Chapter 73
"I'll go." Yu Shi took a step towards the kitchen, but Li Chi'an stopped him. "Let him go. Children need to do more to build confidence. He can do all of these things."
"OK!" Yu Shi raised his hand, turned around and sat down on the sofa. "Zui Zui, could you please wash a plate of fruit for me?"
“Sure!” Chen, the youngest child, ran towards the kitchen.
...
On this day, Li Chi'an was live streaming.
"Good evening, everyone! It's time for your emotional confession 'anti-hypocrisy expert' Sister An to be online again!" She glanced at the bullet screen assistant, and immediately a series of comments appeared on the screen: "Who is Sister An going to roast tonight?", "Selling melon seeds and soda in the front row", "Today is another day of being captivated by Sister An's beauty".
As a book blogger and part-time relationship counselor, Li Chi'an's live-streaming style has gradually evolved from elegant and calm to sharp as she answers netizens' relationship questions from various angles.
In the words of her fans, while others advise reconciliation rather than breakup, Li Chi'an is jokingly called "Sister An" by netizens as someone who "advises breakup rather than reconciliation and is the best at dealing with all kinds of dissent."
"What are we going to talk about today? I saw a message from a girl in the comments section. She said her boyfriend has changed jobs eight times in a year, and every time it's because 'the boss doesn't recognize his talent.' Now he's being supported by her but complains about her low salary. She asked, is there any hope for a man like this?"
Li Chi'an took a sip of water and squinted at the comments section.
"Why keep someone like this around for the New Year's ancestral worship if you're not going to break up with them?"
"Run, girls! This potential stock has hit rock bottom!"
"My ex-husband did the same thing back then, and now his mistress is supporting him."
“Come on, let’s connect with this girl.” Li Chi’an clicked to connect, and a timid voice came through.
"Hello, Sister An... I actually see his good points; he's very considerate, he'll cook instant noodles for me..."
Before Li Chi'an could even speak, the live chat exploded.
"Cooking instant noodles? What an amazing guy!"
"My dog even helps me get takeout!"
"Hey girl, I'll teach you how to cook instant noodles with an egg, vegetables, and ham. You can throw this away."
"Wait a minute." Li Chi'an suddenly noticed that a netizen with the ID "Did Sister An Win the Argument Today?" had sent three rockets in a row, with the comment, "Tell her to ask her boyfriend if it's her fault for not being able to afford ham in her instant noodles!"
Li Chi'an chuckled, "Hey 'Did Sister An Win the Confrontation Today?' friend, thanks for the rocket, but are you deliberately trying to pick a fight with me with your ID?"
The comments section immediately started buzzing with excitement:
"Sister An, he's the amazing guy who debated with you last week about whether guys should ignore their girlfriends while playing video games!"
"That's him! He lost the debate but still sent me gifts!"
"Does a rich person need a pendant?"
Just as I was about to continue, a familiar ID, "Did Sister An win the argument today?", requested to join the live stream.
Good grief, is this a face-to-face showdown?
After the call connected, a clear male voice came through, "Good evening, Sister An; good evening, everyone. To that girl just now, I want to ask you, if a man can't even support himself, what does he have to offer you in return? His instant noodle-cooking skills?"
The live chat exploded instantly:
"Ahhh, her voice is so beautiful!"
Is this going to be an Avengers movie?
"Hey, this is a battle to protect love!"
Li Chi'an raised an eyebrow. "Oh, isn't this my number one hater? What, here to challenge me again today?"
He chuckled, "No, no, I'm just here to provide material. I have a friend whose boyfriend disappears every time they argue, then posts on social media, 'In the end, she bears it all alone.' What do you guys do in that situation?"
"Why not break up with this kind of man? Are we going to keep him as an intangible cultural heritage?"
The sentence happened to appear on the screen in front of him, and Li Chian read it aloud softly.
The girl I was just on the call suddenly interrupted, "Um...actually, my boyfriend has also posted something like that on his WeChat Moments..."
The comments section immediately started to fill in the blanks:
"In the end, he bore the brunt of it all alone, thanks to a certain Mr. who had been living off a woman for three years."
"Did you win the argument today, Sister An?" someone suddenly asked. "Sister An, how about we play a game? I'll say some scumbag quotes, and you'll come back and say them. Let's see who can come back the most times?"
Li Chi'an got interested, "Okay, but I lost. Netizens are not allowed to switch websites."
The phone screen was instantly flooded with "No".
"She and I are just ordinary friends. You're overthinking it."
"Would an ordinary friend ask her if she's asleep at 3 a.m.? Is this some kind of discussion about national affairs?" Li Chian replied instantly.
The comments section was filled with "Sister An is awesome" and "I've learned this so well".
"You look pretty even without makeup, it's just that your dark circles are a bit heavy."
"This is what I stayed up all night working on the proposal for you. Do you need keys made? How many do you need?"
"I could laugh about the 'key duplication' joke for a year."
"Sister An scolded me! Please!"
"My ex never did that."
"Then why don't you go back and find your ex through the internet?"
The two went back and forth, and the popularity of their live stream soared to the top of the platform's charts.
Suddenly, "Did Sister An win the argument today?" said, "Actually... I don't have an ex."
The comments section paused for a moment, then went on a frenzy:
Is this a confession of love?
"Holy crap, the plot took a sudden turn for the worse!"
"So everything before was just setup?"
Li Chi'an paused for three seconds, then coughed lightly, "Fellow family members, it seems we've witnessed a meticulously planned 'anti-scum operation' tonight. Someone ostensibly came to sabotage the event, but actually..."
"Actually, I wanted to ask," he continued, his voice tinged with amusement, "Ms. An, the anti-pretentious expert, could you give me a chance to step out of your live stream and become your little lover?"
Looking at the screen full of "say yes" and "this plot is more exciting than the dramas I follow," and the girl who had been on the phone for twenty minutes whispering "Sister An, I think he can do it," Li Chi'an couldn't help but laugh.
"Well... that depends on your performance. But first, you have to return the microphone to the rightful owner of this ID."
The screen was instantly flooded with "Ahhh!" and amidst the excitement, Li Chi'an quietly pressed his private message button, "Quickly tell Zui Zui to go to sleep."
After sending the message, Li Chi'an looked up at his phone again and laughed, "Okay, don't get excited, that account just now belongs to my son."
The screen was filled with "Ahhh" sounds, which didn't decrease because of her honesty; in fact, they increased.
"Yes, the person who just spoke was a family member. He was drawing with my son."
Li Chi'an smiled and explained a few things to the netizens before quickly switching to another netizen's question.
"Okay, let's look at the next question. This Rainbow Bubble says, 'I'm a single mom, divorced and raising my child alone for three years. Recently, a guy has been pursuing me. He's five years younger than me and says he likes me a lot and wants to date me. We've gone on a few dates, and things seem okay. But he often complains to me about his family background, saying he's under a lot of pressure and is in a lot of pain, that his parents don't love him, and so on. He wants to move in with me, but he also says he's having financial difficulties. I feel sorry for him and want him to come, but I'm afraid I won't be able to handle all of this for long. What should I do?'"
After reading the reply, Li Chi'an said sincerely and calmly, "This new mom, I only know what you posted from the information. There's a lot I don't know, so it's hard to directly tell you what you should do. But I want to share a core principle with you: a woman should first and foremost cherish herself. Once you've taken good care of yourself, and have the energy to spare, then you can take care of a man. Some women lack the wisdom to manage men. If you encounter a man who's a bit like a giant baby, how do you manage him?"
"This doesn't mean indulging him, spoiling him, or letting him do whatever he wants. If you're in a subordinate position in a relationship and always trying to please your partner, you're in a subordinate position and will inevitably do things that you don't even like yourself."
"Don't have a savior complex. If the other person seems weak and uses that to coerce you, you have to take care of them, comply with them, and meet all their needs. That kind of relationship is very unhealthy."
After a certain age, a woman can no longer endure hardship. A man may still be young and his heart may inevitably wander elsewhere, but you can't. You have a son to take care of, and you have the pressure and responsibilities of life to bear, so you must take care of yourself first, you understand...
Someone immediately retorted, "How have you become so cold-hearted?"
“Baby, it’s not that I’ve become cold-hearted, but that I’ve seen through the true nature of certain relationships,” Li Chi’an replied with a smile. “When people are together, it’s just a matter of compatibility. That guy says he loves her, but all he does is take. I’m worried about her, and not just her, but also about all the other babies watching this live stream. Get rid of those harmful thoughts, like ‘I’m a good person, I’m a virtuous woman.’ Get rid of all that. First, see what the other person has given you and what you’ve given back to him. Don’t get caught up in something you have nothing to lose; that’s too dangerous.”
After she finished speaking, she leaned closer to her phone screen to look at the comments and found that many people agreed with her answer, while some were just idiots.
"Hey you, the one with the 'Homework Alt' account, you're saying I teach other women to become like me just because I got hurt? What are you doing here? Are you here to learn self-growth? I don't think so. If you're not, then please leave. My livestream doesn't need idiots. I only want girls who want to live better lives..."
"You say I'm broken down? There's no need for that. Really, you've gained wisdom from my live stream without spending a single penny. If you leave me, you're the one who loses, not me. Whether you're here or not doesn't matter much."
"Hey, a netizen just pointed it out. She said it was a spy sent by her scumbag ex-husband. Hahaha, you guys are really making me laugh to death."
"So cute, hahaha!"
The live stream lasted for four hours, until 10:30 PM, when Li Chian ended the broadcast on time.
She turned off her phone and computer, came out of the study, and found Yu Shi sitting in the living room reading a book. He had turned off the main light in the living room, leaving only a few ambient lights on. The light source for his reading was a floor lamp in front of him.
"it's over."
Hearing footsteps, Yu Shi looked up at Li Chi'an.
Li Chi'an slowly walked to his side, "Zui Zui is asleep, right?"
Yu Shi put down his book, and Shun Shui pulled her into his arms, saying, "Let's sleep."
"It's so late, and you're still letting him play on his phone," Li Chi'an scolded Yu Shi.
“He said he wanted to watch Mom’s live stream, so he turned on his tablet. I can’t just force him not to watch, can I?” Yu Shi said gently. “He was so focused on drawing today, and that was his only wish before bed. I didn’t even grant it, making me feel like a stepfather.”
"What are you saying?" Li Chi'an raised his hand and slapped Yu Shi's leg.
After laughing and joking around for a while, Li Chi'an put his arm around Yu Shi's shoulder and said, "Thank you for your hard work today, taking care of Zui Zui for so long."
He remained silent, his gaze gently falling on Li Chi'an's beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and finally settling on her lips.
She involuntarily held her breath.
He took her hand and gently placed it between his legs. "Is it okay?"
The night was deep, and his voice was deep and sexy.
Li Chi'an did not answer, but slowly closed his eyes, giving his consent through his actions.
...
This day.
A friend whom Li Chian hadn't contacted in a long time asked her out, saying he wanted to treat her to dinner.
Li Chi'an thought, "Let's have a meal then. It's been a long time since we last met, and I happen to be free that day."
The two agreed to meet at a Western restaurant.
Li Chi'an arrived first, followed by his friends.
At that time, Li Chian was sitting by the window, drinking lemonade and watching her enter. She was wearing a pink dress and had a radiant face.
As she approached, Li Chi'an cupped her clean-cut face in his hands and looked at her with a beaming smile, "You seem so happy, is something good happening?"
My friend pulled out the chair in front of her with a sweet smile, put down her Hermès shopping basket, and couldn't help but excitedly share, "I'm in love, did you know?"
Li Chi'an raised an eyebrow slightly and pushed the freshly poured tea towards her, saying, "We talked again."
She remembered that just a few months ago, this man had broken up with her fifth boyfriend since her divorce.
“Yes, my boyfriend is a drummer and he runs a studio in Lanpu.” My friend shared with Li Chian with great enthusiasm. “He said he wants to take me to meet his parents and that he really wants to get married.”
"Oh." Li Chi'an smiled and took a sip of his tea. "Does Hao Hao know?"
Hao Hao is the son of a friend, who is 13 years old this year. This friend, like Li Chi'an now, is a single, divorced woman with a child.
She was a former colleague of hers, a very beautiful woman, a local from Xianghai City, and from a well-off family.
"Haohao doesn't know yet." The girl, with her exquisitely made-up face and bright eyes, looked at Li Chian. "My boyfriend said he would treat him like his own son."
"Have they met?" Li Chian asked again.
"not yet."
"Oh, your boyfriend is so nice, you can introduce him to your dad and mom sometime."
The woman in front of me divorced Hao Hao's father, who was her ex-husband, five years ago. That ex-husband was very unreliable. Since they got married, they had been living in the house that her parents bought for her.
Li Chi'an also knew her former cousin-in-law. Since he met him, he had never seen him accomplish anything. He changed jobs countless times but never stayed long. He was determined to start a business and had tried to start a business many times, but each time he lost money. When he was short of money, he would ask his friend in front of him for money.
My friend works at a bank through his parents' connections, and he works on mortgage projects. His monthly salary is limited, so how could he afford to squander it like this?
So much so that later, this eccentric ex-husband couldn't hide the fact that he had taken out a loan outside, and his friend's parents found out, so the friend hired a lawyer and divorced him.
The lawyer was found with the help of her parents; he was very reliable. In the end, her ex-husband left with nothing but his loan.
Her son Hao Hao and the house belong to her.
Although her son is already 13 years old, she is actually only a few years older than Li Chi'an. The main difference is that she got married and had children early, right after graduating from university.
Even after the divorce, her friend remained obsessed with romance, living life to the fullest and constantly dating, enjoying herself immensely.
Anyway, her son Hao Hao is being taken care of and raised by her parents, so she has no burden.
Although they are friends, Li Chian and she have rarely met in person over the years, and they usually share things on WeChat.
For example, she got married, divorced, had a weird ex-husband, dated, broke up—most of these are her private emotional life.
The reason Li Chi'an was so eager to invite her to dinner was mainly because she was so enthusiastic and even personally went to a restaurant near her home to book it. Since they were friends, Li Chi'an couldn't refuse, so he came to see her.
Little did anyone know, the first thing she did upon meeting was share news about her romantic relationship.
It seems she's really infatuated with this boyfriend.
Li Chian offered his blessings.
"Yes, my boyfriend is busy with a project recently. Once the project is finalized, he will come home with me to meet my parents."
What project is he working on?
"He wants to open his own music studio." The girl's smooth, fair face was full of joy. She was a 35-year-old divorced single woman with a 13-year-old son.
She is 168 cm tall and weighs just over 100 kg, so she undoubtedly maintains her figure and face very well.
"Opening a music studio?" Li Chi'an seemed to understand another reason why her cousin had come to see her today.
What are the main projects his studio undertakes?
"Similar to Xiao Liang, he teaches kids to play drums."
Xiao Liang is a mutual friend of theirs, a piano teacher who owns his own piano studio.
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