"Your brother-in-law has a small yacht, and since today’s weather is fine, your brother-in-law suggested gathering some friends for a trip out to sea," Lai Shengxia said on the other end of the phone, making arrangements: "Including you and Yuanyuan, there will be seven or eight people in total. We can stay overnight on the yacht and come back tomorrow afternoon."
Tang Li pinched her cellphone, standing on the balcony of her dormitory.
She was still wearing a white nightgown, and the morning sunlight poured over her, casting a halo of golden light onto her hair.
Before last night, she would have definitely accepted such an opportunity.
Tang Li remembered Song Baiyan’s admonishing words.
He didn’t want her to do this, didn’t want her to have too much association with Qin Yansheng.
Therefore, she refused Lai Shengxia.
"Are you really not going?" Lai Shengxia draped her arm, her black big wavy hair exuded a mature softness, her face was adorned with delicate light makeup, wearing a red square-neck fishtail long dress which complemented her slender, graceful figure. Standing beside the floor-length chiffon curtains, she looked as beautiful as a flame.
Once Lai Shengxia confirmed Tang Li couldn’t go, she hung up the phone.
She took her cellphone to the cloakroom.
In front of the full-length mirror, Qin Yansheng was changing clothes.
Lai Shengxia came over, sighed, and sat down on the sofa stool nearby: "Ah Li said she’s got something important to deal with in the next two days and can’t join us for the trip at sea."
"I had lunch with her yesterday, and she didn’t mention it," Qin Yansheng said, buttoning up his shirt. Lai Shengxia was making calls outside, and he overheard: "Since Ah Li is not going, I’ll invite someone else. But later, after we’ve prepared the seafood, tomorrow night we can go back to the Lai family, and also invite Ah Li over."
Hearing this, the corners of Lai Shengxia’s lips lifted slightly.
After a while, she asked: "Yansheng, do you get along well with Ah Li?"
Qin Yansheng didn’t deny it: "Ah Li isn’t as constrained at school as she is at home; she’s quite lively and adorable, especially when she’s interacting with her classmates, it reminds me of my own university days."
Saying so, he laughed: "In fact, truth be told, Ah Li has a much better temperament than Yuanyuan, and standing next to you, you two look more like real sisters."
Lai Shengxia chuckled: "What you’re saying, Ah Li is my sister after all."
"But with such high praise from her brother-in-law, those who don’t know might think you’re looking to find her a match."
"Ah Li is so pretty, it shouldn’t come to me playing matchmaker."
That sentence caused Lai Shengxia’s smile to fade.
Then she slowly said: "Everything else about Ah Li is pretty good, but one thing, since she returned to the Lai family these past two years, she’s never really gotten along with other family members. Not long ago, my parents took her and Yuanyuan to the Xia family for a meal, and it ended up causing a scene at the Xia’s."
"What happened?" Qin Yansheng looked towards Lai Shengxia in the mirror.
"Ah Li caught the fancy of Mrs. Xia, who joked at the table about wanting Ah Li for a daughter-in-law. Later Ah Li and Yuanyuan went upstairs to call Xia Lang for dinner, and Yuanyuan ended up locked in Xia Lang’s room. Although nothing happened, it still wasn’t a good experience for Yuanyuan."
"Was it Ah Li who did that?" Qin Yansheng asked.
Lai Shengxia smiled enigmatically: "It might have been a misunderstanding, I did not witness it with my own eyes, so I can’t make reckless judgments. My mother mentioned it to me in passing."
"Ah Li and her mother lived in Diannan, and her father had never known of Ah Li’s existence. Later, when Ah Li’s mother passed away, Ah Li came to the Capital to find her father. I can feel that she holds some resentment towards her father."
After a short pause, she added: "Moreover, as far as I know, Ah Li’s mother passed away from HIV infection."