Deliberately Approaching
Chapter 190: I Understand All Your Little Tricks

Chapter 190: Chapter 190: I Understand All Your Little Tricks

Nanny Chen nodded, then turned to Tang Xiaowan.

The girl looked both astonished and bewildered, as if she had been scared.

"Oh my gosh, my phone is still on the carpet!"

"We’ve started cleaning it up, and it will be taken care of for you, but you might not be able to rest for the time being, it might take..."

Li Zishen cut in, "There’s no hurry, she can move into my room first."

"Your room?" Tang Xiaowan said.

"Yes."

Tang Xiaowan was so angry she itched to swallow Li Zishen whole.

How could he say something like that with a straight face?

So shameless, definitely up to no good!

"Hey, what are you overthinking now? It’s not the third floor; it’s my original room on the second floor."

Tang Xiaowan: "?"

"It’s further away from your room, at the very west end. In fact, I only moved up to the third floor after you arrived."

Tang Xiaowan: "..."

Seeing that the matter had been settled, Nanny Chen quietly withdrew.

She knew the child she had raised all too well.

Li Garden was vast, with many rooms on different floors, but to make Tang Xiaowan feel at ease, Li Zishen nevertheless moved from the second to the third floor.

As he had anticipated, after the night attack, when Tang Xiaowan awoke, her first thought was to escape.

She felt no sense of safety, regarding everyone in Li Garden as potential assailants. She was always running in her sleep, often waking up crying.

This state lasted for three whole days.

Only at night, when Tang Xiaowan was sound asleep, would Li Zishen dare to approach the second floor to carry her out of the closet and put her on the bed.

"Why sleep in the closet?"

"Why only pick out the radishes to eat from the food sent to you?"

"Why keep calling for mom to hold you?"

These questions continually troubled Li Zishen, but he never asked Tang Xiaowan, even after her injuries had healed, not a single word.

...

Minutes later, the two went to the second floor.

"Wow, so many models!"

Tang Xiaowan’s voice was particularly loud, almost to the point of being exaggerated.

She had been to the room at the west end several times before, but always sneaking around, and up to no good.

"Like any? I’ll give it to you," Li Zishen said casually as he opened the first door.

"Did you assemble this car yourself?"

"Yes, nearly every part can be taken apart, almost like a real car."

"Wow, that’s amazing!"

"Of course, like this one."

Li Zishen was about to grab it when Tang Xiaowan suddenly stopped him, "Just looking is fine, I don’t want it, I can’t take what someone loves."

"It’s fine, what’s mine is yours."

"No, really, I don’t need it."

"Don’t worry, it’s very durable, it can definitely withstand your rough handling."

Li Zishen slowly took out the off-road vehicle, and after lifting it to Tang Xiaowan’s eyes, shook it vigorously several times.

Tang Xiaowan: "?"

What’s going on, why hasn’t it fallen apart?

I clearly remember taking it apart, and the parts were stuffed into the mattress.

Could I have... remembered wrongly?

"Don’t you like it?" Li Zishen asked.

"This car is quite nice, looking good, I’ve always loved off-road vehicles, and the color isn’t bad, quite stylish, pretty nice, haha."

"How about sleeping here tonight?"

"No, I have to go back to Jinyuan Academy, you know, time... It’s almost time for me to go to school, bye."

"What’s the hurry, aren’t they the last two classes?"

Tang Xiaowan: "..."

Was it possible that he knew about the change in my class schedule so quickly?

Every single day, just what’s the big deal about following me?

Is being a boss really that idle?

"Yes, the last two classes are correct, but... there’s something I have to do and I need to go early," Tang Xiaowan said, touching her nose and hedging her words.

"What is it?"

Seeing the man determined to get to the bottom of it, and also intently staring at her, Tang Xiaowan knew that this time, it wouldn’t work without a good excuse.

"I have an appointment with Chen Yu at the library, I need to look up some information, so I need to go early. If I’m late, there won’t be any good seats left. I might have to stand and read. You have no idea, there are so many people there, especially..."

As Tang Xiaowan spoke, she began to walk outside. Li Zishen just quietly followed, smiling without a word.

He knew that the girl was lying. Going to the library was just an excuse, after all. When had she ever loved reading or went to school early?

2:30 PM classes, 2:30 PM entering the classroom, that was her usual style.

"Lady Tang, your phone."

Who would have thought, just a few steps out the door, the servant cleaning up the water handed over her white phone and then left.

The accidental touch lit up the screen.

Tang Xiaowan was shocked. Text messages, calls, photography, video recording, she almost tried all the common functions before giving up.

"Eh, how come it’s not broken, strange?"

"You wish it was broken?" Li Zishen’s mouth curled up in a smirk as he countered.

He wore an expression that seemed to see right through her, yet said nothing.

"Isn’t it water-damaged?"

"Water-resistant, drop-proof."

Hearing this, Tang Xiaowan stood as if petrified.

Oh my god, you’ve got to be kidding me?

To think I left it submerged in the sink for so long!

In the midst of talking, they had reached the east end of the hallway.

Tang Xiaowan slowly walked into the room, a place she had once lived in for over a month, and to say she felt no pain seeing it waterlogged would be a lie.

The carpet was specially laid by Li Zishen because she liked to walk barefoot.

The retro patterns, the bright colors.

Tang Xiaowan glanced at the servant still dealing with the water stains, felt an inexplicable guilt. "The floor is too cold with the water on it, don’t lie down like that. Actually, just taking it out to dry would be enough."

"Thank you, Lady Tang, but it’s okay."

With that, the servant continued to work, a bright smile on her face as if to suggest that work was a form of happiness.

Had I known, I wouldn’t have blocked the drain.

This was Tang Xiaowan’s first thought.

She continued walking inside. The new crossbody bag that Li Zishen had given her lay thrown on the floor but was now hanging up, dripping wet.

"Zishen, I..."

Her bright apricot eyes flickered, but despite reaching her lips, the words did not come out.

Destroying things had never felt this difficult before.

"What’s wrong, Xiao Wan?" Li Zishen asked softly with a smile in his eyes.

"It’s nothing." Tang Xiaowan shook her head and shoved the white phone into her old crossbody bag. "I’m heading to school now."

Li Zishen glanced at the black cat charm on the bag, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Alright, I’ll walk you downstairs."

This time, Tang Xiaowan didn’t take the stairs but obediently followed Li Zishen into the elevator.

As they passed by the first-floor reception hall, Chen Xin had already driven the car up the villa’s steep driveway, eventually coming to a gentle stop right at the entrance.

Perfect timing. Not too early, not too late.

Usually, all vehicles stopped at the stairway, but today, because Tang Xiaowan had twisted her ankle, they had altered the route. They cleared away flowers and plants on the slope to facilitate access.

"Do you think you’ve already guessed?" Tang Xiaowan suddenly turned around before getting into the car, looking pensively at Li Zishen.

"About you hiding model parts?"

"No, it’s the water..." Tang Xiaowan began to say, then bit her lower lip.

"What water, the water in the bathtub?" Li Zishen asked with a half smile.

"Model parts? Wow, so it turns out you..."

Tang Xiaowan, infuriated, got straight into the car and left.