novelraw Chapter 505 - 422: Shouldn’t Have Met Before
Chapter 505 - 422: Shouldn’t Have Met Before
Chapter 505: Chapter 422: Shouldn’t Have Met Before
Li Guozhi and Grandma Li were captivated by the scenery outside the car window. Li Guozhi softly said, "Mom! Look at Beijing, isn’t it great? If you could really retire here, that would be fine!"
She truly felt that every part of this place was good. If she were the elderly lady, she definitely wouldn’t want to return to Bashan’s countryside.
Once Wu Yue graduates, she even wants her child to come here to build a future.
By then, she could come along too. Even if it’s just finding a low-paying job, as long as she can escape her mother-in-law—and that home!
Grandma Li didn’t respond directly. She just looked out the window; no matter how good the outside world was, it couldn’t compare to her own home.
After how strained things were with Li Si in the past, how could she have the nerve to expect the child to care for her in her old age?
Not to mention Guofu’s matter—she felt ashamed about it!
It’s a pity that as people grow old, it becomes harder for them. She couldn’t firmly declare that she could live well on her own.
This year, during New Year’s, things were so quiet that her daughter-in-law and daughter even got into a fight.
That hadn’t happened in years!
Now, she could only take things one step at a time. She still remembered what Li Si had said earlier: When she grew old, Li Si would send her money every month for her retirement.
As a rural elderly woman with no pension and just a few acres of land, even with a bit of savings, if her children couldn’t provide for her, her later years would truly be dismal.
Sometimes she thought, if her eldest son hadn’t passed away so early, would she have acted so excessively afterward?
But some wounds, once inflicted, aren’t easily healed with a simple apology.
The car stopped, and as they got out and saw the towering, opulent hotel before them, their eyes filled with admiration—how rich!
Xiao Sun gestured invitingly and led them to the hotel lobby’s rest area while he went to get the key cards.
Seizing the chance, Li Fei looked around. "Mom, look at this five-star hotel! It’s so luxurious! So grand!"
Zhang Meihua also couldn’t help but glance around and say, "Fei’er! Look, this is the benefit of marrying a rich husband! If you can find someone wealthy in the future, your dad and I won’t need to miss out on this!"
Li Fei playfully clung to Zhang Meihua’s arm. "Mom! Don’t worry! I definitely won’t be worse off than Li Si! If she can find one, I can too! Don’t you remember? You had a fortune teller say my fate would be good back in the day!"
Zhang Meihua laughed and tapped her nose. "Fei’er, if you keep taking my advice seriously, you surely won’t be worse off!"
Li Guozhi, sitting next to Grandma Li, overheard their conversation and dismissed it with a slight smirk.
Are rich men really that easy to find?
Grandma Li sat in silence, her shoulders hunched. In such a luxurious setting, she couldn’t help but feel entirely uneasy.
Xiao Sun returned with the room cards and called for everyone to follow him to the elevator.
Before they could reach the elevator, a young woman accidentally bumped into Zhang Meihua. The woman quickly apologized.
Zhang Meihua didn’t mind. "No worries! It’s fine!"
The woman’s eyes lit up. "Oh my! Big Sister! Are you from North City? I can tell from your accent!"
Zhang Meihua recognized her accent too; especially in this unfamiliar city, it felt inexplicably comforting.
"Yes! You sound like you’re from there too!"
The two chatted as they walked, soon arriving at the elevator.
Li Fei glanced the woman up and down. She was dressed quite upscale, with a jade pendant hanging around her neck that looked rather fancy.
"We’re fellow townsfolk then! Big Sister! Is your family here in Beijing on vacation?" The woman seemed quite talkative.
Zhang Meihua glanced at Xiao Sun, who was focused on the elevator numbers. "We’re here for a wedding! What about you?"
"I came to visit a friend! My family moved to Beijing two years ago—it looks like we really have fate, huh!" After saying this, she intentionally fiddled with the pendant on her neck.
The group instinctively stared at her action, but their expressions didn’t change whatsoever.
"Oh, really! It’s quite fateful!" Zhang Meihua could tell the woman was wealthy, but since they’d just met, she didn’t say much.
Seeing the woman continuously fiddle with the pendant, Zhang Meihua curiously took a closer look but couldn’t discern anything special about it.
The woman’s thoughts shifted. "Big Sister! Can you guess what this jade pendant is made of?"
Her words drew everyone’s gaze, including Li Guozhi and Grandma Li, but none of them displayed any recognition of the pendant.
"I couldn’t tell! But it definitely looks expensive!"
The woman chuckled. "It’s decent!"
Just then, the elevator arrived, and the group entered. The woman got off on the eighth floor, enthusiastically waving goodbye to Zhang Meihua and the others as she left.
Her overly friendly behavior left the Li family puzzled, thinking she was just a friendly townsfolk.
The woman entered a room on the eighth floor, carefully removed the jade pendant, and handed it to Jin Yichen, who was seated on the sofa.
"Their expressions showed no surprise or recognition—they probably haven’t seen it before!" She spoke standard Mandarin.
Jin Yichen waved his hand. "Alright! You can leave now!"
After she left, Jin Yichen rubbed the jade pendant. The old man had suggested investigating North City, and now he’d learned that Li Si’s relatives had arrived in Beijing.
So he orchestrated a simple interaction—and based on today’s observation, the newly arrived group clearly hadn’t seen the pendant before.
Once the rooms were arranged, Xiao Sun prepared to leave. Zhang Meihua hurriedly asked when they would meet Li Si.
They’d traveled all this way and even brought some North City specialties for her.
Xiao Sun explained that Mrs. Leng was very busy before the wedding, so they’d need to wait patiently for a chance to meet her.
Left with no choice, Zhang Meihua and Li Fei saw him off at the door.
Li Guofu called to check whether they’d arrived and if everything went smoothly!
Zhang Meihua enthusiastically shared the sights they’d seen along the way, concluding that weddings in wealthy families must be even busier than they imagined. So they’d wait—it wasn’t like their accommodation wasn’t arranged, and meeting Li Si was just a matter of time.
Some of Li Si’s high school classmates began arriving. Several years had passed since her rebirth and that high school reunion, so there were people whose names she couldn’t even recall.
But none of that stopped them from acting overly familiar with her—as if they’d always been lifelong friends. Zhang Weicheng was still with Wang Man, and the two appeared to have moved their wedding plans forward.
Wang Man affectionately held Li Si’s hand. "Sisi! You’re truly lucky—making all of us jealous! Let me tell you, after Weicheng and I graduate and move to Beijing, you have to help us out!"
"Exactly! Exactly! Li Si, we were pretty close during school, right? Now that you’re rising to the top, don’t forget your old classmates!" A short-haired female classmate chimed in, though Li Si furrowed her brow, unable to recall if her name was Liu something.
"I heard that Zhou Rou is here in Beijing as well..." Wang Man wanted to ask about Zhou Rou since she used to get along well with them. Why hadn’t she shown up? When she saw Zhou Rou, she planned to poke fun—but her attitude wasn’t proper! After all, the example set above dictates the behavior below!
"Wang Man! Come here! I need to tell you something!" Bai Shasha skillfully pulled her aside.
Bai Shasha understood Wang Man’s petty feud with Zhou Rou, but now wasn’t the time to bring up those unpleasant topics—and why should they expect Li Si to help them?
Li Si was already overwhelmed, so arranging hotels and other accommodations had fallen to Bai Shasha and Xu Er. Fortunately, Xu’s house ran a hotel business, ensuring that all wedding guests stayed at their hotel.
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