Marriage Seduction Addiction

Chapter 349 Don't you recognize me?

Gao Yan hesitated about whether to tell Yan Shiyu about Tang Xu's request to meet Ji Yan.

However, as soon as he mentioned the idea, Tang Xu told him bluntly not to say it.

“He doesn’t need to know,” Tang Xu said. “After all, I just wanted to meet her simply. If he knew, he would definitely interfere.”

“But… what if Miss Ji tells him?” Gao Yan said.

“If she really wants to tell, then let her,” Tang Xu said. “But I have a feeling that she probably won’t.”

Upon hearing this, Gao Yan couldn't help but sigh and said, "You have no idea how cunning and troublesome she is... Never try to understand her with normal thinking."

"That's the conclusion we reached because we didn't treat her like a normal person," Tang Xu replied.

Upon hearing this, Gao Yan choked for a moment and was speechless.

So on the way home, he called Ji Yan.

"Speak," a lazy female voice came from the other end of the phone, as if she couldn't be bothered to say a single more word.

Gao Yan remained as composed as ever, "Miss Ji, I'd like to ask if you have any free time in the next few days? Just the time it takes to eat a meal."

"You want to ask me out to dinner?" Ji Yan scoffed. "Does your Mr. Yan know about this?"

Gao Yan couldn't help but cough twice before saying, "No, it's Miss Tang who wants to invite you to have a meal together."

There was a sudden two-second silence on the other end of the phone before a knowing reply came through: "Which Miss Tang? I don't know anyone with the surname Tang."

Tang Xu knew immediately that she was deliberately putting on airs, so she gently tapped the back of Gao Yan's chair and gave Gao Yan a look.

Gao Yan understood immediately and quickly said, "Well... since that's the case, I'll tell Miss Tang that you don't have time."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Ji Yan chuckled again and said slowly, "Anyway, I don't have any friends in Huai City. Who cares what his surname is? Meeting him for a meal won't make any difference to me. Let her set a time."

After saying that, Ji Yan hung up the phone immediately.

Gao Yan let out a slight breath before saying to Tang Xu, "Miss Tang, you really have a way of controlling her..."

"Hmm." Tang Xu responded softly, "After all, I'm not a normal person either, so there must be some resonance."

"No way!" Gao Yan immediately retorted, "You're far, far, far more normal than her!"

Tang Xu just chuckled and said, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Soon, the time and place for the meal were set, and the appointment was considered finalized.

The next day at noon, Tang Xu arrived at the agreed restaurant on time, but as expected, Ji Yan was still nowhere to be seen.

She was a regular customer at the restaurant, and the manager kindly arranged a quiet seat by the window for her.

After thanking him, Tang Xu sat down, took the menu, flipped through it haphazardly, and placed it on the table, continuing to wait patiently.

Without realizing it, I looked up and my gaze fell on the plaza downstairs.

The sun was shining brightly today, and many people were sitting or walking in the square, basking in the sunlight.

A child was trying hard to learn to skateboard when he lost control and crashed into a woman, falling to the ground.

The parents were so frightened that they rushed over immediately, helping the child up while apologizing repeatedly.

The woman didn't seem angry; she even squatted down and touched the child's head, as if asking if he was hurt.

It was a conflict that wasn't really a conflict. Tang Xu was about to look away when he froze the moment the woman turned her head.

She saw the woman's face.

Actually, there was still some distance, so the view wasn't very clear, but even that blurry glimpse made Tang Xu's heart pound wildly.

After a two-second pause, she suddenly stood up and ran straight out the door.

"Miss Tang, is there anything you need?"

"Hold my spot, I'll be right back."

Tang Xu left only this sentence before rushing out of the restaurant.

During lunchtime, the mall's elevators were in peak use. Tang Xu didn't have time to wait for the elevator, nor was she bothered to wander around on the escalator, so she ran down the emergency staircase.

She quickly ran to the spot she had seen upstairs, but the person was nowhere to be seen.

The child and parents are gone, and the woman is gone too.

Tang Xu stood in that open space, looking around blankly.

No, still no.

It was as if those three people had never existed in this space at all.

It was as if everything was her illusion.

She stood there for a moment, but still couldn't see the figure she wanted to see. Finally, as if she had come to terms with reality, she turned around and mechanically and numbly walked back into the mall.

After stepping into the elevator and looking at the diverse crowd inside, Tang Xu suddenly realized what she had just done—the answer was obvious: she had mistaken someone for someone else.

Such an admission of wrongdoing seemed absurd, yet at that moment, she genuinely believed it to be true.

But, how is this possible?
Tang Xu laughed at herself, stepped out of the elevator, and quickly returned to the restaurant she had just been in.

At the restaurant entrance, the manager greeted her immediately, "Ms. Tang, your guest has arrived."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu nodded slightly, took a deep breath, and then walked into the restaurant with renewed vigor.

The manager led her back to the same table, where a woman in a red midi skirt was already seated.

Sensing the movement, the woman slowly raised her eyes, revealing a delicate and aloof face. Upon seeing Tang Xu, she crossed her arms and slightly raised an eyebrow, "Miss Tang?"

In an instant, Tang Xu's carefully composed emotions crumbled again, scattering haphazardly and without any order or direction around the small dining table—

In response to the woman's question, she simply replied with a soft "Mm".

The woman chuckled again, her gaze sweeping over Tang Xu without any attempt to conceal it, before saying, "You're late for dinner? Is this the usual way Miss Tang puts on airs?"

Tang Xu was still a little dazed.

She seemed completely unaware of her own breathing and heartbeat, and as for her chaotic thoughts, she couldn't grasp a single one—

All her attention was focused on the person in front of her, on that face.

This is the face she caught a glimpse of when she was sitting here, the face she thought she had mistaken, but which then unexpectedly came back into her view.

Yes, the person she just saw in the square was her.

But how did she end up here?

Seeing Tang Xu's complex emotions and seemingly greatly shocked appearance, Ji Yan frowned slightly, glanced at Tang Xu again, and then gave a slight cold laugh, "What, am I too scary-looking, and have I startled Miss Tang?"

Much later, Tang Xu finally regained her voice.

"You, are you Ji Yan?"

Ji Yan leaned forward slightly, meeting Tang Xu's gaze, with a half-smile, "I thought Miss Tang had asked me out to ask some more constructive questions."

At this moment, Tang Xu's thoughts were completely chaotic, as if he had lost the ability to think, and he could only murmur along with her words: "More constructive questions..."

Her reaction was clearly completely unexpected by Ji Yan. She leaned back in her chair, observing and waiting for Tang Xu to speak again.

"You...are his sister?"

Tang Xu finally spoke again.

This time, Ji Yan seemed a little impatient. "Really? Is that all you wanted to ask?"

Tang Xu finally realized something. She slowly came back to her senses, her gaze still fixed on Ji Yan's face.

Ji Yan was completely unsure of what Tang Xu was going to do. Tang Xu's reaction was too strange. She didn't like this situation developing so unexpectedly, so she couldn't help but turn around to grab her handbag, pretending to leave.

However, the next moment, Tang Xu suddenly reached out and grasped her hand.

From a stranger's perspective, such an action is far too intimate.

Even though they weren't exactly strangers.

Even though they had heard each other's stories countless times.

Ji Yan looked at Tang Xu's hand holding hers with some shock, and when she looked up again, her eyes were full of confusion. "What exactly do you want?"

Tang Xu held her tightly and asked, "Do you know me?"

"what are you talking about?"

Ji Yan finally stood up, unable to bear it any longer, and looked at Tang Xu, unable to resist speaking sarcastically: "Miss Tang is indeed formidable. After this series of moves, I really don't know how to deal with it. Did you use the same tactics on him?"

Tang Xu didn't answer her question, but when she spoke again, she stubbornly pressed on: "Do you know me?"

Ji Yan was momentarily stunned.

Because she could clearly see that when Tang Xu asked that question, something slowly rose from the depths of her eyes, causing her eyes to instantly redden.

Ji Yan was somewhat bewildered; she had absolutely no idea what was going on.

She couldn't help but wonder if Tang Xu was faking her madness, or if she really was—

That's true. How could the woman Yan Shiyu like be a normal person?
Ji Yan tried hard to break free from Tang Xu's grasp, but she never expected that Tang Xu, who looked slender, was actually very strong. Despite her efforts, she could not break free.

"Are you ever going to stop?" Ji Yan gave up and raised her hand. "Can you let go of me now?"

But Tang Xu clearly had no intention of ending things just like that.

She continued to stare blankly at Ji Yan, her gaze shifting several times, tears streaming down her face. When she spoke again, she finally uttered a different sentence—

"Don't you recognize me, Xu Xingyang?"