Chapter 26. Li Li swore that she moved that day...
Li Li swore that her pushing that day was purely a stress response after being frightened by Tan Su's words.
However, Tan Su, who had been drinking, was distracted and not paying attention to his footing. She pushed him hard and he actually fell.
Although he managed to brace himself against the welded iron handrail in time, his wrist twisted due to excessive force, and Tan Su's expression turned sour.
Li Li was a little frightened. She ran down two steps and went over to help him, saying, "Brother Tan Su, are you alright?"
Tan Su merely frowned and said, "The car has arrived, let's go."
Li Li noticed that Tan Su didn't seem to be feeling unwell while in the car. The next morning, she received a call from Chen Ya, who said that Miao Zhi's plane had just landed and she had already gone to pick up her from work.
Li Li asked, "Are you not going to use me anymore?"
Chen Ya said, "Yes, Mr. Tan injured his wrist yesterday and dislocated his joint. He went to the hospital. It's inconvenient for you to help him there, so please come back first."
Li Li panicked a little. She checked and found that although it was such a small mistake, it could be quite troublesome if the other party was determined to pursue it.
She sheepishly told Li Zhoudu that she hadn't expected Tan Su to be so fragile, that he would break at the slightest touch. Maybe he just lacked exercise and was calcium deficient?
Li Zhoudu focused on the key point and asked, "Why did you push him?"
Li Li found it difficult to speak, because Tan Su hadn't said anything, just asked "Why can't I like you?", which hardly constituted any real harassment.
Moreover, it would be too shameful to say such a thing to Li Zhoudu.
Feeling guilty, she managed to blurt out, "You know I've never liked him."
Li Zhoudu, unsure whether he believed her or not, deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Oh, that's it. Purely acting out of personal vendetta, pushing someone and causing minor injuries will result in administrative detention. You're really going to become the first law-abiding member of the family, Li Li."
Li Li: QAQ.
Now she had no strength left in her legs while shopping, and she lost her appetite. She dragged her feet as slowly as if she were going to the execution ground.
Li Zhoudu almost laughed at her spineless attitude, saying, "Is this all there is to it that you're so upset about not being able to eat or drink?"
On his way back, Li Zhoudu called Tan Su and learned that he had returned to S City, so he arranged to visit him at a time that was nearby.
That morning, a car arrived outside the Tan family's villa. Wenxi got out first, carrying a soup pot, followed by Li Li and Li Zhoudu carrying a lot of gifts. The three of them went to apologize to him.
Tan Su hadn't expected such a large gathering at her home. He invited them to sit down and asked the housekeeper to serve tea.
Tan Su was wearing a casual T-shirt at home, with black straps wrapped around his hands, resembling heavy fingerless outdoor gloves.
Wenxi felt guilty and apologized to him, saying that the little cat was ignorant and had caused a big disaster. He didn't know any better and had caused you trouble again.
Tan Su glanced at Li Li, the honest man who was huddled behind his aunt, and said politely that it was nothing, the fixation would be removed in a few weeks, and that his family should not worry about it.
Wenxi opened the soup she had made and invited Tan Su to try some: "I brought some Chinese medicinal herbs yesterday and simmered it over the fire all night. Why don't you try it first? If you like it, Auntie will bring you more."
Tan Su couldn't refuse his elder's kindness, so he used his good hand to grasp the still-warm porcelain cup.
Li Zhoudu walked around the room looking at the furnishings on the walls. Hanging on the south side of the hall was a traditional Chinese painting of magnificent landscapes, which Li Li had bought when she went to Hong Kong with him.
Wenxi immediately recognized whose handiwork it was and asked Tan Su, "Does Qi Xi know about your injury?"
Tan Su frowned and reluctantly finished the soup, then put it back on the table: "It's nothing serious, not worth making the elders worry."
Wenxi didn't want to overstep her bounds and say too much: "Your mother misses you very much, Tan Su. It's good for each other to have a chance to get closer sometimes."
Li Li, having witnessed this juicy gossip, asked her aunt as she left, "Do you know Tan Su's mother?"
“You should call him Brother Tan Su,” Wenxi corrected her, then added, “I know him, you’ve met him before.”
“Last year, when I had my birthday party, I specifically invited you and Zhou Du to come and say hello. Do you remember?”
Li Li had no recollection of it. She asked Li Zhoudu, "Have you always known Tan Su's mother?"
Li Zhoudu walked while looking at his phone, too lazy to say a word. Only then did Li Li realize that he had been keeping such a big secret from her.
Now that the crisis was over, she was full of life again. She jumped up and reached for Li Zhoudu's neck, pulling him down: "You didn't even tell me this!"
Li Zhoudu lowered his head obediently and joked, "Hey! If you use any more force, my bones will break too."
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The garden was lush with trees, but the scorching sun couldn't block the heat from shining through the glass. Tan Su stood upstairs, watching the figures playing and laughing below. He looked down and held a cigarette between his right hand, which was wrapped with a strap.
"Crack." The firework swirled with smoke, and the halo slowly receded as it burned.
Since Tan Congxu's release from prison, news about him has been spreading faster and faster. The entire group is too large; he can't stop every former subordinate who received favors from Tan Congxu in his early years and remained in obscurity.
All ambitious individuals understand perfectly well that only by disrupting the existing rules can they gain the opportunity for a redistribution of resources, just like when they rose to power and underwent a major reshuffle within the group.
He wasn't sure how much of the leaked information was Li Li's doing, but whatever Tan Yi needed, she would definitely do willingly.
Rather than letting her run around the company spying and probing, it's better to keep an eye on her openly.
On the morning Li Li returned to her post, Tan Su went to the Strategic Development Department for a meeting early in the morning.
His right hand, resting on the conference table, was unusually conspicuous. Li Li felt very guilty and sat properly for two hours, her head down, seemingly writing or drawing something in her notebook.
Xie Zongfang's report this time focused on dynamically adjusting the performance evaluations of each business line based on the actual achievements in the first half of the year.
It had little to do with Li Li, so she didn't listen carefully.
As the meeting was ending, Tan Su suddenly spoke up, stepping over the crowd in the conference room, and said to her, "Li Li, come here."
With a head full of questions, and enduring the surprised or inquisitive gazes of those around her, she followed closely behind Tan Su.
Li Li was becoming increasingly familiar with his office.
She went inside and closed the door for Tan Su. He pointed to the wine cabinet in the corner with his left hand: "Pick one, something suitable for middle-aged or young women. I remember you said before that you know about red wine?"
“Of course I know,” Li Li said. “Whatever good stuff is out there, my family always gets it directly from the source.”
Li Pusheng worked on international shipping routes since the 1990s. Wherever the ship landed, he would bring back top-quality imported goods. Tan Huiming was a glutton and a drinker back then, and he often came to his grandfather's house to freeload off him. Otherwise, why do you think the two of them were so close?
Tan Su said yes, is that right?
Li Li said casually, "Just ask for anything you need in the future, and I'll find it for you."
She rummaged through the wine cabinet and finally picked out a white wine: "This one's good. I've had it before. It has aromas of apple and citrus, and a very subtle milky flavor. It's smooth on the palate with good acidity. Most importantly, it's expensive, which is classy for entertaining guests."
Tan Su nodded and said, "A foreign client is coming over with his wife tonight. Will you come with me?"
"Huh?" Li Li lost interest as soon as she heard it was a dinner party. She hesitated and resisted, "Why do I have to go?"
Tan Su raised an eyebrow: "Of course you need to chat and socialize with the guests. Do you expect me, an injured man, to drink?"
Li Li's weakness was exploited, her arrogance subsided, and she said "okay."
Tan Su looked her up and down and said, "Remember to dress nicely. Now, go out."
Li Li thought he was really blind. Sure enough, straight men can only recognize bright red and bright green. They have no idea how difficult it is to create a fake no-makeup makeup look.
She went downstairs and angrily cleaned her face with makeup remover. When she got off work, she deliberately wore super curled false eyelashes and bright red lips. She got into Tan Su's car in a seductive manner.
Tan Su was scrolling through his tablet with one hand when he casually turned around and saw her flash a big smile: "Is that how you see it, Brother Tan Su?"
His expression remained unchanged, and he said casually, "Not bad."
Tan Su waited for the guests in the hotel's private room and quickly began communicating with them in fluent French. Li Li, on the other hand, was completely bewildered and couldn't understand a word.
Fortunately, the client's young wife knew some English, so she and Li Li had no problem communicating.
During the dinner, the lady asked Li Li, "Are you on a date with that gentleman? Mr. Tan keeps having the waiter refill your wine and dishes; he seems very attentive and considerate."
Li Li firmly denied it, saying that she was just his future "sister in law".
The lady looked shocked and incredulous.
Li Li had a good alcohol tolerance and enjoyed drinking with the other person. After all, she was someone who would secretly drink her grandfather's hidden wine when she was a teenager, so she could drink a few cups without getting drunk.
But after drinking, her brain was excited and she was in a great mood. After seeing off her guests, while waiting for the car, she kept humming a song behind Tan Su and then came up to him in a flattering way and asked, "I did a good job of coaxing your clients, didn't I?"
Tan Su looked at Li Li under the lamplight. Her lips were already nude, her false eyelashes were falling off, and her mascara had smudged and left marks on her eyelids, making her look dirty.
Once in the car, Li Li leaned against the center of the front seat, clamoring for the driver to play background music. Tan Su, unable to bear it any longer, pulled out a wet wipe from the compartment, held it in his left hand, and tried to peel off her false eyelashes.
But Li Li brushed it away with one hand.
She poked Tan Su's arm with her hand and warned him in a chubby voice, "You better behave yourself, Tan Su, do you have a third arm to use?"
She was so smug and proud that she felt no shame. The driver was still in the front seat. Tan Su's expression remained unchanged. He said, "It's because your makeup is ruined. You look ugly."
Li Li immediately took out her phone, glanced at her face through the camera lens, and then quickly pulled a wet wipe from his hand, wiping herself left and right.
"I knew it, nothing good ever comes from being with you." She was absolutely furious.
Tan Su leaned back in his seat, enjoying her awkwardness, and lazily said, "Likewise."
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Author's Note: The last 1700 words have been rewritten; I'll update as soon as possible in the next chapter.
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