Chapter 19. Tan Su guessed it in zero seconds...
Tan Su guessed who did it in zero seconds.
He watched this kindergarten-level prank and wondered how the Li family had raised their daughter to be such a stubborn and dull-witted person.
He glanced at the strange-looking, silly bird for two seconds. It was rather amusing in this tedious work, so he added a star and moved it to the long-term email category.
——————
Li Li's attempt to help You Chang get a permanent position failed, but to appease her, HR still issued her a meal card, the same one as regular employees, so she no longer had to go to HR every month to collect meal tickets. That was something to celebrate.
You Chang called Li Li specifically about this matter. She had helped him a lot, and You Chang had always wanted to reciprocate by treating her to a big meal.
After a few seconds, a man answered the phone. Without introducing himself, he asked directly in a deep voice, "What is it?"
You Chang's mind went blank for a moment. He glanced at the note on his phone, and after confirming that it was correct, he said, "I... I'm looking for Li Li."
"She's swimming. Are you worried?"
“No rush,” You Chang said hastily, “I’ll wait for her to finish her work.”
Upon hearing this, Li Zhoudu hung up the phone.
He sat on a deck chair on the shore, sunbathing, while Li Li, wearing a one-piece swimsuit and goggles, splashed around in the water like a nimble little fish.
Several tens of minutes later, Li Li, having had a good swim, climbed out of the pool.
The weather felt fine in the water, but it got cold as soon as I got out.
She shivered as she wrapped a large towel around her body from the chair, grabbed her phone from the table, and went upstairs to take a shower.
In the evening, You Chang treated her to authentic hometown cuisine from S City, using locally sourced wild mushrooms that had just come into season, which tasted incredibly delicious.
As the two were enjoying their meal, You Chang asked her, "Was the person who answered the phone this afternoon your boyfriend?"
Li Li gasped for breath, coughing several times before saying, "What are you talking about? That's my brother! I've always lived at home, and my brother is here too."
You Chang then realized that Li Li had an older brother. She said somewhat embarrassedly, "I thought it was your boyfriend coming to see you on the weekend. I haven't seen him in so long."
Li Li picked up a piece of tender beef with his chopsticks and said that he was very busy with his studies in Hong Kong.
Thinking about it, he proudly pulled up his phone's photo album and showed her photos of the two of them together, including birthdays they had celebrated together since childhood, travels, horseback riding, silly antics, and Christmas party costumes.
"Childhood sweethearts," You Chang said with no small amount of envy, "You two have such a wonderful relationship!"
Li Li put away her phone and said with satisfaction, "Yes, he has always been obedient to me since he was a child."
“And,” she said, somewhat happily, “he’ll be able to come back in a few days.”
——————
Mr. Ming stayed at a hotel near Yanqi for several weeks at a time.
Tan Su was interested in Fischer because they expected to go public within two years, and Tan Su wanted to invest before their IPO was completed so he could get a share of the profits at the lowest price.
This project is currently limited to Tan Su personally and his think tank, the Strategic Development Department, and is not a publicly disclosed project of the company.
Li Li was brought along to the meeting by Xie Zongfang. As she listened to the professional lawyer's report on the due diligence plan and a bunch of other confusing technical terms, she gradually lost focus.
She glanced around the conference room a few times, observing everyone's different expressions, then turned back to look at Tan Su in the center, frowning and deep in thought. Suddenly, she remembered the silly big bird in the email.
She was in a great mood and couldn't help but laugh, her mouth agape.
Tan Su immediately turned his gaze over, giving her a warning look, and Li Li immediately stopped smiling.
Sometimes she wondered if older brothers were all particularly perceptive.
Every time she does something bad, Li Zhoudu catches her immediately, and her lies are exposed in a second, making her extremely cautious every day now.
The meeting ended before 4 p.m., and Tan Su invited everyone to have dinner at a hotel near the company.
Li Li privately approached Chen Ya, looking troubled and stammering, saying that she wasn't feeling well and needed to ask for leave.
Chen Ya understood immediately and said, "Then you can go home and get some rest today."
Li Li, satisfied with the answer, turned and left happily. Chen Ya quickly followed Tan Su, took the private elevator, and pressed the button for the basement level.
The elevator slowly descended and opened directly at the basement level. Chen Ya ran ahead to open the car door, and Tan Su snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see Tan Yi looking at his phone next to the A88 parking space.
Tan Yi also happened to look up and look over, and the two looked at each other.
Tan Su stopped in his tracks. Tan Yi put away his phone, walked up to him, and bowed, calling out, "Big Brother."
They still have some sense of propriety and know whose territory it is.
"When did you get back?" Tan Su asked, one hand in his pocket.
"Just landed," Tan Yi replied.
"What are you here for?"
Before Tan Yi could answer, Li Li suddenly rushed out from the side. She and her colleagues came down in the regular elevator, opening and closing the door a step slower than Tan Yi.
She clumsily stood in front of Tan Yi, fearing that he would suffer if he faced Tan Su.
Li Li stood between the two men, glaring at Tan Su with a cold expression, much like the recessed part of the Chinese character "凹" (āo).
Tan Su glanced at her, but Tan Yi seemed more composed. He stood behind Li Li and reassuringly held her shoulder, saying, "I'm back to pick up my father from prison, brother."
Tan Su seemed to have just remembered this, his brows furrowed slightly, and he nodded, saying, "It's only human nature."
They don't look alike, and they're practically irreconcilable enemies in private. Yet, their pretense at this moment somehow gives off a hint of brotherly affection.
Tan Su asked him, "Would you like me to host a welcome dinner for your uncle?"
Tan Yi decisively declined, saying, "I wouldn't dare trouble you."
Tan Su turned his gaze to Li Li beside him: "You're coming too, huh?"
His words were short and sharp, as if he were teasing a younger person, but they carried a deeper meaning.
Tan Su was too lazy to bother with the petty squabbles of children, but if it involved Tan Congxu, that would be a different story.
Li Li is an idle member of the Li family, but her marriage will determine the future of nearly half of the Li family's assets, and he will not let Tan Congxu turn his life around through this.
Li Li hesitated for a moment.
She was still afraid that Tan Su would turn against her and tell Li Zhoudu.
Knowing that she was in a difficult situation, Tan Yi spoke first, saying, "No, she's not going. I've come to get a car key from Mao'er and borrow her car."
Tan Su nodded and said, "Then how about I escort Miss Li along?"
His guarded nature was obvious, but given the circumstances, Li Li had no choice but to get into Tan Su's car.
The two sat together in the back row, with a few dozen centimeters of space between them, without saying a word.
Tan Su's car, like himself, was steady and spotless, as clean as if it had just come out of a 4S store.
Li Li's plan had been thwarted, and she thought resentfully, "This person is a complete fraud."
——
Tan Congxu finally walked out of that towering iron gate.
Five years in prison did not make him appear dejected or downcast. Dressed in a shirt, he looked refined and polite, smiling as he offered the remaining cigarettes to the guards, like a university professor or a visiting elite lawyer.
He got into the car that Tan Yi had borrowed, and the two returned to the long-abandoned mansion.
Although someone comes to clean regularly, the place still shows a strong sense of decay and desolation, and there is an indescribable staleness in the air.
Tan Congxu stood by the window, looking at the swimming pool covered with fallen leaves, and asked, "Has your grandfather's whereabouts been found out?"
Tan Yi, standing behind him, said, "The information Xie Zongfang previously revealed about Songshan has been thoroughly investigated. No one was found at the sanatorium or private villa. The information must be incorrect."
"What about the others?"
Tan Yi lowered his eyes: "The clinical data of patients with receptor blockers for heart failure and coronary heart disease from Huisheng may not be enough, so they haven't been willing to budge."
"Tan Su is keeping a tight rein on him. He's been keeping that guy surnamed Ming in S City lately, negotiating an investment and listing..."
Tan Congxu slapped him hard across the face with his backhand, the force so great that his hand went numb.
All sound inside the room ceased at that moment.
After a long silence, Tan Congxu slowly said, "You didn't put your heart into it—Tan Yi."
He abandoned his usual humble and polite demeanor, his entire being radiating a chilling aura like a white-faced Yama. He asked his young son, "Besides appeasing that little girl from the Li family, what else have you accomplished these past few years?"
"Don't think that you can rest easy just because you have the money your grandfather gave you to get out of here."
"Once the old man passes away, my son and I will be nothing more than fish on Tan Su's chopping board. Are you going to follow in the footsteps of the Marquis of Haihun and lie on a mountain of gold and silver waiting to die?"
——
Li Li woke up late at night and received a call from Tan Yi. She secretly put on her shoes and ran out of the house.
The ice-berry pink sports car was parked on the street corner, easily visible.
She rushed over, but there were no pedestrians on the main road in the early hours of the morning, only a few cars speeding by.
Tan Yi stood by the car and handed the keys to Li Li, but she immediately cupped her face and turned her to the other side.
Her fingers gently touched the redness and swelling on Tan Yi's face, and she asked incredulously, "What happened to your face? Did Uncle Tan do something to you?"
“It’s nothing, Cat,” Tan Yi smiled, managing to force a crack in his lips before quickly suppressing it. “I’ll return the car to you first. My dad and I are going back to Hong Kong tomorrow.”
"Why the rush...wasn't it supposed to be today?"
“After all, Grandpa said, ‘Except for attending the funeral, we should not return to the mainland.’” Tan Yi said bitterly.
"He was just saying that in anger!" Li Li said anxiously. "So much time has passed, maybe he already regrets it. We agreed to find Grandpa Tan and persuade him to change his mind, right?"
Tan Yi looked at her, his eyes devoid of their former brilliance, filled only with resigned obedience: "It's no use, Cat. Tan Su won't give me a chance to turn things around."
On a summer night, Li Li stood by the roadside, trembling slightly with helplessness in her thin dress.
Tan Yi pulled her into his arms, stroking her short hair, and said softly, "Tan Su is a cunning and shrewd man. You'll suffer if you stay under his command for long. This matter shouldn't have involved you in the first place."
"Come home soon, my little princess."
He kissed Li Li's hair: "I will love you forever."
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Author's Note: [Poor thing]
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