Li Shu had a sudden thought to come back and check on the protagonist’s study progress. He didn’t expect to see such a scene. He knew the protagonist wasn’t as harmless as he appeared, and now it seemed he was right.
No matter how much he acted like a docile rabbit, it couldn’t hide the wolf-like nature inside.
Seeing that Li Heyuan had noticed him, Li Shu nodded slightly and turned to leave. Honestly, this side of Li Heyuan made him feel more at ease. He only had three years. If Li Heyuan had always been like a little white rabbit, it would have given him a headache.
The Li family was just an appetizer. After leaving the Li family would be Li Heyuan’s true battlefield.
The next lesson was impossible to continue. Both teacher and student were preoccupied with other things and were not focusing on the lesson. Fang Wei worried about her identity being exposed, and Li Heyuan worried that his true nature would upset Li Shu. For the first time, they both had the same goal and hoped the lesson would end quickly.
Fang Wei pretended to be confused and finished today’s tutoring session earlier. She then hurriedly left with her bag, trying to maintain a façade of calm, for fear that someone would suddenly appear to ask her to stay.
It wasn’t until she was on the subway that Fang Wei finally relaxed a bit. She took out her phone, looked at the familiar number on the screen, hesitated for a moment, then turned off the screen.
Maybe Li Shu didn’t hear anything. Holding onto a glimmer of hope, Fang Wei decided to keep today’s events to herself.
Li Heyuan stood at the study door, his right hand poised to knock but never did. He was afraid, afraid to see the look of disappointment on Li Shu’s face.
He admitted that his usual obedient demeanor was a just an act. Adults like obedient children. The adults in the orphanage had always said this. They always taught children who were going to new families to be obedient, that only obedient children would be liked by their new parents.
Li Heyuan knew he had a bad personality, was paranoid and vengeful. The director had said more than once that with his personality, even if he went to a new family, he couldn’t win their favor. It was better for him to stay in the orphanage.
Would sir like the real him?
Li Heyuan didn’t know. He didn’t dare to bet on that one in a million chance, so he hid his true self, molding himself into a likable child according to the template, but it seemed…
It wasn’t very successful.
He clenched his hand into a fist, he seemed to have messed things up. A few days ago, he had upset sir, and he hadn’t figured out why. Now, sir had witnessed this scene. Would he think he was a fraud, not worth treating like this? Would he want to send him back to the orphanage?
He didn’t want to leave, and didn’t want to leave sir’s side. He was willing to accept any punishment, as long as he wasn’t kicked out.
“What are you doing standing outside? Come in.”
While he was thinking wildly, Li Heyuan heard Li Shu’s voice. From the tone alone, he couldn’t tell if Li Shu was angry or not. After hesitating for a moment, Li Heyuan gently pushed open the study door.
“Sir, I was wrong.”
Li Shu was dealing with documents sent by his assistant and looked up at the words, “What did you go wrong?”
Li Heyuan stood in front of Li Shu with his head bowed, like a student caught doing something wrong by a teacher. “I shouldn’t have deceived you.”
Li Shu put down the work in his hand, his tone unchanged. “Tell me, what did you deceive me about?”
“I…” Li Heyuan was stuck. He originally thought he would be scolded by Li Shu, but Li Shu hadn’t said a word of reproach. He wasn’t even sure if Li Shu had seen the scene just now.
“Xiao Yuan, since I brought you back to the Li family, it means I acknowledge you as part of the Li family. Remember, whatever you do, I am behind you. You don’t need to worry that I will abandon you because of something you do to upset me. At the Li family, at school, anywhere, you don’t need to change yourself to please anyone.”
Li Shu leaned back in his chair, hands crossed in front of his abdomen. He wore a pair of silver-rimmed glasses, and a long chain hung down, adding a hint of allure to his otherwise restrained appearance.
Bravely lifting his head, Li Heyuan met Li Shu’s eyes. In that moment, all the cluttered thoughts were cleared from his mind, leaving only those eyes.
Through the lenses, their gazes met.
Li Shu’s calm eyes seemed to contain immense power and inspiration. Facing them, Li Heyuan’s old beliefs were washed away one by one. Yes, he wasn’t the penniless child from the orphanage anymore. He was Li Heyuan of the Li family, and the person standing behind him was the head of the Li family. His every word and action represented Li Shu’s dignity.
Some things he didn’t need to dwell on. With his current status, he didn’t need to pretend to be a good child in the eyes of others. As long as he gained his sir’s approval, it didn’t matter what others thought; it wouldn’t affect him in the slightest.
Having come to this realization, the aura around Li Heyuan underwent a drastic change. He was no longer the kind and gentle façade he had put on, but the real him, sharp, with an undeniable presence.
Only his gaze towards Li Shu remained unchanged, filled with admiration, submission, and layers of hidden possessiveness.
“I was just… afraid that sir wouldn’t like me this way.” Li Heyuan stared at the man in front of him, his eyes containing many things. Although young, the life in the orphanage had long stripped away his innocence.
“Actually, you should know,” Li Shu smiled, “I must have known something about you before bringing you back. It may not be entirely accurate, but I know enough. Since I brought you back, I naturally don’t care about these harmless details.”
These words were quite clear. The heavy stone in Li Heyuan’s heart finally fell. “As long as sir isn’t angry.”
Li Shu: “As for the tutoring matter, can you handle it yourself?”
This was an admission that he had indeed seen the scene earlier. The panic in Li Heyuan’s heart had long disappeared. He knew this was a test from Li Shu, and spoke up without hesitation, “I can handle it!”
Li Shu was very satisfied with this answer. “Once you finish learning the basic knowledge, I’ll find a specialized teacher to teach you other things, things that a member of the Li family must learn.”
“In a few days, I’ll take you back to the old house to meet the other members of the Li family. Before that, I’ll take you to the company.”
Managing such a large enterprise was not Li Shu’s strong suit. He had never studied this aspect himself; dealing with company matters relied half on the memories of the original owner and half on 1314. With his current body unable to work for long periods, instead of benefiting those who had benefited from the original owner’s blood, it was better to entrust it to Li Heyuan.
The visit to the company was scheduled for the end of September. Before that, Li Shu had Klaus give the protagonist a detailed introduction to the situation of the Li family, so that he would be prepared. Li Heyuan’s workload suddenly increased. Li Shu had originally intended to wait for him to finish learning the basics before teaching him other subjects, but after hearing about the situation of the Li family, Li Heyuan took the initiative to approach Li Shu, asking to start learning other subjects from now on.
Li Shu knew this was the protagonist’s crisis awareness kicking in. After thinking for a day, he agreed. There wasn’t much time left for him. During this time, the more the protagonist learned, the more beneficial it would be for him in the future.
As expected of the world’s favored child, Li Heyuan found learning business concepts very easy. Besides business, he also had to learn etiquette, self-defense, and other courses, and his schedule was full.
Sometimes Li Shu would watch Li Heyuan’s classes. No one saw the boy’s efforts more clearly than he did. The academic load in the first year of high school wasn’t heavy, so Li Heyuan focused on knowledge outside the textbooks.
The changes were huge. The boy standing before Li Shu ten days later was completely different from before. Now, Li Heyuan looked like a young noble who had received a good education from childhood. Who could associate him with the unpopular boy from the orphanage?
Li Heyuan already had an appearance that was not inferior to others. As his body grew taller and his temperament changed, he became more popular in school, especially among the girls.
The holiday was about to come, and students gathered in small groups to discuss where to go and hang out. Laughter and chatter filled the air as Li Heyuan walked along the path with a blond boy. This was one of the few friends he approved of, named Gu Yi.
Gu Yi was talking to Li Heyuan when they were interrupted by a sudden female voice, “Classmate, wait.”
A long-haired girl emerged at the corner and stood in front of them. She was quite pretty, with rosy cheeks from exercise, and her eyes were lowered, too shy to look at the tall boy.
Gu Yi was the first to react. This was obviously a confession scene. It was the first time for him to see someone confess to Li Heyuan directly. Looking at the girl in front of me, she had a palm-sized face, a pointed chin, and big eyes. She was a standard beauty.
He winked at the young man beside him and said to himself: Brother, you are so lucky.
But his brother only regarded beauty as bones. Without any ripple in his eyes, he asked said coldly: “Is something wrong?”
The girl obviously didn’t expect this reaction. She hesitated, unable to speak.
“I…” The girl bit her lip and took out a pink envelope from her hand, handing it over with trembling hands, too shy to look up. “Please accept it Classmate Li.”
The envelope was a very girly pink color with a big heart pattern, obviously a love letter.
‘It really is a confession!’ Gu Yi watched the scene unfold, even more excited than Li Heyuan, the person involved. He looked at his indifferent friend, wishing he could accept the love letter from his girl on his behalf.
This girl was beautiful and had a good temperament. She was very worthy to have as a girlfriend.
The girl held up the envelope for a while, but Li Heyuan remained silent. Feeling embarrassed, she struggled to say something to salvage the situation. But just when she was about to say something, she heard the young man’s clear voice:
“I don’t have the time for this now. Keep the letter yourself, don’t waste your time on me.”
With that, Li Heyuan left directly.
Gu Yi glanced at the girl who didn’t react, then looked at Li Heyuan who was walking further and further away, and chased after him with his schoolbag. “Hey Brother Li, you’re not moved at all! She’s the new school flower, and several people who wanted to pursue her have been rejected. Even Li Zixuan from the next class was rejected yesterday. He even said he would make Shi Yao his girlfriend, but she rejected him outright.”
“I’m busy right now. I don’t have time for this,” Li Heyuan repeated.
“True,” Gu Yi nodded knowingly. “Seeing you study so much every day, I’m worried for you. Shouldn’t you reconsider, this study intensity is too high.”
“No need, it’s fine like this.” He had to keep learning and enrich himself. Every bit of knowledge brought him closer to sir. One day, he would be able to stand by sir’s side, instead of hiding under his wing as he did now.
Gu Yi knew Li Heyuan’s identity as the only child of the Li family head. As the only child of the head of the Li family, Li Heyuan’s every move was noticed by others, whether they were members of the Li family or other families. As soon as he entered the Li family and was given the surname Li, he stood on the cusp of the storm.
As for Li Heyuan’s past identity, Gu Yi knew a bit more than others, so he understood better how difficult Li Heyuan’s journey had been.
“Brother Li, do you have plans for tomorrow?” Gu Yi asked.
“I’m going to the old house. Why?” Li Heyuan replied.
“Didn’t you can agree to go out and play at the end of the month. The place is set, Dahua and the others will go too. I was hoping we could all get together,” Gu Yi said, sounding a bit helpless. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t have time.”
Sure enough, his prediction had come true.
“There will be other chances. After this period passes, there will be more free time,” Li Heyuan sharp eyes noticed the car coming to pick him up. It was different from the usual one; it was the car Li Shu often used.
‘Was sir here?’
So, Gu Yi saw his friend, who had just been confessed to by the school flower but was indifferent, suddenly become excited, despite his efforts to conceal it.
Li Shu was indeed in the car. This was his first time coming to the school to pick up Li Heyuan. Through the specially treated car window, he could clearly see everything happening outside.
The school was bustling with students, full of youthful vigor. Although they were all wearing the same school uniform, Li Shu still recognized Li Heyuan among the crowd.
Some people just had that kind of presence that made them stand out in a crowd, and Li Heyuan was obviously one of them.
Li Shu watched him walk outside the school while talking to the boy beside him, and he was very pleased to see him getting along with others. Young people of this age need friends. Li Heyuan obviously listened to his words and got along well with his classmates at school.
He watched the young man get closer and closer. Suddenly, he stopped and said something to the person beside him, then quickened his pace towards the car.
“Sir!” Li Heyuan exclaimed with surprise upon seeing the man sitting steadily in the middle of the back seat.
“We’re not going back to the city center today, we’re going straight to the old house.” This was an explanation of why he was here.
He had planned to take Li Heyuan to meet the other members of the Li family during this holiday, which also indicated his attitude. This child was a genuine member of the Li family and should be treated as such.
Li Heyuan could go anywhere with Li Shu . Naturally, he wouldn’t object. Although he preferred to be alone with Li Shu rather than meeting the other members of the Li family.
The old Li family house was located halfway up the mountain, quiet and secluded. Although it was a bit far from the city center, all the Li family members living elsewhere rushed back this time as soon as the head of the family spoke. No matter what little calculations they had in their hearts, they showed great respect to the family head on the surface.
The head of the family had always lived in the old house. Li Shu led Li Heyuan inside, and the eldest brother, who had been talking, stopped when he saw them. The young man beside him saw the boy following Li Shu and his expression darkened.
