Chapter 23: Healing Wounds (Please Vote)

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Shen Siyuan stood by the roadside and said to Jiang Tingyu, who was waiting for her ride, “Then I won’t see you off. Take care on your way home.”

“All right. If you ever feel like having hot pot again, give me a call, hot-pot buddy,” Jiang Tingyu said with a smile.

Shen Siyuan was momentarily taken aback. They had talked happily all evening, but he knew she did not currently want a relationship. So what did she mean by saying something like that now?

Seeing his confusion, Jiang Tingyu said, “You’re a really nice person, and I enjoy talking with you. Just because we can’t date, does that mean we can’t be friends?”

“Another ‘you’re a nice guy’ card?” Shen Siyuan asked.

At that, Jiang Tingyu threw her head back and laughed.

Shen Siyuan could not quite tell whether she was deliberately keeping him interested or genuinely wanted to be friends. But judging from her frank and cheerful personality, she did not seem like the type to string someone along.

Just then, the car Jiang Tingyu had called arrived.

She opened the door, then turned back to glance at Shen Siyuan and waved.

“See you next time.”

“See you next time.” Shen Siyuan waved back.

Jiang Tingyu turned and got into the car.

Shen Siyuan watched as the vehicle slowly pulled away, then prepared to call a ride himself.

At that moment, his phone suddenly received a message through WeChat. Jiang Tingyu had sent him a transfer.

It was exactly one hundred and thirty-three yuan—the amount covering half of their hot-pot dinner.

Since the meal had been ordered through Shen Siyuan’s phone, he had naturally paid for it. The bill had only been a little over two hundred yuan, and Jiang Tingyu was Lin Manzhi’s friend, so Shen Siyuan had felt awkward suggesting that they split it. He had simply assumed he would treat her. Jiang Tingyu had not said anything at the time, but he had not expected her to transfer the money directly now.

Perhaps noticing that Shen Siyuan had not accepted it, Jiang Tingyu immediately sent another message.

“Just accept it, hot-pot buddy. Otherwise I won’t dare come out with you again next time. Hahaha.”

Seeing that, Shen Siyuan stopped being coy and accepted the transfer.

Then he put his phone away without saying anything more.

In truth, Shen Siyuan had a very favorable impression of Jiang Tingyu. She was beautiful and had a wonderful figure. Even while they had been sitting, he had guessed that she was at least five feet seven. Once she stood up, he realized he had been right. Even in flat shoes, she was nearly five feet nine.

That day, she had been wearing denim shorts, revealing a pair of long legs—rounded, fair, and utterly captivating to both men and women alike.

Her personality went without saying. She was open, generous, and completely unpretentious, nothing like other girls who became shy and fidgety upon meeting someone for the first time.

She also loved to laugh—a bright, open laugh that showed a whole row of teeth. It was remarkably infectious, as though anyone nearby could not help feeling happier.

Shen Siyuan had been on quite a few blind dates, and Jiang Tingyu was easily the one who had impressed him most. It was a pity that she did not currently want a relationship. Otherwise, he truly would have liked to give things a try with her.

Of course, it was also possible that she simply was not interested in him. After all, he had no house, no car, and no savings. Why would a beautiful woman choose him?

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Still, he quickly stopped dwelling on the matter. He hailed a car and went home, refusing to waste his energy overthinking it.

Not long after he got into the car, however, the phone in his pocket began vibrating repeatedly.

When he took it out, he saw messages not only from Jiang Tingyu, but also from Lin Manzhi.

Jiang Tingyu: “Come to the aquarium sometime and watch me perform.”

Jiang Tingyu: “You can use my employee benefits card. You won’t need to buy a ticket—it’s free entry.”

She even sent him an electronic membership card afterward.

Shen Siyuan was a little confused. This did not sound like someone who had no interest in dating. Could she really see him only as a friend?

“Thanks. I’ll come by when I have time,” Shen Siyuan replied.

Then he opened Lin Manzhi’s chat.

“Xiaoyu has a very good impression of you. You need to put in a little more effort. She’s a wonderful girl.”

Clearly, Jiang Tingyu had already contacted Lin Manzhi.

But faced with that message, Shen Siyuan did not know how to respond.

Had he misunderstood her?

After thinking it over, he replied, “All right, I understand. But she probably isn’t interested in someone like me.”

“Why not give it a try first? No one’s asking you two to get married tomorrow. Feelings take time to develop. At the very least, you both have a good impression of each other right now,” Lin Manzhi said.

“Mm.”

Shen Siyuan was puzzled. He could understand how Lin Manzhi knew that Jiang Tingyu liked him.

But how did she know that he had a good impression of Jiang Tingyu too?

So he directly asked her what had been bothering him.

“Because when you said she probably wouldn’t be interested in you, that showed me how much you liked her. You were just feeling a little insecure, thinking you weren’t good enough to attract her. Let your big sister tell you this: you’re wonderful…”

“Wow, Sis. If you keep talking like that, you’re going to make me cry,” Shen Siyuan said with exaggerated emotion.

Even so, Lin Manzhi’s words warmed his heart.

“Jiang Tingyu is my best friend. I know her very well. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have told me so much. See for yourself. Screenshot.jpg”

Lin Manzhi sent him a screenshot of their conversation.

“Manzhi, he looks so young. He seems much younger than me. Hahaha.”

“He seems to have such a healthy appetite. Watching him eat really makes me hungry. Drooling.”

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“His voice is very distinctive. I asked whether he sang well, but he said he was tone-deaf. Do you think he was lying?”

“Talking with him is so comfortable. He feels like a younger brother, so I don’t have to worry about much.”

“If he’s that wonderful, don’t let him get away. Hold on to him tightly,” Lin Manzhi said.

“Forget it, Manzhi. You know me…”

“It’s been several years already. You should let go,” Lin Manzhi said.

…

Shen Siyuan read the conversation from beginning to end, then sent Lin Manzhi a message.

“Looks like she doesn’t want a relationship right now.”

“If she truly didn’t want one, she wouldn’t have told me so much. I know her. She doesn’t even know what she wants. You just need to press a little harder, and I guarantee everything will work out,” Lin Manzhi declared confidently.

“Can I ask why she doesn’t want to date?” Shen Siyuan asked curiously.

She was twenty-six this year, yet seemed resistant to relationships. The most likely explanation was that she had once met a terrible man and suffered an emotional wound.

“She dated someone in college. They were deeply in love.”

“I know. You told me that before.”

“Later, her boyfriend was killed in a car accident.”

Shen Siyuan was stunned. If that was the case, he immediately abandoned any thought of pursuing Jiang Tingyu. The living could never compete with the dead. No matter how well he treated her, there would always be a place in Jiang Tingyu’s heart reserved for her former boyfriend. There was no point in getting involved under those circumstances.

Some people might think that since the man was already dead, there was no reason to be so particular. But Shen Siyuan could not get past that emotional barrier.

“On the day of the accident, her boyfriend hadn’t wanted to go out, but she insisted. She’s blamed herself ever since and has never truly moved on…”

“I’ve introduced her to other men before, but after meeting them once, she never followed up. You’re the only exception—the only one who made her tell me so much. So you need to hurry up and win her over…”

“After trusting you so much, Sis, I can’t believe you’re treating me like medicine for her emotional wounds…”

“Haha. It’s not as if you’ll lose anything. Tingyu is a stunning beauty…”

Good grief. Shen Siyuan finally understood why Lin Manzhi was still so enthusiastic about introducing him to women despite the fact that he had no car, no house, and no savings.

Then he thought of Jiang Tingyu’s laughter. Perhaps that smile was actually a disguise—a form of self-protection.

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