A Sand Sculpture in the Red Dust - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Mr. Li Returns To Acknowledge His Grandson

　　The secretary graduated from the finance department. After trying to calculate the age difference, his expression gradually turned strange.

　　So long before he went abroad, or even earlier when he was fooling around, Li Xiangfu had already laid a hidden line to prevent himself from being kicked out of the family if he played too much in the future?

　　He subconsciously looked at his boss’s expression. Qin Jin raised his eyes slightly, and his gaze was so piercing that it made people feel particularly pressured. The secretary avoided it in time.

　　The driver completed reversing and the car gradually drove towards a wider street. The trees on both sides flashed by. The vibrant scene formed a sharp contrast with the frosty faces of the people in the car.

　　Things are changing every day.

　　The day before, everyone’s attention was focused on Li Xiangfu, but within one night, it was replaced by a child. Most people were just watching the show, but there were also some who wanted to muddy the waters.

　　”Pah!”

　　A business plan was heavily thrown on the desk. Luo An leaned back in his swivel chair and rubbed his brows. It was obvious that he was not in the mood to look at the plan for the time being.

　　The department head stood opposite him and asked carefully: “Does the content need to be changed?”

　　Luo An waved his hands and said with a headache: “That playboy Li Xiangfu actually had a child a long time ago.”

　　The ill-fated relationship between Luo An and Li Xiangfu started in junior high school, when they were classmates. Luo An’s family background was far less than that of Li Xiangfu. Later, his unforgettable first love also fell in love with him, claiming that she admired his courage to explore the world.

　　After Li Xiangfu got into trouble, Luo An pretended to be a concerned friend on the surface, but secretly exaggerated the situation and made trouble for both sides. He secretly bribed the media to make up stories and implied that the other missing person died at the hands of Li Xiangfu.

　　However, the newspaper was intercepted before it was sent out, and Mr. Li even had someone warn him specifically.

　　Li Xiangfu took more than a year off from school due to injury and mental stress. After returning to China, he was in an idle state. Luo An, on the other hand, joined the company early through the arrangement of his parents and has been doing well in the past two years.

　　The department manager got to the top by flattering others, and was considered a confidant. He followed his wishes and said, “Whether the old man is willing to recognize him is another matter. The wedding party of the youngest son of the Lin family will be held in two days. People from the Li family and the Qin family will go. There is a life between Li Xiangfu and Qin Jin…”

　　”Life is bullshit!” Luo An threw the plan at him and said, “Don’t say anything you shouldn’t say.”

　　He had been secretly making a fuss about this matter in the beginning, but was still caught. Now that Qin Jin is in the limelight, he doesn’t want to offend two families at the same time because of a trivial matter.

　　With a turn of his eyes, Luo An suddenly waved his hand, and the supervisor came over tactfully: “Go ahead.”

　　”I heard that Mr. Li is on vacation recently. Find a few reliable people to spread the news about the child until it reaches Mr. Li.”

　　The department head was bewildered.

　　Luo An looked at him as if he were an idiot: “Turned the spotlight into Li Xiangfu preparing this move long ago in order to restore the father-son relationship. The more utilitarian the purpose, the better.”

　　He tapped his fingers on the table twice. “Find a few more brainless people and instigate them to deliberately go to the old man to congratulate him on having a grandson, and pretend to curry favor with him.”

　　The department manager responded, “The old man is known for his stubborn temper. He might say something angry in public, such as saying he has no grandchildren or walking away in disgrace. This way, he won’t lose face in the short term by publicly acknowledging the child’s identity.”

　　Luo An nodded: “Have you remembered everything?”

　　The department head was full of admiration: “I will definitely do a great job on this.”

　　Luo An moved two fingers, indicating that he could leave.

　　After the door closed, a tired sigh sounded in the office. Luo An didn’t want to confront Li Xiangfu head-on. However, he was a man who couldn’t tolerate any sand in his eyes. When he knew that he was playing tricks in private, he mercilessly tore off the fig leaf of the so-called friendship, and the two sides became very tense.

　　Now that Li Xiangfu is back, it is necessary to prevent the other party from getting in touch with the core of family power, otherwise it may lay a hidden danger.

　　•=|=•

　　There were crowds of people, pushing shopping carts and stopping along the way.

　　Li Xiangfu had no idea that someone was plotting something and took Li Shasha to the supermarket.

　　”Please help yourself. Dad will buy you any snacks you like.”

　　The kid next to him who was clamoring for a cheese stick gave him an envious look when he heard it.

　　This father and son used humble words strangely. Li Shasha: “You are so generous.”

　　When he left the supermarket, he only had an ice cream in his hand.

　　”Why don’t you walk around a little longer?”

　　”It seemed like someone was following us, but he’s gone now,” Li Shasha licked the cream on the top expressionlessly, “I want to buy a few more books to read.”

　　”Let’s do that then.”

　　There is a bookstore across the street. Business has been slow recently. The owner saw a customer coming and smiled warmly: “Buying for your child?”

　　Li Xiangfu nodded.

　　Boss: “Children’s books are in…”

　　Li Xiangfu declined the offer: “It’s okay, I’ll take him around.”

　　Li Shasha prefers to shop alone, but he is not tall enough and needs help to hold the books. Both parties are very efficient and come to check out in less than five minutes.

　　Four or five heavy books were piled on the table.

　　”M Theory”, “A Brief Discussion of Quantum Mechanics”, “Why Magnets Are Magnetic”… Just looking at the names is enough to give some adults a headache.

　　”It may be a little early to look at these now.” The boss’s eyelids twitched.

　　”It’s getting late.” Li Shasha was calm and composed, unlike his age. He made his own decision: “These are all books suitable for the enlightenment stage.”

　　The boss forced a smile, thinking that he wanted to fly away before he even recognized all the words.

　　Carrying a heavy bag of books, the two smiled at each other as they walked out the door.

　　Li Xiangfu: “From tomorrow on…”

　　Li Shasha: “You play the piano and sing, I read and drink tea, the free and peaceful days are good.”

　　Li Xiangfu bent down and stretched out his hand… Snap! The big and the small high-fived.

　　•°|°•

　　Rumors can sometimes travel at the speed of light.

　　In just half a day, the news about the child had been passed on by mouths of different men, women, young and old, and spread to the resort through word of mouth.

　　Mr. Li is most afraid of heat. He often feels short of breath in the summer and has to stay at the resort for at least a month. Even if his youngest son comes back, he will wait for two days before going back, so as not to get sick from the heat.

　　It turns out that vacation is not a worry-free thing. In the afternoon, more than one person mentioned that he had a grandson out of nowhere.

　　”What’s the rumor going around now?”

　　His beloved fishing rod was thrown aside casually, which showed how bad his mood was.

　　The bodyguard was like his eyes, reporting the information he had gathered truthfully: “Everyone is talking about the purpose of the young master bringing the child back.”

　　Mr. Li’s face darkened.

　　In this world, no matter how rich you are, you cannot stop people from gossiping. When he went to the restaurant for dinner in the afternoon, two people sitting by the window quickly shut up, and one of them picked up the glass and drank a sip of water in embarrassment. It was easy to guess what they were talking about before.

　　But there were some people who didn’t know what was good for them. As soon as the old man sat down, a young man who had just arrived for vacation took the initiative to greet him respectfully and mentioned that he happened to see Li Xiangfu with a child when he was shopping in the supermarket in the morning.

　　”You can tell at a glance that the child has good genes and is very cute. He will definitely be something special when he grows up.”

　　The young man praised generously.

　　Mr. Li’s eyelids twitched, and his face was cold: “Really? How come I didn’t know I had a grandson.”

　　The young man was stunned and stood there awkwardly.

　　The others looked at him with sympathy and sarcasm. He failed to flatter anyone and ended up in an awkward situation.

　　Pursing his lips awkwardly, the young man said unnaturally: “Enjoy your meal, I won’t bother you anymore.”

　　After saying that, he walked out of the restaurant in embarrassment.

　　He walked out of the house for a while to make sure there was no one around, and sent a message: [Done.]

　　He turned around and received a reply from the other party: [Come to the company tomorrow to discuss the transaction.]

　　The young man smiled and put away his phone. He was sent by Luo An’s supervisor to gossip. He didn’t care whether it would create a bad impression on Mr. Li. Anyway, he would never be able to reach the level of doing business with the other party in his lifetime. The immediate benefits were obviously more important.

　　Besides, the old man would not target an unknown person for such a trivial matter.

　　•=|=•

　　Li family.

　　Aunt Zhang finished cooking and saw that it was about time. After asking if there were any other requests, she took her bag and went home.

　　A few years ago, in order to reward her for working for the family for decades, Mr. Li gave her a house nearby, which made her commuting very convenient.

　　Li Xiangfu played a puzzle with Li Shasha for a while and looked up at the time.

　　”I don’t think my eldest brother will return tonight.”

　　Li Shasha put the last piece of the puzzle in place: “Ho…Dad, how unpopular are you?”

　　Li Xiangfu said nothing.

　　After admiring the finished product for a few seconds, Li Shasha sat up straight with legs crossed and said, “It doesn’t matter if other people don’t like you, but they are your relatives.”

　　Li Xiangfu rubbed his soft hair and said, “Blood ties cannot tolerate all mistakes, and patience will eventually run out.”

　　After blinking his eyes, Li Shasha gained a new understanding of the ways of the world.

　　Li Xiangfu helped him move the puzzle to the table and pressed it under the soft glass. It looked pretty good as a decoration.

　　Before he could watch for a while, the lights dimmed and the whole villa was suddenly plunged into darkness.

　　Unlike other children who would scream, Li Shasha remained calm and said, “The power is out.”

　　The battery of his mobile phone was still fully charged. Li Xiangfu sat by the window, constantly switching apps, entering and exiting the game several times, and finally realized that his interest in electronic devices had faded.

　　The air conditioner stopped working and the room became increasingly stuffy. He waited until the remaining cool air dissipated and then opened the window.

　　At this moment, the trees outside seemed to be still, and there was no wind at all.

　　Li Xiangfu suddenly stood up, as if he had made a decision, and turned around and said, “Let’s go to the courtyard.”

　　Under a bright moon, the carefully trimmed flowers and plants in the courtyard were shining with dark colors. An artificial fountain was built in the central area. Li Xiangfu looked at his reflection in it, and a trace of disgust flashed between his brows.

　　In the sultry weather, the buttons of the shirt were fastened tightly, and the sleeves did not show any signs of being rolled up, tightly wrapping the skin underneath.

　　He has lived in a country where women are the supreme authority for more than 20 years. Even if he is unorthodox, there are some rules that cannot be violated, such as clothing, which has become a habit over the years.

　　He took a deep breath and resolutely decided that from today on, he would completely abandon those old and corrupt rules.

　　At the same time, Li Huaichen had just gone to the resort to pick up his old man.

　　There was darkness in the distance. Mr. Li frowned and said, “There hasn’t been a power outage in a few years.”

　　High-end residential communities generally have countermeasures in terms of water and electricity.

　　Li Huaichen: “It’s probably an emergency.”

　　The garage couldn’t be opened, so the car was parked outside. He used his cell phone to illuminate the area: “Be careful.”

　　”I’m not old enough to have blurry eyes.” Mr. Li’s actual age is not that old, but his hair has turned white prematurely.

　　Li Huaichen walked in front to light the way: “Did you return early because of Xiangfu’s child?”

　　Master Li sneered when he heard this: “He is responsible for the offspring he left behind while fooling around outside. Whether the child will learn to be a good person or a bad person in the future is up to fate.”

　　What he meant was that he would not interfere in the child’s lifestyle or upbringing, let alone the matter of including it in the family tree.

　　The room was pitch black. Li Huaichen saw that the door at the back was open. “They seem to be in the yard.”

　　After all, they had to meet. Mr. Li closed his eyes and sighed heavily: “Let’s go and take a look.”

　　The wind finally started to blow. In the courtyard, Li Xiangfu stood on the stone beside the fountain, his fingers seemed to be glued to buttons.

　　”I can.” He whispered.

　　After unbuttoning a few buttons, the young man slowly opened his arms, his shirt fluttering in the wind, his long black hair flying in the night breeze. Li Xiangfu slightly tilted his face up, and a beautiful tear flowed down the corner of his eye.

　　”Comfortable——”

　　What wafts in the air is not only the fragrance of flowers, but also the smell of freedom.

　　Li Shasha clapped without emotion: “Congratulations, Dad, you did it.”

　　Li Xiangfu was not satisfied and started running around the fountain. Although he only unbuttoned a few buttons of his shirt, he felt the pleasure of “unwinding”.

　　After running back and forth against the wind for a few times, Li Xiangfu stopped and leaned over to catch his breath, and said with a trembling voice: “From tomorrow on, I will wear short sleeves…”

　　He slowly opened his arms and gazed at the sky: “To achieve short-sleeved freedom–”

　　A few meters away, seeing this scene, Mr. Li was silent for a moment, then retreated to the living room. He changed his mind and even changed his address. He said in a deep voice:

　　”From tomorrow on, I will do my best to arrange my grandson’s food, clothing, daily life, study and education.”

　　He could ignore the fact that the child was following an incompetent father because of the countless disappointments he had accumulated in the past, but he absolutely could not let his child follow a father with mental problems.

　　The author has something to say:

　　Li Shasha: There are villains who want to plot against us.

　　Li Xiangfu: Oh, then I will find a way to fight back.

　　Li Shasha: No need, you have already fought back.

　　Li Xiangfu: ???