Chapter 24 Li Li and Tan Yi already had a conflict...

Li Li was already frustrated because of her conflict with Tan Yi, and after being so fierced by Li Zhoudu, she lost even the confidence she usually had when arguing with him.

She felt so pathetic.

Li Zhoudu's fingers were still pressed against Li Li's forehead, watching her big eyes fill with tears, slowly welling up. He couldn't imagine how wronged she felt.

He was angry but helpless. He knelt down in front of the kitten and apologized, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that to you. Don't be angry today, it's your birthday."

Li Li turned her head away and didn't say anything.

Just then, Wenxi called Li Zhoudu and asked him to bring his sister out, as they were seeing off guests outside.

"Alright, stop being a liar." He ruffled Li Li's short hair, took her wrist, and lifted her up from the ground.

————

On Monday morning, Li Li sat in her office, feeling sullen, writing her resignation letter.

She found a template online, made some revisions, and sent it to Xie Zongfang in one go, also copying Tan Su.

While having lunch with You Chang at noon, Li Li listlessly picked at the noodles in her bowl and earnestly told her, "Take good care of yourself at Yanqi. If you really can't continue, you can come to me."

You Chang was completely confused and said, "You're resigning? Wasn't President Xie very good to you?"

Li Li poked at her noodles, saying that her family wasn't happy about her coming, and neither was her boyfriend, so maybe she should just forget about it.

You Chang asked, "Are you happy or not?"

Li Li rested her cheek on her chopsticks and thought for a moment. She hadn't actually planned to work at Yanqijiu at first. She just wanted to come in and make connections with Tan Huiming. Although there hadn't been much progress in the past year, she was still quite comfortable with someone protecting her.

But now that Tan Yi doesn't like it, it's not worth continuing.

You Chang was also a little saddened by her low spirits. Holding Li Li's hand, he said confidently, "Then when you pass by the International Finance Center again, feel free to have dinner with me anytime."

Li Li agreed.

While the two were chatting, she received a phone call from Tan Su.

He said, "Li Xiaomao, come upstairs after you finish eating."

Li Li had no idea where this nickname came from. She glanced at her phone, confused, thinking he had been possessed. But then she figured Tan Su probably wanted to talk about leaving the company, so she replied, "Okay."

She went up to the thirty-second floor and saw Miao Zhi, who was hiding from her gaze in the general manager's office and looking guilty. She gave a haughty snort and pushed open the door to Tan Su's office inside.

He was on the phone and gestured for Li Li to wait a moment.

She went out again and asked Chen Ya for a cup of coffee. Holding it in her hand, she came back and sat opposite Tan Su. She picked up one of his English financial magazines, crossed her legs, and pretended to flip through it noisily, as if she had given up on everything.

Ignoring her outrageous little actions, Tan Su hung up the phone and handed her an envelope from the drawer.

"I didn't give you your birthday present that day."

When Li Li came out to see the guests off that day, Tan Su had already left with Xie Zongfang. She privately complained to Wenxi that Tan Su, who was so rich, had come empty-handed and eaten and drunk for free, and had been hit on the head by his aunt.

Unexpectedly, there was a follow-up; it turned out I had wronged him.

Li Li touched the hard, thin piece of paper inside the envelope and said curiously, "Is it a check? That's quite a generous offer."

Then, upon opening it, I found it was an invitation to a modern art exhibition.

“In G City?” she said.

Tan Su asked, "A paid vacation, with chartered flights and hotels, are you going?"

Li Li subconsciously said, "I don't have to go to work, so I'll definitely go."

After saying that, she realized she had already resigned, and asked hesitantly, "Did you see the email I sent this morning?"

Tan Su nodded: "Isn't there a one-month handover period after resigning? Instead of going to check it out, you're just sitting here in the office."

Li Li rolled her eyes generously, accepted the invitation with a smile, and said, "Only an idiot wouldn't go."

On Wednesday, she arrived at the airport with her luggage and learned that she was on the same flight as Tan Su and Chen Ya, and that they were going to G City on official business.

Li Li became suspicious, wondering if he really had ulterior motives towards her, just as Tan Yi suspected.

However, based on her furtive observations throughout the flight, Tan Su, sitting in the front row, didn't glance at her once, so she figured he probably wouldn't.

After the plane landed in G City, Li Li was left to her own devices.

Tan Su and his assistants were too busy to be seen, so Li Li was left to wander around various tourist attractions, checking off her list and buying things.

Actually, G City is very close to Hong Kong, and she had secretly brought her Hong Kong and Macau travel permit out of her home. However, Li Li hadn't decided whether or not to go see Tan Yi.

Although the two later spoke on the phone and clarified things, Tan Yi also apologized.

But if that jealous guy knew that he had gotten out of here again thanks to Tan Su, they might argue again.

She was also a little scared, and wondered with annoyance, "Is this the fault of being too popular?"

On the day the art exhibition opened, Chen Ya knocked on her door. A car was waiting downstairs, and when she went down, she was surprised to find Tan Su waiting in the car.

Li Li: !!!

Having learned from her previous experience in Hong Kong, she was actually quite reluctant to go to the exhibition with Tan Su, because all he did was swipe his card to pay, which was really a downer.

However, Tan Su behaved much better this time than he did in Hong Kong. At least he quietly followed behind Li Li to see the exhibition, listening to her endless boasting.

The artist of this painting studied at his alma mater, so it's roughly equivalent to him being eligible to participate in exhibitions in the future.

Li Junchuan also has a collection of this calligrapher's works. The market price is less than 10,000 yuan per square foot, which is actually quite cheap.

She didn't really like this meticulous painting; it was too flashy and looked too craftsmanlike.

Tan Su didn't say much throughout, only asking once in the middle, "Is there anything you like? I'll give it to you as a birthday present."

As expected, he couldn't shake his businessman nature. Li Li was convinced; she felt like she had been talking to a brick wall.

"No!"

After walking around for more than an hour, Li Li went to a nearby coffee shop and ordered a drink.

The café owner had a small, clean, chubby white cat that roamed freely. When Li Li sat down to wait for her food, the cat jumped onto her lap.

Li Li reached out and stroked its fur, listening to its happy purring, and felt a little nostalgic for Su Mi.

Sigh, when couples argue, pets are always the innocent party.

Or we could have Tan Yi film a video of her later.

Tan Su interrupted her thoughts and asked, "Why do your family call you Little Cat?"

Li Li said absentmindedly, "Because I was in poor health when I was little, I was afraid that if I had a big name, I wouldn't be able to raise my child."

“Hmm,” he said.

Li Li took the coffee and got into Tan Su's car, thinking they were going back to the hotel, but it turned out they weren't.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking at the unfamiliar road and the landmarks receding into the distance. "Are we going to get something good to eat?"

Tan Su closed his eyes to rest and did not speak.

Suddenly he received a phone call. Listening to the conversation, he frowned, leaned forward, and saw a car following behind him in the rearview mirror.

"Turn around at the next intersection and go back to the hotel," he told the driver.

"What's wrong?" Li Li asked Tan Su, still confused.

Tan Su's gaze silently scrutinized her.

Half an hour later, the car returned to the hotel, and Li Li was led upstairs by Chen Ya, who was waiting for her.

Tan Su waited in the car for a while, but the black car that had been following behind him did not drive in.

——

Li Li had planned to order takeout for dinner, but while she was lying in her room, she suddenly received a phone call.

She jumped out of bed, quickly changed into a dress and shoes, and hurried downstairs.

The car sent by Tan Congxu was waiting in front of the revolving door downstairs.

She opened the door and got into the car, where she was taken to a nearby restaurant, into a private room, and saw Uncle Tan, whom she hadn't seen for many years.

Tan Congxu was wearing a shirt and trousers. He didn't look much different from before, except that he had more wrinkles on his face, which made him look older and more gentle.

She said to Tan Congxu, "I should have visited you earlier; I didn't expect you to have to make an appointment with me."

Tan Congxu smiled and asked her to sit down: "I've been flying around domestically and internationally these days, so these formalities don't really matter."

He called the waiter to bring the food, chatted with Li Li, asked if her elders were alright, and then asked, "Did you and Tan Yi have a fight?"

Li Li was a little embarrassed: "No, Uncle Tan."

Tan Congxu said with a smile, "Don't try to smooth things over for that kid. He's been running wild these past few years. I'll give him a good scolding when I get back."

Thinking of his merciless slap, Li Li quickly said that she really didn't, and that Tan Yi was very good to her.

Tan Congxu said "Oh," and then asked, "I heard from Tan Yi that you're working at Yanqi now?"

"Hmm." She picked up a piece of beef with her chopsticks, without mentioning that she was going to resign.

"Who is your boss? Let me see if I recognize him."

Li Li said it was Xie Zongfang, the head of the Strategic Development Department.

“He was a decent man,” Tan Congxu said of him. “When I left, he was a marketing manager. But he didn’t take sides or engage in nepotism. He was very capable.”

Li Li ate her food slowly, thinking that she seemed to be the one who had tarnished Xie Zongfang's reputation.

"I roughly know that Tan Yi had a conflict with you over work."

Tan Congxu said, "From your uncle's point of view, he is far less intelligent and has a broader perspective than you. So what if he and Tan Su are at odds? They are still family. There are two Tans in one stroke. He shouldn't take his anger out on you because of your work at Yanqi."

Li Li blinked, listening to him continue, "Tan Yi just takes everything too easily. He doesn't understand how hard you work out there. Actually, working in a company means dealing with superiors and colleagues; there's no such thing as a smooth journey. But how can you expect a reward without putting in the effort, right?"

He wiped his lips with a napkin and slowly advised, "I must talk to Tan Yi again when I get back. This incorrect and narrow-minded thinking must be corrected."

Tan Congxu's words were exactly what Li Li wanted to hear.

She didn't think she had done anything wrong, and her previous efforts had been gradually yielding results. It was only because of Tan Yi's lack of understanding that she had made concessions recently. So she nodded heavily, said "okay," and then added, "Uncle, please don't scold him."

Tan Congxu teased, "With such a considerate girlfriend like you, I wonder what that kid is still doing?"

Late at night, Tan Congxu's car took Li Li back to her hotel. She got out of the car, waved goodbye to him.

The evening breeze lifted the hem of Li Li's skirt as she ran lightly up the stairs into the lobby. After thinking for a moment, she quickly dialed Tan Su's number.

He was doing something on the other end; the sound was very quiet.

She said bluntly, "I don't want to resign anymore, Brother Tan Su."

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Author's Note: The little kitten doesn't have an omniscient perspective; everyone seems like a good person to her. [Sigh]