Shao Mother composed herself.

Yu Li’s attitude was forthright, and she had almost been fooled.

“Little Yu, I don’t listen to what people say, I only watch what they do. I won’t say anything unpleasant, and I admire how you’re shouldering your family’s burden at such a young age. But admiration is one thing, and you and Guangrong… Perhaps Auntie is being presumptuous by coming to see you today, but my intentions are exactly as you suspected.”

Why pretend to be nice when she’s clearly against it?

Shao Mother liked Yu Li’s graceful demeanor and lack of pettiness to some degree.

But those three parts of liking were insignificant compared to her son’s long-term future.

Shao Mother had carefully inquired about Yu Li’s mother’s condition. The doctors said the chances of her waking up were very slim, and even if she did wake up, she would be paralyzed and dependent on others daily. Shao Mother couldn’t fault Yu Li for devotedly caring for her mother – it was filial piety.

But Yu Li couldn’t drag her son Shao Guangrong into a lifetime of filial duty.

Whether it was five years or ten years, even just a few years were precious for Shao Guangrong’s career development. She couldn’t let her son sink into such a quagmire.

Shao Mother was somewhat awkward in playing the villain who separates lovers, but after meeting Yu Li, she became more convinced of her decision.

If Yu Li had been timid and compliant, Shao Mother would have disliked that.

But Yu Li’s grace and strong-mindedness made Shao Mother even more vigilant.

She stared at Yu Li without blinking, demanding a definitive answer:

“Don’t try to deceive me. If I find out you’re lying, I won’t do anything to you – I don’t want people saying the Shao family bullies orphans and widows. But I can discipline my son. The Shao family can at least transfer Guangrong to work in another city.”

How could Yu Li care for her mother if he wasn’t even in Beijing?

Shao Mother wanted Yu Li to see her determination!

Yu Li’s complexion wasn’t good, but she maintained basic politeness:

“Auntie Shao, you will see my determination. I need to go take care of my mother now, so I won’t waste any more of your time.”

She did owe Shao Guangrong a debt of gratitude.

Even if she couldn’t be with Shao Guangrong, she should show some respect to his mother.

But when someone pointed out that she wasn’t worthy of Shao Guangrong, she would drag him down… Being repeatedly reminded of such embarrassing facts made Yu Li angry too.

Yu Li’s back was very straight as she walked away. Shao Mother stood watching her go upstairs, wondering if she had been too harsh.

But she quickly suppressed that touch of sympathy.

There were too many pitiful people in this world. She couldn’t help them all, so she had to prioritize her flesh and blood.

Shao Mother didn’t feel entirely right about what she’d done.

But for her son’s sake, she didn’t mind being the villain.

Meanwhile, Yu Li returned to the hospital room and sat blankly by her mother’s bedside for a while.

She looked at the cozy hospital room that Shao Guangrong had arranged, and couldn’t help but smile.

This smile only lasted for a moment before reality dispelled it.

When Shao Guangrong came after work, Yu Li acted normal, neither complaining nor decisively drawing boundaries, as if nothing had happened.

“Did my mother come to see you today? Little Yu, Sister Wang told me everything.”

Sister Wang was the head nurse.

Yu Li nodded, “Yes, Auntie came this morning and talked with me for a while. She said she doesn’t approve of us being together, and I told her we’re not together yet, so she left.”

Shao Guangrong didn’t believe it. How could his mother be put off so easily?

Yu Li silently added in her heart that it wasn’t that simple – she had said they weren’t dating now and wouldn’t be together in the future either.

“Really, what did you think Auntie would do? She couldn’t possibly make a scene with me in the hospital, could she?”

Shao Guangrong forced a smile, “Of course not.”

His mother wouldn’t sacrifice her dignity like that.

He turned to comfort Yu Li, “Don’t listen to her. She has her thoughts, but they’re not necessarily all correct. She doesn’t understand our relationship. We’re just friends now, but don’t forget our previous agreement.”

The previous agreement was that when Yu Li had made something of herself and felt she wouldn’t hold Shao Guangrong back, she would actively seek him out, and they would be together as boyfriend and girlfriend.

Shao Guangrong joked that Yu Li should hurry up and not make him wait too long.

If Yu Li took too long, he might fall for someone else and end up with another woman.

Yu Li had been quite naive when making that agreement, and she hadn’t expected Shao Guangrong to persist for so long.

During the year and more she’d been away from Beijing, Shao Guangrong had consistently helped care for her mother.

How could Yu Li not understand? Shao Guangrong was just talking nonsense – he had no intention of finding other women, he was single-mindedly waiting for her… Yu Li’s eyes stung.

If only Shao Guangrong had just been playing around.

Even if they couldn’t be together in the end, it wouldn’t hurt so much.

But Shao Guangrong had to be serious!

She had always known what kind of person “Young Master Shao” was – neither completely proper nor improper, dating different women, each getting what they wanted from the relationship.

That “Young Master Shao” was now serious about her, but Yu Li wasn’t pleased – she was distressed. It was precisely because “Young Master Shao” was better than she had imagined that she couldn’t be with him.

Many thoughts flashed through Yu Li’s mind, but she spoke with certainty:

“I haven’t forgotten that promise, don’t worry.”

Shao Guangrong wasn’t reassured at all.

But Yu Li truly showed no signs of anything unusual. She hadn’t mentioned drawing boundaries because of his mother’s opposition, hadn’t moved out of his house, and didn’t chase him away when he came to the hospital – everything seemed completely normal.

On Friday after work, Shao Guangrong received notice from his workplace that he would be accompanying the leadership on a grassroots inspection tour this weekend.

“Little Shao, is this overtime work okay?”

Of course, it was okay – public servants serve the people, and others would love to go but couldn’t get the chance.

Shao Guangrong only had time to quickly tell Yu Li before packing his bags and leaving for the business trip.

Yu Li’s tightly wound nerves finally relaxed at this moment.

She covered her face with her hands and cried quietly for a while. After wiping away her tears, no trace of distress could be seen. She walked downstairs with her usual composure and called Ge Jian:

“Manager Ge, you once said the company could help me arrange hospital care for my mother. I refused then, but could you still help me with this now?”

Ge Jian was surprised.

What had happened to Little Yu?

Things seemed to be going well in Beijing, she was on the right track – why transfer hospitals now?

“Of course, I can help. Placing your mother in either the Pengcheng or Yangcheng hospital would be a good option. What do you think?”

Qihang Real Estate was currently focusing on Qiongdao, and Manager Xia had established ‘Qihang Capital’ in HK. Though it seemed like they were diversifying, Ge Jian, as Xia Xiaolan’s confidant, knew that Manager Xia’s focus would remain in Pengcheng – Pengcheng was Manager Xia’s stronghold.

Since Manager Xia had graduated from Huaqing, she would spend less and less time in Beijing. As Manager Xia’s secretary, if Little Yu wanted to spend more time with her mother, placing Yu’s mother in a Pengcheng hospital would be most convenient!

“Then let’s go with the Pengcheng hospital. Could you help me contact them about the transfer? The sooner the better – I’d like to handle this before Manager Xia returns from her honeymoon.”