CHAPTER 286: CHAPTER 286: THE CONVERSATION

Xiao Li finished making dumplings and thought of Yue Wenwen.

Gu Zhiyuan has died; I wonder how she’s doing?

Based on what I know, Yue Wenwen’s parents weren’t nice to her, and now Gu Zhiyuan is gone, I’m worried they’ll blame her!

Yue Wenwen answered the phone, "Sister."

"Wenwen, are you able to talk? How are you doing now?"

Yue Wenwen was silent for a moment. "I can talk. I’m not at home right now, I’m doing okay."

"You’re not at home? Where are you? At the dorm?"

"No, I’m with Xiachun."

Upon hearing they were together, Xiao Li said, "Then let Xiachun have the phone for a moment."

"Okay."

Hua Xiaochun took the call, and Xiao Li asked a few questions about Yue Wenwen, which Hua Xiaochun answered one by one.

Finally, Xiao Li said, "Ask Wenwen if she’d like to come over to my place. I want to chat with her."

Hua Xiaochun didn’t even ask, just said, "I’ll bring her over in a bit."

Hua Xiaochun felt that if he asked, Yue Wenwen would definitely not go. She wouldn’t know how to face Xiao Li.

But the more she shies away, the more she should go. She needs to know that she did nothing wrong. Gu Zhiyuan’s mistakes shouldn’t be blamed on her.

Xiao Li was one of the people involved in the incident; her persuading Yue Wenwen carried more weight than anything Hua Xiaochun could say.

Xiao Li thought for a moment, realized it would be inappropriate for Yue Wenwen to come directly to her home, considering Gu Zhiyuan died just outside the neighborhood.

After thinking, Xiao Li arranged with Hua Xiaochun to meet at another place.

After hanging up, Hua Xiaochun said to Yue Wenwen, "Let’s go!"

"Where to?"

"You’ll know when we get there!"

About fifteen minutes later, Hua Xiaochun arrived with Yue Wenwen first. The place Xiao Li picked was closer for them, but further for herself, so she hadn’t arrived yet.

Yue Wenwen got out of the car and saw a private restaurant, "Xiachun, did you bring me here to eat? We don’t have to come to a place like this just to eat. Although it looks simple on the outside, inside it’s very upscale. There’s no need to spend this much on a meal."

Yue Wenwen thought Hua Xiaochun was trying to cheer her up by taking her out to eat something nice.

The Yue Family used to be just modestly prosperous. Its fortunes improved in recent years, but Yue Wenwen was never favored, even only receiving a little allowance for college. Most of the time, she had to do odd jobs for pocket money.

So, she’s not the kind to spend extravagantly, seldom indulging in costly meals.

Hua Xiaochun smiled, "You’ll understand soon, we’re just waiting here for a bit."

"What are we waiting for?" Yue Wenwen was puzzled.

"For someone."

After standing for about ten minutes, Qin Xiao and Xiao Li arrived.

As soon as Xiao Li got out of the car, she smiled and asked, "Have you been waiting long? Why didn’t you go in first?"

Hua Xiaochun smiled, "No, we just got here not long ago."

Seeing Xiao Li made Yue Wenwen a bit uneasy but she still called out, "Sister."

When Qin Xiao parked and came over, Yue Wenwen felt like crying. Why did even Professor Qin come?

Seeing Qin Xiao, Xiao Li invited everyone inside.

Inside, the designs were just as Yue Wenwen thought, with rock gardens, flowing water, and courtyards.

But Yue Wenwen couldn’t focus on the scenery right now.

Xiao Li, however, was in high spirits. This was a place Qin Xiao had brought her before, and she took a liking to its design then. So when she wanted to meet Yue Wenwen outside, this was the first place that came to mind.

One reason was that it was closer to Yue Wenwen, and another was that Xiao Li hoped seeing some beautiful design would lift Yue Wenwen’s spirits.

Looking at Yue Wenwen, who walked with her head down, Xiao Li teased, "Wenwen, is there gold on the ground waiting for you to pick it up?"

"No!" Yue Wenwen replied, cluelessly.

Xiao Li sighed lightly, taking her hand to walk forward together, "I meant don’t walk with your head down all the time, have a look at the scenery around you."

Inside the private room, once everyone was seated, Xiao Li first ordered the dishes. While waiting, she poured a glass of water for Yue Wenwen.

"Wenwen, I’ve wanted to talk to you for a while, but I was always at the hospital. Plus, since you were staying with your parents, contacting you didn’t seem right. So I didn’t reach out.

Wenwen, I called you here today to say thank you!"

"To say thank you?" Yue Wenwen was puzzled.

Xiao Li nodded, "Yes, although I already mentioned it at the hospital last time, it wasn’t formal enough.

Wenwen, I’m still on medication, and Qin Xiao is also still recovering, so we can’t drink. We’ll use tea instead of wine to toast you and thank you!"

With that, Xiao Li raised her glass, and Qin Xiao followed suit.

Yue Wenwen was stunned, "Sister, what are you doing? Why do I deserve your thanks?"

Xiao Li smiled, "Because you were clever and brave enough to escape and alert us, otherwise who knows how it would have ended?"

Yue Wenwen shook her head, "I didn’t really help, on the contrary, you were hurt a lot because of my brother.

Also, I knew from the start that my brother didn’t have good intentions toward you, but I didn’t warn you ahead of time."

Xiao Li smiled, "Your brother’s mistakes were his own; they have nothing to do with you, and he’s already paid for them.

As for not warning me, your brother didn’t recognize me at first, so he wasn’t a threat. You were right not to say anything then.

When your brother recognized me later, you did try to warn me, but circumstances intervened. None of this is your fault, you shouldn’t take on all the blame.

You’re enthusiastic about taking on blame, but you downplay your contributions. You say you didn’t help, but you did in a big way.

Because you escaped, your brother was anxious to act. If he hadn’t been in such a rush, he wouldn’t have arranged it so poorly.

I believe if your brother had organized things well before acting, he could have definitely taken me away.

Moreover, because you told Qin Xiao all about your brother, he was able to quickly track your brother down and expose everything about him.

If you hadn’t spoken up, by the time Qin Xiao figured out through surveillance that your brother took me, and started investigating, it might have been too late.

With that, do you still think you didn’t help? You helped me a great deal, come on, here’s to you!"

Yue Wenwen raised her glass and toasted with Xiao Li and Qin Xiao.

When they put down their glasses after drinking the water, the waiter just happened to bring in the dishes.

After the waiter left, Yue Wenwen, who had been quietly keeping her head down, looked up at Xiao Li, "Sister, according to what you said, it seems I did help a little. But by helping you, did I harm my brother? My mom says I caused my brother’s death!"