Chapter 364: You Can

Li Ye told several friends from the Lone Army Literature Society about Qiang's wedding.

They had communicated with Qiang for a long time over the comic "Wangxiang Lone Army," so they immediately decided to attend his wedding together.

But when everyone arrived at Qiang's courtyard in Jingcheng, they were all stunned.

Li Ye was stunned because Qiang had bought a house near Beier Tiao, not far from Wang Jianqiang and Huang Gang's homes.

What a coincidence.

The courtyard's entrance had a large willow tree; Li Ye vaguely remembered the previous owners were surnamed Guan, and neighbors called him Uncle Guan Er, who owned a Ming-dynasty official kiln vase that eventually ended up in Li Ye's hands.

The other classmates were stunned by Huoren Qiang's wealth.

"Li Ye, has Mr. Huo settled in Jingcheng? Look at this courtyard—he bought a huge, spacious place and renovated half the house; it must've cost a fortune."

"Why call him Mr. Huo? We all used to call him Qiang—now you change the title and it instantly feels distant."

"Hey, back then we called him Qiang because we all felt the same, but look now… tsk tsk tsk… calling him Qiang now, isn't that disrespectful?"

Qiang didn't just renovate Uncle Guan Er's house—he decorated the entire place for the wedding with traditional Chinese ornaments, flooded in red, radiating joy and grandeur.

Li Ye smiled and told everyone, "Just keep calling him Qiang—it keeps things familiar. 'Mr. Huo' is for outsiders; we're all friends, right?"

"Li Ye, you're wrong—today we're all outsiders, because there's only one 'insider'—hahaha."

"Exactly, we're all outsiders, hahaha."

Everyone laughed and chatted, yet no one truly treated Qiang as an outsider—the title "Mr. Huo" was just playful teasing.

Qiang had spent half a month getting along with everyone, building strong bonds; otherwise, even with all his money, these Jingda students wouldn't have come.

With a burst of firecrackers, the bride finally arrived.

The moment Pan Xiaoqing stepped out of the car, every woman beside Li Ye let out a collective gasp.

"Is she wearing ancient clothing?"

"No, that's called a wedding dress—I've seen them on Xiushuijie—but her hairdo is perfect."

"Are you only looking at her clothes? Look at her hands, her neck—she's covered in gold."

Hong Kong still preserves many traditions, especially for weddings—there's no "new era, keep it simple" nonsense.

As for the bride's gold jewelry, technically it's her family's dowry, but Li Ye suspected Qiang had added it himself—after all, gold bangles are the trend in Hong Kong weddings!

After the bride entered, the ceremony followed strict rituals: bowing to heaven and earth, bowing to parents, and so on.

Since Qiang was from the Welfare Academy and had no parents, they had to push Pei Wencong forward.

Pei Wencong was swamped today—he had to accompany Qiang to meet the bride as an elder brother, then receive Qiang and Pan Xiaoqing's kowtows as "the elder brother who stands in for the father."

"Hey hey hey, look—Pan Xiaoqing really knelt before Mr. Pei!"

When Pan Xiaoqing actually knelt, everyone sighed in emotion.

But when Pei Wencong pulled out a stack of thousand-yuan notes as a "change-of-title gift" for Pan Xiaoqing, all emotion vanished—they were all stunned by Pei's extravagance.

One hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars to earn one "big brother"—tell me, is that a bad deal?

Qiang burst into tears, sobbing loudly in Cantonese, leaving everyone around him utterly confused.

Li Ye sighed and began translating for everyone.

"Qiang says when he left the orphanage, he saw neither heaven nor earth—only his own life. Anyone who gave him a chance to survive, he'd do anything for, almost straying off the path."

"Then Qiang met Pei Wencong, who hired him as a low-level clerk. Back then, Pei was poor—the whole company, including the boss, had only three people."

"At first, Qiang barely spoke to Pei, thinking he was meddling—Qiang had never been managed as a child, so why should he be controlled by a stranger now?"

"But one day, on payday, Pei had no money—he sold his mother's jewelry and never once delayed Qiang's wages."

"From then on, although Qiang still argued with Pei constantly, he had already come to see him as his big brother."

Li Ye's translation wasn't word-for-word interpretation—it was more like a summarized account—but no one doubted its truth, because as Li Ye spoke, Pei Wencong began to cry too.

The scene became deeply moving—many biological brothers couldn't match Pei Wencong's actions.

A few perceptive people also caught the subtext in Li Ye's words.

Qiang had no parents, but he was Pei Wencong's "original employee" before Pei's rise, and he had even sworn brotherhood with Pei—he couldn't be treated as a helpless orphan.

Just look at Pan Xiaoqing's excited eyes—she was probably screaming inside, "I've got such good taste!"

After bowing to the parents, everyone sat down to eat, and Pei Wencong finally found time to approach Li Ye.

"Mr. Li, you just praised me to the heavens—I'm ashamed."

"Did I praise you? I just stated facts—if all bosses were like you, the world would be a better place."

"Mr. Li, you flatter me too much."

Li Ye's words had indeed elevated Pei Wencong—but he spoke nothing but truth.

Pei Wencong wasn't necessarily a flawless saint, but at least he had conscience.

"Mr. Li, I just received word—our new production line has arrived at Pengcheng Port and will soon be tested and operational. Also…"

Pei Wencong glanced around, then lowered his voice: "Also, Ms. Fu notified me she'll enter the mainland next week to oversee the line's testing and Pengcheng Red Bull's operations."

Li Ye froze. "Did she tell you herself?"

Pei Wencong nodded. "Yes—I helped arrange her entry paperwork."

Li Ye slowly nodded. "I understand. Don't tell anyone else."

"Understood, Mr. Li. I have some urgent matters—I'll leave you now."

Pei Wencong excused himself, leaving Li Ye standing in thought.

Fu Guiru had called Li Ye a few days ago, hinting she wanted to return to the mainland—but hadn't specified a date.

Now it seemed she was in a hurry.

But when she returns, will chaos erupt at home?

It's so frustrating.

After eating and drinking, Li Ye planned to return with his classmates, but Wang Jianqiang pulled him aside.

Wang Jianqiang had been to Hong Kong and knew Qiang well; now they were neighbors, so he naturally came over for drinks.

"Bro, you should find Old Song—he can help Qiang check out the items, make sure he's not getting scammed."

Li Ye frowned. "Scammed? Scammed what?"

Wang Jianqiang pointed to a still-standing banquet table. "That Uncle Guan Er—I just heard Qiang say he's selling a family heirloom, but if he really had something valuable, why sell his house?"

"Uncle Guan Er?"

Li Ye followed Wang Jianqiang's finger and saw Uncle Guan Er.

"Why did Uncle Guan Er sell his house to Qiang? Now why sell antiques?"

"Because Uncle Guan Er swindled foreign merchants—he's been tangled with them for over a year, and when authorities threatened to charge him with fraud, he had to sell his house to pay compensation."

"Now he's selling antiques because he saw Pei Wencong give Pan Xiaoqing a huge sum—he wants foreign currency."

Li Ye thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, I'll find Old Song to help Qiang vet it."

Li Ye hadn't seen Old Song in ages—the old man was elusive, appearing only at annual meetings; otherwise, he vanished.

At the Sihe Academy in Zhongguancun, only Wei Jiaxian was home.

"Where's Old Song? Off hunting for antiques again?"

"Yes. Why don't you sit? He might return soon—or he might not come back today."

Isn't that obvious?

Li Ye was completely immune to Wei Jiaxian's poor communication skills—he was worse than a silent gourd.

"When he comes back, tell him a friend of mine wants to buy something and needs his appraisal. My friend lives on Beier Tiao—formerly Uncle Guan Er's house."

Wei Jiaxian slowly raised his head, stared at Li Ye for several seconds, then lowered it again.

"I understand. I'll notify Old Song."

Li Ye felt Wei Jiaxian's gaze was odd, but couldn't tell why.

In the afternoon, Li Ye returned to Zaojunmiao and saw his sister Li Yue wasn't cooking—she sat staring blankly, eyes red from crying.

Li Ye walked past her twice, but she ignored him completely.

"What's wrong, sister? Did Yang Yumin upset you again? I'll go beat him up right now."

"Save it! If Yang Yumin's a scumbag, what are you? Try beating him up."

Li Ye laughed. "I'm your own brother! You can't side with outsiders—I'll beat him later, and you absolutely can't help him."

"Enough, enough," Li Yue snapped, swatting Li Ye and pointing to the phone. "That overseas Chinese from Nanyang who gave you the watch just called—he wants you to call him back."

Li Ye understood.

He leaned close to Li Yue and whispered, "Sister, are you planning to go thank him in person?"

Li Yue froze. "He's in Malaysia—how can I go thank him in person?"

Li Ye thought for a moment. "What if he comes to the mainland?"

Li Yue shot up, eyes alight, but her mouth opened and closed, unable to speak.

Listening to the voice on the phone, she felt an unspoken closeness.

But what if that closeness vanished after they met?

(End of Chapter)