Chapter 3

“Your uncle?” Lin Qiuzu’s eyes seemed to light up for a moment. He quickly climbed out of bed, ignoring that he wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing, and sat casually at the edge of the bed. “You mean Li Sipei?”

Li Yan put on a hoodie, his expression subtly glancing at the unusually excited Lin Qiuzu. “You know my uncle?”

“I don’t know him,” Lin Qiuzu replied. “But I’ve heard my dad talk about him.”

Li Yan instantly understood, a hint of mockery appearing in his eyes.

Heh.

Without fail, anyone who found out about his uncle’s identity would react like Lin Qiuzu did. Actually, Lin Qiuzu was being restrained. Some people who hadn’t even seen his uncle’s face a few times were already begging him to help introduce them, throwing away all dignity just to get closer to his uncle.

However, he and his uncle weren’t familiar at all. Not to mention his uncle rarely attended the Li family’s gatherings, even when he did, it was never their generation that could approach him. The elders would already surround his uncle completely.

However, Lin Qiuzu’s unabashed reaction still made Li Yan somewhat uncomfortable. He quickly put on his pants, turned, and reached for the phone on the coffee table.

Suddenly, Lin Qiuzu hugged him from behind, rubbing his face against his back and coquettishly said, “Take me with you. It’s so boring to spend the night alone in the hotel.”

“Are you crazy?” Li Yan pulled Lin Qiuzu’s hands away and turned around to glare at him. “I’m going home, not back to school!”

Lin Qiuzu blinked and said, “I know.”

“Then why are you going?!”

“I’m bored. Besides, I’ve been to your house before. Earlier this year, I went with my parents to visit your family for New Year’s. Your mom knows we’re friends.”

Li Yan sneered, “Yeah, friends who have been to bed a few times.”

“I just don’t want to spend the night alone in the hotel.” Lin Qiuzu wrapped around Li Yan’s arm, still using that soft and sticky tone. “Either you take me with you, or—”

He paused for a moment and then smiled with his teeth showing. “Tonight, I’ll go to Rizhao ressort to find Mi Zhao and let him see the marks you left on me. I’ll also let him know you couldn’t help yourself and slept with me while begging for reconciliation.”

Li Yan froze. After being surprised, anger immediately welled up. “Lin Qiuzu! You’re courting death!”

Lin Qiuzu not only wasn’t scared, but also tilted his head in amusement. “You dare do it but not own up to it? You’ve been trying so hard to find out about Mi Zhao, don’t tell me you want me to get ahead of you?”

Li Yan’s face turned ashen, and he suddenly felt extremely irritated.

It’s all Lin Qiuzu’s fault. Even after being rejected, he kept finding ways to tempt him. Li Yan knew very well the tension between Lin Qiuzu and Mi Zhao. He also knew that Lin Qiuzu’s actions were just to get back at Mi Zhao…

Should’ve just endured it.

Now, with his passion cooled down, Li Yan looked at Lin Qiuzu’s delicate but somewhat feminine face under the light. Without the makeup, Lin Qiuzu’s flaws became evident.

His eyes weren’t as bright as Mi Zhao’s, his nose wasn’t as sharp as Mi Zhao’s, and his skin wasn’t as good as Mi Zhao’s.

He was nothing compared to Mi Zhao.

Except for his expression, his gaze…

Mi Zhao would never have such an alluring expression and gaze in this lifetime.

Thinking about Mi Zhao, Li Yan strangely calmed down in his heated emotions. The corner of his mouth curled up, his tone neither cold nor warm. “Fine, you want to come? Then come.”

Let’s see if his uncle will bother with him.

The next morning, the extended car arranged by the Li family arrived at the villa area in Rizhao ressort.

Li Sipei, already dressed, sat in his wheelchair. In front of him, there was a floor-to-ceiling window almost taking up an entire wall of the living room. He looked at the greenery outside, his gaze deep in thought, not knowing what he was pondering. Several people behind him were still busily packing.

Although Li Sipei was only staying for one night, those around him didn’t dare be careless. If anything went wrong, even just from the old madam’s side, they would be in deep trouble.

After graduating from university, Ruan Xin had been working by Li Sipei’s side, always cautious and meticulous. After the third check of the things that had been packed, she quietly walked up behind Li Sifei. “Third master, everything’s ready.”

“Mm.” Li Sifei responded absent-mindedly, not showing any signs of leaving.

Seeing this, Ruan Xin didn’t dare act rashly. She carefully glanced at Li Sifei’s expression, realizing that Li Sifei wasn’t looking at the plants in the yard. His gaze was instead fixed on a building in the distance, faintly visible through the swaying tree crowns.

Is he looking at the villa next door?

Ruan Xin was puzzled.

At this moment, Li Sifei suddenly spoke. “Mrs.Gui.”

“Yes?” The caretaker, Mrs. Gui, responded.

Mrs. Gui was the caregiver assigned by the ressort, responsible for cleaning and completing simple tasks, so she wouldn’t be accompanying Li Sipei.

“At about seven or eight tonight, go out and take a look. If that young man is still waiting for me at the same spot, you can tell him—” At this point, Li Sipei seemed to remember something, and his voice suddenly trailed off.

After a while, he said, “Forget it.”

Mrs. Gui was confused. “Do you want me to tell that young man something?”

“No,” Li Sipei said. “Don’t say anything.”

He wasn’t sure the person would even wait for him, so it would be unnecessary to be presumptuous.

Li Sipei retracted his gaze and said to Ruan Xin, “Let’s go.”

Rizhao ressort was built halfway up Rizhao Mountain. To get there, one must first arrive at Tuanxiang City and then drive back to A City. The total distance was 170 kilometers, which took about two to three hours by car.

When the car reached the Wangjiang Villa area in the southern part of the city, it was already noon.

Usually, by this time, the Li family would already be gathered around the rectangular dining table, eating. But today was different. The food was still being kept warm in the kitchen, and no one was seen in the dining room.

The elderly Madam Li, who had intentionally returned two hours early, took the lead and looked out at the door. She was dressed in a royal blue qipao, her jet-black hair neatly styled into an updo. Her well-maintained face still showed traces of the beauty she had in her younger years.

Behind her, a group of people followed, young and old, men and women, with various expressions on their faces.

Li Yan stood at the edge of the crowd, hands in his pockets, looking at the radiant and joyfully expressive Madam Li at the front, feeling quite annoyed as he scratched his head.

He took out his phone to check.

It was already past 12:05. It would take another two or three hours to drive to Rizhao ressort, and by the time he got there, it would probably be dark. He wasn’t sure if he could even find Mi Zhao.

“Brother?” His cousin whispered beside him. “Why do you keep looking at your phone? Is something wrong?”

“No.” Li Yan gruffly muttered two words.

What could he do even if something was wrong? Could he just leave and walk away from here? His father would break his legs if he did.

Li Yan shoved the phone back into his pocket, wondering if he should find somewhere to relax for a bit, when suddenly Lin Qiuzu nudged him from the side.

Lin Qiuzu’s voice was excited: “A car’s coming!”

At the same time, the crowd started to buzz with excitement.

The leading Madam Li immediately recognized their car and hurried down the stairs to greet it. The other elders of the Li family, seeing this, quickly put on smiles and followed behind. The car had just come to a stop, and the door was already surrounded by people.

Lin Qiuzu also wanted to join the crowd, but before he could take a step, Li Yan grabbed him by the arm.

Li Yan stood still, looking wary: “What are you doing?”

“What can I do? Just go join the fun.” Lin Qiuzu struggled a bit, but couldn’t break free. Seeing Li Yan’s unpleasant expression, he gave up.

However, not long after, Lin Qiuzu’s restless heart started to stir again. “Didn’t you come back because of your uncle? Are you really not going to take a look?”

Li Yan saw right through Lin Qiuzu’s intentions and, with a forced smile, tilted his head slightly toward the front: “Are you sure you’ll fit in?”

Lin Qiuzu fell silent.

Even if he could fit in, it wouldn’t be appropriate to!

As it turned out, Li Yan was right. Since it was rare for Third Master Li to come back, the younger generation had no chance to speak. They all sat at the farthest end of the table in the dining room, away from Third Master Li.

This was the first time Lin Qiuzu had seen Third Master Li, and from that moment on, his eyes never left him.

The long rectangular dining table was filled with over twenty people.

Not a small number, but not so many that anyone could be ignored either.

However, throughout the entire meal, Third Master Li’s gaze never once shifted toward them.

•

While Li Yan was irritated, Li Sipei was also bothered.

After years, returning home, it felt like his cousins and cousins-in-law had all grown mouths, chattering nonstop from the moment he got out of the car. Even now, they showed no signs of stopping.

Li Sipei didn’t want to engage with them, so he focused on his meal.

Today was the anniversary of Second Master Li’s death^[1], who had been buried in a private cemetery outside the city. This was why all the Li family members had returned. After lunch, they would go to the cemetery to pay respects.

Although the Li family appeared large and prosperous, their internal relationships were not that complicated and could easily be summarized in a few sentences.

The Li family originally had two sons: Eldest Master and Second Master.

The second Master was Li Sipei’s father, who had married the daughter of Zuo Yue Group, Pei Yu. The couple had no children for many years, and only when they were in their thirties did they have Li Sipei through IVF. Li Sipei was a premature baby, and his health was poor. Afterward, due to some accidents, he lived a more secluded life.

As for the Li family’s various sons and daughters, they all came from the eldest master and his two wives.

However, due to the fact that Madam Li, Pei Yu, was the head of the family, His Father’s death anniversary became one of the most important occasions for the Li family. Even if Pei Yu and Li Sipei did not return, the family would still gather to pay their respects.

After paying respects, Li Sipei sat under the shade of a tree to avoid the heat, his cold gaze watching his cousins and cousins-in-law, who were running around to help. He remembered that on the eldest master’s death anniversary, these cousins had been too lazy to even lift a finger and had made the assistants do all the work.

“Did you let Xu Jun go?” Pei Yu’s voice came from behind.

Li Sifei did not turn around and just hummed.

“No wonder he suddenly came to confess those things to me and even asked to be transferred to Z Province.” Pei Yu walked up beside Li Sipei, and an assistant immediately opened a folding chair for her. After sitting down, she sighed, “You still can’t stand having sand in your eyes.”

Li Sipei remained silent, his gaze fixed ahead.

Pei Yu turned to look at her only son and felt a pang of bitterness in her heart: “Since you’re back this time, why not stay a little longer before leaving? Mom hasn’t talked to you in a long time.”

Li Sifei answered coldly, “I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”

“That soon? But you just got back today,” Pei Yu said in surprise. Then, quickly thinking of something, she turned to look at her husband’s tombstone, her voice becoming hoarse, “Are you still thinking about your father’s matter…”

“Mom.”

The words were interrupted.

Pei Yu paused, quickly closing her mouth and turning to look. She saw Li Sipei’s face turning colder: “I don’t want to discuss that matter again.”

“…” Pei Yu was silent for a moment, then forced a smile, “Alright, alright, no more discussion. Let’s talk about something else.”

There was something else she had been wanting to say. The eldest master’s eldest grandson was already in college, and the youngest one could already run around. Yet, as for her and her late husband not only did they have no grandchildren, but they hadn’t even seen the shadow of a daughter-in-law.

Li Sifei, now thirty-two, should be thinking about personal matters.

Before she could even say it, two people suddenly appeared, pushing and shoving each other.