Rebirth: I Became Mr.President’s Beloved
Chapter 243: Do You Really Know What ’Love’ Is?

Chapter 243: Chapter 243: Do You Really Know What ’Love’ Is?

The girl’s hands were ice-cold, gently touching the man’s broad palm before gripping a few of his fingers: "Others’ godfathers are businessmen, there’s no comparison with mine. With you as my godfather, nobody would dare to harass me, not even Lai Wenyan."

Her tone exuded a false bravado, as if proud of her supposed cleverness.

As if she really thought of a good idea.

Song Baiyan let her hold his left hand, felt the coolness in his palm, slightly closed his fingers, and gripped her small hand: "Are you in such a hurry to find yourself a backer?"

"Then do you agree?" Tang Li looked up, under the dim light of the porch, and in her line of sight, the man’s handsome features were concealed in the thin smoke. She watched him leisurely tap away the ash: "Such a big daughter, I’m afraid I’m not so fortunate."

"...You like me quite a bit, don’t you?"

Tang Li couldn’t help but speak up.

Song Baiyan paused from tapping the ashes with his thumb, then smiled: "Can you already tell what I’m thinking?"

"It’s not that I can tell, it’s what you’ve shown," Tang Li’s cheeks reddened, her clarity growing: "If you didn’t like me, why would you pay my sponsorship fee? You had Ji Ming bring me an umbrella, and you applied medicine for me in the car, it was Ji Ming who called the police when I was attacked on the forum, and you asked the school to change my dormitory for me, always lending me your suit."

"Just like a psychology teacher, constantly giving me life lessons, afraid I’d grow crooked, Lai Wenyan wanted to send me off to someone else, you said you would talk to him. You’re not related to me, what right do you have to talk to him about my marriage?

The moment I wanted to get close to Qin Yansheng, it made Lai Shengxia upset, and as soon as you knew, you asked me out for a meal, said it was a meal, but it was actually psychological counseling.

When I came to you, you let me spend the night at Yunqi Villa, and at the Lai family’s birthday banquet, the Little Monk at the temple told me that you instructed him not to wake me up every morning."

Song Baiyan’s smile faded slightly.

Tang Li continued: "I’ve spoken very clearly, yet you still treat me like a child, but you’re so good to me, other than liking my mother, I can’t think of any other reason. So just like loving the house and its crow, you look at me as you would your own daughter."

Having said that, she slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air: "I’ve figured it all out just now. If you really liked my mother, I could understand that too. My mother is indeed pretty, and she had no knowledge of the things my grandfather used to do, she always thought he was in the jade business."

Even though she was very reluctant to admit it, she no longer wanted to lie to herself: "To care so much about someone unrelated to you, your brain isn’t damaged, I should’ve noticed long ago. Your dog is also named Ah Xi, and you have a red string, the one I have was woven by my mother, although I already can’t remember the pattern it was woven in. If it’s a coincidence, when there are too many coincidences, they become truth."

Tang Li lowered her head, continuing: "She’s kind and well-educated, it’s not unfathomable for you to fall for her, if it were me, I’d like her too."

Song Baiyan did not pick up on these words, only asking her: "At such a young age, do you really know what ’liking’ means?"

—How could she not know?

She wasn’t really just nineteen years old.

Pulling her hand back, Tang Li averted her gaze and looked off into the distance, her expression becoming distant: "I don’t know, I thought I knew, but in the end, I realized it was all just my presumption."

Whether in her past life or now, it seemed like she was always wrong when it came to love.

"Forget about being my godfather, I don’t like coercion, and I am not one to root for forceful pursuits."

With these words, Tang Li stood up, her hands behind her back as she slowly retreated, then looked at Song Baiyan with a teasing smile: "I will grow up well and strong, even if you can’t be my godfather, you can still be my uncle. You’re such a good person, it’s truly a pity my mother didn’t meet you a few years earlier."

Song Baiyan lifted his gaze, his profound eyes fixated on her, remaining unspoken in his rebuttal.

"This time, truly good night."

Tang Li retreated to the door of her own room, reached out to pull the door closed, then looked towards Song Baiyan: "Have an early rest, Uncle Song."

After speaking, she closed the door with a "squeak".

She turned and leaned against the door, feeling the courage spurred by the can of beer fading away.

She was not drunk and was very clear about what she had just said.

Recalling the image of Song Baiyan hugging her beside the bonfire, warmth still lingered in her heart.

Actually, this was quite nice; it’s better to let nature take its course than to force anything.

For the next two days, Tang Li spent most of her time praying and chanting sutras for Tang Yin, hardly running into Song Baiyan even though they were staying in the same compound.

Only on the second evening did she pass by the abbot’s courtyard and saw Song Baiyan and the old abbot playing chess at the stone table.

However, she tactfully chose not to disturb them.

After Tang Li left, the old abbot suddenly looked up towards the entrance of the courtyard and then said, "This time the Finance Minister has come up the mountain, his mind is not as undistracted as before."

Song Baiyan put down a chess piece and smiled faintly, "It’s just self-inflicted trouble."

"All conditioned phenomena are but a product of causes and conditions, they arise when conditions are present and cease when they are not; that is all there is to it," said the old abbot with a voice seasoned by the vicissitudes of life, echoing like a Buddhist scripture: "If mutual affection exists between two hearts, there is nothing better."

Looking at the disposition of the chessboard, this time, Song Baiyan’s hand holding the "General" piece hesitated to make the next move.

The next morning, Tang Li took Song Baiyan’s private car back to the Capital.

When the sedan approached the Art College’s gate, Tang Li asked the driver to stop: "I can walk the rest of the way to the dormitory myself."

At this time, the campus was crowded with people, and she didn’t want to draw too much attention.

After getting out of the car, Tang Li stepped aside.

She watched the sedan drive away before entering the school.

Tang Li had already spoken with Wu Xuehan on the phone and knew that Wu Xuehan and Yu Sui were still in class. Since it was not yet lunchtime, she decided to head back to Wentan Garden first.

Just as she started walking up the slope, Tang Li’s steps halted.

Ahead, at the entrance of Wentan Garden by the roadside under a tree, there was a white Audi sedan parked.

A young man was leaning against the driver’s door, wearing a peacock blue coat, black trousers, and a white shirt that made his figure appear tall and straight; there were already several cigarette butts near the car’s tires, and he seemed to be deep in thought, appearing somewhat absent-minded.

Though the sunshine was bright, Tang Li’s arms started to prickle with small bumps.

It was as if an endless chill was rushing towards her.

In this lifetime, seeing Han Jifeng again, all she felt was a throbbing pain at her temples.

The sensation as if being on the brink of death made her unwilling to take even half a step forward.

Tang Li didn’t know how she managed to walk back, but by the time she came to her senses, she was standing at the crossroad outside the teaching building, watching the students coming and going. Lingering in her mind was the scene of her being shot and falling to the ground from her previous life.