Chapter 73: I Would Dedicate My Life to Follow Him (Li Ao’s Perspective) part 1
Wen Rong said with a solemn face, “Then I just won’t get married.”
The topic was bizarre; no one could have guessed what the preceding sentence was.
After hearing this, Leon’s expression changed slightly. He was probably dissatisfied with the answer, but he didn’t say anything obscene like “then your line will end.” Instead, he sighed and curved his lips helplessly. “You’re only 18. You really don’t need to think that far ahead.”
“Mm-hm.”
Wen Rong nodded excitedly, while the smile on Leon’s face faded a few degrees.
The conversation ended just as the two walked down the stairs.
The wind was strong. Li Ao saw his cousin straighten his wind-blown clothes, ride the breeze through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and return to the living room.
His cousin was used to being flattered. Upon entering, he adopted his usual banquet persona: face cold, glancing lightly, maintaining an attitude of “waiting for you to beg me.”
However, Leon was clearly entirely focused on Wen Rong. In the few seconds it took to pull Wen Rong to the sofa, he didn’t spare Zhou Xie a single glance.
Wen Rong hadn’t attended anyone’s banquets, so it was even less likely he would interpret his cousin’s posturing.
So his cousin could only stand awkwardly, his back looking like a rectangular block rising from the ground.
Li Ao wondered if he should let the wind blow him inside too.
But a voice in his heart told him to stand in the wind a little longer. What if his cousin did something funny again?
The corners of his mouth lifted; he couldn’t help smiling.
But he quickly realized what he was doing and felt a pang of guilt: I’m actually laughing at my cousin.
Ever since his cousin made him copy Lin Qizheng’s science software, situations like this seemed to happen often.
“What’s for lunch?”
Unexpectedly, it was his cousin who spoke first. He took the initiative to sit opposite Leon, crossing his legs, looking every bit the politician.
Leon glanced over sideways. Probably because of the fight this morning, he still held a grudge and didn’t give a friendly look. He tilted his chin toward the balcony. “Li Ao, your cousin is asking you what’s for lunch.”
Why drag me into the war forcefully?
Li Ao crossed the threshold helplessly. “I saw Shi Ye go down just now. He should be ordering.”
Actually, he didn’t know what Shi Ye went out to do. Ever since Shi Jing enrolled and Shi Ye modified his cousin’s vintage car and sent it back to the Student Council, there had been no interaction between them.
In fact, when they bumped into each other earlier, Shi Ye hadn’t given his cousin a good face. Naturally, he hadn’t left any messages when he went out.
But right now, dragging the absent person into the mix was the most appropriate move.
His cousin took the conversation. “You said you were treating. Isn’t it rude to make Shi Ye arrange it?”
Leon remained calm. “I didn’t seduce him and then go looking for his half-brother. What’s rude about asking him for a favor?”
“…”
Li Ao saw the tip of his cousin’s crossed shoe trembling.
Tremble—
Stop—
“He can’t even kill off an illegitimate child. Why should I only deal with him?”
“Deal with… fine, fine, fine, deal with.” Leon clapped his hands. “No problem. What problem could there be? Isn’t that just like you—switching from one patron to another?”
Li Ao had a premonition that Leon was about to say something obscene to anger his cousin again.
Not good. His cousin was already in a terrible mood because of the morning’s events. Leon knew exactly where to poke to hurt. If they kept arguing, a fight might break out.
Honestly, Li Ao didn’t want to see them fight.
His cousin’s relationship with Shi Ye was already bad enough.
“Cousin…”
“If he had been a little ruthless back then, would his mother have died? Could Zhang Wanfei and Shi Jing have entered the door? Who is to blame for all this?” The rectangular block rose from the ground again, extending a finger to point directly at Wen Rong. “If he had listened to me back then and found someone to kill that mother and son, he wouldn’t have come to Floriman Academy and caused so much trouble.”
Kill…
That word seemed different from the others. Like a rubber ball, it bounced off the walls, slamming into ears wave after wave.
Li Ao shut his mouth, distinctly feeling his lips go dry.
There was something like that, wasn’t there?
His cousin had discovered Zhang Wanfei and her son first and warned Shi Ye, but Shi Ye hadn’t agreed.
At the time, Li Ao hadn’t understood his cousin’s proposal, just like Shi Ye. But later, Shi Ye’s mother died, and his father brought Zhang Wanfei and her son into the Shi family openly.
Li Ao thought, Maybe Cousin was right.
Cousin had his reasons. The stealing of the Journalism Club’s software was the same. Time would prove everything.
“Senior, I forgot to tell Shi Ye just now that I don’t eat spicy food. Is it too late?”
A voice completely unrelated to these past events broke the silence at an inappropriate time.
This clumsy tactic was too painful to watch directly. Fortunately, a click sounded.
A person dressed in a white chef’s uniform entered carrying a tray, followed closely by another in the same attire.
Shi Ye entered with his head down. Seeing the four by the sofa, a rare smile hung on his lips. “What are you chatting about? This guy… rarely has such an intense expression.”
His cousin turned his face away to stop Shi Ye from seeing the joke. Leon performed a rare face-changing technique, transforming from a madman stabbing his cousin with words into a gentle and warm senior. He spoke softly to Wen Rong, “If it’s spicy, just have the kitchen take it back and remake it… Are you hungry? Let’s go eat.”
Li Ao watched as Leon reached out to take Wen Rong’s arm, helping him up as if teaching a child to walk, leading him to the dining table, personally pulling out the chair, folding the napkin on his lap, pouring water, and feeding it to his lips.
The behavior seemed even more intimate than before, but Wen Rong was clearly unaccustomed to it. His body kept leaning back, faintly wanting to refuse.
Li Ao didn’t quite understand at first, but seeing Shi Ye, he understood a bit more.
He planned to signal his cousin to watch the show—also to cool down the anger that had been stirred up. Turning his head, he was surprised to find his cousin staring in Leon’s direction with a dark gaze.
“Cousin, let’s eat,” Li Ao reminded him.
“Mm.”
The last dish was placed on the table, and the hotel staff withdrew. The surroundings fell into silence, broken only by the sound of chopsticks accidentally hitting plates.
Li Ao remembered the last time they ate together was during his high school years. His cousin was busy with studies, and he was anxious about whether he would be admitted to Floriman Academy.
That day, only Leon and Shi Ye were happy. Leon wasn’t worried about admission at all—Floriman Academy not admitting him would be Floriman’s loss. As for Shi Ye, what worries could a brat who just graduated junior high have?
At that time, Shi Ye was into racing cars. Li Ao couldn’t remember the specific name; the classifications of various racing competitions were more complex than code. He just remembered that reasonable collisions were allowed during the race.
A collision at top speed was no different from a car crash.
At that time, Li Ao wondered why Shi Ye’s father allowed the family’s sole heir to participate in such a deadly sport.
Later, the truth came out: his father was waiting for him to die so Shi Jing could take over.
But Shi Ye was truly hard to kill.
It was said that in his first race, he wiped out. The car flew like a frisbee on the track, rolling several times. Of four wheels, only two remained attached. Shi Ye only ended up with a cast on his right hand.
The only suffering he endured was probably having his cousin deliberately snatch the food he wanted several times that day.
Clack—
That was the sound. Every time Shi Ye and his cousin went for the same dish, Shi Ye would slam his chopsticks down in anger and ask if he was doing it on purpose. His cousin would deny it, of course, and suggest he switch to using a baby spoon.
Back then… back then didn’t seem much different from now. His cousin still clashed with Shi Ye.
But it also seemed different. Li Ao knew the answer with just a little thought, but he didn’t dare to dwell on it.
Time turned back. A pair of wooden chopsticks landed in the large white plate, and a silver fork withdrew.
📖 Advance Access: Complete Novel
- Option 1: Note your email on PayPal/Ko-fi.
- Option 2: Email proof to beezzzreads@gmail.com.
- Option 3: Comment below.
Recommended Reads
![[ABO] President Shou Is Not a Total Shou](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/the-shou-is-not-a-total-shou-214x300.jpg)
