Chapter 759
Soft Rice is Easy to Digest
The reason why Xu Bo'an felt that Tang Muyang's arrival was so sudden was not because he was unwelcome, but because Xu Bo'an had previously told Tang Muyang that he wanted him to come and work for him. Tang Muyang had said that his company's rent had not expired and that he would have to wait another year or two before making a decision. He did not expect that Tang Muyang would arrive in such a short time, which was completely unexpected by Xu Bo'an.
Xu Bo'an composed himself and said, "Alright, drive carefully, just come directly to the Central Courtyard to find your brother."
After hanging up the phone, Xu Bo'an got up, tidied himself up, and waited at home for his cousin Tang Muyang to arrive.
About an hour and a half later, the doorbell of Xu Bo'an's villa rang. Xu Bo'an looked at the smart video doorbell system installed in his home and saw that the person standing outside the door was none other than his cousin, Tang Muyang.
Xu Bo'an then opened the door, and Tang Muyang entered with a smile, saying to Xu Bo'an, "Cousin, I'm determined to work for you this time. Once I'm here, I'm not leaving! You won't find me annoying, will you?"
Xu Bo'an looked at Tang Muyang and said with a smile, "What are you saying, kid? Since I told you before that you would come and work for me, how could I, your brother, break my word? Come on in, let's have a good chat."
Tang Muyang changed into slippers and sat on the sofa. Xu Bo'an poured his cousin Tang Muyang a glass of water before sitting down himself, and then voiced his doubts: "Muyang, last time I asked you to come work for me, didn't you say your rent was still a long way from due? I was thinking that if you were to come, it would be at least half a year later. Why is it so soon?"
Tang Muyang said, "What? Are you not welcoming me to look around?"
Xu Bo'an said, "You brat, you know perfectly well that's not what your brother meant. Speak up if you have something to say, and stop arguing with me!"
Tang Muyang, of course, knew that his cousin didn't mean it that way. He then said, "To be honest, I did plan to come to Dongjiang to find you after the lease expired. I didn't expect the landlord to be going to another city and planning to sell the two-story building I was renting. Although the sale does not break the lease, recently, during my office hours, real estate agents have been bringing me to see the building. My advertising company isn't very profitable to begin with, and with them bothering me like this, I'm even less motivated to work. So I discussed with the landlord about canceling the lease early, and that's why I came to find you as soon as possible."
Xu Bo'an agreed with Tang Muyang's words, saying, "You did the right thing. It was right of me to come and seek refuge with your brother as soon as possible!"
Tang Muyang smiled and nodded, saying to Xu Bo'an, "Cousin is right!"
After chatting for a while, it was lunchtime, so Xu Bo'an took Tang Muyang to Wanda Plaza near the Central Courtyard for lunch.
They chose a Chinese restaurant based on their tastes. After ordering their food, they sat down at a window seat. Just as they were chatting, a voice suddenly rang out, "Dr. Xu, Tang Muyang, you're here too! What a coincidence!"
Upon hearing the voice, the two looked up and saw that the person standing next to their dining table was Zhang Wenzhong's daughter, Zhang Panpan.
Xu Bo'an thought that he had taken his cousin to Zhang Wenzhong's house once before, so it was not surprising that Zhang Panpan knew Tang Muyang. Although they knew each other, they had only met once and were certainly not familiar with each other. So Xu Bo'an spoke first to Zhang Panpan, "Panpan, are you here to eat? Where are your parents?"
Zhang Panpan said, "Oh, Dr. Xu, my parents are both out today, and our housekeeper also had something come up and took the day off, so I came out to eat by myself. I didn't expect to run into you all by chance."
Xu Bo'an looked at Zhang Panpan and said with a smile, "That's perfect, sit down and eat with us!"
Zhang Panpan didn't stand on ceremony and said happily, "That's great, I have someone to eat with today."
Xu Bo'an and Tang Muyang were sitting facing each other. The chairs in the restaurant were all long, sofa-like seats. Because Xu Bo'an was a good friend of Zhang Panpan's parents, Zhang Panpan regarded him as an elder. She felt uncomfortable sitting in the same chair as Xu Bo'an. After a little internal struggle, Zhang Panpan finally sat in the same chair as Tang Muyang.
After sitting down, Xu Bo'an said, "Panpan, we've already ordered. Order whatever else you'd like to eat."
Zhang Panpan nodded, called the waiter over, ordered two dishes, and then the three of them chatted while waiting for the food to be served.
Tang Muyang spoke first to Zhang Panpan, saying, "You're a recent graduate who's returned from overseas, shouldn't you prefer Western food? Why do you like Chinese food too?"
Zhang Panpan said, "It's true that I'm a returnee from overseas, but I have Chinese blood flowing in my veins. It's only natural that I like Chinese food. What's so strange about that? Besides, Western food not only has limited ingredients, but it also tastes terrible. The flavor is simply incomparable to our Chinese food."
Tang Muyang smiled and said to Zhang Panpan, "You're right. I also think Chinese food is the best."
Xu Bo'an said, "That's right, Chinese cuisine is unmatched by other countries. But speaking of which, you two seem to know each other quite well."
Hearing Xu Bo'an's words, Zhang Panpan lowered her head somewhat embarrassed, then pretended to be serious and hummed twice, but did not make a sound.
Tang Muyang seemed to understand Zhang Panpan's meaning and said to his cousin Xu Bo'an, "Cousin, have you forgotten that you took me to Panpan's house last time?"
Xu Bo'an looked at Tang Muyang and said with a smile, "Don't try to fool me, kid. Do you think I don't remember taking you to Panpan's house? What I mean is, the way you two are chatting so familiarly doesn't seem like people who have only met once."
Upon hearing Xu Bo'an's words, Zhang Panpan and Tang Muyang became anxious at the same time, and said in unison, "We really have only met once!"
After they finished speaking, the two turned to look at each other instinctively, then quickly looked away. Seeing their flustered expressions, Xu Bo'an smiled and said, "I just said it casually, why are you two so anxious? Is it really necessary?"
Tang Muyang looked at Xu Bo'an and said, "Cousin, we were just telling the truth! You're not a kid anymore, so stop joking around with us kids!"
After this simple probing, Xu Bo'an could tell at a glance that the relationship between Tang Muyang and Zhang Panpan was unusual and definitely not as simple as having only met once. However, Xu Bo'an did not continue to ask questions because he could tell that Zhang Panpan was feeling rather uncomfortable.
Xu Bo'an couldn't be a spoilsport, so to ease Zhang Panpan's embarrassment, he turned to Tang Muyang and Zhang Panpan and said, "I was just teasing you two, my goal was just to liven things up, so don't take it seriously!"
Hearing Xu Bo'an's words, Zhang Panpan felt relieved and gave him a very polite smile.
The dishes were all served by then, and the group chatted casually while eating. After finishing their meal, they returned to the Central Courtyard together. After parting ways with Zhang Panpan, Tang Muyang and Xu Bo'an went back to Xu Bo'an's villa.
Now that Zhang Panpan wasn't with them, Xu Bo'an, now just the two brothers, stopped hiding his intentions and went straight to his cousin Tang Muyang as soon as he entered the room, saying, "Muyang, tell me the truth, what's your relationship with Zhang Panpan?"
Tang Muyang said, "Brother, why are you asking this again? We've only met once, or rather, twice including today. What kind of relationship do you think we have?"
Xu Bo'an said, "You little rascal, you're not being honest. Your brother here has the ability to see through everything. Your little schemes may fool others, but they can't fool your brother here!"
Tang Muyang said, "Last time you took me to her house for dinner, we just added each other on WeChat and chatted briefly, nothing more! It's definitely not what you think!"
Xu Bo'an smiled and looked at Tang Muyang, saying, "You're quite the charmer, kid. I only took you to her house for a meal, and you've already added her on WeChat? You're pretty clever. Tell me honestly, do you like her?"
The reason Tang Muyang was able to add Zhang Panpan on WeChat last time was because when Xu Bo'an took Tang Muyang to Zhang Panpan's house for dinner, Tang Muyang accidentally wandered into Zhang Panpan's room while going to the bathroom. Because he had drunk too much, he made a mess of her bathroom and even accidentally stole Zhang Panpan's first kiss. After realizing what he had done, Tang Muyang felt that he had gone too far, so he wanted to add Zhang Panpan on WeChat to make amends to her later. Unexpectedly, Zhang Panpan agreed, and that's how the two became WeChat friends.
He could talk about anything else, but he really couldn't bring himself to tell his cousin Xu Bo'an about this shameful thing. If he told his cousin, what would his cousin think of him? What if his cousin thought he was an unreliable person? How could he continue to follow him in the future?
The fact that my cousin misunderstood was secondary. The main problem was that if Zhang Panpan's family found out about this, given their powerful and influential background, even with my cousin Xu Bo'an's influence, I would probably be skinned alive by Zhang Wenzhong.
Although there are no secrets that stay hidden forever, as long as I don't say it out loud, only heaven, earth, I, and Panpan know about it, and absolutely no third person will know.
So, considering various factors, Tang Muyang made up a reason and said, "Cousin, you're overthinking it. You're a good friend of Zhang Panpan's family, and I'll be following you around in the future. I figured we'd have to interact a lot, so I added her on WeChat for convenience."
Xu Bo'an rolled his eyes and joked, "Look at you, kid. You think I'm still lying to you like a big, dumb idiot? I've been through this before. Do you think I can't see through your little schemes?"
Since you're unwilling to tell me the truth, I won't ask anymore. But, I think it would be pretty good if you and Zhang Panpan really became boyfriend and girlfriend! At least you could avoid thirty years of hard work—no, you wouldn't have to work hard for the rest of your life!
Upon hearing this, Tang Muyang panicked and quickly retorted, "Brother, what are you saying? You're implying that I'm a kept man. I'm not that kind of person. Besides, would a family like that even want a poor guy like me?"
Xu Bo'an chuckled and said, "What's wrong with being a kept man? It's not only comfortable to eat, but it's also easy to digest. Back in the day, your brother only ate hard rice, and look what happened to me. So, as someone who's been there, I don't think being a kept man is anything shameful. Besides, you're following me now, so you're bound to have a good future. You can't be a kept man forever!"
Xu Bo'an's advice to Tang Muyang was merely an attempt to boost Tang Muyang's morale. However, as a man, Xu Bo'an harbored an innate sense of male chauvinism and was deeply opposed to men living off women.
However, Xu Bo'an found that Tang Muyang and Zhang Panpan got along quite well today. Since they were so compatible, it meant that it was destined. So he just did what he felt in his heart.
Even if we take a step back and say that Tang Muyang's current circumstances make it impossible for him to marry Zhang Panpan, since their lives are on completely different levels, if we put ourselves in his shoes, let alone Zhang Wenzhong, even Xu Bo'an himself would never let his daughter marry a man from a humble background.
But why would Xu Bo'an support Tang Muyang and Zhang Panpan? It's because Tang Muyang has Xu Bo'an as a powerful backer. Tang Muyang is smart and capable, and with Xu Bo'an's help, his future might not be worse than Zhang Wenzhong's family. Xu Bo'an isn't worried about their family background at all. As long as Tang Muyang truly loves Panpan, Xu Bo'an believes their relationship is a sure thing.
Tang Muyang said, "The future is the future, but I can't live off a woman now!"
Xu Bo'an said, "You've got guts, huh? But if you really like Panpan, you have to try your best to win her over, or you'll regret it when you miss your chance!"
Tang Muyang said, "Brother, I've been hurt before, and I know that in my heart. This time I came to Dongjiang just to work hard with you and make those who look down on me look at me with new eyes. As for those toxic things like love and romance, they can all be put aside!"
Xu Bo'an said, "Not bad, you're a very ambitious kid, I have high hopes for you! Since you already know what's going on, I won't waste any more time with you. It's getting late, take a rest for a while, and after lunch I'll take you to see the office space!"
Tang Muyang nodded and said "Mm," and then the two went back to their rooms to rest. (End of Chapter)