Lingering On and On

Chapter 15：Encounter

Once in the car, Long Che asked her, "Where do you live?"

Tong Yuling was slightly startled and provided her address. Noticing his frown, she added, "You can drop me off in the city. I'll take a cab back on my own."

Long Che didn't reply. His frown gradually eased and the car started to move.

Throughout the ride, the car was quiet. Long Che didn't say a word and Tong Yuling surely wouldn't start a conversation.

Back in the city, Tong Yuling saw a taxi waiting for passengers right in front and immediately said, "You can let me off here."

Long Che, however, didn't react and continued driving forward.

Tong Yuling couldn't help but say, "Mr. Long, you probably don't know the way to my place. There's no need to go through the trouble."

Long Che remained silent and glanced sideways at the navigation device on the dashboard.

Tong Yuling then noticed it and became quiet, allowing him to drive her back near her neighborhood.

After getting out of the car, she simply said thank you and walked straight towards the gate without pausing.

Long Che watched her leave with a complex expression. It was only after a long while that he started the car and drove away...

Back home, Tong Yuling opened the door quietly and found the energy-saving light in the living room still on. Seeing the figure on the sofa, she asked in surprise, "Mom, why are you still awake so late?"

Tong's mother, whose half-closed eyes immediately widened, said, "Xiaoling, you're back?"

"Yes. It's cold. Why don't you go back to your room and sleep. It's not the first time I've come home late."

"Oh, it's okay. I couldn't sleep, so I came out to watch TV." Actually, she was just worried about her daughter.

Watching TV? The TV was off! However, Tong Yuling didn't disclose this to her mother.

"By the way, your outfit... Whose dress is this?" Tong's mother shifted her attention to Tong Yuling's clothes.

Tong Yuling thought for a moment and made up an excuse, "I accompanied a friend to a dance. The dress was a gift from him."

"It looks like a famous brand. It must be very expensive, right?"

"Uh, no. It's a counterfeit." Tong Yuling continued to lie.

"That friend is a man, right? When did you two start? How far has it developed?" Tong's mother was beaming with joy.

Knowing what her mother was thinking, Tong Yuling quickly explained, but her tone unconsciously carried a sense of loneliness. "Mom, we're just ordinary friends! There's no possibility of any development between us!"

Tong's mother was slightly stunned and didn't inquire further. "It's late. Go take a bath and go to sleep."

"Okay. You should go to sleep too." Tong Yuling said and walked straight to her bedroom.

Watching her daughter's back, Tong's mother was deeply worried. After a long sigh, she also got up and went back to her room.

The soft light filled every corner of the room. Tong Yuling sat with her back against the headboard, staring at the blue long dress on the chair. The scenes from tonight started to come to her mind.

Tonight, she had been like Cinderella for a while, but there was no gentle and considerate Prince Charming. Although that ELLA was detestable, what she said wasn't entirely wrong. She simply didn't belong to that social class. So tonight could be regarded as a dream, but it was a dream that she would never be able to forget. The only fortunate thing was that the favor was finally repaid and she wouldn't have to have any more dealings with him in the future.

Lying in bed, she was extremely tired but couldn't fall asleep. There seemed to be a lot of things hovering in her mind. What exactly they were, Tong Yuling herself didn't know. Several times, she wanted to turn on the computer to talk to someone, but in the end, she held back because she was worried that the person would ask her the reason for her insomnia and she wouldn't know how to answer. Tossing and turning, she didn't fall asleep until almost dawn.

The next day, after work, Tong Yuling hurried to a high-end restaurant where Xiao Zhenghua had invited her. Originally, Xiao Zhenghua wanted to pick her up, but she refused, worried about attracting attention.

Facing Xiao Zhenghua who was waiting at the entrance, Tong Yuling apologized, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"No, I just arrived too." Xiao Zhenghua's handsome face was as gentle as before. He led her into the quiet and elegant interior.

When ordering, Xiao Zhenghua asked for Tong Yuling's opinion on everything. Tong Yuling's response each time was, "Anything. You decide." It wasn't until she saw the table full of precious and rare delicacies that she was completely stunned.

"You probably haven't eaten these things before. Give them a try." Xiao Zhenghua said considerately. Noticing that Tong Yuling seemed to misunderstand his meaning, he quickly explained, "Don't get me wrong. I didn't mean it that way. I just thought you seldom ate these things and couldn't help ordering them for you."

His sincerity and nervousness touched Tong Yuling, making her let go of her suspicions and inferiority complex. The atmosphere became lively.

While they were chatting and enjoying the meal, they didn't know that in a luxurious booth not far away, three pairs of eyes were watching them and the topic was about them.

"Hey, isn't that Long Che's female companion from last night? Why is she with Xiao Zhenghua from the Ocean Freight Company?" Li Jun was the first to notice.

"Looks like they have a good relationship. Could they be a couple?" Zhang Shaoqi guessed.

"She looks very innocent on the outside, but she's no different from other women. She's smart. She chose someone like Xiao Zhenghua, who is sort of in the medium level." Li Jun was full of interest.

"Do you think she has the ability to get involved with Ah Che?"

"Her boyfriend is studying in the UK!" Suddenly, Long Che, who had been silent, interjected.

This surprised Li Jun and Zhang Shaoqi. "How do you know?"

Then, Li Jun teased, "She looks even more beautiful when she smiles. I thought she was a wooden beauty, but it turns out it depends on the person. Che, it seems your charm is not as great as Xiao Zhenghua's."

Looking at her, Long Che remembered the scene from last night and suddenly found her smile particularly irritating. She had never shown such a smile to him. Well, he didn't know that if you want others to smile at you, you have to smile at them first.

Noticing that Long Che's expression was starting to turn a bit ugly, Zhang Shaoqi seemed thoughtful and snorted, "That's because Che doesn't care about other women. Che only loves Jiawen."

"Ah Che, not to scold you, but Jiawen is good, but she doesn't take you seriously enough. You can spoil a woman, but you can't spoil her too much. Otherwise, you'll be the one to suffer. In my opinion, you might as well dump Jiawen and find a new woman. Or, take this fresh beauty and snatch her from Xiao Zhenghua!" Li Jun showed his playboy nature.

"Nonsense. Che is devoted to Jiawen. Do you think every man is as fickle as you?"

"Is it so bad to be like me? I'm flirtatious, but not vulgar. Look at how carefree I am. Unlike Ah Che, who always has a poker face."

"That girl is beautiful. What's her background? Why would Che like her?"

"I'm not asking him to like her. I'm just suggesting he have some fun. Anyway, it's not the man who suffers. Besides, it would be a good way to make Jiawen jealous. Let Jiawen know that you're not that into her. Maybe she'll fly back from the US immediately." Li Jun continued to talk at length.

This time, Zhang Shaoqi had nothing to say.

Long Che remained silent, his gaze unfocused. Only from his cold and brooding face could one tell that his heart must be in turmoil.