Chapter 52 It was past 11 PM when the car drove in…
It was past 11 p.m. when the car drove into the garage.
Li Zhoudu didn't turn off the engine. He leaned back in his seat, letting the engine keep running, the headlights illuminating half of the snow-white wall in front of him.
All the way there, my mind kept replaying the last conversation.
What nonsense are you spouting?
-Just take this as a joke, Furuwatari. I was just wondering, who exactly is the one who will drag her into the abyss?
Li Li's heart was still pounding from the high-speed moment she had just experienced. She looked at Li Zhoudu with a hint of worry in her eyes.
He wanted to say something but found it hard to speak. He bit his lip, pressed the handle, and wanted to get off the bus.
Li Zhoudu then said, "Have you no shame?"
Her hand paused.
His voice was eerily calm as he said, "Grandpa lived a life of integrity and uprightness, and what are you doing, Li Li?"
"He showed no self-respect or self-love, and ambiguously navigated between the two brothers, wasting his own youth and tarnishing the Li family's reputation."
"Grandpa's last words were that the marriage with the Tan family was off and should not be considered anymore," Li Zhoudu asked. "Did you really take his instructions to heart? Wasn't the Tan Yi incident enough of a lesson for you?"
He said, "Grandpa loved you so much, and he was so worried about you before he passed away. Do you think he'll be happy with you acting so recklessly?"
Li Li remained still, holding onto the handlebars, but he heard a very soft, very faint inhalation.
This wasn't the usual grand, fake crying; it was real, a genuine, heartbroken cry.
Li Li's body trembled slightly under the car's interior lights.
Li Zhoudu said, "You've never liked me interfering with you, fine. Then you'd better behave yourself from now on."
This was the first time he had spoken to her with such disappointment. Li Li panicked and turned around to grab Li Zhoudu's sleeve, saying in a tearful voice, "I was wrong."
"I know I was wrong, brother."
——
Li Li didn't sleep a wink that night. The next morning, her eyes were swollen as if she had two fried eggs on them. She went downstairs silently, took the box, and handed it to the courier outside the villa.
Inside is the crown that Tan Su gave her.
She didn't actually disregard her belongings to the point of throwing or smashing them as Li Zhoudu suggested; she simply called a courier to deliver them to her door and had them shipped out within the same city.
She planned to have Li Zhizi return it in the same way later, and that would settle things even.
Wenxi got up early in the morning, went downstairs in her pajamas, and was startled to see Li Li. She didn't even know that Xiao Mao'er had returned to the country.
Wenxi asked her and learned that Li Zhoudu had come back and left again last night, leaving her at home.
Wenxi put her arm around Lili's shoulder and led her to the restaurant for breakfast. She invited Lili to sit down next to her and, looking at her red and swollen eyes, asked, "Did you have a fight with your brother? I'll talk to him for you."
Li Li shook her head.
She stirred the white porridge with her spoon, but she had no appetite and didn't want to eat.
Seeing that she was listless and didn't want to talk, Wenxi comforted her, "Now that you're back, you should rest more. Auntie will take you shopping this afternoon, don't be upset?"
When she couldn't get anything out of Li Li, she went back to her room and called Li Zhoudu to ask him what was going on.
On the other end of the phone, Li Zhoudu was unwilling to say more, only saying wearily, "We're fine, you don't need to worry."
Wenxi didn't believe a word he said and asked him again, "You came back last night, so where did you go?"
“I haven’t finished what I’m doing outside,” he said. “I’ll go back when I’m done.”
Wenxi hung up the phone with a worried expression. She could only think that her children and grandchildren had their own blessings, and since it hadn't been brought to her attention, it meant that she could probably handle it herself.
There's no use in thinking about it.
That afternoon, she took Li Li to a massage parlor for a spa treatment. They each had their own private room, and the masseuse skillfully massaged her back muscles. She smelled the aroma of essential oils and heard a phone call just before going to sleep.
On the other end was Qi Xi. Tan Su wanted to invite the couple to dinner so he could apologize to them in person.
Wenxi, confused, assumed it was a business matter and said, "Just have Tan Su contact Junchuan directly. Besides, we're all so familiar with each other, why are we talking about apologizing?"
At that moment, a bombshell dropped from the other end of the phone: "It's a private matter between Tan Su and Li Li. As their mother, I should step in and give your family an explanation."
Wenxi was stunned and speechless: "What private matter are you talking about? Who and who?"
Qi Xi patiently explained, "It's about Tan Su and Li Li being together. Tan Su explained to me that Li Li is young and studying abroad, so he planned to wait until she graduated and came back before telling her family. But the young people were too attached to each other, and when Li Li returned to China to find him, Zhou Du happened to see them. I heard that it ended up being quite unpleasant."
Wenxi was still incredulous: "You mean Li Li? Is she my little cat? You haven't mistaken me for someone else, have you?"
She said gently, "It is said that Tan Su liked Li Li as early as when she was working at Yanqi. Their relationship officially started after she went away to study. Tan Su had to fly at least once a month to see her."
It matches up; it matches all of them.
After her initial disbelief, Wenxi calmed down and thought about it carefully. The age difference between the two wasn't particularly large, and there was Tan Yi in between, so she never thought that anything would happen between them.
Li Li hadn't rested last night and had drifted off to sleep during her massage. When the time came, she received a call and saw Wen Xi waiting in the lobby.
She naturally took Wenxi's arm, and the two were as close as mother and daughter.
Wenxi led her outside, and seeing her face brighten, she suddenly asked, "Did you quarrel with your brother because of Tan Su?"
Li Li suddenly turned around, her heart filled with panic, thinking that Li Zhoudu had told her aunt what had happened.
Then she heard a completely different version of the story from Wenxi.
A perfect story fabricated by Tan Su.
She recounted how they developed feelings for each other at work, how they persevered in their cross-border relationship for over half a year, and how their inseparable bond led Li Li to insist on returning to China to see him. She then described how Li Zhoudu inadvertently discovered their affair, and how his protective nature caused an argument between them.
Li Li immediately understood what it meant to be a mute eating bitter herbs.
She was held hostage by Tan Su.
Just like in that TV interview, he completely outmaneuvered her, and she couldn't refute it.
How can she explain her reason for returning to China this time?
How do you explain her relationship with Tan Su, and all those round-trip plane tickets?
Does she have the courage to break the false logic fabricated by Tan Su?
Could she tell her elders that her physical interactions with Tan Su were merely a form of revenge stemming from Tan Yi's betrayal?
In a panic, Li Li used Li Zhoudu as a shield, saying to Wenxi, "Auntie, I've listened to my brother and am ready to break up with him."
Wenxi patted her hand and comforted her, saying, "This has nothing to do with your brother. It's up to you, little kitten, to decide what you like."
Tan Su was a top choice for marriage no matter how you looked at it, except for the awkward relationship between Xiao Mao'er and Tan Yi.
Fortunately, the two of them were separated early after graduating from high school, and not many people knew the inside story. They could treat what happened before as children playing around.
Wenxi said very openly, "I know about Tan Su's situation. He comes from a good family, has good character, is clean and upright, and also has a sense of responsibility."
"My brother has no experience in relationships either; he just keeps picking on other people's flaws. There are no perfect people in the world. If you really like someone, our family won't be a problem."
Faced with Wenxi's good intentions, Li Li was trembling with anger at Tan Su's insidious move. She never expected him to be so despicable as to use his elders to force her to submit.
She could only grit her teeth and force a smile, saying, "My relationship with Tan Su hasn't reached that point. Please don't agree to meet his family yet, okay?"
Li Li had already planned to cut off contact with Tan Su, but she was still so angry that she called him from her room and yelled, "Are you sick in the head?"
Tan Su asked her, "Did Li Zhoudu make things difficult for you when you went back that day?"
"What nonsense did you tell others?" Li Li was furious.
Tan Su toyed with the pen in his hand and said casually, "We haven't finished discussing what happened that day, have we? Let's lay it all out on paper and discuss it openly."
"Not in private?"
“No,” he laughed. “You said last time that I had no position, and negotiating alone would not be fair to me.”
"What exactly do you want, Tan Su!"
Li Li sat on the bed in a state of collapse, messing up her short hair, wondering what kind of lunatic she had messed with, and why he was so difficult to deal with.
No wonder Tan Congxu and Tan Yi were fooled by him like idiots; he's a shrewd guy!
Li Li was truly desperate and said, "Tan Su, I really don't want to continue. Please, let it go. I'm not in the mood to play this cat-and-mouse game with you."
He laughed on the other end of the phone: "Well, we've come this far, why don't you just consider being my girlfriend? Li Li."
——
After graduating with a master's degree, Fang Xuan joined Tan Yi's Hong Kong company TICC and was assigned by Tan Congxu to take over the public relations department, earning a top salary of nearly one million in the industry.
That day, Dai Zhe came over and knocked on the office door.
"Please come in." She stopped what she was doing.
"You've been so busy with Tan Yi lately, you wouldn't come to me unless you had something important to say, so why did you come looking for me?" she joked with Dai Zhe.
Dai Zhe had come for a reason, of course. He said, "Did your PR gift box last time include amusement park VIP tickets?"
"Yes, there's still plenty," Fang Xuan asked. "How much do you need?"
"Let's take ten tickets first," he thought for a moment, "the kids might want to go a second time."
Fang Xuan got up and rummaged through the cabinet, asking curiously, "A customer with a child came? Which family? Do I know them?"
Dai Zhe couldn't say for sure, only saying, "They are Brio's guests."
Zheng Jing accepted Tan Yi's invitation and brought her daughter Qiu Jiajia to Hong Kong during the Qingming Festival holiday.
Tan Yi put down his work and stayed by his side.
The young girl didn't know who he was; she just thought the young man in front of her looked handsome and friendly.
Zheng Jing told her to call him "brother," and she obediently did so.
Dai Zheding's hotel has a great view, located on the 20th floor, overlooking Victoria Harbour, and also has a private swimming pool.
Qiu Jiajia, a lively girl, clung to the glass railing that reached her chest, enjoying the breeze, and exclaimed with delight, "It's so beautiful here!"
Tan Yi said, "You can come here often with your mother in the future."
"Really?" she asked excitedly as she turned around.
Tan Yi saw a reflection of someone in her, and nodded with a smile: "You're welcome anytime. Whether it's studying or working, you're welcome."
Zheng Jing opened her mouth, wanting to say, "You're busy with work, I can't always be a burden to you."
Fearing that saying this would push him away and make them seem distant, she patted Qiu Jiajia's head and told her to thank her brother.
They had a great time on their trip; Dai Zhe took care of everything from their food and lodging to their shopping and entertainment.
While having dinner at the restaurant that evening, Fang Xuan, who was dining alone, came over from next door to greet them. Looking at the ordinary-looking mother and daughter, she felt a surge of doubts.
As they were about to leave, Zheng Jing asked them to stay, saying politely, "Why don't you sit down and have something to eat together?"
Fang Xuan looked at Tan Yi, who had been chatting with Qiu Jiajia and hadn't paid any attention to her, so she asked the waiter to bring her a chair.
Qiu Jiajia asked him curiously, "They usually call you Brio. Does everyone have an English name?"
Tan Yi patiently explained, "Basically, it's more convenient to address people by their English names at work."
"I also want an English name, can you help me choose one?"
Tan Yi was thinking when Zheng Jing seemed to suddenly remember: "What was the name of the girl who was with you last time? Why didn't I see her this time?"
“Her name is Li Li,” Tan Yijian said briefly, “and her English name is Ashley. She’s not in Hong Kong; she’s studying abroad.”
"Do you all know each other?" Zheng Jing asked them.
Fang Xuan lowered her eyes and remained silent.
This problem naturally fell to Dai Zhe.
He said, "I don't see Ashley very often. Brio loves her very much and doesn't let us see her very often."
-----------------------
Author's note: I'm going to sleep now, I'm sleepy.
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