After finishing her weekend outpatient shift on Saturday, He Dongli took some time to visit Yu Xiaohan’s place.
Nowadays, going to see her mother felt more like a casual, boundary-free visit.
When Xu Xizi arrived, Lu Ayi quickly fetched a pair of clean slippers for her, saying, “Your mom’s been waiting for you so long her neck’s probably stiff by now. She was worried you’d call at the last minute saying you couldn’t come back because of surgery.”
While changing shoes, He Dongli heard the sizzle of vegetables hitting the oil in the kitchen.
Lu Ayi went inside and brought Yu Xiaohan out.
As soon as Yu Xiaohan took off her apron and saw He Dongli, she immediately asked, “What’s wrong? Something at the hospital? You look so preoccupied!”
He Dongli took off her coat—her hair a bit messy from squeezing into the subway, her hair tie removed—and ran her fingers through her hair before telling her mother, “Nothing’s wrong, don’t overthink it. It’s cold outside, and I’m starving.”
Yu Xiaohan’s face finally softened into a smile and she urged her to wash up.
“Everything’s ready. The toppings are waiting for you; just a quick stir-fry and it’s good to eat. You’re so picky about your wok hei.”
Following Xu Xizi into the bathroom, Yu Xiaohan whispered to her daughter while she washed her hands, “Xu Maosen came back to visit. He might stay for dinner.”
He Dongli calmly finished washing and, out of habit, used her foot to nudge the door closed.
Yu Xiaohan noticed and gave her a look, silently telling her not to be sneaky.
He Dongli smiled playfully.
The rare understanding between mother and daughter was warm.
Yu Xiaohan then pointed upstairs, muttering, “He hasn’t come back for ages, and now he’s holed up in the study smoking.”
He Dongli sensed something right away.
“What’s wrong with Uncle Xu?”
“Old problems. He coughs so badly at night he can’t lie down, and his back is acting up again. He’s on Chinese medicine now.”
He Dongli was about to go upstairs to check on him, but Yu Xiaohan stopped her.
“They’re talking business. Don’t bother now, save it for dinner.”
He Dongli knew her mother wanted her to keep her distance from the Xu children.
Previously, when Xu Xizi had tried to introduce her to a better-paying private hospital job, she had politely declined.
Yu Xiaohan was aware of this and quietly supported her daughter’s decision, so she wasn’t too fond of the Xus herself.
People often said second marriages were difficult, but Yu Xiaohan held no regrets.
Still, over the years, she had endured countless slights, mainly from the Xu siblings who had bullied Xu Xizi like a lifelong grudge.
Back then, she felt trapped by hatred—unable to come or go freely.
She had thought about giving up, but she refused to swallow that bitter pill.
If she had given in at that stall, she would have been seen as a loser in their eyes.
She was determined to make a life, especially since Xu Xizi had chosen medicine before her sophomore year, aiming for surgery.
Xu Maosen wanted to ease relations and had even arranged for a professional tutor to guide her.
Yu Xiaohan’s sole ambition was to raise her daughter with dignity—securing her spots in schools, guiding her major choices, and future job prospects.
In all these, Xu Maosen was her best ally.
So she didn’t care what others said about her benefiting from Xu Maosen’s favor.
Hadn’t she been cared for with no shortage of food or clothing all these years?
To protect the Xu siblings, Xu Maosen and his lawyers had thoroughly sealed the marital loopholes—everything boiled down to this house, and yet he had suffered insults from his eight children.
Yu Xiaohan found it hard to explain these bitter nuances to her daughter.
People said there were only bad purchases, never bad sales.
But Yu Xiaohan believed women were always the buyers, while men were the shrewd sellers.
She was now a woman with one foot in the grave; what was the point of such principles?
Better to save some real assets for her daughter, as a dowry or a safeguard.
She had long realized that besides money and power, everything else was nonsense.
That evening at the Xu family dinner table, He Dongli met Xu Xizi again.
Their last meeting was at the Mid-Autumn Festival.
He Dongli inquired about Xu Maosen’s health, checked his latest scans and medications.
As usual, she advised him to quit drinking and smoking and control his blood sugar.
In front of her mother, she half-jokingly said, “If Uncle Xu can’t resist smoking next time, just call me. I’ll talk to him, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll bring him to our hospital.”
“Why? I’m fine.”
Xu Maosen rarely dared to get stern with Xizi.
Whenever she came, Xu Maosen acted like a big kid again.
He Dongli corrected him, “I’m not telling you to see a doctor, I want you to experience what it’s like to be a patient at the end stage.”
Before they could respond, Xu Xizi laughed, “That’s palliative care, and you’re just kicking him to the edge.”
He Dongli held a pair of chopsticks—one in each hand—mixing the freshly cooked toppings into the noodles.
After mixing, she placed both chopsticks in her left hand; she was ambidextrous.
Eating noodles without looking up, she responded dryly to the teasing, “Better to clear the blockage than keep it clogged.”
Xu Xizi chuckled again.
Lu Ayi brought some sweet pickled garlic for Xu Maosen, who cautiously asked if he could eat it given the sugar content.
He Dongli said a little was fine—not enough to forbid.
Xu Maosen nodded eagerly and teased Yu Xiaohan, “You want her to be a doctor, but look, everyone has to follow medical advice.”
Lu Ayi had helped the Xu family for years and sympathized deeply with Xu Xizi’s situation.
First, Yu Xiaohan and Xu Maosen had no legitimate marriage.
Second, Xu Maosen was biased toward his biological children.
She had never seen him generously buy things for Xizi; everything was secretly saved and given by Yu Xiaohan.
Lu Ayi liked Xizi more in private—she was smart, pretty, and kind.
Recently, when her niece had complications from thyroid surgery scar tissue, Lu Ayi asked Xizi, who managed to secure an expert appointment through her mentor’s connections.
The family doctor even said Xizi was a relative, not a housemaid.
Lu Ayi was moved and now gladly spoke up, “What’s wrong with following doctor’s orders? Free medical advice is the best deal.”
Yu Xiaohan listened, heartened.
Xu Xizi, barely touching his food, seemed uninterested in the women’s chatter.
He also scoffed at the strict boundary He Dongli kept.
Suddenly, he asked He Dongli, “Are you busy at the hospital these days?”
He Dongli finished a bowl of shredded eel and kidney noodles, then picked at some stir-fried vegetables, calmly answering, “Same as always. Surgery, wards, outpatient.”
“No social events, no one to meet?”
Lu Ayi didn’t know much about tempura, but the platter of battered vegetables was delicious.
He Dongli ate a piece of pumpkin and then another, calmly looking at Xu Xizi.
“What kind of people?”
Xu Xizi met her gaze for the first time that evening.
He couldn’t find any flaw and shrugged, giving up.
After all, she had seriously hurt Master Zong before.
Sometimes he regretted not recognizing her sooner.
Maybe then he’d have accepted this sister more readily.
After all, through history, family ties and marriages were blessings men allowed.
That mother and daughter could eat in the Xu family home was indisputable.
Before putting down his chopsticks, Xu Xizi glanced again at He Dongli.
She didn’t eat elegantly—more practical than ladylike, but not without charm.
At least she seemed lively.
Xu Xizi wondered if she was just as aloof and indifferent around Master Zong.
After dinner, He Dongli helped her mother check her blood sugar meter and renew her video site membership, then prepared to leave.
Yu Xiaohan asked Xizi to take the leftover eel, “You can eat it tomorrow, stir-fried with chives or onions.”
He Dongli declined, “I won’t eat at home tomorrow.”
“With whom? Xingyuan?”
“Zou Yan. His friends invited me.”
“Oh.”
Yu Xiaohan still urged her to take the food, saying it was a pity to waste the carefully shredded eel, and it would keep for a day or two.
He Dongli couldn’t refuse and grabbed the container to go.
Before leaving, she greeted Xu Maosen, reminding him to take care of himself.
Using polite words first, then a firmer tone, she warned that if he didn’t listen, she’d have to implement her plan.
Xu Maosen smiled sincerely and nodded.
Then Xu Xizi got ready to leave as well, so Xu Maosen insisted Xizi drive him out.
In the villa, He Dongli neither spoke nor avoided conversation, leaving immediately after stepping out the gate.
Xu Xizi, honoring his father’s wishes, said, “Old Xu wants me to send you.”
“No need. I’ve already called a car.”
“Paying for a car is the same as letting me send you.”
He Dongli half-turned and coldly glared at Xu Xizi, who laughed and asked what was wrong.
She said nothing and refused the ride.
Seeing her firm refusal, Xu Xizi stood by his car, not giving up, and asked, “Didn’t you know Master Zong is back?”
He Dongli stopped and turned back, asking coldly, “Is that your real reason for coming to your father’s today?”
Xu Xizi reminded her, “This place has long been in your mom’s name. Also, you were calm at the dinner table, but the moment you mentioned him, you looked up properly. Know why?”
“And then?”
He wanted to hear Xu Xizi’s true purpose.
“Nothing much, just that this prince’s attitude has always baffled me. He can disappear for years, then suddenly come back high-profile, even using official channels.”
“Hmm, that’s his business.”
He Dongli had carefully prepared that line today and realized that when she said it to Zong Chi years ago, he probably took it personally.
No wonder he still held a grudge.
A top grudger!
“Back then, in the A City restricted zone at his old man’s villa, about you…”
“Is this related to what you want to ask me?”
He Dongli couldn’t stand his nagging.
“This time he came like an air-drop. Honestly, it doesn’t look like business.”
Xu Xizi put on a knowing look.
He Dongli, despite all her resentment, found one thing she accepted about Zong Chi: “With his wild personality, does business even have any rules for him? He’s always the one setting examples.”
She left it at that and took her leave.
Since Xu Xizi wouldn’t be straightforward after all that beating around the bush, He Dongli decided to give him what he wanted.
Even if he came clean, she wouldn’t help carry messages or introductions.
First, she didn’t owe him anything.
Second, Zong Chi’s temper wouldn’t tolerate her asking favors for the Xu family.
She wouldn’t foolishly open that door—it would get her strangled!
He Dongli called a ride back to her place.
As she got out, she nearly forgot her container bag.
The driver reminded her, so she ran back to grab it.
While standing at the red wall and black lacquered door, fumbling for her keys, someone across the street flashed a flashlight in her direction.
At first, she ignored it, thinking it was a passing car’s high beam.
But the light flashed several times, finally focusing on the back of her head.
Out of instinctive fear of the light, she covered her eyes and turned around.
The beam moved closer, crossed the street, and stopped right in front of her before turning off.
Zong Chi had switched off the flashlight on his phone.
He looked at her returning figure, more like the master of the place than she was.
“You’re back.”
“…………”
He Dongli watched him coming out of the small shop with curiosity.
Zong Chi understood immediately.
“I knew you went to your mom’s today. I drove by and waited forty minutes to see if you’d come back. Less than half an hour later, the shop owner said you did.”
“I thought our dinner was tomorrow.”
He Dongli said, but her tone wasn’t too bad—there was the satisfied joy of a mama’s girl coming back with leftovers.
She had witnessed Yu Nüshi’s cooking skills.
Even though he’d eaten from famous chefs and Michelin restaurants, when it came to Chinese food, the best was always homemade.
“Tomorrow it is. I’m here to see if you really want me to accompany you.”
Dressed sharply, Zong Chi’s usual business trips involved cars or planes.
Waiting for someone roadside was so out of character that, in his foul-mouthed description, it was akin to defecating in public.
He Dongli was stunned.
Zong Chi waved his hand in front of her eyes, calling, “Hey. You’re so full you’re dizzy.”
She finally nodded, resigned, “I admit you have a knack for social circles.”
Actually, she was embarrassed to meet Zou Yan and his friends alone, especially after Zong Chi’s warning about those kissing photos.
Being a third wheel with two was so awkward.
She opened the door.
She had installed a solar motion sensor light at the door last night, so now the hallway brightened as two sets of footsteps came in.
Zong Chi was startled and forgot what he was about to say.
He Dongli reminded him, “You’re just in time—take your coat.”
Zong Chi followed her inside, noticing two meeting notes still pinned on the corridor wall.
He seriously wondered if she was just too busy to see his messages.
After a while, He Dongli took out his clothes and put them in another brand’s paper bag.
Zong Chi didn’t take it, instead pointing at the handwritten note on the meeting paper, asking, “Did you read it?”
She said nothing.
He said, “No? Here, I said Sunday—tomorrow night—I’ll pick you up.”
“I can go with Zou Yan.”
“I said I’ll pick you up.”
“I and Zou—”
“If you say his name again, I guarantee you won’t have dinner tomorrow.”
He Dongli said something about him casually dropping in for business like it was nothing, or that he was there to set examples.
She remained silent, no longer looking at him.
Zong Chi finally relaxed, hands in pockets.
He crumpled the meeting notes, tilted his head, and said, “You owe me a meal, and I’m even coming to socialize with you. Doctor He, young lady, I’m picking you up, and you’re refusing. Is there any law against this?”
He Dongli stared at the balled-up paper, as if trapped in a moral dilemma of law and ethics.
She tried to hand his clothes back, but Zong Chi didn’t take them, instead complaining about being hungry.
“I haven’t eaten dinner yet. Will you share half your sandwich with me tonight?”