In a room on the top floor of a military hospital in the capital city, Old Yang, still pale-faced, fixed his stern gaze on Old Qiao and demanded, "Tell me, has Xiaoyan encountered trouble?"
"Old Yang, Xiaoyan is fine. She's just on a mission, and you know the rules—can't disclose details casually," Old Qiao replied, trying to buy some time. Though his condition was improving, doctors advised against any emotional agitation.
Old Yang had been relentlessly dispatching people to find Xiaoyan. He admired her ability to attract trouble from one difficult adversary to the next—whether it was the Li family, the fugitive Cheng family, or seemingly dissatisfied heads of the Hu family.
"Don't use that as an excuse. I want the truth. Now!" Old Qiao's act was good, but it couldn't escape Old Yang's scrutiny. His brief distraction betrayed his hidden concerns.
Sighing, Old Qiao stared into Old Yang's eyes and insisted, "You must promise not to get agitated!"
"Fine." Taking a deep breath, Old Yang suppressed his inner anxiety. "Could Xiaoyan be in life-threatening danger? This girl seems to have no luck. Every time she enjoys a period of peace, she either ends up in a dangerous mission or trouble finds her."
Old Qiao, with forced reassurance, quickly added, "There's no immediate danger to Xiaoyan."
Giving him a sharp look, Old Yang's expression turned sorrowful. "No news is good news, right?"
"Yes, exactly. Xiaoyan is lucky; she'll be fine." Old Qiao changed the subject, "Do you feel unwell?"
Waving it off, Old Yang redirected, "And how is Huli? With Xiaoyan missing, he must be devastated, especially since his father seems involved."
Old Qiao nodded awkwardly, coughing lightly before saying, "He's about to be engaged to the daughter of the Li family..."
"What? Engaged?" Old Yang was shocked, overwhelmed by the whirlwind of events during his illness, sensing changes in many people. He remembered how Huli used to cherish and protect Xiaoyan so carefully, complicating his emotions.
"Yes, indeed. Oh, the affairs of young people—us old folks can't say much. Besides, the Hu family has its own concerns," Old Qiao remarked with a sigh.
Reflecting on his thoughts, Old Yang coughed severely for a while. Old Qiao attempted to summon a doctor, but Old Yang stopped him. "Call him here. I want to see him," he demanded, determined to uncover the truth behind Huli's actions. "Don't worry. If you don't let him come, I won't rest assured, which won't help my recovery."
Old Qiao reluctantly agreed, knowing the validity of Old Yang's words. Old Hei remained unconscious, but doctors assured them it wasn't serious—a matter of time until the blood clot in his brain dissolved and he woke up.
Upon receiving Old Qiao's message, Huli in Outer Sea City promptly decided to skip the final day of the trade conference and rushed to the capital with Huer.
Meeting Huli, Old Yang's demeanor was stern, affecting even Huli. The gravity of Old Yang's expression and his resemblance to Hua's father made Huli wary.
"I heard you're getting engaged?" Old Yang's tone was calm, but his presence was commanding.
"It was a spur-of-the-moment decision," Huli admitted, disclosing the truth, confident it wouldn't go further. After all, Xiaoyan was Old Yang's beloved.
"The Li family won't be easily dissuaded. You should know an old saying: it's easy to invite a god but hard to send one away." Their brief interaction made Old Yang understand Huli's intentions—his heart still belonged to Xiaoyan. Relieved, Old Yang began offering advice.
"They have a handle on me, but once they know this news, the outcome will still be as I predicted."
"You're quite cunning," Huli chuckled, knowing Old Yang was vexed with the Li family, hence his plan for underhanded tactics. Remembering Xiaoyan's occasional dark side, he couldn't help but marvel—birds of a feather, Old Yang and she shared a special bond.
"Any news of Xiaoyan yet?" Old Yang inquired, hoping Huli might have some insight into her whereabouts.
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"None," Huli replied in a subdued tone, clearly distressed. Old Yang watched, equally pained.
“You don't need to be disheartened, Xiaoyan must be doing fine.” Despite his disappointment, Lao Yang comforted Huli, also trying to console himself.
After a long conversation with Lao Yang, Huli finally left the hospital. Before departing, he visited Lao Hei, seeing him in a coma but with a stable complexion, which eased his mind somewhat.
Returning to Haibin City that day, Huli tackled a stack of documents but felt mentally exhausted. He ended up falling asleep in the office lounge.
At some point, with no one around the office door, Li Jiaojiao cautiously pushed it open. Seeing no one inside, she was about to leave when she noticed the usually closed lounge door slightly ajar.
Curious and puzzled, Li Jiaojiao tiptoed in. It was her first time seeing this room. Every decoration here belonged to a girl's room—there was a large teddy bear on the bed, throw pillows, manga books on the shelf, tea art books, and several happy photos of Huli and that woman, Huayan, on the small table.
No wonder Huli never allowed her in here. Even though occasionally she had to rely on the sofa to wait for him to eat together. Judging by the decorations, it seemed decorated according to Huayan's taste, childish and lacking the identity of the Asia-Pacific arbitration. She was a village girl with no taste.
What made her even more angry was that Huli actually liked her as a treasure. Turning her head to look at the man sleeping on the bed, the more she liked his eyes and eyebrows. Finally, she took off her coat and climbed onto the bed.
Wanting to pick up Huli's arm and sleep in his arms. But the arm avoided her touch. She hesitated for a second, panicked, and looked up to see Huli staring at her with disgust.
"I...," Li Jiaojiao was ashamed and wronged again. She just wanted to be with him on the bed and feel his fragrance and warmth. I didn't expect to get caught.
"Get out." Huli scolded Li Jiaojiao angrily.
Under Huli's aura higher than ordinary people, Li Jiaojiao dared not listen for a moment, took her coat and rushed out of the office.
With Li Jiaojiao causing such a disturbance, Huli had no mind to sleep anymore, took a warm bath, and resumed work.
Of course, when Hu'er heard about what had just happened, Huli said to him, "Nothing happened." Privately within the company, it was rumored that the future Mrs. Shao was close to arbitration, and this couple didn't know why they quarreled. Li Jiaojiao's clothes were not neat and she left in a hurry. Arbitration is worried about taking the job and forgetting about worries.
Upon hearing this rumor, Hu'er couldn't help but smile and think that these people had told Li Jiaojiao's importance. It must be Li Jiaojiao who took advantage of him not being there, and the master was sleeping, so she wanted to commit an offense and was caught by the master.
When Huafu looked at the morning paper and saw the picture of Li Jiaojiao running out of the Asia-Pacific building with her clothes untidy, she couldn't speak angrily.
"A few days passed, this boy started stealing." Chang's mother knew more about Huli, who was more welcome. Later, when Huli visited again, he received more fierce teasing from Chang's mother.
Depressed Huli did not go to Muyun Pavilion once, and after the incident, he practiced alone for several hours.
Li Jiaojiao's photo was published in the newspaper, and the Li family's reaction was very strong. Li Jiaojiao asked what was going on, and Li Jiaojiao just said that the two had a small quarrel and did not matter.
However, Li Dong was worried about his sister and personally went to see Huli.
"There is something." Huli was more disapproving of this temporary brother-in-law and more disapproving. Li Dong has not given him a glass of water for a good while.
Li Dong also knew that because of previous incidents, Huli was not welcomed for a while. He took out the newspaper and asked, "What's going on? My sister doesn't want to say, my family is worried, and I have to ask you."
"My sister wants to be married to me early."
Li Dong suddenly felt dumbfounded, taking a while to grasp the message in Huli's words. Influenced by Huli's indifferent attitude, he felt his face losing its luster, yet he also felt the issue wasn't there.
In today's society, premarital relations were common, and Huli shouldn't be so conservative or disapproving of his sister's actions. Could it be that he was dissatisfied with his sister?
But when he wanted to confront Huli about whether he truly cared for his sister, he couldn't bring himself to say it. Nor could he admit that their Li family was so open and accepting of such behavior from girls.
These thoughts, these matters, could only be understood, not spoken. But now, Huli was playing dumb, acting serious, and Li Dong couldn't say anything. Otherwise, their Li family would bear the reputation of lax discipline and frivolous education of their children.
"It's true that she was in the wrong, but you don't need to disregard her reputation and let these indecent photos come out. Don't tell me your Hu family wants your daughter-in-law to be treated as gossip fodder?"
"It seems like you've mistaken the target here. Everything is due to your sister's willfulness. With the education your family gave her, she should know not to get caught by the media. Yet she disregarded all that and rushed out. It seems like I have even less face than your family."
"Please also inform your elders that Li Jiaojiao needs to relearn etiquette."
Speechless under Huli's few words, Li Dong had originally come to demand an explanation, but now it seemed like he was being mocked by Huli himself.
Back at home, he dared not relay Huli's words to his parents. Instead, he lectured Li Jiaojiao. She obediently nodded in front of her brother, but once she returned to her own room, tears filled her eyes.
Although her brother didn't mention what Huli had said to him, seeing the worry and anger in his eyes, she understood that Huli didn't care about their family's feelings and respect. This realization only made her feel worse.