Chapter 44 You Chang never imagined that one day he would be...
You Chang never expected that she would be forced to have lunch with the big boss one day. She was trembling and kept silent, and when she ate, she was so polite that she counted the grains of rice one by one.
Li Li thought Tan Su was really clueless, and then she remembered the first time they sat at the same table, and how the egg yolk that was thrown into his bowl was looked down upon.
So she deliberately picked up a broccoli, hung it in the air, and then intentionally let it fall into Tan Su's plate.
"Oh dear! I'm so sorry!" She even patted his forearm to remind him.
Following the direction her chopsticks pointed, Tan Su picked up the broccoli and tilted his head to ask, "Want some more?"
“It’s dirty,” she said.
Tan Su assumed Li Li was just habitually picky about food and didn't think much of it, so he ate it for her.
You Chang's face turned bright red, and Li Li was also embarrassed. She couldn't believe that Tan Su would eat her leftovers.
Is it his usual fastidious cleanliness obsession?
Or is it that men and women who have had the most intimate contact naturally have different boundaries from others?
Fortunately, Tan Su finished lunch quickly. He still had things to take care of, so he said to You Chang, "I'll give you half a day off this afternoon. You didn't eat well, so let's go have afternoon tea nearby."
He got up again, ruffled Li Li's short hair, and told her, "Don't go too far. I have something for you. Call me when you leave from this side."
After he left, You Chang said, "You and President Tan are still on good terms, huh?"
Li Li seemed to have returned to the time when she was being used for marketing by Tan Su. She firmly denied it, saying, "That never happened!"
——
It was past 5 p.m. when Li Li called. She asked what they had talked about at noon, and said she was very busy and had to leave.
Tan Su said to wait a moment.
He went down into the underground parking garage, took over Li Li's seat in the driver's seat, and drove her sports car to the riverside road.
Tan Su got out of the car by himself, went to the store on the first floor of the mall to get a white bag, and came back to see Li Li tilting her head and playing on her phone.
He leaned against the car door and suggested, "It's only fifty meters from the pedestrian street, do you want to get out and get some fresh air?"
Li Li agreed without much thought, but as soon as she got to the ground, she realized that this idea was really crazy.
It's freezing cold by the river in winter. Apart from tourists taking photos and couples on dates who aren't afraid of the cold, who would want to suffer by coming here to endure the cold?
She hugged herself tightly, and Tan Su asked from behind her, "Is Su Mi alright?"
Li Li nodded: "It's fine, we keep it at home."
"How are you?"
Li Li felt he was talking complete nonsense, and replied perfunctorily, "Of course I'm fine, extremely fine."
Tan Su asked, "Hmm. Has anything changed in your life?"
Li Li guessed that this was the question he would ask, so she turned her head and lazily started rambling: "I've dated two or three people while I was abroad, one was Dutch and studying computer science, another was an ABC studying finance..."
Tan Su looked down at her smacking mouth, then suddenly pulled his hand away, cupped Li Li's face, and shut her up from her nonsense.
Tan Su's lips are softer than they look. On that night in Hong Kong, when the two of them were fooling around and getting carried away, he even received a rare compliment from her: "Your lips feel very comfortable to kiss."
Tan Su held her waist, and with Li Li on tiptoe, pried open her lips.
He is not the kind of man who would engage in such intimate behavior in public.
Tan Su's public image is that of a respectable, profound, and mature man. He seized the Wanren Group from his uncle, who had been entrenched in the company for ten years, and is an absolute powerhouse who received elite education and inherited his father's experience from a young age.
At this moment, he abandoned all his composure and constraints, pulled Li Li aside, and blended into the surrounding tourists, just like any other ordinary couple in the city, no different from anyone else.
After a long time, he finally let go.
Li Li looked up at Tan Su and felt a slight swelling and pain on her lips. The evening breeze slightly ruffled his usually meticulous hair, and the orange light from the streetlights shone on his profile, adding a touch of gentleness to his features.
"Have you ever been intimate with them?" Tan Su asked.
Li Li remained silent.
Looking into Tan Su's calm eyes, she realized that pretending nothing had happened was just self-deception. She found that she could no longer look at him with the same eyes she used to look at an elder.
He is a man.
Yes. Without a doubt.
I'm no longer that kind of innocent child who simply throws the yolk to someone else.
Tan Su reached out and pulled her into his arms, shielding her from the wind: "When are you free? I'll take you to G City to see Grandpa."
Li Li remained unmoved: "In what capacity do you want me to meet him?"
Tan Su smelled the fragrance in her hair and kissed it: "Anything is fine."
"Brother-in-law?" Li Li made a very cold joke.
She pushed him away with her palm, rejecting the suggestion with her body. She said calmly, "Don't waste time, Tan Su. You should bring a proper girlfriend back to see him."
Li Li felt no emotional turmoil; she no longer doubted or rejected Tan Su's affection for her.
Being liked is a happy thing; just enjoy it.
As for the rest, she thought, there was nothing left.
——
When I got home in the evening, after dinner I went upstairs to rest. My aunt came into my room with a white bag and said that something was left in the car. She asked if it was something that my cat bought while shopping.
Li Li then remembered the gift Tan Su had given her. She sat on the bed, unpacked the box, and opened the lid. Inside was a crown with a pink diamond center stone.
Attached was a note: "To Ashely, Happy 23rd Birthday."
"She's already had her birthday!" Li Li thought to herself, "What kind of time is this? Tan Su doesn't know how to be flexible. He could at least write 'Happy New Year' under a different title."
This reminds me of that inexplicable ban imposed by Yan Qi before. It seems that Tan Su has truly taken double standards to the extreme.
She tried on the crown in front of the mirror. It fit her head perfectly, shimmering and beautiful, but she never really needed it.
Li Li casually took it off, looked around the cabinets in the room, and thought that since this thing was inconvenient to take out of the country and was so expensive, she might as well give it to her aunt to help her store.
She packed it in a bag and went to find Wenxi. Just as she raised her hand to knock on the door, she suddenly heard an angry voice from inside: "What was Tan Congxu thinking? Sending an invitation to our house!"
Her fingers paused as she listened to Li Junchuan's gentle persuasion: "He has a good relationship with our family, it would be impolite not to give him anything."
Wenxi's voice sounded utterly disdainful: "Don't they have any shame?"
“Alright,” Li Junchuan said, “Just give a monetary gift when the time comes, it’s not worth taking it to heart.”
He added, "Don't let the kitten know."
Wenxi said, "I know that."
The white bag lay quietly on the floor. Li Li sat on the cool steps, lost in thought. She stared at the television, sofa, chandelier, and green plants in the darkness. After a long while, she wiped her eyes and stood up.
——
The following autumn, school officially started, and Li Li went to South America to find Li Fujing and Ling Wei after the New Year.
Li Zhizi went to the new house her family had bought near the school before her and helped her pack her things in advance.
The chat roommates' group, which would normally fade away after graduation, became even more active after Li Zhizi went abroad. While everyone else was struggling to breathe over things like salary, job security, housing, and cars, Li Zhizi had already transcended the value system that defines an ordinary person's life.
She wakes up every day in the morning light of the East Coast, waters her flowers, does yoga, and jogs regularly. On weekdays, she goes shopping, tries to make desserts.
The roommates who used to be inseparable in the dormitory suddenly had such a wonderful experience, going abroad to live a relaxed and leisurely life, which naturally made everyone envious.
At the same time, Li Zhizi also began to take advantage of her leisure time to learn about things she had never known before, such as jewelry, architecture, and fine arts, in this place that is regarded as an art mecca.
During this time, she received a phone call from a Chinese man who asked, "Is Li Li there?"
Li Zhizi asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
The other person said, "I don't know when she'll go back to enroll early?"
Li Zhizi naturally wouldn't reveal these details. She said, "If it's convenient for you, you can leave your name and phone number. I'll pass it on to Li Li when she returns."
The other person chuckled: "No need. Waiting for her to call would take forever."
Hearing his intimate tone, Li Zhizi hesitated whether to tell Li Zhoudu about it, but ultimately had to let it go because she had no information from the other party.
Li Li returned to school in early September just before the deadline. Ling Wei had taken good care of her for the past six months, and she was now fair-skinned and had finally gained some weight.
On the contrary, Li Zhizi got quite tanned from frequent outdoor activities, but since a healthy skin tone is popular here, she wasn't worried about it at all.
Li Zhizi could clearly sense that Li Li was much more cheerful than before after returning this time.
Her graduate coursework was very demanding, and she was surrounded by like-minded friends. Although she often had to carry a heavy drawing board from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and could only sleep four or five hours a day, Li Li liked and enjoyed this kind of life.
In fact, it took her three years to finally get into her dream school.
However, Li Li didn't care much about these things. She felt that her face was young and she could blend into the crowd without anyone noticing her size.
What's really annoying is that she received a big surprise right after arriving here – a package signed for by Li Zhizi, with a note that read: "To Ashely, Happy 24th Birthday."
Inside was a high-end custom necklace with the theme of "Springtime of Rebirth." It had more diamonds than the previous piece, and the gradient from green to purple was very beautiful.
Expensive beyond belief, and too inappropriate to wear in public, Li Li called Li Zhoudu in great frustration, exclaiming, "Brother, I really need a gun right now!"
Li Zhoudu was busy on the other end: "If you want to be deported for breaking the law, then you can have it."
"I really want it!"
She writhed on the bed, crying out, "You know how dangerous this place is! Li Zhoudu! Li Zhoudu!"
Li Zhoudu replied to her, "Just keep acting like this."
The state where Li Li lives has a lax but not strict gun control policy. Come to think of it, quite a few of her classmates seem to have guns, so Li Li joined in.
She certainly felt that if she were targeted, she would need a way to protect herself, but as Li Zhoudu said, her student visa did not allow her to carry a gun.
However, Li Li still felt very unsafe. It was all that person's fault for sending a bomb that was only good-looking and useless!
One day, Li Zhizi drove to pick up Li Li after school late. Just before entering the house, her car headlights suddenly swept over a tall, unfamiliar adult man standing by the roadside.
Both girls were startled at the same time. Li Li quickly bent down to reduce her exposed area, while Li Zhizi's hand directly touched the pistol in the storage compartment.
Li Li's eyes widened: "Huh?"
She glanced out the rearview mirror again, and realized that the person looked somewhat familiar.
Upon closer inspection.
Um?
That must be Tan Su, right?
-----------------------
Author's Note: Update! Writing block was really tough.
Although I don't really want to give away any spoilers, Li Zhizi doesn't really have any bad intentions. She's just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family who accidentally wandered into the Tian family and is a little bit vain.
She'll take what's rightfully hers, and she won't touch what isn't.
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