Chapter 12: When Girls Grow Up

expression gave her renewed confidence, and she felt it was excessive to continue being shy. She straightforwardly asked him, "Brother Guangtai, do you really not care about what happened between me a...Chapter Twelve: When Girls Grow Up

Seeing the tall and handsome Li An escorting the petite邵美卓into the elevator, Yan Luoxi smiled at their retreating figures. In her eyes, Li An and Shao Meizhuo were the typical example of enemies who eventually become partners.

The two of them belonged to the same world; both families had similar backgrounds, they grew up together as children and had a bickering relationship that led all the way to their wedding day. As for herself, she was merely an accidental intruder into their world, like what Li An said, just a toy he played with when he felt like it.

Shao Junhe wasn't, as Li An described, someone with crooked features; on the contrary, his looks were striking. Even though they couldn't compare to Li An's breathtakingly stunning face tinged with a hint of mischief, standing by the entrance of Aoni International still drew frequent glances from passing women.

"What are you doing Standing here and attracting attention" Li An slapped Shao Junhe on the shoulder with his iron palm.

Shao Junhe ignored his provocation and stared at Li An and his sister clinging to each other in surprise. What's going on, they sounded like they were at war over the phone earlier, now how come they're so close

Li An only then noticed Shao Meizhuo clinging to him like a koala bear and quickly pushed her hands away, impatiently saying: "Hurry up and call Tina, see if she's free. We'll meet at the usual place."

"Tina, Tina, you only care about her!" Shao Meizhuo reluctantly let go of Li An, muttering sourly.

She knew that Li An changed girlfriends frequently – celebrities, models, pop stars, ladies from good families, gentlewomen, they all took turns. But she didn't really pay attention to those women and often made jokes about them while chatting with Tina on the phone.

However, Tina was different. She was the daughter of Uncle Wu Chuan, a subordinate of Li An's father since long ago. They had known each other from childhood, and Tina resembled her father in appearance – that alone spoke volumes for his looks!

Moreover, Tina's greatest virtue was her personality; she was extremely gentle and kind. Any man choosing a wife would likely pick someone like sweet-natured Tina rather than living with a porcupine every day.

Thinking of this made Shao Meizhuo feel disheartened. But among the people around her now, only Tina still treated her kindly and played with her. Even if there was a big gap between them when they were together, she always felt defeated, but she had no other choice but to play with Tina.

Once Li An left, Yan Luoxi was finally free from supervision, and her direct superior Anna no longer gave her tasks.

Anna, with her sharp instincts, has already noticed something unusual about the relationship between Li An and Yan Luoxi from what happened yesterday.

The prestigious and aloof Managing Director Li would scheme to frame a tea girl He doesn't have such time for trivial matters!!!

If it were any other cleaner, being found by the obsessive cleanliness-loving Li An lounging on his precious chaise longue, they'd be rudely woken up and then shooed away without second thoughts, with him probably throwing out the expensive Persian rug. Yet yesterday afternoon, Anna clearly saw the Managing Director lying down in the spot where Yan Luoxi had lain earlier.

The arrogant and indifferent Li An holding a full staff meeting just to address a tea girl's grievances That would be sheer nonsense!!!

Over these past two years, Anna knows how self-important and presumptuous Managing Director Li has been. His unpredictable mood swings in the business world make countless people grind their teeth in anger behind his back. He isn't well-regarded in the industry, but no matter what others say about him, Li An just laughs it off without offering any explanations.

His girlfriends, regardless of how affectionate and intimate they are while with him, once he grows tired of them, he doesn’t even bother to say goodbye or see them out, simply sending them away with a check.

Anna now firmly believes that Yan Luoxi has some unknown connection to Li An. However, in the business world, it's often better not to know too much about certain things. She decides henceforth to stay out of affairs concerning Li An and Yan Luoxi. As long as Li An isn't around, she will treat Yan Luoxi, who should be under her supervision, like air, letting her do whatever she wants.

Holding a pen, Yan Luoxi mindlessly doodles on the paper; the image of Li An and Shao Meizhuo walking side by side is deeply ingrained in her memory. If they weren't fighting, they truly would be an ideal match—equal status and complementary talents. Anybody who saw them together would think it's a perfect union.

Years ago, she had envied Shao Meizhuo’s carefree life and lack of inhibition. She was the bright star among them, wearing a red dress and standing tall above the crowd with an air of superiority; even Nianxiang and Ah Ruan didn’t have her demeanor.

Back then, Li An, brash and domineering as he was, was the leader of their group. Everyone—both older and younger children—had to listen to him, except for Shao Meizhuo who dared to challenge him.

If not for Shao Meizhuo’s audaciousness, perhaps she would still be living in Li An's shadow, as his secret lover despised by the public. Recalling these past events sends a shiver down Yan Luoxi’s spine.

It was lunchtime; taking deep breaths to calm herself, Yan Luoxi should feel glad that she can now enjoy her favorite restaurant without Li An around. Yet staring at the tender stir-fried pork slices reminds her of Zhou Guangtao—his look when he left yesterday was clearly not happy, and he hadn’t called her all morning, which made her uneasy. Even her beloved dish tasted like wax to her. She asks He Yufan and Ye Xixin beside her, "Do you think a boyfriend's money has to be accepted..."

Before she could finish her sentence, a chopstick tapped against the center of her forehead. "Only an idiot like you would do such a stupid thing!" Yan Luoxi's insistence on not accepting Zhou Guangtao’s money was known to He Yufan and Ye Zixin. He Yufan had long been displeased with her behavior and criticized her, saying, "He gives you money. You refusing it once or twice may seem high-minded and independent at first, but over time, such actions hurt his self-respect and create a gap between the two of you."

"Yes, Zhou Guangtao now earns quite a lot. Since you're planning to marry him anyway, just take his money. After all, one day it will be your responsibility," Ye Zixin said with a mischievous smile.

Hearing Ye Zixin bring up her marriage to Zhou Guangtao, Yan Luoxi smiled happily.

"Indeed, the older a girl gets, the harder she is to keep. The moment you talk about getting married, even your throat is smiling," He Yufan taunted from the side with sarcasm.

Ignoring He Yufan's mockery, Yan Luoxi thought that tonight after work, she should take the initiative and go to Zhou Guangtao’s company to cheer him up. As Zhou Guangtao’s company was quite far away, in order to see him earlier, she planned to ask Li An for a leave of absence.

The 'Nine Heavens' was the most prestigious entertainment center in this city, and local celebrities and tycoons would flaunt their status by consuming here.

This place belonged to the Ming family; thus, Li An felt at home. He and the Shao siblings went straight to a luxurious private room reserved for them. The lavish suite covered nearly thirty square meters, with an elegant dining table on one side and a large mahjong machine on the other. A giant screen hung from the wall for those who wanted to belt out songs after drinking.

As soon as they entered, they saw Ming Zixi, the second son of the Ming family, sitting there with an exceptionally radiant woman beside him.

"Second Brother, you’re early!"

"Second Brother, is this your new sister-in-law"

"Hello, Sister-in-law."

The three of them greeted Ming Zixi and made jokes with him. He didn’t mind and casually introduced the woman to everyone before smiling at Shao Meizhuo, "Meizhuo is settling down here, a good thing! This way, your big brothers can take better care of you!" As he spoke, his jet-black eyes curved into crescents as they glanced at Li An.

"You need to get serious. Second Brother Zi Chen got married two years ago, why haven’t you made any moves Beware of becoming a bachelor for life back home!" Li An and Ming Zixi were used to their playful banter.

In every family, there's a troublesome second child. Their personalities are somewhat similar; whenever they meet, they always end up causing chaos. Therefore, their fathers rarely allow them to get together, but as they grew older, Li An sought out Ming Zixi to avoid his father and brother’s supervision.

Anrui International was established by the partnership between Li An and Ming Zixi. Since Ming Zixi's family is based in this city and he has many businesses to manage, plus being older than Li An, he let Li An serve as the CEO of Anrui to give him an opportunity for growth.

When Li An and Ming Zixi jointly founded this company, they didn’t expect it would earn much profit. Everyone thought that a playful and competitive person like Li An wouldn't succeed in business, but unexpectedly, this devil turned out to be quite capable. Within just a few years, he shook up the entire commercial scene in Beijing.

The air conditioner was directly facing Li An's seat; cold wind suddenly blew against him, making him sneeze. Ming Zixi, who lacked elder brotherly manners, gloated, "You must have done too many bad things! Someone’s cursing you!"

"What do you know 'Think ill and speak ill of others!'” Li An proudly curled his lips. “When I sneeze, it means someone is thinking about me!”

Could this person be Guan Xiaoke

Ming Zixi didn’t realize he was daydreaming; tearing open a pack of cigarettes that the hotel manager had just brought in, he took one out and tossed the box to Li An. He said smugly, "With my handsome looks, even if I end up alone, I’m still going to be Mr. Diamond Second Brother!"

"Yeah, you’re definitely second-rate!" Li An also took a cigarette out and lit it before passing the pack on to Shao Junhe.

"You're not second-rate either!" Ming Zixi retorted.

Li An didn't want to argue with him about who was more second-rate, especially since neither of them could become the eldest. It would be for nothing but entertainment for Shao Junhe and his sister nearby. “By the way, where’s your brother” Li An asked, referring to Ming Zixi's elder brother, Ming Zichen.

"His wife is pregnant," Ming Zixi replied solemnly.

“Oh,” Li An nodded. It was well-known that Ming Zichen treated his wife like a treasure. towards Yan Luoxi was obvious, likely because of Yan's actions that caused Sun to hate her mother. Knowing how much her mother loved her father, she had encouraged her father to divorce her mother."M...