"Okay." Lu Peian did not ask why. He just put the magazine beside his hand.
Xu Li took the books she bought for Meng Qingqing. After bidding farewell to Lu Peian, she took a taxi home. Xu Baifu was sitting on the sofa, drinking tea and reading the newspaper. When he heard the door open, he put down the newspaper and waved at Xu Li. "Come and take a look at your gift."
Xu Baifu was only 40 years old and had maintained himself well. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and looked refined. He had a habit of working out, so he did not have the beer belly of a big boss. He looked like a university professor, but the hair at his temples was a little white. It had turned white overnight after his wife, Wen Yi, passed away.
Xu Li walked over and greeted him, "Dad." She took the box from him and opened it. There were two watches inside. The dials were very small, and the straps were very thin. One was black and the other was white. Meng Qingqing's birthday was coming up. Xu Li had asked Xu Baifu to bring the watches back from abroad.
Xu Baifu: "How is it? Are you satisfied?"
Xu Li put the black watch on her wrist. "I love it. Thank you, Dad." She picked up the box and prepared to go upstairs with the bag containing the books.
Xu Baifu called out to her, "Come sit here, I have something to ask you."
Xu Li tightened her grip on the bag. She stood there for two seconds before walking over and sitting down. Xu Baifu glanced at the bag in her hand and asked, "Did you go to the bookstore?"
"Yes." Xu Li took out the tutorial materials from the bag. "It's the tutorial books I bought for Meng Qingqing. She had something on today and didn't go."
Xu Baifu seemed to heave a sigh of relief. He put down the cup. "I heard from Zhang Jian that you came in second last time?"
Xu Li hummed in agreement.
Xu Baifu smiled. "Second place is fine too. Don't give yourself too much pressure. The college entrance examination is in half a year. Have you thought about which school you want to go to?"
Xu Li replied, "Capital University, I guess."
"Capital University…" Xu Baifu pondered for a moment and nodded. "Capital University is fine too. Capital University's finances are one of the best in the country."
Xu Li was a little tired. "I still have homework to finish. I'll go up first."
Xu Baifu: "Alright, I'll call you for dinner later."
Xu Li responded and quickly went upstairs. She locked the door and threw the bag on the bed. Then, she threw herself onto the bed and buried her face in the blanket.
After a while, her phone rang. Xu Li answered the call.
Meng Qingqing: "Xu Li! I'm back! Let's go to the internet cafe tomorrow!"
Xu Li asked, "You won't stand me up again, will you?"
"No, no, not this time! Today was an accident!" Meng Qingqing was furious. "You don't know this. We agreed to meet that tutor today, but I waited for half a day and didn't see him. How dare he stand me up? I'll teach him a lesson next time!"
Xu Li chuckled and teased, "Then the two of you are quite compatible. Both of you like to stand people up."
After chatting with Meng Qingqing for a while, Xu Baifu came up to call her for dinner. After dinner, Xu Baifu received a call with a serious expression. "There's a problem at the company. I'm going out again. Stay at home."
"Okay. Be careful on the road." Xu Li did not react. She was used to Xu Baifu's frequent business trips. Xu Baifu had just returned this afternoon. He had not even opened his suitcase before he took it away.
When he passed by Xu Li, Xu Baifu thought of something and transferred tens of thousands of yuan to Xu Li's bank card. "Consider this an encouragement for the exam. Best of luck next time!"
Just as Xu Li was about to thank him, Xu Baifu spoke again, "Try to get into Capital University's Finance Department."
Xu Li swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth and said calmly, "Okay."
Xu Baifu looked at her meaningfully and walked out without saying anything.
After Xu Baifu left and Aunt Wang got off work, Xu Li was the only one left in the house. The villa became more and more empty and cold. Suddenly, Xu Li thought of the look that Xu Baifu had given her before he left. She realized something and quickly went upstairs and pushed open the study door.
The small drawer at the bottom of the desk was originally locked, but now the lock was gone. Xu Li's heart turned cold. After a long time, she reached out to pull the drawer. As expected, the magazines inside were all gone.
Xu Li closed the drawer in frustration. With a cold face, she was about to call Xu Baifu to question him, but when her fingers touched the dial button, she paused.
"Li Li, you are my only daughter. You have to support the company in the future." Xu Li thought of what Xu Baifu had told her. She lowered her eyes for a long time, put her phone aside, and collapsed on the chair.