Chapter 16: Uncle Tang’s Busy Schedule

Jiang You ate a bowl of red bean double-skin milk and drank a large bowl of dried tangerine peel seaweed mung bean soup, leaving her stomach round and full. Only then did she wipe her mouth clean and leave Qi Ye’s house.

She walked to the bus station to wait for a bus, intending to head back to the Fu family’s old house.

With a quick glance, she noticed a black Mercedes parked by the roadside not far away. The car was common, but the license plate number was 88866, which was hard to forget.

On her way here, she had been on the bus, and the car had been following her for about twenty minutes. She didn’t expect it to be going to the same place.

However, as the bus didn’t arrive, a silver-gray Koenigsegg stopped in front of her. As the window slowly lowered, Jiang You saw the person inside.

The man was wearing a black silk shirt and black sunglasses. When he took off the sunglasses, revealing his charming peach blossom eyes, he flashed a playful smile.

“Little girl, we meet again?”

The man looked somewhat familiar, and his smile was mischievous. After last night’s events, Jiang You became wary, though she tried to recall where she had seen him before.

The man explained, “Did you forget me after drinking too much last night? I even offered you some orange juice.”

Jiang You finally remembered.

“Where are you going? I’ll give you a ride!” Tang Yu waved at her.

Jiang You was unfamiliar with Tang Yu’s identity and firmly declined, “No, I’ll take the bus.”

Tang Yu guessed her thoughts and said, “I’m friends with Fu Jin.”

Suspicion flashed in Jiang You’s eyes. Tang Yu smiled, took out his phone, and dialed a number.

Half a minute later, the man spoke.

“Hello, Jin Ge, I ran into that little girl from last night. She’s waiting for the bus under the hot sun. She doesn’t want me to give her a ride. Could you talk to her?”

He handed her the phone, and Jiang You hesitated to approach. Tang Yu added, “It’s from Fu Jin, aren’t you going to answer?”

Jiang You was half-convinced. She didn’t think this man was entirely good, but also didn’t feel he was bad. She slowly stepped forward, stretched out her hand, and quickly grabbed the phone, fearing he might pull her into the car.

At the sound of his teasing chuckle, she clearly saw the name on the screen—“Jin Ge.”

She held the phone to her ear, and a familiar and safe voice came through.

“Youyou, it’s me.”

Jiang You glanced at Tang Yu, and the man returned her a reassuring look. See, I wasn’t lying.

Fu Jin: “Tang Yu is my friend, you don’t have to be scared. If you want to go somewhere, just let him take you.”

“Okay.”

“Have you met my friend?”

“I’ve met him. I’m heading back to Qixia Villa now.”

“Be careful.”

“Got it.”

Jiang You returned the phone to the man, and her tone softened, “Thank you, Uncle Tang.”

Tang Yu wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be angry. With this level of respect, he felt much older in an instant.

Jiang You got into the car, and Tang Yu asked, “Where to?”

Jiang You thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go to Changning Street, then back to Qixia Villa.”

Tang Yu started the car, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve moved into the old house?”

Jiang You answered truthfully, “My mom is on a business trip, and no one’s home. I’m staying at Uncle Fu’s place for a few days.”

The car slowly headed toward Changning Street.

“I heard you’ve known Fu Jin for many years. Tell me, did he do anything embarrassing when he was a kid?”

The man asked with ill intent, and Jiang You felt he wasn’t very bright.

“We’ve only met twice.” Jiang You kindly reminded him.

Meaning, I’m not familiar with you, yet you want to ask me about Uncle Fu.

Jiang You thought Tang Yu would be upset by her attitude, but instead, Tang Yu’s brain seemed to work differently, and his eyes gleamed with light.

“So, Fu Jin really had some embarrassing moments as a child?”

But it was inconvenient for her to share.

“No!” Jiang You firmly denied, seeing that the man didn’t believe her. She added, “He’s your friend, don’t you know his character?”

Anyone with Fu Jin would only make the other person look like a fool.

Tang Yu tilted his head, not giving up, but having to admit defeat. “True.”

Changning Street was close, and within a few minutes, they arrived. Jiang You asked Tang Yu to stop in front of Chen Ji Dim Sum Shop.

Soon, Jiang You got back into the car carrying three large bags. Seeing this, Tang Yu smiled. “As expected of a little girl, you love sweets.”

The car started again, heading toward Qixia Villa.

Jiang You explained, “I bought them for Xiajie… Fu Lao Lao (Grandma Fu). She loves the plum blossom cake from this place.”

Ruan Guixia loved Southern-style pastries. Jiang You bought them not only to cater to her taste but also because she felt staying in someone’s home was an inconvenience.

The other person was generous, but she still had to be polite.

Tang Yu, hearing her change the way she referred to Fu Lao Lao, couldn’t help but think of Fu Jin’s troublesome mother. He almost wanted to laugh but kept a serious expression.

“Such a filial child?”

“This is called feeding a good friend.”

As she spoke, Jiang You handed one of the bags to Tang Yu.

“What’s this for?” Tang Yu asked, surprised.

Jiang You answered earnestly, “It’s for you, to cover the ride fee.”

Tang Yu chuckled. “You’re calculating with Uncle so precisely.”

“Of course, I can’t owe anyone.”

Tang Yu laughed and accepted the bag. “Then I’ll thank you, Uncle!”

“You’re welcome, their pastries are delicious, the plum blossom cake and the crabapple cake are one of a kind.”

Just as Tang Yu was about to try it, his phone rang. It was an unknown number, and he answered it. Since he was driving, he switched to speakerphone.

A sweet voice came through.

“Tang Shao, what are you doing? I’m having a birthday party tonight at Sheng Tang. Come and support me!”

Tang Yu frowned, thinking for ten seconds but couldn’t place the voice.

“Sorry, I’m busy tonight. Let’s do it another time.”

Another time? That would probably be next year.

The woman continued, “Tang Shao, give me some face! I finally booked the Cloud Room at Sheng Tang, and several of my friends want to meet you! Plus, I heard Sheng Tang’s beds are super soft, and I want to go try them out!”

“Cloud Room” was the name of Sheng Tang’s most exclusive private dining room, and it was hard to book. Only members had access, and the price to reserve a room was high, not including the food and drinks.

It wasn’t about the food, it was about the money burned.

“No time!”

Tang Yu’s voice turned cold. He had never been kind to women he didn’t like.

He hung up before the woman could respond.

Just as the call ended, a WeChat call came in.

Tang Yu answered again. This time, a different sweet voice came through.

Tang Yu’s attitude was slightly better, and he agreed to the invitation and even paid for the room fee.

Then Tang Yu replied to a few other WeChat messages, and based on his tone, the messages were from women, and their goal was the same—tonight.

Tang Yu explained to each one, “I’m busy tonight, let’s reschedule.”

Once he hung up the phone, Jiang You remarked, “Uncle Tang is really busy!”

Tang Yu grinned. “This is called male charm. Fu Jin doesn’t get this treatment.”

Jiang You rolled her eyes. Fu Jin wouldn’t care, but she was curious as to why he rejected the first woman.

Tang Yu explained, “The woman who called isn’t someone I have on WeChat.”

Jiang You looked confused.

Tang Yu continued, “Women who want to date me usually contact me on WeChat. If she calls me directly, it means she has my number. And the only reason she wouldn’t contact me on WeChat is that she’s ugly and I didn’t add her.”

The man was seriously talking nonsense, and Jiang You frowned.

“Then how do you remember the faces of so many women?”

Tang Yu had just replied to more than ten people, and Jiang You was impressed he could remember so many faces and even compare them to determine the most beautiful.

“I don’t remember any of them.”