Last night, when Li Wanshan returned home, Second Aunt Lai complained bitterly to him.
She said it was all his bad idea, going to Bie Yuan and getting rejected was bad enough, but it also made her bluster in vain in front of Brother Li's daughter-in-law, causing her to lose face.
That night, Li Wanshan was banished to the guest room.
In the morning, not only was there no delicious meal, but even the bully dog he had raised for years ignored him.
The disdain was off the charts!!!
At that moment, he sat in his office chair, staring intently at the short video on his phone.
There were two clips, both very clear.
In one, Tang Xiaowan was facing a mirror with a backpack, while Li Zihan was holding two other bags, and Bai Long stood emotionlessly with his hands behind his back.
In the other, Li Zihan was paying, Bai Long was carrying two shopping bags, and Tang Xiaowan was eating an orange.
"What's all this? It's worthless!"
Li Wanshan threw his phone onto the table, frustrated, and glared at his male assistant.
"How about, we make up a scandal? Say this girl is two-timing, dating several people at once and swindling money?"
"Open your eyes and look closely, that's Li Zihan, and there's Bai Long. Talking about seeing multiple people, you might as well throw all your stocks away!"
The assistant was thoroughly scolded and didn't dare make another sound.
Li Wanshan drummed his fingers on the table, then suddenly burst into laughter, "However, sending this to my widowed sister-in-law to see... that might work, Li Zihan is her darling after all!"
"The boss is wise, the boss is powerful!"
As they spoke, Li Wanshan sent the video to his wife, who was still giving him the cold shoulder.
...
Nanjiang Villa.
"What a mess!"
Madam Lai, viewing the forwarded video from her second daughter-in-law, initially found nothing wrong.
But upon seeing the two messages beneath it, she was instantly enraged.
"[Big sister, isn't this girl finding our Zishen too old and turning to Zihan instead?]"
"[Look, not only spending Zishen's money but also mooching off Zihan, who is just a kid! He's going to school soon; won't she cling to Zihan every day to buy this and that?]"
Seeing that the chat box indicated the other party was typing.
Madam Lai immediately perked up and quickly replied: "[They'll be classmates soon, helping each other out is expected, I've got things to do, let's not chat now.]"
"[I was just guessing, don't mind me, big sister.]"
"[You're busy then, we sisters will chat later.]"
Madam Lai didn't respond further and closed the chat, closing her eyes tightly, trying to calm her emotions.
"Oh, this is infuriating."
"Madam, the young master is just playful; it's nothing but a little outing, and Bai Long was with him too."
"That day, I never should have agreed to let him move to Li Garden."
"It's good he went. He can learn business from Young Master Zishen and pick up some skills from Bai Long, don't you think?"
"Yes, that's true, but..."
"The second son must be desperate, otherwise, why would such a trivial matter alarm you, right?"
"Ah, one thing after another, it never ends."
Nanny Wu slowly took the phone from Madam Lai's hand and began to massage her temples.
Madam Lai understood all these points well, but such divisive words coming from the mouth of her second daughter-in-law always sounded particularly harsh.
Back when her second daughter-in-law had just married into the family, she started to spread rumors behind her back, claiming she had schemed her way up using her pregnancy, that Li Zhenshan was unwilling even to give her a wedding, and if it weren't for having a son just in time, considering the heir's sake, she would have been kicked out long ago.
She had faced much disdain during those years.
Now, with her eldest son controlling the company's lifeline and her youngest son attending a prestigious university, as a mother honored by her sons, how could she let anyone trample over her again?
...
Meanwhile, oblivious to it all, Li Zihan and Tang Xiaowan were picking out stationery.
"Xiao Wan, don't you want to visit the school?"
"Once school starts, there'll be plenty of time."
"Oh, indeed."
After Bai Long had reported the schedule to Li Zishen, he quickly walked over to Tang Xiaowan, "Lady Tang, Brother Shen said you should go back early and have a barbecue together tonight."
"Wow, we're having barbecue! Awesome, hurry, hurry, Li Zihan, you hurry up!"
Li Zihan: "..."
Am I really the one dawdling, and you blame me?
It's indeed tricky to satisfy women and children!
"Hurry up, what are you mumbling about? Pay quickly, I still need to dig some chives in the vegetable garden; the ones I planted myself definitely smell amazing!"
"Vegetable garden, you planted it?"
"Yeah, I planted some chives when I first got to Li Garden; they have grown tall by now, I went and checked this morning."
Li Zihan: "Chives? That's amazing!"
Tang Xiaowan tossed her head, looking incredibly proud.
In fact, Li Zihan hated chives because he couldn't stand the smell.
They were chatting when the phone rang; it was Nanny Wu calling. No one knew what was being said, but the young master's face turned dark immediately.
Tang Xiaowan was busy watching the waiter package stationery and completely missed the change in Li Zihan's mood.
The barbecue that night went as planned.
The location was set by the pond in the back garden, attended by the same few people who had hot pot.
The chives turned out to be the most popular delicacy.
So much so that Tang Xiaowan had to go to the vegetable garden to pick them every now and then.
Luckily, the two places were not far apart.
The joy of harvesting kept her happily busy!
"Li, Brother Li!"
The sudden appearance of Li Zishen startled Tang Xiaowan, but she quickly turned smug, "How did you get here, are they getting anxious?"
"No, I just wanted to come and take a look."
"Oh, I see! Go ahead and look; this is the spot, isn't it small?" Tang Xiaowan pointed to the patch of land under her feet, no more than four square meters.
"It's good, not small at all!"
Li Zishen was clearly lying.
Ever since the day Tang Xiaowan planted that small patch of vegetables, Li Zishen might be said to have visited daily, worried that the chives wouldn't sprout and the girl would be sad.
Three days later, they did sprout, and he began to worry that they weren't getting enough nutrients to grow tall.
Now they were finally edible!
"One of these days, when we have time, let's plant some spinach and coriander."
"Yes, yes, those are good. The weather is getting cooler, perfect for eating hot pot. Great suggestion, I like it."
Li Zishen, watching an enthusiastic Tang Xiaowan, felt a warmth in his heart.
"Brother, hurry up, everyone is getting anxious!"
Li Zihan's shout disturbed the tranquility of the vegetable garden and interrupted Li Zishen's thoughts.
"Oh, coming right now."
Tang Xiaowan left the small vegetable garden holding the chives.
The two grown men followed behind, like protectors flanking her.
This time, the chives were once again completely consumed while only a small portion of the meat was touched.
Were they fond of chives, or were they dieting?
No, that couldn't be it!
It might have been more due to someone's "coercion."
After the meal, Li Zishen took out two gift boxes that had been prepared earlier.
Tang Xiaowan and Li Zihan received a pen each.
Both were of the same brand and had their names engraved.