Chapter 63

Upon hearing this, Xu Wanyi showed a hint of unease on her face, and this unease was completely noticed by Li Ye.

After returning to his room last night, Li Ye thought about it carefully. On the way back from the ski resort, someone did hold his hand and even kissed him lightly. Since Xiao Chenyue was still asleep at the time, it was obvious who did these things.

However, Xu Wanyi's two-faced behavior was too deliberate. Li Ye, with his clever mind, quickly figured out the reason, which led to this "questioning and accusation".

Xu Wanyi hadn't thought that far ahead. She just felt that this person was too perceptive. It turned out that the things she thought she was doing discreetly had already been noticed by her.

She gazed at the pristine white snow outside the window, a small artificial waterfall cascading ceaselessly down the rockery, her mind seemingly engaged in a battle of wits. Li Ye didn't urge her, simply sitting opposite her and quietly watching her.

“Well, we…” She had only said a few words when she seemed to realize she couldn’t find the right words. She paused for a moment. She had originally wanted to say that they were now client and lawyer, but considering what they had done together, saying it like that would seem too deliberate and hypocritical.

Our past is the past.

“I know,” Li Ye replied quickly. She had already realized it after her first presentation to Xu Wanyi.

"Our relationship right now... is very complicated." Xu Wanyi touched her forehead, looking somewhat troubled. Finally, as if she had made up her mind, she continued.

"Let me put it this way, you know, people have different priorities at different stages of life, and I met you when I needed love the most."

“What you need most right now isn’t love, then what is it?” Li Ye interjected.

She knew that Xu Wanyi was definitely interested in her, and she still loved her. Although she was angry at Xu Wanyi's obedience to her mother, she had to bear at least half the responsibility back then. In the whole incident, the most innocent and biggest victim was actually Xu Wanyi.

So she wanted to know what Xu Wanyi really wanted right now. If she could get what she wanted, she could free up some of her heart for love.

Xu Wanyi stared at Li Ye without blinking and said, "You know my family situation is complicated. My parents separated many years ago, you didn't know that, because... well, that's not important. What's important is that my mother was practically kicked out of the Xu family by my father, leaving her with only a small share of the company. The entire group is in the hands of my father and my brother, and Leguang was actually founded by the two of them from scratch."

"So your current priority is to take over Leguang Group, drive out your father and brother, and avenge your mother?"

Xu Wanyi remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

"But that doesn't affect dating... right?" Li Ye suddenly thought of something and stopped talking abruptly. "So this is all for your mother?"

"Not entirely. It also meant to prove myself. In my father's eyes, his only heir is Xu Xuanming. I'm just a dispensable woman. My only purpose is to prepare a dowry and marry a man who can be useful to the family."

"Perhaps it can't be entirely his fault, after all, back then I..."

"You spoiled brat, all you know is dating and keeping gigolos?" Before Xu Wanyi could finish speaking, Li Ye said it for her.

Back when Xu Wanyi was pursuing her, more than one person told her that they couldn't accept this woman. This woman spent money like water, which was beyond the imagination of people in her social class. Moreover, she was too extravagant. She had dated so many men that she couldn't count them on one hand, and she could dump them without giving any reason.

Xu Wanyi was speechless for a moment, and without thinking, she retorted: "I've only been in one relationship in my life, and I've never kept any gigolos."

After saying that, Xu Wanyi saw a very satisfied smile on Li Ye's face, and she regretted it. She decided to go all out: "If we're talking about keeping a gigolo, then it's you, the ungrateful wretch who's been gone for ten years!"

Li Ye suddenly grasped her hand. "Wanyi, I know that apologizing is useless, but I already told you last time that I was wrong ten years ago, and this kind of thing will never happen again."

Xu Wanyi withdrew her hand. "But Li Ye, there's no turning back. I've come this far, after ten years of hard work, and I can't give up, not for my mother, but for myself. So please understand me and respect my decision."

"But that doesn't stop you from being with me!" Li Ye said, ignoring all the questions.

"Xiao Chenyue likes you, do you know that?" Xu Wanyi suddenly said.

"I know, she's been pursuing me for a long time. If I wanted to say yes, I would have said yes years ago. Why would I have waited until now?"

"But she asked me to help her create the conditions to pursue you."

Hearing this, Li Ye was about to curse inwardly.

“Xiao Chenyue is very important to me. My brother is also trying to win her over. I must monopolize Chengye’s products and maintain this relationship with her in order to have any hope of keeping the current situation going. So if the two of us get together, everything will be for naught.”

What a ridiculous reason! It seems reasonable at first glance, but if Xu Wanyi really wants to be with her, can this lousy thing be an obstacle? Li Ye cursed inwardly.

"Are you still worried about your mother?" Li Ye asked, his face pale, the question that had been on his mind for a long time.

Xu Wanyi was stunned. She didn't know how Li Ye had figured it out, but it was indeed a hurdle in her heart, a chasm that was hard to cross.

This time, however, she didn't evade the question like she had every time Li Ye asked it ten years ago. Instead, she nodded seriously. Then, as if she wanted to say something, she opened her mouth, but ultimately couldn't utter a word.

"What else?" Li Ye asked, seeing this.

Xu Wanyi looked at her with mixed feelings for a while, and then said, "If a person can leave their so-called lover so decisively, then that person's love may not be very deep. Moreover, there is always a second chance for something that happens once."

Without Xu Wanyi needing to say anything more, Li Ye understood. She instinctively wanted to explain, but a thought flashed through her mind: if Xu Wanyi needed an explanation, she would have given her one long ago. Regardless of the reasons, objective or subjective, the outcome was already decided. What Xu Wanyi needed was certainty, confirmation, and to rebuild her confidence in Li Ye.

“Yes, I understand,” Li Ye said softly.

Xu Wanyi's voice also dimmed with the somber tone. At this moment, she felt somewhat bewildered, unsure whether bringing up these issues was truly meaningful. Regardless, these questions she had avoided for so many years were finally laid bare and unmasked before them.

Seeing the disappointment and confusion on Xu Wanyi's face, Li Ye sighed. Although Xu Wanyi rejected her again, at least this time she understood the reason.

"You want to get a big contract from Xiao Chenyue, right? Okay, I'll help you."

Li Ye grasped Xu Wanyi's hand again, but this time he only held it briefly before letting go.

She sat up straight, picked up her chopsticks, and began to eat breakfast, chewing silently and in large mouthfuls, as if she hadn't eaten anything that morning.

Watching her enticing way of eating, Xu Wanyi couldn't help but smile. Although they didn't say anything more, a tacit understanding seemed to have been reached between them.

"Oh, you two didn't even call me, just came to enjoy yourselves alone."

Xu Wanyi was taken aback. So the inconspicuous little corner she had deliberately sought out was actually quite conspicuous? How could everyone find this place so precisely?

"We wouldn't dare disturb you. We knocked several times but no one answered. We had no choice but to come and eat first," Li Ye said with a smile, completely different from his serious demeanor just moments before.

Xu Wanyi glanced at Li Ye. This guy really just spouts nonsense. When did she ever knock on Xiao Chenyue's door? According to Feng Jing, "Lawyer Li just loitered around in the lobby all morning, chatting with the landlady while swinging her arms, and did nothing else."

"I'm hungry, let's eat something first." Without thinking twice, she pulled over the food that Li Ye hadn't touched and started eating, saying as she ate, "It's all cold anyway, you can order some more."

"What's wrong, Ms. Xiao?" Li Ye found it strange. Even if Xiao Chenyue was casual, she wouldn't be this casual. She called the waiter over, ordered another round of food, and then asked.

"Chairman Xu, I have some family matters to attend to, so I won't be able to join you all tomorrow. Could you ask your people to help me see what the earliest flight back to Yuzhou is available right now?"

"Um, do you need any help?" Xu Wanyi didn't want to ask for details, so she asked indirectly.

"It's alright, no need. My grandfather had a stroke, but he's stable now. I can just go back and visit him."

Xu Wanyi and Li Ye exchanged glances but remained silent. Perhaps feeling the atmosphere was too oppressive, Xiao Chenyue spoke up again: "It's really nothing serious. It's just our family tradition that if an elder is in trouble, the younger generation must go back to see them. Um, you two wait here, I'll treat you to dinner when we get back to Haixi."

Xiao Chenyue is in such a hurry, so even a minor illness can't be that serious. Xu Wanyi asked everyone what they thought, and then simply had Feng Jing buy everyone plane tickets to go home tonight. What's the point of the others staying if the female lead leaves?

After returning to Haixi, Li Ye was overjoyed to confirm that Xu Wanyi "still loved her but faced many real-world obstacles." Since she hadn't had time to buy souvenirs in Japan, she went to Amazon and bought "souvenirs" for Zhuang Ke, Jiang Yu, and the others.

She thought Zhuang Ke was a good cook, so she bought dried scallops and sea cucumbers for Zhuang Ke and Xiang Nuo. Fearing that these young people might die from overwork, she bought various tonics for Jiang Yu and the young men and women in her team.

As soon as Jiang Yu received the gift, she saw through Li Ye's "ulterior motives." When Li Ye asked her to come to his office to take the gift to distribute to everyone, she casually said, "Attorney Li, next time you buy a gift, ask me first. We all have little things we want to buy from Japan. You don't need to be so generous and buy these things like Red Bull..."

"Alright, alright, I know. Your boss has a good eye, but I was in too much of a rush this time and didn't have time to shop around. Next time, I'll definitely bring you what you want. Go ahead."

Just as I kicked Jiang Yu out, my phone rang.

"Where is Attorney Li?"

"Hello, Mr. Xiao. I'm at the office now, trying to earn money to support my team."

"Ha, you still remember you need to make money to support your team? I asked you to come here on Monday, why didn't you come? Is this the attitude towards making money?"

"Isn't Monday not in Haixi?"

"Okay, seven o'clock tonight, Yunhai Hall, Ziguang Pavilion. No excuses this time, you have to come. Chairman Xu is coming too, you can't let me down."

It's always "Don't let me down." Xiao Chenyue is always so domineering, never giving anyone a choice. But Li Ye always finds a way to make excuses, which is why Xiao Chenyue always dislikes her. If you don't agree, you don't agree. But when I ask you to do something, where do you get so many excuses?

However, Li Ye has already completed the work he wanted to do, so he really should go have dinner with President Xiao to get closer to him. Besides, Miss Xu is going too, so there's no reason for Li Ye not to go.

"Hey, Mr. Xiao, the final versions of those contracts you had with Leguang Group were given to you on Monday. Do you have any other comments?"

Before returning from Japan, Xu Wanyi brought up the cooperation again during the airport wait. Although President Xiao was forced to return to China early, he seemed very satisfied with the trip. After all, Xu Wanyi had made thorough arrangements, and Li Ye was always at his beck and call, and his attitude had become much more friendly.

Then, for some unknown reason, Xiao Chenyue said, "Attorney Li, you're our chief lawyer and also the lawyer for the Leguang project, so you might as well take a look at our contract." Li Ye rolled his eyes inwardly. *Doesn't President Xiao know about the conflict of interest?*

"Li Chong, right? We'll just issue you an exemption letter." This one sentence reveals who is truly behind Chengye Group.

"Okay, if neither of you mind what I do mind." And that's how the scene above came about.

"Oh, is there no problem? What's going on? Did you and Xu Wanyi agree on this? Why are you asking me this?"

"No, not at all. I'm just afraid that you might suddenly ask me to change something, and then I won't be able to eat in peace."

Xiao Chenyue thought about it and realized that this was indeed her style, so she didn't delve into it further.

"Remember, seven o'clock at Ziguang Pavilion, be on time." Then he hung up the phone.

Li Ye arrived ten minutes early and was surprised to find that Xu Wanyi and Xiao Chenyue were already there, and there was no one else present!