"Clever beyond her years." Li Shiping chuckled softly, caressing the child’s head, "Don’t worry! For the baby’s sake, I won’t be that foolish anymore."
"Sister Shiping, it’s good that you see through it now," Shen Mianmian feigned a gossipy demeanor. "I heard that people who often go out to eat and drink easily mingle with dubious women. When a few men drink together and spur each other on, they end up at some messy places."
The smile on Li Shiping’s face stiffened into a forced one as she replied, "Dongcheng isn’t that kind of person." Though she said this, her hands nervously ran through the child’s hair.
Seeing her expression, Shen Mianmian knew that her words had some effect on Li Shiping, so she did not continue the topic. Once a woman harbors suspicion, she becomes like Sherlock Holmes, keen to find clues on her own.
Li Shiping was so intelligent that if Wan Dongcheng were up to anything shady outside, she would certainly find out.
It was after four in the afternoon when Shen Mianmian left the hospital. Before leaving, Li Shiping asked her not to tell the Li Family about the child’s hospitalization, and Shen Mianmian nodded in agreement.
She hailed a cab and went straight to the Li Family’s home where Li Julin and Xiu Min were discussing Shen Mianmian’s absence that day.
"The school term only started less than two months ago, and she’s already slacking off, not showing up without even a courtesy call in advance. It’s impolite."
Xiu Min turned her head to suppress a chuckle. Asking Wen Dongcheng to check on her was not out of reprimand, but out of concern,
"I will call Xiaoyue later to go check on her place, to see if she got held up by something."
"What could it be?" Li Julin stubbornly retorted, "She must be off having fun, shopping with classmates."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Shen Mianmian’s voice came from the doorway, "Uncle Li, Auntie Xiu."
Seeing Shen Mianmian, Xiu Min’s anxiety eased, and she said with a smile, "Mianmian, you’re finally here. Your Uncle Li was just talking about you not coming over today."
"Auntie Xiu, something came up this morning, which stopped me from coming," explained Shen Mianmian apologetically, as the situation had arisen suddenly, and she had not managed to inform them.
Li Julin snorted and sat down on the sofa with a cup of tea, visibly discontent.
Xiu Min gave Shen Mianmian a meaningful glance, signaling that Li Julin was just in a bit of a mood. Understanding the hint, Shen Mianmian winked back at Xiu Min, then approached Li Julin.
She had barely started speaking when Li Julin glanced at her and set his cup down to lecture, "How can you approach studying in such an on-and-off manner? Once you start slacking, you will lose the motivation to study and start going out to play every day. You are in the most critical three years of high school; you must study hard and not take it lightly."
"I’m sorry, Uncle Li, I was wrong. I’ll take this as a lesson and it won’t happen again," Shen Mianmian admitted her mistake humbly without any excuses.
She understood Li Julin’s temper well; the more you tried to explain, the angrier he became, convinced that you lacked genuine remorse.
Seeing her sincere admission, Li Julin’s mood somewhat softened, "If you really can’t come, you should let us know in advance. That’s basic manners." Thıs content belongs to 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝔫𝔢𝔱
"It was sudden, and I didn’t consider it thoroughly. Uncle Li, I promise I won’t make the same mistake again," Shen Mianmian assured with conviction.
Li Julin finally felt better and his tone returned to normal, "It’s too late today, no need to study. Consider this a day off."