Xiaoli’s assistant, Tang Zhou, had already been waiting for quite some time. “Miss Shen, this way, please.”
Shen Qingli nodded politely, took Xiaoye by the hand, and followed Tang Zhou into Longcheng Residence.
They crossed the living room, whose ceiling rose more than ten meters overhead, and stopped in front of a black leather sofa.
Tang Zhou gestured for Shen Qingli to sit. “Miss Shen, please wait a moment. Sir is in the study upstairs. I’ll ask him to come down.”
“Sorry to trouble you.”
Shen Qingli pulled Xiaoye onto the sofa and sat down.
Xiaoye tilted his head up at the chandelier, which was a full three meters high, and said softly, “Mommy, this place is so pretty!”
Shen Qingli smiled and pinched Xiaoye’s ear. “Yes.”
Xiaoye asked again, “Is the person who lives here Mommy’s friend?”
“He isn’t Mommy’s friend. He’s a kind person who helped Mommy, and he’s also your…”
Before she could finish speaking,
footsteps came from upstairs.
Shen Qingli quickly stood up.
When she turned around, the first thing that entered her view was Xiaoli’s legs as he descended the stairs, wrapped in sharply tailored suit trousers, long and powerful.
His feet stepped onto the carpeted staircase. The sound was neither light nor heavy, yet it carried an inherent pressure.
As he slowly came downstairs,
his face entered Shen Qingli’s line of sight.
The lines of his face were cold and austere, while his three-dimensional features looked as though they had been carved by an axe and chiseled by a knife, possessing a uniquely rugged beauty.
Xiaoli soon reached the bottom of the stairs. “Sit.”
Shen Qingli sat down again, somewhat stiffly.
At the same time, she pulled Xiaoye into her arms.
Xiaoye stared at Xiaoli with his big, round eyes. “Uncle, thank you for helping my mommy. You’re a really good person.”
Xiaoli seemed to smile faintly. “Your name is Xu Xiaoye, isn’t it?”
Xiaoye nodded vigorously.
Xiaoli glanced at Tang Zhou.
The latter immediately walked over. “Xiaoye, would you like Uncle to take you out back to see the puppies?”
Puppies!
Xiaoye’s eyes lit up.
He looked eagerly at Shen Qingli.
Shen Qingli understood that Xiaoli wanted to speak with her alone and nodded. “Go ahead.”
Tang Zhou scooped Xiaoye up and quickly carried him out of the living room.
Shen Qingli swiftly took a Xiaoli gift box from her bag and pushed it in front of Mr. Cheng. Her voice was sincere as she expressed her gratitude. “This is a small gift to thank Mr. Cheng for saving my life last time and for giving up something he cherished. I hope you’ll accept it.”
Xiaoli lowered his eyes and glanced at it.
It was a long, delicate little box.
It should contain a fountain pen.
Xiaoli gave a low hum. His voice was cold and indifferent as he got straight to the point. “I want to take Xiaoye’s custody back from you.”
Although Shen Qingli had already prepared herself, her heart still tightened when she heard those words.
What needed to be thanked had already been thanked.
Next came the contest between her and Xiaoli over Xiaoye’s custody.
Shen Qingli clasped her hands together. “I’d like to ask you something, Mr. Cheng. Since you say that you’re Mr. Xu’s younger brother, where were you when Mr. Xu was ill? And where were you when Mr. Xu died?”
She addressed him respectfully every time.
Yet her tone conceded not an inch.
Xiaoli’s gaze fell on Shen Qingli’s face. His eyes were like a deep pool that reflected no emotion. His sharp lips parted slightly. “No comment.”
Shen Qingli sat ramrod straight, like an elementary school student listening to a lesson. “You were so indifferent to your own brother that you neither asked about him nor cared about him. Why should I believe that you’ll take good care of Xiaoye?”
Xiaoli was amused into laughter.
How many years had it been since someone had spoken to him in a questioning and skeptical tone?
When Shen Qingli heard Xiaoli’s laugh, she instinctively shrank her neck.
But she quickly straightened her back again. Her slender waist was faintly visible beneath the curve of her knit sweater. Forcing herself to remain calm, she said, “Mr. Xu and I obtained a marriage certificate and were legally married. After Mr. Xu’s death, I became Xiaoye’s first-priority guardian, and I have not lost my capacity to act as his guardian.”
Xiaoli’s fingers paused slightly.
The curve of his brows rose, suffused with an aristocratic air and sharpness of their own. “You’ve studied the law?”
Shen Qingli nodded hard. “Yes!”
Xiaoli: “…”
After a pause, Shen Qingli continued, “When Mr. Xu was dying, he repeatedly entrusted me with raising Xiaoye to adulthood.”
Outside the law, there was still human feeling.
Legally, she had her marriage certificate with Mr. Xu as proof.
In terms of human feeling, she had Mr. Xu’s final request to rely on.
This entire argument took less than three minutes to deliver, but Shen Qingli had spent three full days thinking it through.
Cheng Yanli stood up.
He walked two steps toward the window. His eyes and brows were as deep as a cold pool. “Miss Shen, before you married, did you ever consider that your husband might cheat on you?”
Shen Qingli’s fair little face suddenly flushed red, and a trace of anger surfaced in her eyes.
There was no need to hit someone where it hurt.
Her voice also carried a hint of emotion. “Mr. Cheng, you’re going too far. Strictly speaking, you still have to call me Sister-in-law.”
The moment she finished speaking,
Shen Qingli’s scalp went numb, and she regretted it.
It would have been enough to think it to herself.
Why had she actually said it aloud?
Cheng Yanli seemed to have been startled by those words as well.
Several seconds later, he merely smiled. “Sister-in-law?”
He pronounced the words almost one at a time, his gaze fixed on Shen Qingli. He watched as her already flushed face turned the color of pig’s liver.
Shen Qingli pressed her lips together. “Mr. Cheng, the only reason I’ve gone to such lengths with you is because Xiaoye has been with me since he was little, and I’ve taken care of him for three years. I’m afraid you won’t take good care of him. He…”
Cheng Yanli chuckled lightly and sauntered over, interrupting her. “I won’t take good care of Xu Xiaoye, but you can?
Xu Xiaoye has been following a woman who is submissive and timid whenever trouble arises, a woman who could even swallow her broken teeth when faced with her husband’s infidelity.
All that can come of it is a weak, indecisive, spineless, and self-destructive personality. You call that taking good care of him?”
This was the first time Cheng Yanli had spoken so many words to her in one breath.
Unfortunately, every one of them was a fact.
They thudded heavily against Shen Qingli’s heart, leaving her unable to refute him.
The tip of her nose uncontrollably turned red.
Her voice grew hoarse as well. “I’ll get divorced, but not now.”
Cheng Yanli seized on the flaw in her words. “Then before you get divorced, let Xu Xiaoye stay with me.”
Shen Qingli was momentarily rendered speechless.
Cheng Yanli stared at the silent Shen Qingli and continued, “Besides, only by letting Xu Xiaoye experience it for himself can he understand exactly what he wants—what you can give him, and what I can give him. Isn’t that so?”
It seemed that he had once again taken the higher ground.
His gaze was like a pool of dead water, without the slightest ripple, as he waited for Shen Qingli’s answer.
Shen Qingli twisted both hands together until her knuckles turned white.
Even the faint agarwood scent on the man seemed to carry the same oppressive force as its owner.
“Mommy!”
Xu Xiaoye came running back.
He bounced into Shen Qingli’s arms and said exaggeratedly, “Mommy, the big dog in the back courtyard was even taller than me! It was so impressive!”
Shen Qingli caught the child with practiced ease.
She kissed the crown of Xiaoye’s head and introduced Cheng Yanli to him. “Xiaoye, this is Uncle.”
Xu Xiaoye blinked.
Cheng Yanli did not know whether children resembled whoever raised them.
Although Xu Xiaoye and Shen Qingli were not related by blood, their wide eyes and dazed expressions were exactly alike; mother and son were two peas in a pod.
Shen Qingli took a breath and continued, “He’s your daddy’s younger brother.”
Xu Xiaoye withdrew his gaze.
A little shyly, he burrowed into Shen Qingli’s arms.
Xu Xiaoye withdrew his gaze.
A little shyly, he burrowed into Shen Qingli’s arms.
With one hand, Shen Qingli continuously stroked Xu Xiaoye’s little head. “Xiaoye, Mommy’s been a little busy with work lately. Would you like Uncle to keep you company for a while?”