Chapter 545 - 544: Who to Blame

Now that he had a teacher, as well as a friend and senior in Mu Haoye, Little Tang Mo dove headfirst into the world of research and invention, a field Su Li didn’t understand.

He attended classes during the day, and if none were important, he’d go to the Mu Family’s home. On weekends, he would visit the library to spend time with Bai Shan, or he would have discussions with Mu Haoye. He was already living the life of a young academic.

Since Su Li had long been mentally prepared for this, she was able to accept it. She just needed some time to adjust.

From Wu Sheng’s accident to Little Tang Mo’s kidnapping, Su Li’s life had been completely upended. But now that things had settled down, the chaotic period was over, and her life finally returned to a peaceful, steady rhythm.

Inspired by Little Tang Mo, Su Li was more motivated than ever. She was full of energy, not just in her studies at school, but also in her internships and practical training.

In addition to her studies, she threw herself wholeheartedly into Pinjun.

Before, with everything that had happened with Wu Sheng and Little Tang Mo, Su Li had been unable to focus on company affairs. She had been neglecting her duties for quite some time.

Thankfully, she had Li Hongqin and Yin Cuihua. The two of them often reflected on how lucky they were to have met Su Li and gone into business with her, building it into what it was today.

They considered themselves lucky, and Su Li felt just as lucky to have met them.

Both women were capable and had impeccable character. Most importantly, their values were aligned, and they got along wonderfully.

The three of them always supported one another. If one had to deal with a personal matter, the other two would cover for her. That was how Pinjun continued to thrive.

Su Li had been absent far too often, so now it was her turn to put in the effort.

Li Hongqin and Yin Cuihua breathed a huge sigh of relief seeing that things in Su Li’s life were finally getting better and that she could come back to work.

Even though Su Li was the youngest of the three and handled the fewest daily tasks, they had grown accustomed to looking to her for direction over the years.

Unlike them, Su Li’s life didn’t revolve entirely around Pinjun. However, she was the one who steered most of their major decisions, and those decisions were never wrong.

Su Li was the youngest, but it was undeniable that her presence put their minds at ease.

It had practically become a habit.

Su Li pushed herself, working hard to improve and to earn money.

After taking care of business at Pinjun, Su Li started considering opening a second bookstore.

The "Love Reading" bookstore had been open for a while now, and its place in the market was stable.

Business was good and very steady. Students, teachers, and other book lovers had all grown accustomed to coming to the store to borrow books.

It had established a reputation and a brand. Over the past year, quite a few people had mentioned that the store was too far away for them and that they wished it were closer.

Chang E was now the manager of the bookstore. While it was still a part-time position, her role was very different from what it had been before.

Her salary had increased along with her responsibilities. The job had improved her financial situation, allowing her to eat and dress well. Her spirits were also much higher than before.

Although she no longer needed to work at the store every day, Chang E still went in whenever she was free to help out and listen to customer feedback. She cared deeply about the bookstore.

Su Li’s plan had always been to build a chain, opening stores one by one with the ultimate goal of a nationwide presence.

’Hmm... If I can, I’d like to open branches all over the world.’

Su Li had considered this long-term goal, but she hadn’t mentioned it to anyone, since for now, she was only just planning the second branch.

With the experience she had gained, opening the second branch would be much simpler, from renovations to stocking inventory.

Chang E helped Su Li with the preparations for the second branch’s opening, which took a huge load off her shoulders.

By the time the preparations for the second branch were mostly complete, it was already April.

Miao Zhi, who had been on leave and resting at home this whole time, was preparing to return to school.

Miao Zhi had fallen ill while she was held captive. With no medicine, she had to simply endure it, and the sickness left a lasting toll on her body.

Afterwards, she was constantly terrified. She hadn’t had a single decent meal or a good night’s sleep. After her rescue, she appeared normal on the surface, as her attention was focused on the traffickers’ sentencing.

It wasn’t until the trial ended and she saw the traffickers who had hurt her—especially the village chief’s son—sent to prison that she could finally let out a sigh of relief.

But as soon as that tension broke, after she attended the big reunion dinner and had a good cry, Miao Zhi went home that night and fell sick.

She ran a low-grade, intermittent fever for three days, drifting in and out of a restless, half-conscious sleep.

As the saying goes, illness strikes like a landslide but retreats like pulling silk. Though Miao Zhi’s fever seemed to break after three days, her body was left extremely weak.

Furthermore, she was plagued by nightmares. The ordeal had left deep scars on her mind.

Just as Su Li had suspected, she was suffering from aftereffects.

Nightmares, an aversion to all men except Father Miao... All in all, her condition wasn’t good.

Under these circumstances, Miao Zhi had taken a temporary leave of absence from school.

After half a month of recuperation, Miao Zhi’s physical health slowly returned, but her mental state would clearly need more time to heal.

Su Li had visited Miao Zhi once in the hospital while she was sick. So when she got a call from her, Su Li thought for a moment and decided to visit again before Miao Zhi returned to the Imperial City.

Both Su Li and Little Tang Mo felt a persistent guilt toward Miao Zhi, because she had been kidnapped in their place.

The next day happened to be a weekend, so Su Li got up, bought a few gifts, and went to see Miao Zhi.

When Little Tang Mo heard she was going to see Miao Zhi, he insisted on coming along.

The mother and son kept a low profile. They had the car stop at the back gate of the residential compound and got out with their things.

Although it had been a long time since Su Li and Little Tang Mo had left the compound, the gate guard still remembered them.

They arrived sometime between ten and eleven in the morning. People were either at work or busy making lunch, so they didn’t run into anyone and had a clear path to the Miao Family’s front door.

The door to the Miao Family’s apartment was open, and as Su Li and Little Tang Mo climbed the stairs, they could hear voices from inside.

Or rather, it wasn’t just voices, but the sound of sobbing.

For some reason, the sobbing sounded vaguely familiar to Su Li.

Hearing the crying, Su Li and Little Tang Mo froze, unsure whether to go forward or turn back. They stopped in unison and exchanged a glance.

’Should we turn back or keep going?’

’Neither option seems good!’

"Miao Zhi, I really didn’t mean for it to happen. I never thought he would suddenly lose his mind and say he liked me..."

"Don’t worry, Miao Zhi. No matter how much he begs me in the future, I’ll never see him. If it wasn’t for us, you wouldn’t have gone to your grandmother’s house, and if you hadn’t gone there, you wouldn’t have had to suffer in Su Li’s place..."

The situation felt incredibly awkward, and Su Li decided it was best to retreat and come back later. But in the brief moment it took her to turn, the words from inside inevitably drifted into her ears.

Hearing that last sentence, Su Li sighed inwardly.

’I knew it... Someone was going to say something like that.’

’Miao Zhi must feel awful hearing that...’

Just as Su Li was thinking this, she heard Miao Zhi’s voice in rebuttal.

"What are you talking about? Why are you dragging Su Li into this? What do you mean, ’in her place’? Don’t say such ridiculous things."

Su Li stood there, stunned. Yang Xiangyun was so baffled she even forgot to keep crying.