Chapter 18: He Was Never a Match for Her Own Brother

A night had passed. Tang Yu woke up feeling refreshed, sensing that her fever had subsided. She picked up her phone and saw a message from Lou Xizhou.

“Has your fever gone down? If it has, come over for breakfast. Aunt Liu made it for you.”

Tang Yu hesitated about whether to go or not.

She had originally planned to clarify things upon her return, but now she was indebted to someone because of falling ill.

They kindly invited her over for breakfast; she shouldn’t overthink it.

After all, distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. Since they live nearby, they would inevitably see each other. As long as she kept a proper mindset, it would be fine.

Having resolved her doubts, Tang Yu got up, washed away the sticky feeling on her body, and headed over to Lou Xizhou’s place.

Lou Xizhou was sitting in the living room on the first floor, watching the surveillance footage of the entrance on his phone. When he saw Tang Yu step out from the neighboring door into the morning sun, he rose and went out.

Just as Tang Yu raised her hand to ring the doorbell, she saw him coming out from inside.

Bathed in the morning sunlight, he looked especially charming as he walked through the rays. Tang Yu was momentarily stunned and didn’t realize he had come up to her.

It was only when a warm palm touched her forehead that she snapped back to reality.

“You don’t have as high a fever as yesterday,” Lou Xizhou said, letting out a relieved sigh and smiling at her. “Come in. Aunt Liu made some ginger porridge. She says it’ll make you feel completely better.”

“Thank you, President Lou,” Tang Yu said, lowering her head to step inside, trying to hide her earlier awkwardness.

Lou Xizhou caught the fresh and pleasant scent of her shower gel wafting in the breeze, which made him want to be closer.

Under the morning sun, one shorter, one taller, they walked into the house.

Tang Yu felt a bit embarrassed, but now that she was inside, she couldn’t just turn around and leave.

As soon as they entered, Aunt Liu greeted her warmly. “Hello, Miss Tang, I’m Aunt Liu. If you ever need anything, big or small, just let me know.”

Getting a closer look, she thought, this young lady is truly lovely.

Tang Yu smiled in return. “Hello, Aunt Liu. I’m Tang Yu. Thanks to President Lou, I’m here to try your cooking.”

“No need to be so formal. You’re welcome to come eat here every day!” Aunt Liu said, then glanced at Lou Xizhou, who stood silently behind Tang Yu. “Mr. Lou, is that okay?”

“Always welcome,” Lou Xizhou replied, leading Tang Yu into the dining room. “Will Huainan be home for lunch?”

“Master Huainan said he’s going to the stables to practice at noon and won’t be back,” Aunt Liu said as she entered the kitchen to bring out breakfast. “He mentioned there’s a horse riding competition in a few days, so he needs to train harder.”

Lou Xizhou pulled out a chair for Tang Yu and then sat down in the main seat beside her.

As soon as Tang Yu sat, Aunt Liu promptly placed the ginger porridge in front of her.

“Thank you, thank you,” Tang Yu said, holding the bowl with both hands and inhaling the aroma. She sighed, “It smells so good! It reminds me of my housekeeper Zhao… I mean, it tastes just like my mother’s cooking.”

That was close—she almost let something slip!

“Miss Tang must be homesick,” Aunt Liu smiled, pulling out a chair to sit on the other side. “When you’re sick, you especially miss home. Where is your home, Miss Tang?”

Tang Yu lowered her head and took small sips of the ginger porridge. It was a bit spicy and hot, but she liked the flavor.

“I’m from Beicheng originally. Aunt Liu, you must be local too—I could tell by your accent,” she said, smiling softly.

Many migrant workers came to Beicheng; seven out of ten people were from elsewhere, so Mandarin was commonly spoken. Local dialects were mostly used among close acquaintances.

“I’m the exception,” Lou Xizhou suddenly chimed in.

Tang Yu looked at him, their eyes locking for a moment. She felt uneasy but pretended to be calm and continued eating her porridge in small bites.

She thought to herself: There are quite a few people from Gangcheng in Beicheng as well.

“Who all are in your family, Miss Tang?” Aunt Liu asked again, then apologized, “Oh, forgive me for being so nosy. It’s rare to find someone to talk to, so I tend to ask a lot. Please don’t mind, Miss Tang.”

Lou Xizhou sensed Aunt Liu’s intent to inquire about Tang Yu’s background. Regardless of her motives, it wasn’t appropriate.

“Tang Yu, why don’t you have lunch here today? Aunt Liu can prepare some medicinal dishes for you,” he said to her.

Aunt Liu nodded repeatedly. “Just coming out of a fever, medicinal food is beneficial.”

Tang Yu recalled that when someone in her family fell ill, housekeeper Zhao would prepare medicinal meals that everyone enjoyed.

But this was President Lou’s home.

“Thank you for your kindness, President Lou, but I think it’s unnecessary. After finishing this ginger porridge, I’ll be fine.”

Lou Xizhou said nothing and quietly ate his breakfast.

Aunt Liu glanced subtly at Lou Xizhou, noticing a faint but lingering disappointment. She then looked at Tang Yu but didn’t speak further.

Could it be that Mr. Lou was interested in Miss Tang, but Miss Tang was indifferent toward him?

Shaking her head quietly, Aunt Liu stood and went into the kitchen to prepare ingredients for lunch.

In the dining room, Lou Xizhou remained silent, and Tang Yu felt awkward, unconsciously speeding up her eating.

Hearing the noticeably faster pace, Lou Xizhou sighed quietly to himself.

“Do you know President Tang from the Tang Corporation?”

Startled by his sudden question about her elder brother, Tang Yu panicked and accidentally choked on her porridge, coughing.

Lou Xizhou thought she had just choked unintentionally and gently patted her back. “Why are you eating so quickly? I’m not rushing you.”

Tang Yu coughed for a while before catching her breath. She took the tissue he handed her again, then cautiously looked at him and asked, “President Lou, why are you suddenly asking about President Tang?”

Could he have realized that Tang Youjin was her brother?

That couldn’t be!

Since starting school, Tang Yu had consciously hidden her identity to avoid trouble. Apart from close family friends, no one knew her true background.

Lou Xizhou put down his chopsticks, which he had just picked up again, and looked at her seriously.

“The traffic accident the other day was handled by Secretary Xing. During a casual chat between that male reporter and Secretary Xing, they mentioned the resource exchange between you. The reporter has been wanting to interview Director Chen, whom you introduced through President Tang. Also, you were able to interview the decision-maker from the Feng Corporation because of his connections.”

Tang Yu didn’t quite grasp his point and wondered, “This happens in every circle. What’s wrong with that?”

Resource integration and mutual benefit—what’s the problem?

“Nothing’s wrong,” Lou Xizhou said. “I know Director Chen too. Why didn’t you come to me? Why did you prefer to seek President Tang’s help?”

She was so concerned about involving him that she would rather ask a more distant outsider for assistance?

He wasn’t like others who demanded repayment for favors. If he was willing to help her, wouldn’t that be fine?

Tang Yu immediately understood his underlying meaning.

He cared that she would rather ask someone more distant than him for help.

He didn’t know President Tang was her brother; to him, he was just an outsider, which might explain his slight displeasure.

But he was no match for her brother to begin with!

Tang Yu replied matter-of-factly, “I can simply add another contact to my network. It benefits my current and future work; why wouldn’t I want that?”

At the same time, she recalled the conversation she had with her brother on the phone that day.