Tang Wu turned back to look at Lin Qianxue. "Don't worry, I won't tell Si Yanli about what you've done."
Lin Qianxue curled her lips in a self-deprecating smile. "Even if you tell him, it doesn't matter anymore. He will never forgive me in this lifetime!"
Tang Wu furrowed her brows. "What do you want to say to me?"
Lin Qianxue's eyelashes fluttered slightly. She took a deep breath and said, "Actually, when you and I were competing for the title of campus beauty, Si Yanli didn't vote for me. Of course, he didn't vote for you either. At that time, his mind was entirely on his studies, and he didn't even pay attention to which girls were pretty or not."
"Also, he never saw the love letter you wrote to him back then. The truth is, I secretly took it, tore it up, and threw it into the trash can."
"To be honest, I was terrified of having you as my competitor!"
A sharp glint flashed across Tang Wu's beautiful eyes. "So it was you!"
Lin Qianxue's lips curled into a self-mocking arc. "It was me. Actually, I always knew you had a secret crush on Si Yanli. At school, I deliberately walked shoulder to shoulder with him past you, and I deliberately had him design a bracelet for me. I just wanted to make you jealous and give up, so you would stay away from him in the future."
"But I never expected the bond between you two to be so deep. Thinking about it now, I feel like a complete clown!"
"But none of this is the main point. The main point is that I want you to pass a message to Si Yanli for me. I want to tell him I'm sorry."
Tang Wu looked at Lin Qianxue with a cold expression. "In this world, not everyone who makes a mistake and says sorry will be forgiven."
A hint of gloom flashed in Lin Qianxue's eyes. "I know he won't forgive me, and I don't expect him to."
Tang Wu pressed her lips tightly together. "Never appearing in front of him again will be your best atonement."
Without waiting for Lin Qianxue to say anything else, Tang Wu strode away.
...
Tang Wu returned to the country two days early.
She didn't tell Si Yanli, and went directly to his company's parking garage to wait for him.
Si Yanli got off work a little after seven. He walked to the garage and was just about to get into his car when a slender figure suddenly jumped out. "Surprise!"
Seeing Tang Wu, Si Yanli's phoenix eyes behind his glasses slightly contracted.
He raised a large hand to touch his forehead. "I'm not dreaming, am I?"
As soon as his voice fell, he strode forward on his long legs, reached out his long arms, and pulled the woman tightly into his embrace.
"You lied to me." She had told him it would take at least another three or four days before she could return to the country. He had asked her to send her flight information so he could pick her up at the airport in person.
Tang Wu's delicate white hands pushed gently against the man's chest. "Mr. Si, you said you were going to pursue me. How come you are hugging and holding me the moment we meet?"
Si Yanli pulled her back into his arms. "Hug first, pursue later."
Being held tightly by him, Tang Wu rested her small face against his chest. Smelling the crisp, unique scent that belonged only to him, her nose tingled slightly.
During the month they were apart, she had tried to stop herself from thinking about him.
But no matter how busy work was, or how fulfilling her days were, in the dead of night, she still missed him.
Even though her grandmother's accident had left a hurdle in her heart, her sister-in-law was right: wasn't her happiness and joy what her grandmother wanted to see most?
Through this month of adjustment, she had stopped overthinking things.
Life is only a short thirty thousand days; a lifetime passes in the blink of an eye.
She didn't want to be separated from him anymore.
"Si Yanli, let's get in the car first!"
Si Yanli finally let go of Tang Wu and gentlemanly opened the car door for her.
After the Cullinan drove away, Xu Dai, who had been hiding in the corner, stepped out.
Xu Dai had taken quite a few photos of the scene where Si Yanli and Tang Wu were hugging just now.
She truly never expected that Tang Wu had actually become Si Yanli's mistress.
No wonder Tang Wu hadn't even been appearing on variety shows lately. It turned out she had hooked up with a sugar daddy!
If she made these photos public, Tang Wu would probably become a rat crossing the street, despised by everyone!
As Si Yanli drove, he occasionally turned his head to look at Tang Wu. "What do you want to eat?"
Tang Wu pursed her red lips, tilted her head, and thought for a moment. Seeing that Yili School, where they used to study, was not far away, she said in a sweet voice, "Do you remember the snack street behind Yili School?"
Si Yanli nodded. "I remember. You want to eat the food there?"
"But with your status, you probably rarely ate there in the past, right?"
Si Yanli replied, "If you want to eat there, I can accompany you."
Seeing that he didn't spoil her mood, a smile rippled across Tang Wu's lips. "Okay."
The two of them arrived at the snack street. It was exactly as Tang Wu remembered it, filled with small stalls selling food, toys, and clothes. It was extraordinarily bustling.
Tang Wu led Si Yanli to a Malatang shop.
The proprietress saw Tang Wu and said with a beaming smile, "Little girl, long time no see. You've grown even prettier."
"Hello, Auntie."
The proprietress had been running the shop here for over twenty years. Tang Wu used to come eat here often when she was in school. Because she was beautiful and polite, the proprietress had a deep impression of her.
The proprietress looked smilingly at Si Yanli beside Tang Wu. "Is he your boyfriend?"
Tang Wu didn't know how to introduce Si Yanli. She couldn't very well say he was her ex-husband!
"I am her suitor," Si Yanli said, seeing through Tang Wu's thoughts and helping her out of the predicament.
The proprietress smiled and said, "Go ahead and pick out whatever you want to eat yourselves."
Tang Wu nodded.
Si Yanli had grown up in a prestigious family. His temperament was noble, elegant, refined, and proper, making him look completely out of place in a small Malatang shop.
However, he didn't show any distaste. After the Malatang was served, he and Tang Wu started eating together.
"If you don't like it, don't force yourself."
"I'm not. The taste is actually quite good."
After eating, Tang Wu suggested going to the school campus to take a look.
When the security guard saw Si Yanli, he recognized him at a glance. "Mr. Si, what brings you here?"
A while ago, the school had invited Si Yanli to attend its fiftieth-anniversary celebration.
"We'd like to go into the campus to take a look."
If it were anyone else, the security guard wouldn't have let them in, but Si Yanli was different. He was the school's poster child. Almost every year during admissions, the school would use him as an example, because he was the pride of Yili School.
Tang Wu and Si Yanli walked shoulder to shoulder on the campus. When a male student rode past them on a bicycle, Tang Wu subconsciously looked toward him.
"What are you looking at?" Si Yanli asked, his voice clear and mellow.
Tang Wu pursed her lips. She lifted her long eyelashes to look at Si Yanli. "Did you know that I once had a secret crush on someone here?"
Si Yanli's tall and slender figure stiffened slightly.
She had a secret crush on someone here?
Tang Wu held up her fingers in a gesture. "For eight years."
Si Yanli's brows unconsciously furrowed tightly. "Who is he?"
Just then, another male student rode over on a bicycle. Tang Wu unconsciously stepped forward and asked politely, "Classmate, could I borrow your bicycle for a moment?"
The boy looked at the bright and stunningly beautiful Tang Wu, and then glanced at Si Yanli standing not far away.
After recognizing that Si Yanli was the unrivaled legend of their school, he nodded excitedly and shyly in agreement.
"Mr. Si, if you ride me around the campus for a lap, I'll tell you who the person I secretly loved for eight years is."
