Chapter 15: Li Family’s Cousin Zhu Xishan

Today, only relatives who were closer to the Li family came. However, adding up all the adults and children, men and women, there were more than a dozen people, enough to fill up the dining table that had been empty for a long time. The entire dining room suddenly became lively and extraordinary.

With more young people around, the usually quiet house seemed much more vibrant.

Li’s wife and father sat in the main seats, while Li Zhenguan brought Wang Zhao to sit in a position on the lower right hand side. Opposite them sat Li Zhenguan’s sister and several cousins.

The Li family only had two children, a daughter and a son. The son was Li Zhenguan, who was still in university. The daughter was called Li Zhenwei, six years older than Li Zhenguan. She had studied abroad for her golden years and now worked at the family company, having been employed for several years.

The reason Wang Zhao didn’t see her when she entered was because this eldest daughter of the Li family hadn’t gotten off work at that time. It was said that she had to attend a particularly important meeting in the morning, so she specially took two hours off at noon to come back for lunch and also to meet her future sister-in-law.

She had just returned and greeted Wang Zhao at the dining table. Wang Zhao’s first impression of her was that she was a workaholic who didn’t mince words. Even when sitting at the table, her phone placed to the side was still vibrating. After the meal started, she went out to take a call, looking very busy.

Li Zhenguan noticed Wang Zhao’s gaze and lowered his head to say in her ear, “My sister is a workaholic. Out of the 365 days in a year, she’s basically at the company every day, even during the Spring Festival. You’ll understand in the future.”

Wang Zhao nodded and retracted her gaze.

Because there were many people in the family, the household chef made a lot of dishes in large portions.

Several huge Australian lobsters were placed in the center, along with casserole-baked A5 Wagyu beef, razor clams made into Korean-style noodles, and soup dumplings with king crab filling. There was also a stew made with abalone and seafood. The dishes filled up an entire table.

It could be seen that the chef was very innovative. During their meal, Zhang Shu even came over to ask who wanted to eat dumplings.

Today, the family bought a lot of seafood and meat, so there were many kinds of dumpling fillings, such as sea urchin, tiger prawn, king crab with vermicelli, spiral shell meat, etc. The dumplings were made in various colors, broadening Wang Zhao’s horizons. She felt that the Li family’s chef was really good at combining Chinese and Western styles and breaking through their own limitations.

With such a lively scene, once the atmosphere got going, it was inevitable to drink a little. Following the local dining culture was unavoidable, especially since this was Wang Zhao’s first formal visit. After refusing a few times, her wine glass was still filled with about half a glass of red wine.

“This red wine has a low alcohol content, so drinking a little is fine,” Li Le said with a smile.

Wang Zhao could only refuse with an apologetic smile, “Auntie, I have to drive back later.”

“We have many rooms in our house. You can stay and play here for a while in the afternoon. It’s no problem if you stay overnight. After we finish eating, I’ll have Zhang Shu prepare a room for you.” Li Le didn’t mind at all. As she spoke, she said to Yang Jin beside her, “Later, tell Zhang Shu to tidy up a room upstairs. Xiao Zhao won’t go back tonight and will stay here.”

With things put this way, Wang Zhao couldn’t refuse anymore and had to resignedly drink this glass of red wine.

Seeing this, Li Le finally smiled and also had someone take out two more bottles of red wine from the cabinet, telling Zhang Shu to let the wine breathe first.

There were too many people. She was afraid there wouldn’t be enough to drink. Usually, there were only a few people at home. Even if they wanted to drink, they couldn’t find anyone to accompany them. Today happened to be a good opportunity to drink to their heart’s content.

This meal lasted a long time. Two younger children finished eating first and ran to the living room to play with building blocks.

Only a few elders remained at the table, drinking and eating while occasionally saying a few words, discussing the current economic market. Wang Zhao couldn’t really participate in these topics. Both her undergraduate and graduate studies were related to law. She hadn’t researched the current financial circles, and the small amount of financial management products she had bought were nothing in the eyes of the Li family.

So most of the time, she remained silent, only occasionally saying a few words to liven up the atmosphere.

In the end, only five or six people were left at the table. As for Li Zhenguan’s sister Li Zhenwei, she had left half an hour ago after receiving a phone call. It seemed she had something to take care of. However, before leaving, she took the initiative to add Wang Zhao’s contact information, showing that she wasn’t completely unconcerned about her brother.

The table was a mess of plates and cups. Li Zhenguan, who was sitting beside Wang Zhao, couldn’t endure it anymore and couldn’t help yawning. Usually, this was the time he took his afternoon nap.

Wang Zhao happened to see it. Noticing the slight redness at the corners of his eyes, she asked in a low voice, “Sleepy?”

“A little.” Li Zhenguan tried his best to stay alert and said drowsily while rubbing his eyes.

This meal lasted about an hour and a half. Actually, most people had left the table half an hour ago. It was just that the Li family elders kept Wang Zhao from leaving, drinking and chatting with her here, wanting to understand her temperament.

Wang Zhao said, “Then you go upstairs and rest first. You don’t need to accompany me sitting here. I can manage by myself.”

Li Zhenguan shook his head.

He wasn’t at ease leaving Wang Zhao alone here. His mother wasn’t as amiable as she appeared on the surface. Having mixed in the business world, she was as cunning as an old fox. It was only because he was sitting here now that the few elders at the table didn’t dare to be too presumptuous. Otherwise, Wang Zhao wouldn’t be able to leave the table sober today.

Wang Zhao had no choice. Although Li Zhenguan looked delicate and soft, he was actually very stubborn. This could be seen from their usual interactions. He was good at persistent persuasion, acting spoiled and coquettish.

So, she put down her bowl and chopsticks first and apologized to the few elders at the table. At the same time, she pressed her brow and said, “I’m a bit drunk. I need to leave the table first.”

Li Le glanced at her son, who had been sitting to the side like a nail. Her brows twitched, but in the end, she didn’t say anything and just waved her hand. “Your Uncle Yang has had someone tidy up the room upstairs. If you’re not feeling well, go up and lie down for a bit.”

She knew that Wang Zhao had drunk several glasses of wine just now. Although the alcohol content was not high, this wine had a strong aftereffect. Wang Zhao’s face was already a bit red. With her fair skin, even a little redness was very noticeable.

Wang Zhao made a sound of acknowledgment.

The two of them left the table. Li Zhenguan no longer concealed his sleepiness and yawned again, his eyes brimming with tears.

Zhang Shu, who was busy beside them, saw this and quickly walked over. Seeing Li Zhenguan yawning, he said, “Is Zhenguan sleepy?”

“Mm, going to sleep now.” Li Zhenguan nodded. He could now smell the rich aroma of red wine on Wang Zhao’s body. He turned his head and looked at her. “Do you also want to go upstairs and sleep for a while?”

Wang Zhao was indeed a bit tired, mainly because she had drunk some wine and now her stomach didn’t feel very comfortable. She probably hadn’t drunk much alcohol before and couldn’t hold her liquor well.

So she agreed with Li Zhenguan’s words and prepared to go upstairs together.

However, before going upstairs, Zhang Shu stopped Wang Zhao and brought out a cup of sobering tea from the kitchen. “Drink a little, so you won’t feel uncomfortable later.”

Li Zhenguan watched as Wang Zhao calmly drank this cup of sobering tea. He looked around and found that only a few uncles were sitting in the living room. Zhu Xishan and Wan Yao were not there.

Perhaps he was too sleepy and his mind wasn’t very clear, but he didn’t think much of it and directly asked, “Where did Cousin Xishan go?”

Hearing this, Wang Zhao couldn’t help but glance at Li Zhenguan. She felt that since meeting Zhu Xishan at the door, Li Zhenguan had treated this cousin differently, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was off.