Chapter 4

Li Yan was subtly urged by his own mother, both directly and indirectly. The pressure was so overwhelming that his head felt like it was about to burst. He was already hesitant, and with Lin Qiuzu on the side fanning the flames, he was pushed and pulled until he slowly, reluctantly, made his way in front of Li Sipei.

Li Sipei and Pei Yu, who had been talking with Uncle Yan, immediately fell silent and turned to look at him.

Suddenly becoming the center of attention for two pairs of eyes, Li Yan felt nervous, swallowing repeatedly as his scalp began to tingle. These two were the most influential elders in the entire Li family. Even his parents, who were in their forties and fifties, had to flatter and please them, so Li Yan, as a younger generation, felt an immense pressure.

Taking several deep breaths, he forced himself to calm down.

“Second Madam, Uncle.”

Pei Yu raised an eyebrow at his words, her confused gaze circling Li Yan’s face several times.

After a few seconds, Li Sipei, with a cold tone, reminded him, “He’s the eldest son of Cousin, Li Yan.”

After saying that, Li Sipei still asked uncertainly, “Is that right?”

“… Yes.”

Pei Yu finally understood. “Oh, it’s little Yan. You’ve grown so big!”

Li Yan couldn’t believe that Pei Yu had forgotten who he was. After feeling Lin Qiuzu’s surprised gaze, his face immediately turned bright red.

Pei Yu smiled kindly. “Where are you studying?”

“Second Madam, I’m in my second year at A University, majoring in architecture.”

“A University?” Pei Yu lightly responded, “Not bad.”

Though Pei Yu said this, anyone with eyes could tell she wasn’t really paying attention to her conversation with Li Yan.

Li Yan clenched his fists, his face reddening to the point where it seemed as if blood might drip from it.

Pei Yu didn’t spare him another glance, instead turning her attention to Lin Qiuzu. “And you, who are you?”

“Second Madam, Uncle, hello!” Lin Qiuzu greeted, his smile radiant, and his voice as sweet as if coated with honey. “I’m Li Yan’s friend. I heard there’s something going on at his home, so I came to accompany him and see if there’s anything I can help with.”

Pei Yu nodded. “You are thoughtful.”

Just as the topic was about to end, Lin Qiuzu, clearly not the type to sit quietly, shifted his eyes to the silent Li Sipei. Then, his eyes narrowed as he grinned, “Uncle, you’re so young, much younger than I imagined.”

When the conversation shifted to Li Sipei, Pei Yu, who had been uninterested, perked up. “Oh? What did you imagine he was like?”

“I thought he would be much older,” Lin Qiuzu said seriously, his attitude sincere. “With Uncle looking like this, if he went out, people would believe he’s my senior. But there are so many handsome guys in our school, I haven’t seen anyone who’s more handsome than Uncle.”

Pei Yu loved hearing such compliments and covered her mouth, giggling. “Really? What are you studying?”

“Second Madam, I’m studying dance performance. I’m one year below Li Yan, I’ll start my second year next month, and I study at the Dance Academy.”

“Ah, dance? No wonder your figure management is so good.”

Li Yan felt disgusted listening to this. When Lin Qiuzu had previously invited him to bed, it had been in the same nauseatingly sweet tone. Now, right in front of him, he was showing off again, clearly trying to reel in another fish.

What a pity though—

Li Yan secretly glanced at Li Sipei, who had been silent the entire time. His heart felt lighter. He enjoyed seeing Lin Qiuzu hitting a wall.

Clearly, Lin Qiuzu had realized this too and was about to change tactics when he heard Li Sipei speak: “We should leave.”

This was directed at Pei Yu.

On the other side, all business had been wrapped up. Li Yan’s father, Li Kejian, came over to greet Pei Yu, and everyone prepared to head back.

Li Yan was quietly pulled behind a tree by his mother.

“How did it go? Did Second Madam and Uncle think better of you?”

Li Yan felt annoyed seeing his mother’s eager expression. Grabbing his hair, he said, “I did my best.”

“It’s fine. Your uncle leaves tomorrow, and Second Madam will stay for a while. You’ll have more chances,” Li Tianqing patted her son’s shoulder, encouraging him. “During this time, you’re not allowed to go anywhere. Work hard to get along with them, got it?”

“Mom, I’ve already said I have something to do this afternoon.”

“Even if you have something to do, put it aside for now.” Li Tianqing was frustrated. “If you don’t flatter them, there are plenty of people who will. Your grandfather has so many descendants, and your dad and I only have you as our son. We can only hope you stand out.”

A wave of deep helplessness flooded Li Yan’s heart.

He was silent for a long while before nodding.

Mi Zhao went back to the lake to sketch, sitting there the whole afternoon.

But today, something felt off, and he wasn’t able to finish his painting.

At seven in the evening, the fiery clouds covered half of the sky, and the lake’s surface was dyed in varying shades of orange. The late summer wind still carried a hint of heat. After packing up his painting tools, Mi Zhao was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

He found the scenery beautiful, so he took a photo and sent it to Yan Qingting.

After waiting for a moment, Yan Qingting didn’t reply, and Mi Zhao remembered that the other person had a dinner party tonight, so he probably didn’t have time to check his phone.

Mi Zhao returned to his place first, put away his painting tools, took a shower, and changed out of his paint-stained clothes.

By the time he was done, the sky outside had already darkened. His stomach was a bit hungry, so he planned to walk to a restaurant on the other side of the lake for dinner. As he passed by the neighboring villa, he instinctively took a second look.

The lights inside the villa were off, so the man inside must have gone out for some fresh air.

Normally, Mi Zhao wouldn’t suddenly feel like talking to someone, but today was the day he planned to settle accounts with Li Yan. For some reason, he felt a wave of loneliness.

He had been procrastinating about making the call, putting it off from the afternoon to the evening, and was now on the verge of postponing it until tomorrow.

Mi Zhao turned on his phone and finally made up his mind. After sending a message to Yan Qingting, he found a secluded path, took Li Yan’s number out of the blacklist, and dialed it.

The call connected immediately, and Li Yan’s incredulous voice rang out: “Xiao Zhao? You actually called me, I’m not dreaming, right?”

Mi Zhao suppressed his nausea: “Is it a good time to talk?”

“Yeah!” Li Yan responded, and there was the sound of footsteps. After a while, the background noise quieted, and Li Yan’s voice grew louder. “Today is my second grandfather’s memorial day, my second grandmother and uncle are back, and my parents forced me to come back. Otherwise, I would have gone to Rizhao resort to find you already.”

Mi Zhao paused, his voice instantly cooling: “How do you know I’m at Rizhao resort?”

“…” Li Yan realized he had let it slip and awkwardly hesitated for two seconds. He then casually shrugged it off. “I’ve been asking around for a while to find out. I’ve even booked my stay for tonight… Xiao Zhao, wait for me, I’ll make sure to find you early tomorrow. Let’s talk in person then.”

At that moment, a strong wave of disgust surged up Mi Zhao’s throat.

“You don’t need to come. Did you see the bill I sent to your email this morning?”

Li Yan was stunned: “I saw it…”

“Good, then,” Mi Zhao replied coldly. “After subtracting the money from your bill, you still owe me 23,816.4 yuan. You must transfer it to my Alipay within 24 hours, or I’ll post both your cheating scandal and your bill on the school confession wall.”

“Xiao Zhao, what are you talking about? Post what confession wall—” Li Yan’s voice abruptly stopped. When he spoke again, his tone sharpened. “What? I still owe you 20,000?!”

“I’ve attached the consumption screenshots with the bill. You can check them yourself.” Mi Zhao didn’t want to lose his temper, but by this point, his frustration began to spread. “You’re disgusting. I don’t want to hear your voice anymore. Who would recognize your bill—10 yuan each for dumplings? Are you crazy?”

Li Yan kept apologizing, but after being slapped in the face by Mi Zhao, he lost his temper: “Mi Zhao, you’ve had enough! I’ve apologized to you several times already!”

Mi Zhao sneered: “What? Did I hit a sore spot? Are your family’s dumplings made of gold? Or did your mom wrap them with a gold-encrusted handbag?”

Li Yan’s tone darkened: “You can talk about me, but don’t bring my mom into it.”

He then shifted his tone, speaking with righteous indignation, “The filling for the dumplings was specially brought back by my dad from Japan, with wagyu beef. You know how expensive wagyu beef is, don’t you? I even gave you the most conservative price of 10 yuan each.”

“I don’t want your family’s dumplings!” Mi Zhao shouted. “Li Yan, you shameless man, you even have the nerve to take dumplings at 10 yuan each, but I don’t need the money, just take it as giving alms to a beggar.”

“Mi Zhao, enough already—”

“From now on, you and Lin Qiuzu can mix however you want. I wish you both a lifetime together, forever locked in!”

Li Yan was insulted to the core and, in his fury, blurted out: “Do you know how long I’ve been tolerating you? When are you going to change your bad temper? I only slept with Lin Qiuzu because I was fed up with your slow pace! We’re already together, and you still want to start with holding hands and hugging? It’s so hard to even kiss, and you think we’re acting in some campus romance drama?”

“…” Silence replaced Mi Zhao’s response.

Li Yan snapped out of his rage and suddenly felt a sense of panic: “Xiao Zhao…”

“So you’ve had so many grievances against me,” Mi Zhao’s voice was soft. “Now you’re free.”

“I…”

“I advise you to go check yourself at the hospital when you have time,” Mi Zhao paused and then added, “Return the money, and don’t bother me again. I hate dirty men.”

After hanging up, Mi Zhao blacklisted Li Yan’s number again.

He slowly lowered his hand holding the phone.

After a long pause, he sighed lightly.

…

“Knock knock knock—”

The knocking was light, almost as if trying to sneak in, but it was still heard by Li Sipei.

Li Sipei didn’t rush to open the door. He sat by the window for about half a minute before maneuvering his wheelchair to the door.

Outside stood someone in pajamas.

The pajamas weren’t loose but fit just right, outlining the curves of the body underneath. As a dance student, Lin Qiuzu knew exactly how to show himself off, with every strand of hair meticulously styled.

He flashed a smile: “Uncle, you’re still not asleep?”

Li Sipei’s expression remained unchanged as he cast a calm glance at Lin Qiuzu, his gaze as tranquil as a dead pool. He asked, “Is there something?”

“Nothing really… it’s just that I can’t sleep in unfamiliar places,” Lin Qiuzu always managed to look sincere, using this skill to fool many people. “I just knocked on Li Yan’s door, but he’s already asleep. Uncle, can I come in and chat with you for a while?”