Chapter 41. Silence reigned for a long time inside the room…

There was no sound from inside for a long time. Fang Xuan turned around in confusion, and when she saw who it was, her face quickly turned pale. She clutched the gauze in her hand and stood up in a panic.

Tan Yi and Li Li looked at each other calmly, his expression completely unchanging.

He had imagined countless times what it would be like when the kitten discovered the shame hidden beneath this skin. But when that day finally came, he had lost all will to defend himself.

Anyway, the things I've done are thousands of times worse than what I'm doing now.

Li Li remained silent.

She wanted to know what she should say, but she was afraid that if she opened her mouth, tears would fall uncontrollably first.

She is waiting.

We await an explanation from Tan Yi or Fang Xuan.

But first, Tan Yi let out a bitter laugh: "You shouldn't have come today."

Li Li repeated his words and asked, "It was me. Shouldn't I have come today?"

Tan Yi's trembling hand grabbed the cigarettes and lighter from the coffee table, lit one, and put it to his lips.

He said, "You should stay with your mother now and wait to go abroad with her. After that, forget about me and find a suitable man to marry. You've come to the wrong place today."

"Why?" Li Li didn't understand his words and blurted out repeatedly, "Why exactly?"

"Because I'm in so much pain, kitty,"

Tan Yi exhaled a deep puff of smoke, his vocal cords trembling uncontrollably as he suppressed his breath. "All this time, acting in front of you, pretending to be innocent, pretending to know nothing about what happened, has been so painful."

"What kind of explanation is this?" Li Li found it utterly ridiculous.

"I'm not explaining, and I don't want to explain."

Tan Yi said in a nonchalant tone, "Cat, there are always many things in life that are hard to explain."

Are you and Tan Su completely innocent? Don't you also require me to unconditionally trust you forever?

Li Li felt like she was getting to know this man who had grown up with her all of a lifetime, and she couldn't believe a word she heard.

It was like a nightmare.

"Wake up, wake up," she told herself.

But the nightmare didn't end. No matter how many times she opened and closed her eyes, the scene before her remained unchanged: Tan Yi smoking on the sofa and Fang Xuan standing there looking at her with a sorrowful expression.

Li Li's tears finally fell slowly. She said, "Are you getting revenge on me? How could you say such a thing?"

Tan Yi chuckled lightly: "Maybe, because I've been a completely rotten person for a long time. Li Zhoudu must have told you that, right?"

She asked sadly, "Then what did I do wrong?"

"No, no, you're perfectly fine."

He interrupted Li Li, lowered his eyes and stubbed out his cigarette with his fingers: "Actually, I've never liked it when you apologize, nor do I like it when you feel you owe me something."

"It makes me feel pathetic."

Li Li thought to herself with a laugh, "Am I not the most pitiful one?"

In the dead of night, her best friend and her long-distance boyfriend, who had just showered, were alone in a room together, and she was intimately helping him apply medicine in their shared home.

Before Sumi, who witnessed their love never betraying her.

This was also the first time she had ever seen Fang Xuan like this.

Fang Xuan is always proud and playful in front of men. She is a cool and free-spirited girl who will never stay in a relationship with anyone, let alone show any tenderness or obedience.

But at this moment, when facing Tan Yi, these feelings naturally surfaced.

Li Li felt that she was really stupid and foolish.

They've completely fooled her. How could anyone be so stupid as to think of giving her their bag and jewelry when she's in Hong Kong with her boyfriend?

A burning sensation surged through her stomach. Li Li suppressed the acid reflux that kept rising and forced a pathetic smile at Fang Xuan: "So this is what you meant by interning out of town? Fang Xuan."

Fang Xuan didn't say a word.

Li Li pointed out to her: "It wasn't just today, was it?"

She said, "The baseball cap and glove you took from the villa in the south suburbs last time were birthday gifts you gave Tan Yi when he started the baseball club in Sper. Right?"

She could barely maintain a normal demeanor in front of Tan Yi, but when facing the silent Fang Xuan, she suddenly couldn't hold back anymore, covered her eyes, and cried, "I'm so stupid, how come I remembered everything now?"

How could she be so stupid as to trust them unconditionally for so many years?

Li Li stood at the door, like an abandoned child, crying silently as her thin body trembled incessantly.

She thought she should scream, question, throw the vase by the door, pick up the kitchen knife, and vent her pain and dissatisfaction as she had done to Li Zhoudu.

But she was completely unable to move at that moment; her steps felt as heavy as if she were sinking into a swamp, and she couldn't lift them at all.

Her dignity wouldn't allow her to become a crazy woman throwing a tantrum after being abandoned, in front of Tan Yi and Fang Xuan, in such a situation.

She pleaded, "Could someone come?"

Could someone please come? Anyone at all, please beg him, plead with him, to get me out of this wretched situation.

Tan Yi finally couldn't bear Li Li's tears any longer. He walked up to her, his eyes red, and almost knelt down to explain and beg her to forgive his suppressed pain and his careless words.

The words of apology stuck in his throat. The moment he looked up, he saw Tan Su standing not far behind Li Li, at the elevator entrance, with his hands in his pockets, waiting patiently.

He listened for an unknown amount of time, then calmly met Tan Yi's gaze, clicked his tongue, took a few steps forward, put his arm around Li Li's shoulder, and pulled her into his embrace.

The breath on her nose wasn't very familiar, and Li Li was so dizzy that she couldn't tell who it was. She buried her face in the other person's chest.

A familiar voice said coldly in my ear, "Let's end our conversation here."

“Tan Su,” Li Li finally realized who it was. She grabbed Tan Su’s shirt tightly and said, “Bring the cat with you.”

"I'll send someone to pick you up."

“No,” Li Li insisted stubbornly, “the cat is mine. I’m taking it with me now.”

With a little kitten, Li Xiaomao, in his arms who refused to leave first, and a little squirming cat, Su Mi, on the ground, panicking and running around in front of a stranger, Tan Su had no choice but to let her go, enter the house first, squat down in front of Fang Xuan, and lift the little one up by the scruff of her neck.

Fang Xuan took a half step back, but Tan Su didn't pay her any attention. He picked up the millet, turned around, and took Li Li's free hand, who was still covering her eyes and crying: "Stay close to me."

"Big brother," Tan Yi suddenly spoke up.

"Shut up," Tan Su said, turning to look at him and warning him.

"I'm not available right now. I have some accounts to settle later, no rush."

Li Li covered her eyes the whole time and couldn't see the road in front of her at all. Tan Su led her to the underground parking lot. Tan Su threw millet into the car, led her to sit in the passenger seat, and bent down to fasten Li Li's seat belt.

She had no idea how long the car had been driving.

Tan Su took her into the hotel room, let her take a shower in the bathroom, and then called Chen Ya, asking her to come over and take the cat away to check on it.

While he was giving his confession, he suddenly heard a series of strange noises coming from the bathroom behind him. Tan Su went over to turn the doorknob, only to find that it was locked from the inside.

He immediately kicked the door open and pushed open the bathroom door, where water was still running.

The toiletries on the sink were scattered all over the floor. Li Li, dressed in her full clothes, sat with her knees drawn up in the bathtub filled with water.

She had stopped crying and was looking at Tan Su, her gaze blank, as if lost in thought, yet also filled with hatred, and perhaps with an inexplicable longing.

He couldn't explain what that feeling was like.

Tan Su walked over, squatted down, and patiently coaxed her, "Be a good girl today, take a nap later. I'll help you get back what they did today. Okay?"

Li Li seemed to ignore him. She reached out her wet arms, wrapped them around Tan Su's neck, and leaned in to kiss him.

The soaked spring shirt was fine when it floated in the water, but once it came out of the water, it clung to her chest and was almost completely exposed. Tan Su held Li Li's neck and returned the kiss deeply.

In psychology, there's a term called the suspension bridge effect. When people are in highly dangerous, stressful, or stimulating environments, their physiological reactions can easily be mistakenly attributed to attraction to members of the opposite sex nearby.

Tan Su knew he was taking advantage of her vulnerability. The girl in front of him had just experienced betrayal in both love and friendship, and she had not yet recovered from that experience.

But at this moment, Li Li's dependence on and need for herself is urgent and real.

Tan Su pulled her away a little, suppressing his anger, and said, "I said I can't be a saint, Li Li, you better think it over."

Without a second thought, she pressed her lips to Tan Su's again without hesitation.

Li Li just felt very cold, very cold, as if she were frozen in a freezer, so cold that she was shivering all over. Even when she was soaking in hot water, she was still icy cold from head to toe.

She just didn't want to be alone.

How pitiful! He became the one who was abandoned at this moment.

Who knows what her best friend and boyfriend might be doing in that house? Why should she cry alone?

When Chen Ya pushed open the door, Su Mi was scratching at the door that had been kicked open. She went over and picked up the cat, when she suddenly heard some strange noises coming from the bathroom.

She was married and immediately realized what she was doing.

Having inadvertently stumbled upon her boss's secret, Chen Ya got up without hesitation, closed the door, and hurriedly left.

When Tan Su carried Li Li out, he found that the cat in the house was gone. Li Li was wrapped in a bath towel, her hair wet.

Tan Su ran his hand through her short hair, nuzzled Li Li's nose, and kissed her lips passionately.

He called her, "Little Kitten."

"Little kitten..."

"Little kitten?"

He asked, "How did your family come to choose such a good name?"

Tan Su thought that he was willing to be her follower, and that he would be obedient and willing to offer whatever Li Li wanted in the future.

She herself deserves the best of everything in the world.

It was a very long night. Li Li didn't sleep, so Tan Su stayed with her the whole time.

She didn't need to speak; the two repeated kisses and caresses, culminating in a passionate embrace.

Tan Su's back was covered in bloody marks from her fingernails.

As dawn broke outside the window, Li Li seemed to awaken from a night of debauchery, her dark eyes fixed on Tan Su before her.

"What's wrong?" He leaned over her, holding Li Li's fingers together, and kissed her ear affectionately.

Li Li asked, "When can I see my grandfather?"

Tan Su stopped, his smile vanishing instantly. He said, "What did you say?"

Li Li said, word by word, "Didn't you just say that I could do anything you wanted?"

"So when exactly are you going to arrange for me to see Grandpa?"

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Author's note: If we go for an "if" scenario later, we'll open a branch here.

Li Li will no longer have any emotional entanglements with Tan Yi.