Chapter 94 - Persistence

After making sure she had worn her uniform properly, Li Caiyi came out of the fitting room and greeted with the view of Li Chunhua showing off her short pink dress to Meng Renshu. She twirled once, and the skirt fluttered around her legs like a veil. She looked like a fairy flower.

Meng Renshu seemed to like it too since he praised her repeatedly with a joyful face. 

Li Caiyi felt there was nothing left to do here, so she silently made her way towards the entrance, only to be blocked by Meng Renshu. 

"Xiaoyi, why aren't you wearing your gown?" He narrowed his eyes down when he saw she did not wear the gown he had prepared for her. 

"I did. I had made sure the measurement was correct, so I took it off. My role here is done, right? I'll take my leave first, then."

Meng Renshu was disappointed he did not get to see Li Caiyi wearing her gown, but he comforted himself by thinking he would eventually see it at the party. 

"Wait, where are you going? Let's go together."

"No, thanks. You and Xiaohua can take your time. I have some other business I need to take care of."

Meng Renshu looked back to see Li Chunhua, who had disappeared since who knows when, before shifting his gaze back at Li Caiyi. "Xiaohua is changing now. Let's wait for a bit, and I will drop you off at the place you want to go."

Li Caiyi shook her head. "You don't need to trouble yourself for me. I can go by myself. You can continue to look after Xiaohua."

Meng Renshu knitted his brows. "Why are you being so difficult? I said I would give you a lift, didn't I? I'm the one who dragged you here, so I have a responsibility to look after you too."

Li Caiyi took a deep breath to calm herself down. This person really tested her patience. He just kept doing whatever he wanted without listening to her opinion at all. 

"So you think I'm being difficult? Well, I can say the same about you. You knew my parents could not refuse you, so you smoothly coaxed them to force me into this. Do you take everyone as someone you can easily play with?"

Meng Renshu could not stand how Li Caiyi looked at him with so much impatience and resentment. It made him angrier when he recalled how she spoke so softly at Dai Shenqiang, yet she always frowned or scooted away when she was with him. 

He had lost count on how many times she made him lose his composure. The frustrating thing was he could not leave her alone, even if he wanted to. Meng Renshu felt he could go crazy because of her soon!

"You are the one who is backing out from your promise first. You said you would agree to come as my partner, but you changed your mind in the middle and pushed Xiaohua to replace you."

"As I said, it was all my mother's idea and not mine!"

"But I heard from Auntie you were not even resisting it." Meng Renshu said bitterly. "She said you are willingly suggesting to give your position to her. If it was not backing out from your promise, then I don't know what it is."

Li Caiyi massaged her throbbing temple. The amount of stress she suffered from talking to him was immeasurable. 

"Brother Renshu, I don't understand why you are so persistent in making me your partner. It is not even that big of a deal."

Meng Renshu felt a surge of fury blazing across him when he heard that. "What? So you mean my coming of age party is nothing of importance to you? If it isn't important, then what is important to you, then? Visiting your male friend in the hospital? Or taking care of him when he only has an injured hand?" He blurted with a hint of mockery in his tone.

His sudden outburst took Li Caiyi aback. Why did he suddenly become aggressive? And why was he suddenly talking about Dai Shenqiang?

Meng Renshu soon realized he made a slip of the tongue, and in his cluster, he turned away and said in frustration, "Forget it. Just go anywhere you like. I don't care anymore!" 

He left with a huff after that.

Li Caiyi was dumbfounded. She had never seen Meng Renshu act childishly like this, even during her first life. Perhaps it was one of his sides he had never shown to her before, and it sure was surprising as hell. 

However, Li Caiyi was kind of thankful for that because now there was no one to block her way anymore. 

She did not look back even once and went out of the boutique. 

***

Li Caiyi knocked on the Dai family's house door several times. 

When she said she had something important to do, Meng Renshu actually guessed it right. Her business indeed had something to do with Dai Shenqiang since she thought she could not delay informing him about her negotiation with Shao Jingfei. 

She was kind of nervous about being here again after running out like the other day, but business took precedence!

There was no sound coming from the inside, even after she knocked several times. Dai Zhiqiang was perhaps still in the school doing her library duty, but Dai Shenqiang's hand was injured, so he should not be anywhere else but his home around this time. It was strange nobody answered even after she knocked many times. 

Li Caiyi pondered for a bit but suddenly had an idea.

"Shenqiang? Are you inside? It's me, Caiyi."

Sure enough, she heard a shift of movement from inside as soon as she called out. Only an idiot would open the door carelessly, knowing loan sharks were targeting them. 

The door opened slightly, and Dai Shenqiang poked his head out from the gap. "Caiyi? Why did you come here?"

"I already said I have something to tell you. This is very important. Can you let me in for a bit?"

Dai Shenqiang was confused, but he let her in, anyway. He closed and locked the door again after Li Caiyi entered. "I didn't expect you to come here. Sit down, first."

Li Caiyi sat down while looking around. "Your brother is not home yet?"

"He was here just a while ago, but he had gone to the hospital to check on our father."

Upon hearing that, Li Caiyi realized she had known nothing about Mr. and Mrs. Dai so far. She wondered what had happened to them. "Is your father sick?"

"Yeah. He had been hospitalized and received treatment for stomach cancer for two years now. My brother and I would visit him from time to time, but with my condition right now, I bet he would be worried if he sees me."

"Ah, I see. It must be hard for you guys," Li Caiyi said sympathetically. The two brothers sure had it hard. Not only did they have to be constantly alert to danger, but they also needed to take care of their sick father. "What about your mother?"

Dai Shenqiang's face turned darker, although he kept a smile on his face. Li Caiyi immediately understood he did not want to talk about his mother, so she shifted the topic. 

"Actually, I came here because I have a suggestion for you."

Dai Shenqiang caught on to her intention right away. He smiled gratefully and leaned his body forward. "What suggestion?"

"I want you to make a manhua with me."