Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Shen Li just like that…

Shen Li was carried across the living room, his body supported by those strong arms, as they walked upstairs to the bedroom.

Seeing that something was wrong, Shen Li quickly wiggled her feet, stared wide-eyed at Jiang Huaichuan in disbelief: "What are you doing in broad daylight?"

"In broad daylight?" Jiang Huaichuan stopped and turned to look out the window.

Shen Li remained silent; it was pitch black outside the window.

"That won't do either, put me down." Shen Li was anxious. In the struggle, the wide collar of her pajamas slipped to the side, revealing her fair skin and the conspicuous teeth marks on her shoulder.

Jiang Huaichuan's gaze darkened instantly.

Shen Li froze, shrinking back like a quail: "It was just last night... You can't treat me like this."

Seeing this, Jiang Huaichuan took a deep breath and finally sighed helplessly, pulling his clothes up: "Just kidding, I'll put a pair of socks on you."

Shen Li blinked guiltily.

When Lu Mingxuan was discharged from the hospital, he specifically said that he absolutely could not be exposed to cold this summer. His heart was not a minor issue and he had not fully recovered yet. If he caught a cold and developed a fever, it would turn into myocarditis, which would be a serious problem.

Lu Mingxuan spoke with a serious expression, pausing frequently as he spoke, which made Jiang Huaichuan tremble with fear. All spring, Shen Li had been wearing socks properly, but unexpectedly, at the very beginning of summer, she had kicked off her cotton slippers along with her socks.

Seeing that Shen Li was still trying to run away, Jiang Huaichuan gently patted her with his hand and threatened, "If you move again, I'll give you extra food today."

Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Shen Li's ears turned bright red.

In the bedroom, Shen Li sat on the edge of the bed with her feet on Jiang Huaichuan's knees, letting the man kneel down to help her put on her socks.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" Jiang Huaichuan suddenly asked.

“Yes,” Shen Li said. “Next week is the 80th anniversary of K City No. 1 High School. They sent me an invitation, hoping I can give a lecture before the college entrance examination.”

With the college entrance examination approaching and the school's 80th anniversary also approaching, the school leaders considered arranging a lecture to boost morale.

K City is not wealthy; it is a small city on the outskirts of Z City. Its teaching quality is far inferior to that of the big cities. Shen Li, as the first student from K City No. 1 High School to be admitted to A University, was an outstanding student that the school teachers always talked about. Eight years after graduation, his photo is still hanging on the honor wall, guiding every hardworking student.

Which day next week?

Friday.

Jiang Huaichuan nodded: "Okay, I'll go with you."

Upon hearing this, Shen Li reached out and tapped the corner of Jiang Huaichuan's eye, noticing the weariness hidden beneath his eyes: "Aren't you busy?"

Jiang Huaichuan raised his hand, grasped Shen Li's fingertips in his palm, and leaned down to gently kiss the corner of Shen Li's mouth: "No rush."

I'll never be busy with things that concern you.

As Jiang Huaichuan often said, he was ashamed that he was not worthy of being loved by someone as good as Shen Li.

Shen Li woke up on the evening of the seventh day after surgery. She had returned to her ward from the intensive care unit on the fourth day after the operation. At that time, Jiang Huaichuan had just finished a short meeting and was sitting by the bedside looking at documents on his tablet.

Shen Li woke up silently, and Jiang Huaichuan noticed her as soon as she opened her lightly closed eyes a crack.

Shen Li was a little dazed when she first woke up and couldn't see clearly. She felt a familiar presence, subconsciously pursed her lips, and let out a weak groan.

Remembering what Lu Mingxuan had said, Jiang Huaichuan's eyes were filled with heartache. He gently touched Shen Li's eyebrows and eyes and coaxed her in a low voice, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Shen Li's eyes were half-open, his brown pupils misty with tears. Jiang Huaichuan saw his lips move slightly, so he quickly leaned down and put his ear close. The next second, Jiang Huaichuan's eyes suddenly reddened.

Shen Li was crying out in pain.

The symptoms that hadn't surfaced while she was unconscious suddenly returned like a raging tiger after she woke up, and the pain from the incision made Shen Li gasp for breath when she spoke.

Shen Li truly regained consciousness the next day.

After Lu Mingxuan finished his routine check-up, the ward fell silent. Jiang Huaichuan was very nervous, standing straight in front of the bed like a child who had done something wrong.

Shen Li slept for a long time and didn't understand at first, but after realizing it, she couldn't help but feel a little helpless.

It's impossible for Shen Li not to be angry that Jiang Huaichuan arranged the surgery behind his back, especially when he learned that Jiang Huaichuan was even planning to go to the overseas branch. Shen Li's anger reached its peak.

From the moment she found out until the night before the surgery, Shen Li waited for Jiang Huaichuan to confess to her, but he never did.

On the day of the surgery, when Shen Li woke up and didn't see Jiang Huaichuan, her heart sank to the bottom. Even though she knew that Jiang Huaichuan was not the kind of person who would run away at the last minute, at that moment, in addition to anger, Shen Li couldn't help but feel a little lost and sad.

As the surgery date drew closer, his disappointment and sadness turned into fear and dread, which filled his heart.

So when Jiang Huaichuan stood before her, soaking wet, and took out the red rope carefully wrapped in a handkerchief from the pocket of his wet coat, the anger in Shen Li's heart dissipated, leaving only a sour feeling.

Although Jiang Huaichuan ultimately did not go down the path of working for an overseas branch, his previous appointment letter was indeed officially stamped and issued.

That's right, Song An got promoted, from special assistant to deputy general manager of the L City branch.

When President Shen found out about this, he almost threw a tantrum on the spot. You have to understand that even though L City and A City are adjacent, they are still in different cities! For a couple deeply in love, this is nothing short of an earthquake.

Despite his antics, Shen Wenyuan knew what was important and understood that this was a rare opportunity for Song An. In the past few months, he had been going to L City whenever he had free time.

It's tough on Jiang Huaichuan. His current assistant was promoted after a comprehensive assessment in the assistant department, and he's not nearly as easy to work with as Song An. They're still in the adjustment phase, and Jiang Huaichuan has to personally oversee some things. He doesn't show it on his face, but he's secretly working himself to the bone.

——

The lecture started at 10 a.m. on a breezy summer day.

At 9 a.m., Shen Li appeared at the gate of K City No. 1 Middle School.

When the security guard at the gate saw him, the gate opened a crack about half a meter wide.

"Thank you." Shen Li signed his name on the school admission list, then suddenly remembered something and looked up.

The face before me looked much older than I remembered; its tanned skin sagged loosely, and its aged face was covered in wrinkles. He smiled and silently looked at me.

"Grandpa Gao," Shen Li called out, "It's been a long time. How have you been lately?"

Seeing that he recognized him, the security guard hurriedly replied, "Great, great! I'm quitting next year. I heard you were coming today, so I specially switched shifts to come and see you. You look even thinner than when you were in school!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Li quickly explained, "Maybe you've grown taller, so you look thinner."

Grandpa Gao thought about it and agreed.

Grandpa Gao is old and usually just watches TV. He's not as well-informed as the younger generation. He looked at the man standing behind Shen Li and asked, "This is... your good friend?"

Shen Li nodded: "Yes!"

"Hahaha, good, good, he's really handsome, a perfect match."

Returning to their familiar surroundings, Shen Li refused the school's arrangement to send someone to receive them, and instead led Jiang Huaichuan on a tour of every inch of the campus.

"The good friend he mentioned means his partner. Grandpa Gao has been working as a security guard at the school for more than 20 years. He was already quite old when I enrolled. In principle, the school would not continue to employ security guards over 60 years old, but his family situation was not good. His wife passed away early, and his son and daughter-in-law also died in an accident a few years ago. He was the only one left in the family, so the school thought it would be better to keep him so that they could see him every day and feel at ease."

“He took care of me when I was in school. Because of the trips to and from the orphanage, I would miss my morning classes every day. The school gates would be closed when I arrived. He would always open the door for me. Over time, we developed a tacit understanding. As soon as I turned the corner, the door would open a crack.”

“One day I didn’t come to school as usual. He sensed something was wrong, so he followed a side path to find me and found me lying on the roadside. Because I was in a hurry, I took a secluded path with few people around. If it weren’t for him that day, I might not be here.”

Shen Li noticed that the hand holding his tightened, and he quickly squeezed it reassuringly: "I'm not saying this to make you feel sorry for me, but to let you know that in the part of my life that you weren't a part of, I also received a lot of kindness. Huai Chuan, I'm doing very well."

The school was renovated five years ago, and the old, dilapidated main building now shines brightly in the sunlight.

Upon entering, dozens of photos are displayed on the left wall, with Shen Li in the very center.

Jiang Huaichuan stood in front of Shen Li's photo, looking up at her. Shen Li in the photo still had the youthful innocence he remembered, just like when he first met her at A University, wearing a thin school uniform and with little flesh on her face.

Below Shen Li's photo are photos of students who have been admitted to prestigious universities in recent years. Because of Shen Li's presence, the city has begun to pay attention to education in this remote town and has improved the quality of education by hiring outstanding teachers from outside.

The entire wall, arranged like steps from top to bottom, represents the heritage and hope of this small, remote town.

When Shen Li arrived at the lecture hall, the students had not yet arrived, and there were only two teachers on the stage preparing.

One of the teachers noticed the two and quickly approached them: "Are you Mr. Shen?"

Shen Li shook hands with him: "Hello, teacher, I am Shen Li."

"Hello, hello, would you mind taking a look at the whole arrangement?"

Shen Li nodded: "That's fine."

While waiting for the students to enter, Shen Li and Jiang Huaichuan sat in the first row below.

Jiang Huaichuan looked at Shen Li and took several deep breaths: "Nervous?"

Shen Li nodded.

As the seats behind him gradually filled up, Shen Li heard hushed whispers behind him.

"Is that Senior Shen? He's even more handsome than in the photos."

"Would you say this counts as a successful fan meeting in some sense? A special edition of an offline fan meeting, hahaha."

"Jiajia, did you bring your phone? Let's take a picture secretly later."

"I brought it, I brought it. Please keep an eye on the teacher for me later."

At 10:00 AM sharp, Shen Li took the stage after being introduced by the school leaders. As soon as he stepped onto the stage, before he could even speak, a few small white lights flashed from below the stage, accompanied by exclamations from the corner to the left: "Holy crap! You didn't turn off the flash!"

School leaders: ...

The dean's face instantly darkened.

Suddenly, the audience fell silent, everyone quietly glancing at the dean of students who hadn't yet stepped down from the stage.

The head of teaching affairs didn't give any orders, and the homeroom teacher accompanying the class didn't take any action either. The teachers had all been students themselves, and they had all done things like secretly bringing cell phones when they were young. As long as they weren't caught, they would turn a blind eye.

In the silence, a faint crackling sound broke the silence, followed by a gentle voice: "Hello everyone, I'm Shen Li, it's a pleasure..."

Shen Li's sharing session was brief. He didn't talk much about his own experiences, focusing instead on how to choose a school and adjust one's mindset before the exam. After the sharing session, it was time for students to ask questions, and several hands were raised.

Because several people were mentioned in a row and all of them were related to the college entrance examination, the dean of students gradually relaxed his vigilance. Until a pair of hands were raised, the dean of students sat up straight instantly. He was about to stop them when he saw that Shen Li had already looked over.

The boy's school uniform hung loosely on his body. He stood up lazily, but his tone was very serious: "Senior, how can I win over the girl I like?"

Shen Li: ?