Chapter 63 - Party Dress

Li Caiyi cursed Li Jirong at heart. This man really knew no bounds. Why did he let Meng Renshu come here so early in the morning? Although the Meng and Li family were pretty close, this had never happened before. Meng Renshu would usually visit at any time except late at night or early morning. 

"Why are you here?" Li Junjie beat Li Caiyi and asked Meng Renshu first. 

"I am suddenly in the mood to go to the school with you guys again. This time with EVERYONE," Meng Renshu said casually while smearing strawberry jam on his bread. He said that while looking at Li Caiyi, but she pretended not to hear and ate her breakfast silently. Throughout breakfast, when everyone was talking to Meng Renshu, Li Caiyi was the only one silent and eating while looking down. 

Li Jirong frowned in dissatisfaction seeing this. He had gone through the trouble of inviting Meng Renshu to come here early in the morning, but Li Caiyi did not use this chance at all. She was good for nothing, as expected. 

As a man himself, although Li Jirong was not sure if Meng Renshu liked his daughter or not, he could guarantee that Meng Renshu at least had some interest in Li Caiyi. If he played his card right here, having the Meng family as in-laws would not be a dream anymore.

That was why, even if he was very reluctant, he held back from crossing against Li Caiyi. 

"Xiaoyi, what should we do about your party dress later? You should take your time and talk about it with Renshu," Li Jirong suddenly said.

Li Caiyi was speechless just by the amount of enthusiasm Li Jirong had put into this. Usually, a mother would be the one that made a fuss about something like this, but it seemed like Li Jirong could not contain his eagerness.

Meng Renshu glanced at Li Caiyi, anticipating her reaction. Girls liked pretty dresses, didn't they? If Li Caiyi wanted it, he could get her a dress from a designer brand ready in a day.

However, that spirit was dampened after he noticed Li Caiyi's look of disapproval.

"Father, there is no need for that. I still have many dresses, so there is no need to arrange the new one for me."

Li Jirong felt like throwing his spoon toward this girl's empty head. If it were not to smooth down her relationship with Young Master Meng, did she think he would do something so troublesome and prepare a dress willingly? How could this foolish girl think of using her old dress when she was about to become the main character's partner at the party? Preposterous! The Li were not so poor they could not afford their daughter a new dress. 

However, if he tried too hard to push Li Caiyi toward Meng Renshu, the plan might backfire instead.

"Xiaoyi, there is no need to feel bad. It's common for a partner to have a matching dress. If you want, I can arrange one too for us," Meng Renshu thought it was a good idea, but Li Caiyi's face just turned uglier.

"No, that's unnecessary. I will just wear my old matching dress with Xiaohua. I didn't wear it many times, so it still looks new."

Which meant she would rather wear her old dress rather than have a new matching dress with Meng Renshu.

Li Chunhua, who was watching them talking, smiled brightly. She later smiled smugly at Meng Renshu. "Yes, that's right! It's obvious Xiaoyi wants to match with me. We are twins, after all!"

Meng Renshu sighed. "But all of your matching dresses with Xiaoyi were based on your preference. There was no dress that Xiaoyi truly liked among it."

Li Caiyi almost dropped her spoon. Did she just hear it right? Meng Renshu was actually trying to be considerate towards her? The previous him would not do such a thing! He naturally thought that what Li Chunhua liked was also what Li Caiyi wanted, so he never asked for her opinion. 

Li Chunhua frowned. There was a hint of displeasure in her tone. "Xiaoyi likes what I like! And I also like whatever Xiaoyi likes! What's wrong with that?"

"That's your opinion. Xiaoyi never once said she had a similar taste to you."

"That's not true!" Li Chunhua puffed her cheeks, making her face look like a squirrel. She turned to Li Caiyi. "Xiaoyi, you agree with me, right?"

Li Caiyi stared at her sister, who had a similar face to hers. Except for their looks, there was nothing similar between them. Li Caiyi was naturally shy, and Li Chunhua was bubbly and confident. Li Caiyi preferred darker colors, while Li Chunhua liked lighter ones. She liked fresh and sour flavors, while her sister wanted sweet and mild flavors.

Li Caiyi never said this before because she thought her preference did not matter, as long as Li Chunhua was happy. However, her hesitation and reluctance to accept herself was what caused her miserable life in the past. She did not need to repeat such a life anymore.

"No. That's not true. I actually like many things you don't like, Xiaohua. For example, you like citrus and floral perfume, well I liked the one with musk in it more. You usually pick yellow or light blue for your dress, but I prefer burgundy or magenta colors better. Oh, and I prefer a necklace over rings as my accessory because I don't feel comfortable having anything around my fingers."

Li Chunhua fell silent. She had an indescribable expression on her face. After Li Caiyi confronted her last time, Li Chunhua's behavior had gotten milder, and she never acted out of line again. Li Caiyi worried she would react strongly like the previous time.

Meng Renshu silently made a mental note of what Li Caiyi said. Although Li Caiyi said she did not need it, he would still prepare a dress for her, just in case. 

It was clearly nothing special, but why did Meng Renshu feel proud and happy to see her directly say what she liked and not?

Meanwhile, Li Chunhua stopped talking and continued his meal as if she did not hear Li Caiyi speak just now. 

"Xiaohua…." Li Caiyi called to her softly but got ignored. 

Li Caiyi bit her lips anxiously. Now she could not even swallow anything anymore. Li Chunhua's mental state was unstable, and Li Caiyi did not want to provoke her. Li Chunhua was eerily calm; it made her scarier instead. 

"Xiaoyi, since you said that, then how about I prepare two dresses for you girls? I will take both of your preferences into consideration."

Li Caiyi stared sharply at Meng Renshu, and the latter did not dare to utter a word about that matter anymore until breakfast was finished.