It was still very big.
By the time he woke again, the aroma of food had drifted into the living room, making his stomach growl with hunger.
Why was the male lead home so early today?
Tang Mingxi stretched, then shuffled downstairs from the third floor to the first in his slippers.
Ye Heng stood beside the stone kitchen island, where several dishes that looked, smelled, and surely tasted delicious were already laid out.
The sight made Tang Mingxi's mouth water.
Well, well, that damn male lead had quite the attitude.
He'd only just gotten his allowance, and he already knew to cook me something delicious. Not bad. A huge improvement over before.
Tang Mingxi asked with studied reserve, "Why are you home so early today?"
Ye Heng gave him a look that clearly meant, "Didn't you ask me to come home?"
Tang Mingxi failed to decipher it. His eyes were fixed entirely on the food.
After dinner, Ye Heng put all the dishes into the dishwasher.
Watching how domestically capable he was, Tang Mingxi couldn't help thinking.
If only I'd transmigrated a little earlier, before the original owner humiliated Ye Heng. Maybe their awful relationship could still have been salvaged then?
Then I wouldn't have to be cannon-fodder scum, either.
He thought Ye Heng had a pretty good personality, too. It was honestly a shame they couldn't be friends.
But there was no point dwelling on it. He should spare some pity for his own few remaining days alive first. :)
After dinner, Tang Mingxi headed upstairs as usual, but Ye Heng stopped him. "Tang Mingxi."
He paused and heard Ye Heng suggest, "Do you want to watch a movie?"
Watch... a movie?
Were they on the kind of terms where they could sit together and watch a movie?
Tang Mingxi was speechless and was just about to say no.
Then it was as though someone had struck him hard over the head, and he belatedly remembered.
-Today was the Qixi Festival.
The refusal reached his throat, only to be blocked by some mysterious force.
When Tang Mingxi gave no response, Ye Heng smoothly rephrased the question.
This time, his voice was much lower than before.
"I mean, may I have the chance to invite you to watch a movie?"
Chapter 22: A date
After Ye Heng said that, Tang Mingxi loftily left him with an icy "I'll think about it" and returned to his bedroom.
"I'll think about it" meant "relay every pointless word your boyfriend says to your best friend."
Then analyze the content, deconstruct the wording, and determine what had been going through that damn man's head when he said it.
Although Ye Heng wasn't his boyfriend, given their relationship, that rule still applied.
After relaying the exchange word for word, Tang Mingxi typed into the chat: [Should I go or not?]
When Wang Min received Tang Mingxi's messages, she could only bow down in respect.
[If I may ask, is it illegal to lure a single person in just to murder them with your romantic bliss? :)]
Tang Mingxi: [.]
Tang Mingxi: [Actually, I don't want to go (.)]
The instant Princess sent that message, Wang Min understood.
With Tang Mingxi's personality, there was only one rule: agree with him and prosper, oppose him and perish. Just humor him.
Wang Min: [Exactly! Your husband is unbelievable. He invited you to a movie without even buying you a bouquet of roses? Is he insane? Who's going out with him this late at night? He should've told our baby sooner. Doesn't doing your makeup and choosing an outfit take time? (Angry)]
Tang Mingxi: [But since he begged me like that, I suppose I'll go.]
Tang Mingxi: [?]
Wang Min unsent a message.
Wang Min: [I was just saying you should go. It's the Qixi Festival, after all. Your husband is so busy, but he still made time to take you out to a movie. Sob, sob, what kind of heavenly romance is this? I ship it. TvT]
The speed at which she changed her tune was practically an art form.
Tang Mingxi stood before the walk-in closet, holding his phone near his lips as he picked out clothes and sent a voice message.
"Should I change into something else?"
The dressing room in Mingxi No. 1 Mansion was a curved space roughly a dozen meters across, with an eight-meter ceiling spanning two floors.
The luxury goods displayed in its glass cabinets were more comprehensive than the stock in some brands' boutiques. A dazzling array of shoes and clothes greeted the eye.
It was still very big.
They were neatly sorted by collection release date and brand.
Tang Mingxi only ever wore clothes worth hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of yuan once.
There were simply too many to get through. :)
Wang Min's voice message came back: "Of course you should change! This is a date!"
The lilting sound of a restaurant violin, along with running water, could be heard in the background.
From the sounds of it, she seemed to be eating out.
Remembering that Wang Min also had plans tonight, Tang Mingxi suddenly felt a little embarrassed about disturbing her.
After exchanging a few more words, he stopped messaging her.
But the word "date" from her voice message kept circling in his head.
His fingers paused on an IONI limited-edition suit from the current season, then withdrew.
What am I doing?
Have I lost my mind?
Why am I changing clothes just to go watch a movie with a man?
Tang Mingxi immediately turned and walked out of the dressing room, expressionless.
He covered his face in despair and flung himself onto the bed, then attempted to smother himself with a three-thousand-dollar pillow.
*Better yet, smother myself into amnesia so I can hurry up and forget how I was just picking an outfit to go watch a movie with Ye Heng. :)*
Although no one had seen him, Tang Mingxi felt he had suffered another terminal bout of embarrassment.
Ten minutes later, Tang Mingxi regrouped and returned to the dressing room.
What the hell did making himself look good have to do with Ye Heng?
*A handsome man had to look immaculate every day, from the tips of his hair to his toes. :)*
Tang Mingxi quickly chose a light green blazer with a silky drape and paired it with a collared shirt, its neckline low enough to reveal a patch of snow-white skin.
The whole look was very fresh.
His skin was already fair, and the clothes gave that fairness an almost hazy quality.
The outfit suited summer perfectly. Most importantly, it had that calculated air of looking casual despite being carefully put together. :)
All in all, it wouldn't make him look embarrassingly overdressed.
Tang Mingxi lingered in front of the mirror for a while, then slipped two height-boosting insoles into his shoes.
A man could lose at anything but height. Round it up, and he was 180 centimeters tall!
Finally, when choosing accessories, Tang Mingxi went with a crossbody bag over earrings.
What kind of man wore studs? So effeminate!
So declared Second Young Master Tang to an entire wall of earrings.
By the time Ye Heng received Tang Mingxi's answer, an hour had passed.
Second Young Master Tang condescended to sit on the sofa and indicated that, since Ye Heng had been the one to beg him first, he had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
Ye Heng noticed that he had changed his perfume today.
He used to favor cloyingly sweet scents, so a sugary fragrance always lingered around him.
Today, however, it was fruity, sweet with a tart edge.
It suited the summer season very well.
After making his declaration, Tang Mingxi asked in an extremely indifferent tone, "What movie are we watching? Have you picked one?"
Half an hour earlier, Assistant Zhou had compiled a spreadsheet of every movie currently playing and sent it to Ye Heng.
She had also obtained copies of the films from the cinema and uploaded them to the home theater system at Mingxi No. 1.
"Godzilla vs. Kong."
"..."
Tang Mingxi found the male lead's taste deeply concerning.
Shouldn't they be watching an arthouse film like Love Letter for the Qixi Festival?
*Whatever. That damn man was paying for the tickets anyway. :)*
Tang Mingxi