Chapter 9 How many years have you been in Li Garden?

Li Zishen could see Tang Xiaowan's nervousness, and he didn't want to treat her like that.

Li Garden was heavily guarded and Bai Long was extremely cautious. Everyone who came in and out was thoroughly checked. Who had the capability to send in a card? For safety purposes, Li Zishen had no choice but to ask.

"Xiao Wan, quick, tell me the truth, or else soon I..."

"What, what are you going to do? You're several years older than me. You can't bully me just because you're older, and you certainly can't threaten me. The police would throw you straight in jail."

That statement was rather childish, and Li Zishen laughed.

"You are my prison; I've been trapped by you for a long time, no need for the police to intervene."

"Nonsense, don't come any closer to me, or I'll sue you."

"Sue me for what? You're an adult now."

Li Zishen forcefully took Tang Xiaowan's hand away and, tilting his head, leaned in closer.

"Let me go, what are you trying to do?"

"Without my permission, you can't go anywhere, got it?"

"On what grounds? I'm not your..."

Before Tang Xiaowan could finish her sentence, Li Zishen smiled and pressed down fiercely on her soft, red lips, kissing her dominantly as if declaring his sovereignty over every corner.

The bedroom was extremely quiet, with only the faint sound of feet shuffling on the wooden floor.

Tang Xiaowan's face was burning hot like a furnace.

When Li Zishen finally let go, she was gasping for air, her mind completely blank.

Her delicate fists were still trembling lightly but remained in the position they had been when Li Zishen had pinned her against the wall.

Her eyes were blank, showing neither joy nor anger.

Li Zishen looked at her deeply and affectionately, and helped lower her hand.

"Xiao Wan, are you okay?"

"How could you do this? My first kiss is gone, you stole it!"

Li Zishen's mouth curved slightly as he lightly touched Tang Xiaowan's flushed cheek: "First kiss, how do you know it was your first kiss, didn't you lose your memory?"

"None of your business, I say it was, so it was."

With those words, Tang Xiaowan delivered Li Zishen a resounding slap on the face. Before he could react, she was already sobbing uncontrollably. Li Zishen panicked and quickly pulled her into his embrace.

One trying to comfort, the other fighting back fiercely.

"Let me go, don't touch me."

"I'm sorry, Xiao Wan, sorry, don't be mad, okay? It's all my fault."

"Shameless, get away!"

Tang Xiaowan's angry look reminded Li Zishen of the second time they met.

That day, clutching Tang Xiaowan's information, he rushed to the changing room, just to find a suitable outfit to meet her.

After driving four hours, he finally arrived in Qingcheng.

But when he saw Tang Xiaowan, whom he had been looking for many days, through the glass window of the café, Li Zishen suddenly became nervous.

He didn't dare to go inside, not even sure what he was afraid of.

Until Tang Xiaowan picked up her bag and stood up to leave, he panicked and hurriedly caught up to greet her, but Tang Xiaowan no longer remembered him.

In the end, they parted unhappily.

Mistaken for a ruffian and a stalker, Li Zishen stood still for a long time, unable to calm down, until Tang Xiaowan's figure disappeared into the crowd, and he left in desolation.

At that moment, he knew he had fallen in love with her, and he could not avoid it for the rest of his life.

However, now, the girl was right in front of him.

Li Zishen slowly let go of his hands, filled with regret and overwhelming distress.

Damn, I actually forced a kiss on her!

Am I really going to become the despicable person in her eyes?

"Xiao Wan, I'm sorry, it was all my fault, don't be mad, I promise it will never happen again…"

"Are you leaving or not?"

"Alright then, calm down for a bit. I'll come back to pick you up in half an hour."

"Get out, I don't want to see you!"

After Li Zishen had left, Tang Xiaowan plunged into her silk quilt and pounded her mahogany bed furiously, even turning her jewelry box upside-down.

Her anger was not solely because of Li Zishen's forceful kiss but also because of her own helplessness.

Frail like a cat, letting him bully her.

This vengeance is a must, just you wait, you'll get what's coming, I swear I will kill you.

15 minutes later, there came two knocks on the door.

It took Tang Xiaowan quite a while to compose herself before she slowly said, "Come in."

A middle-aged woman dressed in a cheongsam entered. She was holding a large tray of round, green grapes and freshly cut pineapple.

These were some of Tang Xiaowan's favorite treats.

The woman, named Chen Xue, was 50 years old.

She held high esteem in Li Garden, not only because she was Li Zishen's nanny but also because she managed the entire Li Garden's daily affairs.

Everyone respected her and called her Nanny Chen.

"Xiaowan, would you like some fruit?"

"I don't want any."

Tang Xiaowan's voice was somewhat hoarse; her face was covered with the silk quilt, and her slim legs peeked out from under it, surrounded by various small ornaments strewn about the floor.

To Nanny Chen, this wasn't simply a bad mood but rather venting her anger through throwing things.

Why she was angry, Nanny Chen did not know.

What she did know was that the young master of the Leng Family, whom she had raised, had hopelessly fallen in love with this capricious girl, and he deeply cared about every frown and smile of hers.

Just a moment ago, upon leaving the bedroom, Li Zishen had called Nanny Chen, mentioning that Tang Xiaowan might be upset and asked her to come and check on her.

Though he didn't specify the reason, it wasn't hard to guess.

Nanny Chen suspected that it was probably because of Li Zishen's domineering attitude that had caused trouble.

She placed the tray next to a red food container and began to tidy up the scattered pieces of jewelry, then she briefly arranged the afternoon's black food box, planning to take it to the kitchen soon.

Tang Xiaowan dried her tears, yanked off the silk quilt, and got out of bed gloomily: "Nanny Chen."

"What is it, Xiaowan?"

Still barefoot, her sorrowful eyes now filled with a bit of confusion, Tang Xiaowan asked, "Nanny Chen, how many years have you been at Li Garden?"

Her voice was still hoarse, suppressing her anger.

Nanny Chen held the food box in her hand and answered lightly, "Almost 25 years."

"He was born, and then you came?"

This 'he' referred to Li Zishen; Nanny Chen knew without asking—the girl hadn't left Li Garden even once since her arrival.

Although there were many people in Li Garden, only a few had the chance to converse with the girl.

Everyone was afraid of her, and even more so of Li Zishen.

"Yes, the young master's mother, Madam Lai, was not in good health, so the young master was handed over to me right after he was born."

"Oh, I see. So, you're the person who has stayed the longest in Li Garden?"

"Uncle Cai came a month before me."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xiaowan immediately widened her eyes and stared straight at Nanny Chen: "What, Uncle Cai came even earlier than you?"

"Yes. What about it, Xiaowan?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. You can go on with your work."

Nanny Chen nodded her head, took the food box, and left. The bedroom was once again silent.

A few minutes later, Tang Xiaowan walked briskly to the mahogany bed and pulled out two gray paper cards from under the pillow; the writing was stunningly beautiful, as if printed.

A wave of doubt surged in her heart.