The night was very dark and quiet.
Su Li lay on the soft and spacious bed, unable to fall asleep.
He couldn't remember how many times he had suffered from insomnia.
He tilted his head to look at the moon outside the window. It was very beautiful, big and round. He heard it was Mid-Autumn Festival today.
He wondered what mooncakes tasted like.
With random thoughts running through his mind, Su Li glanced at his watch. It was three thirty.
He lay still on his back, staring at the ceiling, spacing out until dawn.
His secretary Zhou Yao arrived very early, bringing breakfast. When he opened the door and entered, Su Li had already gotten out of bed.
Zhou Yao went through the schedule for the day according to the timetable. It was packed full.
After finishing, Zhou Yao hesitated for a moment. "Boss, Miss Li called me yesterday. She said...she hopes you can invest to help her family's company."
"She said that as long as you are willing to invest, she will marry you."
Su Li was very calm.
He ate the shrimp dumplings without saying anything, carefully savoring them.
Zhou Yao waited for a moment, biting his lips. "Boss, I think Miss Li is quite pitiful. She cried very sadly on the phone. Her family's company is indeed about to go bankrupt. You..."
"So my money would just be thrown down a well if I sent it over?" Su Li said. "I believe you know better than me whether her family's company is worth saving and has value."
"Not only do I have to give away money for no reason, and then have to watch her reluctantly marry me as if I had coerced her, while she still longs for the man she loves in her heart?"
"Zhou Yao, I'm not that much of a masochist yet."
Su Li looked at him coldly. "I hope this is the last time."
Zhou Yao lowered his head, somewhat ashamed.
He had witnessed with his own eyes how Li Qingqing had treated the boss in the past, taking advantage of the boss's feelings and almost causing his death. He was not unaware.
Zhou Yao felt somewhat confused. Why did he suddenly feel a little reluctant to refuse when he heard the sadness in Li Qingqing's voice yesterday?
Even though he had always detested her.
Su Li paid no more attention to Zhou Yao's distracted state. After breakfast, he headed to the company.
The business affairs that had accumulated in a day were numerous and chaotic. At noon, he still had to go to eat with the boss of a partner company.
The boss looked mild-mannered, but his words were subtly demeaning Su Li's background all the time.
Su Li remained calm and amiable until the boss grew more and more smug and mentioned his parents. Only then did he pick up a napkin to wipe his mouth and said, "Mr. Zheng, I will have someone deliver the termination of our contract agreement to your company within three days."
The boss was stunned for a moment and his face darkened. "President Su, one can casually eat food, but cannot casually say words. Please think thrice."
"Xiangxing is very remarkable, but we old companies are not to be trifled with either. This kind of disrespect for your elders is not good behavior."
"I think we have no need to cooperate. Although our Xiangxing does not have the history and seniority of your Zhenda, we can still afford a bit of penalty fee. We will also launch new software and games afterwards. I personally think they are quite good. Please feel free to download and take a look when you have the time."
After saying that, he got up and left with Zhou Yao, ignoring the boss who was angrily throwing things around in the private room.
Zhou Yao knew his parents had always been a taboo that Su Li found hard to talk about, so he did not try to persuade him otherwise.
Su Li sat in the backseat of the car with his eyes closed. He did not specify where to go, so Zhou Yao quietly waited for him.
After a long while, Su Li said in a low voice, "I had a dream."
Feeling vaguely noisy around him, Su Li frowned, wanting to open his eyes to take a look, but he only felt his eyes were heavy.
As he struggled, he fell back asleep.
Not long after, someone gently woke him up.
"Little Ping'an, little darling~"
Su Li slowly opened his eyes to see a familiar and gentle middle-aged woman softly patting his arm above him.
Su Li gave a start, just about to ask who she was, when he got picked up.
"Is our Ping'an awake?" Auntie Zhao carried him as she slowly paced around the room, "Hungry?"
Su Li silently looked at his own short and chubby little body.
Am I dreaming?
It must be.
Yet he did not struggle. His first reaction was, if he was still a child, if he had not been sent to an orphanage yet, could he then see...
Just as he thought this, he saw the door open.
A beautiful woman with waist-length hair walked in. Seeing him, she smiled, eyes curving, and clapped her hands as she came over.
"Little Ping'an is awake! Did you sleep well? Are you hungry? Come, let mother hug you."
Mother...
Su Li felt somewhat bewildered. His body unconsciously lifted his arms.
The body's subconscious cannot lie. He was very close to this woman.
Su Li lay on the woman's shoulder, hugging her neck tightly.
It's mother...
He opened his mouth but no sound came out.
The woman lifted the curtain and walked into the kitchen. Two men were standing shoulder to shoulder with their backs facing them in the kitchen. The woman headed straight for a broad and sturdy back. "Jun."
Su Li heard it. He turned to stare at the man, who had a resolute and handsome face, similar to Su Li's face in adulthood by seventy percent.
The man wiped his sweat. He had been cutting stuff. Seeing his wife and child come over, he went to wash his hands before carrying over his son.
"Good son, miss daddy?"
Unlike the soft and warm embrace of the woman, the man's arms were a little bony, but still gave a great sense of security.
Su Li hugged the man tightly again.
Even if it was a dream, he still wanted to stay a little longer.
He spent the whole day in the arms of the man and woman, reluctant to let go of their necks.
Until nighttime, as the woman coaxed him to sleep, his child's body could not persist too long. He soon fell into deep slumber.
His fingers were still clutching the woman's sleeve, hoping he could still be by her side when he woke up again.
But when he woke up, there was only the pitch dark night again.
The big, empty house was quiet again with no one around.
Not lively at all, completely devoid of human presence.
Su Li was immersed in such a sense of loss upon waking up that he could not pull himself out of it.
That dream had felt too real. It really made him believe he was that child called Little Ping'an, with parents who loved him.
Su Li leaned against the backseat thinking of that dream. Whenever he rested, he would not be able to stop himself from thinking of that dream. That huge sense of loss and confusion put him in low spirits.
Zhou Yao did not know why he looked so sad and dejected. When asked what he had dreamed about, Su Li just stared blankly without answering.
Zhou Yao blinked. "Shall we go, Boss?"
"Let's go."
"Where to? The company?"
"No, not going there. Send me home."
"Home?"
"Yes, I want to sleep for a bit."
