For some reason, when others were talking about her earlier, Li Man didn't cry. But now, because of his concern, she suddenly felt so wronged. Her nose felt sour, and tears welled up in her eyes, on the verge of falling. She tried hard to hold back the tears, not letting them fall.
"If you want to cry, just cry. There's nothing embarrassing about it. I've seen you cry before," Huo Jian Sheng softened his tone and said.
Li Man couldn't suppress her tears any longer. They fell uncontrollably. She sobbed softly, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
Huo Jian Sheng sighed and took out a white handkerchief from his pocket, handing it to Li Man. "Let's go. I'll treat you to coffee."
Li Man took the handkerchief Huo Jian Sheng handed her and choked out, "Thank you."
Huo Jian Sheng glanced at the woman with tears and snot all over her face, his eyes slightly darkened, but he didn't say anything. He turned and walked towards the exit. After a few steps, he noticed that Li Man hadn't followed him yet, so he turned around and gestured for her to catch up.
Only then did Li Man jog to catch up with Huo Jian Sheng.
Huo Jian Sheng brought Li Man to a very tastefully decorated café and got a private room.
"You can cry here. There's no one around. Cry as much as you want," Huo Jian Sheng closed the door to the private room and said.
On the way to the café, Li Man had already stopped crying. Her emotions had calmed down, and she couldn't cry anymore. She shook her head and said, "I won't cry anymore. There's really no need to cry. It's just that I suddenly couldn't control myself..."
Li Man stopped talking, sighed, and looked at Huo Jian Sheng, asking, "Do you think I'm being melodramatic?"
Huo Jian Sheng sat down on a chair, shook his head, and said, "No."
Li Man sat down across from Huo Jian Sheng and apologized, "I'm really sorry for just now. I suddenly couldn't control myself and made a fool of myself in front of you."
Huo Jian Sheng looked at Li Man and said disapprovingly, "You don't have to be so polite when talking to me. Cry if you want to. I won't laugh at you."
Li Man was touched and said softly, "Thank you, Mr. Huo."
"From now on, just call me Huo Jian Sheng. Don't call me Mr. Huo anymore. It sounds too formal," Huo Jian Sheng said lightly. "Aren't we friends?"
"Huo Jian Sheng?"
Huo Jian Sheng nodded in satisfaction. "Yes, that's right. It sounds pleasing."
"But I feel a bit awkward. Who addresses someone by their full name?"
"Then how about calling me Jian Sheng?"
"Well, I'll still call you Huo Jian Sheng." Calling him Jian Sheng would be too intimate. Li Man didn't say the rest of her thoughts. She felt that as a married woman, it was inappropriate to address a man so intimately, even though she no longer had feelings for her husband. But she also knew that Huo Jian Sheng only saw her as a friend. Besides, a man as well-off as Huo Jian Sheng would never be interested in her. She had that self-awareness.
"If she were younger, she might entertain such thoughts. However, she was no longer young, and to have such thoughts now would be beyond her capabilities, a mere flight of fancy.
Huo Jian Sheng smiled, revealing a set of attractive teeth. 'You can call me whatever feels natural to you.'
Li Man pressed her lips together and smiled. 'Alright.'
'Why were you crying just now? Did someone upset you?'
Li Man didn't want to bring up what had happened earlier. 'It's nothing. I just suddenly felt uncomfortable.'
'Even if you don't tell me, I can find out when I go back,' he remarked."
