Zheng Jiarong knew that if the man really wanted to do something to Li Shu, he couldn’t stop it. Even though the Zheng family was an old aristocratic family in B City, they were powerless against such a behemoth. Among the families that disappeared from B City, there were some that were even more powerful than the Zheng family. Back then, those people thought Li Heyuan couldn’t touch them, but what was the result?
Moreover, he couldn’t mobilize his whole family for the sake of Li Shu. Although he was the only child of the Zheng family’s current head, he knew his father would never allow him to push the family into irreversible disaster for an outsider.
He could only pin his hopes on this man, hoping he wouldn’t harm Li Shu. Because he knew that no one could stop this man from doing anything he wanted to. This was the case when he was still a fledgling, let alone now that he was a mature man who had built his own business empire with one hand.
But he couldn’t just watch Li Shu walk step by step into the man’s trap. After a few steps, he stopped three steps away from the man.
He was organizing his words when Li Heyuan spoke first, “You have something to say to me.”
It was not a questioning tone. Zheng Jiarong looked up and met those eyes that seemed to see everything and the courage he had just gathered surged like a flood.
“I…thank you very much for helping out with Xiao Shu’s matter this time, President Li.”
“No problem.” Li Heyuan waved his hand. After saying this, he looked away, clearly not wanting to communicate further with the person in front of him.
It had come to this point, and Zheng Jiarong gritted his teeth. “President Li, I hope you can show mercy and not harm him.”
“Oh?” Li Heyuan seemed intrigued. Leaning back like a lazy cheetah, he waited for the prey to step into his hunting range step by step. “What do you mean by that? Do you think I want to do something? Or do you think I want to do something to your roommate?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Zheng Jiarong answered bravely, “It’s just that Xiao Shu is just a child from an ordinary family. If he has offended you in any way, I’m willing to take responsibility for him. Please don’t blame him.”
Li Heyuan didn’t speak. He rubbed the ring on his thumb, which was the token of the position of the head of the family. The ring was inky black, just like the man’s eyes, giving a dangerous vibe.
Under the immense pressure, Zheng Jiarong could barely stand. He gritted his teeth to avoid losing his composure. He vaguely regretted speaking so boldly; he had crossed the line. Just as he was about to collapse under the pressure, the oppressive feeling suddenly disappeared.
Looking ahead, he saw that the man had turned around, his back facing him. He was about to speak when the man raised his right hand, signaling him not to speak. He paused, and the man spoke, “You can go back now. Come pick him up from the hospital in a few days. Rest assured, I’m not going to quarrel with an immature child.”
Zheng Jiarong suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. With Li Heyuan’s words, at least he didn’t have to worry about his roommate suddenly disappearing one day. More importantly, he didn’t have the capability or qualification to intervene.
After leaving the hospital and standing in the sunlight, Zheng Jiarong finally felt alive again.
For the next two days, Li Heyuan did not appear in front of Li Shu, but the meals sent were all according to Li Shu’s preferences.
After 1314 appeared, Li Shu gained memories from the original owner and naturally knew that their preferences were not quite the same. Li Heyuan sent things according to his preferences rather than the original owner’s. Li Shu pretended not to understand the deeper meaning behind this action.
In the CEO’s office on the top floor, Li Heyuan diverted his attention from work and asked, “How’s it going over there?”
The assistant standing respectfully to the side replied, “The young gentleman really likes what you sent. We didn’t find any contact records between him and any family except for one Zheng family. Zheng Jiarong, the son of the Zheng family head, is his roommate.”
At these words, Li Heyuan’s eyes darkened. The things he sent to that young man were all based on the preferences of that person back then. Some of these things were not liked by the current “Li Shu.” He did this to test the person, but the result was…
It was what he desired most, yet it was also the most unbelievable.
Was Sir really back in the mortal world?
The assistant kept his head down, not daring to peek at his boss’s expression at this moment, but the incredulity in his heart layered upon layers. He had been working with Li Heyuan for quite some time and understood his style of doing things. Never before had he seen this side of him. Before the young man named Li Shu appeared, he had once thought his boss was devoid of emotions, and indeed, that was the case in the past. He was like a working machine indifferent to anything beyond work.
Those of them who worked with President Li had always believed that their boss would accompany work for life. It was only now, with the appearance of Li Shu, that he had the privilege of seeing a completely different side of his boss.
It turned out that he was not indifferent to human emotions, but rather, the person who could move his boss’s heart had not appeared.
He didn’t know what had happened in his boss’s long-sealed past that made everyone who knew about it keep their mouths shut.
There was a tapping sound, neither light nor heavy, and the assistant snapped out of his thoughts.
Li Heyuan changed his posture, his long eyelashes dropped, covering the emotions in his eyes. “Make a call to S City over there. Tell them I have a project I want to cooperate with them on.”
The assistant was now even more curious. He knew his boss had assets in S City, and it was said that they were quite a lot. But for so many years, his boss had never set foot in S City once. Even if there were reasons that required him to go, he would find a way to refuse, even if it was for work. The staff knew that President Li came from S City. What happened back then that made him not step into that place for ten years?
“Yes.” A thousand thoughts churned in the assistant’s mind, but his face showed no hint of it.
After the assistant left, Li Heyuan was the only one left in the huge office. He unlocked a drawer and took out a photo. The photo had been carefully preserved by its owner, and more than ten years had passed without leaving any trace on it.
It was a group photo in a garden. Two people stood shoulder to shoulder. The younger one’s gaze lingered on the older man, unwilling to leave for a moment, while the older man looked at the camera with a hint of tolerance and helplessness in his eyes. The handsome figures in the photo exuded an air of warmth and affection that could be felt through the photo.
This was a photo that Li Heyuan cherished very much. He had intended to chronicle their shared past, but before he could execute his plan, one of them left forever.
He gently stroked the man’s face in the photo. A mist appeared in front of Li Heyuan’s eyes, but he ignored it and just stared at the photo in his hand.
‘Have you come back?’
His movements were light, but the darkness in his eyes deepened. ‘If you haven’t returned, don’t give me any hope. I can’t bear to lose you again.’
Any hope was deadly poison to him. Behind every hope, anyone who had seen the true human nature and calculations behind every hope would no longer harbor expectations of such so-called hope again.
Li Shu’s fainting was not due to physical reasons. He had planned to leave the hospital directly but was stopped by Li Heyuan. Unable to resist him, Li Shu could only stay in the hospital for a few more days.
On the day of discharge, Zheng Jiarong offered to pick him up, but Li Shu refused, saying, “You have classes now. There’s no need to make a special trip for me. Someone will take me back.”
Seeing Li Shu’s firm attitude, Zheng Jiarong had to give up. He wanted to remind Li Shu to keep his distance from Li Heyuan, but after all, he and Li Shu were just roommates who had lived together for two years. It was a bit inappropriate to say this before Li Heyuan had done anything. But waiting until after Li Heyuan had done something would be too late.
He was undecided on what to do in this matter for a while. He thought and concluded that it would be better to wait until Li Shu returned to the dormitory. Maybe Li Shu and Li Heyuan would no longer intersect in the future, and then all the problems he worried about wouldn’t happen.
Li Shu didn’t let Zheng Jiarong come to pick him up because Li Heyuan said he would take him to school. In response, Li Shu refused, “You really don’t need to bother. I’ll take a taxi back by myself.”
The air pressure around Li Heyuan’s visibly lowered. Lu Yuanqing was peeling an apple nearby and witnessed this scene. His admiration for Li Shu surged like the Yellow River. It was the first time he had seen someone show no fear in front of his uncle.
For this reason, Lu Yuanqing’s perception of Li Shu soared. He glanced at his uncle, whose face didn’t look good, then at Li Shu, who seemed oblivious to it all, and reluctantly spoke up, “Li Shu, my uncle will take me back to school. He can drop you off on the way. So don’t refuse.”
Li Shu looked up at the man. Li Heyuan nodded slightly, tacitly agreeing with his nephew’s words.
Since things had come to this point, it was naturally inappropriate to refuse further.
The assistant drove the car. Lu Yuanqing wisely chose the front passenger seat, leaving the back seat for his uncle and Li Shu. He was as curious as a cat but didn’t dare to ask a single question.
Ruan Muyan once again came to the dormitory building where Li Shu lived. She had searched the entire campus these days but couldn’t find any trace of Li Shu. Convinced that he was avoiding her, she intended to find someone to clear up what happened that day.
She couldn’t believe that someone who had liked her so much would suddenly say he didn’t like her anymore. He had promised to always stand behind her. The person had also said that once he succeeded in conquering her, no matter what she did, he would always follow her, regarding her as his true love in this life. What went wrong?
She couldn’t eat or sleep in peace until she figured out this problem.
Only a few people knew about Li Shu being sick and hospitalized. Zheng Jiarong and the others had heard about Ruan Muyan’s recent actions and were afraid she would disturb Li Shu at the hospital, so they kept this matter hidden.
Next to the student dormitory, there was a small parking lot. Following Lu Yuanqing’s instructions, the assistant parked the car directly there. As Li Shu and others got out of the car, they happened to see a girl looking around downstairs at the dormitory building.
“Why is she here…”
Before he could finish complaining, Ruan Muyan had already spotted them.
“Li Shu!” The girl ran forward, her skirt fluttering in the breeze and drawing a graceful arc. She stopped in front of Li Shu and asked softly, “Where have you been these days? I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
Li Shu looked at her coldly, but Ruan Muyan seemed unaware and took a few steps forward. “Let’s make up…”
The rest of her words were stuck in her throat and she felt as if she was being targeted by some giant beast. Her hair stood on end and she couldn’t utter a single syllable.
