Chapter 73 After returning to China, Li Li spent time alone with her mother...
After returning to China, Li Li accompanied her grandmother on a trip back to Jixi alone.
She had never understood why her grandparents liked staying in this small place so much.
The little girl who first arrived in S City was once ashamed of her accent and hated herself for not growing up in the city like other children.
But the older she got and the farther she was from home, the more an invisible kinship line seemed to grow in her bones, deeply rooted in the land beneath her feet.
Li Zhoudu didn't come back with them this time. Before leaving, he casually mentioned that Li Li could go to the ancestral hall to offer incense on his behalf when she had time.
The elmwood gate was opened for the first time solely for Miss Li. In the extreme tranquility amidst the swirling smoke, Li Li recalled the grand occasion of the centennial ancestral worship ceremony that year.
Such a lively scene is extremely rare.
Except for a few exceptional moments, the ancestral hall is mostly dull, silent, and lonely, like the gatekeeper who, day after day, gradually grows old without realizing it.
At that moment, Li Li suddenly sensed the feelings of Li Zhoudu that she had never been able to understand before.
With her eyes closed, she told her grandfather in her heart that she had caused a lot of trouble and encountered some seemingly very difficult problems in the past few years, but fortunately everything was over, and fortunately she was still very, very happy at this moment.
She stayed inside for a long time. When she stepped out over the high threshold, a gentle breeze caressed her face, the pond water rippled, and the willows swayed—a beautiful scene.
——
Tan Su became very busy after returning to China.
Although he doesn't hold a direct position at Yanqi, all major matters within the company are implicitly submitted to him for review. In addition, he also has investments in other companies such as Huisheng and Zhongpu, which require him to travel on business and attend meetings from time to time.
Li Li still prefers living in her own home, which is comfortable and cozy, with cats and dogs. However, after Tan Su got busy, the two rarely saw each other, so Li Li had to go see him.
Tan Su naturally wanted her to stay the night, but Li Li felt extremely awkward at the thought of his room: "I don't want to be here."
Tan Su asked, "You used to stay overnight here often when you were a child, why can't you do it now?"
Li Li hurriedly said, "How could that be the same thing?!"
She was truly traumatized by the scene of Tan Su's outburst when she was seventeen.
"Then how can this be done?" he asked Li Li in a good-natured manner.
Li Li gave a bunch of nonsensical instructions, such as that all the cabinets should be removed and the bed should be replaced. She suggested that Tan Su should just turn the whole room into a bare shell and redecorate it, since she couldn't stand the black, white and gray color scheme anymore.
Speaking of which, I'm suspicious. Your family doesn't seem to bring good fortune to women; it's been like a Buddhist temple for decades. Tan Su, you should probably have a feng shui master take a look before you start construction. If the feng shui doesn't pass inspection, I won't live here.
At first, Tan Su listened to her nonsense, but it became increasingly absurd. Amused by her peculiar way of thinking, he said, "There are several housekeepers living in the house all the time, can't you see them?"
Li Li said matter-of-factly, "The fact that you can still see me alive and kicking today is largely thanks to you, sir. It's better to believe it's true than not to. Do you want me to risk my life, Tan Su?"
If she continued, the Tan family home would be nothing short of a den of dragons and tigers, a mountain of knives and a sea of fire, completely uninhabitable.
Tan Su then realized that Li Li had been raised to be a bit superstitious by his family, but it was quite normal for someone in the shipping and maritime business to believe in such things.
From then on, several groups of people came and went from the Tan family every day: secretaries reporting back and forth between the company and the Tan family, designers measuring rooms and drawing up plans, business visitors, and so on.
Regardless of the chaos others create, Li Li comes every day without fail to have afternoon tea, occasionally taking the initiative to get close to Tan Su when she's in a good mood, then having dinner before happily going home to sleep.
That day, Tan Yi came downstairs after reporting his work and saw Li Li in the living room eating ice cream while sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, playing games.
She arrived at some unknown time, was terrible at the game, and was distracted by eating, resulting in a terrible mess on the screen.
Tan walked over and said "Hi".
Li Li turned around and saw him; her eyes immediately lit up. She tossed him the controller and said, "Help me get through this level; I'm stuck."
Tan Yi took the handle and sat down next to her.
He was still wearing a suit, the cuffs of which were rather tight. Tan Yi loosened them and, while operating the buttons to get a feel for them, listened to Li Li speak.
She grumbled about how inhumane the level design was, then casually asked Tan Yi, "You sold your house, where do you live now?"
Tan Yi mentioned the name of a hotel.
Li Li clicked her tongue in admiration: "You're so dashing!"
Tan Yi looked at the screen and said, "Mm."
He said he usually just works, and occasionally goes out with friends to relax and have a drink; that's roughly his life.
When Tan Congxu got into trouble, Tan Yi lost contact with all his high school friends one by one. Now, hearing their names mentioned again, Li Li felt a sense of satisfaction, like a plot from a wish-fulfillment novel.
Tan Yi's expression was rather indifferent, as if this wasn't something to be particularly happy about.
"How is your mother doing lately?" she asked again.
“I’m planning to transfer my younger sister to an international school in S City. She’ll probably be coming here often.”
"Go to Sper?"
Tan Yi said, "Yes, it's for Sipo."
"Ah, that's great!" Li Lizhen was happy for him.
"Would you like to have dinner together then?"
"OK!"
She was chatting enthusiastically with Tan Yi when she suddenly heard a cold voice say, "Come up."
Li Li felt a chill run down her spine and quickly turned to look at the corner of the stairs, which was now empty. Tan Su had already gone upstairs to his study.
When Li Li pushed open the door, Tan Su was sitting in front of the computer looking at the screen.
His expression clearly showed his displeasure; at least after Li Li entered the room, he didn't even glance at her.
She forced herself into Tan Su's arms, sat on his lap, and looked him over from left to right, studying his micro-expressions.
"You're getting angry already?" She poked Tan Su's face in an annoying way, and asked with a giggle, "Tan Su, aren't you supposed to have a good temper?"
When Tan Su's calm gaze met hers, Li Li became obedient.
"We didn't talk about anything," she whispered.
Tan Su clicked his tongue.
Li Li thought he was being petty. Tan Yi was, after all, his younger brother, and now they lived under the same roof, seeing each other all the time. How could it be his fault?
She thought about it and got upset again. "If you care about these things, why are you still with me? Isn't this the guy you worked so hard to win over, brother?"
Li Li grew angrier the more she thought about it and tried to get off Tan Su's lap, but he quickly grabbed her and pressed her down.
"What are you doing!" she snapped.
Tan Su said, "Be mindful of your distance from him."
"hehe."
Seeing her defiant expression, Tan Su didn't waste any more words. He simply picked up Li Li and forcibly carried her to his room.
Li Li tried to escape several times, but was suppressed by Tan Su. She struggled and said, "I don't want to be here!"
Tan Su said, "It has to be here."
He was adamant, and when Li Li couldn't get the better of him, she started to play the victim, saying that the room was really no good, Brother Tan Su.
Tan Su said, "This room doesn't eat people, we're just trying it out once, okay?"
He really got the hang of it. He kissed her intermittently while cupping her face and praising her for being so well-behaved and cute. Li Li was completely captivated by his sweet words.
Tan Su coaxed her to sit face-to-face on his lap, crossed his arms around her bare back, lowered his head and touched her delicate shoulder blade with his lips, and said that he actually liked her very much back then.
If he hadn't noticed something amiss with those shoes, Li Li's plan would probably have succeeded by now.
“You’re such a pervert, Tan Su,” Li Li’s face flushed red. “How old was I back then!”
"If I had known this day would come..." Tan Su said.
He thought to himself, "If I had known this would happen, I would have grabbed her much sooner."
——
On the eve of Li Li's birthday, she went to see Qi Xi with Tan Su.
They went to the art studio located on Fuxin Road. Li Li liked the atmosphere there; it was quiet and had a classic feel.
Qi Xi stood at the window upstairs, watching Li Li get out of the passenger seat and hug Tan Su's wrist. Her eyes were bright and lively, like a child, and her enthusiasm and cuteness neutralized Tan Su's coldness and aloofness.
She couldn't like this girl any more.
They ate lunch together nearby. After Qi Xi ordered, Tan Su took the menu and added several more meat dishes, specifically instructing the waiter not to add garlic.
Li Li still felt quite constrained when she saw Qi Xi. She tried her best to act like a well-bred young lady, sipping her tea and water in small sips, but Tan Su's behavior was tantamount to undermining her.
Li Li was furious. She secretly pinched Tan Su's hand and glared at him with wide eyes, as if to say, "Are you trying to make me seem difficult?"
Tan Su raised an eyebrow.
Li Li and Qi Xi had the same major and chatted happily at the dinner table. However, after seeing Qi Xi off at the door, she angrily punched Tan Su in the chest and said, "How could you be so insidious?"
Tan Su laughed and said, "My mother likes you very much, so don't feel guilty."
Tan Su is of age, and marriage is not far off. Moreover, the other party is a daughter of the Li family, so he should not be treated poorly.
After much deliberation, Qi Xi concluded that the villa on Fuxin Road was the most suitable, as it had a good location, a sense of history, and was in line with Li Li's profession.
The internal operations are running smoothly and the staff is fully equipped. She won't have to worry too much when she takes over.
Tan Su also thought the gift was very good.
He had told Li Li these things privately beforehand, meaning that if she didn't have any particularly good ideas about her work at the moment, she could come here to play often.
Anyway, it will be her business in the future.
Li Li was startled and said, "Oh! How could I possibly accept this?"
“This is part of my mother’s dowry that she brought from the Qi family. It’s meant to be passed down.”
He laughed: "If not you, who else? Me?"
Li Li was a little embarrassed; how could she possibly accept a dowry from her elders?
Tan Su deliberately said, "Give it to me, I'll sell it later and I should be able to make a lot of money from it."
Li Li exclaimed, "How can an artist's work be measured by money?"
"How many people in the world who are called artists are poor?"
Tan Su spoke very sharply: "If you can't measure the value of a work of art with money, how can there be auctions to evaluate its worth?"
"You have absolutely no sense of respect!" Li Li said angrily. "Tan Su, come here and let me hit you two more times!"
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Author's Note: [Poor thing]
Just between you and me, you can follow Brother Cat Line on Weibo.
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