Chapter 21 The Annoying New Neighbor

Nanny Chen smiled, her crow's feet showing.

Li Zihan hadn't been raised by her, so, in her heart, she was somewhat biased toward her own "milk child" Li Zishen.

No matter who came to eat at Li Garden, even if it was Madam Lai, Yuan Min, Nanny Chen would still prepare the food according to Li Zishen's preferences—whether you liked it or not!

And now.

Li Zishen's tastes were changing along with Tang Xiaowan's.

Whatever she favored, that's what the kitchen would make.

"Brother, Mom says she won't let me stay here after school starts, worried I'll distract you. Do you also think I'll be a distraction?"

"No."

"Then you should talk to Mom about it."

Li Zishen paused and then said, "Alright."

"That's a promise, then. I'll move in tomorrow. Never mind, there's nothing important to bring over; everything's already here. I might as well just settle in."

After Li Zihan said this, she glanced at her brother, Li Zishen, and saw his eyes cast down and his lips tightly pressed. Unsure of what his expression meant, she took it as his silent consent and laughed, her face alight with mirth.

The Leng Family owned three old mansions in Jin City.

After Mr. Lai passed away, Nanjiang Villa in the Southern Suburb was left to the eldest son, Li Zhenshan; Wuyou Pavilion in the West Suburb to the second son, Li Wanshan; and Qingya Garden in the Northern Suburb was given to the youngest son, Lai Jingshan.

East Suburb Li Garden was the personal asset of Li Zhenshan.

He and his wife, Yuan Min, had a shotgun marriage with no foundation of affection.

Yuan Min married into the Leng Family on the seventh day after Li Zishen was born, without even a wedding ceremony.

After marriage, Yuan Min, as the eldest sister-in-law, had always been neglected. She lived in isolation at Nanjiang Villa for years, until she gave birth to her younger son, Li Zihan, which finally made her somewhat noticeable.

Therefore, Li Zishen, who had been independent from childhood, was quite cold toward Yuan Min. Instead, he was closer to his wet nurse, Chen Xue, and the head chef, Uncle Cai.

Over time, the mother and son hardly spoke, only engaging in brief conversation when family business was involved.

Dinner was quite harmonious, and Li Weilian took another close observation of Tang Xiaowan.

After leaving the dining room, he went straight back to his guest room.

The notebook was opened.

He logged onto a website, entered his personal archive, and the page displayed all the cases Li Weilian had seen over the years.

Every patient had a file created by Su Luoyi, which also included follow-up visits after their recovery.

Soon, Su Luoyi also arrived.

Seeing Li Weilian staring at the computer with no solution in sight, Su Luoyi asked with concern, "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing much, just that Tang Xiaowan's amnesia seems a bit strange. It's like she has memories in her dreams, but as soon as she wakes up, she forgets everything..."

At this point, Li Weilian paused, "Zishen said that after Tang Xiaowan got drunk, she called out his name, so..."

Su Luoyi's pupils contracted, "Could it be poisoning that caused intermittent amnesia, or maybe the memory is still there in her subconscious, just needing a certain stimulus?"

"I was thinking the same, but we can't be sure at this moment, we must..."

Mid-sentence, Li Weilian stopped abruptly, "Poisoning? Why would you think of poisoning?"

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Su Luoyi was a bit flustered.

"Isn't that what they show on TV?"

"Oh, right."

Li Weilian nodded and continued to examine the medical records.

As he read, he suddenly remembered a patient he had encountered during his studies abroad, whose symptoms were very similar to Tang Xiaowan's, yet not quite the same.

"William, should we check Lady Tang's blood again, perhaps..."

"You go on back, let me think about this."

Su Luoyi made a cup of coffee for Li Weilian, then gently closed the door and left.

...

Back garden.

Li Zishen sat by the edge of the swimming pool.

On the small round table was a plate of freshly cut radish chunks.

He ate them, one by one, thinking.

Why did he love eating radish so much?

For beauty, for weight loss?

"He has amnesia, so why does he still have a soft spot for the radishes produced in Qingcheng?"

"Hasn't he completely forgotten, just like me in his dreams?"

"Brother Shen, there's news from Qingcheng."

Bai Long emerged from nowhere.

In the dead of night, his voice startled Li Zishen, "Is he awake?"

Bai Long bowed his head, "Cheng Shi has been transferred by someone; we still don't know who's behind it. It's my fault for not handling the situation well; Brother Shen may punish me as he sees fit."

Li Zishen's eyes grew dull as he heard this, and the Adam's apple in his throat bobbed slightly.

"Withdraw our men immediately."

"Yes."

Bai Long then made a call to Qingcheng to give a brief order and stood properly beside Li Zishen, waiting for further instructions.

It was his first blunder.

After a long pause, Li Zishen finally spoke indifferently, "It's not your fault; I underestimated the enemy."

"I heard that Grandma Tang has been living off her old savings these years. Surely the mastermind isn't after the little ancestral assets she has?"

"No matter how little, no one is allowed to touch it."

"Yes."

In truth, the issue of the inheritance had already been settled a few days ago.

Whether it was Mei Garden, the sedan, or even the bank savings, they had all been transferred to Tang Xiaowan's name when she turned eighteen.

It was obvious how much the old woman adored her.

Therefore, Li Zishen was completely baffled; if the old woman cherished Tang Xiaowan so much, why did she restrict her freedom, not allowing her to interact with outsiders?

Unless the mastermind behind the scenes wasn't after the money, but something else in Tang Xiaowan's possession.

Things were getting more and more complicated!

...

The next morning.

As soon as Tang Xiaowan stepped out of her room, she ran into Li Zihan, whom she called 'ATM Young Master.'

He was clad in a floral shirt, white trousers, and shiny shoes.

The key was that the patterns and colors on his shirt were somewhat similar to those on Tang Xiaowan's dress.

To the uninformed, it might have seemed like they were wearing couple outfits.

Tang Xiaowan asked irritably, "What are you doing here, looking for me?"

Li Zihan: "..."

The man tossed his head and swaggered toward the room next door.

His flamboyance was truly irritating,

But to her surprise, with a light push, the door opened.

The moment she entered, a line "Don't flatter yourself, hurry up and go to eat with my brother!" hit Tang Xiaowan's ears.

Tang Xiaowan: "..."

She suddenly remembered that Li Zihan had told Li Zishen last night that he would not wait for the start of school but would stay at Li Garden right away.

It looked like she had indeed thought too much.

Of all the rooms to choose, why did he have to live next to mine!

Forget it, let him be; this isn't my house, I can't control it.

Tang Xiaowan pursed her lips and headed straight for the stairs, but before reaching the first floor, she turned back.

Her reaction was slow, but she realized she had been made fun of.

"Li Zihan, get out here!"

The sounds of slamming followed, and the bedroom door swung open.

Li Zihan peeked out, smiling, "Sister-in-law, did you want to see me?"

Tang Xiaowan, unable to contain her fury, retorted, "Young Master Li Zihan, I am notifying you formally today that, first, I am not your sister-in-law, I have a name; second, I'm not going downstairs to eat with your brother, and whatever I'm doing is none of your business; third, don't swan around in front of me in that floral shirt anymore; fourth... that's all for now, goodbye."

Saying that, she descended the steps.

It was at this point that Li Zihan completely emerged from his room, his floral shirt gone, leaving only the white trousers.