Fortunately, when Xiang Yuan opened the door and entered the room, his mind was preoccupied, so his pace was slow. By the time he came in, Shi Nian had already run back upstairs.
He only saw Tang Yanqing alone nestled on the sofa, with slightly flushed cheeks, squinting at him.
Xiang Yuan was taken aback: "Yanqing? What are you doing?"
Tang Yanqing hugged his arms, shrugged, and squinted his clear, spring-like eyes, smiling lazily.
"Watching TV. And, in passing, I sneaked a taste of what used to be your delicious treats... Brother Xiang Yuan, I truly regret for you. You once had everything so wonderful, why didn’t you cherish it? Why did you have to ruin it all with your own hands?"
Xiang Yuan squinted his eyes, quickly changed into his slippers and walked over.
"Yanqing, what are you talking about?"
Tang Yanqing comfortably nestled on the sofa, gazing at Xiang Yuan as he walked over, without a hint of embarrassment. It seemed as though it was his house, and he was the master of everything here.
He proudly met Xiang Yuan’s gaze but replied with a question, "Brother Xiang Yuan coming home so late, smelling of alcohol, yet with a stern expression... obviously not busy with work; nor is it work-related drinking." Get full chapters from novelFɪre.net
"I once met Miss Rosa at Aunt Xiang’s house. Could it be that Brother Xiang Yuan went on a date with Rosa? Hmm, being single again does feel quite liberating."
His face and body carried a faint scent of wine, but his gaze was clear as if it could pierce through Xiang Yuan’s heart, making Xiang Yuan somewhat afraid to look directly at him.
"Oh, remember to remind her, she needs to settle the car repair bill with me."
Tang Yanqing is a police officer, and among the younger generation, he’s an officer qualified to receive a medal. Xiang Yuan understood that since Rosa had been seen by him, there was no way to hide it.
He then frowned slightly: "It’s not what you think. Tonight, my dad asked me out. We father and son went out for a meal." He shrugged: "You know, my dad and Uncle Tang have been going on tour speaking engagements for so long, we father and son haven’t had a chance to have a meal alone for a while."
Tang Yanqing stared into Xiang Yuan’s eyes, slowly nodding once.
All the microexpressions on Xiang Yuan’s face proved he wasn’t lying—yet his eyes flickered, and his shoulders unconsciously moved slightly backward—[dodging], [hiding].
Clearly, there were topics in Xiang Yuan father and son’s conversation they didn’t want outsiders to know.
"Uncle Xiang has worked hard, Brother Xiang Yuan, if next time you have a chance, please pass my regards." Tang Yanqing remained unruffled, just exchanging pleasantries.
Only then did Xiang Yuan smile slightly, but his gaze sharply swept over the coffee table, noticing the empty bottle of muddied snails and the two wine glasses beside it.
Xiang Yuan was somewhat surprised: "You eat muddied snails? Yanqing, I remember you’re allergic to seafood since you were young."
Tang Yanqing slightly swayed, "Yeah. But... I want to."
"You’re really being reckless." Xiang Yuan, shocked, hurried forward to touch Tang Yanqing’s forehead: "Your temperature’s a bit elevated. Yanqing! You’re playing with your life! I’ll contact Doctor Du right now."
"It’s not that serious." Tang Yanqing stood up, with slight drunkenness patted Xiang Yuan’s shoulder mischievously resting his chin on Xiang Yuan’s shoulder: "...unless you give me vitamin C right now, otherwise, I won’t die immediately."
Tang Yanqing swayed away toward the stairs, Xiang Yuan watching his back, then slowly squinted his eyes. Those always gentle and tranquil eyes, under the backlit shadow, turned dark.
It wasn’t until Tang Yanqing’s figure was about to disappear at the top of the stairs that Xiang Yuan asked again, "The delicious thing you mentioned earlier— that I always had but never cherished, what exactly are you talking about?"
He then turned to look around: "Where’s your sister-in-law? How could she let a guest entertain themselves in the living room, she should at least have a cup of tea with you, talk a bit."
Tang Yanqing stopped his steps, standing on the stairs, holding the railing, smiling with a drunken look.
"Brother Xiang Yuan, the things you say are really interesting. You really shouldn’t be a lawyer, you see, your body language is not serious at all, it’s more like you’re acting in a stage play."
Overly exaggerated body language, in behavior analysis, represents—[exaggeration, falsehood]
Xiang Yuan gently gritted his teeth. He could tell that Tang Yanqing was mocking him.
He forcibly controlled his emotions: "Yanqing, the topic of deliciousness was initially brought up by you to me. How come I can’t even ask about it?"
Tang Yanqing then arrogantly lifted his chin slightly, his gaze sweeping toward the coffee table in front of the sofa.
"If you want, you can pretend I was talking about those muddied snails. Brother Xiang Yuan, I heard you dislike the fishy smell and never eat them. But I tell you, you know, they really are— I can’t stop eating them."