Chapter 68 - Hidden Gem

It took Dai Zhiqiang a few good seconds before he fully understood her meaning.

"Are you going to visit my brother again?"

"Yes! I noticed you have always visited him while you were still in your uniform, so you must have gone there straight after school, right? Since we are going to the same place, anyway, why don't we go together?"

Dai Zhiqiang did not answer immediately. It would not be a good idea if those loan sharks knew Li Caiyi was close to him. They might target her, or worse, do something terrible to her as well, just like what they did to Dai Shenqiang.

Words of refusal had already been on the tip of his tongue when he recalled the scene of Li Caiyi and his little brother hugging each other.

It would be a lie if Dai Zhiqiang said he did not want to get closer to her, but if that chance came at the risk of her safety….

"Let's just go separately. I still had something I needed to do in school after this."

"Oh, is that so? It's a shame." Li Caiyi was disappointed that she lost the chance to make a good relationship with her soon-to-be brother-in-law.

Dai Zhiqiang finished checking out the books and handed them over to her. "Make sure to return them by next week."

Li Caiyi chuckled. "You said that every time I came here. Must be tiring to repeat the same line."

Dai Zhiqiang said nothing and only stared at Li Caiyi's smile. She must have smiled a lot in front of his brother, too. She probably smiled even brighter than when she smiled at Dai Zhiqiang.

"Li Caiyi, do you like my brother?" In the end, Dai Zhiqiang could not resist asking. The ambiance between the two of them yesterday was full of ambiguity. He knew it was not his place to ask, but his curiosity won over him.

Li Caiyi's movement halted as her cheeks reddened. Even if she said nothing, her reaction had already told the story. Dai Zhiqiang pressed his lips into a hard line as his mood plummeted.

Meanwhile, the flustered Li Caiyi shyly said, "Well, he is the one I have been looking for all this time."

Dai Zhiqiang's face darkened even more. He should be happy that his brother found himself a good girl, but why did his ears feel burning upon hearing it?

Li Caiyi did not notice the change in Dai Zhiqiang's expression and continued. "He helped me once before, so I'm very grateful to him."

The teenage boy felt that this world was unfair. He had paid attention to Li Caiyi long before she met his brother. If it were any other man, he would not feel so complicated, but why did it have to be Dai Shenqiang she liked?

Li Caiyi felt like it was embarrassing to continue, so she stopped. When she looked at Dai Zhiqiang again, he had a terrifying look on his face. It made Li Caiyi wonder if she had offended him again.

'It couldn't be that Dai Zhiqiang has a sibling complex like Xiaohua, right?'

Li Caiyi sincerely hoped she was wrong. Dealing with Li Chunhua was already exhausting enough. She did not need another person with a problematic personality like her sister.

Not to mention, Li Chunhua was still ignoring her until now.

"Wait for me after school."

"Ah?"

Dai Zhiqiang's expression had returned to his usual stony face. He stared at Li Caiyi thoughtfully. "I changed my mind. Let's go to the hospital together after this."

"Oh? Didn't you say you have something you need to do?"

"Not anymore."

Li Caiyi did not know why he suddenly changed his mind, but it was good news for her. She could use this chance to get more information about Dai Shenqiang from him. She could also cultivate her relationship with the family of her beloved. It was killing two birds with one stone!

"Then I will wait for you!"

***

Meanwhile, at the same time, in the 2-D classroom.

Shao Jingfei was sitting on his chair while looking down at some papers on top of his desk. He seemed uncharacteristically serious, and it made his friends exchange a confused glance at each other.

"Hey, what happened to him? It's rare to see him studying so seriously!"

"He even refused my invitation to go on a blind date today. You know how he is the life of the party. The blind date will become boring without him."

"Well, now that is even more surprising than seeing him being a dutiful student. What kind of ghost possessed him today?"

Shao Jingfei ignored the noises in front of him and was immersed in the manuscript in his hands. He got Shao Junfei to send this because he was curious about Li Caiyi's works.

He did not have much expectation at first, but after reading the first few paragraphs, the beautiful narration instantly hooked him, and the way Li Caiyi included her worldview in her writing was simply mesmerizing.

Li Caiyi's writing was very mature for her age, yet it still held that innocent charm that captivated the reader. Shao Jingfei's hand could not stop flipping the page.

Although it was excellent, the boy could not help but feel there was something odd about her writing.

Usually, an amateur writer would use fancy words to cover their lack of experience, but Li Caiyi did the opposite. Her choice of words was simple, but it could convey the meaning properly to the reader without compromising the phrase's beauty. This proves that she had sufficient confidence and skill to do that.

Not to mention that her thoughts, emotion, and vision poured into this story had a certain depth, like a person who truly had various experiences in life. If Shao Jingfei did not know better, he would suspect that the author was a woman in her thirties or forties.

No matter how Shao Jingfei read it, this was clearly a manuscript made by an experienced writer. It was not the level of a high-schooler at all.

Li Caiyi might be a hidden gem he was looking for all this time!

"Interesting," Shao Jingfei smiled while tracing the author's name.

He always had a keen eye for talented writers, and Li Caiyi's manuscript was one of the best he had found so far.

"With a talent like that, she should not be kept hidden. It will be amazing if I can watch her talent grow closely."

Shao Jingfei did not like to be associated with his family, but it would be a waste to let Li Caiyi's talent fall into another company's hands. He was the one who found her first.

"Maybe I should try to talk to her next time."