38. The bright moon hides the egret.
When you love someone, you're afraid you're not giving them enough.
“Chairman Li, whose net worth is over 100 million, is someone I can’t afford.” Shang Xinuan pointed to today’s nutritious meal in her lunchbox. “Eat up!”
"It's been a while since I've had Aunt Hui's homemade beef brisket soup." Li Xiran loves beef, and Aunt Hui is from Northwest China, where she is best at cooking beef and mutton.
They had a falling out a while ago, and not only Aunt Hui, but even the Shang family's security team ignored him. Knowing that he had climbed over the wall to find Shang Xinuan, they installed an electric fence over the entire courtyard the next day.
If it weren't for the deep-seated interests involved, the Shang family would probably have severed ties with him long ago.
"Then eat quickly, I've been waiting, it was brought over as soon as it was cooked."
Li Xiran picked up a piece of meat from the soup with chopsticks and fed it to Shang Xi to warm her mouth. "You came over without eating, so let's eat together."
Shang Xinuan's routine has become much more regular lately. She didn't feel hungry when she arrived, but the aroma of meat made her feel empty inside.
She didn't hold back either, leaning closer to bite into the beef on her chopsticks. Then, Li Xiran continued to use the chopsticks she had just bitten to pick up a piece of meat and put it into her own mouth.
"Aunt Hui's cooking skills have improved again," Li Xiran praised.
The young lady only looked at the chopsticks she had used and said, "I've used them."
Li Xiran raised an eyebrow, his face showing a dismissive expression. "I used to eat plenty of the young lady's leftovers."
Shang Xinuan loves all kinds of sweet little cakes. If she sees one in a shop window on the street, she has to bring it home.
Downstairs from the Li family's house is a dessert shop that caters to young girls. In addition to its pretty appearance, the double sugar content also won her over.
However, as a girl, dieting is always a buzzword, so she only ever eats half of what she wants.
She insisted that Li Xiran eat the other half.
The spoiled young lady at the time believed that this was something only two people with a very close relationship would do. Even if she did it intentionally, she wanted to extract some affection from Li Xiran's never-refusing attitude.
But now it seems that they hadn't actually reached that point before.
Li Xiran, who maintains a proper social distance from everyone, has only ever shown this kind of exceptional intimacy to her.
"Things are different now than before. Your body is still recovering, so it's best not to share utensils with others."
"Okay." Li Xiran opened another set of tableware for her. "Then you can't leave half of your food today and say you can't finish it."
Shang Xinuan stared at his gentle eyes for a moment, then held the bowl and said softly, "Li Xiran, you are very different now than before."
"What's different?" Li Xiran didn't understand her question and asked in return.
The young lady didn't look at him; she just poked at the tender beef in her bowl with her chopsticks.
As for the difference, it's probably that they'll say a lot of cheesy love words.
After all, he used to be someone whose appearance was so unpredictable that it was impossible to even imagine what he would look like in love. Let alone someone who would blush and have their heart race at just a single word from him.
Even when he coaxed her, it was no longer the pampering of an elder. He would use just the right amount of flirting to make the young girl's heart race.
In moments of confusion, she might even have the illusion that the two of them were already interacting like a couple.
She harbored resentment and unspeakable grievances about the past.
Actually, she was being coaxed by him little by little, especially by Li Xiran's mature gentleness, just like the beautiful desserts in the glass shop window that she could never resist.
He said that an apology is not something that can be done with just a simple "I'm sorry".
Therefore, he will take the initiative to reflect on his mistakes, admit them, explain the reasons to her, and take action to apologize, including taking care of her feelings of retaliation and giving her various apology gifts.
"Nuan Nuan, what's different?" Seeing her silence, Li Xiran asked again.
The young lady quickly finished the meat in her bowl, then stood up and said, "It's not something that can be explained in a few words. But I have an appointment with Xixi, so I'll be leaving now."
Li Xiran immediately stood up and grabbed her wrist, "Wait a minute."
He walked to his desk and took a black velvet gift box from the drawer. "See if you like it."
Shang Xinuan took the necklace and opened it; it was a platinum magnolia flower necklace.
From its exquisite craftsmanship to the diamonds it's set with, it's easy to see that this is another high-end private custom-made piece.
"The gifts you give me are always my favorites."
It's not hard to guess what the young lady likes; it's just that many of them are too niche.
Take flowers for example. Most girls like roses, but she prefers magnolias and has a yard full of them.
Everyone in Shanghai knows about it, but very few people actually take the magnolia tree seriously.
But only Li Xiran, who is not good at expressing his emotions, would pay attention to her every move, understand her preferences, and remember every little detail that she finds interesting.
Perhaps this was a subconscious action that even Li Xiran himself didn't notice.
It's true that when you love someone, you're afraid you're not giving them enough.
"But why are you suddenly giving me a gift?" There haven't been any holidays like Valentine's Day lately.
"You've been with me at the hospital all this time, so it's only right that you give Miss a thank-you gift."
According to Chen Ti, he could just pick out anything suitable for Shangxin Nuan on the street and make up a reason to send it over.
Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that he always had the little girl in his heart.
"Thank you." Shang Xin's heart was pounding like fireworks; she felt uneasy staying even a minute longer. "Shall I go now?"
"Warm and cozy." Li Xiran leaned against his desk. "Since you like the gift, can I have a hug?"
"As a return gift?"
-
After Shang Xinuan left, Chen Ti knocked on the door.
Li Xiran still had a smile on his lips, and his tone was cheerful as he said, "Come in."
"The Chen family has replied. Their attitude remains firm; they refuse to exchange shares in any way and will not issue any apology or statement regarding Chen Shaoyi's situation."
Li Xiran pinched the bridge of his nose. "The Chen family has always believed that Father was at fault first, that he deceived them for ten years and caused the Chen family to lose face."
Li Qianyun's death dealt a severe blow to Chen Shaoyi, and the Chen family suffered immense humiliation.
"However, Old Master Li never intended to bring you back to his ancestral home. Even his will was entirely about protecting Madam Chen."
"So what? The dead can't prove it."
This is a deep-seated problem for Chen Shaoyi, and it cannot be explained in just a few words.
"This matter cannot be handled through any commercial means. She is a woman. Her husband died when their relationship was at its best. Before she could even grieve, she learned that her husband had an illegitimate child." Li Xiran said in a deep voice, "If the Chen family really wages a media war against us, the deceased may rest in peace, but the living will not be able to have peace."
In a society that upholds public order and good morals, Li Xiran's status as an illegitimate child is indeed not honorable.
If he were to use forceful methods to seize power from Chen Shaoyi, who raised him, he would likely be drowned in public condemnation.
"So, what do we do now?"
The key to breaking through this issue lies mostly with Chen Shaoyi.
Although she is mentally unstable, she is not completely insane. With the help of medication, she can still act like a normal person.
"Keep an eye on the Chen family. I think they don't want to lose the Li family as a nominal in-law." These deeply entrenched financial families want both face and substance.
They want the profits, but they don't want to suffer any losses.
"good."
"Tell the hospital to treat Chen Shaoyi with courtesy." Li Xiran lowered his eyes. "This is my father's wish."
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