Chapter 70 That was perhaps the longest period of her life…
That was perhaps the longest spring break of her life.
The drizzling rain and occasional glimpses of sunshine slowed down the pace of time. Li Li had no source of information; she felt as if she were living in the eye of a typhoon, where everything appeared calm and clear, but the surrounding area was being swept by a fierce storm.
She couldn't face Tan Su without any reservations, saying that the past exploitation and exchanges were unimportant, and that indulging in the present happiness with him would be more like betraying the painful past she had experienced.
Meanwhile, Wan Jing's erosion of Yan Qi continues.
Everything at the Li family's house was normal. Father and son went to get off work as usual, and Wenxi either chatted and socialized at the mahjong table or took Li Li out to eat and go shopping.
Li Li would occasionally drift into thought: Did her aunt know about the current situation? Would her uncle talk to her about it? She and Tan Su's mother were very close friends; how did she feel about this?
Disheartened, she thought that perhaps she should learn from her aunt's ability to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear; if she couldn't interfere, she shouldn't meddle and just let things proceed normally.
One night, Li Li was awakened by a phone call in the middle of the night. She picked up the phone and asked, "Hello?"
The wind was howling over there as Tan Yi's plane had just landed.
“I’m back, kitty,” he said.
More than an hour later, Li Li went out late at night. She crossed the road and saw Tan Yi standing under a tree.
Her mind was still a mess when she asked him, "Why did you come back at this time?"
Tan Yi's luggage was placed at his feet. He said, "My grandfather's secretary contacted me after the New Year. He wanted to send me back to Yanqi. I've been considering it."
“But when I received your call that day,” Tan Yi looked down at her face, “I felt that you might need me right now…”
After confessing everything, the sudden hanging up of the phone left Tan Yi bewildered and uneasy, and she also wondered if this was the end of her relationship with Tan Su.
As a result, Li Li's focus was: "Your grandfather asked you to come back after the New Year? Is it Tan Huiming?"
"Yes," he said.
Li Li asked incredulously, "How is this possible? He has ignored you for so many years, why would he recall you at this particular time?"
"Tan Su hasn't lost yet, has he? Isn't your grandfather being too hasty and his behavior is rather unseemly?"
Hearing her complain about Tan Su, Tan Yi forced a smile and said, "I'll listen to you, Cat. If you don't let me participate, I won't go."
Li Li then realized what she had just said. She panicked for a moment; she had never intended to say such hurtful things to Tan Yi: "That's not what I meant," she cried.
"Tan Yi, you are a very good person. I just think it's very unfair of your grandfather to do this."
She defended herself in a weak voice, saying, "Tan Su has done a great job all these years, hasn't he? He managed the business so well, he helped Huisheng go public, and there's TICC... He's done everything perfectly, so why is Grandpa giving up on him without even trying?"
“It was my eldest brother’s idea,” Tan Yi said. “Calling me back was a decision he and Grandpa made together.”
During the Spring Festival holiday, after listening to the doctor's assessment and advice, Tan Su frankly told Tan Huiming, whose health had recently stabilized, about Yan Qi's current situation.
He said that in the past few years, the company's minority shareholders held a dispersed stake, with the Tan family dominating and maintaining a firm grip on power. Now that Wan Jing is coming on strong, the existing power structure on the board will inevitably be disrupted by other parties joining forces.
Tan Huiming's health is no longer sufficient to support his duties, and he was supposed to step down as chairman long ago. Tan Su has indeed been too autocratic over the years, and trying to win him over now will not be of any use.
After what happened with Xie Zongfang, he no longer trusted any promises made on a moral level.
Tan Su submitted a proposal for the board reshuffle to Tan Huiming, striving to retain most of the seats while making appropriate concessions to relinquish some.
Tan Huiming stared at the list in silence for a long time. Because of his soft heart towards Tan Congxu and his son, and considering their future arrangements, he privately transferred his shares, but at the critical moment, it became the first knife plunged into his own hands.
His disappointment was self-evident. How his children and grandchildren fought was a matter within the family, but Tan Congxu had betrayed the Tan family, which was an unforgivable violation of the bottom line.
Tan Huiming put down the roster: "I'm the one who's caused you trouble later."
Tan Su did not elaborate on this issue: "The Li family has no energy to intervene in the management of Yanqi. Li Zhoudu simply wants me to step down, and this is the worst outcome."
"If I lose my current position, I will need to find a successor in advance."
"Who?" Tan Huiming realized that he already had a plan.
"Tan Yi," Tan Su gave his answer.
Tan Huiming raised his eyes.
Tan Su said, "Tan Yi is not a bad person, and he has done a very good job at TICC over the years. He was able to retire gracefully and actively distance himself from Tan Congxu, so he is a smart and capable person. He doesn't have any shares in Yanqi, so he's temporarily hired to take this position. After two years of observation, there shouldn't be any major problems."
“However,” Tan Su also said, “if he comes to sit, Uncle must deal with it first.”
Tan Huiming asked after a long pause, "Are you really comfortable letting him come back? Tan Yi is still very young, and there are all sorts of grudges between you from the past. Sooner or later, you'll be raising a tiger that will cause trouble. Even if he can't cause any trouble in the short term, what will happen to your children in five or ten years, or even the next generation?"
Tan Su smiled dismissively: "Then let him give it a try."
——
Li Li returned home in a daze. She sat on the bed and dialed Tan Su's number.
Tan Su has been sending her a lot of messages lately, but she's been angry and hasn't been reading or replying to them.
At around 3 a.m., the moment the call connected, tears silently streamed down Li Li's face. She asked through a sniffle, "Are you home?"
Hearing something was off about her voice on the phone, Tan Su sat up in bed, turned on the bedside lamp, and asked, "What's wrong? I'm on a business trip to G City, didn't you see the message?"
Li Li didn't check the message. Suppressing her fluctuating emotions, she tried to remain calm and asked, "I just saw Tan Yi. You called him back, didn't you?"
"You told me that waiting means handing over the contract, right?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Tan Su's laughter came through. He said, "You scared me to death! You called me crying in the middle of the night. I thought something serious had happened."
"Is this funny? Isn't this a big deal?" Li Li cried angrily. "Why did you never tell me?"
Tan Su comforted him, saying, "Didn't you suggest the contract back then so that Tan Yi could return to the Tan family smoothly? Now, your wish has been fulfilled after many twists and turns. What's there to be unhappy about?"
“But I didn’t mean it this way,” Li Li said in a hoarse voice. “I never thought it would be like this! Tan Su, you’re too arrogant.”
Hearing her throwing a tantrum on the phone, Tan Su was still in the mood to joke: "Just think of it as switching the order of Grandpa's arrangements for me and Tan Yi. He'll work at the company, and I'll marry you. Doesn't that make you feel like you're not losing out?"
Li Li couldn't hold back her tears: "Tan Su, you'll be old and unemployed in the future, who would want to marry their daughter to you?"
“Yes,” Tan Su said, trying to suppress his smile, “I’m old and unemployed, who would marry their daughter to me?”
"Are you still angry with me, Little Cat Li?"
——
When Tan Su returned from G City, the first person he met was Li Zhoudu.
They arranged to meet in Yan Qi's office, where Chen Ya handed over a draft list of board members and senior executives to be re-elected.
Li Zhou leaned back in his chair, propping his head up with one hand, and listlessly flipped through the pages. When he saw Tan Yi's name at the end, he looked up and said, "You seem to be joking with me?"
What are you unhappy about?
“All of them,” Li Zhoudu almost applauded him, “all the key positions in the company are filled by your own people. You’ve got a clever plan; are you planning to remain a de facto ruler after you step down?”
Tan Su said, "After I step down, I also need to smoothly transition through the handover period. If you are worried about me, you can also supervise me together."
“Tan Yi,” he repeated the last name, sneering, “to appoint him as CEO? Wishful thinking.”
"So what you mean is?"
"Xie Zongfang".
Tan Su immediately rejected the idea: "That's impossible."
Li Zhoudu sneered: "Even founders have been ousted from the companies they created. Yanqi's articles of association shouldn't stipulate that this position must be held by someone surnamed Tan. In terms of seniority, ability, and public support, what makes Tan Yi comparable to Xie Zongfang?"
Tan Su stated in a flat tone: "We cannot choose a president who could go to jail at any time."
Li Zhoudu looked at him: "So, your talk of delegating power is just a temporary pretense. Then there's no need to talk about it, right, Tan Su?"
He threw the folder back onto the desktop.
Tan Su said, "I am seeking a solution for a peaceful transition through cooperation between the two sides. Why do you have to assume such sinister intentions about me?"
"As things stand right now, there are ways to end the war immediately. But I promised Li Li I wouldn't harm the Li family, and I don't want to put her in a difficult position. Zhou Du, why force the issue?"
Li Zhoudu smirked and said, "Every time I hear my sister's name from your mouth, it makes me feel disgusted."
He stood up to take his leave, and Tan Su behind him said slowly, "Stop, Zhou Du. You know you can't win."
Li Zhoudu found it amusing: "Isn't it me who's at my wit's end right now, Mr. Tan?"
Tan Su said, "I have a feeling that way."
Li Zhoudu's expression turned cold.
——
That day, Li Zhoudu got up for his morning run and, in the dim, gray light, found Li Li curled up asleep on the living room sofa, covered with a blanket.
Li Zhoudu walked over and looked down at her slender fingers pinching the edge of the thin blanket, breathing softly beneath it.
He reached out and touched that delicate, fair face, immediately feeling a cool, damp sensation.
His heart sank slightly, and just as he was about to pull his fingers back, another hand grabbed them tightly.
Li Li didn't sleep all night. She opened her eyes wide and looked at Li Zhoudu's cold and gloomy face, then pressed his palm against her face.
She was as pitiful as a weak cat, and she silently mouthed: Please.
Then, in a very low voice, he said again, "Please, brother."
For half a minute, it seemed as if all the air in the living room had been sucked out. After a long silence, Li Zhoudu said, "Little cat, I'd rather you were stabbing me with a knife right now."
Without hesitation, Li Zhoudu pulled his hand away from Li Li's face, and the fingertips that Li Li had been gripping tightly were finally pulled away by Li Zhoudu.
“Why? Brother. I don’t understand,” she sat up, her bare feet on the floor, stumbling after Li Zhoudu as she tugged at his sleeve. “I’ve never understood why.”
When Li Zhoudu first took action, she did not expect such terrible consequences. She couldn't even figure out when Li Zhoudu decided to kill Tan Su.
Tan Su could leave the stage, but definitely not in this way, and certainly not by having his own family members do it.
What kind of outcome do you want?
Li Li said eagerly, "What do you want? Wasn't my promise last time enough?"
Li Zhoudu stopped in his tracks, turned around abruptly, and gripped Li Li's shoulders tightly. His eyes and tone were terrifying: "I want you to break up with him! I want you to never see him again! I want you to stay far away from him and stay obediently at home from now on. Can you do that?"
Li Li stood there blankly, tears streaming down her face, and said, "But I'm not a child anymore, brother."
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Author's Note: [Sparkling eyes] Thank you all for waiting for the update!
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