Tang Li nodded lightly.
Discussing such a matter with an adult male was unavoidably awkward.
Tang Li glanced sideways, without showing any reaction, to ensure her aunt flow had not stained the sofa, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Planning to go back dressed ?"
Song Baiyan asked her again.
Hearing this, Tang Li looked down at herself.
She had removed her hoodie and wrapped it around her waist to cover the bloodstains on her skirt.
Currently, she was only wearing a short-sleeved chiffon blouse.
This kind of attire was fine indoors, but walking on the main road, especially at the end of October—even with today’s sunshine—would make her shiver from the cold.
Moreover, she was on her period and couldn’t afford to catch a chill.
Just as Tang Li was about to say that she was going to call a taxi to school, she realized Song Baiyan had already walked over to a standing coat rack, picked up a suit jacket, and then came over to stand in front of her: "It’s only around ten degrees outside. Since you’re not feeling well, you should be all the more attentive to keeping warm."
"..." Tang Li was a bit startled.
She smelled a faint hint of nicotine on the man.
Then she remembered that Song Baiyan still had a suit at her place.
So, she spoke up to politely decline: "I’m about to call a taxi now. Once I go out, I can get straight into the car. I won’t be exposed to the wind or get chilled."
Seeing that she didn’t want the coat, Song Baiyan gently asked, "Is it because my clothes smell?"
Tang Li looked up at him.
The man’s eyes contained a faint smile. She felt as if an adult was coaxing a sulking child who refused to put on a coat. Just as Tang Li was about to explain, Song Baiyan spoke again, "It seems you really do dislike the smell of smoke."
"No," Tang Li instinctively denied it.
Song Baiyan placed the coat on the sofa beside them, stepped forward half a step, bowed his head, and, with his distinctly articulated hands, helped her untie the knot made with the sleeves of her hoodie around her waist: "Putting on a brave face now won’t earn you any praise. You might as well cooperate obediently; after all, adults prefer children who listen."
Tang Li stood still, watching Song Baiyan’s mature and handsome features up close, and felt involuntarily moved inside. Yet, because of the words "child," she felt a tinge of melancholy.
When Song Baiyan tied the suit around her waist, she couldn’t help but say, "I’ve told you, I’m not a child anymore."
Just then, the office door was pushed open.
"I was just saying, you folks at the Ministry of Finance..." Bai Yiqian was flipping through a file. As soon as he entered, he saw Song Baiyan and an unfamiliar girl. He paused for a moment, his gaze resting on Tang Li’s face for about five seconds, then turned to Song Baiyan: "You have a guest?"
Song Baiyan asked him, "Do you need something at this time?"
"There’s an issue with this plan," Bai Yiqian said, focusing on business, no longer paying attention to Tang Li, and sat down on the sofa: "Here on page 13, it’s a good thing I looked it over again, or else there’d be a basketful of troubles later."
Tang Li’s cellphone rang from inside her bag.
It was Gao Wenlan calling.
Not wanting to interrupt Song Baiyan and the others, Tang Li picked up her hoodie, walked to the restroom to answer the call, and took the chance to put her hoodie back on.
On the phone, Gao Wenlan said she hadn’t found the item and it might have been left in the café. She was already on the elevated road on Yuanhai Road, heading back. If Tang Li was going back to campus, she could have Song Baiyan arrange for a car to take her.
This was the first time Tang Li had met such an unreliable elder.
Before she could say a word, Gao Wenlan hurriedly hung up the call.