70 Extra 5
The story of how little Mianmian fell in love at first sight with a boy seven years her senior on an airplane was initially something the Li family would tell every year.
It wasn't until Mianmian was ten years old that she suddenly realized she was being rather unreserved.
Especially now that she's the big sister of elementary schools in Shanghai, with a bunch of underlings who depend on her for support, having that past relationship seems to really damage her reputation.
So, as soon as Mianmian was put down, she had the driver take her directly to the Li family's office building.
All the old employees of the Li family who had met Shangxinuan would say that the little princess and the young lady had the same pomp and circumstance.
From the moment she entered the main gate, she used to need to ask the security guard to help her swipe the elevator card when she was too short. Now that she's taller, she can walk right into the boardroom by herself.
When she pushed open the door, Li Xiran was discussing the final decisions of the morning's departmental meeting with Chen Ti.
Seeing that there were outsiders present, Mianmian still remained well-behaved and greeted Chen Ti, "Hello Uncle Ti, I have some personal matters to discuss with my dad right now. Could you give me a little time?"
Mianmian grew up in the Li family business, and many people witnessed her growth.
Chen Ti smiled indulgently, "Of course."
Li Xiran nodded, watched Chen Ti leave, then got up and put his arm around his daughter's shoulder, "What's wrong, Your Highness?"
Mianmian frowned and shook her father's hand off her shoulder. "You're so annoying, it's all your fault, Dad!"
Li Xiran was unaware of what had happened to his daughter. He first pressed her down on the sofa, then went to the storage cabinet to get the snacks he had prepared for her. "You're blaming me again? What's it about this time?"
"It's all Dad's fault" has almost become the Li family's motto.
Shang Xinuan sometimes deliberately imitates her daughter's coquettishness, and will shout at him in a high-pitched voice: It's all your husband's fault!
It is quite puzzling that Li Xiran, as the head of the Li family, has the lowest status in the family.
"snort!"
"Then you talk to your dad, and after I get off work, I'll go to the mall with you to pick out an apology gift, okay?"
Shangxin loves learning from Mianmian, and Mianmian sometimes resembles her mother.
She's not hard to appease. Just explain the reasons to her first, and then buy her enough of what she wants. You're sure to win her over.
"It's the older brother I met on the plane to my mother's school anniversary celebration when I was a child. You all tell the story of how I fell in love with him at first sight every year. Now our gang knows about it."
Li Xiran rested his chin on his hand, somewhat shocked. "Wow, there are gangs too. What are these? I've never heard of any of them before?"
"It's a mutual aid support group belonging to Li Xihe, or 'gang' for short," Mianmian explained.
"Mutual help? That's nice. I wonder what kind of business Chief Li mainly deals with, and whether there are any opportunities for cooperation?" Li Xiran could see that his daughter had shown organizational skills since she was a child. This was something that no amount of money or later learning could achieve, yet the little girl had sufficient self-learning ability.
"For example, if someone lives far away, or if no one is cooking for them today, or if someone's grades have dropped, or if there's a rift in the relationship between best friends or brothers, we'll help solve those problems."
It sounds a lot like a study support group.
"Then you are quite outstanding."
Mianmian interrupted Li Xiran's praise, "Dad, don't steer the conversation away from what's going on. I'm here to tell you about what happened before."
That year on the plane, she did indeed fall in love at first sight with an older boy.
But to her, who was just a little girl, it was simply that the older brother was very handsome, and people generally prefer simple and beautiful things.
So she spoke frankly about it, but she didn't expect her family to treat it as a joke.
Li Xiran had almost forgotten about that incident, but her daughter's mention of it brought it back to her mind.
“But we haven’t brought this up for two years,” Li Xiran explained.
Mianmian pouted, feeling frustrated and helpless. "Dad, do you know how difficult it is for me to have such a dark past in relationships as the gang leader?"
Li Xiran looked at his daughter's adult-like demeanor and tone, scratching his head in confusion.
You could say she's naive, but she actually managed to form a gang and become the leader of those kids.
You could say she's mature, but some of her behaviors are really hard to understand.
Moreover, the older Mianmian grew, the more beautiful she became, but her personality was like a boy's.
“Let me tell you, even though you’re still a primary school student, everyone has times when they are not trusted. When I first took over the Li family business, I also faced distrust and exclusion. As long as you stay on your own two feet, everything will be fine.”
Seeing that Mianmian was still in low spirits, he continued, "Besides, you genuinely liked that brother back then, didn't you? Every time you take a plane, you still habitually look around."
“Dad thinks we can’t deny the person we genuinely liked back then because of anything. Besides, that older brother didn’t do anything wrong. He even gave you candy. How can that be considered a dark chapter in your romantic history?”
Mianmian felt that Li Xiran made sense, but she still felt uncomfortable because of what her classmates said. "But now it's a little difficult for me to establish my authority in the gang. They think I like someone else, which is embarrassing."
Li Xiran sighed softly, "Silly child, you formed a gang to help others, but remember to help yourself too. Also, only by daring to face failure can people achieve victory."
Little Mianmian nodded. "Dad, I think I understand."
"It's good that you understand."
“There’s nothing wrong with liking someone. My dad always taught me that a lover is like armor, but they can also become a weakness that others can use to attack you. They question me only because I’m so good, and they want to use my weakness to make me back down.”
Li Xiran didn't understand their gang, so he didn't know what the child was struggling with.
But he only wanted his daughter to know that it was not shameful for others to know that he had liked someone. He hoped that his daughter could love and hate freely and unrestrainedly.
"Are you leaving again?"
Mianmian then slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Oh dear, I need to call an emergency meeting with my underlings. You wouldn't understand."
Li Xiran was given a disdainful look by his daughter, and before he could even say a final word, the little princess had already disappeared into the boardroom.
-
Since then, no one in the Li family has ever mentioned the story of the little princess when she was young.
As for that handsome older brother whose name was unknown, who was only known to be seven years older than her, he was also forgotten by everyone as Mianmian grew up.
By the time Li Xihe entered high school, she was already a young woman and a well-known school beauty at Shanghai No. 1 High School.
Many students from both this school and other schools would block the school gate just to catch a glimpse of her.
In response, many people have been trying to influence Li Xiran.
The man boasted in public about his daughter's charm, but secretly he and his wife would squat outside the school gate to observe her.
"Aren't we being ridiculous?" On a dark summer night, the couple, wearing sunglasses and black masks, squatted by the wall.
She was afraid her daughter would recognize the car, so she even walked to school.
"Being a father is not easy. I hope my daughter is liked, but I'm also afraid of being liked by too many people." Li Xiran still cherishes the simple happiness of his family.
Shang Xinu looked at her for a while, then took off her mask to catch her breath. "I've noticed that your father-in-law phobia is really severe."
Li Xiran tugged at her sleeve, signaling Shang Xinuan to lower her voice, and then asked, "What is father-in-law phobia syndrome?"
"That means you fathers are very afraid that the blond-haired man will kidnap your daughter."
Aren't you afraid?
Shang Xinuan glanced down at Li Xiran, who was still wearing a suit.
His pose, hiding in the corner, was absolutely hilarious.
"I believe in my daughter's ability to make choices; her aesthetic sense would never allow her to choose blond hair."
Mianmian showed her drawing ability from a very young age, and from then on, Shang Xinuan handed her over to Ruan Songyi to teach her step by step.
"Artists also have a curious side when it comes to aesthetics."
Shang Xinuan was too lazy to argue with Li Xiran anymore. She fanned herself with her hand and complained, "It's too hot, and there are so many mosquitoes. I'm going to sit in the milk tea shop across the street for a while. You can squat by yourself."
She still wanted to give her daughter plenty of freedom to choose. Liking or loving someone is a personal matter, like drinking water.
Parents cannot be a lifelong shield; she can only truly understand society through her own experiences.
Just as Li Xiran always proudly spoke of Mianmian's talent, loving someone is also a talent.
Money and power are the same things, but they cannot provide the same abilities.
After finishing her evening self-study session, Mianmian walked out of the school gate.
Indeed, quite a few people came up to her with love letters, but she politely declined them all.
Moreover, as soon as she stepped out of the school gate, she saw Shang Xinuan sitting in the milk tea shop.
"Mom." Mianmian walked in with her schoolbag on her back, still holding the love letter she hadn't had time to return. She didn't intend to hide it, so she just put it on the table. "Won't you be unable to sleep tonight if you drink milk tea?"
"Anyway, tomorrow is the weekend, it's a day off."
Weekends have been a habit Mianmian has had since she was a child.
Their family always goes out together on this day.
"Didn't Daddy come?" In Mianmian's memory, Li Xiran was always by Shang Xinuan's side.
Although she had heard many stories about her mother's unrequited love for her father since she was a child, she still felt that her father loved her mother more.
“He’s probably wandering around outside,” Shang Xinuan said, her gaze falling on several love letters on the table. “What’s this?”
Mianmian tapped the paper with her fingertip and frankly told the reporter, "A love letter."
"May I take a look?"
"This won't work."
Shang Xin chuckled softly, "Can't even Mom watch?"
Mianmian pursed her lips and replied, "I won't watch it either."
Aren't you going to look either?
Mianmian explained, "These were all given to me by others and I ran away immediately without having time to politely refuse. Since I don't intend to accept other people's kindness, it's best not to look at them."
Shang Xin nodded, "This is your decision, Mom won't interfere."
“...”
The mother and daughter sat quietly for a while, and Shang Xinuan finally couldn't resist her gossipy nature and asked, "Does Mianmian have someone she likes now?"
Perhaps startled by this unexpected question, Mianmian almost choked on her milk tea.
"Mom, why are you so gossipy?" They're just like best friends, always getting together to chat about their relationships while studying.
However, her girlfriends rarely asked her about it, partly because they thought Mianmian had many suitors, and partly because she had a boyish personality when she was young.
Before junior high school, everyone called her Brother Li.
"Just chatting."
Mianmian held her milk tea cup, unable to answer for a moment.
Based on Shang Xinuan's story of falling in love with Li Xiran in high school, she had basically figured out her daughter's feelings.
"Really not?"
"No."
Shang Xinuan said "Oh", then muttered, "You know about your mother's romantic history. I was originally thinking of giving you some advice, but it's fine if you don't."
The little princess, who had just been silent, immediately grabbed Shang Xinuan's sleeve again, "Mommy, you're so annoying!"
“Your father isn’t here, I swear I won’t tell him.”
Mianmian sighed, dipped her fingertip in some of the condensation droplets on the outside of the milk tea cup, and used it to draw lines on the window in front of her.
"Mom, do you remember the older brother I met on the plane when I was three years old?"
Shang Xin held a mouthful of milk tea in her mouth, unable to swallow or spit it out.
Of course she remembered, and Mianmian had even gotten angry because they kept bringing it up before.
I never expected that she would bring it up herself after so many years.
"I remember, a very handsome boy." The little boy's father was British, and his mother was Chinese.
That was the first time he went to his grandmother's house abroad to celebrate his parents' birthday.
Even Shang Xinuan and Li Xiran praised the little boy for being independent and sensible.
“He gave a speech at our school a while ago.” Mianmian has always been like a little boy, and it is only when he is mentioned that she rarely shows her shy and reserved side.
“That older brother is my senior. He studied at Cambridge, so he's also your junior, Mom.”
Shang Xinuan had finally figured out what had happened, and smiled as she patted her daughter's head, "Our Mianmian has finally really grown up."
"Mom, don't you feel bad because I like someone?"
Shang Xinuan smiled at her daughter, "Please, Your Highness, when your mother liked your father, she was only eighteen years old. If you like someone, just like them. The princess only needs to express it openly and honestly."
With Shang Xinuan's support, Mianmian's expression relaxed considerably. "Mom, he's really outstanding. I also want to apply to Cambridge University. I want to pursue my dreams and the person I like."
"Of course, Mom will always be your staunch supporter." Shang Xinu looked at her daughter with tender eyes, "But at the same time, Mom also wants to tell you that no matter how much you love someone, don't lose yourself."
"Yes, I will!"
Mianmian finished drawing the last stroke on the window, the outline of the boy's face.
At the same time, the boy stopped at the window, merging with the silhouette.
"So, you're waiting for him?"
Seeing Shang Xin and Mianmian sitting together, the boy confidently walked into the milk tea shop.
His facial features have hardly changed since he was a child, so even after many years, he can still be recognized at a glance.
However, as the boy grew up, his expression became more cheerful and sunny.
"Hello, Auntie, it's been a long time." The boy obviously remembered her too. "I made an appointment with Mianmian to go to the bookstore to recommend some study materials for her. After we had a late-night snack, I took her home."
Shang Xinuan glanced at Mianmian and nodded, "Okay, I won't disturb your date."
Mianmian blushed and whispered reproachfully, "Mommy, he doesn't know that I..."
Shang Xinu suppressed a laugh and didn't expose the two of them. "Go on, be careful."
Watching the two leave side by side, it wasn't long before Li Xiran seemed to have seen something of great importance and ran to find her.
"Guess what I just saw?"
Shang Xinuan threw the empty milk tea cup into the trash can, stood up, and took Li Xiran's arm as they walked out. "What can you see? You're all flustered. Are you still the same Li Xiran who can shake Shanghai with a stomp of his foot?"
"I saw my daughter following a blond guy, a blond guy!"
Shang Xinuan then remembered that the little boy had blond hair and blue eyes.
"Um?"
"Even though it's just his back, I can already imagine him riding a ghost fire and bombing Wan Palace someday in the future."
Shang Xinuan scratched her head helplessly, thinking that Li Xiran was getting cuter as he got older. "Your daughter has told you more than once to watch less short videos. How old are you? You're almost 60, my handsome old man."
Playing with these kinds of internet memes is really speechless.
"Honey, I've realized you really don't have any worries at all."
Shang Xinuan took a step, her toes landing on the reflection of the two of them holding hands on the ground. "How old is our daughter this year?"
"17 years old."
"Have you forgotten that I fell in love with you when I was 18?"
Looking back, they realized that they had been married for over twenty years.
The mirrors by the roadside no longer reflect their youthful appearance.
Looking at the students in school uniforms walking past the two, the sense of temporal and spatial discontinuity is particularly strong.
“Our daughter has grown up, and it’s perfectly normal for her to have someone she likes. As parents, we can provide her with many things, but love is the only thing we can’t protect for a lifetime.”
Li Xiran calmed down and walked home hand in hand with Shang Xinuan.
“I know you’ve always wanted to hand over the Li family business to your daughter, thinking she has the ability to manage a company. But I also think that for a business leader, ability is one aspect, but experience is another.”
"Only someone who has experienced love and hate, and the coldness and warmth of human relationships, knows how to regulate her own temperature."
Li Xiran sighed, looking at the young couple holding hands in front of him. "I understand the reasons, but I am a father. I understand men and I know the complexities of this world."
“We are very lucky to have met each other. So I am afraid that we will use up all that luck and our daughter will suffer.”
Shang Xinuan looked up at him, pointed to her eyes, and said, "I also suffered a lot of injustices back then."
“I am Shang Xinuan! Do you know how many people in Shanghai pursued me back then? Even Shang Xinuan suffered grievances, which shows that love does not discriminate based on background. Everyone has to go through life in this mortal world.”
Li Xiran stopped in his tracks, let out another long sigh, and then hugged his wife. "Do you resent me?"
"I was very resentful at the time, but by the time you caught up with me in the desert, I had actually softened." However, she still couldn't get over that hurdle in her heart, so she stubbornly said, "We are where we are today because of your persistence."
Love doesn't care about age, power, or background; it can only be fulfilled when two people are mutually committed.
"But I'm still a little, just a tiny bit unhappy." After all, she was his beloved princess. "Sigh, I'll go back to the Shang family tomorrow."
"What's wrong? Are you unhappy and want to go back to my parents' house?"
"I just feel that when I married you back then, your family is how I feel now."
Shang Xi chuckled, "You're really childish, Chairman Li!"
Li Xiran laughed, "Alright, my dear wife, hurry up and comfort me. I'm really going to have insomnia tonight."
Shang Xinuan no longer hid anything and said, "You know the blond guy you're talking about."
As if he had heard some important news, Li Xiran immediately recalled everyone he knew, as well as his friends' children.
Even Mianmian's classmates went through the process of recalling it.
"Are you sure I know them, or did they just dye their hair recently?" He genuinely didn't remember having any blond hair.
Shang Xinuan pursed her lips and revealed, "Mianmian was three years old. It was during the Cambridge anniversary celebration that she fell in love at first sight with a handsome mixed-race boy of Chinese and British descent on the plane."
"..." Li Xiran was silent for a moment, then as if he had taken a hit, he tried to suppress the smile on his face and murmured, "Isn't that still just yellow hair?"
On her way home, Shang Xinuan repeated this countless times.
How childish! Mr. Li!
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 19:35:05 and 22:21:06 on July 5, 2023!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 124 (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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