Chapter 36 The Truth: Displacement of Love
Qiao An looked at Li Xiaoran and smiled. “Uncle, take your time to drink. I won’t stop you today. After jumping off a building once, I understand that life is short and I have to learn to enjoy myself. Drink slowly and don’t return until you’re drunk. But Uncle, don’t forget that you have to save someone tomorrow.”
With that, Qiao An poured more wine for Li Xiaoran.
Li Xiaoran held the wine and studied it for a long time. He said vaguely, “Qiao An, this is the first time you’ve poured wine for me. I’ll drink.”
Then he drained his glass.
Li Zecheng could only risk his life and drink.
Qiao An’s lips twitched. Was Li Xiaoran out of his mind? She had reminded him that he was going to save someone tomorrow, so he should go with the flow.
Qiao An returned to her seat, but received a vicious look from her mother-in-law.
Qiao An ignored her and continued eating.
Damn it, she didn’t want to live in grievance anymore. A heartless man like Li Zecheng wasn’t worth her being aggrieved over. In the future, she would never accommodate or feel aggrieved.
Qiao An picked up her drink and drained it.s
Then she wheeled himself to the bathroom.
The Li family’s villa was decorated in an antique Chinese style. The lobby was in the front yard, the elders’ bedrooms were in the middle yard, and the younger generation’s leisure and entertainment venues were in the backyard. There was a clubhouse in the backyard, and there were also various children’s houses. It was to allow the grandchildren who had married to stay with the family on special occasions.
A large dinner party would also be set up in the clubhouse in the backyard.
Qiao An walked aimlessly along the corridor. Suddenly, a strong smell of alcohol assaulted her nose. Qiao An turned around and saw Li Xiaoran curled up on the ground, holding his stomach.
“Dr. Li.” She hurried over.
Her body separated from the wheelchair, and she ran so fast that she didn’t notice.
After helping Li Xiaoran up, she asked, “Which room are you staying in?”
Li Xiaoran was still holding the key card in his hand. Qiao An took it and helped him to Li Xiaoran’s room.
Qiao An opened the door and helped Li Xiaoran onto the bed. She took off his shoes and placed him on the bed. Li Xiaoran suddenly reached out and caressed her face, looking at her lovingly.
Qiao An tensed and slapped his hand away fiercely. “Li Xiaoran, what are you doing?” At this moment, Li Xiaoran’s eyes were dim and unfocused. Qiao An was sure that he was already drunk. He was so dishonest that Qiao An even teased him. “You’re still dishonest when you’re drunk.”
“Xiao An,” Li Xiaoran suddenly called out. Qiao An froze in place as she heard his affectionate exclamation.
At this moment, she came back to her senses. Did this guy secretly like her?
For some reason, she recalled the scene of Li Xiaoran serving her after she fell off the building and woke up.
Wiping her down and changing her clothes was something only a family member could do, but he did it to the fullest.
Not only that, but selling the house to treat her mother…
Li Xiaoran’s devotion to her seemed to have exceeded the limits of a doctor.
“Li Xiaoran… do you like Qiao An?” Qiao An probed.
“Yes. I like her.”
Qiao An slumped in her chair.
She actually accepted a man’s deep affection for her in a daze? How could she repay him for the rest of her life?
“Li Xiaoran, you can’t like Qiao An. You’re her uncle.”
“I secretly like her. It’s so hard,” Li Xiaoran muttered.
Qiao An stared at him in shock. So this was what he was hiding? She hadn’t noticed that he was so obsessed with her normally.
“Li Xiaoran, I didn’t expect you to covet your niece-in-law. You’re just like Li Zecheng. You have a human face but a beast’s heart.” Qiao An sighed in frustration.
She did not want to have anything to do with Li Xiaoran, so she stood up from the chair and ran out in a panic.
But because she left in such a hurry, she flung her sleeve on the bedside table and dropped the things on it.
Qiao An heard a sudden shattering sound and turned back to investigate the situation.
Only then did he realize that she had broken the glass frame.
Qiao An hesitated for a moment. Worried that Li Xiaoran would accidentally step on the debris, she turned back helplessly.
She picked up the shards of broken glass and tossed them in the trash. Then she picked up the thin photograph, too.
It was a special photograph, for the figure on it was not taken but a portrait rendered with a brush.
It depicted a young girl with long hair that draped over her shoulders. The girl’s eyes were bright and charming.
Qiao An’s hand shook as she held the photo, and hot tears welled in her eyes.
Because she remembered that this portrait was her love token to the Thunderbolt Blade.
She’d also written a love poem on the back of the portrait. Qiao An turned the photo over and, sure enough, saw the yellowing handwriting on the back.
“We’ll grow old together!”
Li Xiaoran added, “My love!”
Qiao An did not understand why her gift to the angel had appeared in Li Xiaoran’s room.
Until she saw that the book shelf was packed with gifts she’d given to the Thunderbolt Blade. She finally snapped out of her reverie.
She had married the wrong man.
Her memory took her to two years back in time. She’d snuck into the capital without telling him in order to surprise him.
Then she asked him online about his schedule. He told her that he would be going to the Li Corporation the next day. She asked him to wear red, and he readily agreed.
Then, Qiao An mistook Li Zecheng, who appeared in the Li Corporation in red, for her Thunderbolt Blade.
She had a strong relationship with Thunderbolt Blade, and Li Zecheng was so handsome. Once online dating and reality overlapped, Qiao An couldn’t control her feelings at all.
Later on, after she got together with Li Zecheng, she mentioned their online relationship to him many times. However, Li Zecheng always said that people should live in reality and not sink into the virtual world. If she asked again, he would beat around the bush.
Qiao An had her doubts too. She always felt that Li Zecheng was a little different from the Thunderbolt Blade. However, she comforted herself that she had a secret signal to meet him, and Li Zecheng met her requirements. She shouldn’t have made a mistake.
Now, Qiao An finally understood that Li Zecheng had impersonated Li Xiaoran.
And from his evasive words and actions, he had done it deliberately.
No wonder Li Xiaoran got drunk on her wedding day and even tried to snatch her away to elope with her. And she actually treated him as an indecent man.
At that time, Li Xiaoran must have been crying bitterly in his heart.
When the truth came out, Qiao An could no longer control her emotions. She curled into a ball and broke down in tears.
Not daring to cry out, her face twisted tightly.
She hated herself for being so stupid. She had actually been taken advantage of by a cold-hearted fellow like Li Zecheng and allowed him to taint her beautiful love.
She also hated herself for being so stupid and gullible.
In the end, she had gotten herself into trouble.
It also harmed the infatuated Li Xiaoran.
“Xiao An,” Li Xiaoran called.