Huayu: Starting from retirement, sweeping across the domestic entertainment industry

Chapter 217 Each with their own thoughts

Li Yitong stood beside the sofa, her posture upright, her hands folded in front of her, and a polite smile on her lips.

She looked at Li's mother, gave a slight bow, and spoke in a soft but clear voice.

"Hello, Auntie. Hello, Mr. Long."

Her tone was polite yet distant, unlike Tian Xiwei's intimacy or Liu Haocun's obedience; rather, it was a just-right, neither servile nor arrogant politeness.

Long Danni looked at her, a slight smile curving her lips. "Yitong, long time no see."

They had met at some events before; they weren't close, but they knew each other.

Li's mother's gaze lingered on Li Yitong's face for a moment, then turned to Tian Xiwei, her eyes filled with a question.

Tian Xiwei quickly let go of Li's mother's arm, walked to Li Yitong's side, and took her arm in a natural and intimate manner.

"Mom, this is Li Yitong." Her tone was light and cheerful, as if she were introducing a very important friend. "We met on the set of 'The Legend of Canglan.' Sister Tong played my master, and she's so good to me."

Li's mother's gaze fell on Li Yitong's face. Her crescent-shaped eyes were curved, smiling, like two new moons hanging in the night sky, clear and gentle.

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly—those eyes are so beautiful.

She looked at Li Yitong and suddenly smiled, "Yitong, you look so beautiful when you smile."

Li Yitong paused for a moment, then smiled, the smile starting from the corners of her mouth and slowly spreading to her eyes. "Auntie, you flatter me."

""

As Tian Xiwei leaned on Li's mother's shoulder and watched this scene, a chord in her heart was plucked.

She hugged her mother's arm tightly, buried her face in her shoulder, and mumbled, "Mom, isn't Tong Jie very pretty?"

Li's mother looked down at her and said, "They all look good, they all look good."

Li's mother and Long Danshi did not stay for long.

They sat for a while longer, chatted with Li Yitong for a bit, and then talked to Tian Xiwei for a while before standing up and saying they had to leave.

Tian Xiwei quickly stood up, took Li's mother's arm, and saw her to the door.

"Mom, let's play together again next time."

Her voice was soft and sweet, carrying a hint of reluctance and a touch of coquettishness, as if she were saying, "I'll miss you."

Li's mother smiled and reached out to pinch her cheek.

"Okay, be good and don't keep arguing with Li Ran." Her tone carried a hint of admonition, as well as a hint of "Don't cause trouble when I leave."

She knew Tian Xiwei's personality very well.

Tian Xiwei nodded, her big eyes showing a stubbornness that said, "I won't argue with him," and a hint of grievance that said, "I won't argue unless he provokes me."

Long Danni also stood up, glanced at Li Ran, then at Liu Haocun, and smiled slightly.

"We're leaving now, you guys have fun."

"7

Li Ran stood up and saw him to the door.

"Take care, Auntie. Take care, Mom."

Li's mother glanced at him and gently patted his arm.

"Don't drink too much, go home early." Her tone carried a hint of admonition, but also a warning: "Don't cause me any trouble."

Li Ran nodded and smiled. "Understood."

The door closed.

The private room fell silent for a moment, with only the breathing of the four people and the old song that hadn't finished playing on the stereo.

Tian Xiwei leaned back on the sofa, hugging a cushion, looking at Li Ran and Liu Haocun sitting opposite her with a smug expression.

Liu Haocun sat next to Li Ran, quietly drinking his beverage, his gaze shifting between Tian Xiwei and Li Yitong before returning to his own.

She truly hadn't expected that Tian Xiwei could be so close to Li's mother, acting more like a biological daughter than a daughter-in-law.

Li Yitong sat on the other sofa, looked at Liu Haocun, and felt a pang of heartache as she recalled everything that had happened to the girl not long ago.

The four of them played for a while longer.

Tian Xiwei ordered a few songs, but she didn't sing very well. However, her voice was loud, and the entire private room was filled with her voice, drowning out everyone else's voices.

Time flies, so fast it feels like someone has pressed the fast-forward button.

Li Ran glanced at her phone; it was almost midnight.

He stood up, put his phone in his pocket, stretched, and his bones made a slight clicking sound.

"Let's go home! I'm sleepy."

-

Tian Xiwei looked up at him, her big eyes filled with a hint of dissatisfaction that said, "You just left like that?"

"How come you're sleepy after playing for only a little while?"

Li Ran looked at her, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Then you and Sister Tong can continue playing. Cunzi and I will head back first."

Tian Xiwei snorted, turned her head away, and refused to look at him again.

Liu Haocun stood up, straightened her skirt, walked to Li Ran's side, and naturally took his arm.

"Let's go then."

Li Yitong thought for a moment, then stood up, picked up her bag, looked at Tian Xiwei, then at Li Ran, and smiled slightly.

"Let's go too, I'll stay at your place tonight."

Tian Xiwei stood up, picked up a cushion and threw it aside, walked to Li Yitong's side, and took her arm.

"Oh well."

Li Yitong smiled but didn't say anything.

It was nearly 1 a.m. when the car entered the underground parking garage of the residential complex.

Tian Xiwei parked the car and turned off the engine.

Li Yitong unbuckled her seatbelt and glanced at her sideways. Tian Xiwei was still holding the steering wheel, her gaze fixed on the road ahead, lost in thought.

"Are we there yet?" Li Yitong asked softly.

Tian Xiwei snapped out of her daze, nodded, and opened the car door.

The two entered the elevator one after the other, neither of them speaking.

Tian Xiwei took out her keys, opened the door, and the light in the entryway turned on automatically, illuminating a small patch of warm, homey light.

"Sister Tong, you go wash up first." Tian Xiwei changed her shoes, put her bag on the cabinet in the entryway, and glanced back at Li Yitong.

Li Yitong nodded and, without any hesitation, went straight into the bathroom.

Tian Xiwei sat on the sofa in the living room, hugging a cushion, her gaze fixed on the view outside the window.

Li Yitong came out of the shower with her hair still dripping wet. She was wearing a light pink cotton nightgown by Tian Xiwei, which was soft and loose.

She walked out while drying her hair, her bare feet making no sound on the carpet.

Tian Xiwei looked up at her and suddenly smiled, "Sister Tong, you look quite good in my pajamas."

Li Yitong smiled and sat down next to her. "Your clothes are of course beautiful."

She draped the towel over her shoulder, turned her head to look at Tian Xiwei, and her crescent-shaped eyes held a hint of seriousness.

"Xiaotian, Li Ran's mother, do you know about your relationship?" she asked, her voice not loud but clear.

Tian Xiwei nodded, making no attempt to hide anything.

She hugged the cushion tighter, rested her chin on it, and gazed out the window.

"We all know."

She paused, turned her head, and looked at Li Yitong. "Sister Tong, can you help me analyze this?"

Li Yitong looked at her, her crescent-shaped eyes showing a hint of understanding.

She thought for a moment, then asked, "What's Li Ran's mother's attitude now?"

Tian Xiwei's lips curved slightly, the curve so small it was almost invisible.

Tian Xiwei told Li Yitong about the situation. Her voice was soft, with a hint of helplessness and confusion.

"Last time I went back to my hometown, I started calling her 'Mom' instead." She paused, then added, "Grandma also gave me a bracelet."

O

She stretched out her wrist, and the jade bracelet gleamed warmly under the light, emerald green and translucent, like a pool of frozen spring water.

Li Yitong looked down at the bracelet for several seconds, then looked up at Tian Xiwei.

"Then what are you still worried about?"

Tian Xiwei shook her head, put the cushion aside, crossed her legs, and faced Li Yitong, her posture as serious as if she were attending a very important meeting.

"Sister Tong, you don't understand."

Her voice lowered, carrying a heavy tone.

"Li Ran's mother is nice to me because she thinks I can control Li Ran. But Li Ran is someone that no one can control."

She paused, as if remembering something, and frowned slightly. "Besides, he doesn't listen to everything his mother says."

Li Yitong didn't say anything, she just listened quietly.

Tian Xiwei continued speaking, her voice growing faster and faster, as if she had finally found an outlet for words she had been holding back for a long time.

"Zhou Ye was someone he'd been with since college, Zhang Jingyi was someone he'd known since high school, Liu Haocun was someone he'd met while filming a movie, and Zhang Ruonan was someone he pursued himself—"

She counted them one by one, as if she were tallying up an unresolved account. "Each one, he did willingly. It wasn't arranged by his mother, nor was it orchestrated by others; it was what he wanted himself."

After she finished speaking, she let out a long breath, as if she had removed a stone from her chest, but after removing it, it was still empty inside, with nothing at all.

Li Yitong looked at her, remained silent for a few seconds, and then reached out and gently took Tian Xiwei's hand.

"Xiaotian, what do you think of Li Ran's feelings towards you?"

Tian Xiwei thought for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly before relaxing.

"He treats me very well," she said with certainty, as if it were something that needed no doubt.

But her voice trailed off, and then she added, "But he's very kind to other people too."

There was a hint of helplessness in his tone, and a sense of powerlessness that said, "This is the problem."

Li Yitong smiled; the smile was faint, but genuine.

"So, who do you think he's the best to?"

Tian Xiwei fell silent. She thought of many things, and it seemed that everyone had their own unique and irreplaceable gentleness.

She thought about it for a long time, and finally shook her head.

"I don't know." Her voice was very soft, so soft that it sounded like she was talking to herself.

Li Yitong looked at her, her crescent-shaped eyes filled with a hint of heartache.

"Then what are you arguing about?"

Tian Xiwei was stunned for a moment.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Yes, what is she fighting for? She already has her mother's approval, her grandmother's bracelet, the status of being "addressed" by her grandmother, and a "title" that is higher than others.

But she was unwilling to accept it. She was unwilling to accept that the way he looked at others was different from the way he looked at her. She was unwilling to accept that his tenderness was divided into so many parts, and that the part she held was no more than the part of others.

She lowered her head and looked at the jade bracelet on her wrist, which was emerald green and translucent, gleaming with a warm light under the lamp.

She suddenly felt that the bracelet was so heavy that her wrist could hardly support it.

"Sister Tong, do you think I'm being too greedy?"

Li Yitong shook her head, reached out and tucked the stray hairs hanging in front of her forehead behind her ear, her fingertips brushing against her earlobe with a very light touch, as if she were touching something very fragile.

"You're not being greedy, you're just taking things too seriously."

Her voice was soft but firm, as if she were stating a conclusion she had drawn after observing for a long time.

"Earnest people are the most vulnerable."

Tian Xiwei raised her head and looked at Li Yitong. Her big eyes were a little watery, but she didn't cry.

She just looked at Li Yitong like a lost child standing at a crossroads, not knowing which way to go.

"Sister Tong, what should I do?"

Li Yitong looked at her and remained silent for a few seconds.

Then she reached out and gently pulled Tian Xiwei into her arms.

"Xiaotian, some things are beyond your control. The only thing you can control is yourself. You're kind to Li Ran because you want to be kind to him, not because you want him to repay you. You compete because you want to, not to prove that you're better than others."

She paused, then gently patted Tian Xiwei's back, as if comforting a child who had cried themselves to sleep. "Just do your best. Leave the rest to time."

Tian Xiwei didn't speak, but leaned on her shoulder, closed her eyes, and her breathing gradually became steady.

Li Yitong understood. Her mother probably wanted to groom Xiaotian to be the matriarch of the household, but perhaps she only saw the decisiveness in Xiaotian's bones.

Given Li Ran's personality, he's bound to have many women. But a woman who's passionate and impulsive isn't the rightful wife; she needs to be gentle, kind, respectful, frugal, and yielding, and at the very least, know when to let go.

Oda's personality is clearly unsuitable.

On the other side, Liu Haocun's apartment was quiet.

Li Ran leaned against the bedside table, eyes closed, in a relaxed posture, like a large dog that had finally run out of energy and was willing to rest for a while.

Liu Haocun nestled beside him, holding a cup of yogurt in his hand, sipping it slowly, his gaze fixed on his face, unblinking, as if counting how many eyelashes he had.

"Have you rested well?" she suddenly asked.

Li Ran opened his eyes, turned to look at her, his brows furrowing slightly, and asked with some confusion, "Why are you being so proactive today?"

Liu Haocun licked the yogurt from the corner of his mouth, turned around, and faced him.

Those deer-like eyes shone brightly under the light, like two black pearls immersed in water, carrying a serious, determined, and unquestionable light.

She looked into his eyes and remained silent for a long time, so long that Li Ran thought she wouldn't answer, until she finally spoke.

"I'm planning to have a child."

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear and distinct, like a nail driven into a wooden board that couldn't be pulled out.

Li Ran was stunned for a moment. His brows furrowed even more, and he leaned forward slightly, getting closer to her, as if to make sure he hadn't misheard.

"Why are we talking about this again? No—" He was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

Liu Haocun shook his head, his doe-like eyes filled with a firm "Don't say anything, I've already thought it through" kind of determination.

"It has to be just right now, I don't have any activities right now."

Her tone was calm, as if she were stating a fact that had been repeatedly deduced, rather than discussing something important concerning the future of the two of them.

Li Ran sighed helplessly and reached out to take her hand.

"Your situation has already had a very small impact, now—" He was interrupted by her once again.

"Then I'm also prepared to have a child first." Liu Haocun's voice rose a little, with stubbornness and a resolute "I've made up my mind" attitude.

Li Ran looked into her eyes. In those deer-like eyes, there was determination, seriousness, and something he couldn't see through, something hidden deep within.

He suddenly understood. Today at the KTV, Tian Xiwei was holding Li's mother's arm, calling her "Mom" over and over again. That intimate, natural, and unreserved manner was like a thorn that pierced Liu Haocun's heart.

It's not that she wasn't worried; she just hadn't said it.

Tian Xiwei has already reached the point of changing her address, meeting the parents, and gaining their approval.

She remained where she was, like a passenger waiting for a boat that never came, watching other boats row further and further away.

"Is it because of Oda?"

Liu Haocun neither admitted nor denied it.

She simply lowered her head, looking at their clasped hands, watching his thumb gently caress the back of her hand, circling around and around, as if drawing an endless circle.

"Li Ran, I'm not competing with her." Her voice was very soft, so soft it was as if she were speaking to herself. "I just want reassurance, peace of mind—"

She looked up into his eyes, those doe-like eyes glistening with tears, but she wasn't crying. "I'm afraid if I wait too long, I won't be able to wait any longer."

Li Ran looked at her and remained silent for a long time.

He reached out and gently cupped her face, his thumb brushing against her cheekbone with a light touch, as if he were touching something fragile.

"Cunzi, are you sure?" he asked, his voice low but serious. "This isn't a small matter. If you haven't thought it through—"

"I've made up my mind," Liu Haocun interrupted him, her voice firm, as if she were making a decision she had thought about for a long time.

"Li Ran, I'm not acting impulsively. I've calculated it; if I want to have the baby now, it'll be perfect next year. By then, my work will have mostly returned to normal, so it won't be a problem."

She paused, her doe-like eyes filled with a hint of seriousness, a hint of expectation, and a touch of nervousness, as if pleading, "Please don't reject me."

"All you need to do is cooperate with me."

Li Ran looked at her serious expression and suddenly laughed.

"Cooperate with you?" he asked, a hint of mockery in his tone. "It's no use if only I cooperate in this kind of thing."

Liu Haocun's face flushed slightly, the blush starting from his cheeks and slowly spreading to his ears.

She reached out and gently patted his chest, not too hard, "I'm talking to you seriously, don't interrupt."

Li Ran's joking expression vanished. He looked at her seriously and asked, "What about your parents? Do they know?"

Liu Haocun shook his head. "He hasn't said yet."

She paused, then added, "But they probably won't object. My mom's always wanted a baby; she was talking about it on the phone last time, asking when we'd—"