“Hello.” Except for Li Heyuan, Li Shu was distant and indifferent towards everyone.
Fang Wei didn’t mind the man’s indifference. It was not easy for her to have the opportunity to come into contact with someone of Li Shu’s level. She was already very satisfied with this opportunity.
“Mr. Li, I’m not sure about the person I’ll be tutoring…” Fang Wei thought about the requirements in the contract. She wasn’t sure about the age of the student she would be tutoring. Generally, when parents hire tutors for their children, the scope of tutoring is limited, specified by grade and subject. However, the contract she signed was different. She would be tutoring in all subjects, including elementary and middle school level.
Li Shu glanced at his phone. “He’ll be here soon. You can get to know each other first.”
Li Heyuan attended a prestigious school where many children from the upper class circles in S City studied. For them, school was not just a place to study, but also a place to expand their social networks. It was obvious why Li Shu arranged for Li Heyuan to attend this school.
Word quickly spread among the well-informed. It was known early on that the head of the Li family had brought a child from outside. Even though it was an adoption, the child had officially taken on the Li surname, so regardless of the relationship between the child and the head of the Li family, they couldn’t afford to offend him. Instructions had been given to the younger generation at home to try to get along with Li Heyuan.
Some were entrusted by their families, while others were genuinely interested. Many children took the initiative to talk to Li Heyuan. Remembering what Li Shu had said about making more friends, Li Heyuan welcomed them all. In just a few days, a small circle of friends had been formed around him.
“Brother Li, do you have time at the end of the month to hang out?” Walking beside Li Heyuan was a teenager with dyed blond hair, wearing a loose school uniform that contrasted sharply with Li Heyuan’s neatly worn uniform.
Li Heyuan: “I’m not sure. Sir said he would find a tutor for me. If I have time, I’ll go.”
“Tutoring, huh? The old man also said he’d find a tutor for me, but I refused,” the teenager put his hands behind his head and sighed . “It’s the holidays, how can I waste it on tutoring?”
But he knew Li Heyuan’s situation was different from theirs, so he didn’t try to persuade him.
After school, students streamed out of the school gate. Girls wore uniform skirts, boys wore white shirts and black pants, exuding youthfulness and vitality. Li Heyuan and the teenager beside him walked along with the crowd, parting ways at the intersection.
Everything here was vastly different from Li Heyuan’s previous life. At first, he had found it difficult to adjust, but thinking of sir, he forced himself to adapt to this world that almost overturned his sixteen years of habits.
At the school gate, Li Heyuan immediately spotted the car coming to pick him up. Thinking that sir might be in the car, his eyes brightened slightly.
“Young Master.”
The car window rolled down, and Li Heyuan only saw Klaus, with no one else in the back seat. Whether it was disappointment or something else, the light in his eyes gradually dimmed. He pursed his lips, hoisted his book bag, and got into the car, looking out the window without saying a word.
In his mind, he couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Was sir still at the company? Did he have dinner yet?’
He was so lost in thought that he didn’t realize the route they took today was different from before.
“Young Master, we’re here.” The car stopped, and Klaus spoke.
“This is…” Li Heyuan got out of the car and realized they were on a commercial street. Obviously, this wasn’t where they lived.
Klaus pointed to a shop on the roadside. “Master Li is waiting for you inside. He has something to discuss with you.”
Li Heyuan looked in the direction Klaus was pointing to and saw an elegant shop. He was curious about what could be discussed outside instead of at home.
A man dressed as a waiter led Li Heyuan upstairs. As he reached the top of the stairs and turned around, Li Heyuan saw the man he had been thinking about all the way here. But before he could feel happy, he noticed the young woman sitting across from the man.
‘Who is she?!’
As if struck by a heavy hammer, Li Heyuan’s ears buzzed, his mind a mess. The joy of seeing Li Shu vanished before it could even take root.
He stood still, his legs as heavy as lead, unable to take a step. The man and woman sitting opposite each other, and the woman with a flowery smile were such a beautiful scene, but it deeply pierced his heart.
At that moment, Li Heyuan realized with absolute clarity that one day, his sir would start a family with someone else, and all attention would be on his future partner. Sir would have his own children. Then what about him? He never belonged to this family from the beginning. He was just an outsider.
This realization filled Li Heyuan with despair. He didn’t want such a thing to happen. Shouldn’t sir have only him by his side forever? Wasn’t that better?
The waiter took a few steps and noticed that the guest hadn’t followed. “Guest?”
Li Heyuan snapped out of his thoughts, his gaze refocused and pushed all his thoughts down into his heart. That was sir. How could he have such rebellious thoughts?
However, once the seeds are planted, they only needed a little opportunity to take root, sprout, and thrive.
Footsteps approached, accompanied by a familiar voice, “Sir, who is this?”
Li Shu turned his head and saw Li Heyuan standing by the table, his body inexplicably tense. He patted the sofa beside him, “Sit, this is the teacher I found for you, Miss Fang, a top student from S University.”
So it was a tutor for him. Li Heyuan remembered that before he went to school, Li Shu had mentioned finding a tutor for him. It was great that it wasn’t the kind of possibility he had in mind.
“Teacher Fang, hello, I look forward to your guidance.”
“Hello.” Fang Wei was surprised. This boy was polite and didn’t seem to resist tutoring. Was the hostility she felt earlier just an illusion?
When Li Heyuan arrived, Li Shu didn’t talk much. Occasionally, he said a few words to Li Heyuan. Li Heyuan preferred that Li Shu didn’t speak to Fang Wei, so actively took over the conversation. Fang Wei tried to shift the topic to Li Shu several times, but Li Heyuan subtly blocked her attempts.
After hitting several soft walls, Fang Wei learned to be cautious and stopped making futile efforts. She realized this boy had a strong sense of possessiveness towards Mr. Li. But it didn’t matter; the first step had already been achieved.
Both of them were outside, so Li Shu took Li Heyuan out for a meal and then a casual stroll. Since arriving at the Li household, Li Heyuan had either been in the apartment or at school and hadn’t visited other places.
Li Heyuan was different from other children his age. He wasn’t playful, didn’t have boundless energy that made him restless, and had little curiosity about the outside world. He could spend the whole day in the study reading quietly and without causing trouble, making him very worry-free.
For Li Heyuan, as long as Li Shu was by his side, he could be anywhere.
“Xiao Yuan, do you dislike Miss Fang?” Li Shu, who had been resting with his eyes closed in the car, suddenly spoke. He just realized that Li Heyuan seemed somewhat resistant to Fang Wei.
“No, I…” Li Heyuan panicked, thinking Li Shu had noticed something. He didn’t want to lie to Li Shu. If he expressed his true feelings, Li Shu would definitely be upset and might even be disappointed in him. He didn’t want to see the look of disappointment in Li Shu’s eyes.
“You don’t need to try to deceive me,” Li Shu said without turning around, keeping his eyes half-closed. “I specifically found you a younger teacher so that you might get along better and reduce your resistance to tutoring.”
Having read so many system-provided materials, Li Shu clearly understood how much students disliked tutoring. He thought Li Heyuan’s dislike for Fang Wei was based on this matter. After all, no matter how mature the protagonist was, he was still a half-grown child and a student.
When he heard the first sentence, Li Heyuan’s heart hung high, his fists clenched, and his body tensed, waiting for the final judgment. What he received was not the worst result but Li Shu’s next words, which declared his release. Life and death depended on that single sentence.
“I know I was wrong. I will follow Teacher Fang’s teachings well and not disappoint sir.”
Something about these words felt off. Li Shu thought about it for a moment, but couldn’t pinpoint it, so he simply set it aside.
With proper nutrition, Li Heyuan started growing rapidly, as if all his previous dormancy was for this moment. The clothes prepared for him at the beginning of the month were too short by mid-month, exposing his ankles.
Growing too fast had side effects, such as bone pain. During the day, it was manageable, but at night, Li Heyuan was often woken by the pain and couldn’t sleep.
This situation could be hidden for a day or two, but not longer. Prolonged lack of sleep would wear out even the strongest person. Seeing Li Heyuan’s spirits getting worse day by day and the dark circles under his eyes, Li Shu called him over to ask directly.
“What’s going on with you these days? Are you not sleeping at night?” It was rare for Li Shu to show a stern face in front of Li Heyuan.
He was very angry. After all the effort to nurture this child back to health, a few days had undone it all, making it seem like all the effort was in vain.
Li Heyuan kept his head down and didn’t answer. He could see that Li Shu was angry, but he didn’t want Li Shu to worry about him. It was just a bit of pain; he could endure it.
“Not talking?” Li Shu put down his chopsticks and left directly.
The footsteps grew fainter. Li Heyuan gritted his teeth and looked up. In the large dining room, he was the only one left. Across from him, half of the food on Li Shu’s plate was untouched.
‘It’s all my fault. I made sir angry and he didn’t have enough to eat.’
Li Shu went straight to his room and sat on the bed, lost in thought.
1314 asked cautiously, [Is the host angry with the protagonist?]
Li Shu: [Why would I be angry with him?]
[The protagonist didn’t mean to upset you. He just didn’t want you to worry about such a small matter.] 1314 couldn’t tell if the host was angry or not. It quietly defended the protagonist. Over the past few days, it had realized that the protagonist valued the host above all else, but it couldn’t discern the host’s attitude.
Li Shu: [I know.]
1314: [Then why is the host angry?]
The last question was interrupted by a knock on the door. 1314 fell silent and Li Shu didn’t respond immediately. After three rounds of knocking, Li Shu finally said, “Come in.”
Li Heyuan entered with a bowl of steaming noodles. “Sir, please eat something. Don’t harm your health by staying angry.”
Li Shu stared at Li Heyuan for a while. The young boy looked pitiful, like an abandoned puppy. He hadn’t been sleeping well these past few days, and his spirit was already weak. Being frightened by Li Shu just now made him even more lost.
“Forget it,” Li Shu waved his hand. “Put the bowl on the table and come over here.”
Li Heyuan followed the instruction obediently.
“Do you know why I’m angry?” Li Shu asked.
Li Heyuan quickly glanced at Li Shu and mumbled, “Because I was disobedient.”
Li Shu’s expression was unreadable. He patted the boy’s head. “I won’t get angry because of your disobedience. I’m raising a person, not a pet. Think it over and come back to me when you understand.”
With such a big matter weighing on his mind, Li Heyuan found it even more difficult to rest well. He thought of various reasons, then subconsciously dismissed them. In fact, he had a vague idea, but he couldn’t be sure.
During the day, Li Shu spent more time at the company. Fang Wei had hoped to get more opportunities to interact with this influential figure from the Li family through these tutoring classes, but in the end, she didn’t see someone after several visits.
After returning empty-handed once again, Fang Wei felt a wave of frustration as she sat on the subway back to school. After getting off the subway, she felt her phone vibrate. Taking it out of her bag, she frowned at the name on the screen.
Finding a secluded spot, Fang Wei answered the call.
“Why has there been no progress on your end for so long?” a low male voice came from the other side of the phone.
Fang Wei couldn’t help but complain, “I haven’t even seen him these past few days. Without seeing him, even if I have a million ways, I can’t implement them.”
“You should try to start with that child.”
“Do you think I haven’t tried? That child guards against me like I’m a thief, afraid I’ll get even a step closer.” Speaking of this, Fang Wei felt helpless. Li Heyuan was clearly a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, at an age where he should have some romantic interests, yet he seemed to have none. After all, she was known as the school flower of S University.
Whatever the other person said next made Fang Wei’s expression turn ugly. She gritted her teeth, “I understand. I’ll speed things up.”
Having spent more than a decade in the orphanage, Li Heyuan had already honed a pair of discerning eyes. When Fang Wei once again tried to test him, he stopped what he was doing and stared at her intently.
Li Heyuan’s pupils were different from others, they were a pure black. When she was looked at by those pitch-black eyes, it was as if a large predator was watching her. Meeting such eyes suddenly, Fang Wei felt a chill in her heart.
Fear quickly filled her mind, and Fang Wei barely maintained her surface calm, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I just wanted to remind you, teacher, not to think about things you shouldn’t. The most important thing for a person is self awareness, right, Teacher Fang?”
Li Heyuan’s voice was soft, and he was even smiling, but there was no emotion in his eyes. They were as cold as ice, filled with violence. In the moderately air-conditioned room, sweat started to bead on Fang Wei’s back. At this moment, she recalled the hostility she felt when they first met. It wasn’t an illusion; this boy truly harbored hostility towards her!
Facing the boy’s gaze, Fang Wei felt waves of fear. This child usually disguised himself so well, he looked like an ordinary, harmless, fragile boy, but in reality, he was not a meek rabbit but a dangerous and cunning beast.
“Since the teacher understands, let’s continue the lesson.” As if satisfied with Fang Wei’s reaction, Li Heyuan’s eyes curved into a smile, the coldness disappearing.
The pressure receded like a tide, and Fang Wei pulled herself out of the fear. Looking at Li Heyuan, who had reverted to his gentle, harmless appearance, her heart sank.
She thought about all her attempts, how every time she visited, Li Shu was never there. What else couldn’t she understand now, it wasn’t bad luck; this demon boy had been preventing her from contacting Li Shu, having already seen through her ulterior motives!
“Li Heyuan,” for the first time, Fang Wei called him by his full name. Her gaze shifted slightly and she asked, “I’m curious, does Mr. Li know about this side of you?”
“I don’t think this is something you need to worry about, Teacher Fang. Teacher Fang just needs to do her job well,” Li Heyuan rested his chin on his hands, his eyes bright like he had found a favorite toy, “Don’t you agree, Teacher Fang?”
Fang Wei didn’t respond. She looked past Li Heyuan and slowly smiled.
Sensing something was wrong, Li Heyuan turned around. Not far away stood a man, silently watching them. He didn’t know how long he had been there. From the short distance, Li Heyuan could clearly see the man’s calm expression.
How long had he been standing there? Had he seen everything? Would sir think he was a bad child and regret bringing him back?
Li Heyuan panicked.
