Chapter 57 That day, after seeing Tan Su off, the Li family father and son…
After seeing Tan Su off that day, the Li family father and son had a private conversation over tea in the study.
Tan Su's relationship with Gu Weihua was ambiguous. Knowing the rumors circulating outside, he avoided the main issue at the dinner table and did not take the initiative to explain, which showed a lack of sincerity.
Li Li was naive and innocent. As Tan Yi's older brother, he was two children's older than her, yet he knowingly and deliberately approached and seduced her, his intentions were despicable and his mind was sinister.
Tan Huiming retired due to illness, and the specifics of his situation remained a closely guarded secret, not to mention the watchful eyes of his uncle and younger brother.
Li Zhoudu said that his family could not possibly have any designs on him, so why did they have to send the kitten into such a complicated situation?
Men and women naturally consider different things.
Li Junchuan also felt that Tan Su was too autocratic. If he were to use Li Li in the future and clash with Li Zhoudu over the management of Wan Jing, the two strong contenders might not be a good thing for the Li family.
Given the precedent of internal strife within the Tan family, Wenxi's assessment of Tan Su's qualifications solely from a woman's perspective is far too naive.
Li Junchuan put down his teacup, thought for a moment, and said, "I will find another opportunity to have a proper talk with your mother."
——
After spending a few days in S City, Wenxi made arrangements to return to Jixi to escape the summer heat.
Unbeknownst to them, it had been two years since Li Li escaped from there. When taking her back this time, Wenxi specifically instructed, "This time you're going back with Grandma, so please, please don't cause any trouble. Don't frighten the old lady."
Li Li blinked and said, "I know."
Li Zhoudu also brought his dog back to the countryside. It was unleashed and ran off happily, disappearing without a trace. However, this kind of country dog is not afraid of not finding its way home.
Li Zhizi naturally returned to her home in Jixi.
Li Li woke up from her afternoon nap at three o'clock, got up and slipped on her slippers, feeling a bit dizzy and lightheaded from sleep.
She got up, drank a cup of cold tea, shook her head, and wandered aimlessly along the eaves in the courtyard. Suddenly, she looked up and noticed that surveillance cameras had been installed everywhere, leaving no blind spots.
She frowned and headed towards the door. Her aunt, who was working in the house, saw that she seemed to want to stop her, but then stopped herself from saying anything.
Li Li wandered out onto the main road and soon spotted surveillance cameras on the streetlights that were spaced not far apart along the way.
Somewhat puzzled, she walked to the same spot as before, around the same time of early summer, where she saw endless green fields stretching as far as the eye could see.
Clutching her skirt, she sat on the edge of the field, legs dangling, lost in thought. She realized she had really caused a huge mess. Now, apart from Li Zhoudu mentioning during their argument that he had been frantically looking for her, everyone else was just avoiding the topic and acting as if nothing had happened.
Li Li thought that such tight security was a bit excessive, and she would never again have the courage to give up everything for someone.
When Li Zhoudu drove back, he saw her sitting by the roadside.
He honked the horn, saw the pair of eyes turn towards him, and said, "Get in."
Li Li got up, brushed the dirt off the back of her skirt, got into the car, fastened her seatbelt, and asked him, "Where have you been?"
"To offer incense," he replied.
The Jixi Ancestral Hall is always filled with incense, candles, and fruits. On ordinary days, only an elderly man guards the gate. There are more people coming and going during festivals and on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month, but no one is there at other times.
Li Zhoudu should be considered an atheist, with no religious beliefs, but he seems to be very traditional in this regard.
Li Li asked, puzzled, "Why do you always want to go there? Don't you think it's creepy?"
Li Zhoudu did not answer her.
Li Li turned her head away sullenly and said in a huff, "Fine, then just keep treating me like this! Li Zhoudu, you'd better never forgive me."
He watched her silently in the rearview mirror.
Li Li sometimes didn't understand why Li Zhoudu was so short-tempered. It had been like this for several months, and he was really annoying.
So when she was watching TV at home and received Tan Su's call, her tone was particularly rude: "What!"
Tan Su asked her, "Where are you?"
"what?"
Tan Su said, "I'd like to invite you to dinner. Are you free tonight?"
Li Li sneered: "Instead of trying to curry favor, you should mind your own business."
Tan Su sensed something was off about her tone and asked, "What's wrong with me?"
“My family has told me everything,” she said sarcastically. “I heard you’re quite the ladies’ man, Tan Su.”
Tan Su understood immediately. He said, "Don't you know what's going on between me and Hui Sheng?"
Li Li was well aware that it was Ming Baiquan who betrayed Tan Su at the last minute and conspired with Tan Congxu to provoke him, which led to Tan Su's counterattack. There was also the incident where Gu Weihua, whom he had only met once, threw coffee at Tan Su. It certainly didn't seem like there was any romantic relationship between them.
But she still stubbornly insisted, "How would I know? Her husband's story is so detailed and convincing."
Tan Su laughed in exasperation: "Who is Ming Baiquan? You believe him but not me?"
Li Li deliberately provoked him: "You two have about the same level of credibility with me, both are negative."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Tan Su suddenly spoke up: "Don't you know me? Haven't you always been mocking me for being bad at the first time?"
Li Li nearly choked on her own saliva. Her face flushed red as she scolded, "What are you saying in broad daylight?!"
"I don't understand what you're saying, I can't be bothered with you." She hung up the phone hastily, feeling incredibly guilty.
——
Unlike Frasers' current financial difficulties, TICC has been soaring in the Hong Kong stock market since its backdoor listing. Tan Congxu is riding high and plans to push TICC to list in mainland China.
Tan Yi first returned to S City to build connections, and was introduced to Ms. Wan, the head of the S City Stock Exchange Charity Foundation, at a dinner party.
Unlike others who were ignorant and inquisitive about this young man, Ms. Wan seemed to know his background all along. After shaking hands, she asked with a smile, "Is Mr. Tan from Yanqi your brother?"
Upon hearing this question, Tan Yi knew that they had a close personal relationship, and smiled politely: "Yes, you know him?"
“I know, I’ve even met your girlfriend,” she said with a smile. “The painting that Ms. Li donated to our foundation is still on display in the exhibition hall.”
Tan Yi's expression froze for a moment, and he quickly recalled the interview that he hadn't reviewed a second time.
A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he asked, "May I go and see that painting?"
Ms. Wan extended a warm invitation, and I replied, "Of course."
The next morning, Ms. Wan warmly accompanied Tan Yi to visit the painting in the second hall.
Looking at the painting in front of him, Tan Yi saw a lone boat breaking through the waves under the vast starry river, and through it he seemed to see the warm and lovely eyes of the creator.
Ms. Wan chuckled softly in my ear: "Ms. Li is such a fascinating girl. She was the one who first told me your name. I didn't recognize you at the time, which made me a little embarrassed, so I made a point of remembering it. I never expected to have the honor of meeting you in person now."
What kind of feeling is that? Tan Yi wondered.
He felt his heart beat again after a long time, followed by a surge of heat in his chest. The emotions that had been sealed by indifference, numbness, and pain burst forth like a belated giant wave, pushing him so hard that he could barely stand.
Tan Yi leaned against the wall.
Ms. Wan was startled and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Do you have low blood sugar?"
Tan Yi shook his head and said, "I'm sorry."
After a long pause, his emotions calmed down, and he turned his head to ask, "Can this painting be sold?"
When Ms. Wan saw his inexplicably reddened eyes, her heart skipped a beat, and she was momentarily at a loss: "This is Ms. Li's charitable donation. Unless it is auctioned off for charity, it cannot be used to make a profit."
Tan Yi remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Thank you."
A little later, after seeing Tan Yi off, Ms. Wan received another message from him.
[Are there any original recordings of the interview? I'd like to see them.]
Ms. Wan replied: [It's been too long, we don't have a copy. But it was sent to General Tan Su for detailed revisions, I don't know if he has a copy?]
——
To enjoy something fresh, my family harvested some wild crayfish from the nearby rice paddies for a late-night snack. They weren't very big, but their shells were exceptionally hard, and the meat was firm and delicious.
Li Li eats these things rather slowly to begin with, especially since she recently got her nails done and is wearing rubber gloves, making it particularly fussy and difficult to remove them.
Li Zhoudu watched coldly as she didn't eat a single bite for a long time, without saying a word. Instead, he tore up a lot of food and piled it into a small mountain in a clean bowl. Then, he casually swapped the dirty bowl in front of Li Li.
Li Li had actually been silently watching his hands for a long time. When the two bowls were switched, she quickly took off her gloves and secretly glanced at Li Zhoudu's profile. She couldn't help but feel smug, thinking, "So what if he ignores me? He's just stubborn but soft-hearted."
The prospect of reconciliation with Li Zhoudu relieved Li Li of a great burden.
She took a shower that night, put on a headband and a face mask, and did yoga in bed to aid digestion. She answered the phone by the bedside and said impatiently, "Tan Su, what are you doing now?"
"Didn't we invite you to dinner that day? I wanted to see if you could keep the appointment today."
“It’s past ten o’clock at night,” she said, peeling off her face mask. “Are you out of your mind?”
Tan Su said, "Yes, it takes me this long to get from S City to Jixi after get off work."
Li Li: "Huh?"
In the dead of night, with all the lights in the main house off, Li Li came out wearing a coat over her nightgown and quietly closed the bedroom door behind her.
Hearing the commotion, the dog in the yard happily came to play with her. Li Li quickly gestured for it to be quiet, and then the two of them, having reached an agreement, quietly crept outside.
Li Li arrived at the main gate, quietly pulled open the bolt of the side door, slipped out, and saw a car still running in the distance.
She couldn't say whether she was happy or unhappy. She felt a little surprised, but still awkward, thinking that Tan Su was really causing trouble and making things difficult for others.
Li Li led the dog over, climbed onto the passenger door, looked inside and saw the takeout containers on the back seat. She said to Tan Su, "What are you having for dinner? I already had a late-night snack, I'm not hungry."
Tan Su propped his head up with a smile and said, "Why don't you come up and sit down, and have some with me?"
She thought it was a good idea and opened the car door to get in when suddenly a deafening alarm blared in her ears, continuing incessantly. In those few seconds, the lights around the Li family's house and the lights of houses within a hundred meters of it turned on one after another.
Li Li was so frightened by the scene that her face turned pale. She slammed the car door shut and told him to leave quickly.
Tan Su didn't move. At the same time, his phone rang. He glanced down at the caller and swiped right to answer.
The person on the other end said, "If you don't want to be invited in for questioning under the pretext of kidnapping and trespassing, then get out of here now."
Tan Su laughed: "Crossing the river, two people in love, how can that be considered abduction? I'm still outside, so it certainly doesn't count as trespassing."
Li Zhoudu said dismissively, "This is Jixi. If you don't believe in superstitions, you can try it now."
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Author's Note: Tan Yi's story isn't over yet; a three-way battle is about to begin! [shy]
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