Chapter 347: The Weight of the Heart

After Li Ye finished his phone call with Pei Wencong and put down the receiver, he felt a sudden chill.

He turned around abruptly and found his sister, Li Yue, standing in the doorway, her brows furrowed and her gaze sharp.

Li Yue waved the kitchen knife in her hand and said coldly, "Xiao Ye! I just heard you say that nineteen-year-old girls are considered old?"

Li Ye was stunned. I was just saying that off the cuff; why do you have to apply it to yourself?

But seeing Li Ye playing dumb, his sister Li Yue turned her head and asked behind her, "Xiao Yu, did you hear that?"

Watching Wen Leyu also walked up, nodding with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Li Ye was much more serious with Watching Wen Leyu, and he smiled gently, "Xiao Yu, when I first met you, weren't you eighteen?"

Watching Wen Leyu glanced at Li Ye, actually tilted her head to think for a moment, and then corrected him, "No, I was seventeen that year."

Li Ye smiled and said, "Actually, for beautiful girls, every year is eighteen. Those who resent the passage of time for making them old are just ugly monsters."

"I was just on the phone with Old Pei because there's a woman in her late thirties who insists on being friends with him, so I used those harsh words to reject her."

Li Ye felt helpless, but he still pushed Pei Wencong out, sparking the gossip-loving hearts of Li Yue and Watching Wen Leyu.

In fact, for the past few days, Li Ye hadn't been speaking to his sister Li Yue, or rather, ever since they returned to the capital from Nanyang, his sister Li Yue had been giving him the cold shoulder.

Back then, Li Ye had mentioned offhandedly to his sister that he wanted to write a book about Fu Guiru, and his sister Li Yue had immediately taken it to heart. After Li Ye returned, she kept pestering him with questions.

But Li Ye didn't even have an outline in his head yet! How could he satisfy his sister's inquiries?

Then Li Yue scolded Li Ye for having no conscience, writing so much history and busy with so many businesses all day, yet not doing a single "meaningful thing."

Li Ye knew his sister was sad about Fu Guiru's affair; after all, in her memory, their mother had disappeared into those black waves on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month that year.

And since Fu Guiru had told Li Ye to "give her a little more time," Li Ye hadn't told her the truth yet, which made him feel a bit indebted.

Today, Li Ye came over at five o'clock to wait for Pei Wencong's call, also wanting to finish his exchange with Pei Wencong before his sister Li Yue got off work and returned.

He hadn't expected Pei Wencong to be forty minutes late, which was the reason Li Ye, in a fit of anger at the time, said things like "nineteen is too old."

"Pei Wencong is the same, why bother provoking that kind of woman?"

"Sister Xiao Yue, this situation probably isn't Mr. Pei's fault. A bachelor like him, in a place like Hong Kong, is bound to attract a flock of admirers."

The two beauties chatted endlessly about gossip, and Li Ye couldn't even get a word in.

"Sister, our dinner tonight..."

"Oh, oh, I almost forgot. Here, take the kitchen knife, you go chop the vegetables, and wait for me to stir-fry them."

Looking at the kitchen knife transferred to his hand, Li Ye had no choice but to silently get up and go to the kitchen.

Actually, when his sister Li Yue was back in their hometown of Qinghe, she basically never cooked.

But ever since she came to the capital, as long as she was home, she would generally cook herself and wouldn't let her brother Li Ye do it.

This was the responsibility of being a sister.

Even decades later, it's very common for girlfriends to let their boyfriends cook, but it's truly rare to see a sister let her brother cook for her.

It's just that the "gossip" Li Ye threw out today was a bit big; Pei Wencong was actually being pestered by a woman in her late thirties, enough for the two beauties to chat for over half an hour, and counting on her to cook meant going hungry.

Li Ye chopped vegetables and meat with ease, fired up the stove, and fiddled around, not taking much effort at all.

However, just as the meal was about to be ready, Watching Wen Leyu asked Li Ye from across the doorway, "Li Ye, where is your inspiration notebook? Let me see it."

Li Ye, while busy, said without looking back, "In the second drawer, the black notebook."

When writing about these things, inspiration is fleeting, so Li Ye had the habit of recording it at any time. Over the years, he had accumulated quite a few notes, some useful and some not. Watching Wen Leyu would occasionally flip through them, and Li Ye never minded.

But after Watching Wen Leyu left, Li Ye realized that this was likely his sister Li Yue not giving up, wanting to see the "inspiration and material" Li Ye mentioned, and then write a book to commemorate Fu Guiru herself.

"Sigh~"

Li Ye sighed but didn't stop her. If he could let Li Yue entrust her longing for Fu Guiru into words, that might not necessarily be a bad thing.

However, when Li Ye brought the four dishes and one soup to the dining table, he saw that Li Yue and Watching Wen Leyu weren't looking at any inspiration notebook at all, but were each holding a watch, laughing and chatting with each other.

"Li Ye, you bought watches and didn't even say a word. What? Isn't this for Xiao Yu? Or are you going to give her a surprise?"

"Sister Xiao Yue, don't talk nonsense. Li Ye must have a use for these watches!"

Li Ye set the dishes down, walked over, and said, "These watches are indeed for the two of you, but I didn't buy them; they were given by a warm-hearted overseas compatriot."

"Given by someone?" Li Yue was stunned and immediately said, "Xiao Ye, how can you just take people's things? These watches don't look cheap at all; they must cost at least several hundred yuan, right?"

Li Ye smiled and said, "They are indeed quite expensive, but I promised to help her find her relatives in the mainland, so consider it the reward she gave me!"

"Hmm, then you must help her find them."

Li Yue put on the watch, liking it more the more she looked at it.

But Li Ye said sheepishly, "Sister, this... at the time, she gave me two watches, just these two."

Li Ye pointed to the IWC watch and the Cartier watch in Watching Wen Leyu's hand.

Then he pointed to the Blancpain on Li Yue's wrist: "Later, when she found out I had a girlfriend, she gave me this one too... so..."

"Hahahaha~, Xiao Yu, look, look, I guessed right, didn't I?"

Hearing Li Ye's sheepish explanation, his sister Li Yue was not only not upset but laughed out loud instead.

After laughing, Li Yue said, "When I saw these two watches, I decided at a glance that this good watch was for Xiao Yu, but Xiao Yu insisted that the one with the thin strap was hers."

I was thinking, Xiao Yu probably hasn't heard the saying 'married a wife and forgot the mother,' right? How could the best things not be saved for the wife? Here, this one is yours."

His sister Li Yue took off the Blancpain, pressed it into Watching Wen Leyu's hand, and took back the Cartier that belonged to her.

But Watching Wen Leyu blinked her big eyes at Li Ye, clearly wanting to swap the two watches back.

If a watch worth one hundred thousand and a watch worth one million couldn't let a normal person see the difference, then it must be a failed product.

Once that Blancpain was on, one could clearly feel it was better than the Cartier.

But that Cartier watch was chosen by Fu Guiru for Li Yue; it was fashionable and novel, very suitable for the temperament of a girl in her early twenties.

And while that Blancpain looked expensive at a glance, it had a "dignified" air, more fitting for a "matriarch."

Watching Wen Leyu wasn't even talking about being a "matriarch" now; she and Li Ye hadn't even broken through that layer, and her mental age was just that of a little girl, so of course, she preferred that young and fashionable Cartier.

Li Ye's mind turned, and he smiled and explained, "These watches are a token of someone's heart, don't dislike either of them!

Besides, Xiao Yu, this watch's design is more steady, suitable for a mature girl to wear, but Xiao Yu, won't you be suitable for it in a few years? Leave it with me for now."

"No need, it fits perfectly right now."

Watching Wen Leyu didn't even wait for Li Ye to finish speaking, her attitude changed immediately, and she nimbly put the Blancpain on her wrist, looking left and right, more satisfied the more she looked.

Li Ye had to admit that women are damn contradictory mixtures.

The older a woman is, the more she hates others saying they are mature; they are only satisfied if you say they are as tender as chives.

And the younger a girl is, the more she hates others saying they are immature, wishing others would say they are "mature and womanly."

This is very contradictory, an unsolvable contradiction.

The three of them had just picked up their chopsticks, ready to enjoy Li Ye's culinary skills, when they heard Pavlov barking "Woof, woof, woof."

Then they heard the sound of a car, and Li Dayong and Pei Wenhui arrived together.

Li Yue laughed and scolded, "Did you two come smelling the food? The timing is just right."

Pei Wenhui was already very familiar with Li Yue and replied with a smile, "We were thinking that since you didn't cook for us, Sister, we would just eat outside!"

"Nonsense, if I didn't cook for you, don't you have your own chopsticks? Hurry up and get your own bowls and chopsticks to eat."

"Eh~, Sister Xiao Yue, you are truly generous."

Pei Wenhui smiled and took the bowls and chopsticks, and even thoughtfully scooped thin rice porridge for Li Dayong. Her gentle appearance made Li Yue curl her lip.

If one had to make a comparison, Sister Li Yue was a standard Northern girl, and Pei Wenhui was a genuine Southern delicate lady.

And Watching Wen Leyu possessed both, perfect!

After finishing the meal, Li Dayong smiled at Li Ye and said, "Brother, let's go out and try the new car! You haven't driven it since it was registered!"

Pei Wencong had equipped his sister with a small BMW, registered with a joint-venture license plate. These days, the two of them had been inseparable, practicing driving all day, and their relationship had progressed by leaps and bounds. Li Dayong had also gradually lost his initial shyness.

"Heh, you're showing off to me!"

Li Ye chuckled and got up to go out with Li Dayong.

He knew Li Dayong's character; he definitely wasn't showing off to him, but had something on his mind.

After the two went out, Li Ye took the wheel without hesitation, driving a dozen miles north in one go, which was indeed very exhilarating and refreshing.

"Brother, yesterday there was a very heated argument at the Changbei Machinery Company. Factory Manager Wang almost slammed the table with the Hong Kong side, saying that your sales incentive plan was nonsense, and even saying that the person who drafted that plan was a bad element..."

"Screech~"

Li Ye parked the car on the side of the road and tilted his head to look at Li Dayong: "Saying I'm a bad element? Is that his level of awareness?"

The joint venture between Changbei Machinery Factory and Hong Kong was finally established after the Spring Festival this year, renamed "Changbei Machinery Co., Ltd.," with the Hong Kong side holding a 49% stake.

However, the Hong Kong side was responsible for the two core areas of technical research and development and sales, so Li Ye thought this deal was still acceptable, but he hadn't expected that just after opening, trouble would arise.