The father and daughter talked and laughed together.
Li Wentian felt that his daughter simply lacked experience.
During their conversation, he decided to let Li Ruoxi see the world.
“Xi’er, Dad wants to tell you something.”
Li Wentian picked up the neatly folded towel beside him and wiped his mouth.
“Look, Dad was thinking today. You’re always home alone, and I can’t often be with you. How about I introduce you to a group of interesting friends?”
Li Wentian gestured to the Mishu on the other side.
The Mishu brought over the thick A4 leather notebook in his hand.
“These are some relatively famous schools. Pick one from here as a little gift from Dad.”
Li Wentian said.
“Is it for me to choose a school to attend?”
Li Ruoxi looked at the leather notebook, a hint of anticipation rising in her heart.
She had never experienced so-called noble schools before, and she secretly yearned for the campus environment she’d seen in TV dramas.
“Of course. If you want to study with friends, Dad will support you.”
Li Wentian gently placed the leather notebook beside Li Ruoxi’s plate and flipped open a page.
On the white background, exquisite pictures of campus buildings came into view.
Various architectural styles, academies from different countries.
“These schools—when I helped them back then, they gave me some small shares. Pick one you like. Whether you go there to study or just as a vacation, Dad will transfer the shares to you.”
“Shares… shares…”
Li Ruoxi stared blankly, unsure how to respond.
“Don’t worry. First, look through the contents. If you don’t like any, we can switch to another batch. If you like them all, hahaha, then Dad will give you all of them.”
Li Wentian laughed heartily.
The steward beside him, following the instructions of Li Wentian’s secretary, took the same stack of leather notebooks from their belongings, stacked them into small square piles, and wheeled them over on a cart.
“These are all things I had someone organize this afternoon—about three hundred schools or so. If you can’t decide, Dad can recommend a few that suit you.”
When Li Wentian saw Li Ruoxi looking a bit lost, he glanced at the pile of about a hundred books, pulled out two, and said,
“Look, this one, Noah Academy, and this…”
Li Wentian flipped through one, set it aside, and picked up the other.
“And this is Lilith Academy.”
Li Wentian didn’t explain further.
He let Li Ruoxi flip through the pages that introduced the schools and showed some pictures.
After a while, when Li Ruoxi had seen enough, Li Wentian finally said, “So, what do you think? Both are relatively close to home. It takes about ten minutes by helicopter.”
Li Ruoxi: “…”
“The main thing is, it’ll be more convenient for you to come home for meals.”
Li Wentian looked at Li Ruoxi with slight expectation.
“How about Lilith Academy? It’s pretty similar to Noah Academy.”
“Hmm… Dad can decide.”
Li Ruoxi paused and realized she couldn’t eat anymore.
Without noticing, she had eaten too many delicious things.
Even though she still wanted to eat, her stomach was so full that not even a tiny bit could fit.
She popped a decorative cherry tomato from the plate into her mouth and finished.
After the school arrangement was settled, Li Wentian had Li Ruoxi sign a document directly.
Then, after eating a little himself, he told the chef to rest and stop cooking.
“I have a video conference tonight. I’ve already had A’li come to pick you up. Rest well tonight. Tomorrow, let A’li take you around some of our Li Family’s small businesses in Nanya City. These are little gifts Dad prepared for you.”
Li Wentian asked his secretary the time and checked his own watch.
When he received a call confirming that Nangong Li had arrived, he said goodbye to Li Ruoxi.
When Nangong Li arrived, Li Ruoxi felt a pleasant surprise.
“Sister Li, your short hair makes you look much kinder.”
Li Ruoxi complimented.
“Yes, Miss. Now, please come with me to go home.”
Nangong Li responded with a smile.
“Sister Li, aren’t you going to eat? It’s so late—why don’t you have something?”
There were still seven or eight untouched servings of food on the table, gently steaming and still warm.
“Miss, let’s go now. It’ll be inconvenient later. Nanya City enforces an aerial ban at 10 PM. Even the Lord’s private jet is no exception.”
Nangong Li explained.
“Private jet…”
It was even more extravagant than Li Wentian’s earlier mention of commuting by helicopter—going home by private jet?
Li Ruoxi looked reluctantly at the uneaten food.
Each dish was delicious, but she couldn’t eat any more.
She wanted to pack them up, but then she thought… given her current status, maybe that wasn’t appropriate.
“Miss, let’s go.” Nangong Li checked the time. It was nearly 9 PM.
“Um… can these…”
“Packed?”
Li Ruoxi nodded.
“Please wrap these up. I want to take them out.”
Nangong Li told the attendant beside her.
The steward had also left when Li Wentian departed, moving to another table.
The attendant was quick and nimble.
He took out a large food container with many small compartments inside and placed all the untouched food in one by one.
Li Ruoxi said thank you and took the container.
“Let me take it, Miss.”
Nangong Li took the container.
“No need to trouble you, Sister Li. It’s very light.”
Li Ruoxi pretended to lift it to show.
Nangong Li said okay, then walked ahead, leading Li Ruoxi into the elevator.
On the spacious rooftop, there was a huge helipad with two small private jets parked.
Li Ruoxi kept her head down, acting very ladylike, without looking around too much.
Becoming Li Wentian’s daughter suddenly brought a lot of pressure to her heart.
Although she had witnessed the luxurious seaside estate when she was with Vivian, now she was facing these things as the owner.
That strange feeling couldn’t be shaken off easily.
They boarded the private jet and were back at the estate’s helipad in less than ten minutes.
From the jet, Li Ruoxi could see the whole estate.
She realized the back of the estate faced the coast, while the other side was the city.
The entire estate was built on the edge of the city, on a hillside halfway up near the sea.
After taking a shower, Li Ruoxi lay down on the same large bed as before.
She turned on her side, propped her head up, and gazed outward.
Beyond the large cylindrical pillars and arched eaves, the moon was hidden behind clouds, faintly visible on the distant horizon.
The bright city nightscape looked from here like scattered, connected patches of warm yellow light in a flat patch of grass.
She fell into a deep silence.
That lingering, inescapable feeling of falseness remained.
Li Ruoxi found it hard to immerse herself in this life, even though everything around her felt so real.
But she wasn’t originally from this world.
How could she prove this world’s existence?
Of course, she couldn’t deny that this world might be fake either.
The pain was so real.
She touched her lower abdomen, where she had been pierced.
That agonizing, suffocating pain—she remembered it vividly.
She was lucky, but she was also afraid.
Because her fate had always been miserable.
At that moment, Li Ruoxi became increasingly worried about whether something might happen to the people around her.
She was terrified. If something happened to her, she could accept it.
But if it happened to those she considered family…
“Phew… what am I thinking…”
The more she thought, the more unsettled she became. If something unbearable did happen…
“Death… impossible…”
Li Ruoxi had experienced the hopeless despair of the soul.
She didn’t want to go through that again.
“And besides, there’s my little sister and grandmother…”
When she came back, she had asked Nangong Li to inquire about them.
Of course, the information came back quickly.
“Sister and grandmother… already—impossible. How could that be?”
If both of them were dead, Li Ruoxi absolutely wouldn’t believe it.
Even if they were really dead, she would only believe it after seeing concrete evidence.
“It can’t be.”
For some reason, she felt a lingering concern for her sister and grandmother in her heart.
It was the original Li Ruoxi’s concern for them.
Li Ruoxi suddenly turned over and buried her face in the blanket.
“It’s okay! Everything will be fine! Aaaaaah!”
“Miss! Miss! What’s wrong?”
Suddenly, the corridor light turned on, and a girl nervously ran in.
She was wearing pajamas, half asleep, looking startled.
Li Ruoxi had just been shouting into the blanket.
“Um… sorry… did I wake you?”
“Phew… as long as you’re okay, Miss.”
The girl sighed in relief.
“If anything happens, please let us know immediately. There are people on night watch 24/7. Please rest assured—the estate is absolutely safe.”
The girl relaxed and went back to her night watch outside.
Li Ruoxi felt a bit embarrassed for disturbing someone else’s rest.
“They can even hear me from that far…”
A sense of security inexplicably filled her heart.
This kind of treatment—she had never received it before.
The safe atmosphere here allowed Li Ruoxi to finally relax a little.
“Phew… why worry about so much? Those things will have to be faced sooner or later. Don’t get pessimistic before anything even happens! I need to change this kind of worrying mentality.”
Whether it was the influence of the original owner or not, Li Ruoxi often instinctively saw problems in a pessimistic light.
“The more pessimistic you are, the more bad things you’ll encounter. Li Ruoxi, you can’t think like that. Aren’t things pretty good now? Everything is starting to go in a good direction. Don’t think about all that messy stuff anymore.”
Li Ruoxi muttered to herself.
Noticing her voice was a bit loud, she glanced secretly at the corridor in the distance.
A small yellow lamp outside the window gave off a warm, cozy feeling.
“They must work hard too, having to keep watch at night.”
But Li Ruoxi wouldn’t cancel this system.
She would just have to find another way to compensate these people.
“I can’t cause them any more trouble. Time to sleep~”
Li Ruoxi cast aside her wild thoughts, a sweet and peaceful smile on her face.
She curled up slightly on her side and slowly drifted into dreams.