Deliberately Approaching
Chapter 253: Meeting Gift

Chapter 253: Chapter 253: Meeting Gift

However, Tang Xiaowan’s gaze was highly focused, as if she had immersed herself in her own world.

Her hands gracefully glided over the black and white piano keys, her waist gently swaying with the rhythm, her demeanor intoxicating.

Leng Lingxiao’s worries were completely unnecessary.

Gradually, the melody shifted from soothing to stirring, the pressure of her fingers on the keys growing stronger, leaping and transitioning back and forth as if telling an exciting story.

The waitstaff present were all drawn to her playing, stopping in their tracks to listen.

"Well played, really good, each note... filled with power!" Wang Jinhui mused in praise.

His deep eyes were already tinged with a hint of red.

Leng Lingxiao’s parents, standing not too far away, were thrilled beyond measure, almost wishing they could reveal their identities right then and there.

"No, that would upset our son."

"Right, right, we’ve already promised our son, we can’t act rashly."

"This child is really great, possessing both virtue and talent."

"Our son always has good taste!"

After the performance, Tang Xiaowan stood up confidently, smiling and bowing to everyone, and the crowd responded with enthusiastic applause.

Leng Lingxiao watched, utterly captivated.

He could hardly believe that the mischievous Tang Xiaowan possessed such superb piano skills, something that certainly couldn’t be achieved overnight.

"Huahua, what do you think, did it sound good?"

Tang Xiaowan’s cheerful voice pulled Leng Lingxiao back from his reverie.

"The transition from gentle to strong is unpredictable, especially the closing part, it ended so beautifully, leaving one wanting more. What’s it called?"

"Of course, guess, haha."

While Tang Xiaowan responded with apparent ease, wearing a proud expression, her mind was actually blank.

At the end of August, during a sabotage mission at Li Garden, she suddenly discovered that she not only could play the piano but also could quickly memorize sheet music, as if it were second nature.

She was both surprised and curious, a newfound confidence surging through her.

At that moment, seeing Leng Lingxiao’s fiery gaze, Tang Xiaowan couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty and shy, but more so, she was excited and proud.

This was akin to "a woman dresses for the man she likes."

"Is there a prize if I guess it right?" Leng Lingxiao said, his eyes full of appreciation.

"Yes, of course there is, haha."

Tang Xiaowan laughed, trying to appear nonchalant, but inside she was thinking that no matter what answer Leng Lingxiao gave, she would say he was right.

After all, it didn’t have a name, so anything would do. Even if it were called ’Unnamed’, ’Wild Imagination’, or miscellaneous things because the music sheet had fallen from a book in Mei Garden by chance.

It was a slightly yellowed piece of paper, very old, with musical staves on both sides.

Out of curiosity, Tang Xiaowan had tried it on the piano on a whim, never expecting to like it so much. Unfortunately, it was unsigned and hand-written, with some parts slightly blurred.

She had suspected it was her grandmother’s handwriting, but back then she didn’t know her grandmother was still alive; after finding out, she had forgotten about it.

Come on, spit out a name.

It seems Huahua is not as clever as me, might as well just call it ’Wild Imagination’, it’s simple and memorable, truly smart like me.

No, I should really ask Grandmother.

"Little sister, you play well. Teach Brother Leng sometime, he also likes the piano."

Wang Jinhui’s sudden interjection broke the awkward silence, unwittingly rescuing the internally flustered Tang Xiaowan.

"Oh, that..."

She had no idea how to teach piano; her brave action was only to please Leng Lingxiao and incidentally satisfy the two elders.

Just as she was unsure of how to respond, the waiter came over with a serving cart.

"Hello, these pastries and the gift box were sent by the lady who just left, expressing her deep gratitude for your piano performance. Please enjoy."

Not too many, not too few, just eight dishes.

Their table had already been lavished with a wealth of desserts, and now, there was simply no spare space left—the result was that they had to clear a few dishes that had been sampled.

Sending desserts made sense as a token of appreciation, but what did a gift box signify?

Tang Xiaowan quietly wondered to herself.

"Little sister, hurry up and take a look."

"Right, open it quickly and see what goodies are hidden inside!"

Under the urging of Leng Lingxiao and Wang Jinhui, Tang Xiaowan had no choice but to bite her lip and open the dark red wooden gift box, only to find a jade bracelet of vibrant green lying inside.

"It looks of good quality. Little sister, hurry and try it on."

"Wow, Tangtang, you’ve struck it rich!"

Wang Jinhui and Leng Lingxiao sang in chorus.

But at this moment, Tang Xiaowan had no desire to try on the Jade Bracelet—she immediately stood up and looked toward the distance, only to see that the place was already empty.

Good heavens! Is this how Huang City people express their thanks—so grandly?

In fact, as Tang Xiaowan played the piano, she didn’t think too much about it; she simply wanted to bring joy to those around her to the best of her modest abilities.

When she saw the smiles on the faces of the two elderly people and Leng Lingxiao, her heart filled with a sense of achievement.

However, this gift box was too unexpected!

How could she accept such a valuable gift? Absolutely not, she had to return it.

"Huahua, can you help me check..."

"No need to check, just accept it peacefully—that’s the old folks’ sincerity, and even if you find out who they are, they definitely won’t take it back."

"That’s right, these are the customs of Huang City," Wang Jinhui immediately added.

Tang Xiaowan exclaimed, "Customs?"

Then, Tang Xiaowan took the Jade Bracelet and headed straight for the restaurant entrance.

She was confident that catching up with the two elders would be no problem at all with her speed. However, what she didn’t know was that they had a car and were prepared to leave early; by now, she had no idea how far they may have driven.

As expected, once outside, her hopes were dashed.

Leng Lingxiao, who followed close behind, quickly wrapped an arm around Tang Xiaowan’s shoulder, beginning his heartfelt persuasion with a look of deep regret.

In truth, he was bursting with joy at this moment.

Naturally, he knew what the bracelet signified—it was a heritage treasure only possessed by the wives of the Leng Family, not just an issue of price, but a symbol of identity.

This meant that Tang Xiaowan had been acknowledged by his parents, in hopes that she would marry into the Leng Family soon.

"It’s the sentiment of the elderly, keep it," he said.

"I can’t, I must find them—accepting this makes me uncomfortable," Tang Xiaowan frowned.

"All right, all right, we’ll look into it tomorrow. But since they insisted on giving the gift, they must have been prepared, so it probably will take like a week."

Prepared? Insisted on giving?

Tang Xiaowan bit her lower lip, then suddenly turned to slip away from Leng Lingxiao’s embrace.

She looked at him intently, her brows tightly knitted, and the grip on the bracelet in her hand tightened, as if realizing something.

A large tea restaurant with only two occupied tables?

Absurdly lavish jade bracelet presented just for playing the piano.

Such gratitude was surely too much!

Leng Lingxiao felt uncomfortable under Tang Xiaowan’s gaze, as though he had done something wrong, and quickly pinched her nose.

"What are you thinking about, so engrossed?"

"Do we need a week? I feel like finding that couple could be very easy—you could sort it out just by going back home," Tang Xiaowan implied meaningfully.

"Exaggerate much, sort it out just by going back home!"

No sooner had he spoken, Leng Lingxiao felt a shiver, and quickly cleared his throat, smiling and taking Tang Xiaowan’s hand: "Huahua was wrong, please punish Huahua, Little Fairy Tangtang."