Chapter 229: Date

Approaching the end of the workday, Tang Wan called again, arranging to meet Yang Chen at a street corner in the east of Zhonghai City. Although Yang Chen had never been there, he could easily figure it out with a quick check on the map online. So, with a bit of excitement in his heart, he hung up the phone.

Since he wouldn't be able to go home for dinner that night, Yang Chen immediately thought of calling Lin Ruoxi and the nanny at home. After all, he had promised Lin Ruoxi that he would inform her if he couldn't come home for dinner.

After dialing Lin Ruoxi's number, it was picked up after a few seconds.

"Is there something?" Lin Ruoxi seemed busy, asking briefly.

"Reporting to my wife, I won't be home for dinner tonight. Someone invited me for a meal," Yang Chen said with a smile.

Lin Ruoxi fell silent for a moment and then asked, "It wouldn't be Tang Wan, would it?"

Yang Chen was taken aback. How did she know? But upon recollection, it seemed that Lin Ruoxi had overheard Tang Wan's invitation before and even advised him not to associate with her, even suggesting he avoid other women, especially Tang Wan.

Yang Chen didn't intend to conceal it and smiled apologetically. "Yeah, since I promised, I have to go."

Lin Ruoxi sighed deeply. "You never listen to me. Does that woman have such an attraction to you?"

"You can't put it that way. I'm just going to have dinner with her, nothing more," Yang Chen said, feeling a bit guilty. To be honest, every time he thought about that night by the river, flirting with Tang Wan and wanting a passionate night, Yang Chen still felt a bit excited.

Discovering that she still had a high school-aged child made Yang Chen somewhat regretful because he was indeed interested in Tang Wan, but it wasn't good to break up someone else's family. However, judging from Tang Wan's subsequent behavior, Yang Chen could basically conclude that she was a single mother.

With Tang Wan taking the initiative to show him goodwill, Yang Chen's thoughts about her increased. Yang Chen didn't consider himself to be very conservative in relationships. He was quite interested in such a high-quality mature woman. He believed that men who had no thoughts about Tang Wan were either very picky or lacked courage. So, he didn't intend to hide anything.

There was silence again on the other end of the phone before Lin Ruoxi said, "Got it. But don't tell me when you won't be home for dinner in the future."

"Huh? Why?" Yang Chen was puzzled.

"I'll feel disgusted!" Lin Ruoxi said and then hung up directly.

Yang Chen pursed his lips and smiled bitterly. He wasn't the kind of man who would abandon a forest for a single tree. Although he would have to endure Lin Ruoxi's disdainful eyes again, Yang Chen didn't mind too much. Actually, his wife wasn't bad. If someone else's husband blatantly went out to cheat, there would be tears, tantrums, or even threats of suicide. Lin Ruoxi, on the other hand, would at most give you the cold shoulder and ignore you for a while. Life went on!

It seemed that Lin Ruoxi hadn't completely accepted the idea of being his wife yet. As soon as work ended, Yang Chen drove to the street corner where Tang Wan had arranged to meet. After parking the car, Yang Chen found himself in an old district of Zhonghai. Various classical buildings and stone mansions reminiscent of the 1930s gave the whole street a detached feel from the bustling world of Zhonghai, as if it were another city within the city.

With a quick search, Yang Chen spotted Tang Wan, who had been waiting for him for some time.

She wore a black coat with a white cotton shirt underneath, paired with a gray short skirt and seductive black lace stockings. Her feet were adorned with a pair of striking red crystal high heels. Her long hair cascaded smoothly over her shoulders, and her radiant oval face exuded the mature charm typical of Eastern women, with skin as smooth as a baby's.

With bright eyes and a charming smile, she seemed to blend with the rustic street behind her, resembling a beautiful woman strolling out of a scroll painting of a southern ancient town.

Seeing Yang Chen, Tang Wan smiled and waved at him.

Yang Chen cleared his throat, surprised at the accelerated beating of his heart. Even when he first met Lin Ruoxi, he hadn't felt this excited.

For a young man like Yang Chen, who had seen too much of the world's joys and sorrows at a young age, women who had experienced the vicissitudes of life and seen through the mundane were the most intoxicating. It wasn't their appearance that was most beautiful, but rather their demeanor. For Yang Chen, such women were like poison!

"You're late. That's not something a gentleman with manners should do," Tang Wan said with a smile.

"Do I look like I have manners, like a gentleman?" Yang Chen asked.

Tang Wan thought for a moment before saying, "I almost forgot. You may not have manners, but you're definitely lecherous."

Yang Chen knew Tang Wan was referring to the times he had provoked her by bringing other women around. Clearly, in her eyes, he was a playboy.

"If you know that so well, why do you still have the guts to invite me to dinner?" Yang Chen asked with a bitter smile.

Tang Wan shook her head slightly. "I've been asking myself that question since I called you. I wondered why I should invite a lecherous and promiscuous guy like you, even if you saved my life. But as I kept thinking, I found that I had already invited you. So, in keeping with the lady's code, I'm here to honor the invitation sincerely."

With that said, Tang Wan gestured towards the quaint street behind her. "Let's go. Today, I'll treat you to a cuisine you've probably never tried."

Yang Chen felt intrigued. Unlike other women he had encountered, Tang Wan was completely genuine, not hiding her true emotions. He could sense Tang Wan's fondness for him and her struggle with her feelings. Perhaps due to her age, Tang Wan no longer cared much about a woman's shyness; she didn't mind expressing her thoughts directly.

Walking together down the street lined with small shops and stalls, passersby would occasionally glance at the two of them. While the man was average-looking, the woman was remarkably beautiful.

Tang Wan didn't engage in other conversations with Yang Chen. Instead, she continuously introduced various shops on both sides of the street, along with historical information and interesting anecdotes about those businesses. She even mentioned what happened to the elders of some households here and what their children were doing now.

Curiously, Yang Chen asked, "Are you a resident here?"

"No, but my grandmother's house is here, and this is also my mother's hometown. I loved playing here when I was a child. This is the only preserved old street in Zhonghai because some of the stone buildings have become cultural relics. I feel fortunate that although my grandparents and my mother are no longer here, I can still come here often to remember them," Tang Wan said.

Yang Chen couldn't help but remark, "The way you speak doesn't sound like that of a mother with a high school-aged child. It's more like that of a girl in her twenties."

Tang Wan chuckled, covering her mouth. "My daughter doesn't like it here. She always finds it gloomy. I told her she's too young to appreciate the cultural heritage here."

Talking about her daughter in such a context didn't make Tang Wan feel embarrassed at all.

"So, did you bring me here because you think I can appreciate it?" Yang Chen smiled and said, "I'm just in my twenties."

"You definitely can," Tang Wan said confidently.

"Why is that?"

"When you saved me at the bank that day, I saw something in your eyes that wasn't typical of a twenty-year-old man's emotions. Although it was brief, I felt a sense of security," Tang Wan said with a slightly unnatural expression. "You are the first man I've met who has given me a sense of security, so you must be able to understand this place."

The first man to give her a sense of security?

Yang Chen cleared his throat again, looking at Tang Wan who continued to talk about the street, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. It seemed like there was a chance tonight.

After strolling down the dimly lit street that felt like a corridor of time, night had fallen by the time Yang Chen followed Tang Wan to a slightly dilapidated alleyway. Nearby, only a few dim 40-watt old-style light bulbs were lit.

Tang Wan led Yang Chen to a noodle stall and shouted to an elderly man making noodles, "Uncle Qiao!" The man, called Uncle Qiao, raised his head and smiled, "Little Wan, oh, I've missed you so much. It's been a long time since you last came, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, I've been busy lately. Uncle Qiao, how have you been?" Tang Wan seemed very familiar with Uncle Qiao, exchanging pleasantries as she approached.

After chatting and laughing with Tang Wan for a few moments, Uncle Qiao looked at Yang Chen with a strange expression. "Little Wan, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Tang Wan smiled openly and said, "This is Yang Chen, my friend. I brought him here today to have Uncle Qiao's noodles. I told him that this is the best thing to eat in all of Zhonghai. Uncle Qiao, don't contradict me."

"Look at you, little girl. You're not young anymore. Do you think Uncle Qiao's skills are child's play? But this one here isn't just a friend, is he? You've never brought anyone else to eat noodles here besides your daughter," Uncle Qiao said with a sly smile.

Tang Wan wasn't shy about it. "Uncle Qiao, he's not my boyfriend yet. He just helped me out a lot last time, and I don't think he's too bad, so I invited him to dinner. Eating at other restaurants is too ordinary, so we came here."

Uncle Qiao chuckled, "Not yet, but maybe in the future." Then he winked at Yang Chen and said, "Young man, step up your game. Little Wan may be older than you, but finding a girl as beautiful and kind-hearted as her, I've lived for half a lifetime and never seen one. Don't miss out."

Seeing Uncle Qiao casually trying to matchmake them, Yang Chen felt it was too bold. But surprisingly, Tang Wan just smiled beside him, seemingly unconcerned.

Sitting down at an old table with Tang Wan, Uncle Qiao began to make noodles for them. It wasn't yet time for supper, so the stall was quite deserted, and the surroundings were empty.

Watching Uncle Qiao's back as he diligently made noodles, Yang Chen couldn't help but laugh, "Why don't you explain it? Uncle Qiao probably thinks I'm already involved with you."

Tang Wan poured herself a cup of slightly yellowish green tea, saying to herself, "Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

Yang Chen was speechless, laughing bitterly. "Tang Wan, you don't have to be so direct. I feel like I'm the prey, and you're the hunter."

"If we're counting by lunar years, I'm already thirty-eight this year," Tang Wan lifted her tea cup, elegantly taking a sip. Her every move, amidst the dilapidated surroundings, seemed oddly coordinated.

"What do you mean?" Yang Chen didn't understand why this woman suddenly brought up her age. For most women, it was something they abhorred their whole lives.

"I don't have much time left to play the hazy game, to play the ambiguity," Tang Wan finished her tea, her gaze clear as she looked at Yang Chen. "Yang Chen, do you want to hear how I feel about you?"

Yang Chen tapped his fingers on the table, nodding.

"Our first meeting, was it by the riverside? That day, I was in a bad mood, and I encountered you, this clueless guy, who even wanted to spend the night with me. What's infuriating is that you were wearing a shirt with a diamond as a button and claimed to be a street vendor selling lamb skewers. Although I thought you were absolutely awful, I have to admit, among all the men who wanted to spend the night with me, you were the most memorable, and the only one who wasn't reprimanded by me afterward," Tang Wan said with a playful smile.

Yang Chen remained silent, listening attentively.

"Later, we met again, was it at my daughter's school? You actually had a relationship with that innocent young female teacher, who seemed so dizzyingly infatuated with you. I thought you were bad enough. Then later, we met at my entertainment center, and you were with Mo Qianni. That woman, so sharp and rational, actually found you interesting. It wasn't until you finished playing a game of tennis that I started to understand a bit. You are indeed a bad guy, but you're also somewhat unique. I became curious about you," Tang Wan continued.

"It wasn't until later when you blocked those robbers for me at the bank that I finally understood why both Miss Li and Mo Qianni would choose you, this bad guy," Tang Wan tilted her head, smiling at Yang Chen. "You see, I'm being straightforward because I have feelings for you, so I'm saying it outright."

Yang Chen took a deep breath. "Is this your way of confessing to me?"

"I've already said it. I don't have much time left. In two more years, I'll be forty, and my daughter might even be legally married by then. In two more years, I might even become a grandmother. No matter how well I maintain myself, I'll still just be an old woman," Tang Wan's smile gradually faded. "Unfortunately, the only man I want to get to know better now is a man over ten years younger than me. Tell me, how can I not be anxious?"

Yang Chen didn't expect Tang Wan to say such things at their first formal meeting. He was about to say something when he heard Uncle Qiao shouting from nearby, "The noodles are ready!" He walked over carrying two steaming bowls of noodles.

"Say it's nothing, but you two seem to be chatting quite intensely, what have you been talking about? And no badmouthing Uncle Qiao behind his back," Uncle Qiao's mood seemed quite good.

After taking a whiff of the noodles mixed with the special aroma of cilantro, Tang Wan joked with Uncle Qiao, "Uncle Qiao, Yang Chen told me that he hopes to win me over with a bowl of noodles. Am I just delusional?"

Cough, cough...

Yang Chen had just taken a bite of the noodles when he choked and coughed, unable to help but say, "Why make baseless accusations against me? When did you ever try to win me over?"

Uncle Qiao burst into laughter. "These noodles indeed won't win over a woman. Back then, I tried to win over Xiao Wan's mother with noodles, but in the end, her mother was married off to that wealthy man by Xiao Wan's grandmother. However, Xiao Wan did like me more than her stubborn old man, so I consider it a small victory."

Yang Chen was stunned. He hadn't expected Uncle Qiao to have such a history with Tang Wan's elders. But what surprised him even more was that Tang Wan, as the daughter, seemed to prefer this man, her father's romantic rival, over her own father. Yang Chen found it rather peculiar.

After a few more customers arrived, Uncle Qiao went back to work, leaving Yang Chen and Tang Wan to enjoy their noodles in peace.

Yang Chen quickly finished his large bowl of noodles, soup and all, and let out a satisfied burp. Seeing Tang Wan still eating slowly, he chuckled with a hint of nostalgia. "Tang Wan, have you investigated my background?"

Tang Wan took a sip of soup and shook her head. "No, although I am interested in your past and background, I prefer you to tell me yourself. I won't pry."

"So, you claim to have feelings for me, but aren't you afraid I might take advantage and then leave you high and dry?" Yang Chen asked.

Tang Wan smiled sweetly. "Then let me ask you a few questions. You just need to answer honestly with 'yes' or 'no,' okay?"

Yang Chen rubbed his face. This date, originally filled with all sorts of ambiguous undertones, now felt like a questionnaire. What made him uncomfortable was how assertive the woman was. She was so proactive that he felt like he was constantly being teased, while she, like a proud queen, looked down on him with amusement.

"Okay, go ahead and ask," Yang Chen said with a wry smile.