6 Chapter 6: Are You Willing to Go with Me? _1

Li Huai stormed over and landed a strong kick, making Zhang Yitang tumble over and roll on the ground from the pain. This guy had dared to tie up his wife! The kick was nowhere near enough to quell his anger, so he moved to hit Zhang Yitang again. But Zhang Lao'er stood in the middle, and only then did Li Huai stop.

"Li Huai, if you want to hit someone, hit me!" Zhang Lao'er said.

Although Li Huai lacked formal education, he still respected his elders and loved the young. Zhang Lao'er was old enough to be a grandfather, so Li Huai wouldn't even dream of raising his hand against him.

As Li Huai untied Liu Xiangli, he turned towards Zhang Lao'er and said, "Zhang Lao'er, she is Liu Xiangli, she was kidnapped by human traffickers. The law? Yes, if you stand in her way, you will be violating the law. Aside from that, think about it––you're a father. You have a daughter too. If your own daughter was kidnapped, how would you feel? Zhang Lao'er, and everyone else here, I know you all are kind-hearted. So, let's not make things harder for her. Also, Zhang Lao'er, I know you paid out a considerable amount of bride price money. Rest assured, I will pay back every cent in the future. I won't let you suffer a loss."

With Liu Xiangli beside him, Li Huai made to leave. Seeing them walk away, Zhang Lao'er hesitated for a few moments, but did not follow. Li Huai's words had snapped him back to reality. From the beginning, he had been suspicious of the legitimacy of Liu Xiangli's presence, but he had chosen to turn a blind eye for his dim-witted son. This decision continued to cause him sleepless nights and a disrupted appetite, as he was perpetually filled with self-condemnation.

Indeed, if it were his daughter who had been kidnapped, what would his reaction be? He was a village head official and was knowingly condoning a violation of the law which he should not do; he should not do this at all.

What brought Zhang Lao'er to his senses, besides Li Huai's words, was the unyielding look in Liu Xiangli's eyes. One could not force a person to reciprocate their affections. If Liu Xiangli chose to run away now, who was to say she would not leave in the future? Even if he forced her to stay, she would just be a ticking time bomb at home, leaving him with nothing but loss. It would be better to consider the fifty thousand yuan as a donation to a good cause.

With this newfound understanding, Zhang Lao'er no longer felt any resentment towards Li Huai. Instead, he felt appreciative. If not for Li Huai, he might have continued on this mistaken path and lived a life filled with guilt.

After Li Huai brought Liu Xiangli back to the broken-down temple, a while had passed before she could recover from her earlier fright. Li Huai was outside, preparing food. Through the window, she said to him, "Li Huai, thank you."

The group hadn't followed them back, so Liu Xiangli thought that perhaps their consciences had begun to catch up with them. If this was the case, no one would stop her the next time she chose to leave.

This was all thanks to Li Huai. Appreciation blossomed within her. But to her disappointment, Li Huai was not his former playful, smiling self, teasing her by calling her 'wife' and sticking by her side like a constant annoyance. Even when she initiated conversation, Li Huai wouldn't utter a single word and wouldn't even glance at her. Was he angry at her?

Liu Xiangli had always considered herself to be rather selfish—always firm and decisive without concerning herself with the feelings of others, even when she was incorrect. But for some reason, she found herself caring about Li Huai's feelings.

Liu Xiangli stepped out of the room and was greeted by the tantalizing aroma of food. Over an open fire, two fish were being stewed in a pot, along with several buns. As the chairman and CEO of Feitian Group, worth billions, Liu Xiangli had never seen, much less eaten, such humble food in her life. If it had been in the past, she might not have had an appetite for it. But now, she found it mouth-watering.

At the same time, she felt a pang of sympathy, "Is this the life he leads? God, it's so unfair!"

Liu Xiangli managed a rare smile and walked over, exclaiming, "Wow! Fish soup? It smells amazing."

Just as Liu Xiangli sat down, Li Huai moved the pot inside. This only added to her feeling of being wronged. Was this stubborn little devil so mad that he wouldn't even share the meal with her?

Liu Xiangli guessed wrong. Li Huai poured the fish soup into a bowl and carried the pot outside, "Go inside and eat."

"Aren't you going to eat together?"

"I'm not hungry."

In the yard, there was a well for drawing water, and Li Huai went to wash the pot. Liu Xiangli was too hungry, so she went back inside to eat. She vowed that this was the most delicious fish she had ever tasted in her life—no delicacy could even compare to it.

But halfway through her meal, Liu Xiangli noticed that Li Huai was sitting outside and gorging on a bun. Yes, there was no fish. He only had two buns. Liu Xiangli was so moved that she burst into tears, but she was also a little bit angry. She dropped her chopsticks and ran outside, demanding, "Li Huai, why aren't you eating the fish? Why are you only letting me eat?"

"I don't like it."

"You're lying!"

"Yes, I am lying. You already hate me so much, and we only have one bowl at home. If I sat next to you and ate out of it, it would only make you hate me even more, right?"

"I..."

Liu Xiangli was lost for words. She wanted to say that she didn't hate Li Huai, but the words wouldn't come out. Seeing the dejected look on Li Huai's face, Liu Xiangli suddenly realized that Li Huai was not angry. It was her previous actions, when she had picked up the stick, that had hurt Li Huai. Why did she feel like she had done something wrong? If not for Li Huai, she might be stuck in some unknown place by now. Instead of being grateful, she had hurt him. Hadn't she repaid kindness with ingratitude?

In addition to his sorrow, Li Huai knew that Liu Xiangli did not want to be his wife. Coerced feelings were never genuine, so there was no point in forcing her to stay. Hurting others just meant hurting oneself in the end.

Liu Xiangli went back inside. She couldn't eat another bite. After a short while, Li Huai came in. Liu Xiangli was overjoyed, but disappointed to see that Li Huai was still cold towards her.

Li Huai seemed to be looking for something. He rummaged around, making the already messy temple even more disordered. Eventually, Liu Xiangli understood that Li Huai was searching for money. However, this poor fellow had to search through all his belongings, just to scrape together no more than a dozen yuan, and it was mostly small change, with the highest denomination being a crumpled five-yuan note.

This was all of Li Huai's savings!

He placed the money on the table. Before leaving, Li Huai said, "There are buses in town, but it's a long way from here. I don't know exactly how far away it is, but I remember when I was young, it took two to three hours by horse-drawn cart. If you were to walk, you'd not only be exhausted, but you might also get lost. However, I've inquired and discovered that Huang Dazui, who runs the small local store, will drive his three-wheeler to town tomorrow to restock his store. I've talked with him and he agreed to give you a lift to town. Here's some money. Is it enough? If it isn't, I will find someone to borrow some from."

Li Huai paused for a while, but when Liu Xiangli didn't respond, he assumed the money was satisfactory and left the room to lie on a large stone in the yard to bask in the sun.

Looking at that pile of money on the table, Liu Xiangli felt tearful. Was this really all he owned? When a person owned ten thousand and gave you a hundred, it was different if a person only owned a hundred and still gave you a hundred.

Tomorrow, she would finally be able to leave, but somehow, Liu Xiangli didn't feel happy, instead she felt a little reluctant to go. What she would miss, obviously, was not this place, but the person in the yard.

After thinking about it all afternoon, by sundown, Liu Xiangli had finally made a decision. At this moment, Li Huai was still lying on the large stone outside, his eyes closed. She didn't know whether he was asleep or awake.

Liu Xiangli walked over to him and said, "Li Huai, would you like to leave with me tomorrow?"