Before Li Shu crossed over, the original owner had been living in the old house of the Li family. If Li Shu hadn’t crossed over, the original owner would have spent most of the next three years living here.
The old house was located halfway up the mountain, not too remote. Besides the Li family, several other families also lived in this area, but the distance between them was considerable, and they generally didn’t interfere with each other.
Before the illness worsened, the original owner lived in this mansion on the mountainside with other members of the Li family. This mansion, together with the Li family, had experienced hundreds of years of wind and rain. It had undergone major renovations during the original owner’s father’s time in power and minor repairs over the years. The facilities inside were very modern, with all the necessary entertainment equipment.
In the hall, there were European-style leather sofas, and the lights on the ceiling were bright and dazzling. Several members of the Li family were sitting on the sofas, obviously having received advance notice to wait for their return.
Apart from Li Shu, the others in the Li family subtly regarded Li Shu as their leader. They all knew that Li Shu had adopted a child and even given him the “Li” surname. Naturally, they had also investigated this child. Since Li Shu didn’t make a fuss about this matter, they could easily find out about Li Heyuan’s background.
—He was a true orphan.
There was no issue with his background, and there was no possibility of him being an illegitimate child brought home as an adopted son, as they had imagined. No wonder they speculated so much. For so many years, there had been no one around Li Shu, and he had no desire to marry and have children. It seemed as if he planned to live alone for the rest of his life.
Of course, the Li family members were happy about Li Shu’s approach. Having no offspring meant that their children would have one less powerful competitor in the future for the position of family head. After all, that was the position of family head; who wouldn’t want to hold it in their hands?
As they watched their own children grow older and there was still no movement from Li Shu’s side, when they had gradually relaxed their vigilance, Li Shu brought back a child and even gave him the Li surname, and even planned to hold a grand birthday banquet for him.
What did this mean?
It meant that from now on, that child became a member of the Li family, and the treatment he received would be the same as those children with Li family blood.
The opportune moment to compete for the position of family head was approaching, but suddenly a stumbling block appeared, and one with a strong backing at that, how could people not jump at this time? While those who were indifferent to power were fine, those like eldest brother of the Li family were practically itching with hatred for the sudden appearance of Li Heyuan.
They wanted to try the boy out, but Li Shu had protected him too well. After bringing him back, he didn’t even return to the old house. So they couldn’t do anything they wanted to do.
After numerous attempts yielded no results, they could only wait for an opportunity to see the real person.
The opportunity soon came. Someone suggested that during the short holiday, Li Heyuan should get to know the Li family members better. Li Shu just considered it briefly and agreed. He intended to pave a path for the male protagonist that was different from the original plot, but some things were unavoidable.
The sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy grew rapidly, and after a period of time of supplementation, he was more than a head taller than when they first met. His demeanor was also completely different from before, like a true child raised in an upper-class family.
After Li Shu’s introduction, he ignored the probing, questioning, or hostile gazes, greeted the Li family members present with a calm expression, and quickly matched these people with the bits of information he remembered.
Over the next few days, Li Shu and Li Heyuan would stay here. Klaus started taking their luggage upstairs, mainly Li Heyuan’s, as Li Shu’s belongings were already here.
“Clear out the room next to mine for Xiao Yuan to live in,” Li Shu put one hand on Li Heyuan’s shoulder and said to the servant waiting nearby.
The servant withdrew in response.
“I say, family head, are you spoiling this child too much? He’s already so grown up, but he still has to live next to you?” It wasn’t that he was deliberately looking for trouble, but the rooms on the third floor, where Li Shu lived, were all reserved for past family heads. Besides the master bedroom, there were no other rooms for guests to live in.
Although the others didn’t say anything, their expressions showed agreement. The main reason was that Li Shu’s words had a different symbolic meaning. If Li Heyuan moved in there, it would be equivalent to tacitly agreeing to his succession as the next family head. How could they be willing to accept this?
The eldest brother came out to mediate, “Let Xiao yuan live on the second floor. It’s more convenient for him to socialize more with his peers. It’s better for people of the same age to live together, with less constraint compared to living with us adults. I knew you were going to bring someone over, so the room is all prepared. It’s next to Zixuan’s room.”
Li Shu thought about it and agreed. He looked at the young man and asked, “Where does Xiao Yuan want to live?”
Naturally, Li Heyuan wanted to live with Li Shu, but he also knew that doing so would upset the other Li family members. He didn’t want to cause trouble for Li Shu. “I’ll live on the second floor.”
Li Shu didn’t say anything, just glanced faintly at the person who had spoken first and nodded.
The seven-day short holiday was spent in the old house. Due to presence of the giant Buddha, Li Shu, the other members of the Li family didn’t dare to do anything to Li Heyuan even if they were dissatisfied. Everything was peaceful.
Perhaps warned by the elders at home, the younger generation of the Li family treated Li Heyuan very well. No matter what they thought in their hearts, there was nothing wrong on the surface.
Li Shu still went to the company during the day, and Li Heyuan had his own class schedule. The two of them didn’t spend much time at the old house, and their daily routines were the same as usual.
Li Shu wanted to give the protagonist a break, but the protagonist refused. In his opinion, everything was the same if he couldn’t be with Li Shu. Seeing that he couldn’t change his mind, Li Shu let him be.
1314 even sighed that he was the most studious teenager it had ever seen. Boys of this age were usually playful, if it weren’t for his youthful appearance, there was really nothing boyish about the protagonist. It was as if he had skipped this stage and grown up into an adult.
The Li family members in the old house wanted to test Li Heyuan while Li Shu was away, but unfortunately, Li Heyuan didn’t give them any chance. Even if they stopped him for questioning, he spoke without revealing anything, and one by one, the Li family returned without yielding any results.
As he watched the man in the black suit leave, Li Heyuan lowered his gaze. The Li family was even more complicated than he had imagined, and his sir’s situation was far from as good as he had thought.
No wonder Klaus had told him before that to survive in the Li family, one must be strong enough. Now he realized with great clarity that Klaus’s words were not exaggerated at all; he spoke the truth. Even with sir’s protection, if he couldn’t become strong on his own, he would sooner or later be gnawed to the bone by these people in the Li family.
He thought he was working hard enough, but now it seemed not. He already had a weaker foundation compared to his peers in the Li family, and the things he was just beginning to learn might have been ingrained in others since childhood. He was proud of his small achievements, but after interacting with his peers in the Li family, he realized that he still lacked a lot.
It was not enough, it was far from enough. He had to master more things in the shortest time possible, not just from books, but also from practical experience.
The short holiday ended, and everything returned to normal. Li Shu asked Klaus to pack up and prepare to return to their usual apartment. As Li Shu stood on the stairs talking to Li Heyuan, he was suddenly interrupted.
“Why does the family head have to move out for an outsider?”
Li Ziyue stood not far from them, his eyelashes lowered, and the slanting light cast a shadow on his face, covering half of it, making his expression unclear.
Li Shu paused, and was a little puzzled. “Why would you think so?”
He didn’t live here because he didn’t want to engage in mental battles outside the company, nor did he want to see those unpleasant faces in his resting place. Why did others think he was moving out for Li Heyuan?
“The family head used to live here in the old house, but after he came,” Li Ziyue pointed to Li Heyuan, “you didn’t come back.”
He thought that Li Shu would live in the old house as before after returning this time. Who would have expected that Li Shu would leave again after the holiday? It was all because of Li Heyuan. If it weren’t for this extra person, why wouldn’t Li Shu live here?
“You’re wrong,” Li Shu chuckled softly. He was in a good mood and didn’t mind talking a few more words with this dear nephew, “I’m not living here because I want to change my living place. Do you others can influence where I choose to live?”
‘No.’ Li Ziyue almost instinctively thought of this answer. He was the eldest among the younger generation of the Li family and was different from the others. Unlike others, he admired Li Shu very much, far more than his own father. In his heart, Li Shu was the strongest person in the Li family, his goal. He had been striving to approach Li Shu, and in such a situation, he naturally knew what kind of person Li Shu was.
“I was wrong, please forgive me, family head.” Li Ziyue walked out of the shadow, lowered his head, and apologized sincerely. He knew he shouldn’t have asked such a question, but he couldn’t help it. He was jealous, jealous of this child Li Shu brought back. He got everything he had dreamed of so easily.
That was the person he had admired since childhood. Getting a word of praise from him would make him excited and sleepless all night long. He dreamed of the day when he could receive his praise. While he was still striving for this goal, someone else had already obtained everything he wanted, and even more. How could he not be jealous? In his memory, the family head had always been cold and aloof, high above and unmoved by anyone. He thought the family head would always be like this, but…
Li Heyuan appeared, and in just a few days, he saw a family head who was completely different from what he had known. That person descended from the clouds to the dust, close yet distant to him.
Li Shu still had a good impression of Li Ziyue. He was a rare understanding person in the Li family, and one of the few who sincerely cared about the original owner. His cold eyes softened slightly, “You’re not wrong, there’s no need to apologize for such matters.”
Just then, Klaus finished packing, and Li Shu asked Li Heyuan to leave.
‘Sir treats this person differently from the rest of the Li family.’ Li Heyuan paused slightly and couldn’t help but look back.
Li Ziyue was still standing there, looking in the direction they were leaving. He happened to meet Li Heyuan’s gaze, and after a moment, they both looked away, their eyes filled with gloom.
“That person is Li Ziyue. You can communicate with him more, but you can ignore the other members of the Li family if you want.”
The man’s gentle voice sounded, and Li Heyuan said “mmm” obediently. He walked a step behind Li Shu, his face showing compliance, but his slightly lowered eyes grew darker.
Thanks for the updates ☺️