Mister Li, the Heart Bandit

Li Shaoling’s face dropped in disbelief. “You remembered?”

Ji Weixi was clutching at her own hair. “I’m the daughter of your enemy… what should we do…”

Li Shaoling, however, firmly pulled her into his arms, seething as his eyes turned red. “No one is taking you away as long as I want you.”

Nonetheless, Ji Weixi sobbed, clutching at his shirt. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry!”

Soon enough, she became oxygen-starved from her own sobbing and eventually fell to groggy sleep.

Her little one came to visit, but Li Shaoling stopped him.

“Daddy?”

Li Shaoling crouched down to look at his little face and quietly said, “She’s not feeling well at the moment. I’ll have Aunt Miaomiao take care of you for some time. Alright?”

This was the first time he was being so polite with his own son.

The little one pursed his lips, unable to stay calm. “But is Mommy alright… Daddy?”

“Nothing will happen to her as long as I’m here.”

***

Ji Weixi seemed to hear someone arguing outside and she woke up.

She sat up, took some time to adapt herself to the blinding light before wearing her shoes and getting off her bed.

“Even if us Yu family had done your mother wrong, our families will always be enemies, and had sworn never to live alongside the Li family! Let me pass! You cannot stay with her—I’m bringing Qing’er home!”

With that, the door was opened and Yu Qishan entered on his crutch, running into Ji Weixi just as she was about to go out.

Taken aback for a moment, Yu Qishan emotionally grasped Ji Weixi’s hands. “Qing’er, I heard you’ve recovered your memories? Don’t you remember me?”

Ji Weixi pursed her lips.

She was feeling a little ill at ease even if she had regained her memories—she had lived with the Ji family for a dozen years after all.

When she didn’t reply, Yu Qishan asked after her in great concern. “Are you better now? Does it still hurt? Should I get you a doctor?”

Ji Weixi shook her head, and then looked up at Li Shaoling outside the door.

He was looking back with a troubled gaze.

Yu Qishan saw their locked gazes, and sighed as he offered them his sincere advice. “Qing’er, I know that you both have feelings for each other, but it’s impossible! Don’t you know that you were betrothed to the Su family’s boy as children?”

“And I know you have a child with him, but we can have the boy change his name to Yu. And I will do everything I can to make up for the Li family for the grievous deeds of your father!”

“Fate is simply not on your side. Even if Li Shaoling would accept you, aren’t you worried that he would hate you so much one day and kill you!? Your father killed his mother! Stop dreaming!”

Yu Qishan stretched out his hand then. “Come, Qing’er, let’s go home.”

Ji Weixi closed her eyes as tears fell. She stiffly put her hand on Yu Qishan’s palm, allowing him to lead her out of her room.

She paused for the briefest of moments as she walked past Li Shaoling, but her head could not have hung lower.

She felt sorry towards him, but she could not look him in the eye either.

Li Shaoling watched as she left, and even the faint scent of antiseptic was gone with her.

His heart was hollow. It didn’t hurt, but it was very empty.

To the point that he found living meaningless.

***

The little one was brought back to the Yu family, and he quickly adapted to the role of great-grandchild.

Even so, Ji Weixi was still losing weight.

All she did was sit by the window of her room and look down.

She vaguely remembered the times when the people in the house stopped her from going out to play with Li Shaoling.

However, he would come and throw pebbles at her window. She would leap out of the window and into his arms when she heard the sound, and he would lead her out to play. They would play until the middle of the night so that their family wouldn’t notice, and then Li Shaoling would help her climb back up the window.

It probably wouldn’t happen in the future.

Soon, a month had passed.

Ji Weixi heard many news about the Li family in that period.

Li Shaogan had inherited all Old Madam Li’s property and stocks following her passing, but when it was exposed that Li Shaogan was in league with the Qiao family, Li Nanhai was admitted to hospital under stress, and unable to recover from that.

Nonetheless, Li Shaogan simply ignored the fate of the Li family and continued selling his soul to the Qiao family.

Everyone had hoped that Li Shaoling would step up to save them once again, just like four years ago.

However, Li Shaoling had completed vanished this time, nor did he show up to help.

Every part of the Li family, and even all of CBS was caught in confusion, facing bankruptcy in its leaderless state.

None of which wasn’t good news to Yu Qishan.

“Serves the Li family right! Serves Li Nanhai right!” Yu Qishan was seething at the thought of his late daughter. “Li Nanhai should have fallen so much earlier for toying with Xiaoxiao’s feelings! His family are all cool-blooded creatures and nothing good!”

When Ji Weixi heard that, she had really wanted to rush outside and tell them that Li Shaoling wasn’t like that.

But so what if she would tell them what’s what? The Yu family hated the Li family down to their marrow.

***

Tonight, Ji Weixi was in her bed, staring blankly at her ceiling.

Thud—

Suddenly, something seemed to hit her window but only made a moderate sound.

She did not react immediately, and another thud soon followed.

Ji Weixi promptly sat up and ran to the window to look.

It was pouring snow outside, but a man was standing there, throwing pebble after pebble at her window.

She felt her pulse quicken while her eyes grow hot and tearful. She was smiling as she opened her window.

In the snow, Li Shaoling spread his arms towards him, his smile handsome and bright.

Ji Weixi bit her lip, and quickly fetched a coat from her closet.

Her room was on the first floor. It wasn’t high, but it was still frightening.

Even so, she gritted her teeth as she looked at Li Shaoling again, and jumped down without hesitation.

In turn, Li Shaoling spread his arms to catch her. Both of them dropped into the snow, and he rolled once to pin her beneath.

Before she could react, he was holding both her hands and kissing her.

They exhaled and stared into each other’s eyes.

Wearing a large black trench coat, his face was a little white in the cold although he was wearing a knitted scarf around his neck.

His usual iciness was gone, and the moment, he looked like the boy next door.

Ji Weixi wanted to cry the more she looked, feeling guilty and upset inside while keeping her head low and averting her eyes, afraid to look at him. “L-let me get up.”

“Why did you ask for me anyway?”

“Nothing.” His voice was indifferent.

Ji Weixi turned. “I’m leaving then.”

He spoke again from behind her. “I just missed you a bit.”