Sending her to a school with more girls makes me worry about her being influenced, sending her to a school with more boys makes me worry about foreign boys getting close to her. If my daughter studies for a few years in the Celestial Continent and is deceived by Beihai people, fooled by the Liguo people, courted by the Borola people, bewitched by the Nisabeno people, led astray by the Celestial Continent people, or taunted by the Western Continent people... The thought makes me shiver. Even if she really forgets Li Yan and becomes independent, it would be better for her to be with Li Yan here.

So in the end, Chen Mingying had to temporarily give up the plan of sending Xiaodi abroad. But after spending a long time in the Celestial Continent, nearly New Year, after being busy with business trips and inspections, with work still pending at the company, she had to bring Yu Xiaodi back.

But estimating the short time now, Li Yan is likely to pester again. So she first had Zhou Yunfei call Li Jie to protect Yu Xiaodi. The purpose was to prevent Li Yan’s harassment and to supervise Xiaodi against ’running away’ from home.

...

Finally returning to the country, stepping on this familiar land, Yu Xiaodi felt much more at ease. She hadn’t broken with her mother, and she wasn’t ready for hard measures, nor could she be long-term confined. Moreover, after returning, she could still appeal to her father.

Accompanying her mother out, Yu Xiaodi’s mood was fluctuating. In her heart, she hoped, just like in movies, her hero could appear before her, taking her away regardless of anything.

But during these days, she had also thought a lot, and grown a lot. Knowing it was impossible, firstly, Li Yan would not know her whereabouts; secondly, if indeed he did so, it would tear apart the situation, leaving no room for maneuver. Now her mother merely wanted to change her; if they were to have a direct confrontation, then she might hurt Li Yan’s dignity with money, identity, status, and other means.

Caught between her lover and family, Yu Xiaodi was also troubled. She didn’t want to see her mother hurt Li Yan’s dignity. This is also why she had cooperated by accepting the soft confinement, without resorting to hunger strikes or running away to eschew intensifying the conflict. And Chen Mingying being relatively gentle also stemmed from her earlier threatening with a hunger strike, though that time it was because Chen Mingying had Li Jie watch her at home for her safety. (See Volume 1, Chapter 119 for details)

On the way out, Chen Mingying let the company people go their way, having already arranged a driver and bodyguard to pick them up. Seeing them come out, Zhou Yunfei quickly dialed the driver’s phone, asking him to drive over.

Chen Mingying and Yu Xiaodi walked a bit closer in the crowd of people who came to pick them up, seeing the familiar figures of Zhou Yunfei and Li Jie. Helping with the luggage, Yu Xiaodi didn’t say anything, her expectant gaze sweeping through the crowd.

Suddenly, as if telepathically, she directed her gaze in one direction. Beyond the crowd, across the distance, Xiaodi saw two deep and passionate eyes!

It was Li Yan!

He had come!

Li Yan truly had come!

Yu Xiaodi shouted inwardly, her gaze becoming fervent quickly. She felt her breath and heartbeat were no longer her own, as though the people, the noise around her vanished instantly. At this moment, she felt the entire airport, the entire world was just her and Li Yan.

The actual distance between them was not very close, as Li Yan took care not to be seen by Chen Mingying, or startle Xiaodi, just a glance at her was enough. But now, Yu Xiaodi felt that even the space distance was no longer an obstacle, even though she should only be able to see Li Yan’s silhouette, she seemed to clearly see his eyes, understanding all his yearning, concern, tension in his gaze.

She smiled, her first happy smile since they parted on her birthday more than half a month ago.

Xiaodi believed Li Yan could see her smile, could understand her smile. Then, after her smile, she nodded at him and forced herself to turn away from looking at him.

Although she longed to see Li Yan, to rush to him, to express her thoughts and love, she had to be firm to herself now. This was a public place, if her mother saw this or he came over, it would leave her mother in an awkward situation, escalating the conflict, thus harming him, harming their relationship.

After turning, she bit her lip hard, eyes filled with excited, happy yet helpless tears.

In a blur, a familiar figure appeared before her. It was Li Jie, whom she previously had a good rapport with.

"Sister Jie..." Xiaodi uttered a sound, unsure if she voiced it out.

No one noticed their tacit gaze across the space, but how could Li Jie, who helped bring Li Yan, miss it? Seeing their expressions, Yu Xiaodi’s excitement and suppressive demeanor stirred Li Jie as well. Feeling guilty towards her friend with Li Yan, she immediately agreed to Zhou Yunfei’s request for Chen Mingying and brought Li Yan to see her today.

Previously, Li Jie couldn’t relate to the heart of someone in love, but now she understood, knowing Yu Xiaodi’s difficulty in not being able to speak or see, akin to her own pain of not thinking about or contacting Li Yan. However, for Xiaodi, it was evidently deeper.

"Xiaodi..." Usually cool Li Jie, disregarding her calmness on the job, hugged Yu Xiaodi, whispering in her ear: "Let’s go out first, the car is outside."

This maneuver naturally served to shield Yu Xiaodi from raising Chen Mingying’s suspicion. Yu Xiaodi nodded, releasing her hold, moving forward with her.

Chen Mingying, seeing their good relationship with Zhou Yunfei who took the luggage from her assistant, didn’t dwell much on it.

Under Li Jie’s cover by her side, as they walked forward together, Yu Xiaodi could reasonably turn her head towards Li Yan’s side, raising her hand before her to wave at him. In silence, everything was understood... Seeking December’s guaranteed monthly pass!

(Thanks for the rewards yesterday: Yagami Light II, Cavalry, Resident by Mountain and Water, Xuanyu’s Dad, zjun971210, Mithrandir, dongmin8061, Cp Pampas) (To be continued, for more on subsequent events, please log in to www.qidian.com, support the author, support legitimate reading!)