When Li Qing’er was last seen at the Li family residence, she was aloof and dismissive of Yan Shouyi.
She had drawn a clear line between herself and ordinary people, believing herself to be exceptional.
Had anyone from the Li family seen Li Qing’er queuing for steamed buns by the roadside back then, they would have been utterly shocked.
She mingled amongst the common folk, distinguished only by her striking beauty and elegant demeanor.
“Li Qing’er, how have things been… recently?”
Yan Shouyi approached Li Qing’er and greeted her softly.
Hearing Yan Shouyi’s voice, Li Qing’er’s shoulders trembled, and she visibly froze.
Without looking back, she left the queue and headed towards the road.
Seeing this, Yan Shouyi sighed and followed her.
Walking beside her, he said, “I’m not here to mock you. I simply wanted to say hello.”
Li Qing’er’s steps didn’t falter:
“Alright, I understand. You can go now.”
“Regarding what happened at the Li family last time, it wasn’t my intention.”
“I understand. I was too aggressive, forcing you to expose my true self. Ultimately, it was my own doing. I don’t blame you.”
To say she didn’t blame Yan Shouyi was impossible.
Although Li Qing’er had been in the wrong first, Yan Shouyi had caused her to lose everything.
The Li Qing’er of today was the true Li Qing’er.
Yan Shouyi sighed softly. He hadn’t expected to encounter Li Qing’er here, nor had he prepared anything to say to her.
To avoid Yan Shouyi, Li Qing’er walked directly towards the road.
She completely ignored the traffic light that was about to turn red and the cars speeding towards her from the intersection.
By the time Li Qing’er came to her senses, the car was right in front of her!
Li Qing’er’s face changed, her pupils contracting.
In that instant, she thought she was about to meet her end.
However, Yan Shouyi reached out, firmly grabbed her arm, and forcefully pulled her back.
With a sharp, piercing screech of brakes, the car stopped at the intersection. The driver leaned out and yelled, “You young couples arguing should at least watch the traffic lights! You might not care about your lives, but I do!”
“My apologies, my apologies.”
Yan Shouyi apologized, pulled Li Qing’er to the side of the road, and said sternly, “Weren’t you accustomed to crossing roads at the Li family? Didn’t you know to watch the traffic lights?”
Li Qing’er gritted her teeth, “I just wasn’t paying attention a moment ago.”
“In any case, be more careful in the future,” Yan Shouyi said. “It seems seeing me has a significant impact on you. I should probably leave now.”
With that, Yan Shouyi turned and walked back towards the steamed bun stall.
Their paths were likely meant to diverge, and he saw no need to disturb her further.
Rejoining the queue, Yan Shouyi stood silently, waiting his turn.
But a moment later, someone tugged at his clothes.
He turned to see Li Qing’er.
Li Qing’er lowered her head and said, “Thank you for earlier.”
The esteemed eldest daughter of the Li family actually knew to say thank you.
This was not the Li Qing’er he remembered.
Yan Shouyi observed Li Qing’er, recognizing that her life had undergone a dramatic transformation during this time.
She was worlds apart from the Li Qing’er of the past.
As it happened, the queue had reached Yan Shouyi. He packed a portion for Lin Zitong and ordered two meat buns and a cup of soy milk for himself.
He paused, then asked Li Qing’er, “What would you like to eat?”
Li Qing’er replied, “A piece of Ma Lai Go, and a cup of sweet soy milk.”
“Alright, boss, another piece of Ma Lai Go and a cup of sweet soy milk. We’ll eat here.”
A few minutes later, they sat at a folding table and chairs outside the stall, eating their hot breakfast.
Yan Shouyi ate simply and heartily, finishing a bun in three bites and a cup of soy milk in two. He was done quickly.
Li Qing’er, however, sat with proper posture, elegantly cutting pieces of Ma Lai Go with her spoon.
Even when drinking soy milk, she took small sips through a straw.
One might have thought she was having afternoon tea at a high-end restaurant.
It seemed Li Qing’er was accustomed to the life she had at the Li family.
Halfway through her Ma Lai Go, Li Qing’er suddenly put down her spoon and said with her head bowed, “After you left that day, my uncle’s family began to mock me, and my parents threw me out of the house.”
“I’ve never blamed you. I know I took the life of the real Li Qing’er, and now I’m just facing reality. It’s all my own doing.”
“I know my good days at the Li family are over. I considered returning to the countryside to see my birth parents, but as you said, I don’t have the right to be their daughter, so I chose to stay in Rongcheng.”
“I just didn’t expect to meet you again.”
“Seeing my current predicament, are you feeling very happy inside?”
Yan Shouyi shook his head slightly. “Your life has nothing to do with me. But I do think you’re much better off now than you were at the Li family.”
“How so?” Li Qing’er asked. “I can no longer wear those expensive designer clothes, and I don’t even have money for cosmetics. It’s not hot, yet I sweat walking. I’m dirty.”
“But this is the life of most ordinary people,” Yan Shouyi smiled. “We work hard to get by, strive for a decent life, sweat, and get tired. Only then do we know the difficulty of earning a living and learn to cherish everything around us. Don’t you think this kind of life is more meaningful?”
“No one is born a princess. Ordinary people are the true face of this world.”
Listening to Yan Shouyi, Li Qing’er was silent for a long time.
She looked at the half-eaten Ma Lai Go on the table.
In the past, she would wear a girdle to maintain her figure and would only dare to eat a few bites of cake.
So, she habitually left half of the Ma Lai Go.
But now, perhaps she would never have the chance to wear a girdle again.
So, the Ma Lai Go…
She should finish it!
Li Qing’er’s appetite opened up, and she devoured the Ma Lai Go in a few bites.
Yan Shouyi watched her and smiled, buying her another portion.
Li Qing’er looked at the Ma Lai Go and a faint smile appeared on her face:
“Commoner food tastes much better than what I used to eat.”
“After eating this Ma Lai Go, you’ll become a commoner too,” Yan Shouyi said, holding the newly arrived Ma Lai Go.
“A commoner then!”
Without hesitation, Li Qing’er accepted the second piece of Ma Lai Go and wolfed it down.
It was clear that this young lady from the Li family, under Yan Shouyi’s guidance, had finally decided to compromise with reality.
She admitted that she too was an ordinary person.
“Thank you,” Li Qing’er said again.
Yan Shouyi smiled, picked up the breakfast he had packed for Lin Zitong, and turned to leave.
At that moment, Li Qing’er suddenly called out, “Yan Shouyi!”
“What is it?”
“…I actually remember you.”
“What?”
“Ten years ago, you and your grandfather went to the Li family to propose. You refused to enter the house then, only willing to play in the courtyard. I was on the second floor and saw you protecting ants moving house under the ginkgo tree.”
Memories flooded back, and Yan Shouyi recalled some things as well.
Ten years ago, his grandfather had taken him to the Li family to propose. Having learned it was a proposal, Yan Shouyi was too shy to enter the house.
He played under the ginkgo tree in the Li family’s courtyard and happened to discover ants moving house.
So, he cleared the obstacles for the ants, protecting their move.
He hadn’t expected that Li Qing’er had been watching from upstairs at the time.
Yan Shouyi chuckled sheepishly, “I still had a snotty nose back then. I must have looked very ugly.”
Li Qing’er shook her head, “No, you were very cute back then, hee hee.”
Cute?
This was the first time Yan Shouyi had heard anyone compliment him like that.
“It’s alright, you can go now!” Li Qing’er said with a smile.
“Oh.”
Yan Shouyi touched his nose and left the steamed bun stall.
He returned to the building and took the elevator up.
In the elevator, Yan Shouyi idly spaced out.
Suddenly.
He seemed to have thought of something.
“I don’t remember much about my childhood…”
“When I went to the Li family not long ago, I calculated Li Qing’er’s past, and I instinctively thought she had no destiny with me. The one truly destined for me was the deceased Li Qing’er!”
“But if the Li Qing’er my grandfather brought me to propose to ten years ago was the Li Qing’er of today, doesn’t that mean my grandfather was looking for the current Li Qing’er all along?”
“Li Qing’er and I… our fate is not yet over?!”
No way…
Could it really be like this?
Yan Shouyi had absolute faith in his grandfather’s abilities.
Just like the letter his father had sent.
If his grandfather had found the current Li Qing’er for Yan Shouyi, then the current Li Qing’er must still be the key to Yan Shouyi’s defiance of fate.
What a twist of fate!
Yan Shouyi rubbed his temples, never expecting to have overlooked such an important matter.
Moreover, he hadn’t gotten Li Qing’er’s contact information just now.
When he would meet Li Qing’er again, who knew when that would be.