Chapter 20 The Fool in the Face of Love

moil at home, Shao Junhe's life was thriving. Despite Yan Luoxi still treating him coldly as before, not uttering a word, he felt incredibly happy.This small town was perfect for living in—it was clea...Chapter Twenty: The Fool in Love

Even though Yan Luoxi had tried her best to downplay things, Gu Xiaobei could still guess the hardships and difficulties from her words. Because Gu Xiaobei was abandoned by his parents since childhood, he understood better than anyone else the hardship of struggling alone for survival.

Yan Luoxi's account wasn't long; she simply summarized her years of life into a few sentences: self-reliance and self-sufficiency, exerting every effort to survive.

When she left the Li family, Shao Meizhu had given her some money. However, Shao Meizhu was Gu Xiaobei's best friend and Chen Shuang’s daughter; in front of Gu Xiaobei, Yan Luoxi still didn't have the heart to expose Shao Meizhu.

Gu Xiaobei noticed that Yan Luoxi spoke with a light tone, composed demeanor, and even smiled bravely as she talked. He knew that those past days might leave shadows in her heart, but she was an optimistic girl who had come to terms with everything despite the hardships.

However, when talking about Zhou Guangtao later on, Yan Luoxi's spirits clearly dimmed; it was a tragic and desperate look caused by emotional pain—her son's wicked deeds were immediately apparent here.

Yan Luoxi knew at this moment that it was Zhou Guangtao who had called Li Haonan to come rescue her, so he must also know that she was being detained by Li An and what they did during those days.

In the scorching summer weather, when Yan Luoxi thought about these things, she suddenly felt a chill in her heart.

Gu Xiaobei noticed Yan Luoxi's dazed expression and patted her shoulder to comfort her: "Luoxi, don't worry. I will take you away from here to see Zhou Guangtao. I'll explain everything."

Yan Luoxi felt as if something was blocking her chest, making it hard for her to breathe—what was the point of seeing Zhou Guangtao What face did she have to meet him!

From Gu Xiaobei's observation of Yan Luoxi's face, which alternated between red and pale, she could guess her thoughts. "Luoxi, this matter is Lì n’s fault; it has nothing to do with you at all. I believe that if Zhou Guangtao truly loves you, he wouldn’t care about these things."

Yan Luoxi felt tears welling up in her eyes and struggled to hold them back. She opened her mouth but took a moment before speaking, "He might not care, but I do. Aunt Xiaobei, at this point, I can't be together with him anymore."

As she spoke, it seemed as if life had reached an impasse for her, and Yan Luoxi's tears could no longer be stopped.

Saddened by the sight, Gu Xiaobei held Yan Luoxi in her arms. With reddened eyes, she choked out, "It’s all my fault, Aunt Xiaobei. If I had known earlier about this, you wouldn’t have to suffer under Lì n's hands and endure such hardships..."

Yan Luoxi wiped her tears randomly and bit her lower lip tightly for a while before saying, "Aunt Xiaobei, you don't need to worry about me. My life has just begun; there are many exciting and meaningful things ahead of me. After leaving Zhou Guangtao, I... I’ll live better."

After instructing Lì n to prepare a meal, Li Haonan had the servants help his two sons into another room where their wounds were treated and bloody pants changed, to prevent Gu Xiaobei from seeing them later and blaming him.

From within the house, he spotted these two women hugging each other and crying. He quickly retreated under a tree to avoid her wrath at this moment when she was most furious.

The women didn’t cry for long; they must have shifted to another topic as laughter returned among them.

Li Haonan sighed silently. No wonder Xián Zhiming refused to marry—women are indeed the most perplexing creatures even a smart person like him couldn't fully understand after living with Gu Xiaobei for so long.

Stepping back a few paces, Li Haonan made some noise, pretending he had just arrived. He greeted them warmly: "Xiaobei, Luoxi, you’re here! Are you hungry Let's go inside to eat!"

Gu Xiaobei glared at him and said unhappily, "Have you finished disciplining your son"

Liyuonan was smiling obsequiously in front of his little wife. "I didn't want to hit them either! Who would have thought they would make you angry!"

"Liyuanan, can't you do things with a bit more principle How bad are those two sons of yours If I don’t get mad, will you stop disciplining them" Gu Xiaobei glared at Liyuanan.

"I’ll discipline them, yes, even if you’re not angry. I’ll still hit them." Seeing that his flattery hadn't worked, Liyuanan quickly made a sincere statement of intent. "From now on, whenever they make the slightest mistake, I'll give their bottoms a good beating."

Gu Xiaobei was amused by Liyuanan's words and she did indeed feel hungry. She tugged at Yan Luoxi’s hand. "Luoxi, dear child, your body is the basis for your revolution. Let's go back to eat first, then we'll fight those evil forces after we've eaten our fill."

Liyuanan saw that his wife had once again put him in the category of villains and he was unhappy about it but didn't dare say anything. He followed behind his wife as they returned to the villa.

By this time, Li An had already washed up and changed into fresh clothes. He was standing by the door with his neck craned outwards, peering eagerly outside. Seeing Yan Luoxi and her mother return, he immediately greeted them with a smile and came bounding towards them. His puffy face still managed to produce a rather charming smile.

"Mom, Luoxi, you must be hungry. Come in quickly and eat." Li An was extremely attentive as he looked at Yan Luoxi with the same awe-struck look that Zhu Bajie had when he saw Chang’e; it scared Yan Luoxi into hiding behind Gu Xiaobei.

"Stay away from us!" Gu Xiaobei hoped deeply in her heart that Li An would keep his distance from Yan Luoxi. Even though Li An was her son.

Gu Xiaobei had personal experience of how Yan Luoxi felt about Li An, and the methods he used to pursue her were extremely similar to those Liyuanan had used in the past. But she and Liyuanan had endured so many hardships and setbacks before arriving at their current situation—there was so much hardship and pain that they didn’t want these two children to experience it all over again.

Moreover, Lei Haonan and himself are considered lucky people; despite enduring hardships, they ultimately achieved success. If Lei An and Yan Luoxi aren't as fortunate and end up becoming adversaries, their lives would be ruined.

Lei An looked somewhat awkward at his mother while walking behind him, Li Haonan kept signaling to him with his eyes. This child is usually very smart; why does he act foolishly when it counts, not knowing how to retreat strategically.

Clearly aware that the other party finds him annoying, yet still acting like a toad, persistently trying to gain favor.

In response to his father's somewhat clumsy signals of winking and nodding, Lei An’s greedy eyes finally stopped staring at Yan Luoxi’s front face and switched to watching her back instead.

After washing their faces, Yan Luoxi and Gu Xiaobei sat down for a meal by the dining table. Lei An attempted once again to sit next to Gu Xiaobei, but was given a stern glance by Li Haonan; reluctantly, he sat on another chair away from Yan Luoxi.

Lei An's buttocks, which had been beaten earlier, were hesitant to sit properly in the chair. He just perched on one side of it, his eyes full of longing as they followed Yan Luoxi.

"Lei An, your face is swollen; come here and eat some heart-piercing lotus." Upon seeing his parents start eating, Li Yi picked up a piece of vegetable with chopsticks to give to his brother.

"I'm not having a fever," Lei An scooped out the heart-piercing lotus from the dish. His father was about to arrange his marriage soon; he couldn't be happier and why would he have a fever

Li Yi cleared his throat softly, lowering his voice, "Mainly I want to remind you that your face is swollen."

"Eating heart-piercing lotus can reduce swelling" Lei An asked somewhat confused.d the items bought for the child."Luoxi, don't be angry. Mom won't act as an informant for Gu Yuehui anymore," Xue Liping was truly frightened by her daughter's intention to move out and kept giving a...