Volume 13
Chapter 22: Rain After a Long Drought
The biggest change brought by the shift in his status for Lu Li was that his travel was no longer the same as before, where he could just carry a bag and fly around, from Chuanhai to Mulan, from Mulan to the Capital City, all by himself, traveling light. The moment he landed at Mulan Airport, some people with unclear connections to the aristocratic families came to pick him up. Lu Li could only recognize one of them as a government official; the others were all very unfamiliar, and he couldn’t recognize a single one. After politely declining their invitations, Lu Li, as before, took the bus back to the villa in Mulan. He felt it was time to buy a car, but who among the girls at home could drive?
Putting those petty matters aside, Lu Li decided to peacefully enjoy the coming time with the girls. He had just gotten off the bus when a fragrant wind hit his face, and a riot of colors rushed into his eyes. It was An Baili who pounced on him first. “Waah, I missed you so much!” This girl didn’t care about her image at all, hanging on Lu Li in public like a little monkey. Lu Li didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he patted her little butt. Hmm, the feel was still as good as ever.
He saw, in front of him, Wen Hupo smiling and looking at her, her gaze pulling threads of emotion. The Little Tiger was as excited as An Baili, but she cared more about her face. She had her hands behind her back, pouting at Lu Li with a mixture of resentment and coquetry. What Lu Li found most unforgettable, however, was the woman standing in the center—his dependence for the first half of his life, his initial motivation for rebirth, his tainted kinship, his sister, Zou Yameng. Yameng’s back was to the light, and he couldn’t see her face clearly, but Lu Li felt she seemed to be smiling softly, as if she were about to say, “Lizi!” at any moment, just as she had for the past dozen years.
She had passed away twice, and each time she hadn’t been able to witness her most beloved brother’s success. Lu Li swore that this time, it would definitely not be like that again.
Lu Li put the little village girl down from his body, patted her head, and then walked toward Yameng. For some reason, he felt his eyes were a little moist. “Sis, you’re back.” Ever since his sister had gone to the Capital City, he felt they had lost contact, and it was rare to see her on ordinary days. That sense of longing had not diminished, but had been accumulating, growing deeper. He missed the scent of his sister immensely, along with her sweat-dampened tank top after exercise, her fit body, and her embrace full of tenderness.
“Mm, I’m back. There are no more competitions in the future. I can only freeload at my brother’s house and have you, Lizi, support me.” Yameng seemed to be laughing lightly, but her smile held many indescribable meanings, not sadness, but a kind of satisfaction and indifference of having achieved success and retired. She had two life goals: one was to win an international championship, and the other was to be her brother’s bride. The former had already been completed, and the latter was half-completed.
The surrounding passersby cast curious glances at Lu Li. They were extremely curious about this pretty boy surrounded by beautiful women. Wen Hupo was a little more thoughtful. She said, “Let’s hurry home. The food is still hot!” Lu Li’s heart stirred. Ah, this feeling of coming home to a hot meal immediately after being out made him feel warm all over. The wild and unruly wanderer gradually began to understand why people always said that home was every person’s harbor. He had once been without a home, but now he had one.
The group walked toward the villa, talking and laughing. It was all Lu Li talking about what he had seen and heard in the Capital City. The girls were also very curious about how Lu Li’s life had changed after becoming the chairperson. Lu Li’s most direct feeling was that he had become busier. Right, and Zhu Xi’s attitude had also softened. He had also developed a bad habit of not being able to sleep at noon without holding onto a large white rabbit. Of course, these latter matters were not very appropriate to talk about with the girls, and the girls also tacitly did not ask about the imperial son-in-law and the princess. Lu Li knew that, including Hupo, they were all actually thinking about this matter in their hearts. If Lu Li really became the imperial son-in-law, where would they go?
…
Returning to the villa, the family gathered around and had a meal. At the dinner table, the Little Tiger’s initial excitement had subsided, and she seemed a little melancholic. Lu Li could see it. Not just the Little Tiger; the other girls were more or less also a little worried. It was just that Chen Jianing’s expression was the most obvious. Oh, right, An Baili was perhaps the most open-minded one.
After dinner, logically, everyone should have gone about their own business—those who wanted to play should play, those who wanted to sleep should sleep, and those who had to go to the company should go to the company. But when Lu Li sat down on the sofa and turned on the TV, everyone, without prior agreement, sat down beside him. Perhaps the words Lu Li had said on the phone last time were too sensational, or perhaps it was worry about the future. In any case, they wanted to take advantage of this time to spend a little more time with Lu Li, to experience this rare warmth.
This was perhaps the biggest obstacle to maintaining this kind of relationship between men and women: time. Lu Li was always just one person and couldn’t give all his time to each girl. This was also the reason why he planned to retire after he was done with the Yan and Chu family matters. He wanted to spend all his time in the future accompanying his beautiful confidantes and just be a pretty boy.
Seeing that they weren’t talking, Lu Li found it a little amusing. “You’re all holding it in, aren’t you? Aren’t you just worried that after I really become the imperial son-in-law, I’ll go and live in the imperial palace?”
Yameng twisted the flesh of his waist. “You little rascal. You know and you deliberately don’t say it.”
Lu Li quickly cried out in pain. Taking advantage of his sister’s soft heart, Lu Li hugged her back and subconsciously wanted to grab her large white rabbits. The next second, he realized this wasn’t Zhu Xi, so he forcibly retracted his pig trotter. Lu Li cleared his throat. “Zhu Xi isn’t choosing an imperial son-in-law for herself, but a husband for Little Qiao. I’m engaged to Zhu Qiao.” So as not to add to the girls’ melancholy, Lu Li quickly said, “And, I thought about it afterward. I should be getting engaged at my age, but not just to Little Qiao. Yameng, Hupo, Baili, and Jianing all have to be engaged too.”
Yameng couldn’t take it anymore and pinched his mouth. “Lizi, the older you get, the more you can talk nonsense!”
Lu Li muffledly said, “Sis, this isn’t nonsense! Qian Tang has already started piloting the new marriage law. As long as we move our household registration to Qian Tang, we can get engaged and married legally!”
Chen Jianing’s face was flushed. “Who wants to marry you! You haven’t even met my parents!”
An Baili was shocked. “Li, are you really planning to put this into practice?”
Wen Hupo covered her mouth and chuckled. “The Outstanding Representative is still as shameless as ever.”
Lu Li wanted to pry his sister’s hand away from his mouth, but his sister’s face was blushing, and she was afraid he would say something else earth-shattering, so she just wouldn’t let go. Helpless, Lu Li could only reach out through her clothes to pinch Yameng’s little grape. This move was indeed effective. Yameng cried out and covered her chest with her hands. “It’s broad daylight!”
Lu Li looked around and saw the girls’ various expressions. He said solemnly, “I’m serious! And I will also go and meet my fathers- and mothers-in-law. Not just the Little Tiger’s, but Hupo’s as well…”
“I’m leaving, I’m leaving. I still have things to do at the company.” Chen Jianing’s ears were red, and she ran upstairs on her fair, bare feet. What kind of company is located upstairs?
An Baili’s eyes darted around. It was unclear what muddled idea she had thought of. She giggled, gave Lu Li a peck, and then also followed the Little Tiger. “Little shorty, wait for me. I have something to say to you.”
After An Baili left, Wen Hupo also stood up gracefully and floated away lightly. “I’m going to go paint. Outstanding Representative, come find me after you’ve thought it through.”
In the end, only Lu Li and Zou Yameng were left on the once-crowded sofa. Lu Li grimaced. “What about you, Yameng?”
Yameng’s pair of well-toned, fair thighs pressed against Lu Li, and she gently licked her red lips. “Aren’t you going to go see my international competition trophy first?”
“Where is it?”
“In my room…”
