Tang Xiaowan's arrival completely changed Li Zishen's deanor, like a lion that had just fluffed up its mane and instantly cald down.
Nanny Chen had just served a bowl of lean at porridge in front of Tang Xiaowan when Li Zihan walked in.
"Yo, everyone got up early today!"
After his remark, no one made a sound.
As if he was used to it, he sat down directly, "Bro, I just saw Uncle Li, and his face was so dark it could've been a coal ball. What's he here for?"
"What are you here for?" Li Zishen asked in return.
"I, I am here, I ca to..."
Just as Li Zihan was about to fabricate an excuse on the fly, Li Zishen's expression suddenly softened, and he smiled, "School's about to start, right?"
Li Zihan nodded, bewildered.
"From now on, you are responsible for Xiao Wan's safety at school. I'll double your spending money each month."
Tang Xiaowan: "..."
Li Zihan was shocked by what he heard.
In terms of manpower, in terms of strength, how could it ever be the turn of this unnoticed young master in the Li family.
Feigning difficulty, he said with an inward surge of joy, "That's, well, it's not impossible, but by doing so..."
"From now on, you can stay in Li Garden whenever you want, co and go as you please."
Li Zihan was instantly bright-eyed.
This was exactly what he had been waiting to hear; he had longed to stay in Li Garden.
Although his small apartnt wasn't bad and was close to the university, he always felt dreadfully bored alone; Li Garden was much more interesting.
"That's great! Brother, don't worry, I'll ensure tight security, keeping her under my wing. I won't let any man get close to Xiao Wan, not even half a step."
"What did you say?" The man's gaze darkened as he looked intently at Li Zihan.
"Oh, I misspoke, I an sister-in-law!"
Tang Xiaowan looked at Li Zihan with frustration, then stole a glance at Li Zishen.
She certainly didn't want anything to do with this man.
With his carefree deanor, anyone unaware would suspect she had made a poor choice in friends.
That would be ruining her reputation!
If that was the case, she would rather not go to school at all. Hiding out here with food and drink at her disposal would be better.
"What major are you studying?"
"It's a bit long, let's just say it's Pharmaceutical Analysis."
"Qingcheng University doesn't have a dical program, does it?"
"Qingcheng? It's Jin City University."
Then ca a burst of hearty laughter, brimming with pride.
"Jin City? So earlier..."
At that mont, the man who had been eating millet porridge spoke up before his brother could, "You don't have to worry about that. The transfer will be handled swiftly, and with Zihan..."
"What, you're having transfer schools?"
Tang Xiaowan's outcry startled Nanny Chen.
She was in the middle of adding pickles to Li Zishen's small dish and her hand trembled, sprinkling them onto the table.
Li Zihan acted as if nothing had happened, leisurely savoring his millet porridge.
The scattered pickles were promptly cleaned up.
Li Zishen put down his spoon and gave Nanny Chen a faint smile, "It's okay." He then looked towards Tang Xiaowan, "Yes, it's closer to ho, more convenient."
Tang Xiaowan struggled to respond to the word "ho."
To her, how could this place be ho?
It was clearly more of a prison, albeit one where she could move around freely with food, drink, and entertainnt, but under constant supervision.
Li Zishen's eyes were so gentle, even carrying a hint of expectation.
Tang Xiaowan felt her anger gradually being suppressed.
She rembered Uncle Li's unsavory face and his nagging reprimands and impulsively picked up her spoon, stirring the lean at porridge back and forth.
"I, I don't want to go to school in Jin City at all. What a lousy university, so boring."
Li Zihan was very excited at first, but upon hearing Tang Xiaowan's reason for rejection, he felt terrible.
His emotions were so intense that he stood up abruptly.
"Shitty university? You're calling Jin City University a shitty university? Do you have any idea... how much our school's tuition is for a year? Do you know its national ranking? How many people want to go but can't get in, and you actually say it's shitty!"
"I wouldn't be happy to go there no matter how good it is."
Her disdainful tone made Li Zishen feel deeply disappointed.
He had thought that after last night's drunken debacle, Tang Xiaowan must have recovered so of her mories, especially since she had called out his na in her dreams.
But now, everything she said seed to co from a place of reluctance and resistance.
In the end, he was overthinking, it was still the sa old situation.
In the past, it was because of constraints.
Tang Xiaowan only had two chances to go out alone each month, and it was always a mad rush, with a strict ti limit to get back to i Garden.
If she was late, she would get a scolding, and the next ti she wanted to go out, not only would her ti be docked, but she would also be punished with five laps around i Garden.
The strict upbringing pained Li Zishen's heart.
Now that Grandma Tang had passed away, he couldn't understand why there still seed to be an insurmountable chasm between them?
Li Zishen asked eagerly, "Why?"
"I, I'm not familiar with this place, and I don't know much about Jin City University either. I'm afraid that if I go there, I'll have to start all over again, and it's too much hassle getting along with classmates."
When Tang Xiaowan said this, her hand involuntarily touched her nose a few tis.
It was a small habit she might not even realize she had, but Li Zishen noticed it.
That's what she did whenever there was sothing on her mind.
It wasn't that she was socially anxious; it was more like others were anxious around her.
Was she still angry about the forced kiss?
Li Zishen's thin lips curled slightly, "Starting today, I'll arrange for a driver for you. Before school starts, they'll help you get familiar with the area. After school starts, they'll be at your beck and call." Then he finished the remaining millet porridge and stood up to leave.
"Can I pick the driver myself?"
Li Zishen paused in his tracks, about to speak, when Tang Xiaowan suddenly blurted out, "I want Bai Long."
Li Zishen: "..."
Li Zihan: "..."
Bai Long was Li Zishen's right-hand man, who had countless tasks to handle every day.
Having him as a driver?
That'd be a wasted talent, and nobody would believe it if you told them.
Li Wanshan had previously spent a fortune trying to poach Bai Long to no avail; now to have him working as a driver? Even if it didn't cause a hemorrhage, it would at least result in sleepless nights.
Li Zishen frowned, sowhat reluctantly admitting, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, of course! Can't I?"
Where did Li Zishen dare to refuse? He feared Tang Xiaowan's temper, worried that he wouldn't be able to handle it.
Tang Xiaowan saw right through it all.
She did it on purpose, just to infuriate him.
Every ti she thought about her first kiss being stolen, she felt furious enough to want to pin him down and give him a good thrashing.
But then again.
Whether it was her first kiss, she wasn't even sure.
It was just that her heart was racing with panic at the ti, so nervous she didn't know how to breathe, and sohow those two words had slipped out.
Probably, maybe, it was.
"Are you going to speak? If not, forget it," Tang Xiaowan pressed impatiently, asking coldly.
Li Zishen was silent for a long ti before saying, "Okay, but you have to promise one thing."
"Hurry up and say it, what is it?"
"You must return ho on ti every day. You can't..."
"Can't stay out overnight?"
Tang Xiaowan was anxious and let it slip out without thinking.
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