Chapter 46

He recalled the distance from the park to the parking lot.

Yet he remained firmly seated on the bench.

Ye Heng looked at him calmly: ...

Tang Mingxi reservedly indicated that his legs were temporarily unable to support him standing upright.

He spoke softly. "I don't want to walk anymore."

Unfortunately, his hint was completely useless. Ye Heng had not understood him at all.

Tang Mingxi had been abandoned on a park bench qvq!

That dog of a man! Hadn't he just run all that way to chase after him?!

Otherwise, why would he be out here feeding mosquitoes?!

Unable to bear it any longer, Tang Mingxi took a few steps after Ye Heng and suddenly grabbed his tie.

He yanked Ye Heng's body slightly back around.

At that moment, a passing mother and daughter's conversation drifted over.

The mother held a Samoyed's leash and said to her daughter, "Sweetie, whenever you take the dog for a walk, you have to hold the leash properly, understand? Otherwise, the dog might bite people."

The little girl nodded vigorously.

Then she saw Tang Mingxi tugging Ye Heng along by his tie, looking just like herself holding a dog leash.

With the bluntness of a child, she said, "Is Big Brother walking his dog too?"

Tang Mingxi: ...

Ye Heng: ...

Talking Dirty

That night, after returning home, Tang Mingxi took the sapphire brooch from the bedroom, stood at the top of the stairs, and casually tossed it down.

Ye Heng happened to be passing by and caught it perfectly.

The velvet box was exquisitely made. Tang Mingxi said, "A birthday present for you."

Inside was a sapphire brooch. Ye Heng lowered his lashes and looked at it for a while, recalling what he had heard at White Ocean Private Kitchen earlier that day.

Before He Ling returned to the country, Tang Mingxi had apparently picked out a gift for him.

"Is this only for me?"

Obviously, you dog of a male lead. It cost me over twenty million :)

Tang Mingxi's heart ached every time he thought about it.

"You don't like it, do you?" He watched Ye Heng warily.

He had the domineering air of someone saying, "Just try saying you don't like it."

Ye Heng looked at him. Tang Mingxi abruptly rushed downstairs and made to snatch the gift back from his hand.

"If you don't like it, give it back!"

So annoying :)

Ye Heng lifted his hand, and Tang Mingxi grabbed nothing but air.

With no advantage in height, Tang Mingxi could only stand on tiptoe to snatch the velvet box. He was practically hanging off Ye Heng.

Though Tang Mingxi was light, he had not thrown himself forward gently.

Ye Heng stepped half a pace back. To keep his balance, he slid his right arm across Tang Mingxi's waist and held him steady.

"Tang Mingxi, I need to remind you that today is my eighteenth birthday." Ye Heng restrained him with one hand, but Tang Mingxi wore a nude-colored ice-silk pajama set. His naturally cool body kept rubbing against Ye Heng's, making Ye Heng click his tongue inwardly.

"What's so special about an eighteenth birthday? I'm three years older than you. Do you know what it means to respect the old and cherish the young?" Tang Mingxi completely missed the implication in Ye Heng's words and glared as he lectured him.

"Are you very old?" Ye Heng raised a brow.

"That's why I'm telling you to cherish the young." Tang Mingxi retorted, utterly confident.

"What I mean is—" Ye Heng's arm tightened slightly. Tang Mingxi lost his balance in his hold and stumbled forward, crashing into the young man's scorching chest.

Then he heard Ye Heng add coolly, "I'm an adult now."

He! Was! Actually! Making! A! Dirty! Joke!

Tang Mingxi had never imagined that one day he would be teased by the male lead.

Ye Heng's words kept circling through his mind like brainwashing, leaving him utterly stunned.

After watching Tang Mingxi return to his room as though struck by lightning, Ye Heng took out his phone and scrolled through his Moments.

He found that Tang Mingxi still had not posted any photos.

For this refined little vase who made a huge fuss on Moments whenever anything happened, how could he possibly take photos and not post them?

Ye Heng found it rather strange. He switched back to the chat page and briefly considered how to word his message before sending it.

But the moment he returned, the large red exclamation mark in the chat box came into view.

Only then did Ye Heng remember that Tang Mingxi had blocked him some time ago.

Ever since Ye Heng had reminded Tang Mingxi that he was an adult that night, apart from the embarrassment of being teased, Tang Mingxi had also been suppressing a faint anxiety.

He remembered that in the original novel, Ye Heng returned to Cloud Capital less than a month after turning eighteen.

What followed was the plot where Ye Heng washed away his humiliation, returned to the Tang Family, and carved Tang Mingxi into a thousand pieces.

Tang Mingxi believed that compared with the original owner, he had not offended the male lead much.

But what if the male lead was just the vindictive type? :)

Time was running out.

He had to hurry and prepare to flee overseas.

Tang Mingxi began visiting the private swimming club more frequently. Whenever he was not at home, he was at the swimming club.

To avoid the Tang Family finding records of his spending at the swimming club, Tang Mingxi even bought a membership package registered under an upscale massage parlor. Everything was handled flawlessly.

Half a month had passed since He Ling returned to the country, and Tang Mingxi had long forgotten about him.

A few days later, the current girlfriend of Wang Min's college first love suddenly returned to the country and held an art exhibition salon. Tang Mingxi received an invitation from Wang Min, asking whether he was free Saturday afternoon to come make up the numbers.

Tang Mingxi had not been very willing to go at first. At least at a concert, he could take a nap in the audience.

At an art exhibition, not only could he not understand anything, but he also had to keep walking through the gallery. It was exhausting.

More importantly, wherever Tang Mingxi went, there was always a flock of fair-weather friends.

The moment they saw him, they buzzed around his head, giving Tang Mingxi a headache.

Wang Min's messages came bombarding him:

[I get mad just thinking about it. What does that little green-tea bitch know about art? Isn't she just using her family's money to show off?]

[She even smugly sent me an invitation. If I don't go there and utterly outshine her, I'll write Wang backward!]

Tang Mingxi: [Wang is still Wang backward :)]

Wang Min: [.]

Wang Min pestered him on WeChat for half the day. Tang Mingxi eventually could not withstand the sugar-coated barrage and agreed to attend the exhibition.

Another week passed, and the day of the exhibition arrived.

Outside the Zhongshan Road gallery, Wang Min wore a smoky-pink gown that reached her ankles. Every strand of her hair had been meticulously styled. Carrying a Hermès Birkin platinum bag, wearing a ten-carat pink diamond ring, and stepping in twelve-centimeter nude-pink Jimmy Choos, she gracefully approached and linked her arm through Tang Mingxi's.

Tang Mingxi felt that something was slightly off. He wanted to say that men and women should keep their distance, but Wang Min did not consider him a man at all.

She immediately leaned close to his ear and muttered a string of complaints, then looked at Tang Mingxi's face enviously.

"Post more selfies on your Moments in the future. Your edited photos aren't nearly as good-looking as you are in person."

"What foundation are you using? I can't see any makeup at all."

"The last time I went scouting shops, I found a super pretty place with a starry-sky theme. When are you free to go check in there?"

"Have your husband drive us."

Forget it. Too tired. Let the world burn. This was fine :)

After half a year of practice, Tang Mingxi had become quite adept at handling gatherings like this among rich second-generation heirs.

He first dealt with a wave of fair-weather friends who surrounded him the moment they saw him. After enjoying a round of flattery as everyone clustered around him, the gallery owner, Anni, came over and took Tang Mingxi's hand, pretending to be close.

Wang Min rolled her eyes on the spot. Every meticulously made-up pore on her face seemed to proclaim, "I'm about to tear you, you little bitch, apart."

"Darling, I'm Anni. I heard about Second Young Master Tang when I was studying abroad. Seeing you in person really is better than hearing about you a hundred times. You're even more handsome in person than in photos."

Tang Mingxi politely greeted her.