Zhang Mutian had indeed given Zhang Ling a document bag containing basic information on the members of the Mu Family, complete with photographs. As long as Zhang Ling memorized those faces, she would not mistake anyone.
Unfortunately, after receiving the document bag, Zhang Ling had not yet opened it to take a look.
She had intended to wait until she got back to look through it at her leisure.
She never expected to run into Mu Lingfeng here.
"Xiaoxu, is this a friend of yours?"
Mu Lingfeng's voice was low and magnetic, very pleasant to the ear. His handsome face was gentle, completely devoid of the impatience he had shown on the day of their blind date.
"Boss, this is my neighbor's younger sister. We ran into each other, so I stopped to say hello," Tang Xiaoxu replied, then introduced Mu Lingfeng to Zhang Ling: "Lingling, this is my boss."
Zhang Ling smiled and greeted Mu Lingfeng, "Hello, Boss."
Mu Lingfeng looked at Zhang Ling and smiled as well, "Hello, Xiaoxu's little sister."
After exchanging greetings, Mu Lingfeng said to Tang Xiaoxu, "You two siblings go ahead and chat, I'll wait for you at the car."
With that, he even took the bag containing the new clothes from Tang Xiaoxu's hands and walked toward a car parked not far away. Zhang Ling recognized that car; Tang Xiaoxu drove it every time he came home on leave, mentioning that the boss had assigned it to him for his use.
The boss had even said that if Tang Xiaoxu stayed and worked at the farm for a full ten years, the title of the car would be transferred to him, effectively giving it to him as a gift.
Tang Xiaoxu loved tending to animals, having kept all sorts of animals around the house since he was a child. Growing up, being able to find a job that he loved and that matched his profession—he had once declared that as long as the boss didn't fire him, he would work there until he physically couldn't anymore.
Zhang Ling watched Mu Lingfeng walk away and said to Tang Xiaoxu, "Brother Xu, your boss is so young. I thought he'd be around Grandpa Tang's age."
The place where Tang Xiaoxu worked was a rural farm over an hour's drive from the downtown area. According to him, his boss not only owned a large farm but also several orchards and vegetable markets.
Zhang Ling had always assumed that a farm owner who liked farming and raising horses, cattle, sheep, chickens, dogs, and pigs would be an elderly grandfather. She never imagined the farm owner would be so young, tall, and handsome.
He also seemed to have a great temper, speaking with a smile, coming across as gentle and approachable.
This was Zhang Ling's second impression of Mu Lingfeng.
If she had known that this young, handsome farm owner was her own flash-marriage husband, she probably would have been so shocked her jaw would drop.
Tang Xiaoxu said, "Our boss is very young. Just like me, he genuinely loves farming and tending to animals. He and I aren't just boss and employee; we're also friends. We graduated from the same university—we're alumni, and he was one year ahead of me."
"Isn't our boss handsome? We all say that if he went to be a celebrity, he'd definitely blow up and become a top idol."
"The young women at the farm all like our boss, but the boss is completely dense when it comes to romance, holding the exact same attitude toward everyone. He's thirty and still single, and was just recently pressured by his family to go on a blind date."
Zhang Ling listened to the gossip with great relish and asked, "Did his blind date succeed? With so many girls at your farm liking him, wouldn't it be easy for him to just pick one instead of going on blind dates?"
"His family has money. For people from different social strata, trying to marry into his family is simply impossible."
Zhang Ling let out an "oh," then said, "That's true. A big farm owner like him has no shortage of anything except money, so naturally marrying a wife is all about matching social status."
Tang Xiaoxu agreed, "It's precisely because I know they care about matched social status that I didn't introduce him to you and Shiyu. The reality gap is just too wide, and I was afraid you guys would get hurt."
He truly regarded Zhang Ling as his second younger sister. When it came to the happiness of his two sisters, Tang Xiaoxu was extremely cautious. No matter how good his own boss was, he would never introduce him to his two sisters, knowing full well how much wealthy families value matching social standing.
"Whether the boss's blind date succeeded or not, we don't know—we didn't ask, and he didn't say. I suppose it failed because look, he's being pressured by his mother again to come back to the city to attend a large-scale blind date banquet, and he won't be able to return to the farm for the next two days."
"I drove him back and happened to accompany him out to buy a few new suits. He thinks his regular clothes are fine, but his mother insists that he buy a few expensive suits. Our boss gets the worst headaches over his mother."
In Tang Xiaoxu's eyes, even if his boss dressed plainly, the moment he stood in a crowd, he was still an exceptionally handsome man—graceful and dashing.
He naturally drew everyone's gaze and easily became the focus of the crowd.
Wearing expensive suits was merely icing on the cake.
"Lingling, how is Auntie doing now? I heard from my mother that the surgery was very successful."
Tang Xiaoxu asked with concern about Mother Zhang's condition.
"The surgery was indeed very successful. She's still staying in the intensive care unit and won't be able to come out for a little while yet. I believe my mother will get better."
As long as the surgery was successful and her mother pulled through, she would recover.
"That's good. The money I had Shiyu give you—please accept it. Auntie is still going to need quite a bit of money for her follow-up care."
"I know your father gave you a sum of money, but I was just worried it wouldn't be enough."
Tang Xiaoxu said, "My food and lodging are all provided by the farm, so I don't have to worry about clothing or meals, and I hardly spend any money. The little bit of pocket money I kept is more than enough."
Zhang Ling said gratefully, "Brother Xu, thank you. You guys have helped my mom and me too much; such great kindness is something we can never fully repay. But your money—I really can't take it anymore. I've calculated it, and the money my dad gave me is enough."
She insisted on refusing Tang Xiaoxu's money, so Tang Xiaoxu stopped pressing the matter. Instead, he asked with concern, "I heard all about it from Shiyu—that you took Zhang Qing's place on a blind date and had a flash marriage. Is your husband treating you well?"
"That... how should I put it? He provided a place for me to live and gives me complete freedom, so I suppose he's good."
Zhang Ling was too embarrassed to say that she couldn't even remember what her husband looked like.
Ever since they got their marriage certificate, the couple had not seen each other again.
She had moved into Mu Lingfeng's apartment at No. 388 Huaxi Gardens and had been living entirely by herself the whole time.
Mu Lingfeng was truly as good as his word—he rarely returned to the city.
Zhang Ling felt this was quite nice. Being married was just like not being married; she was still entirely on her own, carefree, and didn't even have to deal with her in-laws or live with them.
She didn't even have to wait on a husband.
Her husband was gay and didn't like women, which meant she could monopolize a large bed all to herself. Furthermore, she wouldn't have to go through the suffering of pregnancy and childbirth in the future, because since her husband liked men, he wouldn't touch her—his nominal wife.
Without a real marital relationship, how could she have children? Won't that save her from the hardships of pregnancy and childbirth?
Zhang Ling considered this kind of marriage to be an absolute fairy-tale marriage—unbound and carefree to the extreme.
"That's good. When you have time another day, bring him over to my house for dinner. I'll have my mom cook up some delicious food for you guys."
Tang Xiaoxu really wanted to meet Zhang Ling's husband; after all, he was his brother-in-law.
Zhang Ling smiled and said, "Every time I go to your house, Auntie cooks delicious food for me anyway; you don't even need to ask."
"I... he's very busy. Once he has some free time, I'll bring him over."
Zhang Ling had wanted to say "my husband," but she wasn't used to it and couldn't bring herself to say the words, so she changed what she was saying.