Chapter 388: Li Xianglin

While Li Xiu and Zhou Lian were off having the time of their lives, their son, Li Xiangrui, back in the Capital City, was caught in a dilemma. For the past two years, his somewhat unreliable parents had been traveling far and wide, leaving their son and daughter behind to dote on their elders.

As time went by, Li Xianglin had grown into a young woman in her early twenties, blossoming in the prime of her youth. The young men who pursued her were all outstanding, whether they were scions of prominent Capital City families or exceptionally talented upperclassmen and classmates from her university. After all, anyone less than exceptional wouldn’t dare to even approach her!

But Li Xianglin had never paid them any mind. This new one was also excellent, a great catch in every respect—except for his somewhat lacking family background. Of course, that wasn’t what bothered Li Xiangrui. What made him anxious was that this man had actually managed to catch his sister’s eye.

Whether to intervene or not was a problem. Yet, the thought of this man truly winning his sister’s heart made Li Xiangrui feel resentful. He was also hesitant about whether to tell his parents about this person. Having grown up with everything going his way, it was a rare and frustrating experience for Li Xiangrui.

But he couldn’t find a single fault with the man—oh, aside from his family background. However, family background was the one thing the Li family cared about the least. Although the Li family was now at the height of its glory, it was something his father had single-handedly built through sheer effort and dedication.

Li Xiangrui stewed in his frustration for two days before faxing the results of his investigation directly to his father. After all, the older, the wiser. It was better to let his father worry about such a dilemma. He had only just become an adult. In his mother’s words, he was still a baby!

Just as Li Xiangrui finished sending the documents from the study, Li Xianglin walked in. With a faint, unreadable smile, she looked at her younger brother sitting at the desk and asked lightly, “What are you doing, Yanyan? What did Mom and Dad have to say?”

“Sis, what are you talking about?”

Seeing her brother acting as if nothing was amiss, Li Xianglin let out a soft laugh. “Yanyan, you didn’t really think I wouldn’t notice you investigating Fang Lingjun, did you?”

“Of course you’d know. The people I used are all working for you now. Sis, I wasn’t trying to hide it from you. It’s just that Mom and Dad need to know about this. If you’re too embarrassed to tell them, then let your little brother do it for you!” Li Xiangrui was always very direct with his sister.

Li Xianglin couldn’t help but shake her head. “I never said you couldn’t tell them. I was just asking what Mom and Dad said.”

“I don’t know. I just sent Dad the fax, so how would I know what they think? Sis, you’ll have to wait!” After he spoke, something felt off. Li Xiangrui stared intently at Li Xianglin and asked, “Sis, are you serious about this?”

“Otherwise?”

Li Xiangrui pressed his lips together. “Who else knows?”

“Just you. Oh, and Mom and Dad should know by now, too,” Li Xianglin said nonchalantly. She knew exactly what her little brother was thinking.

Frowning slightly, Li Xiangrui said sullenly, “Is he really that great? Haven’t there been plenty of guys after you these past few years? How did he suddenly catch your eye?”

“I don’t know either. I just find him… pleasant. Given our upbringing, how could we end up like Mom and Dad? In the future, you won’t meet someone like Mom, and I won’t meet someone like Dad.”

“Besides, even if I did meet someone like Dad, I wouldn’t be able to handle it. We all admire Mom and Dad’s relationship, but that doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed to find something like it. So, when you find someone who seems pleasant in every way, you might as well give it a try, right?”

Li Xianglin spoke nonchalantly. She wasn’t some naive little girl living in a castle, ignorant of the world and lost in daydreams. When they were young, their father would often have her and her brother by his side as he handled business. Through his words and actions, he had taught them a great deal. To believe in a pure, flawless love? That was a complete fantasy. Her parents were an exception, and Li Xianglin never thought she would be one, too.

Besides, her own personality was more like her father’s—domineering, stubborn, and possessive. If she were to actually meet someone with a similar personality, their relationship would be a complete disaster. She was nothing like her mother, who had a gentle temperament. If her mother’s personality was like water, then she, her father, and her brother were all fire. Water can extinguish fire, but when two fires meet… well…

She didn’t know if this Fang Lingjun would change in the future, but for now, his calm and tolerant personality was quite compatible with hers. Right now, most of the Capital City had their eyes on her, but Li Xianglin was certain she would never enter a marriage alliance with the scions of those prominent families.

It was unsuitable for both public and private reasons. Publicly, given her father’s influence and the Li family’s current power, Li Xianglin would not marry into another prominent family just to add to their glory, nor would she bring the Li family’s connections to her in-laws. Privately, while she knew and admired many of the excellent young men from those families, admiration was one thing, and marrying one was another. Not only did she have no interest, but none of them would be able to tolerate her temper!

Li Xiangrui looked at Li Xianglin hesitantly, asking in confusion, “Is someone like Dad not good?”

“To Mom, Dad is the best man in the world. To us, he’s the best father. But if I had to marry someone with a similar personality, it would be an absolute disaster. With Dad’s possessiveness, who do you think could handle it besides Mom?”

Li Xianglin pursed her lips. When she was younger, she’d had her fantasies. Watching how her father doted on her mother, she was like any little girl who idolized her father, imagining that one day someone would spoil her just as he spoiled her mother. But as she grew older, she learned to see beyond the surface. Putting everything else aside, most people truly couldn’t handle her father’s level of possessiveness.

Li Xiangrui looked at his sister, still confused. “Don’t all you girls want to be doted on for your whole life, treated like a princess?”

“Well, then imagine this: your future wife follows your every step. She drops you off at work and picks you up. She follows you wherever you go. If you want to go hang out with your friends alone, your wife tags along. Yanyan, just picture that scene. Could you accept that?”

Li Xianglin looked at her younger brother. ‘He really is still a child,’ she thought, ‘so naive. Treated like a princess for a lifetime? I’ve lived for over twenty years and have seen all sorts of dirty dealings alongside Dad. Besides my own mother, who has been doted on by Dad for half her life, I have never seen another woman who was consistently spoiled by her husband.’

Hearing this, Li Xiangrui shivered and quickly said, “Never mind then! I couldn’t accept that kind of treatment. Sis, Dad isn’t like that, is he?”

“Except for when he’s busy, Dad spends almost all his remaining time on Mom. Even you and I mostly spend time with them together, except when he’s teaching us something one-on-one. Yanyan, don’t tell me you still don’t know? To Dad, Mom is the most important person in the world. You and I are just incidental—important only because we’re Mom’s children!”