Stepping back onto their floor, Li Xi stared at the door for a long time.
A lively sound came from inside.
"Xiao Yuan, open the table and come serve the dishes," Wang Lili shouted from the kitchen.
"Okay." Li Yuan, who was reading on the simple sofa, threw the book aside and picked up the folding table next to him and unfolded it.
Li Jianshe changed into clean and comfortable clothes and went straight to the kitchen.
"My dear wife, you've worked so hard. You're always busy all day on my birthday. I'll definitely treat you even better."
"What are you saying in front of the children? That's inappropriate." Wang Lili glared at him, asking, "How old are you?"
"I didn't see anything, I didn't hear anything, you can continue." Li Yuan picked up the two plates of food and quickly disappeared, thoughtfully closing the door behind him with his arm.
Wang Lili: "You brat."
Just then, a knock on the door broke the harmonious atmosphere.
Li Yuan asked curiously, "Who would come at this time, Dad? Did you hire someone?"
"No."
Li Jianshe and Wang Lili exchanged a glance, with some suspicion in their eyes.
"sister?"
Li Yuan's surprised voice came from behind.
Sure enough, it was their daughter, Li Xi.
Their feelings for this daughter were complicated; she was willing to do anything to marry that man.
She even spoke her own mind.
As parents, they felt they hadn't wronged her, but she accused them of favoritism and sexism. They denied these accusations and were heartbroken.
After composing themselves, Li Xi and Li Yuan sat there in silence. In the past, Li Yuan would pester Li Xi to tell him a lot about himself, and he would also ask Li Xi to tell him about herself. Although he never succeeded, at least it felt like home.
Their current silence signifies that the past can never be returned to.
Li Xi stood up: "Dad, Mom."
Wang Lili and Li Jianshe nodded: "Yes, you're back."
That was the last time they heard from her. Faced with this unfamiliar daughter, they didn't know how to get along with her.
The meal was eaten in silence. The food smelled delicious, but tasted bland and tasteless.
Li Xi lowered her eyes. If she hadn't come back, they would probably be very happy now.
She wasn't sure what was wrong with her. She clearly believed that her parents favored boys over girls, so when she was pressuring them, she even thought about cutting off all ties with them in the future.
But now, the Fu family is no longer her home, and she clearly can't stay in the Li family either.
Actually, she could come back anytime she wanted. If she went to look at her old room, she would know that nothing had been touched and it was still exactly the same. Wang Lili even cleaned it every day.
But her behavior last time was truly disheartening, and they didn't know what to do.
After dinner, Li Xi felt increasingly like an outsider, so she said goodbye and left.
Li Jianshe pointed to their room and Wang Lili nodded.
They went in, grabbed something, and chased after them.
"Xiao, Xiaoxi."
In the dimly lit stairwell, Li Xi stopped in her tracks, her back to Wang Lili.
Wang Lili looked at her daughter with complicated emotions from behind, pulled her arm, and put something wrapped in a handkerchief into her hand.
Her back was even thinner than it was during the Lunar New Year.
"This was supposed to be given to you on your wedding day, but no one expected it to turn out like this. But what's meant to be yours will be yours. Life is something you have to build yourself up. Take good care of yourself."
The footsteps behind her disappeared. Li Xi slowly raised her hand, opened the handkerchief, and there was money inside—100 yuan.
It was several months' worth of Li's father's salary; his vision gradually blurred.
--
Ye Zhiyu and Tang Wenjing returned home with a full load of goods. As soon as they got off the bus, they saw that familiar tall figure.
Lu Chen took the bags from her hands. "I should have come with you. How can you carry all this? Let me see your hands."
Ye Zhiyu put her hands behind her back and said, "Oh, I'm not that delicate. Besides, I took the bus back, so I certainly won't complain the whole way. Let's go, let's go home."
Seeing that he was about to put the things down, she ran away first, saying, "No way, I picked these out myself, don't let them touch the ground, or I'll get angry."
Lu Chen shook his head helplessly and quickly followed.
"Are you happy?"
"Yeah."
"I can go shopping with you too." She was clearly still bothered by leaving him behind that afternoon.
Ye Zhiyu raised her hand and tugged at his face, "We're together all the time, so just give in to her."
Lu Chen complained, "How can you be together all the time? Doesn't she monopolize you during class?"
As they were talking, they arrived at their doorstep and opened it.
"Just got back?" Zuo Qingqing from next door peeked out.
They would run into each other these days and become a little more familiar with each other, but each time she would look at her with pity.
Lu Chen complained to her that he really disliked her gaze, which seemed to be constantly urging Ye Zhiyu to leave him.
"Yes, I went shopping today and got back a little late."
She nodded and went inside.
Ye Zhiyu shrugged: "A strange person."
Once inside, after putting her things down, Lu Chen still pressed her down on the sofa and examined her hands.
"It's really nothing."
"I always feel at ease only after seeing it. Let's eat, these are your favorite chicken wings."
After the meal, since Ye Zhiyu had eaten too much, the two went for a walk together.
"Chen and I opened a shopping mall on the street with the department store."
"Is it that place where lots of workers come and go?"
I saw it while shopping, and at the time I wondered what such a big event was for.
"Yes, you don't need tickets or anything to buy things, you just need money."
Based on the specific situation in H city, there shouldn't be any business difficulties.
"The source of goods is still the same as before, but we used to do it secretly; now we can just ship directly..."
Ye Zhiyu listened quietly to his plans.
"My older brother is now looking for a factory that can accept his furniture drawings, so he can design for others first, and then gradually make the furniture himself."
“Sure, the furniture you designed is really good. If I weren’t in a hurry to use it, I would really like to have the whole house custom-made.”
"Whole-house customization? This is the first time Lu Chen has heard this term."
"Yes, it involves visiting a house in person and then making furniture and such according to the shape and size of the house."
Lu Chen patted her head, "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
After digesting my food, I went home.
After washing up, Ye Zhiyu sat on the dressing table applying skincare products, while Lu Chen came over, drying his hair.
He bent down and hugged her, whispering in her ear, "Ayu, the problem from before hasn't been resolved yet?"
Ye Zhiyu: ?
"You went out with her without me, how are you going to make it up to me?"
Ye Zhiyu turned around in his arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned closer, and breathed softly, "What do you want?"
Her gaze slowly moved down from his eyes, fixing on his thin lips. She slowly approached, her red lips slightly parted, and she gently bit them.
Let's go back to looking at each other.
Lu Chen's Adam's apple bobbed, his eyes dangerous, but Ye Zhiyu showed no fear.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
