Li Chunhua raised her head to find Shao Jingfei staring at her with an inexplicable gaze. But there was pain and bitterness hidden deep in those eyes. It made her breath hitch in her throat.
She didn't like seeing him making a face like that for some reason. His silly face was much more tolerable than this one.
Driven by the weird feeling in her chest, she unconsciously muttered, "I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what?" Shao Jingfei sneered sinisterly.
"I'm sorry for sticking my nose into something that is none of my business, and also…." Li Chunhua bit her lips before replying, "I'm sorry for hurting your feelings; I didn't mean it like that. Although, I doubt you will believe me even if I said that."
If Li Chunhua from the future looked back to this scene, she might wonder why would her past self apologize when Shao Qian was the one who was eager to spill everything. She might also have some regret because she was just that prideful.
Despite that, the current Li Chunhua still thought that this was probably the answer Shao Jingfei was waiting for. Was it because he looked so pitiful that it tugged on her sympathy string? Or was it because she secretly hoped that Shao Jingfei wouldn't feel disappointed in her too, just like Li Caiyi was?
Shao Jingfei said nothing in reply to her apology, so she couldn't tell what was on his mind.
Li Chunhua didn't dare to meet his eyes right now, so she lowered her head. Then, she vaguely noticed he raised his hand from his shadow and shut her eyes tightly, bracing herself for an incoming attack.
However, that attack never came. Li Chunhua was astonished when she felt his big hand stroke her head, messing with her hair.
"Nice. So you do know how to apologize properly. That one is the correct answer. I'm so proud of you, my disciple." Shao Jingfei said with his usual grin on his face.
After seeing his cold smile before this, Li Chunhua felt relieved when she saw that bright smile again. Usually, she would find his smile foolish and annoying, but now, she couldn't define his smile as anything but radiant.
Bright and warm, like sunlight.
"Hm? What? You think I'm going to hit you?" Shao Jingfei chuckled. "I don't have a habit of hitting women. Cursing or humiliating them is probably the most I will do, but I will never raise my hand against them. What kind of person do you think I am?"
"I thought you were angry at me."
"Of course, I'm angry at you. But you properly apologize after recognizing your mistake, so it's enough for me. I already gave you a second chance, so don't do this again, okay?"
Li Chunhua was still not fully awake from her daze, so she obediently nodded. "I understand."
"Good girl. If only you could apologize to your sister like this, I honestly thought her opinion of you would get better, but then again, I don't know much about the conflict between the two of you."
"Will she really? I apologized many times before, but she refused to listen to me."
"That's because you apologized for the sake of apologizing, not because you are reflecting on your mistake."
Li Chunhua: "...."
"Now that the misunderstanding is solved, can you tell me how much you have heard from this guy? Spill everything you know, or I'll make the cat army attack you again." Shao Jingfei smiled threateningly at her, and Li Chunhua knew she wouldn't be able to get out of this place anytime soon.
***
"Hmm, I see. Thanks for letting me know. I understand now that these guys basically had told you everything."
"Y-yes…" Li Chunhua looked pitifully at Shao Qian, who is currently used as the kitties sleeping cushion. He must be shocked if he came to his consciousness later.
"Then? What do you think of me now? Tell me honestly."
"I think nothing about it. This might sound harsh, but a case like this is not that uncommon. You should know that as well, right?"
Shao Jingfei shrugged his shoulders. "How should I know that? I'm someone who has never been officially recognized as a Young Master Shao, so I wouldn't know how rich people think about this issue. Did you already forget that?"
"R-right…" Li Chunhua replied awkwardly, feeling like she had just stepped on the landmine there. She cleared her throat and quickly changed the topic.
"I also want to ask you something. This cafe, don't tell me you are the owner all along?"
"Haha, yes. I was wondering when you will finally realize that."
"No wonder those cats are so attached to you. Were you the one who adopted them all?"
"I picked some of them from the street. Some stumbled their way here, and I just took them in." Shao Jingfei said as he stared fondly at the cats, who seemed to have fun using Shao Qian as their new plaything.
Li Chunhua sneaked a glance at Shao Jingfei and contemplated whether she should ask or not. But in the end, curiosity got the best of her.
"Did you always receive that kind of treatment from your family? Is that why you are very adamant about living a free life, just like you said?"
"Pretty much. I didn't care about what they said about me, but I couldn't take it whenever they insulted my mother. So I moved out of the Shao family's house. That house was never my house, to begin with, so I felt nothing even after I left."
"You live alone now?"
He laughed at that. "You are practically standing in my house right now. The second floor of this cafe is my house. Do you want to go upstairs and take a look?"
"No, I'll pass. But how can you afford to rent this place? It's pretty spacious, so it should have needed a lot of money, right?"
"I'm a student with a proper job. The Shao family is shitty, but they have a good business ethic. Despite being the biggest shame they wanted to hide, they still paid me a good sum for working with them. Truly generous!" Shao Jingfei said sarcastically.
"If you hate them so much, then why can't you just leave those people behind?"
"I have my own reason for that." Shao Jingfei stared at the ceiling with a distant look in his eyes, and Li Chunhua tacitly took that as a signal not to ask further.
"What are you going to do about that person?" Li Chunhua asked as she stared at the unconscious Shao Qian on the floor. "Wouldn't you get in trouble if you go against those people?"
"They would be the one getting into trouble if they went against me. Since I'm their most precious 'gem' for their business, they can't do anything to me. If there is anyone who will get into trouble, it would be this guy."
"I see." Li Chunhua felt like she finally could see Shao Jingfei's true color better now.
Surprisingly, he shared a few similar traits with Li Caiyi, in which they hated being bound by the family's rule, but refused to leave the family behind, either. Shao Jingfei was also as unpredictable as Li Caiyi, which made Li Chunhua curious to know more about what was on his mind.
If she understood Shao Jingfei better, wouldn't she also gain a better understanding of her sister?
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