Chapter 69. The glass reflects the dazzling white noise of the afternoon...
The glass reflects the dazzling, white, noisy afternoon sunlight, while the ground outside the window, in early spring, is still a mix of gray and green.
Looking into her bewildered and panicked eyes, Li Zhoudu asked with pain, "Do you remember the first time you came here?"
Li Li was very young at the time, but Li Zhoudu remembers it very clearly.
Twenty years ago, Li Pusheng acquired this desolate plot of land, and everyone in the family attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the building.
Grandpa was in front, flanked by the brothers Li Junchuan and Li Fujing, and next to him was Li Zhoudu, who was holding Li Li's hand.
He said, "It feels like just yesterday that we arrived at this point. Times have changed, and the world has transformed. The human heart is the most unpredictable variable in the world. It is reckless to hastily accept a man's love and sacrifice for it."
“I will always remember the way you were sent back from the Tan family in tears when you were seventeen,” Li Zhoudu said, his eyes lowered as he suppressed his emotions, his voice almost clenched with rage. “At that time, Grandpa was sick, and we had to keep the news quiet. Such humiliation can only happen to me once.”
“You kept it from me, and then in Hong Kong…” He paused, looking at Li Li’s pale face and bloodshot eyes.
"The outside world is cruel; it's not as sunny and warm as you see it now."
Human nature is terrifying. Tan Yi is cowardly, Fang Xuan is narrow-minded, and Tan Su is the instigator who fanned the flames behind the scenes. Are you still determined to leave my protection and give others a third chance to hurt you, little kitten?
Li Li bit her lip hard, her body trembling uncontrollably. Li Zhoudu looked at her intently with reddened eyes, raising his hand to grasp her shoulder strap to his side, but Li Li stepped back first once again.
Li Zhoudu's hand hovered in mid-air.
Li Li couldn't quite explain what kind of chaotic feeling it was. It was like knowing that what the person in front of you was saying was correct, but why didn't you want to go over to them?
She couldn't speak, nor could she look up to face Li Zhoudu's disappointment.
Li Junchuan pushed the door open from behind and entered. He didn't notice the strange atmosphere in the room and asked Li Li in surprise, "Little Cat is back?"
Li Zhoudu's hand slowly fell down, and Li Li's throat tightened as if it were a wound string, but she managed to remain calm.
"Yes, Uncle, I'm back for spring break."
Li Li's plan to go back to see Tan Su at 5 p.m. was disrupted by Li Junchuan. Li Li got into the family car and sent a message to Tan Su saying that she had to go home and couldn't come today.
The reply came quickly: [It's okay, spend some time with your family.]
Li Li turned off her phone in a state of agitation.
Tan Su sat on the sofa in the room, his hands hanging down. He looked up and subconsciously glanced at the bed, which was flat and tidy. The figure of the person who was sleeping soundly and wrapped up like a cocoon was no longer there.
He sat there quietly for a long time.
——
Li Li suddenly returned home, explaining that it was to give her grandmother a surprise.
The whole family was as lively and joyful as ever, except for Li Li, who ate the delicious food in a daze, but found it tasteless.
She tossed and turned in bed late at night, which made Su Mi unhappy, so she jumped off the bed and went to sleep in the cat's bed. Li Li stared blankly at the cat's belly, which was faintly rising and falling in the darkness. She remembered the words that Tan Yi had left unsaid during his last visit. She picked up her phone and dialed his number late at night.
Tan Yi is currently staying in California, enjoying what is known as the best sunshine in the world, and his social media posts are mostly about working out or surfing.
In the three seconds it took her to dial, she resisted the thought that perhaps not answering would be better.
But the moment my thumb moved towards the hang-up button, I first heard that familiar voice: "Cat?"
Li Li slowly sat up in bed, pulled the thin blanket around her knees, looked into the void, and said, "Tan Yi, I want to ask you something."
More than a year later, Li Li returned to Yanqi. This time, she did not make an appointment with anyone. She took the private elevator to the 32nd floor and went straight to Tan Su's office.
Chen Ya and Miao Zhi were taken to the meeting by Tan Su. The remaining two secretaries were not very familiar with her, and Li Li could not remember their names either.
The woman in the photo instinctively stood up and followed behind her, asking, "Ms. Li, Mr. Tan is busy right now. Do you have an appointment?"
Li Li pushed open the office door, finding it empty. She turned around and said, "Then please tell Tan Su that I'm waiting for him inside."
She took the initiative and closed the door.
More than two hours after the meeting ended, Tan Su came in from outside and heard Qi Meimei awkwardly say that Miss Li was waiting. He subconsciously asked, "Which Miss Li?"
The other party said, "She is Ms. Li Li, a subordinate of Mr. Xie, the former head of the Strategic Development Department."
Tan Su chuckled lightly: "Oh. You don't need to stop her from coming in the future, just take good care of her."
Looking out from the 32nd floor, one sees a dazzling steel jungle bathed in sunlight, a completely different sight from Wan Jing. To outsiders, Yanqi, primarily focused on technology and finance, seems like a more sophisticated company.
There was a slight noise behind her, but Li Li didn't turn around. A few seconds later, Tan Su's arm was around her waist.
His breath lingered near my ear as he teased, "I thought you'd sneak a peek at my location?"
"What?" Li Li asked, puzzled.
Tan Su didn't say anything. He turned her around, pressed her against the glass wall, supported the back of her head, and lowered his head to kiss her.
His kisses were lingering and deep, the play of tongues intimately inviting her to dance, his slender fingers deftly exploring beneath her soft knitwear, seemingly oblivious to the occasion.
No wonder, this is his private territory, safe enough for him to act recklessly.
Li Li felt the sunlight was too bright. She closed her eyes and saw the red veins reflected on her eyelids.
Tan Su suddenly stopped, sensing something was wrong, and cupped her face, asking, "Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Li Li didn't open her eyes. She said, "Tan Su, is there anything you haven't told me?"
"What are you talking about?" He wasn't sure what Li Li wanted to talk about.
Xie Zongfang? Li Zhoudu? Or something else?
Li Li slowly opened her eyes, her dark pupils looking at his expression, and asked word by word: "Did you once use the betting agreement for Huisheng's listing to force Tan Yi, to force them to give up themselves again and again?"
These words were too shameful; she choked up and couldn't even ask them, but Tan Su understood.
He observed Li Li's expression, remained silent for a moment, and finally did not try to deny it: "This was Tan Congxu's suggestion. He knew I liked you at the time, and in order to ensure that Huisheng's listing would be completed according to the performance agreement, he offered to help me arrange a meeting with you."
You had already left Yanqi by then, and you privately disliked me so much. So there were a couple of times in between when I went through them to see you… the rest, you know.”
"Smack!"
Without hesitation, Li Li raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face. Tan Su didn't dodge; his gaze remained calm as he looked at her.
"Am I something that can be traded and transferred?" Her eyes were bloodshot, and her chest heaved violently.
“You are not,” Tan Su said immediately, “absolutely not.”
"You never intended to tell me, did you?"
Tan Su frankly stated, "Those things are a long time ago for me. I always believe that the result is more important than the cause, and the present is more important than the past."
"Are you all fucking crazy?!"
Li Li suddenly pushed Tan Su away, trying to break free from his embrace, but he held her back firmly.
She was furious, like a cat with its fur standing on end, pinching and hitting Tan Su, but he remained unmoved, trapping her as if he were oblivious.
"I love you, Li Li."
Tan Su pressed her so hard he almost melded her into his body: "If you hate me for ruining your previous relationship, I can apologize, but I will not regret it, never."
He said, "Love is selfish and exclusive; if I don't get involved, I won't have a chance."
But an apology is only valuable when it is unattainable; what value does it have when it is said casually?
Li Li's eyes were red as she asked with a laugh, "Is that enough? You think you can just say sorry a couple of times and that's it?"
Tan Su said, "During that period, I did many things that were not honest. Perhaps from the very beginning, from the time when Grandpa brought you and Tan Yi together, as the eldest brother, my feelings for you were destined to be judged as a moral sin."
Although I don't care what others think, I only chose the one path that led to you. Whether you think it's despicable or unscrupulous, I won't utter a single word in your defense.
Li Li covered her eyes: "Tan Su, you're terrifying."
Tan Su lowered his head and admitted, his face close to hers: "Yes, it is. I'm sorry."
Li Li felt as if there were two poles of a magnet inside her body.
The rational part of you is reminding you that you should not have fully trusted and loved someone like Tan Su since you knew from the beginning that he was a deep and cunning man.
But a sentimental voice whispered that Tan Su didn't seem to be lying. He so thoroughly enjoyed their vacations alone together, and his promises to buy a house and a boat for retirement, as well as his desire to accompany her on global exhibitions, didn't seem hypocritical.
If Tan Su were truly a businessman who prioritizes profit, he could easily sever ties with Li Li and make peace with Li Zhoudu, then sit back and relax. So what is he still insisting on?
Like at the end of that day, Li Li pressed Tan Su: "If you really love me as much as you say, and don't care about principles or morals, then I want you to give up everything now, or we're over. Are you willing?"
Tan Su didn't answer her directly, but instead posed the question he'd asked long ago: "If one day I were to lose everything and be in a worse situation than Tan Yi, would you still be with me without hesitation, just like you were with him back then?"
"Hmm?" Tan Su asked.
Li Li didn't speak, but Tan Su smiled and said, "Our answers are the same."
“That means I can’t,” Li Li turned her head, awkwardly avoiding Tan Su’s gaze. “I already answered you when you asked last time. I can’t.”
"You can do it now, Li Li."
Tan Su said calmly, "Your heart is warm; it loves me. Although you yourself are not sure, I can feel it on my side."
Li Li didn't want to hear any more of this: "Stop talking nonsense about Tan Su."
Tan Su stopped talking and quietly held her.
"Then let's wait a bit."
What were they waiting for? Tan Su never said.
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Author's Note: There will probably be one or two more chapters of the main storyline remaining.
Thank you all for waiting so long! [crying emoji] [please] Sending you all love!
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