Chapter 302: It's better to cherish children than to let them know nothing about their background...
He returned in the early hours to handle work in Hong Kong, and then in the afternoon he had to go to the United States with the "Big City, Small Love" crew to film on location. Therefore, no matter how "willing" he was, he dared not go to the banquet that evening...
Li Sishi waved goodbye to the slightly cunning but not very clever cat, feeling both amused and annoyed. She then turned to her parents and said, "Daddy, Mommy, I already told you you don't need to come pick me up. I have scenes to film this afternoon, and I'll drive back to the mountaintop myself tonight..."
“You know your dad’s personality, he’s always been worried about you…” Zhou Jiaxian smiled, suppressing Li Jinhao’s nervous movements as he tried to calm himself down, before continuing to talk to Li Sishi, “Your grandma originally wanted to pick you up from the airport, but it’s just too hot now. We finally managed to persuade her to stay by making her prepare a big dinner tonight…”
Zhou Jiaxian didn't say what came next, but the implication was quite obvious: It's a good thing that Madam Li didn't come to pick them up at the airport, otherwise it probably wouldn't just be Li Jinhao who was upset.
After all, Li Jinhao just sees everyone as a pig trying to steal his cabbage, while Old Madam Li is a bit more "sophisticated." A single, imperceptible sidelong glance from her can make someone suddenly wonder if they've become a scheming scoundrel being scrutinized by a cold-faced empress dowager...
The psychological pressure was incomparable to that when facing Li Jinhao, who appeared to be in a state of emotional breakdown as his father-in-law.
Li Sishi chuckled twice, trying to dodge the question, then, following Zhou Jiaxian's gaze, she affectionately took Li Jinhao's arm: "Daddy, so many people are watching, please give me some face..."
Hearing the slight curl in Li Sishi's voice, Rong Juezhang, who had been standing quietly to the side, suddenly poked Li Jinhao in the back: "Don't let her brush you off so easily. There are some things that need to be clarified, and those definitely need to be clarified..."
"Hey, don't cause me any more trouble here, okay?!" Li Sishi immediately glared at him, annoyed.
"For those disobedient children, we can't let them get away with it so easily." Despite Li Sishi's protesting gaze, Rong Juezhang, a former notorious troublemaker among relatives and friends, showed absolutely no intention of helping her.
Not only did he not help, he also tried to tear other people's umbrellas apart—as if only by adding fuel to the fire like this could the show become more exciting and entertaining...
He inexplicably pressured me into agreeing to a "proper interrogation" after dinner tonight.
Li Sishi, with tears welling up in her eyes, turned around and followed.
The crew of "The Beautiful Woman's Seven Marriages" finished filming the heartbroken scene of returning home to recuperate after losing her husband. For no reason, Director Zhang praised her again, showering her with compliments on her quick emotional transitions and particularly touching crying scenes.
Perhaps because of his age and the worldly experience he has seen, Director Zhang always takes a detached, spectator-like attitude towards the good shows of these young people. As long as it doesn't affect his work, he is generally easy to talk to.
After finishing her afternoon work, Li Sishi hurriedly packed her things and drove to the Li family mansion.
In the southern summer, the sky always gets dark very late. When Li Sishi drove back to the gate of the Li family mansion, the afterglow of the setting sun had not yet completely dissipated. Stepping out of the car and seeing those colorful lights and shadows, she inexplicably calmed her slightly anxious heart a little.
Well, since we're already here, we might as well make the best of it. There's nothing we can't say about our family...
With this mindset, Li Sishi walked through the door opened by the servant with a face full of "ready to die" expression.
"Why are you here too?" Li Sishi was surprised to see Rong Juezhang, this "uninvited guest," as soon as she entered the door. Her plans seemed to be affected by his sudden appearance, so she couldn't help but stare at him and exclaim in surprise.
"I'm just here for a free meal, why are you making such a fuss?" Rong Juezhang smiled politely at Madam Li, then turned to Li Sishi. "After all, someone has been eating at my house quite a few times, and we're all so familiar with each other, so it's only proper if we give and take."
As Li Sishi cautiously moved closer to Old Madam Li, Rong Juezhang maintained an exceptionally dignified and elegant demeanor, completely unlike the mischievous, monkey-like figure she remembered…
"Grandma, I'm back! Did you miss me?" Despite being wary of monkeys, Li Sishi still really liked to act cute with Old Madam Li. Perhaps it was because of the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren.
"Oh, let Grandma check if you've been eating well these past few days in Qianqiu Kingdom. You seem to have lost weight again..." The old lady always seemed to think that the younger generation wasn't plump enough. After looking Li Sishi over carefully, she felt sorry for her again.
The entertainment industry is only glamorous on the surface. Even a beautiful child like her granddaughter has to maintain her figure to look good on camera, which makes her look a bit thin in real life. If Li Sishi hadn't been so determined to make a name for herself in this industry, she would never have let her precious granddaughter suffer like that.
Sigh, kids always have their own ideas when they grow up.
She'd be worse off if she interfered too much; since she was watching from the sidelines, she certainly wouldn't let her precious granddaughter suffer.
Having experienced the regret of Li Jinhao and Zhou Jiaxian, a couple who should have been a perfect match but missed each other for many years, Madam Li is now quite open-minded about everything concerning Li Sishi.
Therefore, Rong Juezhang's actions of coming here under the guise of a visit to give her a heads-up and to speak well of Li Sishi, both openly and secretly, were a bit overthinking.
However, the child's concern for her granddaughter shows that she is indeed very caring—the effort of having her granddaughter act as a go-between for the mother and son has certainly paid off.
Although it's still difficult for someone like Rong Juezhang to reconcile with his parents, at least with his granddaughter's mediation, he won't be left alone at home, overthinking and having too many thoughts.
It's a pity that these two kids are so good at everything, and they get along so well, the only problem is that they don't click...
Remembering the joke the two sisters made about their children getting married before they were married, how they lost contact after they got married and were delayed by a bunch of things in their husbands' families, and in the end, nothing came of it... Old Madam Li still felt a little sad.
Now, not to mention that the two of them already have three generations of children, the thoughts of young people in this open-minded era mean that the casual remarks made by young ladies decades ago are no longer reliable.
Unaware that his good care of Li Sishi had reminded Old Madam Li of their old promise from many years ago, Rong Juezhang, who was too lazy to look at Li Sishi snuggling in Old Madam Li's arms, was idly looking around when he noticed an old peace charm hanging on the travel bag that Li Sishi had casually placed aside.
Judging from the design of the amulet, it was clearly quite old and could only have been made by a master craftsman... But what attracted his attention was not the old amulet itself, but the jade carving attached to the amulet's cord that looked like a black comma, which was actually half a black yin-yang symbol.
When he was a child, he also wore half a white yin-yang symbol around his neck.
Back then, his relationship with his mother wasn't as distant as it is now, so his mother showed him, her youngest child, a certain amount of patience and affection, thinking that this would keep his philandering father. Of course, as it turns out, old habits die hard, and his father, after restraining himself for a while, relapsed. Thus, he went from being the pampered youngest son to an "abandoned child" without parental care.
As for why he ended up with the half of the yin-yang fish, besides the fact that he was favored at the time, there was another very important reason: he was young enough that he was almost a generation younger than his eldest siblings.
So his mother told him when he was little that although her best friend's generation didn't have a daughter, if it were her best friend's son...
If the next generation has a daughter, then he, as the youngest son, can barely manage to fulfill the "old covenant of eternal brotherhood"...
Although this old story had long since faded away with his lost favor, and the half of the white yin-yang fish had been forgotten somewhere, Rong Juezhang was still startled when he suddenly saw the black yin-yang fish that matched the half of the white yin-yang fish.
Not to mention that he has no plans to settle down and start a family right now, even if he did, he wouldn't even consider taking advantage of such a young and inexperienced woman right next to him!
He knows his own situation best. Someone like him, who is definitely better as a friend than a lover, is best left alone to avoid harming those around him.
So—does Li Sishi actually know the meaning behind her half of the black yin-yang fish?!
After much internal struggle, it was dinnertime. Rong Juezhang, who had originally planned to come and help out, play a prank on Li Sishi, and mooch a meal, was now completely unable to eat.
But he had to pretend to enjoy it on the surface—thankfully, his acting skills were so good that he didn't give himself away.
After seemingly calmly finishing her sumptuous dinner, Li Sishi put down her bowl and announced something with remarkable composure: she felt that, given her current age and circumstances, she would try dating if given the opportunity.
"Have you found a suitable candidate?!" Ignoring Li Jinhao, who was being held down by Zhou Jiaxian, Old Madam Li asked repeatedly.
Li Sishi shook her head: "Not yet. I'm just giving you a heads-up, since I can't say for sure when that opportunity that sparks my interest will arrive—but because of the nature of my work, I'm letting you know in advance so you won't be the last to find out..."
"Because you are my closest family members, I must let you know this before other outsiders!"
Li Sishi's words were carefully considered before she spoke them. Her main point was to use the distinction between insiders and outsiders to make them feel special and to make them more accepting of her.
However, while they outwardly accepted it calmly, Li Jinhao suddenly pulled Rong Juezhang, who was still waiting at the table for dessert, upstairs with a stern face, saying he had something to tell him—
"Hey, this really has nothing to do with me, I've done my best, okay!" Judging from his posture, it seemed like he was going to drag him upstairs to interrogate him. Rong Juezhang turned around and saw that Li Jinhao had closed the door, so he immediately raised his hand to show his support.
Li Jinhao ignored his explanation and continued rummaging through the corner of the bookshelf with a grim face. Judging from the intensity of his expression, Rong Juezhang had no doubt whatsoever.
He might pull out some weapon that would prevent him from ever seeing the sunrise again...
Just as Rong Juezhang had his eyes fixed on the window next to him, ready to use his acting skills to leap out at any moment, Li Jinhao finally managed to find his thing: "Here you go."
"What... how did I get this fish here?!" Rong Juezhang's eyes widened when he saw that what Li Jinhao was holding was the half of the white yin-yang fish that he himself couldn't find.
“I took it when I went to your house last time.” Li Jinhao calmly revealed the truth about Rong Juezhang’s missing belongings, then continued gritting his teeth, “I knew those people outside weren’t trustworthy; all they do is seduce my Ah May all day long…”
"There's nothing we can do about it. A daughter grows up and her world changes. You're a father, not a husband. You can't take care of her forever!" Although Rong Juezhang was somewhat helpless about Li Jinhao's almost obsessive protectiveness of his daughter, he couldn't help but remind him.
“Yes, so I decided that rather than letting outsiders who don’t know the background succeed, I’d rather let someone I know well take the lead…” Li Jinhao’s tone became colder and colder as he spoke.
“At least someone who knows you well won’t mistreat Ah May, and you can keep an eye on her from time to time…” Rong Juezhang subconsciously nodded in agreement with Li Jinhao’s words, then suddenly jolted awake. “Wait a minute…”
What do you mean by looking at me with such a strange expression?!
A minute later, Li Sishi, who was helping to bring out the sweet soup from the kitchen, looked up and saw a humanoid figure that looked like Rong Juezhang tumbling down the stairs, then dragging his half-lost shoes and dashing out of her front door...
Li Sishi glanced at the door, then at the upstairs, and finally at the sweet soup. She was quite curious: What did Daddy say to his cheap cousin that scared him so much that he didn't even bother to eat the sweet soup and "walked away without shoes and clogs"?
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