Li Sihe felt a sharp pain in his chest, and a deep red spread in the depths of his eyes, "I said, no one is allowed to enter that room!"
Despite it being night, Li Sihe still ordered Su Youxue to be summoned. She appeared delighted, standing timidly in front of him, her eyes bright with anticipation.
In the quiet room, Li Sihe looked at the hopeful emotions in Su Youxue’s eyes, feeling as if something was fiercely stabbing his heart, blood flowing freely.
His hand tightened around the wine glass, his voice hoarse, "Come here."
Su Youxue obediently walked over and knelt down.
Her head rested against his leg, her demeanor gentle and affectionate, even her expression was perfectly seductive without seeming overly flamboyant.
She said, "Mr. Li, why did you suddenly ask me to come today?"
Li Sihe wasn’t thinking too much; he just suddenly wanted to see Bian Yue’s eyes.
So he said, "Lift your head, look at me."
Although Su Youxue was puzzled, she did as told.
And Li Sihe stared at those similar eyes, an indescribable bitterness spreading across his chest.
The rift in his relationship with Bian Yue was initially outside of Li Sihe’s plans.
At 18, Li Sihe’s greatest wish was to take care of the girl named Bian Yue, whom he brought home.
At 19, Li Sihe began to take over some projects of Feng Cheng from Li Tingmo, and his greatest wish then was to become the youngest helm of Feng Cheng and to take good care of Bian Yue.
At 20, having firmly established himself in Feng Cheng under his elders’ expectations, Li Sihe lived out a brilliant Chapter of life. Everyone praised Mr. Li for his early success and promising future. His ambition began to grow; he wanted to marry Bian Yue and stand with her at the pinnacle.
At 21, Li Sihe discovered the world’s best intoxicant was actually the high view overseeing all sentient beings. The feeling was too delightful; he began to reach for the highest positions, standing at the summit of humanity, immersed in a world of glitz and glamour. For a privileged young master, the moment of truly grasping power was ineffably wonderful.
He still loved Bian Yue, but the deviation of the heart is ultimately a gradual misalignment over the years.
His life was increasingly occupied by Feng Cheng...
He wanted to marry Bian Yue, but he also wanted to become the youngest person in charge of a top-tier financial family.
Later at 22, standing inside the study, Li Sihe watched as Li Tingmo threw a thick stack of documents at him, his heart starting to ache.
All these years, he had deliberately avoided the question, but it suddenly burst like an abscess, vividly blood-soaked before his eyes.
Li Tingmo said, "Next year, you should marry Bian Yue. The inheritance under Bian Yue’s name will be the last brick for you to firmly establish yourself in Feng Cheng."
His father sat behind the desk, looking at his only son with approving eyes, not sparing any praise, "Shiheng, you’ve done well over these years, and Bian Yue trusts you a lot."
Of course, Bian Yue trusted him; over the years, they spent days and nights together, and his treatment of her was genuine—not without manipulation and calculation, but love and care were the true undercurrents.
Li Sihe did love Bian Yue.
In the giant arena of fame and profit under the Li Family, his only, certain, true love.
So he hung his head, his voice suppressed and hoarse, "Dad, must I really do this? I can let go of Bian Yue’s inheritance, give me a few years, I can..."
"A few years?" Li Tingmo interrupted Li Sihe, his voice laced with mockery, sarcastically asking, "How many years then? Li Sihe, do you think that with your sole efforts, you can accumulate the Bian Family’s century-old wealth in just a few years? Let me tell you, you can’t do it! Not just you, even Shen Jinci, that business prodigy, can’t do it either!"
"And those things belong to Bian Yue. You’re asking me to take them from her hands; have you thought about how I should face her?"
Li Sihe’s voice became more suppressed, his peach-blossom eyes reddened, and he pleaded softly, "Dad, Bian Yue also grew up under your watch, you..."
"I’m not as confused as you; I know why I adopted her. Li Sihe, from the beginning, it was only for the Bian Family’s inheritance! If you didn’t want it, why did you bring Bian Yue back in the first place? You shouldn’t have gotten involved with her at all! You know very well why you stepped into the Bian Family’s mourning hall!"
Straight to the point.
Initially, it was indeed just for that inheritance.
But people are not heartless, the moment Li Sihe saw Bian Yue, he softened.
He was meticulous in his dealings with people, skillfully managing affairs with a polite smile since he was young, but his blood ran colder than anyone else’s.
But Bian Yue was different; by her side, each of his smiles was genuine.
At this moment, Li Sihe felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness, he said lowly, in enough disarray, "I don’t need Bian Yue’s help, I just want to simply marry her."
"Li Sihe, do you even realize what you’re saying?" Li Tingmo sneered, he stood up and walked up to Li Sihe, looking straight at his son, "You only have one path, marry Bian Yue, complete the final preparation for you to take over Feng Cheng, after that, I don’t care how you want to get along with Bian Yue, if it really doesn’t work out, divorcing in two years is also an option. You must understand, Feng Cheng is your most important responsibility."
"But Bian Yue is also my responsibility!"
He was so thoroughly moved, enough to contend with rationality.
But in the next moment, Li Tingmo destroyed Li Sihe’s persistence with just a few words.
Li Tingmo said, "If you have to choose between Feng Cheng and Bian Yue, which would you pick?"
Li Sihe looked at Li Tingmo in astonishment, he was clearly informed that he actually had no way out.
And his reaction was within Li Tingmo’s expectations, Li Tingmo’s expression softened slightly, and he said meaningfully, "Shiheng, you are a smart man, how to choose, I don’t need to teach you, right?"
He actually had no choice.
Standing in this position in the Li Family, he had no choice.
Thus Li Sihe began to not know how to face Bian Yue.
He cared about her, but he cared more about Feng Cheng.
This centuries-old family’s painstaking efforts needed to be passed down and promoted generation after generation.
In the face of familial glory, personal preferences are simply negligible.
He only had this one path.
It was a path bound to betray Bian Yue.
Therefore, Li Sihe began to subconsciously distance himself from Bian Yue.
Initially, it was distancing, but eventually, it turned into complete divergence.
There began to be countless women around him; in fact, there had always been women flocking to him, but he never gave them a second glance; he really cherished Bian Yue, unwilling to make her sad.
But now, he began to allow women of utility to appear around him.