Chapter 1566: You Have to Appreciate It

Heikura Heiji knelt on the heated kang, his head hanging very low, not daring or wanting to look at Yua Mikami or Wang Yajuan kneeling opposite him, his face deathly pale.

Li Xuewu sat toward the inside of the kang, his expression serious, as if he were ready to explode into action at any moment.

This silence, this oppressive atmosphere, had lasted for five full minutes, during which no one had any intention of speaking.

When she saw Heikura Heiji being fiercely dealt with, Mikami admitted she felt very satisfied.

The suppressed emotions of such a long time were suddenly released, and she even had the urge to shed tears.

She didn't open her mouth to stop it; it was Wang Yajuan who pushed her into the room, and then closed the door.

It was still very hot in the room, hotter than Tokyo.

But Wang Yajuan could tell that the sweat bursting from Heikura's trembling body was definitely not from the heat.

She had never seen Li Xuewu so terrifyingly angry before.

It wasn't to say that Li Xuewu's strikes were particularly ruthless; if he had truly struck ruthlessly, she dared to be certain that Heikura would be lying on the ground, not kneeling on the kang.

The reason she acted so nervously, to the point of pushing Mikami into the room and immediately closing the door, was entirely because of Heikura's words.

What the hell, "I want to be a Chinese person."

Wang Yajuan was almost scared to death by this sentence, and she believed Li Xuewu struck because of this too.

She couldn't even remember to blame Heikura for the crime of arranging for Mikami to "make an effort" anymore.

Compared to launching a missile, who would care about the crime of farting? Heikura was truly a guy who couldn't escape his guilt.

"I invited you to drink, not to harm me. If you are still smart,"

Li Xuewu was the first to break the silence. He picked up the wine glass on the table and gulped it down, saying: "You should apologize for your slip of the tongue after drinking today."

He turned his head slightly, looked at the other party, and said faintly: "I can magnanimously express my forgiveness."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Li, for causing you trouble—" Gucang Ping'er lay down quite decisively and kowtowed forcefully.

"You are truly—" Li Xuewu glared at him, gnashing his teeth, and said fiercely: "Bastard!"

After cursing this, he raised his hand and was about to smash the wine glass in his hand onto the other party's head, but Wang Yajuan took the initiative to reach out and stop him.

"Lead—Leader, don't!"

How much strength could she have? Besides, she was sitting quite far from Li Xuewu, with Mikami in the middle. If Li Xuewu had truly wanted to smash the glass, she couldn't have stopped him with just her mouth.

It was Li Xuewu himself who had restraint.

"Mr. Heikura!" Seeing Li Xuewu's angry expression, she slowly withdrew her raised hand and then frowned, looking at Heikura and blaming him in a serious tone: "How could you be like this?"

"I am truly sorry—"

Heikura Heiji seemed to have made up his mind and refused to apologize for saying the wrong thing, only expressing his apologies for causing trouble for Li Xuewu and the other. The meaning was too obvious.

Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes, stared at him, and asked: "Give me a reason. You should know that I can deal with this matter more directly."

"Of course, you have the right to do so."

Heikura Heiji propped himself up, his eyes red, and said: "It is I who caused you trouble..."

"State your reason!" Li Xuewu was impatient to hear his apologies. "Give me a reason."

"Yes—" Heikura Heiji bowed again before starting his introduction.

Li Xuewu just listened calmly, while Wang Yajuan was somewhat moved by his story.

Looking at Mikami kneeling beside her, she didn't know when the other party had lowered her head.

Yes, the story was a bit melodramatic. After all, any matter mixed with the stench of love always seems melodramatic, and even listening to it too much makes one impatient.

Of course, Wang Yajuan hadn't encountered such a melodramatic love story, so she looked quite bewildered.

She didn't know that such a little story wouldn't even interest a dog in later generations.

"So, you chose to sacrifice yourself voluntarily because you didn't want to make things difficult for Ms. Mikami?"

Li Xuewu tapped his fingers on the dining table and asked: "And similarly chose to make things difficult for me?"

He turned to look at Mikami and said: "Do you agree with this kind of choice? Ms. Mikami?"

Mikami couldn't answer this question and could only lower her body, expressing her apologies.

As mentioned earlier, Japanese apologies aren't purely because they feel they were wrong; it could also be because they feel their actions caused trouble for others.

Mikami's apology now was just like that.

No matter how wrong Heikura's actions were, in Heikura's explanation, it was all for her.

She couldn't criticize Heikura Heiji's self-indulgence, and she wasn't sure if she was moved.

If she were truly moved, why was she so calm, unlike when she arrived?

"It seems the situation isn't what you thought."

Li Xuewu saw Mikami's stance and turned to Heikura Heiji: "On the premise that Ms. Mikami cannot be accepted by me, you willfully chose to sacrifice yourself? Heh—"

He exposed Heikura Heiji's plan directly in front of everyone, sneered, and asked: "Then have you ever thought about what kind of disaster your willfulness will bring to the cooperation prospects between the Red Steel Group and the Sanhe Stock Company?"

"Do you think I will accept you?"

These words made Heikura Heiji bury his head even lower. The meaning he had just expressed was that this was all he could do for Mikami.

"You will receive the punishment you deserve."

Li Xuewu supported himself on the heated kang and stood up, glancing down at the other party, saying: "You stupid and stubborn idiot."

"Li-san—" Just as he was about to step off the kang, Mikami suddenly reached out and grabbed his ankle, begging with a trembling voice: "Please forgive his mistake; it was all my fault."

"I have no interest in your love story, even if he told it very tragically and romantically."

Li Xuewu glanced at Heikura Heiji, then turned to look at Mikami and said: "If you are still clear-headed, you should be able to understand my words."

"Yes, I am very sorry." Mikami still hadn't let go, raised her head to look up at him, and said: "Please forgive him; I am willing to make up for his mistake, anything..."

The final hesitation turned into trembling. Li Xuewu looked at her suspiciously, and under Wang Yajuan's nervous expression, frowned and asked: "Have you lost your mind too?"

"What kind of person do you take me for?"

He turned to look at Mikami and Heikura, emphasizing in an icy tone: "In your hearts, am I a heinous villain?"

"Tell me! Look into my eyes!"

Heikura Heiji kept kneeling without raising his head, while Mikami lowered her head again, naturally not daring to look into his eyes; he was too imposing now.

Wang Yajuan wanted to persuade him, but on one side was a beautiful love story, and on the other was the group's important interests; for a moment, she didn't know how to choose.

Li Xuewu was much clearer-headed than her. No matter how Mikami entangled him, he always maintained one attitude: he would not accept Heikura's "surrender."

"Leader, the bathroom is ready."

Zhang Enyuan didn't know what had happened in the restaurant. When Li Xuewu walked out with a gloomy face, he still took the initiative to report.

Just now, he had discovered Wang Yajuan and that Japanese woman entering the room in a panic. Looking into the room now, the warm atmosphere was gone.

This... what happened?

"If you have thought it through."

Li Xuewu turned his head slightly to glance behind him, leaving only half a sentence before leaving.

Zhang Enyuan was confused, but the three in the room understood.

Wang Yajuan looked deeply at Heikura Heiji, turned to look at Mikami, and asked softly: "Are you okay?"

The two had been kneeling for a long time. She blamed Heikura for his stupidity but also pitied Mikami's fate.

So she reached out to help her.

"Thank you, I'm fine."

Mikami's body tilted, and she almost fell onto the kang, but Wang Yajuan helped her in time.

"I'd better help you go rest first."

She glanced at Heikura Heiji, helped Mikami up with effort, and walked out of the room. At the door, she whispered to Zhang Enyuan: "Mr. Heikura is drunk; please take care of him."

"Okay, Director Wang." Zhang Enyuan responded, looked at the expressions of the two, and then looked at Heikura Heiji, who was still kneeling on the kang, feeling very strange.

He couldn't help but find it strange. This kneeling was a bit too respectful, wasn't it? He hadn't been that pious and respectful when he visited his grandfather's grave. Who was he kneeling to just now?

"The hot spring bathroom is ready."

He reminded the two who were about to leave and said softly: "You can relax."

"I know." Wang Yajuan promised and left with Mikami.

"I am very sorry for causing you trouble."

When Zhang Enyuan walked to the side of the kang and wanted to help him, Heikura Heiji raised his head, said calmly, and thanked him.

He didn't look like he was drunk.

Zhang Enyuan sized him up and asked: "Are you okay?"

"Thank you, I'm fine now."

Heikura Heiji nodded slightly, got off the kang, put on his shoes, and said: "I am very sorry for affecting tonight's reception. I am sorry."

"It's okay. Do you need me to help you?"

Zhang Enyuan didn't want to hear his explanation; it was better not to know about this kind of thing—it was no good for him.

Heikura Heiji didn't look like he wanted to chatter with him either, so he waved his hand and went out himself.

It's truly strange—

Zhang Enyuan followed him out, nodded to the service staff, and continued to follow him forward.

Outside this restaurant was the soaking pool. Not only was there one outside the restaurant, but there was also one behind the guesthouse where they were staying.

Just as Wang Yajuan said, this Mr. Heikura was drunk, and he didn't dare to leave the other party alone.

If he were careless and walked out the door, or walked into some soaking pool room and fell in, it would be troublesome.

These two came to Steel City to visit, and the leader was already on guard; how could he dare to be careless?

Fortunately, Heikura Heiji seemed to have a good tolerance for alcohol. After returning to the room, there was no movement.

He stood at the door for a while, then gave instructions to the service staff on duty in the corridor, and went to Li Xuewu's room.

It was just that he couldn't find Li Xuewu in the room, so he determined that the leader must have gone to the bathroom.

The hot spring soaking pool had multiple locations in the sanatorium. It wasn't that there was a spring eye buried under the soaking pool, but that it was connected by pipes. The pipes weren't connected to a spring eye either, but to a hot spring well with a valve.

There were indoor soaking pools, outdoor soaking pools, and soaking pools specially designed for the guesthouse that were both indoor and outdoor, large and small.

Overall, the part of the sanatorium still under construction wasn't finished, and the soaking pools hadn't been filled with water.

Li Xuewu had seen it when he visited. It was a very, very large soaking pool where a hundred people could go down without being crowded; it was prepared for the recuperating employees.

That was a large one, but there were also small ones, such as the guesthouse that had already been built.

He returned to his room, changed into pajamas, and followed the service staff's guidance to the bathroom that had long been prepared. It was more like a multi-functional tea room.

There was a soaking pool, a tea table, and a viewing platform. Near the inside, there were also decorations like a radio.

The paintings on the wall were also related to winter snow, seemingly implying that winter was suitable for hot springs.

Clatter—

The door opened again. Li Xuewu, lying in the soaking pool, didn't turn his head and said faintly: "Close the door well; it's too cold."

The water in the soaking pool was flowing and always maintained a temperature, so the steam rising had to have an exhaust hole, otherwise, you wouldn't be able to see anyone in the room.

And when the door opened, the exhaust hole left on the wall would violently suck away the mist, also taking away the temperature in the room, making Li Xuewu, who only had his head exposed, feel a gust of wind blowing over his head, feeling chilly.

The person who came in walked to the side of the soaking pool lightly and sat down, looking at him without daring to speak.

Li Xuewu didn't hear any movement, so he opened his eyes, only to see Yua Mikami taking off her clothes.

Uh—this description is completely correct, but it's not what the old lecher thinks.

She was just taking off her outer pajamas; she was still wearing a relatively conservative bathrobe inside.

"Why is it you?" he asked.

Yua Mikami didn't answer, just turned around, touched the pool water lightly with her toes, and gradually adapted before soaking her whole body in.

"I'm sorry."

"It's a bit late to say sorry now." Li Xuewu twitched the corner of his mouth, reached out to press the call button on the wall—an electronic switch.

Very quickly, a service staff member opened the door and asked softly: "Leader..."

The service staff was also very surprised. Through the mist, she discovered there were two people in the soaking pool, a man and a woman.

Of course, it didn't matter if there were more people; just like the large public bath outside, the recuperating employees could soak in it regardless of gender.

The swimming pool didn't separate men and women, and the public soaking pool, which was open-air, wouldn't separate men and women either.

But it was different in the private bathroom of the guesthouse. The service staff was obviously scared out of her wits; after all, one of the people in the soaking pool was Li Xuewu.

"Brew a pot of tea for me."

Li Xuewu glanced at Yua Mikami and said to the service staff: "Also, please invite Director Wang to come over, and tell her that Ms. Mikami is here too."

"Uh, okay... okay—"

Hearing the leader's instruction, the service staff finally let go of her worried heart; she had misunderstood.

"You don't need to close the door."

She turned to leave, and just as she was about to close the door, she heard the leader's reminder and paused.

In an instant, she understood. A man and a woman in the same room; it was better to be a bit brighter.

"Yes." She responded and went out.

Yua Mikami kept her head down while he was speaking, sitting there with her hands hugging her knees.

Li Xuewu didn't pay attention to her, narrowed his eyes slightly, and soaked half his head in the water.

The little Japanese guy was truly insidious and vicious; he had almost been dragged into the water while fishing.

"Secretary-General?" After a while, Wang Yajuan's voice appeared at the door.

"Hmm, I'm here. Come in."

Li Xuewu responded. Hearing that she had come, he dared to close his eyes slightly and enjoy the rare hot spring recuperation.

Wang Yajuan walked into the bathroom and saw Yua Mikami, whom she had just helped to her room to rest, also there, her eyes full of astonishment.

It was truly seeing a ghost. Wasn't she very sad? How did she run here... to be sad?

"Aren't you cold?" Li Xuewu heard there was no movement again, so he opened his eyes and reminded her helplessly, seeing her standing there with a strange expression.

Wang Yajuan came back to her senses, looked at him, as if suspecting he had done something bad.

Li Xuewu gave her a dissatisfied look? Others might not know his ability, but don't you know? How long has it been since we separated? There wasn't enough time!

Wang Yajuan was glared at by him, curled her lip, and under his signal, took off her pajamas and got into the soaking pool.

The room door was wide open, and cold wind blew through, quickly sucking away the mist accumulated in the room, while the soaking pool constantly rose with mist, repeating the cycle.

The water on the surface of the soaking pool was a bit cool, but the pool was very deep, and sitting in it only exposed the neck, so the body didn't feel cold.

It should have been closed, but the service staff didn't dare to close it without an order, and even wanted to dismantle the doors and windows to make it look more open and aboveboard.

If they had known, they would have prepared a large soaking pool and invited the leader and the others to soak outside; no matter how they soaked, there wouldn't be any misunderstandings.

The service staff brought three cups of tea; of course, they wouldn't just prepare one for the leader.

It was just that she didn't get the instruction to close the door when she left, so she defaulted to the door being open.

"Have you ever soaked in a hot spring?"

Li Xuewu didn't pay attention to Yua Mikami, narrowed his eyes slightly, and asked Wang Yajuan.

Wang Yajuan nodded, looked at him, and said: "I went to the sanatorium in Fangshan with my dad. There was a hot spring there, but that was when I was a child."

"I haven't soaked in one. Before leaving the capital, I hadn't enjoyed this kind of treatment, and didn't even know what a hot spring was." Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows, his voice sounding a bit lazy: "A country bumpkin."

"I think you're enjoying it quite a bit now."

Wang Yajuan said this while glancing at Yua Mikami sitting on the other side, obviously with words behind her words.

Li Xuewu smacked his lips and didn't want to pick up her topic, choosing to close his eyes instead.

She was here, so there was nothing to fear.

Even if the little Japanese guy had any schemes, as long as Wang Yajuan was here and the bathroom door was wide open, what could he not explain clearly?

Besides, he had already heard the movement at the door; it was Zhang Enyuan.

Sure enough, unable to find Li Xuewu in the room, Zhang Enyuan came to the bathroom. He had heard the service staff's report and took the initiative to enter the bathroom.

Of course, he didn't intend to soak in the hot spring; he hadn't even changed his clothes. He had to escort the leader.

Seeing him come, Li Xuewu signaled the bathroom door and said: "It's cold. Close it."

Yua Mikami raised her head and looked at him. The meaning in her eyes was unclear and indescribable.

Li Xuewu didn't care at all. Even if the other party looked good, could she be eaten as a meal?

There were plenty of good-looking girls; did he have to eat a fish with thorns?

"The first time I soaked in a hot spring was in the South, in the wild." Not caring about the people in the bathroom, he seemed to be talking to himself: "It was a big pit blown out by wild artillery."

"At that time, we hadn't washed for half a month, right?" Li Xuewu tilted his head slightly to recall before continuing: "After enjoying half an hour of enemy shelling, we used bullets to teach them what it meant to be futile, and then we discovered that big pit."

"On the battlefield?" Wang Yajuan finally understood and asked in surprise: "Was that the time..."

"Hmm, it wasn't long after it started." Li Xuewu nodded and said: "At the time, we hadn't calculated what means should be used to strike the other party, but later we found out they were a bunch of idiots."

He shook his head and said: "This battle killed nearly five thousand of the other party and captured four thousand. By the end, there was even an illusion."

"What do you mean?" Wang Yajuan looked at him curiously and asked: "What illusion?"

"It was..." Li Xuewu closed his eyes and thought for a while, saying: "It seemed like the war Nehru prepared was just for fun."

Whether it was Wang Yajuan, Zhang Enyuan standing to the side, or even Yua Mikami, who understood Chinese, all had expressions of astonishment on their faces.

Just... just for fun?

"So later we summarized that we should treat the enemy as cruelly and ruthlessly as the severe winter."

After finishing this sentence, without waiting for Yua Mikami to react, he had already stood up and stepped out of the soaking pool.

"I'm tired. You guys soak slowly."

He took the pajamas Zhang Enyuan handed him, turned back to look at the two, and said with a smile: "Soaking in a hot spring is good for blood circulation and beauty, but you can't soak for too long, or it will hurt your body."

It sounded like words of concern, but they sounded meaningful.

Watching him leave, Yua Mikami finally withdrew her gaze, but unexpectedly met Wang Yajuan's eyes.

Although he hadn't reached the age of kidney deficiency, Li Xuewu still loved the heated kang.

He hadn't enjoyed enough in the restaurant. When preparing to entertain Heikura and the other, he had instructed Zhang Enyuan to arrange a room with a heated kang for him.

After soaking in the hot spring for half an hour, he returned, washed simply, changed into pajamas, and lay into the quilt.

People who haven't slept on a heated kang will never understand this kind of happiness. The three happiest things for people in the Northeast: a wife, children, and a warm kang—the warm kang is one of them.

The kang in the room he was in could sleep four or five people; it wasn't too big or too small, and the stove door wasn't inside the room. Plus, with careful renovation, there was no smell of smoke or dust.

Li Xuewu even thought that if such a room were opened for reception in the future, he would have to charge five yuan a night, otherwise, it wouldn't be worthy of this happiness.

Click—

Just as he was about to fall asleep, a slight sound came from the door. Li Xuewu woke up instantly, the M1911 already in his hand.

"Open the door." The voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for Li Xuewu to hear.

This is truly a sin. What's wrong today? Why aren't they sleeping one by one? Are they sick?

Li Xuewu had already recognized who was at the door. He put away his pistol, walked to the door, opened it, and asked: "Not sleeping..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Wang Yajuan had already squeezed past him and walked in.

"Close the door." This was said even more firmly than his, as if this wasn't Li Xuewu's room, but her room.

Li Xuewu curled his lip, watching her drill into his quilt without any hesitation. Could this be described as a dove occupying a magpie's nest?

"What do you want to do?"

He stood at the door without moving, looking at her suspiciously and asking: "Do you like this room? Want to change rooms with me?"

"If you keep talking nonsense, you'll attract people."

Wang Yajuan lay on his pillow and said very calmly: "You don't want our business to be known by everyone, do you?"

"I... what business do we have?" Li Xuewu saw her like this and didn't dare to move, clutching the doorknob and reminding her: "It's not early anymore."

"Hmm, rest early." Wang Yajuan sniffed and reminded him in turn: "Turn off the light. Don't stand there like a fool; you'll catch a cold."

"If you dare to leave!" Just as Li Xuewu was about to pull the door open, her voice turned cold, and she said faintly: "If you dare to leave, I dare to take off my clothes and shout."

"Which side are you on, anyway?"

Li Xuewu was truly convinced by her. He locked the door again, walked to the side of the kang, lowered his head, and asked: "Are you not tired enough today?"

"Either side is fine."

Wang Yajuan seemed not to understand his words, pointed to the left and right sides of the quilt, looked into his eyes, and signaled: "Which side do you want to sleep on?"

"..." Li Xuewu stared at her for half a minute before asking seriously: "Are you serious?"

"Never been more serious." Wang Yajuan nodded calmly, looked at him above her head, and said: "Do you still want to sleep or not?"

"Then I'll spread another quilt."

Li Xuewu stepped up to the kang, but saw Wang Yajuan reach out and pull the light string under the edge of the kang, and the room went dark instantly.

"Is this interesting? Are you tired?"

Now it was her turn to say this, making Li Xuewu seem like the one being unreasonable.

Being despised by a woman, Li Xuewu certainly couldn't endure it, but this woman was Wang Yajuan.

Lying back into the quilt, although the person was still that person, there wasn't the kind of... from back then.

"What are you doing?"

"What else can I be doing?" Wang Yajuan shook off his hand and said faintly: "Are you still pretending to be pure with me?"

Li Xuewu could guarantee that in his decades of experience, this was truly the first time a woman had asked him that. When had he ever pretended to be pure?

He was very pure to begin with!

"What do you think of those two? Who is acting?"

Wang Yajuan lay flat, feeling the warmth of the heated kang beneath her, which was still a bit worse than the "heat" just now. She had been sweating all over just now.

"I'm asking you, don't pretend to be asleep."

Not hearing Li Xuewu's answer, she poked him with her elbow.

"Sigh—" Li Xuewu let out a long sigh and said: "A lifetime of innocence—"

"Don't pretend to be pitiful, as if I did that to you." Wang Yajuan appeared more natural than him, turned her head to look at him, and said: "Your innocence was gone long ago."

Feeling that wasn't accurate enough, she added: "I'm not your first."

She only said half of what she wanted to say, but it was enough to express her meaning.

"If I hadn't come tonight, that Mikami..." she paused and asked sourly: "Were you thinking about Mikami early on?"

"Be careful, she's very dangerous."

Li Xuewu changed his position on the pillow and said faintly: "Don't give your pity to her; she's not worth it."

"Then tell me—" Wang Yajuan seemed very interested in this couple's love story, turned her body curiously, and asked: "Is that Heikura serious?"

"Serious about what?" Li Xuewu turned to look at her and said: "Giving away a lover as a gift? Is that something a human can do?"

"If you put it that way, did he lie too?" Wang Yajuan's brain was about to burn out, and she frowned and asked: "Then why did he..."

"I don't have the time to guess this about him."

Li Xuewu turned his head, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said: "He's the one who wants to play a dangerous game; he has to pay a price."

"What price? That Mikami?" Wang Yajuan moved her body to lie on his chest and looked at him, asking: "Or..."

"Life. He's gambling with his life."

Li Xuewu felt the softness on his chest, opened his eyes, looked at Wang Yajuan, and reminded her: "Japanese people are born with a gambler's psychology; they aren't worth sympathizing with."

"So you're going to use him?" Wang Yajuan certainly knew what kind of person he was; he had never been one to suffer a loss since he was a child, and he was even more of a villain after growing up.

"He's the one who delivered himself to my door."

Li Xuewu tilted his head and said: "If I didn't give him this opportunity, he'd really think he was some kind of character."

"How do you plan to arrange him?" Wang Yajuan frowned and reminded him: "His status is special; there's basically no possibility of changing his nationality."

"Of course I know that, so he has to submit a 'letter of allegiance'."

Li Xuewu sneered and said faintly: "And I'm not even accepting his letter of allegiance. Who else can he give it to?"

"You are truly..." Wang Yajuan seemed to understand his arrangement, but frowned and asked: "What about that Mikami? How do you plan to arrange her?"

"Why does it have to be me arranging her?"

Li Xuewu opened his eyes, looked at her, and said: "Even if you hadn't come tonight, I wouldn't have let her succeed."

"I came to protect you." Wang Yajuan had already succeeded, so she naturally had something to say. Seeing his depressed expression, she smiled triumphantly and said: "You have to appreciate it."

"Hehe—" Li Xuewu rolled his eyes and said: "You're getting a bargain."

"What bargain am I getting?" Wang Yajuan pinched him dissatisfiedly and said: "Are you still putting on airs?"

"Do you think I'm not worth it either?"

"I knew you'd say that." Li Xuewu turned over, pinned her to the kang, stared into her eyes, and said: "I didn't want to provoke you."

"But you've already provoked me."

Wang Yajuan looked at him too, her eyes already filled with tears—there was fear, grievance, and the regrets of those years.

If it weren't for "if," would he still be the him he is now?

"I heard it was a Toyota Century car?"

Li Huai De's voice could convey a sense of greed even over the phone, and it wasn't as tough as it had been a few days ago.

"Seems like it." Li Xuewu didn't care and replied on the phone: "I've already refused. One shouldn't accept rewards without merit."

"Hmm, as you should." Li Huai De didn't know what he was thinking, paused, and said: "Fine, I know about this matter."

Before hanging up, he asked again: "Have the people left?"

"Yes, they've already boarded the train back to the capital."

Li Xuewu explained in a very flat tone: "Zhang Enyuan personally sent them to the train."

"Good, that's all then." There was even a hint of disappointment in Li Huai De's words. Had Li Xuewu misheard?

Hmm, he hadn't misheard. Zhou Yao was standing in front of his desk. As soon as he hung up the phone, she reported: "The situation is roughly like this."

"Keep a closer watch." Li Xuewu frowned slightly and said: "They will definitely take action recently. A trapped beast fights, after all."

"Yes, I understand." Zhou Yao nodded and said: "After I go back, I'll arrange for a working group to keep an eye on them and send more people to watch their office residence."

"No need to be so nervous." Li Xuewu's expression softened a bit. He sized Zhou Yao up and said with a smile: "It's not certain what this net will catch."

"The net you cast, how could it be small fish and shrimp?"

Zhou Yao appeared even more confident than him and said with a smile: "We guarantee that under your guidance, we will catch all these monsters and demons in one net."

"Hey—" Li Xuewu glared at her with feigned dissatisfaction and reminded her: "It's under the guidance of Deputy Director Su."

"Oh, oh, I understand."

Zhou Yao was very smart. Hearing him say this, she already understood and corrected herself with a smile: "It's under the guidance of Deputy Director Su."

"You can improvise freely, whether it's correct guidance or accurate guidance." Li Xuewu pointed at her and emphasized: "But it must be positive and diligent."

"Yes, I understand." Zhou Yao said with a smile: "I will definitely keep it in mind and learn well from you."

"Hehe—" Li Xuewu glared at her amusedly, then asked with concern: "What are your and Xiaoyan's plans? Still not wanting children?"

"Why did you suddenly ask about this?"

Zhou Yao didn't expect him to turn the corner so quickly and said embarrassedly: "He and I haven't discussed it well yet."

"If you haven't discussed it well, then discuss it slowly." Li Xuewu tore off a slip of paper, wrote down an address and a name, and pushed it over: "When you've discussed it, you can go there and ask."

"This is..." Zhou Yao looked at the slip of paper in her hand in surprise and raised her head blankly to look at her brother-in-law: "Where is this?"

"You guys aren't afraid that there's no one to bring the child if you have one, right?" Li Xuewu reached out and pointed at the slip of paper to explain: "A trusted relationship, a nanny who can help you bring the child."

"This..." Zhou Yao couldn't help but laugh and cry as she declined: "With our salaries, how could we afford a nanny?"

"It doesn't matter. You hire her; I'll pay." Li Xuewu tapped the slip of paper again and said: "I've already paid the money; I'm just waiting for you guys to discuss it."

"Brother-in-law—" Zhou Yao truly didn't know what to say and scolded: "You're more anxious than my parents."

"No, I'm not urging you guys."

Li Xuewu smiled, tidied up the documents at hand, and emphasized: "I'm solving your worries."

"I'm not saying that." Li Xuewu said very earnestly: "You can have the child whenever you've discussed it."

"One more thing." He pointed at Zhou Yao and emphasized: "Don't have pressure. The work position won't belong to you forever, and you won't belong to work forever."

"Your life should have more than just a career; it should also have a family and a future. That's the only way to be complete."

He was speaking from the bottom of his heart, and Li Xuewu was sure Zhou Yao understood. He stood up, waved his hand, and said: "Let's go. It's rare for you to come to Steel City. I'll treat you to something good."

"Brother-in-law, it's too much trouble."

Zhou Yao put away the slip of paper, stood up with him, and said: "The people have already boarded the car; let's hurry back and keep an eye on them."

"What did I just say?" Li Xuewu turned back to look at her and said with a smile: "Life isn't all about work."

"Let's go. Steel City also has delicacies."

He stepped out of the office first. Seeing Zhang Enyuan coming over, he instructed: "Keep an ear out for calls from the Sanhe Stock Company. If there's anything, call the canteen to find me."

"Yes, leader. I'll arrange for people to keep an eye on it."

Zhang Enyuan nodded, looked at Zhou Yao who came out behind him, smiled, and greeted: "Manager Zhou."

After the greeting, he said to Li Xuewu: "The car is ready, right downstairs."

"It's too cold today. It's a bit far to go to the Steel Auto canteen, so let's take the car." Li Xuewu turned back to explain to Zhou Yao: "Steel Auto has a new cook who specializes in Northeast cuisine. He's been saying he wanted me to taste it for a long time, so you have a chance now that you're here."

"It's too much trouble." Zhou Yao said embarrassedly: "It's fine to eat in our canteen."

"Hey, eat something good. You've worked too hard."

Li Xuewu smiled and walked downstairs, saying: "Northeast cuisine still has a certain status in the world; you have to learn to taste life."

"Then I'll listen to the leader." Zhou Yao said with a smile: "Borrowing your light, let me taste what's different about this Northeast cuisine."

She certainly knew when to use what title. In the office, she could call him brother-in-law because they were discussing private matters. Now, she used his job title.

"I'm the one borrowing your light—"

Li Xuewu said with a smile: "You should also meet Director Lv of Steel Auto. He's the one treating today." ===== CHAPTER 1567 =====

Zhou Yao put away the note, stood up, and said, "The person has already gotten into the car. Let's hurry back and keep an eye on things."

"What did I just say?" Li Xuewu turned back to look at her and said with a smile, "Life isn't all about work."

"Let's go, Steel City has good food too."

He left the office first. Seeing Zhang Enyuan coming over, he instructed, "Keep an ear out for calls from the Sanhe Corporation. If anything comes up, call the cafeteria to find me."

"Yes, leader, I'll arrange for someone to keep an eye on it."

Zhang Enyuan nodded, looked at Zhou Yao who had come out behind him, smiled, nodded, and greeted, "Manager Zhou."

After the greeting, he said to Li Xuewu, "The car is ready, it's downstairs."

"It's too cold today, and the Steel Auto cafeteria is a bit far. Let's take the car." Li Xuewu turned back to explain to Zhou Yao, "Steel Auto has a new cook who specializes in Northeast cuisine. He's been telling me to go taste it for a long time. You've come at a good time."

"That's too much trouble," Zhou Yao said embarrassedly. "Eating something at our cafeteria would be fine."

"Hey, eat something good; you've been working too hard."

Li Xuewu smiled as he walked downstairs and said, "Northeast cuisine has a certain status in the culinary world. You have to learn to savor life."

"Then I'll listen to the leader," Zhou Yao said with a smile. "I'll borrow your light to taste what's different about this Northeast cuisine."

She naturally knew when to use what form of address. In the office, she could call him brother-in-law because they were discussing private matters; now, she used his official title.

"I'm the one borrowing your light—"

Li Xuewu said with a smile, "You should also meet Director Lv of Steel Auto; he's the one treating today."