up, walking out of the bar with big strides. Looking at his resolute back, Yao Xiaohong sighed. He was a man who seemed to be both ruthless and sentimental at the same time. Was he really heartless or just pretending to be? She couldn't see through him either. All she knew was that Qi Jie was foolish, using the excuse of having a sister in the south whose business had taken off, and that she wanted to go out and make a name for herself, enduring the scolding and criticism of her parents as she left. But Yao Xiaohong also felt happy for this "sister" of hers, perhaps she could find her own sky.