Chapter 42

Li Yan was not usually someone who could be easily pushed around, but at this moment, he was genuinely frightened by Li Sipei’s presence. Even after being violently dragged three or four meters by Mi Zhao, he had no awareness to resist.

Enduring the pain on his back, he scrambled to his feet in a fluster.

“Uncle…”

His words were cut off by Li Sipei: “You two know each other?”

It was clear that the question was directed at Mi Zhao.

Li Yan froze for a moment before quickly shutting his mouth.

Mi Zhao recalled how jealous Li Sipei had been on the night before the school break and immediately felt guilty. However, he also knew that the more he tried to hide, the more Li Sipei would overthink things. After some hesitation, he stammered, “He’s… my ex.”

After speaking, he carefully observed Li Sipei’s expression.

But Li Sipei remained calm as ever, as if he wasn’t concerned at all about the scene Li Yan had just caused. This made Mi Zhao feel a deep sense of relief.

As long as Li Sipei wasn’t angry. If he got mad, it would take forever to coax him.

Just now, Mi Zhao had been completely blinded by rage at Li Yan’s absurd behavior. Looking back, he realized he shouldn’t have acted so aggressively in front of Li Sipei. It wasn’t just a matter of whether Li Sipei would find him annoying—more importantly, he was worried about scaring him.

If he had known this would happen, he would have just held it in and not gone to the restroom. Then he wouldn’t have run into Li Yan, and none of this would have followed.

Taking a deep breath, Mi Zhao brushed the stray strands of hair from his forehead and coldly said to Li Yan, “Leave.”

Li Yan stood frozen like a piece of dried meat in the wind, his face alternating between pale and blue. He ignored Mi Zhao’s words and instead looked nervously at Li Sipei.

Soon, Li Sipei spoke: “Since he’s already here, let him stay.”

Mi Zhao looked at Li Sipei in surprise.

Li Sipei calmly added, “I know him too.”

Mi Zhao: “…”

At that moment, he felt as if his soul had been shaken to its core.

“You know each other?!”

—

Originally, Mi Zhao had come with a stomach full of things he wanted to say to Li Sipei, but with the unexpected arrival of Li Yan, not only did he not get a word out, he ended up having an incredibly stifling meal.

After dinner, Li Yan, who seemed to have lost his soul, silently drifted away.

Mi Zhao helped Li Sipei into the car. Since neither of them wanted to go home and sit around, they asked Ruan Xin to drive to the largest park in City A.

In the center of the park was a large artificial lake, with several intersecting pathways around it, while the rest of the area was mostly grass and greenery.

Being a sunny weekend, the park was filled with people picnicking or walking their dogs.

Mi Zhao chose a lakeside bench and sat down, placing his backpack beside him. Li Sipei’s wheelchair was positioned on the other side of the bench.

Sunlight scattered across the lake’s surface, breaking into countless shimmering reflections. The lake was so vast that people on the opposite shore appeared as tiny moving silhouettes, treading on a field of golden light, resembling an abstract painting.

On any other day, Mi Zhao would have taken out his sketchbook and started drawing, but today, his mind was a chaotic mess, filled with tangled thoughts that made it impossible to focus.

He should have thought more about this sooner.

Li Sipei and Li Yan…

Both had the surname “Li.” There was a good chance they were related.

No—before today, he had never even considered it. He had always assumed that Li Sipei was just a poor little thing in need of protection.

But now, everything he had discussed with Yan Qinting finally made sense.

How could Li Sipei, a member of the prestigious Li family ever be poor enough to need a sponsor?

So it had all been his own mistaken assumptions.

If it weren’t for Yan Qinting’s reminder, he might have continued deluding himself for a long time, foolishly believing he was playing the role of some benefactor.

Recalling his past actions, Mi Zhao’s face burned so hot it could fry an egg. His toes curled with embarrassment, as if he wanted to dig an entire castle into the ground.

He was such an idiot!

How could he have been so dumb?!

Mi Zhao squinted at Ruan Xin, who was sitting on another bench not far away. She was still dressed in her sharp professional suit, looking both beautiful and capable—completely different from the caretakers he had encountered before.

As he thought about it, something suddenly came to mind. He turned to Li Sipei and asked, “Back at the villa, I often saw a man pushing you around for evening walks. Why did he disappear later?”

Li Sipei thought for a moment before replying, “Oh, him.”

He had long forgotten the man’s name, but he saw no reason to hide the truth. “He was someone my mom arranged to be by my side, but he used his position for personal gain and behaved inappropriately, so I let him go.”

Mi Zhao: “…”

So that was the truth.

He wished he could time travel and smack his past self. He had been so stupid!

Li Sipei glanced at Mi Zhao’s face, which was now nearly as red as a tomato, and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Mi Zhao felt his entire face and neck burning. How could he possibly admit the real reason? If Li Sipei found out that he had once positioned himself as some kind of sugar daddy, he would probably be so disgusted that he’d never speak to him again.

He shook his head and quickly changed the topic. “What’s your relationship with Li Yan?”

“He’s my father’s elder brother’s grandson, which makes him my grandnephew,” Li Sipei explained. “Among the male descendants, I’m ranked third, while his father is the eldest. That’s why he calls me either ‘Little Uncle’ or ‘Third Uncle.’”

The Li family’s hierarchy was rather complicated.

Li Da, the family patriarch, was extremely traditional. He believed only sons could carry on the family name, while daughters were destined to marry out. As a result, only male descendants were included in the family rankings, making Li Sipei the official third-born.

Li Da’s daughters were naturally dissatisfied. To fight for their share of the family inheritance, they went so far as to have their husbands marry into the family, changing all their children’s surnames to Li.

In the past, the younger generation called Li Sipei “Third Uncle.” Now, they had changed it to “Little Uncle,” but outsiders still referred to him as “Third Master.”

Of course, these were all trivial matters.

Li Sipei had no interest in the Li family’s internal power struggles. As far as he was concerned, Pei Yu could handle a dozen or twenty opponents on her own—he only needed to focus on living his own life.

Mi Zhao let out a quiet “Oh” in understanding.

Seeing how absent-minded he looked, Li Sipei asked, “Do you care that much about my relationship with Li Yan?”

Mi Zhao scratched his head. “Not that I care, it’s just… unexpected.”

—

“What?! That guy is related to Li Yan?!” Yan Qinting shot up from his chair.

Mi Zhao rushed forward and hushed him, whispering, “Keep your voice down! The dorm walls are thin!”

Yan Qinting smacked his own mouth in frustration before slumping back into his chair. Even so, he couldn’t hide his shock. With a hand over his mouth, he muttered, “Damn… What kind of luck do you have? Even a random guy you meet turns out to be connected to that scumbag.”

Mi Zhao mumbled, “Well, it’s not like they’re close relatives. Li Yan is his grandnephew—there’s a four-generation gap between them.”

Yan Qinting counted on his fingers. “Then that’s… actually a pretty distant relation.”

Mi Zhao thought so too. They were basically distant relatives.

He remembered Li Yan mentioning that many members of the Li family still lived in the ancestral estate. Having a key to the estate was a symbol of status—only true members of the Li family were allowed to have their own bedrooms inside.

And then there was Li Sipei—

Living alone in a friend’s house.

Was he overthinking things again? It seemed like Li Sipei wasn’t on good terms with the rest of the Li family.

Yan Qinting had grown up in A City and had met plenty of wealthy elites thanks to his parents. He had over a hundred high-status contacts just on WeChat alone. After some careful consideration, he decided to reach out to an older guy who was only three or four years his senior.

After confirming that the guy was available, he made a voice call.

The call was answered quickly.

After some awkward small talk, Yan Qinting got to the point. “Hey, I heard your family is on good terms with the Lis. Can I ask you about someone?”

The other person chuckled. “Who? Li Yan?”

Hearing that name, Yan Qinting gagged silently. Damn bad luck. “No, not Li Yan.”

“Ah, finally someone not asking me about Li Yan.” The guy grumbled, “So many girls keep asking me for his contact info. Sure, my family knows the Li, but I don’t even have a nodding acquaintance with Li Yan. That guy, honestly—”

His words came to an abrupt halt.

Realizing that he’d nearly badmouthed Li Yan out loud, he gave an awkward laugh and changed the subject. “Anyway, who do you want to ask about?”

Yan Qinting pretended not to notice his slip-up and played along. “Do you know a guy named Li Sipei?”

He made sure to enunciate each word clearly.

After he finished speaking, the other side went silent.

Yan Qinting frowned. “Hey, you there?”

“…Why are you asking about Li Sipei?”

“Oh, a friend of mine wanted to know.” Yan Qinting calmly used the excuse he had prepared in advance. “He met a guy named Li Sipei and asked me if he was related to Li Yan.”

“…”

Yan Qinting sensed something was off. “What’s wrong?”

“…Does your friend’s Li Sipei have any physical disabilities?”

Yan Qinting hesitated for a moment before replying, “He uses a wheelchair. Does that count?”

“…” The other person sighed. “Have you ever considered that maybe Li Sipei isn’t Li Yan’s distant relative, but rather the other way around—Li Yan is just a distant relative clinging to Li Sipei?”

“Huh?”

Yan Qinting didn’t get it. He glanced at Mi Zhao.

Mi Zhao was also leaning in to listen through the speakerphone, equally confused.

The other guy seemed to take a deep breath before explaining, “You know Madam Li, right? She has only one son. That son is Li Sipei.”

This revelation struck like a bolt of lightning, splitting open all the details Yan Qinting had overlooked.

After hanging up the call, he stared blankly at Mi Zhao. “Do you remember what I told you about Madam Li? The real head of the Li family? Most of the Li family businesses and properties—including the old estate where Li Yan and his parents live—are actually her private assets, meant for her son.”

Mi Zhao furrowed his brows, trying to recall. “Didn’t you say her son was disabled and became a recluse after an accident?”

Yan Qinting asked, “Is that guy disabled?”

“…Yeah.”

“Is that guy a recluse?”

“…” Mi Zhao hesitated before admitting, “Yeah.”

The reason Yan Qinting hadn’t made the connection earlier was simply that he never imagined that the son Madam Li cherished like a treasure would end up crossing paths with them.

But now, with this new information—every single clue fit perfectly.

He had heard that Li Sipei had a bad relationship with the rest of the Li family and never lived in the old estate again. That lined up exactly.

So—

That guy was Li Sipei.

That guy was Madam Li’s only son.

That guy was the very same legendary figure that countless industry giants dreamed of befriending but never even got close to.

Yan Qinting’s blood pressure spiked. Shocked and horrified, his heart nearly burst out of his chest. He shot to his feet and pointed a trembling finger at Mi Zhao.

“You’re doomed!” he cried. “You actually got involved with Madam Li’s son! If she finds out, she’ll kill you!!”

If Madam Li ever learned that Mi Zhao had once tried to sugar daddy her son…

Just the thought of it made Yan Qinting feel like fainting.

When he collapsed back into his chair, he was already picturing the perfect burial site for Mi Zhao.

Mi Zhao, you fool!!

Of all the people in the world, you just had to go after someone with the surname Li. Now look at you—congratulations, you just poked a sleeping tiger!