Chapter 80 - Realization

When Li Caiyi recovered from the shock after hearing an astronomical amount of debt, she realized she was still holding Dai Zhiqiang's hand. Feeling embarrassed, she slowly retracted her hand. She scratched his cheek awkwardly. 

"Thanks for telling me that. Shall we go now? Shenqiang must have been waiting for us."

Dai Zhiqiang felt something was missing as soon as their hand separated. It was a shame it ended so fast, but he did not show it on his face. "You're right. Let's go."

In case they bumped into those loan sharks again, Li Caiyi stopped a cab for them. Dai Zhiqiang refused initially, but he relented after Li Caiyi adamantly insisted on the name of safety.

When they arrived at the hospital, Dai Shenqiang was waiting for them while sitting on the edge of the bed. When he saw the two of them, he pouted. "What takes you so long? I have been waiting for hours here!"

"We are already here, aren't we? I will do the discharge procedure. You wait here." Dai Zhiqiang said before he went out of the room.

Dai Shenqiang squinted his eyes suspiciously. "Caiyi, did something happen? My brother was more impatient than usual today."

Li Caiyi could not tell what the difference was at all. She felt like Dai Zhiqiang was behaving like usual. However, if Dai Shenqiang said that, it must have been valid to some extent. They were brothers, after all.

She felt like it did not seem good to tell Dai Shenqiang about those loan sharks, considering what they had done to him. Besides, Dai Zhiqiang also had not mentioned anything about it to him just now, so she should not run her mouth carelessly, either. 

"There was some kind of student assembly after school, so the school finished later. We rushed here as soon as we could after it finished, though."

"Really? What kind of assembly?"

"I forgot. It was not interesting, so I did not pay attention."

"Hmm," Dai Shenqiang let out a suspicious hum but fortunately did not pursue the matter further. "Well, never mind. Do you have some time after this? Why don't you come to our house? I have plenty of other drawings in my house. You can even take some if you like it!"

Li Caiyi perked up at the idea of visiting the space where Dai Shenqiang grew up. Excitement rushed through her body. "Can I really? I'd love to go, but what if your brother disagrees?"

Dai Shenqiang giggled. "There's no way he will disagree if it's you."

"Huh?"

Dai Shenqiang laughed at her reaction, which made Li Caiyi more confused. "You want some candy? I have some here."

"Sure."

Dai Shenqiang put some candies in Li Caiyi's hand, and she somehow was not surprised they were all mint-flavored. He sure liked his mint. 

This brand was very familiar. She also got some from a young man not so long ago, if she was not mistaken.

A flash of memory ran through her mind for a second, and it got her frozen in her place. Wait a minute.

"Hey, Shenqiang, did you always have these candies in your possession?"

"I guess so? I liked them quite a lot, so I always bought them if I had a chance."

"Really? Then, are you perhaps—"

Then, the door was opened, and the sound cut Li Caiyi's words in the middle. Dai Zhiqiang came in with a paper in his hand. "I had finished the procedure. We can go now."

"Oh, Brother! Do you mind if we invite Caiyi to our house after this?" Dai Shenqiang asked him immediately.

Dai Zhiqiang frowned when he heard that. He could not believe his little brother had just asked her to come to their shabby house. Not to mention, Dai Zhiqiang had been busy these days studying, working, and taking care of his father and brother in the hospital simultaneously, so he did not have the time to clean the house.

Li Caiyi came from a wealthy family, so Dai Zhiqiang was reluctant to let her see their poor lifestyle. Although he knew Li Caiyi was not the kind of person to mind such a thing, he minded it! He could not possibly let her come to his messy house, at least not until he cleaned around the house first.

"Let's not do that today," Dai Zhiqiang said, and Li Caiyi's hopeful expression dimmed at once.

"Don't say that, Brother. She had saved my life! Shouldn't we at least treat her to a meal at our house?"

"I didn't say she can't come, and I was just saying today is not a good day."

"What's wrong with today?" Dai Shenqiang asked confusedly.

"I did not have much time to clean our house these days, so it's very dirty and messy right now. Do you intend to invite a guest to such an unkempt place?"

"Ugh… Not really," Dai Shenqiang grinned sheepishly. 

Li Caiyi, who heard their conversation, chimed in. "It's not a problem at all! In fact, I can help you clean your house as well. Isn't it good to have an extra hand to help you?"

"What? How can we let the guest—"

"It's okay! I will come as a friend and not a guest, so you don't have to be mindful of me. Besides, Shenqiang's hand is still hurting, and it will be so much work for you to do everything alone. Don't worry, I'm confident about my cleaning skills. I assure you I can be a help."

Dai Zhiqiang did not understand why Li Caiyi was so enthusiastic about cleaning other people's houses. He wanted to invite her to thank her for all her help these times, not cleaning the house.

"Just let her come, Brother! I promised her I would let her take a look at my drawings. Please?"

Dai Zhiqiang sighed in exasperation. "Fine, then. Don't come crying to me later."

"Yay!" Li Caiyi and Dai Shenqiang made a high-five while grinning widely. 

Soon, she would see the environment where her beloved grew up. She was looking forward to it!