Chapter 665   - I.O.U (1)

"You're still here?" Li Meili asked her brother when she went down the stairs for the first time since she arrived home. She saw Li Yuanyi casually reading some papers his assistant had delivered to him that morning. Looking around the living room, she couldn't see their parents anywhere.

"If you are looking for them, you'll be disappointed for missing the chance to annoy them to death." She heard her brother say.

Li Meili took a seat across him and gave him a head-to-toe look. She suddenly felt that after not seeing her brother for a few weeks, Li Yuanyi had changed dramatically. She wasn't sure if it was because of Meng Yanran's influence, but Li Meili didn't care. He changed for the better and she could see that the two were getting along well.

"I just thought it was weird that this house is unusually silent today." She said in response. "I see that they aren't wasting time to sell their daughter off."

Li Yuanyi lowered the papers in his hand and took a glance at his sister's face. It was obvious that Li Meili had lost a lot of weight recently, even her face had lost its usual glow. She must have been really devastated by Tang Beixuan's death.

A part of him regrets not giving her enough time to grieve for her boyfriend, bringing her home like this. He should have persuaded her to stay in Shenzhen rather than come home with him.

"It isn't too late for you to go back to Shenzhen, you know." He told her nonchalantly, taking the cup of coffee that he forgot if Li Meili hadn't arrived to join him.

"Then what? Constantly receive annoying phone calls from our mother? My patience is already running thin with all this constant nagging from both of them." Li Meili said.

She took a piece of freshly made cookie and munched on it. Since she had barely eaten anything since Tang Beixuan's passing, the sweetness she tasted had made her aware of hunger. She had no idea when was the last time she had a decent meal on her own without relying on someone to remind her to eat.

Seeing that she had an appetite for food, Li Yuanyi's eyes lit up. Perhaps, he might be able to convince her to eat more and spend more time with him, now that she was home. Still, there was something on her expression that told him that she wasn't quite alright yet.

Two weeks… It was still too fresh for Li Meili and yet she came here knowing that their parents would force her into an unwanted marriage arrangement. He looked into her eyes and he knew. Her nonchalant expression was nothing but a shield to cope with the pain she was suffering. She was probably acting like she was fine so others wouldn't worry about her.

It hurts to see her like this, but what else could he do for her? Li Yuanyi wondered. Did she come back here willingly to surrender her future to their parents?

"Hey, Meili. Why don't you accompany me tonight? I have a banquet to attend. I need a partner." He suggested to Li Meili.

"Why don't you invite Miss Meng instead?" She asked. Li Meili didn't have any intention to leave home and see other people act like a clown, trying to please each other.

"Can't do. She said that her schedule is really packed for the next two weeks. Feng Tianyi is mobilizing everyone at Xiao Xing since Tang Moyu is taking a break to recover." Li Yuanyi said, failing to confess that he also didn't want to disclose his relationship with Meng Yanran too soon. He understood that his woman had a life and work to focus on, so he didn't want to cause her trouble at the moment.

Li Meili thanked the butler who brought drinks for her. Dear Lord, that ice-cold water was soothing her aching throat somehow. Anyway, looking at her brother who was also staring at her expectantly, she could only sigh dejectedly.

"But I didn't bring any party dresses with me." She said in defense, which was true because she barely packed for this trip as her decision to come with Li Yuanyi was out of the blue. She supposed what he told her during his last visit with Meng Yanran did make sense to her.

Grief had a way to remove a person from the world one was in. Being detached from all the people around her could be detrimental to her mental health. However, what Li Yuanyi failed to point out was that she needed real strength to cope with the loss and weave herself back into the life she was used to before she lost Tang Beixuan.

It might take some time, but Li Meili hoped that in the future, she would be able to allow herself to be truly happy once again. But for now, she would grieve for her beloved's passing, keeping all of their shared memories in her heart.

Even though her heart had been broken into millions of pieces, as her eyes cried an ocean of tears, the magnitude of her grief and pain remained the same. She was scared, lonely, and desperate but she refused to be seen in her weakened state.

"Don't worry about that. I can arrange everything you need for tonight. Just come with me so you don't sulk in your room the whole night. I'm not expecting you to do anything, Meili. You can leave whenever you want if you feel tired. I don't think they would mind if you leave early."

"And yet, you want me to come with you?" Li Meili scoffed. "You aren't planning to do anything, are you?"

Li Yuanyi's lips twitched, a habit that Li Meili knew he usually did whenever he was nervous.

"Actually, I'm trying to seal a deal with someone." He admitted, a little ashamed that he couldn't keep anything from his younger sister.