Deliberately Approaching
Chapter 53 Are You Afraid?

Chapter 53: Chapter 53 Are You Afraid?

Unlike Li Garden, the style here was very simple, with not so much high technology, giving one a feeling of closeness to nature.

The shade of the green trees was actually secondary; the real beauty lay in the scenes that appeared every few steps.

There were even two rows of artificial mountains, both hollow, with pedestrian pathways inside that led up stone steps straight to the small red wooden pavilion at the top of the hill.

That was the highest point of Mei Garden.

Looking down, one could see the plum blossom-shaped pond, the winding pebble paths, and the bright red bougainvillea, all in one view.

Tang Xiaowan stepped in and felt a surge of affection.

Missy here finally made her comeback!

Those who wanted to harm me, to poison me, just bring it on. I’m not afraid of you.

She pumped herself up, not forgetting to sneer a few times.

Li Zishen furrowed his brow slightly, somewhat worried.

"Xiao Wan, what did you just say?"

Hearing the question, Tang Xiaowan realized that the few accompanying staff had left at some point, leaving only Li Zishen behind her.

She guessed that Uncle Cai must have gone to the kitchen.

As for Fang Yun and the six bodyguards, they were very likely off carrying out some task Li Zishen had assigned, probably related to fending off the bad guys.

"Xiao Wan, what are you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing, just talking to myself."

She had clearly been lost in thought but didn’t want to admit it!

Li Zishen didn’t keep asking. He smiled and said, "Your luggage has already been sent to the second floor, lunch will probably be another two hours. Are you tired? Do you want to go back to the bedroom to rest?"

"I want to go to the study."

Okay, that was another evasion!

Why won’t you tell me what’s on your mind, or do you still not trust me and suspect me?

The study was where the incident had happened.

Indeed, that was what you cared about the most.

"Okay, let’s go then, I’ll accompany you for a walk."

Li Zishen’s emotions were a bit turbulent, his voice very low, but Tang Xiaowan didn’t notice.

She raised her head and looked towards the distance: "I remember that my bedroom seems to be at the farthest end of the second floor, and the study seems to be at the farthest end of the third floor, right?"

"Mhm, that’s right."

Tang Xiaowan pursed her lips with a smile, took a deep breath, and then bounded toward the villa like a rabbit.

The feeling of coming home was just too good!

Although the main building of the villa had four floors, it was much smaller than Li Garden, and most places used pure solid wood for decoration.

Starting with the entrance to the first-floor hall, including the stairs and the corridors, all were covered with wooden flooring.

The dark red tone was very warm.

Li Zishen followed behind Tang Xiaowan, seeing her take off her shoes but didn’t step forward to stop her.

Her bare feet were plump and adorable.

Actually, during the time in Li Garden, Li Zishen had long noticed Tang Xiaowan’s habit of not wearing shoes, just never understanding why she wouldn’t wear slippers and insisted on running around barefoot in the bedroom.

Now he got it.

She had always been mischievous since she was little!

The word "lady" was completely unrelated to her.

Grandma Tang must have adored her, like her own granddaughter, seemingly strict but actually indulgent.

The wooden floor creaked underfoot.

The whole place was very clean, without any clutter.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the third-floor study.

Tang Xiaowan slowed her steps, tiptoeing to the door; after listening for a moment, she opened it.

"Wow, study, we meet again!"

"Quick, look, look how many books I have, even more than yours."

"It’s great; I’m back here again!"

Watching the incredibly proud Tang Xiaowan, Li Zishen felt a trace of relief in his heart.

The days of preparation hadn’t been wasted!

To avoid making Tang Xiaowan feel sad or reminiscent of the dangers they faced during the night attack, he had restored the place to its original state as much as possible.

The two hollow glass vases that were broken had been replaced with identical ones in the same color, and the scattered books were picked up one by one, sorted, and put back in their places.

Even for the six dry lotus pods, Li Zi had Bai Long find very similar ones, purchased them, and placed them back into the cylindrical ceramic vase.

"Did you have people clean all this up?"

Tang Xiaowan gradually sat down on the wicker chair, her bright apricot eyes twinkling.

"Uh, just tidied up a bit."

"These two wicker chairs are nice, new purchases?"

Li Zishen: "..."

She could actually tell, despite the fact that I had them artificially aged.

Also, that’s right, the little one is quite fond of root carvings.

How could such a trivial trick ever fool her!

"Keen eye, you could become an appraiser."

Tang Xiaowan smiled proudly and stood up to walk over to the desk, "I must have loved to read, right? Look, there are books everywhere, so many, I guess there must be a few hundred here?"

"You’ve said that you hate reading; you’d rather spend your money on pig’s trotters, which are more satisfying to chew on."

That comment hit the nail on the head regarding the girl’s true nature.

She did love to eat, and if she didn’t have enough at every meal, she’d feel like she was shortchanging herself.

She hadn’t been at Li Garden for quite a month, but Uncle Cai’s cooking skills were already sharpened to a new level; he used to only cook Northern cuisine, but now he mastered both Southern and Northern dishes.

Tang Xiaowan touched her nose, "You’re wrong, I actually love reading books, you just don’t know it."

Even as she said this, she felt it sounded quite fake!

But a girl’s pride must be maintained, especially since this was her own home, not Li Garden.

Li Zishen pulled a book from the shelf and replied with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, "Hmm, that’s possible. Every time we meet it’s mealtime; I really haven’t had the chance to listen to you read. I’ll make sure to get to know you better later on."

Tang Xiaowan: "..."

Why did that feel so strange?

What’s this about mealtime? As if I’m some kind of foodie?

As a joke, am I that kind of person?

"Xiao Wan, this book seems pretty good, can I borrow it to read?"

Tang Xiaowan glanced at Li Zishen, "Take it then, Miss grants it to you."

"No need, I can finish it in two days."

"Oh, okay then."

Tang Xiaowan’s response was nonchalant, but her mind was swirling with other thoughts.

Go ahead, keep pretending!

Such a thick book, finished in two days?

Men really are all pigs, always trying to make themselves look better. He’s just showing off his love for reading!

"Oh right, I forgot to ask you something."

"What?"

"I haven’t seen Bai Long around, where did he go?"

Li Zishen quickly closed the book and walked slowly towards Tang Xiaowan, "He, he had some matters to attend to and will come over once he’s done."

"Oh, okay, got it."

"Xiao Wan, are you scared? Worried there’s no one to protect you?"

Being seen through made Tang Xiaowan a bit uncomfortable.

She stood up abruptly and answered with her nose in the air, "Nonsense, I’m not scared. What do I have to be scared of? If it comes down to it, we can do it again, next time..."

"Don’t talk rubbish, that’s not going to happen."

Li Zishen’s voice was deep and forceful, startling Tang Xiaowan into silence immediately.

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