Chapter 29 - The Gentleman in White’, Ye Tianming

Li Chunlan’s operation was very successful. Since morning, Xiao Bing had been accompanying Li Chunlan in the ward. They had been talking a lot, mostly about Su Peiya and her affairs in the army. Li Chunlan missed her daughter very much.

As could be seen, Li Chunlan was in a good mood. But Xiao Bing knew in his heart that even though the operation was successful, she wouldn’t be able to survive for more than two years. He didn’t have to tell Li Chunlan right now, but he needed to find a good time to let Su Xiaoxiao know. However, many things happened with Su Xiaoxiao recently, and she had suffered quite a bit. How exactly could he bring this up with Su Xiaoxiao?

Seeing that it was almost noon, Li Chunlan smiled and urged, “Xiaoxiao is coming soon, Lil’ Bing, you don’t have to stay here with me. The noodle house needs you there.”

Xiao Bing stood up with a smile, “Aunt, don’t worry. I will take good care of the noodle house. Things will be fine. I’ll visit you later.”

“Okay, take your time on your way back.”

Xiao Bing left the ward and just walked to the stairs when he met Zhang Yizhi, who was walking up the stairs. Xiao Bing smiled and said, “Mr. Zhang, thanks to you, this operation was successful.”

Zhang Yizhi said in a light voice, “Since it was Peiya’s mother, it was an exception I had to make. Tomorrow I am heading back to Jing Du City. You don’t need to see me off.”

“You are going back so soon?” Xiao Bing got stunned, “Why don’t you stay a bit longer? Are you leaving now?”

Zhang Yizhi said grumpily, “What would I do here alone? Someone invited me to dinner, but he sneaked off halfway.”

Xiao Bing was in the wrong. He smiled awkwardly and said, “Emm… I was caught up with something that day. Mr. Zhang, is it okay if I make amends with you and treat you to dinner in another restaurant tonight?”

“Okay.” Zhang Yizhi thought for a moment and said, “Since I am leaving tomorrow and it’s going to be a while before we meet next time, we should have dinner together tonight. I am going to check on the condition of Peiya’s mother. So far, she seems to be recovering well. She could check out in around half a month.”

Xiao Bing smiled and said, “That’s settled then. I’ll call you later. It’s my treat tonight.”

Xiao Bing left the hospital and walked to the door of the Xiaoxiao Noodle House. Li Hong came out from the house, pouted her lips at Xiao Bing and whispered, “Someone inside is looking for you. He looks like a rich young master.”

“A rich young master?” Xiao Bing smiled. “I don’t know any rich people in Jiang City.”

Xiao Bing followed Li Hong and went in. Looking in the direction pointed out by Li Hong, he saw a young man in white shirt and white trousers about his age sitting on the chair reading a newspaper. Because the young man was reading with his head lowered, only the outline of his face could be seen. However, even so, for a woman, she would still be attracted to him, either by his natural and unrestrained temperament or the perfect curve of his face.

When Xiao Bing walked up to him, he raised his head and stood up with a smile on his face. He seemed very polite. Also, his face had a warm smile that made people feel familiar. Even someone who wasn’t acquainted with him would still feel like he was a good friend.

“Are you Xiao Bing?” The young man reached out his hand and smiled modestly, “My name is Ye Tianming. I am Ye Xinyi’s younger brother.”

They were children of the same mother, but Ye Tianming was much less arrogant than Ye Xinyi. Xiao Bing felt pleased and also reached out his hand with a smile, “Hello, I’m Xiao Bing.”

The two men looked at each other, sizing each other up. They both had a good impression of each other. As a son born into a rich and influential family, Ye Tianming had read countless people ever since he was a kid. He could sense that there was something unique about Xiao Bing compared to ordinary people, even at a glance. So, it wasn’t surprising that his sister couldn’t handle this man.

Ye Tianming smiled and said, “Because I didn’t have Mr. Xiao’s contact information, I could only take the liberty of disturbing Mr. Xiao here. I want to invite Mr. Xiao to have a meal, is that convenient? If not, we can change it to another time.”

He said this appropriately, which not only displayed his good manners but also showed respect for Xiao Bing. It was a hard invitation to decline.

‘Be nice to me, and I will be nicer to you.’ – This was Xiao Bing’s attitude. He thought for a moment. And it was already lunchtime. So he agreed with a smile, “Okay, where?”

Ye Tianming asked, “Where do you think is better? Should we find another place, or we should dine in the Noodle House of yours?”

Xiao Bing laughed, “Don’t worry about the business here. A guest should suit the convenience of the host. Anywhere you like is okay with me. I am not paying anyway.”

The two men looked at each other and burst out laughing. Ye Tianming smiled and said, “Well, I’ve already booked a private room at Longjia Hotel. It’s nearby. If we don’t get there by 12 o’clock, they will cancel the room. It’s still early. Should we go there now?”

“Sure.”

Ye Tianming smiled and said, “Give me a second.”

He took up the newspaper on the table and folded it. Then he smiled and said with the newspaper in his hands, “Let’s go.”

Xiao Bing looked at his actions carefully and came to the conclusion that this man was not only polite but was also considerate in doing things. With his family background of affluence, he surely would be the model of a perfect man for any woman in their heart.

A middle-class car was parked on the roadside, and two bodyguards were standing next to its door. Ye Tianming and Xiao Bing got in the car from the opposite sides. Then the two bodyguards also got in, one sat on the left side, and the other on the right side. Slowly, the car left.

“Was it too abrupt for you that I came to meet you this time, Mr. Xiao? I had to come because it’s very urgent. And I also want to apologize, for my sister. She is tough and may have wronged you before. But please, believe me, Mr. Xiao, she only had good intentions.”

Xiao looked outside and said with a smile, “She is not tough. She is just so smart that sometimes she outsmarts herself. In comparison, you are more like someone with real intelligence.”

Ye Tianming laughed and said, “My sister has always done better than me since we were kids. She’s beautiful, and all the men in Jiang City are chasing after her. She studied well and was once the top student in the college entrance examination in Jiang City. Besides, she has good business acumen. Before my father became seriously ill, he had gradually handed over the business to my sister and me. But actually, she handles it better than me.”

As Ye Tianming spoke, he suddenly sighed deeply, “Alas, father’s condition…”

It was only half said, and Ye Tianming stopped.

Xiao Bing wore a light smile on his mouth. Ye Tianming was very modest. From Tianming’s way of speaking and his behavior, ever since they met, Xiao Bing could see that he was extremely self-disciplined, cautious, confident, and wise. The most frightening thing was, he showed his low-key attitude in all ways, which made him stand out even more.

Xiao Bing suddenly got strongly interested in the Ye Family. Not because of its property and wealth, but because of the three siblings. Needless to say, in Xiao Bing’s eyes, Yezi was as intelligent as her brother and sister, or even more. It was just that she was more innocent in comparison. Ye Xinyi was a smart woman, and was capable of dealing with things with efficient means. For example, she used the carrot-and-stick method to ask for help. If the person she asked were someone other than Xiao Bing, she could have already achieved her goal. Not to mention Ye Tianming, he had left Xiao Bing a good impression from the moment they met.

Wealthy families were inclined to spoil their children and make them arrogant and frivolous. However, the three siblings of the Ye Family were nothing like those children. Even Ye Xinyi, who Xiao Bing disliked the most, was way better than them. What kind of family could educate their children into such excellent people?

After Ye Tianming stopped mentioning his father, he began to talk about some buildings in Jiang City, which gave Xiao Bing a feeling of erudition. This erudition was not only knowledge from books, but also from life. For example, every time he passed through a street and a building, he could talk about how the street was named and what happened in the old days. As a result, Xiao Bing was even more impressed.

Longjia Hotel was not the most luxurious hotel in Jinsha District, but its grade was above average. On one hand, it wouldn’t make Xiao Bing feel slighted. On the other hand, it wouldn’t make Xiao Bing feel too formal. It seemed that Ye Tianming spent quite a lot of time to prepare.

When the hotel manager saw Ye Tianming coming in, he escorted Xiao Bing and Ye Tianming into the private room with utmost respect. Ye Tianming’s two bodyguards followed him and stood behind Ye Tianming. The hotel manager enthusiastically asked, “Master Ye, can we serve the food?”

Ye Tianming smiled and said, “Serve the dishes.”

“I’ll go arrange for it now. Please enjoy. Oh, Mr. Xiao, this is my business card. ”

The manager handed Xiao Bing a business card before going out. It was not only out of courtesy, but more probably because Xiao Bing was a guest of Ye Tianming.

The efficiency of the hotel was very high. The waiters soon served all the dishes. There were six dishes, one soup, and a bottle of Lafite. Ye Tianming waved, and the waiters retreated. Ye Tianming smiled and said, “Is Mr. Xiao satisfied?”

Xiao Bing looked at the dishes on the table and shook his head, “This is too expensive.”

“No, no, this is the first time I invite Mr. Xiao to a meal, so it should be. Here, let me fill Mr. Xiao’s glass.”

Xiao Bing was also not prudish, allowing Ye Tianming to fill his glass. Then Ye Tianming raised his glass and said, “Mr. Xiao, this glass of wine is an apology to you, for my sister. I’ll drink first.”

After saying that, Ye Tianming drank the glass of wine.

Ye Tianming looked like a man who was gentle and polite, but his way of doing was very unrestrained and frank.

Xiao Bing surely could not be petty. He also raised his glass and smiled freely, “What happened in the past were just some trivial things. They stay only in the past. I will drink this glass of wine with you.”

Xiao Bing also drank.

Ye Tianming pointed to the dishes on the table with his chopsticks and said with a smile, “Dig in.”

Xiao Bing looked at Ye Tianming quietly and started the topic with a slight smile, “I was a soldier before I retired. I like to talk straight. Master Ye must have something to ask from me this time. It is better to get down to business first.”

Seeing that Xiao Bing was so direct, Ye Tianming also put down his chopsticks, “Then let’s get down to business first. This time, I indeed want to ask you for a favor!”