This was a three-story grand villa, as large as an estate. Li Weiyi was on the second floor. Everywhere she looked—stone carvings and jade engravings, aloe wood and sandalwood—everything was extremely luxurious and magnificently splendid.
From the first floor came voices talking, laughter, and the sound of mahjong tiles.
A woman in her forties wearing a white uniform and carrying a mop and bucket walked past downstairs. Looking up and seeing her, she smiled: “Ah Chan is awake? Breakfast is being kept warm, I’ll bring it out right away. Madam, Ah Chan is awake!”
Li Weiyi gripped the railing and slowly walked downstairs.
A woman dressed as a wealthy lady emerged from a room, followed by three other women around her age. The lady appeared to be in her early forties, very fair and beautiful, dressed exquisitely and appropriately. Upon seeing Li Weiyi, her face filled with affection as she grabbed her hand.
Li Weiyi was so startled she recoiled.
Wu Xinhui hadn’t expected her son to wake up so jumpy and easily startled. Thinking he must have been frightened by yesterday’s falling into the water, she hugged him heartachingly: “Silly child, why are you dodging when Mom touches you? Always so awkward! Are you still uncomfortable somewhere?” She touched her forehead, and seeing no fever, breathed a sigh of relief.
This time Li Weiyi steadied herself and didn’t dodge, only allowed herself to be held and touched with a slightly stiff body. She also understood the identity of the person before her, thinking no wonder Zhang Jingchan was good-looking—his mother was so beautiful and refined.
However, she couldn’t bring herself to call her “Mom” right now. She only said vaguely: “I’m fine, just groggy from sleep. I made you worry.” Then she squeezed out a smile.
Wu Xinhui released her in surprise and said to the people beside her: “This child, today he’s speaking so gently and politely, not at all like his usual stinking attitude of ignoring everyone.” Though she said this, she was still very happy and added: “As long as you’re fine, Mom can rest easy.”
The several women beside her chimed in: “Sister Hui, look at what you’re saying. Ah Chan has always been sensible, much better than my son. Young people should have some personality.”
“That’s right. Just look at whose son Ah Chan is—he’s Director Zhang and Sister Hui’s son. He’s an outstanding talent among people. How could he be anything less?”
“I’m truly so moved. Such a noble child, jumping into water on such a cold day to save someone—so self-sacrificing and selfless, what excellent character! Shouldn’t he be nominated as one of those Touching China figures?”
Though Wu Xinhui was delighted to hear this, she still shook her head: “I don’t need him to save anyone. As long as he’s safe and sound. Fortunately nothing happened, otherwise I would have cried myself to death.”
The several women beside her consoled her repeatedly. Each one looked at Li Weiyi with eyes that seemed soaked in ten pounds of honey.
Fine goosebumps rose on Li Weiyi’s arms.
So this was the daily life of a young master—this exaggerated? Even if she picked up a brick right now and performed chest-breaking with a boulder, these three ladies accompanying Mrs. Zhang at cards would probably praise her bravery, wouldn’t they?
From their conversation, Li Weiyi also learned that yesterday, Zhang Jingchan had encountered a strange girl who had fallen into water. Zhang Jingchan, who was usually cold and aloof and walked without looking sideways, had for some reason acted heroically and saved her. He himself had also caught a cold and fever, and after taking medicine had slept through the entire night. When he woke up this morning, his core had been replaced with her from eight years later!
The several women fussed over her for quite a while before finally returning to the mahjong room. Li Weiyi breathed a sigh of relief. Just then the maid brought up breakfast. She also felt famished, so she ran to brush her teeth. Looking at the exquisite and abundant breakfast on the table, she clicked her tongue secretly.
Wu Xinhui called from the mahjong room: “Ah Chan, I had Sister Liu stew bird’s nest for you. At least drink some to nourish yourself.”
Li Weiyi: “Oh…”
She looked at the clear and tender soup in the milky white porcelain cup before her. She had never drunk bird’s nest before. She took a sip—slightly sweet, nothing special. She finished it in a few large gulps.
Sister Liu the maid was very pleasantly surprised and called out loudly: “Madam, Madam, Ah Chan finished the entire cup of bird’s nest!”
Wu Xinhui’s delighted voice came from the mahjong room: “What’s gotten into this child today? So polite and obedient. No matter how we urged him before, he wouldn’t drink it. He insisted it was for women to drink and said it was dirty bird saliva.”
Li Weiyi: “…”
Someone nearby said: “Haha, Ah Chan is really interesting. How is bird’s nest dirty? Even emperors and concubines in ancient times drank it. Besides, boys need to take care of themselves too. Ah Chan is handsome, and if he drinks more bird’s nest to whiten his skin, won’t he be even more handsome?”
Sister Liu also happily approached: “The kitchen stewed a whole pot. Should I serve you another bowl?”
Li Weiyi: “No, no need, thank you Sister.” After saying this, she smiled sweetly.
Sister Liu looked at her in shock.
Li Weiyi immediately felt annoyed. When addressing women of this age, she had called her “Sister” too smoothly, one after another. It seemed she needed to pay more attention in the future and couldn’t behave too differently from Zhang Jingchan’s personality and behavior.
After finishing breakfast, Li Weiyi went upstairs to get a jacket, pocketed her phone and wallet, walked to the mahjong room door, deliberated for a moment, put both hands in her pants pockets, lifted her chin, coolly lowered her eyelids, and said: “I’m going out.”
Wu Xinhui was clearly accustomed to such a “normal” Zhang Jingchan and said: “Oh right, now that you’ve gotten your driver’s license, the gift your dad got you has arrived. You came home uncomfortable yesterday and haven’t seen it yet, right? It’s in the garage.”
The flattering trio launched into another round of wild praise—how intelligent Zhang Jingchan was, how quickly he learned to drive, and how generous Director Zhang was. Wu Xinhui listened with a beaming smile, her eyes bright and clear. She appeared to be a simple-minded, happy woman.
Li Weiyi listened speechlessly. So Zhang Jingchan had grown up in this kind of social environment in his youth. Tsk… she felt tired on his behalf.
——
Li Weiyi stood before a bright, flashy red Ferrari sports car, sighing inwardly.
However, thinking that Fuming Group seemed to go bankrupt and liquidate at the end of this year, this car would definitely be auctioned off then. Her heart calmed down. Looking at the Ferrari was like looking at a pile of scrap.
A lively male voice came from behind: “Wow, Brother Chan, is this the new car your dad gave you? Nice.”
Li Weiyi turned her head and saw a tall, thin boy wearing a thick baseball jacket and athletic pants. Most eye-catching was his hairstyle—short spiky hair standing up. He actually looked quite handsome and sunny. Li Weiyi found him familiar. She remembered now—the first time she saw Zhang Jingchan at headquarters, this boy seemed to be following behind him.
So this was Zhang Jingchan’s childhood friend. To have earned his trust for so many years, he must be reliable.
Li Weiyi showed him a smile.
Li Yunmo was startled and immediately covered his chest with his hand, saying warily: “Why are you smiling so ominously? Are you going to beat me up?” But thinking carefully, he hadn’t provoked this King of Hell recently.
This time it was Li Weiyi’s turn to be slightly stunned. Then she couldn’t help but giggle. Li Yunmo was even more shocked. He reached out to touch her forehead, muttering: “No fever, yet smiling so strangely…”
Li Weiyi quickly pressed her lips together, dodged his hand, and her tone turned cold: “I’m fine.”
Li Yunmo looked at her suspiciously, then nodded with relief: “Must be that yesterday when you saved someone, water got in your brain.”