The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Chapter 400: Chapter 398: Revisiting an Old Topic

Chen Fengjiao didn’t overthink what Gu’er said, as she too was eagerly awaiting Lin Shan’s return. She was counting down the days, just hoping Lin Shan would come home by New Year’s Eve.

While Chen Fengjiao was speaking with Gu’er, Lin Sui’er was talking to Li Zhi.

Lin Sui’er still had feelings for Li Zhi, but she knew she had done something foolish and wasn’t good enough for him. So, she suppressed her feelings and no longer pestered him whenever they met, unlike before.

Seeing that Lin Sui’er wasn’t like her old self and had matured quite a bit, Li Zhi felt relieved. He started treating Sui’er like a younger sister, and his attitude toward her improved. He no longer tried to avoid her on sight.

"Brother Li Zhi, there are a few math problems I don’t understand. Can you teach me?"

Sui’er asked, as if she’d just remembered something.

"Sure, no problem."

Li Zhi nodded. Although he wasn’t formally a university student, he was well-read, so teaching Sui’er shouldn’t be a problem.

"So, should I bring the book out here, or should we go to my room?"

Sui’er asked. In the past, she would have certainly dragged Li Zhi into her room and closed the door to be alone with him. But she no longer thought that way. She knew Li Zhi had no feelings for her and that she had to stop dreaming. This time, she was genuinely asking for his help, not just making an excuse to be near him.

"Either way is fine."

Li Zhi didn’t think much of it. Now that Sui’er had changed, he found being around her was actually quite comfortable. He thought she was much more sensible than before.

"Why don’t you two go into the room? I’ll chat with Gu’er for a bit."

Chen Fengjiao chimed in from the side.

Sui’er looked at Li Zhi. If he objected, she’d just bring the book out here.

"Alright, then let’s go to the room."

Li Zhi stood up and nodded.

Sui’er and Li Zhi went into the room.

"That child, Sui’er... Getting her to study before was like pulling teeth. She wished she could just throw all her books away and never go to school again. But now that school’s out for vacation, she actually loves to read. You have no idea. She can’t understand her current textbooks, so she’s going back to her old ones. She’d thrown all her old textbooks away, so we didn’t have any at home. She had to borrow them from someone, saying she wants to catch up on everything she missed. If only she’d been this dedicated sooner. Then it wouldn’t be such a struggle for her now."

Chen Fengjiao let out a sigh. However, the sparkle in her eyes showed that she was quite satisfied with the person Sui’er was becoming.

"It’s not too late. As long as she puts her mind to it, it’s never too late to learn. Besides, the family isn’t expecting her to start working and earning money anytime soon. If she wants to study, we should just let her."

Gu’er was also quite pleased.

"That’s true."

Chen Fengjiao nodded. Then she moved to sit next to Gu’er and lowered her voice. "Gu’er, look, Sui’er has gotten so much better, and Li Zhi doesn’t have a girlfriend yet... Do you think they could work out? Yes, Sui’er did that one foolish thing, but she genuinely likes Li Zhi. Your dad and Li Zhi’s dad get along well, and Li Zhi’s mother is a good person. You and Li Zhi are opening that department store together and you two are good friends. You could say we know their family inside and out. In terms of our family’s standing, we’re certainly not beneath his. I think they’d be a great match. What do you say?"

Chen Fengjiao had originally had her eye on Li Zhi for Gu’er, but Gu’er was set on Sun Jiaming. Later, when Sui’er developed a crush on Li Zhi, she was happy to see it happen. But Li Zhi wasn’t interested in Sui’er, and on top of that, Sui’er was rebellious, so she had dropped the idea. Now that Sui’er had changed, however, she felt it was worth mentioning again. ’In my heart, even if my daughter made a mistake, she’s a good girl as long as she’s corrected her ways,’ she thought.

"Have you asked Sui’er about this? Is this what she wants too?"

Gu’er frowned slightly. She knew Li Zhi only thought of Sui’er as a little sister; she hadn’t expected Chen Fengjiao to bring the matter up again.

"I asked her once. She said she feels she isn’t good enough for Li Zhi and isn’t thinking about it anymore. She told me she used to hate studying—that just looking at a book made her annoyed and gave her a headache. But a while back, when she had nothing else to do, she picked up a book to kill some time and unexpectedly got hooked. The more she reads, the more interesting she finds it. So now she says she just wants to focus on learning more and isn’t thinking about anything else. But I know, deep down, she’s still thinking about Li Zhi."

As she spoke, Chen Fengjiao glanced toward the bedroom. The door to Sui’er’s room was open, and they could faintly hear the sound of Li Zhi explaining a problem to her.

Gu’er said nothing.

"Gu’er, I know Sui’er did a lot of things wrong in the past, but she’s changed now. She’s your sister. Won’t you help her? Please? I’m begging you."

Chen Fengjiao genuinely wanted her daughter to marry into a good family, so she wouldn’t have to settle for less.

"If Sui’er says she wants to read more and focus on her studies, then let’s respect her wishes. As for her marriage, fate will bring the right person along when the time is right. Mom, please don’t say anything to Li Zhi. If he were interested, I would have said something long ago. But he just sees Sui’er as a sister. If I bring it up with him, it’ll just make things awkward. He might even feel too uncomfortable to visit us anymore."

Gu’er didn’t agree to it. She tried to persuade Chen Fengjiao, hoping her mother would drop the matter.

Chen Fengjiao’s expression was conflicted. After a moment, she composed herself and sighed. "I understand. I won’t bring it up again."

Gu’er knew Chen Fengjiao must still be holding onto the idea, but she didn’t say anything else. The situation was what it was; what more could she do?

They had lunch at the Lin Family home. After the meal, they didn’t leave right away. Sui’er and Li Zhi started discussing literature, and surprisingly, the two of them chatted quite amiably.

Li Zhi and Gu’er didn’t leave until after three o’clock.

On the way back, Gu’er asked Li Zhi for his thoughts on Sui’er.

"I have to say, Sui’er has changed a lot. I think she’s much more likable than she used to be. It looks like you really knocked some sense into her that time you hit her, yelled at her, and lectured her. So what should I do about my little sister? Do you think if I give her a beating, she’ll change too?"

Li Zhi started talking to Gu’er about his own sister.

"Go for it. Give her a beating. Maybe she’ll actually change."

Gu’er said, playing along with his joke.

"You’re actually telling me to hit her? I wouldn’t dare! If I so much as touched her, my mom would eat me alive. You’re trying to get me in trouble, aren’t you? You just want to see my mom beat me up."

Li Zhi said as they walked, putting on a mock-frightened expression.

Gu’er chuckled.

"Oh, Jia Ming, you’re back! Have your guests left? You didn’t drink too much, did you?"

Gu’er suddenly spotted Sun Jiaming standing not far away and quickly asked.

"They’ve left. And no, I didn’t drink too much. I heard you two coming, so I came out to meet you."

Sun Jiaming smiled, then took Gu’er’s hand. As he did, he shot a glance at Li Zhi.

"Do you really need to come meet us at your own home? Seriously, are you afraid I’m going to steal your girl?"

Li Zhi joked.

"Don’t be ridiculous."

Gu’er shot him a glare.

"That’s right. A girlfriend this good... if you stole her, where would I go to cry about it?"

Sun Jiaming joked back, but an unreadable glint flashed in his eyes.

They were all used to joking around with each other, so neither Gu’er nor Li Zhi paid any attention to Sun Jiaming’s expression. They didn’t notice the glint in his eyes and thought nothing of it.

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