After receiving what seemed to be a 'lecture' from Shao Jingfei, the exhausted Li Chunhua plopped down on one chair with her head sprawled on the table. She couldn't believe she just let that short guy talk whatever he wanted, while she could only sit and listen.
However, after listening to his explanation, Li Chunhua felt his words unclogged something in her mind, which she previously didn't understand before. At least she understood better now why she couldn't seem to meet Li Caiyi eye to an eye.
Although it was embarrassing to hear someone else declare your fault right to your face, Li Chunhua still endured it because she wanted to know her sister better and hopefully restore their previous relationship.
What she didn't expect was how draining it was just sitting there and letting Shao Jingfei and his smart mouth make fun of you.
"That damn shortie. He is using Xiaoyi to play a prank on me. I shall remember this." Li Caiyi muttered grudgefully.
"Oh? Are you complaining about me now? And here I thought you would need a mango smoothie to cool down your head."
Li Chunhua peeked from the gap in her hair and found Shao Jingfei sitting across from her with a glass of mango smoothie in his hand. "Should I drink this instead, then?"
"Hmph, do as you please," she said sulkily as she turned her head away.
Shao Jingfei sighed. "How can you even live with such a short fuse? Li Caiyi must be a saint for being able to put up with a troublesome girl like you."
Li Chunhua sneered. "Yes, yes. Xiaoyi is the good girl, while I'm the bad one. Are you happy now? You can leave this bad girl alone now."
Shao Jingfei looked down at the mess of hair on top of the table and how Li Chunhua refused to look his way. When he asked her to come here, he didn't actually plan for it to turn out this way. He just thought that perhaps he could teach her how it felt to be on the giving side of indulgence, just like what Li Caiyi always did for her.
Nevertheless, teasing her with the mango smoothie was unnecessary. He probably had gone overboard again.
"Hey, stop sulking and look this way," he said as he put his cold palm to her cheeks, which immediately jolted her to a sitting position.
"Tsk, what do you want now? In the end, Xiaoyi would always be the good one for you, so what's the point of wasting your time with a bad girl like me?" Li Chunhua spat those words as soon as their eyes met.
Shao Jingfei couldn't comprehend her way of thinking. Was she upset because he kept bothering her, or was she angry because he always put Li Caiyi on a good pedestal? Either way, this girl was too troublesome.
"Drink first and calm your head." He said while pushing the glass of mango smoothie her way. She eyed the glass suspiciously, which made Shao Jingfei sigh helplessly.
"I'm not putting anything to it. Just drink it and feel better."
Li Chunhua snorted but still reached out to the glass anyway and took a huge sip of it. After finishing half of it, she wiped her mouth and said, "This is pretty good."
"Is that so? Good for you."
Li Chunhua had just noticed that Shao Jingfei had been watching her drink all this time, so she was a bit embarrassed.
"I wasn't complimenting you."
"Did I even say something? I just said it's good if you enjoy it."
Li Chunhua pursed her lips and didn't know what to respond. That was when a kitten suddenly appeared and rubbed its head on her leg.
Upon closer look, it was the same kitten she held earlier. It meowed as it looked up at her with its small but bright eyes.
'It's cute, but I'm afraid it will jump on me again.' Li Chunhua thought inwardly.
"This little one's name is Yue. The manager found her badly injured after she was attacked by some wild dogs."
"This kitten was?"
"Yeah. Because of that, Yue is very timid and refuses to open up to anyone, even to the manager. Perhaps she was afraid humans would also attack her, just like those dogs were."
Li Chunhua stared down at the kitten, who was eager to climb up on her leg as if asking to be picked up. "It doesn't seem that way anymore, though?"
"The manager is a very caring and patient person. Thanks to his meticulous care, Yue can finally regain her life and also trust in another living being."
Li Chunhua made a low humming noise. "Your manager seems to be a great person. Taking care of an injured animal is no small feat."
"Do you think so? I thought Yue is the great one, though."
"What do you mean?"
Shao Jingfei crouched down beside Yue before petting it on its head with a tender look on his face.
"After having to go through such an ordeal, Yue is still willing to open up her heart to other living beings. She is a cat, so I know what I said probably didn't make sense, but I really like those who always try their best in everything. She had suffered a lot, but she managed to overcome it."
"Yeah. You are weird. Yue is just a cat. Isn't it natural for her to gradually open up to people who fed her?"
Shao Jingfei smiled sinisterly. "So as long as you are being fed and taken care of, you are obligated to love whoever is doing that for you?"
For a second, Li Chunhua thought he was talking about something else and not about a cat, so she asked again, "What do you mean?"
"Nothing. I'm just saying that I don't like the idea that a person is obligated to do whatever the person who fed them said unconditionally. A person should live more freely, and even if they want to fulfill their duty, it should be by their own choice."
The way he said it, it seemed like he implied a deeper meaning behind it. Li Chunhua was curious, but she wasn't that senseless to pry in another person's business.
"Well, I guess you have a point there." She scratched her head, feeling a little awkward. It should be none of her business, but why did she feel pressured to say something to comfort him here? She struggled to find the correct words to say.
"Don't think too much of it. Yue is happy now, and that's all that matters."
Shao Jingfei smiled faintly as he muttered, "You're right. It doesn't matter as long as Yue is happy."
Then, he raised his head and stared at Li Chunhua with an inexplicable gaze. "Just like how Yue chose her own happiness, I hope you can find your own happiness too. One that didn't come from your sister or anyone else but from within yourself."
This time, he wasn't wearing his obnoxious smile or smug grin on his face. He looked earnest and genuine when he said that.
It rendered her speechless and made her fall into a deep thought too.
'What does it mean to find happiness within myself?' Li Chunhua asked herself inwardly.
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