356 Be Aware Of Your Image
Li Sicheng's cold face cracked. "You have any?"
Su Qianci's face was flushed. Her hands on her private part, she stood up in pain and said, "Why didn't you knock? It hurts!"
Li Sicheng couldn't help glancing at her posture. He said calmly, "This is my office."
She was rendered speechless. Noticing his glanced, she immediately turned around and gave it a rub under her coat.
Feeling awkward, Li Sicheng said in a deep voice, "be aware of your image." Then he closed the door and sat down at his desk. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you," she said matter-of-factly. But she quickly realized what she had said and whispered, "Grandpa said he wanted to eat that kind of meat you brought him last time. I called you, but it didn't go through. Liu Sao asked me to tell you that."
He glanced at his cell phone on the desk. More than thirty unanswered calls. Most of them were about business, but three of them were from the old house and her. He took up the phone and answered, "Got it."
His indifference let Su Qianci down a little. She stood up straight and found it did not hurt that much. Taking her bag on the sofa, she said, "then I'll leave now."
"Sit down." Li Sicheng did not even look up. "We can go together."
"It's okay. I drove here."
However, Li Sicheng had already walked over and pushed her down. She wanted to say something, when she saw him gesturing her to hush. Then, he answered the call in fluent English. So busy. He needed to call people back even after the meeting. She wanted to get up but was held down by him. Her heart raced a little. Did he want to make her stay?
With that thought, she felt a bit anxious. Sitting on the sofa, she pretended to be calm. It took him more than fifteen minutes to make the phone call.
She asked him, "Why wouldn't you let me go?"
Gazing at her deeply, Li Sicheng said in a cold tone, "It's a holiday, and we should try to cheer grandpa up."
Su Qianci felt sour and disappointed, as if her heart was drenched in vinegar. "I see." That was why... Indeed, grandpa hated to see them fighting. Su Qianci was sure that grandpa knew the two of them had been in a fight for more than a month. She suddenly thought of a ridiculous possibility: did grandpa arrange for this to happen?
Glancing at her with his deep eyes, Li Sicheng took her bag and said, "Let's go."
He quickly walked out at the door, and Su Qianci followed him. Noticing the admiring look on the secretaries' face, she slowed down.
Would he be mad?
In her previous lifetime, he had hated it when she walked beside him. Under this situation... On that thought, she slowed down, keeping her distance from him. He pressed the elevator button, looked to the side, and found she was not behind him. When he glanced back, he saw her hesitation.
Arching an eyebrow, Li Sicheng asked in a displeased tone, "Shall I carry you here?"
The secretaries went in an uproar. Su Qianci immediately blushed, quickly trotted to him in heels, and entered the elevator. Before the elevator doors closed, she heard someone say, "They are so great together..."
357 The Bigger The Better
Before the elevator doors closed, Su Qianci heard someone say, "They are so great together..." Then the elevator doors closed, blocking all the noises.
Su Qianci felt a bit strange. So, in their eyes, Li Sicheng and her were happy together. But why didn't she feel that? Instead, her heart was filled with sadness.
"Where did you park?"
The sudden question left her a bit dumbstruck before she answered, "At the gate."
Li Sicheng heard that and pressed the lobby. Quiet. It was incredibly quiet in the elevator. All she could hear was the machinery.
Ding!
They reached the first floor. She followed him out, and everyone looked in her direction. Under the people's gaze, she felt a bit nervous, bowing her head behind him.
Suddenly, Li Sicheng stopped. Su Qianci immediately bumped into him.
Ouch!
Covering her nose, she felt so sore that she immediately teared up. Looking up, her eyes were filled with complaint. He glanced at her calmly and took an umbrella on the rack. It was a big umbrella. When she got here, the rain was no longer heavy. Since she parked right at the gate, she jogged inside without taking an umbrella. However, the rain was now pouring again, flooding the streets. Everyone was walking fast. When she was about to grab another umbrella, he took her hand and pulled her away.
"Hey, wait a second." Su Qianci was almost lifted up by him. Wearing heels, she almost lost her balance. Li Sicheng did not listen to her and yanked her forward. He opened the umbrella and put an arm around her neck, walking to her car.
Su Qianci was dumbstruck. How did he know which car was hers? He had never seen it before. They had not seen each other in so long...
"Open the door." He glanced at her. "It's raining heavily and cold here."
She quickly unlocked the car. Li Sicheng opened the door on the driver's side but did not go inside, glancing at her. She immediately understood and got in. He shut the door and sat on the copilot seat. As soon as possible he sat down, frowned, and grunted, "How is this so tight?"
"Of course, it could not be compared with yours," Su Qianci murmured and started the car.
"We'll get you a bigger one later."
"I like a small one." The rain was too heavy for her to see clearly, so she turned the headlights on.
"A small one is no good," Li Sicheng said with contempt.
"The important thing is I like it. It's none of your business."
"I thought you were used to my bigger one."
When Su Qianci was about to retort, she suddenly thought of something. With a blushed, she gave him a stare and cried, "Li Sicheng, you creep!"
Li Sicheng arched an eyebrow and looked at her puzzled. "I'm talking about the car. What are you thinking?"
She paused and blushed even more. Seeing the tease in his eyes, she hit the steering wheel and turned her head back.
Slowly buckling his seatbelt, he asked, "Don't you think the bigger, the better?"
Su Qianci's hands twitched as she growled, "Could you please shut up?"
358 Elope With Me
Li Sicheng subtly curled his lips and relaxed for the first time in more than a month. Su Qianci did not want to pay him any attention and continued to drive.
But eventually, she asked, "Where is that store?"
"Shili Mingdu."
Su Qianci was dazed and looked at him, "isn't it behind us?"
"Yes."
"... Why didn't you say it earlier?"
"You didn't ask."
She grit her teeth, wishing she could throw him out of the car. But she still turned around and drove toward the place.
"Turn right, we will get out here," Li Sicheng said calmly. She parked the car, and the rain was still pouring. He took his umbrella and opened the door. "Sit tight." She blinked. He came to hold the umbrella over her? Did he think she had no umbrella in the car? She pouted and went out of the car with her umbrella after Li Sicheng got out. Her umbrella was pink with two cartoon characters kissing each other, very girlish.
Su Qianci locked the car and walked ahead. Li Sicheng's eyes darkened. He stopped and said, "It's a bit far. Follow me."
"Okay."
It was indeed a bit far. After they walked for twenty minutes, the rain became lighter, and they ended up in a narrow alley. The alley was clean and well decorated. It was the first time that Su Qianci had been to this place, so she felt a bit surprised. "I didn't expect this place to be so pretty."
Li Sicheng took down his umbrella and walked into a store with a "time-honored brand" sign. They entered the store and she was immediately attracted by the delicious aroma of meat jerky and snacks. Reading the store's history and origin, she was quite interested.
Li Sicheng ordered several flavors, glanced at her, and then gazed at her umbrella that she had put next to the door. After Su Qianci read the store's history, she walked around the racks. When he came to get her, he had two full bags in his hands.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
The rain became heavy again, but there was less water standing in the streets. They could easily walk. Su Qianci picked up her folding umbrella at the door and was dumbstruck. Since they were not going to spend a long time in the store, she did not fold the umbrella up. However, when she picked it up, all she got in her hand was the pole. Glancing at the pole in her hand and the canopy on the floor, she was so pissed that she stomped her foot. "What the hell? Who did this? Dammit."
Standing behind her, Li Sicheng said in a cold voice, "Someone must have stepped on it by accident. Look at the footprint." A black footprint was left on the canopy, dirty and wet.
She looked at the footprint and felt quite upset. She recently bought this umbrella because she loved the print. It was the first time she had used it, and it was broken already. She winced.
Glancing at her, Li Sicheng said calmly, "It's just an umbrella."
"But it's raining so heavily. I would get all wet without it."
"I have one here." Li Sicheng took his big black umbrella drying on the rack and said, "let's go."
What the heck? He was going to share his umbrella with her? Su Qianci mumbled, "the rain so heavy. We will both get wet if we share an umbrella..."
"You can elope with me then." [Translator's note: "wet" and "elope" sound similar in Mandarin.]
359 Elope
Elope...
Su Qianci blushed. "I meant wet."
"That was what I said." Li Sicheng looked at her seriously.
She blushed even more. Did he say elope or wet? Although the pronunciation of those words was ambiguous in the local dialect, Li Sicheng spoke standard Mandarin and had passed the advanced test. In her previous lifetime, she had taken the same test to please him... Did she hear it wrong?
"Let's go." He handed her the two bags of food. "Protect them well."
She took it and held it in her arms. He was wearing a long stand-up collar peacoat in deep gray and a suit underneath. He put up the umbrella and unbuttoned his peacoat, holding her waist and covering her body with it. Su Qianci froze and struggled a little. "What are you doing..."
"Going home." She felt her cheeks were burning by Li Sicheng's warm breath on her ear. He said in a deep voice, "Keep the food safe. We shall not keep grandpa waiting." So, she was to keep the food safe, and he was to keep her safe? On that thought, her heart raced as he walked her down the stairs. Seeing her pink ear, he had a soft look on his face and wrapped her tighter with the coat. Neither of them spoke.
Su Qianci felt warm. Holding the food tight, she was not splattered by a single drop of water. When they were back in the car, she found that his back was drenched. Seeing him taking his peacoat off, she moved her lips but did not say anything. Her heart was warm as she saw the food and herself well protected by him. When they arrived at the old house, it was about 6 PM.
Li Sicheng went to the bedroom and changed. Su Qianci gave the meat jerky to grandpa. Captain Li was very pleased, smiling contently at her. She was a bit embarrassed and went to help Liu Sao make sweet dumplings. Liu Sao put all kinds of stuffing into the paste, sesame sauce, peanut butter, an egg yolk... Su Qianci's job was to put the dumplings into boiling water and then remove them from the water when done.
Liu Sao passed the last plate of dumplings to Su Qianci and asked in a low voice, "You guys made up?"
Su Qianci saw her teasing smile and was reminded of her call. Nodding, she said, "Kind of."
The ice was broken, right?
"At last. Captain Li has been worried about you guys recently. It's great that you two have made up. I suppose Captain Li will ask you to stay here. I have your clothes ready."
"Thank you, Liu Sao."
"It's all right. Look, the dumplings are ready. Remove them now in case they leak."
Su Qianci checked the dumplings and removed them with a ladle. She counted the dumplings and broke them into several servings. Before she went out, she heard some noises. It sounded like people were fighting.
Startled, she ran out from the kitchen. She immediately saw Mrs. Tang yelling at Li Sicheng. "Li Sicheng, you son of a b*tch. Give my daughter back to me. Where did you take her?"
Mrs. Li looked very emotional. Her eyes bloodshot, and she stared at Li Sicheng like he was her enemy. He was sitting on a sofa with his legs crossed. Looking elegant and cold, he glanced at Mrs. Tang and asked, "Mrs. Tang, what do you mean?"
360 Unlawful Detention
How sly! She should have foreseen it. Judging by the worst character, even if he really liked Tang Mengying, he would never compromise under their threat. Mrs. Tang did not give it to much thought, but then found Tang Mengying had not been home in two months. The call never went through. Although the text messages had been returned, Tang Mengying had never sent a voice message.
After Tang Mengying told her parents about Li Sicheng giving her a house, they had not heard her voice again. Mrs. Tang then suddenly understood: this boy was turning their trick against themselves. She panicked and quickly came to the Li household.
Seeing how indifferent Li Sicheng was, Mrs. Tang shivered in fury and cursed, "Stop f**king pretending! Where did you take her?" Her voice was shrill as she screeched, "You better give my daughter back. Otherwise, I will sue you."
"Sue me?" Li Sicheng crossed his fingers and remained calm, sitting on the sofa. "For what? And where is your evidence?"
Mrs. Tang paused for a second before she exclaimed, "What evidence will I need? My daughter was taken away by you. It's been a long time since she last contacted us. She must have been imprisoned by you. I'm telling you, this is unlawful detention!"
"Mrs. Tang, you need evidence to prove your words. If you do not have any, we could sue you for libel." Li Beixing walked out, followed by the Li Xiao couple.
Seeing Qin Shuhua, Mrs. Tang's eyes became wet as she cried, "My poor daughter. She was impregnated by this man and now detained by him. At this festival, she could not even see her mother. Your whole family will rot in hell."
Li Xiao's brother, Li Sheng and his family were in the backyard. There was some distance between the living room and the backyard, but since Mrs. Tang was too loud, Li Weiya heard the noise and ran over.
Hearing the noise, Captain Li also came out. Hitting the floor with his cane, he bristled, "Why are you here? I said that the Tang family are not welcome at the Li household."
Mrs. Tang cried even more hysterically and shouted, "your whole family are a**holes. My daughter is bearing a baby of your family, and you ungrateful snakes watched this son of a bitch keeping my daughter away. Where is the justice?"
She was so loud that Li Beixing twitched his lips. Yanking her up, he said, "Mrs. Tang, don't be so annoying on a holiday. What do we have to do with your missing daughter?"
"F**k you. My daughter must be imprisoned by your brother. You could ask him if you don't believe me." She wriggled free and bumped into Li Beixing.
Li Beixing spread his hands helplessly, looking to his brother. Li Sicheng did not change his expression and said in a calm tone, "I did not. Please go back, Mrs. Tang."
If she did not know any better, Mrs. Tang would be fooled by his look. However, she had always known that this guy was sly and wicked. "I don't believe you!"
"You could go to the police 24 hours after someone's missing. Do you need any help?" Said a young female voice. She looked slim and tall. Sue Qianci walked close to Li Sicheng and looked at Mrs. Tang with sympathy. "You blame my man for everything. Do you really think the Li family are pushovers?"