Chapter 317: That Person Lacks a Sense of Boundaries

Seeing Li Tai off, Xia Xi was exhausted as if she had run a marathon.

Returning to the office, she practically flung herself onto the sofa, head tilted back, eyes closed, not caring if she smudged her makeup, fingers pressing on the Jingming point.

A knock sounded at the door; Xia Xi sat up and said, "Come in."

The door was pushed open from outside, and the person was Gao Ge.

Gao Ge knew Xia Xi had just spoken with Li Tai, she tugged at her lips, feeling some sympathy: "You've worked hard." She had dealt with Li Tai many times and knew Li Tai was difficult to handle.

Xia Xi forced herself to stay alert, squeezed out a smile, and replied, "I was just about to come find you."

Anticipating what she wanted to say, Gao Ge had a premonition and spoke before she could: "Is Lady Li not planning to let me continue with this order?"

Xia Xi paused, then nodded: "We've talked several times, deadlocked, but today she finally relented—she no longer asks the company to waive the bill, but she added a condition." She paused, her tone drawn out, "She wants you replaced and for me to take over."

Having said that, Xia Xi sighed helplessly.

Gao Ge sat on the sofa, gave a light smile: "I guessed as much. With things having come to this, Lady Li would never let me take responsibility—it's not her style. You don't need to feel burdened; this order was originally yours."

Xia Xi: "Huh?"

"I never told you, but Lady Tai got this order by having Yu Xiaoxiao pull some strings." Worried Xia Xi might misunderstand, Gao Ge explained quickly, "It wasn't my intention; I only found out after the incident."

Gao Ge pursed her lips and relayed what Yu Xiaoxiao had previously instructed her to say, including the real reason she hadn't seen that email.

Xia Xi fell silent—no wonder her talks with Lady Li had gone smoothly, then the other side suddenly flipped; someone had been meddling. She recalled what Li Tai had said before leaving, mentioning Jingyu Yuan…

Xia Xi said, "I believe you."

Gao Ge stared for a moment, then gave a sincere smile: "So go ahead and keep working with peace of mind; if you run into problems, you can come to me. After all, part of the manor has already been renovated, and you need to make changes based on that, which isn't easy."

"I know—this project is now a hot potato." Just mentioning it made Xia Xi start to have a headache.

Gao Ge lightly patted her leg, unable to offer much comforting words, only saying three characters: "Take it slow."

She walked to the door, suddenly remembering something crucial, stopped, turned to look at Xia Xi, pondered briefly, then said word by word: "If you see Lady Li's husband in the manor, it's best to stay away from him."

"Why?"

Xia Xi had never yet met Lady Li's husband; she only knew he was a painter, but didn't know his name.

Gao Ge's hand, hanging at her side, pinched the seam of her trousers; she seemed reluctant to speak, and after a while got the words out, still somewhat hesitant: "That Mr. Li… isn't very good with boundaries, and Lady Li is quite sensitive; to avoid trouble, you'd better communicate with Lady Li if anything comes up."

Although she didn't fully understand, Gao Ge's advice was always reliable, and Xia Xi took it to heart.

Xia Xi called Lu Mingji to report the current situation.

Lu Mingji: "You've worked hard; later I'll give you a big red envelope in my personal name."

Xia Xi replied with "Screw you" and hung up.

Lady Li pressed urgently, so Xia Xi didn't dare delay; that afternoon she took Huang Shiyu to the private manor. A light drizzle fell in the sky; when they got out of the car, Xia Xi opened an umbrella to shield herself and Huang Shiyu.

She needed to see the current renovation progress firsthand in order to devise a suitable plan, ensuring the front and back sections would join smoothly and look harmonious.

Huang Shiyu took the umbrella from her hand: "I'll hold it."

They passed through the lush front lawn, climbed the steps, paused under the portico; Huang Shiyu lowered the umbrella, stood beside a Roman column, and the tip soon dripped a puddle of water.

The two entered, glanced around, and found the scene completely different from the bare state they had seen on their previous visit.

Because an accident had occurred here, Lady Li had ordered the workers to stop, and the surroundings were quiet.

Xia Xi wandered around, snapping photos of any notable spots with her phone. Although her style differed from Gao Ge's, judging by the current renovation results, Gao Ge's design was quite good and also met Lady Li's requirements.

Huang Shiyu went elsewhere to stroll, holding a hardcover notebook, writing and drawing.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Xia Xi assumed it was Huang Shiyu coming over; she didn't turn, intending to test her ability, hands behind her back, and asked: "How was it? After walking around, do you have any good ideas? Share them."

"What, ideas?"

A male voice answered, teasingly. Xia Xi startled, whirled around, and collided with a completely unfamiliar face.

The man was about forty, wearing a loose gray shirt with an irregularly cut hem that gave it a sense of design; below were black jeans, medium build, hair half-long, sporting black-frame glasses, with a cigarette pinched between his fingers, its ember glowing red intermittently.

On such a gloomy rainy day, this person suddenly appearing here, even with a kind smile, would not feel warm.

Xia Xi grew wary and cautiously asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Li Shiguang, the owner of this manor." The man casually scooped up a black glass ashtray, extinguished his cigarette inside, sized up Xia Xi's face, smiled, and asked, "And you are?"

It turned out to be Lady Li's husband. Xia Xi's eyelid twitched, and Gao Ge's words flashed in her mind—her assessment of Mr. Li: "not very good with boundaries."

Li Shiguang stepped forward, still wearing that affable smile: "Not speaking—could you be a thief who broke in? I've never seen such a handsome thief before."

"You're joking." Xia Xi showed no emotion, stepped back to create distance, and said, "I'm the designer Lady Li hired; you can call me Xia Gong."

"How do I remember the designer being Gao Ge?"

"She was before; now I'm in charge."

"Ah, right, I recall now—that Gao Ge's skills are lacking; she caused my mother-in-law to fall, so she ought to be replaced." Li Shiguang leaned against the wall, his gaze somewhat bare, sweeping over Xia Xi, and said, "I don't know if Xia Gong is up to the task; you look much younger than Gao Ge, like a college student who hasn't graduated yet."

Xia Xi avoided his gaze and stepped toward the second floor: "Mr. Li, you really like to joke—I'm only a few years younger than Gao Gong, not that much of a difference; my child will be starting first grade in the second half of the year."

"Really can't tell, you're married?" Li Shiguang followed her upstairs, his gaze dropping to fix on her hands; he examined both hands closely, then burst out laughing: "How come I don't see a wedding ring?"

With her back to Li Shiguang, so she didn't have to worry about him seeing her expression, Xia Xi showed a hint of disdain and replied, "My husband bought me a ring that's too big; it's inconvenient to wear while working. Our job isn't just sitting in an office—we also have to go out to the field."

"Miss Xia, watch your step; it's easy to slip here."

Reaching the turn of the stairs, Li Shiguang took a big step forward, spoke up to warn her, and reached out to block Xia Xi, his palm stopping less than five centimeters in front of her.

Xia Xi's eyebrows and eyes were coldly focused, her body pressed tightly against the stair railing, making a gesture to avoid him, not letting him touch her, and she raised her arm to block his reaching hand, lightly saying: "Thank you, I will be careful. Mr. Li, I am working, please do not disturb me."

"Where is the disturbance? I just wanted to see if there's anywhere I could help." Li Shiguang lowered his hand sheepishly, his fingers clenching then opening, "Besides, this is my house, I ought to give some opinions. The previous one called Gao Ge, the exhibition room and studio he designed, I don't like; help me change the style."