You hidden in my heart - Chapter 37.3

Chapter 37.3

Li Xiyan and Li Xichen had been waiting for Li Xining.

In the Li family, Li Xining was the youngest one, and she had an older sister and five brothers. Although they were her cousins, they doted on her a lot.

Li Xiyan and Li Xichen both were children of Li Xining’s third uncle.

When Li Xining came over, Li Xichen noticed that his sister’s eyes were red as if she had cried just now.

His heart immediately boiled in anger, and he asked, “Did he bully you?” pointing at Lu Yuling. Li Xichen would go up and beat Lu Yuling as long as his sister said “yes,” but Li Xining did not respond as Li Xichen thought.

She just muttered, “No.”

Li Xichen asked again, “Then why are you crying?” not believing it.

Not only her eyes were red but also the tip of her nose. And it was clear she had just cried. “I didn’t cry.”

Li Xichen had a glum expression on his face as he looked at Lu Yuling.

After remaining silent for a while, Li Xiyan said seriously, “Today is Wednesday; you should be in school now.” Considering that he was 25 years old, he was quite experienced, mature, and good at understanding the situation. “He shouldn’t appear in a place like Bar Street.”

Li Xining kept her head down and remained silent.

Li Xiyan persisted in her question, “How do you feel about him? A friend from class? A friend? or a romantic partner?”

“Classmate.” Li Xining firmly retorted. 

“They should all be in school,” Li Xichen said.

Li Xiyan: “Why is he at this place? Why are you also present here? The two of you ought to be together.”

Li Xining couldn’t stay still under her brothers’ questioning gazes. She bit her lips and muttered: half-true and half-false. “He skipped class today, and I’m the class monitor. The school needs to check the number of people studying in the evening, so I came to find him.” 

With a snort of disbelief, Li Xichen asked, “Why haven’t I met a class monitor as responsible as you?” 

With a scowl, Li Xiyan told his brother to “shut up.” Without pointing out his sister’s mistake, he added, “Today’s matter ends here. I assure you that neither our grandfather or grandmother nor your mother will be aware that you visited Green Shade Road. However, you have to swear to me that you won’t ever skip class or speak falsehoods to anyone again. If you don’t, I’ll tell your mother and grandparents about this, and I can’t promise you what will happen next.”

The statements from her brother were standard blackmail. Her mother might definitely lock her up at home and hire a tutor to keep her from attending school if she knew that she had skipped classes to go somewhere like the bar street for Lu Yuling. Li Xining had to swear to her brother in order to avoid being chastised by her mother. “This is the last time, and I will never dare to do it again.” 

“I hope you will do what you say.” Li Xiyan then addressed Li Xichen, saying, “Send them both back to school.” 

Li Xichen exclaimed in shock. “They, both?” 

Li Xiyan: “Well, take that kid back too; Xiaoyao is here to find him.”

Li Xining was still angry with Lu Yuling, and she replied directly, “He doesn’t want to go back to school; no need to take him.”

In agreement, Li Xichen said, “That’s right, why take him; he’s not related to us.”

Li Xiyan sighed, feeling as though he was dealing with kindergarteners as he looked at his younger siblings. Shaking his head, he simply walked towards Lu Yuling. 

Lu Yuling had been standing there without moving because Li Xining didn’t leave. He was also a little worried that Cheng Ling would make a comeback, and he was taken aback by the unexpected approach of Li Xining’s brother, which made him uneasy.

First, Li Xiyan introduced himself to Lu Yuling by extending his hand and saying, “Li Xiyan, Xining’s fourth brother.”

Although Lu Yuling was nervous, he reacted calmly. He shook Li Xichen’s hand and replied, “Lu Yuling.”

Hearing the name of the boy, Li Xiyan suddenly realised. “So you are Lu Yuling. No wonder…”

They became familiar after a quick handshake, and Li Xiyan said, “Our little one is here today to take you back to school. Don’t worry about her; go back with her, and don’t make her feel guilty since she really cares about you, regardless of the reason behind your argument.” 

Lu Yuling was taken aback and surprisingly turned to face Li Xiyan.

“It’s strange, right? Why do I know who you are?” Li Xiyan asked with a smile on her face.

Lu Yuling said, nodding, “Yes.”

“Xiaoyao likes you so much; everyone in our family knows you and our old man wants to marry Xiaoyao to you.”

‘She likes me, and their entire family is aware of it? But she claimed to have told her family that she could never fall in love with a man like me…’ Lu Yuling was incredulous and shocked. “Is she like me? She really likes me.”

“What? You don’t know that?” Li Xiyan asked with a frown.

Lu Yuling felt that he was going crazy. “I don’t know!”

He was just very frightened, afraid of being deceived and abandoned because he had been living in deception and rejection since he was a child. 

His father left him from the moment he was born, and his mother left him afterwards. Everything he dreamed of since he was a little kid became lies after his mother’s death. 

After meeting Li Xining, all he had was a glimmer of hope in his heart. He was terrified that she would leave him, that the light was only an illusion to trick him, and that the world would remain bleak and dark. He had looked up to her for a long time, and this beam of light had almost become his belief.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Yuling looked at Li Xiyan in disbelief and carefully confirmed again. “Does she really like me?”

‘Is it not obvious that our child likes you? Anyone can see it clearly, and you actually said you don’t know? Either stupid or a scumbag…’“Just now, she saw you being beaten and was so scared that she cried.” Li Xiyan retorted, gritting his teeth. “She would have dared to rush up to protect you if I hadn’t stopped her. Are you saying she doesn’t like you? She dared to come to this spot, skipped school, and looked for you. Are you saying she doesn’t like you? In order to save you, she even pushed me, her own brother, to be your human shield. Are you saying she doesn’t like you? When Xiaowu and I didn’t know who you were, we both saw that Xiaoyao liked you. Are you saying she doesn’t like you? Lu Yuling, are you really stupid or just pretending to be stupid?”

Li Xiyan asked four times in a row, “Are you saying she doesn’t like you?” and each time his words were like a slap on Lu Yuling’s face.

His face became bright red, and the fists hanging on both sides of his body clenched and loosened from time to time. He didn’t even have the face to look Li Xiyan in the face. Taking a deep breath, he raised his head and looked at Li Xining not far away.

Li Xining was staring at him as well; her nose and eyes were still red, and it was obvious that she wanted to cry with resentment but was holding back out of spite.

Lu Yuling felt a trembling in his heart, felt upset, and put the responsibility on himself. It was then that he realised he might actually be a big fool.

‘How could she not like me when she claimed that I owned her life? She was correct; there isn’t a single person on the planet dumber than I.’ Lu Yuling hesitated a few moments before giving up on all the arguments in his mind and uttering three words that were clear and concise. “I know now.”

‘Just now learned?’ Perhaps Li Xiyan was indeed at a loss for words because he didn’t reply for a moment. “If you know, go back to school with her; don’t make her feel bad.” 

Lu Yuling: “Yeah.”

Li Xiyan took Lu Yuling to Li Xining and Li Xichen and departed after telling Li Xichen to drive carefully.

After taking a few steps forward, Li Xiyan turned back and said to his brother. “By the way, he is Lu Yuling.” 

Hearing the name, Li Xichen, startled. He then looked at Lu Yuling with a teasing smile and said, “Oh, then you are my brother-in-law.”

Li Xining’s face quickly flushed, causing her to feel ashamed, embarrassed, and furious. She angrily slapped her brother, saying, “Li Xichen, what nonsense are you talking about?”

Her slap was not light, and Li Xichen felt that his arm was about to be swollen by that. “Look at how powerful you are! Who dares to marry you in the future?”

Lu Yuling blurted out. “I dare.”

Li Xining was taken aback, and her face flushed more, but she still hadn’t forgiven him. She turned and walked away, glaring at him with tears in her eyes, angry and resentful.

“Did you provoke her?” Li Xichen questioned Lu Yuling while covering his arm.

Lu Yuling: “Yeah.”

Li Xichen: “You’re finished then. Not one of our five men in the family dares to irritate her. You seem to be a pretty courageous person.”

Lu Yuling: ‘Am I really so bold? I’m so bold and foolish!’

End of chapter 37

Have a nice day!