After Breaking Up with the Stoic CEO - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: The Decision

“Xiao Pu, I heard from your Aunt Huo that you’re a police officer. What exactly do you do?”

“Auntie, I’m mainly responsible for criminal investigation, but my specific direction is confidential. I can’t tell you, so I hope you won’t be angry with me.”

“It’s no matter. I just wanted to get a general idea of your work.”

Li Chunhua’s expression was amiable. “You children nowadays always have your own ideas and probably planned your futures long ago. Do you have any specific requirements when it comes to choosing a partner?”

Pu Bohan smiled, glancing at Li Jin, who was sitting on a nearby sofa. “I don’t have any requirements. Miss Li Jin is so striking in appearance and her abilities are outstanding. To have the chance to get to know such a woman is already my good fortune.”

Listening to this, Li Chunhua was very satisfied. Although Pu Bohan’s family background wasn’t particularly prominent, he was highly capable, gentle, and humble—a perfect complement to Li Jin’s forceful way of doing things.

Li Chunhua nodded. Seeing Li Jin still looking down at her phone, she couldn’t help but speak with an earnest tone, “You child, since we have a guest here, don’t just keep looking at your phone.”

Li Jin lowered her eyelids slightly, her tone calm. “It’s a work message. I must reply immediately.”

Pu Bohan quite affably helped her out. “It’s quite alright, Auntie, I understand completely. Miss Li Jin manages such a large company by herself; when things get busy, it’s natural to lose track of time.”

Li Chunhua was only speaking for the sake of it and didn’t intend to actually scold her. She smiled and brought up the past. “Xiao Jin has had this serious personality since she was a child. When she was in school, she was more sensible and obedient than her peers. As soon as she graduated, she came to help me manage the company to share the burden.”

“Unfortunately, my health failed, and I retired too early. Xiao Jin’s sister is also… sigh, best not to speak of it.”

Seeing this, Pu Bohan didn’t pry further, saying empathetically, “Your health and recovery are the most important things. At our age, we should prioritize work.”

Li Chunhua sighed, feeling somewhat helpless. “Work is never finished. When the time is right, one should also consider their personal matters.”

Pu Bohan followed her lead. “You’re right. Starting a family and building a career usually go hand in hand.”

After chatting for a while, Pu Bohan took a call for a temporary meeting and went out to the balcony. Once he left, Li Jin stopped handling work and looked up at the news on the TV with a composed air.

Knowing full well what she was thinking, Li Chunhua intentionally pulled a long face. “No work now?”

Li Jin shifted her gaze from the news and looked at Li Chunhua with a slight smile, showing a timely weakness. “Handled it.”

Li Chunhua tapped her forehead, adopting a rare teaching posture for a junior. “Talk to Xiao Pu more and get to know him better, do you understand?”

“Don’t be like your sister—still drifting even now, with no roots.”

As a mother, Li Chunhua was always prone to worry. Worrying that Li Yan was alone abroad with no one to care for her, and worrying that Li Jin would follow in her footsteps, spending all her time on the company and delaying the major events of her life.

It was a recurring topic. As long as the knot between her and Li Yan remained unresolved, the situation would not improve. Li Jin couldn’t offer a solution for the latter, so she could only symbolically agree to the former.

“I understand.”

Mindful of Li Yan, Li Chunhua asked again, “She hasn’t messaged me lately. What is she busy with?”

Li Jin explained, “There’s a time difference abroad, and the signal is unstable in some places.”

Hearing this, Li Chunhua showed a trace of worry. “If even the signal is unstable, what kind of place is that? Can she get used to living there?”

Li Jin didn’t say it was a war-torn country, only: “You don’t need to worry. She can take care of herself. I heard from Aunt Huo that you also liked traveling everywhere when you were young and even summited Mount Everest. You should understand this feeling very well.”

Hearing her youthful exploits revealed by her friend and spoken by her child, Li Chunhua felt momentarily embarrassed. “I was me. I endured hardships when I started from scratch. You are you—how can it be the same?”

Li Jin looked at her, her features relaxed and her tone gentle. “I actually think Sister is very much like you. Look at Rui Rui—such a tiny child back then, and hasn’t she been raised to be healthy and strong now?”

“That child Rui Rui—being healthy is one thing, but being a handful is another. Her teacher called to tell me she only scored 50 on her math monthly exam.”

“That little girl thinks of nothing but playing all day. Next time she wants to stay at your place, don’t you agree to it.”

Mentioning Li Xinrui, Li Chunhua’s tone held a bit of a headache, and even the sorrow on her face diluted slightly. Li Jin followed her lead and promised, “Alright. I’ll find a tutor to give her some extra help.”

“She indeed needs a tutor. I don’t expect her to get into some top school, but she can’t fail to get into high school at least.” Li Chunhua continued, reminiscing about the past. “When I was young, I studied abroad in Japan, working part-time while going to school. I barely had time to catch my breath. Li Yan truly is like me; she has a stubborn streak.”

If not for both of them being so stubborn, how could they have been at a standstill over a conflict for over ten years?

Li Jin only smiled. “It’s not being stubborn, it’s persistence. That’s what you taught us.”

After chatting for a while, the conversation circled back, and Li Chunhua sighed again. “But abroad is still too far. I can’t feel at ease if I can’t see her.”

Li Jin comforted her, “Next time she comes back, I’ll try to persuade her and ask if she’s willing to stay in the country.”

If her daughter could return, Li Chunhua would naturally be happy, but the reality was that even if she asked, the probability of Li Yan agreeing was extremely low. She didn’t hold much hope and shook her head. “We’ll see.”

On the television screen, a reporter was standing in a laboratory interviewing a lab worker in a white coat. “Tsinghua University Laboratory discovered that activating the cytoplasmic immune receptor ALPK1 can trigger anti-tumor immunity…”

Li Jin picked up the remote to change the channel, but Li Chunhua stopped her. She listened to the report with a serious face, as if she were looking into the past through that segment. When the report ended, it switched back to financial news. Li Chunhua remained in thought, not speaking for a long time.

“Actually, if given timely treatment, cancer still has a high survival rate.”

Li Jin knew she was thinking of the young life that had passed away early and waited quietly for her to continue. Sure enough, in the next second, Li Chunhua looked over with a rare flash of wavering in her eyes.

“Xiao Jin, if it were you back then, how would you have handled that situation?”

A daughter with a bright future and a life just beginning. And her female lover from deep within the mountains, bound by an engagement, and whose family was in extreme financial distress.

Li Chunhua’s decision had been opposition without room for negotiation. The other girl’s family had been the same. The two, still in university, had no ability to withstand the storm. Upon graduation, the partner was forced by her family to return and marry. That ethnic minority girl ultimately spent the final countdown of her life being worn down by marriage.

But practically speaking, even if Li Chunhua hadn’t opposed it, their life trajectories held many uncertainties. A family deep in the mountains, an unsavable disease.

Li Jin paused, then answered, “The same decision as yours.”

If Li Yan had learned Li Chunhua’s temper and personality, then Li Jin had inherited most of her way of handling matters. The former was emotional and chose only what she wanted. The latter was rational and did only what was right.

Li Chunhua could see that the current Li Jin was exactly like she used to be—too rigid. Even when there were gentler solutions, she would instinctively choose the one that was most uncompromising and most hurtful to both herself and others. Li Chunhua looked at her with a complex expression and finally just sighed. The lesson she took many years to understand, Li Jin might only truly grasp after experiencing it herself.

Li Jin was supposed to return home at eight. After 7:50, Lu Wu went out and stood by the roadside waiting. Midway, Xiao Hei came by to rest, and she took the chance to put cat food in his bowl and change the water.

Lu Wu couldn’t quiet her thoughts and couldn’t help talking to Xiao Hei. “I’ve decided to confess to Li Jin. Soon we will be official girl-girlfriends.”

“Do you know what girl-girlfriends means? It means liking each other, caring for each other…” Lu Wu rambled on for a long time. Unfortunately, Xiao Hei didn’t understand her; he only cared for delicious food. After a full meal, he leisurely walked away with elegant feline steps.

So Lu Wu stood once again at the crossroads, looking out expectantly for Li Jin to appear.

The roar of a car. A white Maybach—not Li Jin. The sound of people passing. A black Lamborghini—also not Li Jin.

As the night deepened and the evening wind brought a chill, no cars drove past the main road for a long time, and that familiar figure failed to appear. Lu Wu checked the time on her phone out of boredom; half an hour had passed, and Li Jin wasn’t back yet. She couldn’t help sending a message.

“Are you finished with dinner?”

“When will you be home?”

The messages felt like stones sinking into the ocean, with no response for a long time. Was she delayed by something sudden? Or had an accident happened on the road? An inexplicable sense of unease surged in Lu Wu’s heart, and she paced back and forth instinctively. But the more anxious she became, the more agonizing the wait felt.

Once the time passed 9:30, Lu Wu finally couldn’t help but call Li Jin.

Beep— The standby ringtone was fleeting. Instead, a mechanical female voice answered: “Hello, the number you have dialed is currently busy. Please try again later.”

Lu Wu was stunned. Li Jin was looking at her phone—so why wasn’t she replying to the messages?

Finally. Ten o’clock. A never-before-seen black Audi drove up slowly and stopped at the door.

Li Jin stepped out from the passenger side. Lu Wu’s eyes lit up, and she ran over with small steps: “Li Jin!”

Just at that moment, a man wearing a casual polo shirt stepped out of the car and stood beside Li Jin.

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