Chapter 27 A few days later, that French gentleman brought...
A few days later, the French gentleman and his wife came to visit the company, and Li Li was again called over by Tan Su to accompany them.
She removed her heavy makeup and listened to her colleague's explanation while sitting next to the woman. Suddenly, she said tactfully, "This makeup suits you better, Ashely."
Li Li was so embarrassed that her face froze.
Tan Su seemed to have overheard their conversation, turned his head to look at her makeup today, and gave a teasing laugh.
What are you laughing at?! It's all your fault! She cursed that treacherous bastard a hundred times in her mind.
From then on, Tan Su seemed to enjoy taking her to various dinners and meetings.
Li Li is truly a very presentable female companion; she can quickly adapt and handle any situation with ease.
Because the two have been frequently seen together recently, some veiled rumors have suddenly started circulating within the company. Everyone knew before that Li Li was Xie Zongfang's person, but now it seems that it may be more than that.
These words did not reach the ears of the person involved, but she gradually realized that Tan Su seemed to have some histrionic personality disorder.
He openly displayed his gentlemanly manners and protectiveness in front of others, stopping her before she exceeded her alcohol tolerance and jokingly telling others about her little quirk of not liking vegetables.
However, when the two were alone together, he would close his eyes to rest or concentrate on his work, appearing as if he couldn't be bothered with idle people.
Li Li belatedly realized that she seemed to be being used as a pawn by Tan Su, but she didn't know his purpose in doing so. She only felt that he was cunning and had superb skills in dealing with people.
One afternoon, while Li Li was watching a show and slacking off, she received a call from Tan Su, asking her to go downstairs and buy an iced Americano, to be delivered upstairs in twenty minutes.
Li Li asked, clearly annoyed, "Where's your secretary?"
Tan Su replied, "They have their own things to do. Are you busy? What has Xie Zongfang been keeping you busy with lately?"
His words sounded like he was suddenly asking Li Li to give a report, and she reluctantly said, "Go, go, I'll go now."
Being forced to leave the cool office and run downstairs to the coffee shop under the scorching sun to queue for food is really annoying.
With a sour face, she thought unhappily, "When exactly will Tan Su remove the fixation? How long will he continue to rely on that hand to control me?"
What about Xie Zongfang? Why did this useless elder allow Tan Su to use his subordinates as his personal secretaries?
She was thinking of a hundred ways to retaliate against Tan Su when suddenly a hand rose up from behind and pinched her shoulder.
Li Li turned around in surprise. The other person was wearing a baseball cap and a large mask, with only a pair of clear eyes visible between the two.
ah!
She was slightly surprised, but immediately turned her head away, not daring to make a sound.
Li Li pretended to get coffee from the front desk and sat back-to-back with Tan Yi, the two of them acting like secret agents making a rendezvous.
He said on WeChat that he was on a boat with a friend, temporarily landing at the port of S city to visit her, and would be leaving later.
Li Li sent a message saying: [Wait for me to go upstairs and bring you some coffee, I'll be right down.]
As a result, she went upstairs and said that she wouldn't be able to come down for a while, and asked Tan Yi to find a place to wait for her.
Li Li rushed over half an hour before the end of the workday, gave Tan Yi two quick kisses on the lips, and then left her phone to go to the restroom.
Li Li's phone screen was not off; they secretly shared it. Tan Yi entered her usual password and browsed through her WeChat, seeing her conversation with Tan Su prominently displayed.
They had only been on WeChat for a month or two, and during that time they had very few conversations, though they did have one or two voice calls a day.
The longest conversation we had recently had was this morning, which started when Tan Su found Li Li's notebook in the conference room.
She appears to be diligently taking notes at every meeting, but in reality, she only occasionally jotts down a couple of meaningless sentences like "sales achievement rate for the first two quarters was only 34%" or "personnel expenditure ratio adjustment →".
The remaining corners and edges of the notebook were covered with her messy, simple drawings.
There are various types of cats and dogs, as well as still life items such as ballpoint pens and notebooks.
One of the pages depicts Tan Su, drawn in a cartoon style. He sits in the middle of a crowd with an exaggerated and stylish hairstyle, legs crossed and sunglasses on, looking like he's the only one who matters.
Tan Su thought that her expressive ability was actually quite suitable for her to be a cartoonist.
He tore that page out and wrote in the blank space with a pen: "Slacking off in meetings, 3,000 yuan deducted from salary."
When Li Li returned to her office, she discovered her notebook was missing. She ran back to the conference room, found it, and casually flipped to the page where the pen was clipped. Upon seeing the words left by Tan Su, she felt as if the sky had fallen.
She asked Tan Su on WeChat in disbelief: "[Did you write this? You're not serious, are you?]"
Do you know that these days, after I buy gas, there's hardly anything left of my monthly salary?
[And then there are food, clothes, cosmetics—I'm practically working at a loss every month!]
[Capitalists without humanity will eventually become slaves of the people.]
Tan Su responded to her resentment by posting a picture of the cartoon: [Is this the capitalist you're talking about, Miss Li?]
Li Li: [...]
Tan Yi was very familiar with Li Li's brushstrokes; back in high school, Xiao Mao always carried his drawing board and sketched everywhere.
Tan Yi spent most of his time by her side, sharpening her pencils, handing her milk tea, and doing chores.
One time, bored while waiting, he slumped back in his chair, leaning against the backrest, and said pitifully, "Draw me one too, little cat. I'll be your model."
Li Li was very proud at that time and refused to budge, saying that his features were not sharp enough to show off her superb painting skills.
The more Tan Yi couldn't have it, the more he wanted it, so he pestered her, "Even just drawing a couple of strokes to get the shape right would be fine."
Li Li said disdainfully, "Get out of my way, Tan Yi. You're blocking my light!"
Later, on his seventeenth birthday, the gift Li Li gave him was a sketch.
The drawing, on 16K paper, depicts him asleep on the sofa with a hat covering his face while he was drawing with her.
Tan Yi had never received a better gift.
He was so moved that his eyes welled up, and he hugged his girlfriend's face and kissed her twice. He carefully framed the photo when he got back, and even placed it at the bottom of his suitcase to travel with him across the ocean when he went to Hong Kong.
He looked at the simple sketch that belonged to Tan Su for a long time. It turned out that what he thought was special and unique was now being slowly taken away by others.
Li Li came out of the restroom and was embraced by Tan Yi, who was waiting at the door.
He looked down at her and asked earnestly: Did you miss me?
When she was studying in Singapore, she wasn't under her family's supervision, and the two actually saw each other quite often. He once skipped classes for an entire month to stay at her house, and the two slept together.
Tan Yi still often thinks back to that time: getting up early to take Li Li to school, buying some yogurt and fruit on his way back, playing games in the house, and then watering the flowers. Later, after she graduated, those plants he had carefully tended were sent to Tan Yi's apartment.
Along with soil and fertilizer, the shipping cost was several hundred Singapore dollars for those worthless little things.
Tan Yi's face was very close to hers, their breaths mingling, and Li Li licked his lips in a flattering manner.
You said you'd think about it, but I've been missing you for a long time.
As the kiss deepened, a sudden thought flashed through Li Li's mind: Was Tan Su's hand healed? When did he become able to write again?! She couldn't believe Tan Su's left hand could be so capable!
She opened her eyes, glanced sideways at the phone lying on the coffee table, and decided she had to expose this scheming man.
Tan Yi noticed her distraction, cupped Li Li's face tightly, and asked her.
"What are you thinking about right now, kitty?"
Tan Yi's friends all know that he has a very impressive girlfriend in mainland China. Not only is she from a good family and beautiful, but she is also very strict with her upbringing, requiring him to remain chaste when he is out in public.
Many acquaintances know his rules and wouldn't knowingly break them, but there are also those who want to use such offenses and provocations to establish their authority by stepping on him.
There was once a libertine who brought two women onto the boat, but at the last minute he insisted on giving one of them to Tan Yi tonight, determined to break his precedent.
Tan Yi eventually got annoyed with refusing and said, "That's not very nice of you."
The other person spat on the ground and asked provocatively, "Are you even a man?"
Tan Yi didn't confront them directly; he calmly said, "Just pretend I'm not."
Late at night, after turning off the ship's surveillance cameras, Dai Zhe swiped his card to open a room, led people in, and blindfolded and gagged the sleeping man and woman.
Tan Yi stood in the corridor, looking at the dim light and listening to the muffled groans coming from inside the room.
At that time, I felt calm, unlike the panic and loneliness I feel now.
He felt a lump in his throat, and began to think that it was all for naught, as if this relationship he was so proud of was something that time and distance could not overcome.
Tan Congxu called Tan Yi for two days in a row but couldn't get through. When he arrived at the door, Tan Yi was still lounging on the sofa playing games, with Su Mi stepping on his chest.
Tan Congxu looked at his stubble-covered face and dejected expression, crushed the aluminum can that had fallen to the ground, and asked condescendingly, "What are you thinking about?"
Tan Yi numbly operated the controller: "I don't know what else I need to think about."
"My father is busy preparing to ring the gong at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and my girlfriend is in S City with my older brother. The world is working so well, what more do you need from me?"
Tan Congxu sensed his dissatisfaction: "So it was because of those rumors about Yan Qi."
"Whether it's a rumor or not, Tan Su was a man first and foremost. How could he..."
"Does it matter?" Tan Congxu asked casually, catching him off guard.
"Gold will not depreciate because of multiple transactions, and Li Li will always be Li Li no matter what."
The wealth, background, and connections she represents are in no way diminished by her romantic history.
Even if she has been in a relationship with you for many years, and even if she has been with many people, once marriage is put on the table, there will always be people vying for her hand.
"Look at you now, all disheveled and covered in dirt. What do you have to compete with others now? Relying on those childhood friendships from when you were just playing house?"
Tan Congxu said, "Don't be so ridiculous."
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Author's Note: The update is out! [poor face] Chapter 26 has been rewritten in its second half.
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