Read Novel Full Chapter 85
Li Shu crossed his hands and placed them flat on his abdomen, leaning back in the chair. He casually put down the documents in his hand. “Since when do I need to consult you when I want to raise a child?”
They were in a conference room, and had just finishing a meeting. Li Shu was dressed very formally, with meticulously combed hair. His bangs were fixed back with hair gel, and his sharp, narrow eyes were exposed without any cover, exuding a compelling aura.
Li Shu looked at the people sitting in front of the round table. They were all wearing sharp suits, with the air of successful people. Their appearances were more or less similar. There were some empty seats at the table, left for the company’s upper management and members of the Li family.
The Li family had good genes. Among those present, whether male or female, none were ugly. Among them, Li Shu’s appearance was the most outstanding.
The original owner had great prestige. These people from the Li family didn’t know that his condition had worsened yet, so they didn’t dare to be too presumptuous. When Li Shu’s gaze swept over them lightly, they all lowered their heads, except for the man who had just spoken, who stiffened his neck, wanting an explanation.
“We didn’t mean that. It’s just, isn’t it inappropriate for you to let this child have the surname Li?”
When one person spoke up, and the others couldn’t sit still either and all spoke at once.
“You’ve been alone for so many years. It’s good to have a child to accompany you, but after all, this child doesn’t have the blood of the Li family. It’s not quite appropriate for him to bear the Li surname. You may not care now that you don’t have your own child, but how will you deal with this child when you have your own in the future?”
“Besides, the child you brought back is already quite old. Whether he can be raised well or not is still a problem. Don’t raise a blind wolf and put the huge Li family’s property directly into the pockets of outsiders.”
“If you marry in the future, what will it be like to have such a big child around you? We know this child is raised by you, but others don’t. They might think he’s your illegitimate child. How will your future wife handle it?”
Li Shu looked at them with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, as if he was watching an amusing joke. He had a perfect smile on his face, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
After all the talk, these people meant one thing: Li Shu couldn’t let the child he adopted have the surname Li. Li Shu knew that what these people cared about wasn’t just a simple surname, but the meaning behind it. The family head not having his own child was extremely advantageous for them. It would be so much better to have one less powerful competitor directly. They pretended to care about Li Shu’s marriage, but in reality, they hoped he would remain alone for the rest of his life.
What noble reasons were there? In the end, it’s all for their own benefit. Li Shu lowered his eyes and concealed the ridicule in his eyes.
After a long speech, until they thought they had explained all their reasons, those people finally stopped their incessant chatter and asked, “Family head, what do you think?”
“I think what you said makes sense,” Li Shu twiddled the thumb ring on his thumb, his gaze slowly sweeping over these people. Seeing several people showing relaxed smiles, he continued calmly, “But….when do I need others to interfere in what I do?”
Of course, it wasn’t necessary. He was the head of the Li family. Whether he adopted a child with the surname Li or ten of them, no one would dare to say anything.
The expressions of those below turned ugly instantly. Li Shu admired their reactions for a moment, then spoke slowly, “I plan to hold a birthday banquet for that child on the 16th of next month, at the old mansion. Don’t forget to come. After all, he is a junior of the Li family, and we should give him what he deserves.”
He stood up, put his hands on the table, and said with oppressive eyes: “I don’t want anyone to be absent. It would be best if you could bring the younger generations of the family and introduce them.”
This meant introducing the adopted child as a legitimate member of the Li family. The rest exchanged glances, seeing waves of shock in each other’s eyes: Could the family head really be planning to groom that child as his successor?
“I’m informing you of this today. This matter was originally my private affair. Bringing it up in the company was overstepping.”
Li Shu’s tone was inscrutable. The other members of the Li family had already understood from his attitude that there was no room for negotiation in this matter. They suppressed their objections and refrained from speaking out, keeping their own thoughts to themselves.
The Impromptu meeting ended, and Li Shu was the first to leave. After he left, the others looked at each other for a moment, then gathered in twos and threes before leaving the conference room.
“Big brother, are we just going to let this matter slide?” The first man to question hurried to catch up with another man in a gray suit, a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes.
“Of course not. How could the belongings of the Li family fall into the hands of an outsider? Perhaps the family head was momentarily misled by someone. When he realizes that things aren’t as simple as he thought, he will understand our good intentions.” The man adjusted his sleeves and walked toward his office without looking back.
“Well, big brother, what should we do then?”
A smile played at the corner of the mans mouth, a cold light in his eyes. “We don’t need to do anything. Just wait.”
If his plan went smoothly, the position of the head of the Li family would soon change hands. By then… it would be as simple as crushing an ant to deal with a child who hadn’t even fully grown up.
With the addition of a half-grown child to the household, Li Shu initially thought he might not get used to it. But after a few days of interaction, he found that the newly added male protagonist didn’t affect his life at all. He was very satisfied with this.
Li Heyuan was a very sensible child. He stayed quietly on the side, and was not as noisy as other children his age. Li Shu had set aside a small space for him in the study. He usually stayed in the study room to read, and he could sit still very well.
It was September, and all the schools had already started. Li Shu pondered whether it was time to send the male protagonist to school.
At this moment, Li Heyuan was reading in the study, and Li Shu leaned against the door frame without disturbing him.
The young man sat at the desk, his posture upright, like a small poplar growing tall. After coming to the Li family, Li Shu bought him new clothes and had someone cut his hair. Plus, he had been eating well lately and had gained some flesh on his cheeks. Compared to when they first met, it could be said that there was a world of difference.
The male protagonist himself had a good foundation. Dressed in a different outfit, sitting in front of the mahogany desk, and features that were handsome, he looked like a little prince.
“Sir!” Li Heyuan closed the book in his hand, his voice filled with joy. Although they lived under the same roof, they didn’t spend much time together. Li Shu was basically at the company during the day, leaving Li Heyuan alone at home.
Li Shu walked over and patted Li Heyuan’s head. “Are you getting used to living here?”
“I am,” the young man nodded, his eyes shining. “It’s nice here, there are lots of books, lots of delicious food, and you, sir!”
What made him happiest was that Sir also lived here, right next to his room. They could have dinner together every night. Although they only had a few hours together each day, Li Heyuan was still very satisfied.
“Do you want to go to school?” Li Shu picked up a book from the desk. It was a collection of Tagore’s poems. He flipped through a few pages, then put it down uninterestedly.
“School?” Li Heyuan’s eyes widened suddenly. Since he came here, he hadn’t heard Sir mention this matter, thinking that Sir had forgotten about it.
Sensing the male protagonist’s astonishment, Li Shu reached for another book at the edge of the desk. It was a bit far, so he had to lean forward a bit, bringing him closer to Li Heyuan.
Li Heyuan slowed his breathing almost subconsciously. It seemed that the warmth from Sir’s body had transmitted to him through their clothes, causing a slight tremor. A faint fragrance wafted over, and he stiffened, not daring to move. He thought in a daze, ‘Did Sir use perfume? It smells so good.’
Li Shu got the book and said, “Klaus has arranged everything. You’re still young, so it’s better to go to school and be with your peers.”
Thinking of the original plot where the male protagonist had a sinister personality, Li Shu felt that it had a lot to do with the fact that the male protagonist didn’t have friends of the same age. He knew that the male protagonist didn’t have many friends when he was in the orphanage. In the original plot, the original owner didn’t pay much attention to the male protagonist, so the male protagonist had always been alone. How could that be? Cubs should play with other cubs.
Seeing Li Heyuan lost in thought, Li Shu lightly tapped his head with the book. “Don’t want to go to school?”
“No,” Li Heyuan came to his senses, glanced at Li Shu’s expression, and seeing that he didn’t seem angry, whispered, “I’m just… very happy and surprised.”
Many children in orphanages don’t have the opportunity to go to school. Li Heyuan barely attended for a year, and relied on self-study for the rest of his life. But children in the city have been learning various knowledge since they were young. Even though Li Heyuan was intelligent, he didn’t have a foundation and couldn’t compare to those children.
“Don’t worry about falling behind others. I’ll have a teacher come to teach you at home and review your previous knowledge.” Li Shu found a position to sit on the desk. “After going to school, you should get along well with your teachers and classmates, make more friends…”
Li Shu rambled on, inadvertently slipping into the role of a father figure, unaware of the colorful strokes he was leaving in the heart of the young male protagonist.
That was the first ray of light Li Heyuan had encountered in his life, and it was also the only beam of light that illuminated the desolate abyss.
The sunlight drifted in from the open window. Like little fairies, it fell on Li Shu’s hair, face, and clothes. The whole person seemed to be plated with a layer of gold, divine and dazzling.
Li Heyuan stared blankly. At this moment, it was as if everything around him had disappeared. There was only this man, handsome and powerful, with gentle eyes. As he stared at him, he felt like his heart was being filled.
“Sir,” Li Heyuan lifted his head, his voice soft, tinged with unmistakable tenderness, “I will.”
‘I will perform well at school, make more friends, and… as long as it’s what you ask for, I will do my best.’
With that, the matter was settled.
Li Shu had informed the school, so they knew that the child coming to school was someone the head of the Li family had personally ordered to be looked after. The principal assured him that the child would be placed in the best class. Li Shu nodded in satisfaction, seeing nothing wrong with it. His cub deserved the best.
The private tutor was a young girl, a senior student at S University, named Fang Wei, who was quite pretty. Li Shu thought that since Li Heyuan was catching up on basics, it might be better to have someone close to his age to interact with.
Upon seeing her future employer, Fang Wei’s eyes lit up. She brushed her long hair to the side and said, “Mr. Li, hello, I’m Fang Wei from S University.”
Soo sorry for missing yesterday’s update everyone 🙏🏻. I’ll make up for it later💜💜.