Chapter 59 (Major Revision)
From this sentence, Li Li belatedly realized that Li Zhoudu's dislike for Tan Su had somehow surpassed that for Tan Congxu, whom he had always despised.
But I was too naive, thinking that I could mediate such a silent, imminent war with just a few words.
Li Zhoudu's fingers slid the mouse to shut down the computer when he heard a soft voice beside him say, "I don't want anything to happen to you, brother."
The dark electronic screen reflected the pair of bewildered, seemingly heartbroken eyes beside me.
He closed the screen, stood up and stood in front of Li Li, pinched her slender, crescent-shaped shoulder and pulled her half a step towards his chest, calmly reassuring her: "But watching others fight like dragons and tigers, of course I'll be fine."
He lowered his eyes to look at Li Li: "By this time next year at the latest, before you graduate and come back, your brother will have taken care of everything. Hmm?"
——
Following the release of new policies by the central government to support the development of innovative drugs, the stock market in the biopharmaceutical sector has been rising steadily since the opening of trading on Monday. Amid this positive trend of rising stock prices, Huisheng Technology unexpectedly chose to suspend trading.
Li Li sat in the movie theater, enjoying the air conditioning. The movie playing in front of her was a light comedy that was considered quite good in recent years, with bright and vibrant color contrasts.
Tan Su booked the weekday sessions. His fingers casually intertwined with Li Li's, the slender knuckles rubbing against her skin. He propped his head up with one hand, not looking into it, but just keeping her company to pass the time.
In the storyline, Li Li quietly asks, "Frankenstein's stock price has gone up. Does that mean things are getting better?"
Tan Su turned his head slightly and saw the light reflecting in her pupils, misunderstanding Li Li's intention: "I'm still paying attention to Huisheng. I have no interest in being someone else's stepfather at the moment."
Li Li still asked, "Is the situation still under your control, Tan Su?"
Tan Su shifted his body, moving closer to her, and asked, "What do you want to ask? Are you concerned about me?"
Li Li remained silent, so Tan Su, unusually enthusiastic, began to talk to her about work-related matters.
Investing in Citron Research was a decision he made against all odds at the time, and now the huge loss of 50% below the issue price has become the weakest link in his almost perfect career.
"Wouldn't it be better to continue rising along with the market? Then why did Huisheng suspend trading?" she asked.
“Because,” he laughed, “if Mingbaiquan were to sweep up all the shares in circulation, Huisheng would really change hands.”
His plan to increase investment was rejected by Yanqi's board of directors last week. With Mingbaiquan eyeing the company covetously, Gu Weihua could only stall for time in this way.
He said jokingly, "Didn't you notice when you came to work? Actually, a lot of people hate me."
Li Li saw the financial report that was released ahead of schedule with her own eyes, and she suddenly remembered that Yan Qi's CFO, Lü Dai, was Tan Su's classmate.
Upon closer reflection, Li Li felt a chill run down her spine and asked him, "How many years have you been in charge of Yan Qi's affairs? Why is this happening?"
Tan Su laughed: "Do you think I'm very popular? With a former leader who promised me high position and generous salary, and who was willing to give me all the food and drink I wanted, how could my subordinates possibly submit to me?"
"You mean Uncle Tan?" Li Li asked.
Years of ingrained thinking habits still made her instinctively lean towards the former between her uncle and nephew, and she said with a stern face: "Even if Uncle Tan is more popular, it is not necessarily because of what you said that the situation has been affected."
Seeing that she was still subconsciously protecting Tan Yi and his son, Tan Su asked with a wicked grin, "Do you know who created the Mo Shi that you despise so much, the one that divides people into different classes? All the things you experienced when you joined Yanqi were just some of the underhanded tricks he used to deal with me back then. He's all sweet talk and flattery to those in power, and he's nepotistic towards those below him..."
Li Li didn't want to listen anymore, and she tried to pull her hand out of Tan Su's grasp: "I'm still watching the movie."
Tan Su held her hands tightly, not allowing her to back down: "Li Li, all those inequalities and baseless discriminations that you once hated were clever tricks invented by your Uncle Tan. Your angry words and hatred towards me in the office were directed at the wrong person."
Li Li was already somewhat angry, but Tan Su added fuel to the fire: "Look, you're not necessarily that righteous. You just side with your own people and protect whoever you're biased towards."
Li Li couldn't listen anymore. She came out of the screening room, walked ahead with her hand in her hand, and Tan Su naturally followed. At times, they were no different from a couple who were really having a fight.
As they took the elevator down to the underground parking garage, Li Li broke free from the hand that was pulling her.
"Still angry?" Tan Su raised his hands in surrender.
Li Li stopped, turned around and said, "So you're pursuing me to go against Tan Yi, or are you after the Li family's money?"
Tan Su was amused by her question: "Where did you get this idea? Do I look like I'm short of money?"
“Otherwise, I can’t understand it,” she said. “You clearly didn’t like me from the very first time we met.”
Tan Su was both amused and exasperated, and asked, "Where did you come to this conclusion?"
His attitude towards Li Li might have started with indifference towards this spoiled little brat, but it definitely had nothing to do with "disliking" her.
From watching her paint in the study that year, to seeing her secretly sit in a wheelchair, or even when she climbed into his bed, Tan Su never resisted contact with Li Li.
Even years later, when Yan Qi met Li Li again, his tolerance for her always exceeded the normal range, and he even liked her extremely willful and unreasonable harassment.
He said, "What kind of person do you think I am, that I would be eyeing your family's money?"
Li Li stubbornly replied, "I don't know."
She resisted and refused to leave, and Tan Su smiled helplessly: "Are you a spoiled brat?"
He finally relented, lifting Li Li's chin with his finger to turn her face towards him, and asked, "Do you remember the first time you came to beg me to take you on a business trip to Hong Kong?"
“You promised me beforehand that you would stay by my side every step of the way, but the moment Tan Yi appeared, you ran to him without hesitation and said—” He recalled Li Li’s words, “‘You’re nothing special, Brother Tan Su.’”
"That was the one time."
This was his answer to why he decided to pursue her, which Li Li found ridiculous: "You've been eyeing me since then? I'm Tan Yi's girlfriend, you're really a pervert, Tan Su."
"What was his situation back then? He had nothing, and he was ignored and humiliated by Ming Baiquan. And you actually like me?"
Tan Su did not deny it: "I envied him at that time, being chosen by someone without any bottom line or conditions."
"It's your love that's so passionate, Li Li."
Li Li retorted, "Isn't Grandpa biased enough? You're just making excuses to plunder Tan Yi."
Tan Su: "I am not the only bloodline of the Tan family, nor have I ever been my grandfather's only option."
“When my father passed away, he chose Tan Congxu; when I ousted Tan Congxu to take the position, he turned a blind eye; what if one day I am not good enough? He still has another grandson.”
"The business world is like a battlefield; it's essentially a dog-eat-dog world. If I take advantage of the situation and do nothing, I can't just wait for others to harm me." This is his summary of his past.
Li Li bit her lip: "So you've made too many enemies, you deserve to lose someday."
“And what about you?” he laughed. “If one day I were to lose everything and find myself in a worse situation than Tan Yi was back then, would you stand by my side without hesitation, just as you did for him?”
This was the first time he had asked Li Li these questions.
What flashed through Li Li's mind was the silence of the countless times she had told Tan Yi that she wanted to leave together, only to be rejected by him.
This was a profound warning from Li Zhoudu.
She hesitated.
Tan Su's instinct is to kill; he is too dangerous. Li Li cannot allow herself to do something that would be like opening the door to a thief and letting a wolf into the house.
Unable to make any promises, Tan Su's smile turned somewhat forlorn. He opened his arms and hugged her, saying, "It's alright, then spend more time with me now."
Li Li was held in Tan Su's arms, tilting her head back to receive his kiss. His lips were soft, covering Li Li's lips, firmly prying open her lips and teeth.
His breath was clean and pure, his fingers long and slender. When they kissed, he cupped her cheeks, his fingers sliding from her neck to her shoulder blades, and then down to her waist, holding her tightly in his arms as if they wanted to become one. Through the thin fabric of her dress, she could feel his burning body.
Their entanglement quickly moved from the underground parking garage to the car. Tan Su felt Li Li tremble as he sweetly sucked on her, and heard a mumbled, incoherent sentence in his ear: "But I won't."
She will not and cannot be like she was before, making choices for love without thinking, acting impulsively, or considering the consequences.
What Tan Su wanted, she no longer possessed long ago.
“It doesn’t matter,” Tan Su said. “What I have now is enough.”
——
For Tan Congxu, Huisheng's suspension of trading is undoubtedly a desperate last-ditch effort. With the biopharmaceutical market soaring, Huisheng's contrarian approach has already drawn dissatisfaction from small and medium-sized shareholders and many investors.
No one cares about who will take over the company after the couple's infighting; what's truly despicable is that they're blocking everyone from making money.
Gu Weihua and Tan Su's shareholding advantage is in jeopardy, not to mention how long they can hold their positions after losing popular support.
Since being punched by Tan Yi, Ming Baiquan has become much more humble and obedient.
Tan Congxu, of course, knew his treacherous nature. Smoking a cigarette, he instructed, "Keep a close eye on him."
He then asked Dai Zhe, "What has Tan Yi been busy with lately?"
Dai Zhe said, "I'm resting."
Fang Xuan glanced at him.
Tan Yi has not appeared at the company for a long time. Since returning from the mainland, he has been staying at home and has not gone to work.
Aside from his aunt and Dai Zhe occasionally coming and going, he was basically alone.
What I've been doing lately is digging out a lot of photos and videos that I saved in the cloud before, burning them onto CDs according to different years, playing them on the TV, and watching them repeatedly while sitting on the floor.
Almost every birthday, vacation, and campus activity I had spent with Li Li was preserved intact. The two faces on the screen were both extremely familiar and unfamiliar.
Those past experiences he dared not look back on, those deliberately shielded memories, came vividly back to him. He nestled on the sofa, and even looking at them made him smile.
He sent an email to Li Li, but she never replied.
[cat:
I recently came across your seventeenth birthday wish list.
My wish to visit Balboa Park in San Diego after graduating from high school has remained unfulfilled.
Do you still want to go?
Looking forward to your reply. -Brio]
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Author's Note: [Please!]
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