Chapter 15: Granma Li’s emotional blackmail

In the Li residence, even in the middle of the night, there was a flurry of activity. Mrs Li was visiting and her grandson was not home. The house staff were running around like headless chicken having the elder around. She was not happy.

When Li Naihe finally made it to the compound his home was located in, he could see the activity inside and outside of the house. 'Here we go again' he thought to himself, as the driver was pulling the car in front of the entrance of his mansion.

It was a grand building, almost like a castle. Anyone passing by who had travelled a little could tell this was a monstrous construction. In the dark, it was almost like an eerie feeling would take over you the closer you got to the building.

Li Naihe didn't think so. It was true, sometimes he could hear the house staff jokingly saying all it was missing was a moat, and it would be the perfect dragon layer, but he liked it. There was a sense of peace he associated with the place, even if it might've looked a bit on the darker side.

In reality, the home did not fit the traditional architecture of the area. It was a converted old manor which he picked and redesigned in a gothic style architecture. He loved this style; it reminded him of all his travels around Europe and some of the big cathedrals he had visited. They made such a strong impression on him, he wanted to keep revisiting them even if he couldn't in person. That's why Li Naihe opted for this style of construction during the renovation of his property. It really had nothing to do with being a grumpy fire spitting dragon protecting its wealth. Yes, he also heard his house staff saying that, and they were not the only ones.

He had to admit he was ruthless but that's how he was trained. Sometimes he wished he had a normal upbringing, but alas, it was not in the cards for him, so he had to make the best lemonade he could out of all the sour lemons that life had thrown at him.

His home was all decorated by him. He handpicked everything from the larger furniture pieces to the smaller decorations like vases and even tableware. He was a myth and history buff so you could find interesting artefacts and antiquities around the house, elegantly placed to be admired by visitors. Well mostly by him, since he really hated other people invading his personal space.

The house was elegant and the décor was minimalistic in a way, but exuded a strong sense of nobility, power and control.

In his living room, on his very comfortable couch, rested an older woman. She was the madam of the house Li, and his grandmother. The only living close relative he had in this world.

Although elderly, the woman maintained her appearance and her elegance. She was beautiful, even in her older age. Li Naihe had inherited his more prominent features from her side of the family.

His grandmother was no joke though. She was very loving and caring towards him but would step all over anyone who would dare confront them or threaten their lifestyle, or life sometimes. As a woman of power all she was hoping was for her grandson to live a happy life and most importantly not to be lonely. She did admit she had turned into one of those classic stories of overbearing grandmothers who would be willing to do anything just to see her beloved grandson starting his family. Although he was still young, and justifiably focused on his career and maintaining the family empire entire generations had built, she was still a grandmother hoping to see her grand-grand children in this lifetime.

She thought she still had a good 10 years left, if not more, and was hoping to at least hold Li Naihe's firstborn once. Then she could die happy.

Alas, the man refused any and all offers to even have a date. She had tried to set him up with all eligible bachelorettes, and even went so far as to invite her foreign friends who had daughters to visit them, in the hopes that Naihe would meet someone he liked. She wouldn't force a relationship if there was nothing there, but out of all the women she had introduced him to, she was just hoping one would stick. None did.

When Li Naihe stepped through the door, she put her tea cup down and stared straight at him. If he didn't know any better he would cower in front of that gaze; but he did know better, this was his grandmother here to force another blind date on him. 'I wonder how I'm going to get out of this one' he thought sighing inwardly at the sight.

'Here we go…'

"Good evening grandmother, you're visiting quite late."

"Excuse you?! How else am I supposed to see my grandson?! You never visit, you barely call, and now I have to track you down in the middle of the night… what do you have to say for yourself?!"

This was not going well. He knew he made a mistake when he refused to take her out for lunch last weekend. He probably could've gained a week of peace over the matter of his marriage. He miscalculated how determined old Mrs Li was when it came to him and a potential child in his life.

He sighed loudly "Grandmother, I've just been very busy, you know we're expanding now, and I didn't have time to visit you."

Grandma Li's eyes were now starting to show tears and Li Naihe was getting ready for the emotional blackmail that was about to follow.

"Xiao Nai, do you really want grandma to pass away without seeing you happy? All I want for you is to be happy, not lonely, cooped up in this big house with no one to care for you. That's all."

She wasn't crying yet, but it was not far. She knew he couldn't resit her teary eyes, and she was right. He would agree to anything just for her not to cry. What a cunning woman. She was certainly as ruthless as he was, but more subtle.

"Grandmother, I've told you a million times, the only woman I need in my life is you. There's no one more youthful and beautiful in my eyes. So you make sure you stay healthy and strong and keep me company in my old age." He said jokingly, hoping flattery would get him out of this.

As soon as he said that though, he had a flash of a beautiful woman, with long black hair wearing a cheap pair of sunglasses and the most inappropriate and ridiculous office attire. 'Why was he thinking of Liehe-no, Raven, at this time.'

"Excuse you?! You think if you flatter me you'll get away with it?!" her powerful voice resonated in his ears and brought him back to the reality of the conversation in front of him.

"Xiao Nai, you are young, and yes no one wants to see you succeed more than me, but do you really not want anyone to share that with? Is it not lonely?"

She hit a bit of a sore spot with that question. He had to admit, tonight in particular, he did feel lonely, and misunderstood. When that woman had yelled at him and challenged his way of running the company, it bothered him. He knew deep down he was a terrible person, but he was never bad to those loyal to him. He did want someone to help him change, or maybe just challenge him like she did; but he resigned himself to knowing that would never happen. No one, man or woman, could accept him for who he really was, so what was the point.

The image of Raven's cold, vicious stare hit him again. She was so powerful in her delivery, and he couldn't stop thinking of those scenes, replaying them in his mind.

"Tell me grandson, what are you thinking of?"

"Nothing grandmother, I'm just tired."

She was going to leave him alone to rest as soon as she would get him to agree with one more date. She had worked months to get to this result, and she would not rest until her grandson had met this woman.

She was an excellent young lady, kind and caring and from a good family. She was quite gifted academically as well and would make an excellent partner for her grandson. She had many suitors of course, but had never taken a liking to any of them, and her family were hoping to introduce more high society eligible bachelors to her, in the hopes of securing an advantageous marriage. They wouldn't force her into anything of course, but if they could benefit from her marriage there was no harm in that.

When she met their family, Grandma Li could sense that not everyone was on the same page with her values, but she met the girl, and she approved of her, from the brief lunch they had. If only Li Naihe would like her too, Grandma Li felt like it could go somewhere; so she had to set them up.