White Lotus 11
11 | Eleven Roses
Tang You didn’t understand why seemed to always meet him when she was unlucky.
It had been twice in a row so far.
She replied stiffly, “Ah, it's nothing."
Inside, she was screaming like crazy.
Ahhhhhhhhh!
Why did I have to meet him at this time!
Tang You was so exasperated that she felt like banging her head against the wall.
She looked around, but there was not the slightest place where she could hide.
Xiao Zexing's eyes fell on her small white feet.
Tang You was not only slender-limbed; even her hands and feet were small and delicate. There were five fleshy toes on each foot, all flushed a touch of healthy pink. At the moment, the soles of her feet were stained with mud, and they stook stiffly rooted to the foot.
The little feet moved two more steps carefully to the side.
A small stone sank into the centre of her foot, and she took a sharp intake of breath from the sudden pain.
Some people looked good even when dressed in gunny sacks—this was completely demonstrated right now. Even though the barefoot Tang You was only wearing a string of leaves around her waist, and a small tablecloth barely covering her torso, she still looked so arresting that it was hard for one to look away.
Xiao Zexing took off his suit jacket, draped it over her shoulders, and asked, “Who bullied you?”
Tang You was taken aback.
She had not heard this sentence in a very long time.
Tang Xiao was the sort of person who would only speak kindly when there was something he wanted from her. Although Elder Xiao and Zhao Manlan doted her, they did not interfere with what went on in the Tang family, nor asked how she got along.
Tang You replied, “Tang Nan.”
Perhaps she shouldn't have said it so hastily, but at this moment, Tang You was overwhelmed by the sudden warmth.
And so, she blurted it out.
The man was tall, and his suit jacket was large; it came down to Tang You’s hips, completely covering her body. Her fingers reached out from the sleeves with great effort, and she suddenly had the illusion of being a child again, like when she used sneakily put on the adults’ clothes in childhood.
She whispered, “Thank you.”
No matter how “Xiao Weijing” was in his private life, after these few days of contact, Tang You found that his character was actually not that bad.
He was only a little bad occasionally when he teased her.
Xiao Zexing lowered his head slightly, looked at her muddy feet and asked, “Can you still walk by yourself?”
What kind of nonsense are you asking? Of course I can walk, anyway, even if I can’t, are you going to carry—
Just as she was rambling inwardly, he said with an entirely calm expression, “I'll carry you back.”
Tang You was dumbfounded, “Hah?”
“N-no need, I can walk——”
Tang You hurriedly declined; she took a step back, and the small stone in the centre of her foot sank in further, and she took in another sharp breath.
“Why force yourself? There’s still a rocky path up ahead, how are you going to get past it? You don’t want your feet anymore?” Without waiting for a response, Xiao Zexing picked her up; his brows were slightly furrowed, but his tone was much softer, “You should learn to accept the goodwill of others when you need to.”
The cedar scent coming from the man's body intensified. When Tang You’s feet left the ground, she reflexively wrapped her arms firmly around his neck, not daring to say a word.
Too too too high.
She was intensely afraid that he might suddenly let go.
The fear that she might fall to the ground at any time defeated Tang You's disgust for “Xiao Weijing”. She tried hard to convince and calm herself, don't be afraid, just think of him as a piece of nice-smelling wood.
Even with her in his arms, the man still walked effortlessly. Tang You was initially a little worried that this man would not be able to carry her, but when she saw that his expression was as per usual, she felt a little relieved.
For as long as she could remember, Tang You had never been held like this before.
After they passed through the corridor and the little path, there were more people around; some guests cast them curious glances, and Tang You immediately turned away and buried her face in his chest.
She didn't want to be seen in such a wretched state.
Xiao Zexing asked, “What’s your room number?”
Tang You whispered the number.
Being tall, his strides were also large; he walked straight into the hotel and went upstairs.
Along the way, the attendants saw him approaching with a girl in his arms, wrapped in a man's coat; they were just about to greet him when they met Xiao Zexing’s eyes—they immediately fell silent, and bowed respectfully.
No one dared to look for too long, and could only privately speculate the identity of the person he was carrying.
The suit jacket concealed the figure well; only velvety, black hair, and a pair of slender, white calves and small, muddied feet were revealed. Rather than seeming dirty, they were extraordinarily endearing.
No one knew which family’s lady this was.
After all, Xiao Zexing was famous for his squeaky-clean image and honest lifestyle. While other rich heirs switched girlfriends as quickly as they changed clothes, there’d never been even the slightest rumour about him being with anyone.
Xiao Zexing carried Tang You to her room; the moment her feet touched the ground, the completely liberated Tang You resumed her normal thought patterns. She pondered about the timing, then started her white flower act again.
She tilted her face upwards and looked at him longingly, “Mr. Xiao, apart from my grandfather, you are——”
“I know what you want to say.” Xiao Zexing loosened his tie and said carelessly, “Don't promote me to yet another generation.”
Tang You could only keep her mouth shut obediently.
This man was really strange.
Why wasn’t he pleased with her attempts to flatter him?
After Xiao Zexing left, Tang You showered and changed. Just as she was still fastening her buttons, someone knocked on the door.
Tang You limped over, pulled it open a crack and asked warily, “What do you want?”
The person outside said respectfully, “Sir asked me to bring you some medicine.”
Although he didn't say his surname, Tang You thought it could only be “Xiao Weijing”.
This man was unexpectedly attentive and thoughtful.
She opened the door, smiled and thanked the attendant, took the medicine and put it aside.
She had only walked a short distance, but the soles of her feet were rubbed red and swollen. This was the negative side effect of having delicate skin—even the slightest injury appeared especially ghastly.
But she wasn’t going to deal with that now; she was going to look for Tang Nan, and have a nice “chat” with her about the problems between them.
When Xiao Weijing opened the door to his room, Xiao Zexing was sitting on the balcony reading a book.
On the table in front of him was a white porcelain vase with a long slender neck. The roses in the vase were in full bloom.
Hearing the movement, Xiao Zexing lifted his eyes and glanced over, still focused on the book in his hand.
The light coated his eyebrows with a soft, clean glow.
Xiao Weijing handed him a cigarette, but Xiao Zexing did not take it. “Smoke less.”
Xiao Weijing didn’t think much of it and brought it to his lips anyway; he then blocked the wind and personally lit the cigarette for him.
Xiao Zexing put down the book; after seeing Xiao Weijing’s expression, he put away the cigarette and chuckled, “What's wrong? You look upset.”
Xiao Weijing's face was gloomy, and his hands were clenched into fists. “I didn't expect that Tang You would be here.”
“Oh? You're not happy that your fiancée’s here? Not going to say hello?”
“Why should I?” Xiao Weijing was not in a good mood, and seemed even a little repulsed. “With the old man's personality, he’ll probably force me to get married by next year.”
Xiao Zexing lifted his slightly closed eyelids; he smiled, “Since you don't like it, then say something to the old man; there is no harm in cancelling the engagement.”
Xiao Weijing accidentally inhaled the smoke from his own cigarette and coughed violently; after a long time, he raised his head and looked incredulously at Xiao Zexing, “I didn't expect that such words could come out from your mouth.”
“Surprised?”
“Not exactly…” Xiao Weijing thought for a long time, and said, “You even advised me to treat Tang You well last time.”
Xiao Zexing stared at the bright glow of the light from a higher level not too far off; the light illuminated his face, making it seem even more like a crown jewel.
He closed the book, “After all, marriage is not a trivial matter.”
Xiao Weijing sighed, rather moved, “Second Uncle, you’re the only one in the whole family who’s on my side. When I break off my engagement with Tang You in the future, can you help me coax the old man?”
Xiao Zexing smiled, “Of course.”
Tang Nan's room was on the second floor; Tang You gingerly made her way downstairs and knocked on her door.
She had carefully observed that the surveillance camera on the second floor was out of order. The moment the door was opened, she seized the opportunity and shoved the unguarded Tang Nan backwards, and squeezed into the room.
Tang Nan didn't expect her to be so rough, “What are you——”
Without saying a word, Tang You slapped her hard on her cheek. Tang Nan didn't think that Tang You would really dare to hit her; she covered her cheek in shock and fell to the ground, incredulous. “You hit me?”
“Yes, I hit you.”
Tang You sneered and sat on her; she casually pulled off a thin skirt from the sofa next to her, and stuffed it into Tang Nan’s mouth.
Tang Nan struggled desperately and tried to scream, but Tang You grabbed both of her wrists with great precision, tied them with a silk scarf, then tied them to the legs of the chair.
Tang Nan could only whimper and stare angrily at her, but couldn’t make any sound.
Tang You looked down at her condescendingly and pinched her cheeks with her free hand. “You took away my clothes and made me walk back by myself in such a sorry state. I can’t swallow this humiliation.”
As she spoke, she slapped Tang Nan heavily on her left cheek; when Tang You saw that she was crying hard, she unceremoniously added another blow on her right cheek.
“Today, your big sister slapped you three times. One is to teach you a lesson for scaring Ah Mai in front of me last time, and framing us; the second, is because you conspire to take away what’s mine. My mother had left Qixing behind for me, don’t even dream of touching it. The third is to teach you a lesson from the stupid thing you did today.” Tang You asked, “Can you understand human words? If you’ve understood, nod your head.”
Tang Nan’s face streamed with tears; she nodded with difficulty.
“I don’t use your trashy tricks,” Tang You patted her face. “Because I have pride, and not because I can tolerate you. Understand?”
Tang Nan struggled wildly; her wrists were strangled by the silk scarf, causing red marks to appear. Tang You glanced carelessly at the marks before looking back; she pinched her chin and forced her to look at her.
“Don't even think of complaining to daddy.” Tang You’s hand slid down her cheek and she said warningly, “This morning you went shopping with Young Master Chen, and in the afternoon, you went to a hotel room with CEO Zhao. You’re really capable, Tang Nan.”
Tang Nan was so frightened by her words that she couldn't speak.
She also didn't dare to move, and tears just rolled down her face.
“Better be good and remember,” Tang You pinched hard and narrowed her eyes. “If you dare to provoke me again in the future, it will not just simply end with a few slaps from me.”
Tang Nan's eyes were full of panic.
Tang You loosened the bound hands, but Tang Nan remained in the same position, lying on the ground, her eyes filled with genuine tears.
She was thoroughly frightened.
Tang You untied the silk scarf.
She was not afraid that Tang Nan would complain to Tang Xiao; after all, she now had leverage over her. Tang Nan, who had Tang Xiao’s favour, usually played underhanded tricks on her, but was actually a cowardly person who bullied the weaker and feared the strong.
What Tang Xiao doted on was only the docile daughter who obeyed his every word. Once Tang Xiao knew how debauched Tang Nan’s private life was, he would definitely teach her a lesson. On top of that, how would all of Tang Nan’s “boyfriends” be willing to take being multi-timed by her lying down?
Tang You was now focused on breaking off her engagement, so she just threatened her with what she knew to keep her quiet and stop causing trouble for her.
She stood up and let out a long breath. She turned around inadvertently and froze.
Tang Nan’s suite had floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and the blinds were not drawn.
The moment Tang You entered, she was so focused on the fight that she didn't notice.
And on the open-air balcony on the opposite building, Xiao Zexing was sitting on a round chair, watching the drama in a relaxed manner.
He was still wearing the same shirt that he had on when he brought her back to her room, and didn't even undo his tie.
……Was the whole scene where she rode on top of Tang Nan and beat her up seen in full?
Under Tang You's shocked gaze, Xiao Zexing put down the cigarette in his hand; amidst the trails of smoke, smiled lazily and said three words.
From such a distance, Tang You couldn’t hear him, and struggled to read his lips——
He was saying:
Little – wild – cat.
