That night of drunken revelry faded away like a distant dream. Li Yaru would occasionally reminisce about it, but she never went back there.
She spent her remaining money on that Chanel Dress, hanging it in her wardrobe like a battle flag.
There wasn’t enough left to buy anything else, so she saved it up. Every weekend, as usual, she took the tram to Chinese University to see Fan Zizhuo.
The boy explained the lessons gently and patiently, and the girl listened intently.
A few months later, her grades really did improve, though she was still far from qualifying for Hong Kong Island’s top universities.
On the day she graduated from secondary school, her parents, younger brother, and sister all congratulated her. Fan Zizhuo came as well, bringing a bouquet of vibrant Hongshan Camellia.
This flower wasn’t available in flower shops— it was something he grew himself at home. He knew Li Yaru’s favorite was the Hongshan Camellia.
After the celebration, the whole family took plenty of photos. Li Yaru wore a crisp British Uniform and little black leather shoes, standing out brightly among the crowd, drawing glances from passersby.
“Ah Rou, are you confident about getting into the University of Hong Kong Chinese? I heard this year’s exam is tougher than before.”
“I don’t know, Hong Kong Chinese is too hard. Doesn’t matter, anyway, if I don’t get in, I’ll just go home and do the accounts.” Li Yaru pictured herself scratching her head in frustration during the exams, pouting unhappily.
Fan Zizhuo gently comforted her, “It’s okay, there are always other paths besides university. If you go home to keep the accounts, you’ll be the Boss Lady—your days would be even better than ours!”
Li Yaru smiled sweetly, glancing at him flirtatiously. “Not at all! Wait till you get into a big corporation and become a manager, earning tens of thousands a month, going out in a suit with a secretary following you. That’s what you call impressive.”
Her vision for the future was the same direction he was striving for. But he didn’t just want to be a small-time manager.
He planned to gain experience and connections, then start his own business, so he could support the girl he loved. He had to work even harder.
A glimmer of determination flashed in Fan Zizhuo’s eyes, his tone becoming even more gentle and firm. “I can’t guarantee the future, but I promise I won’t let you down.”
Li Yaru was no fool— she could see the hidden meaning in his words clearly. Her cheeks flushed prettily, and she gave him a coquettish glare.
The two of them were just one thin layer away from breaking through.
Fan Zizhuo was handsome and refined in appearance, spoke gently, and though his family wasn’t extremely wealthy, they were comfortable.
Most importantly, she could twist him around her little finger, and he was generous with her. She was quite satisfied.
Two months later, Li Yaru received her university acceptance letter— not from the University of Hong Kong Chinese, but from a newly approved public university by the Governor’s Office last year.
She just happened to catch the expansion wave. The school was very close to Hong Kong University, the environment was quiet and elegant, just a bit small.
Li Yaru wasn’t too keen on attending, afraid the school might be a scam, but Lirongliang and Lin Baojun kept looking at the acceptance letter over and over, reluctant to put it down.
Lirongliang, beaming, made the decision, “You have to go! No one in our Li family has ever been a university student! My daughter really makes us proud!”
Both Li family branches were chefs. Though they made their fortune opening a Restaurant, they still longed to be scholars at heart.
To fulfill her father’s wish, Li Yaru could only grit her teeth and agree to study, putting the Restaurant accounting on hold for now.
When her uncle Li Rongsheng’s family heard the news, they brought over two roast geese, Cheng Yizhai’s signature soft-boiled abalone, Xinfengtang pastries— a big bundle of gifts to congratulate Li Yaru’s family.
Her cousin Li Yixiang praised Li Yaru to the skies, saying she brought honor to the family.
Li Yaru rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, “What he really means is he doesn’t want me doing the Restaurant’s accounts. Does he think I’m stupid?”
Li Yixiang grinned cheekily, a cigarette dangling from his lips, ashes nearly falling on Li Yaru’s shiny little leather shoes. “Ah Rou, you’re only nineteen! You should be in bright classrooms learning and seeing the world. What’s the point of being stuck in the restaurant with a bunch of aunties and uncles? You think it’s a good job? Before dawn, I have to follow Uncle An and Uncle Ye to do inventory and accounts. The smell of fish and shrimp sticks to your hands all day. A pampered girl like you would be crying after a single day.”
Li Yaru gave a forced smile, pinched her nose in disgust, and told him to get lost— he reeked of cigarettes, alcohol, mahjong parlors, and brothel stench.
Her only reason for wanting to hurry home to work was that she didn’t trust this lazy, gambling, drinking, womanizing cousin.
The Restaurant’s accounts were supposed to be shared between the two families, but Lirongliang was always busy in the kitchen, personally training a group of apprentices.
Sometimes old regulars would come and ask for his cooking, so he’d be busy until his shoes wore out— how could he have the energy to check the accounts?
Li Yaru had reminded her father many times to be more careful and not trust others so easily.
Every time, Lirongliang just waved it off, saying that as his brother and nephew, the family wouldn’t cheat the family.
Even if they occasionally did something sneaky for a little profit, as long as it didn’t affect the big picture, there was no need to fuss.
Li Yaru would roll her eyes in exasperation. Doesn’t the family cheat? Sometimes family cheats family first, especially the ones who let their guard down.
……
The university term began in a flash.
She bought new dresses, a new bag, new shoes, and a new necklace— a whole set of brand-new gear for reporting to school.
She looked around, sunlight sparkling at the corners of her eyes, and on the first day of enrollment—
Very soon, the Economic Management Department’s Accounting A Class welcomed her.
Within a month of starting school, Li Yaru made countless friends. Every day was filled with activities, parties, dinners, outings, and picnics.
She sighed that it was good she came to study, otherwise she would have regretted it.
Her first academic year ended smoothly. Li Yaru got two As, two Bs, and a C— she was very satisfied.
On New Year’s Day, Fan Zizhuo confessed to her, giving her a passionate bouquet of Hongshan Camellia and a delicate diamond bracelet.
The two officially became a couple. Lirongliang kept his promise of a Europe trip— during summer vacation, Li Yaru took her mother to London to see Big Ben, paid homage in Paris to the land of Chanel, and teared up on the Champs-Élysées, hating her own wallet for not being fatter.
From her eighteenth birthday up to the eve of her nineteenth, she lived the most leisurely days imaginable, as if the whole world revolved around her.
The return trip was from Rome. After transferring through two cities, Li Yaru, exhausted, finally made it back to Hong Kong Island.
“Where’s Daddy? Didn’t he say he’d come pick up Mom and me? Always making promises.” Li Yaru pouted unhappily, rubbing her nearly broken waist and twisting her hips to loosen up— long flights were killer.
Fan Zizhuo handed Li Yaru a bottle of grape soda with condensation on it, took the luggage from the mother and daughter, and in the summer heat, his white T-shirt was stained with sweat. “Hot, isn’t it? The car’s outside. Aunt Jun, Ah Rou, let’s get in the car quickly.”
After getting in, and gulping down half a bottle of soda, Li Yaru asked what big deal had kept her dad busy.
She and her mom had been gone for over half a month, and now that they were finally home, he wasn’t even here to greet them.
Fan Zizhuo pretended not to hear and just asked, “Ah Rou, Aunt Jun, what should we eat tonight?”
“Fan Zizhuo,” Li Yaru glared at him. “I’m asking you a question. Why do you keep dodging it?”
Fan Zizhuo only met Li Yaru’s bright, unyielding gaze for a moment before lowering his eyes, his expression dimming, lips moving as if to speak but stopping, making Li Yaru anxious. “Hurry up and say it!”
Lin Baojun nudged her daughter, telling her not to lose her temper with Xiao Fang.
“Ah Rou… Aunt Jun… Uncle, he… he had a sudden heart attack a few days ago and was admitted to the hospital—”
“He’s in the hospital!” Li Yaru interrupted before he finished, grabbing Fan Zizhuo’s arm like a firecracker going off. “How could my dad have heart problems? How did he end up in the hospital for no reason? How is he now?”
Lin Baojun went limp on hearing her husband had a heart attack.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry, Ah Rou.” Fan Zizhuo comforted her, holding her hand. “The situation is stable now. The doctor said as long as Uncle wakes up, it’ll be fine, but he’ll need bypass surgery and then a long recovery.”
“Really?”
“Really, I wouldn’t lie to you.”
Li Yaru hugged her sobbing mother and comforted her, “It’s okay, Mom. Zizhuo said Dad’s fine. We’ll go see him now. If you get sick from crying, who’ll take care of Dad?”
The joy of returning from vacation vanished. Mother and daughter, both anxious, rushed to the hospital.
Lirongliang was in the intensive care unit, his vitals monitored. He’d woken briefly last night, then fallen asleep again.
Li Yaru’s heart was in pieces as she slumped in a chair in the hospital corridor. The fluorescent light, shrouded in cobwebs, cast a dim glow.
Her striking beauty was suited for exuberance, but now she drooped, enveloped in loneliness, looking utterly forlorn.
Fan Zizhuo stuffed the payment receipts into his pocket, then sat beside Li Yaru. “Ah Rou.”
Li Yaru forced a smile. “How much did you pay? And for these past few days—I’ll reimburse you.”
“I’m your boyfriend— it’s only right that I do this.”
“You don’t have to.” Li Yaru reached into his pocket, took out the receipts, stuffed them into her bag without looking, and fell silent.
After a while, she asked, “Why did Dad suddenly have a heart attack?”
Fan Zizhuo frowned deeply. “Ah Rou, you’d better be careful… about that cousin of yours.”
Li Yaru clenched her fists in righteous fury. “He pissed my dad off? That bastard! I’ll make him pay!”
Fan Zizhuo scratched his nose, thinking how to put it gently. “Don’t be hasty. Let me tell you the whole story. That day, I happened to take a friend to Wangzhen Restaurant for dinner and saw a bunch of Gangsters at the door collecting debts. They said your cousin owed their casino a huge sum and ran off, nowhere to be found. Your uncle fainted from the shock. I’ve been at the hospital these days, so I haven’t found out exactly how much your cousin owes.”