CHAPTER 204: CHAPTER 204: WHAT PLACE DO I HOLD IN YOUR HEART?

Li Tianyao replied, "I’ve locked her up. That’s all I could do!"

An Yan still admired Li Qingqing to a certain extent. If there were an award for the world’s most love-obsessed fool, it would undoubtedly go to her. To stay by Li Tianyao’s side, she was willing to harm others and, more cruelly, herself. She’d even had her originally beautiful face surgically altered to look plain. Yet, despite all she had done, it seemed she still hadn’t won Li Tianyao’s favor.

"Aren’t you touched?" An Yan raised her eyebrows at Li Tianyao. "She’s willing to do anything for you."

Li Tianyao glanced at her sideways. "Are you jealous of her?"

An Yan said, "I’m asking what kind of place she holds in your heart."

"She holds no place in my heart! In fact, if her circumstances weren’t so unique, I would have sent her to prison to rot! Everyone is equal before the law."

An Yan decisively gave him a thumbs-up. "Solid values! Truly worthy of Captain Li!"

Li Tianyao leaned down and kissed the corner of her eye. "Don’t worry. I won’t let her have another chance to appear before you. Little girl, remember, my heart will always belong only to you." As for others, forget about taking up residence in his heart; they weren’t even qualified to leave a fleeting impression.

"What about you?" The man’s finger lifted her chin. "Who’s in your heart? Who ranks number one?"

He had taken quite a detour to finally ask the question he truly wanted to know. Li Tianyao watched her with keen interest, awaiting her answer.

It seemed like she’d been posed a difficult question. Her brows furrowed, and it took her a while to reply, "Before I met you, I thought Grandfather was the most important. Then I met you, and I felt you were very important too. Then there’s my family—Ling Xiao, Dad, Eldest Brother, my second brother, and all my friends..." An Yan listed them one by one, avoiding Li Tianyao’s gaze.

The man’s slender index finger gently grazed her chin. "So, among all these people, where do I rank?"

"Number one!" An Yan answered without hesitation. "You are my legally wedded husband, the first in line to inherit my estate. Look, the law already acknowledges you as number one. As a good, law-abiding citizen, how could I go against the law? Husband and wife are one entity!"

Li Tianyao lifted her chin, compelling her to look at him. "Since we are one entity, my money is your money, right?"

An Yan nodded decisively. "Right!"

A muscle twitched at the corner of Li Tianyao’s mouth as he continued, "An Duxuan said he didn’t want your money, so you gave him my check! You didn’t treat my money as your own, little girl!"

An Yan was dumbfounded. What? It took her a moment to grasp what he meant. A wave of helplessness washed over her. Why does this man have to compete over everything?

"Well," she began, "my thinking at the time was this: my second brother genuinely didn’t have the money, and he was supposed to play the male lead in my short film. Plus, you had already agreed to give him ten million. Whether the money was transferred from my account or you wrote him a check, it essentially all came from our family funds. That’s why I didn’t insist on transferring it from my account. After all, what’s yours is mine! As husband and wife, we don’t distinguish between yours and mine, right?"

Li Tianyao finally looked satisfied. "Drink your milk tea."

The car drove all the way back to the villa. The kitchen staff had already prepared dinner, and the table was laden with a dazzling array of dishes.

While the two were eating, An Duxuan arrived. The moment An Yan saw him, she remembered her short video. "Second Brother, is the video shoot finished?"

An Duxuan said smugly, "Naturally! With that simple script and plot of yours, it was no trouble at all! Director Fang said to give him tonight for editing, and he’ll send you the final cut tomorrow."

"It’ll take a whole night?"

"Of course, it will! Editing, music, sound effects, special effects, animation—can any of these be skipped?"

"There are special effects and animation?" An Yan was startled. She just wanted to shoot a simple short video to earn some Yezi for herself. But the more she heard, the more high-end it sounded. If all these extra things are added, what if Bai Wu doesn’t think the achievement is mine? An Yan grew a little despondent.

An Duxuan observed her expression, somewhat puzzled. "What’s with that look? Is there something wrong with it being well-made?"

There wasn’t really anything wrong; she was just afraid that if others put in too much effort, they would steal her credit. An Yan hadn’t yet figured out how to explain when An Duxuan, ever doting on his sister, immediately conceded, "If you don’t want it to be too polished, that’s fine. I’ll contact Director Fang, get the raw footage, and we can find someone else to edit it?"

An Yan replied, "That won’t be necessary." They’ve already done so much. Even if she insisted on taking over the editing now, she probably couldn’t improve it significantly. Now, she could only hope Bai Wu would recognize that the concept was hers and give her the due credit.

After they had eaten for a while, An Duxuan’s phone rang. He glanced at it, then his gaze shifted to Li Tianyao’s face as he asked, "What’s the deal with this Tian Zhongren? Why would Country R plant a spy in a drug cartel?"

"Your next assignment is to map out the network of interests in the entertainment industry! And while you’re at it, weed out any suspicious individuals within the circle! Don’t confuse your priorities. Besides, if it’s something you need to know, your superiors will inform you. If they haven’t, then you’re not meant to know!"

An Duxuan dropped the subject of Tian Zhongren and began to discuss some information he had recently gathered, hoping to get more insights from Li Tianyao. As long as it didn’t violate any principles, Li Tianyao was willing to offer him guidance.

The two men chatted, all the while competing to place food on An Yan’s plate. An Yan barely had to lift her chopsticks; food was constantly being placed before her. Even the crab was already shelled, the leg meat succulent, tender, and springy. With the dipping sauce, it was absolutely divine!

Soon, An Yan was full. She announced, "I’m heading to the lab first. You two continue your chat!"

Li Tianyao, who had been engrossed in a serious discussion, abruptly turned his head and shot her a displeased glance, saying, "Go upstairs and rest."

An Duxuan immediately objected, "Upstairs for what? Go home and sleep! Dad and Eldest Brother haven’t seen you in days!"

Li Tianyao asked, "What time is it? Are you sure her family is still waiting up for her at this hour?"

An Duxuan glanced at his watch and then said, "She still has to go home to sleep!"

An Yan didn’t have strong feelings about where she slept. She nodded, saying, "Alright, I’ll head home then."

Just as she stood up, Li Tianyao grasped her hand. "You promised to stay with me!" There was a hint of barely perceptible accusation in his voice.

Hearing it made An Yan feel a pang of guilt. It was true; she had promised to stay by his side during this period before his condition flared up.

An Duxuan promptly rolled up his sleeves, his expression challenging as he faced Li Tianyao, saying, "Bring it on!" Every time he fought Li Tianyao, he felt himself improving, even if just a little. One day, I’m going to beat this shameless guy!They haven’t even had the wedding, and this guy is already trying to get my sister to sleep with him! The Second Young Master An conveniently ignored the fact that this shameless man before him was, in fact, his sister’s legally wedded husband!

An Yan didn’t want to be caught between the two of them. She turned and said, "I’ll go check on the lab."