When the Li family’s mansion was built, the area used to be an elegant forest park on the outskirts of the city, with a natural lake in front and a large Chinese banyan forest behind it.
Later, the city was expanded, and this area was slowly developed into an urban district, but it was still retained as a forest park in the city. Apart from some old houses, there are also villas built by senior government and military officials.
The house of the Li family is an old house, with a large private garden. When the land price was cheap, Li Jianglin had already made a fortune. A large area was enclosed as the private garden of the Li family, and there was even a small forest behind it.
Later, after the birth of several children, Li Jianglin restored the open space on the left side of the villa to build a swimming pool, and built a tennis court behind the villa, hiring a teacher to teach the children to play tennis every week.
The car drove along the lakeside driveway, turned into a quiet and secluded trail, and finally stopped in front of a carved iron gate at the roadside.
The iron door slowly opened, and the driver drove the car in.
Li Zhenruo had been in his cage at first, but he couldn’t help getting out when he was close to home and leaned over to the window to look outside.
After all, this is the home he grew up in.
Since the construction of the tennis court, the Li family hasn’t renovated or refurbished the house for many years. The garden paths are the ones he knew well since his childhood. The three-story villa looks a bit old, but it still stands firmly.
The villa of the Li family is in the shape of an “L” letter. The main villa in the middle is where the Li family lives, and the side building on the right is the kitchen as well as the room for the nanny, gardener, and driver.
After the driver stopped the car, Li Zhenran grabbed Li Zhenruo with one hand and got out of the car, and walked into the house, while the driver opened the rear compartment and moved the other things out.
The old nanny of the Li family, Wang Ma, waited for Li Zhenran outside the gate as soon as she heard the sound of the car.
Wang Ma has been with the Li family for many years. She is the nanny of the Li family’s eldest and second child, and also raised the Li family’s third and fourth child since childhood.
He didn’t feel it when he was young, and it took Li Zhenruo a long time to feel that the relationships between the Li family were abnormal. Rather than being Li Jianglin’s mistress, his mother was more a woman Li Jianglin bought to give birth to him.
He was taken to Li’s house just after he was born and was cut off from his mother’s milk. When he asked about his mother when he was just a child, Li Jianglin always told him that his mother had passed away. Later, when he was old and sensible and wanted to find out, he learned that his mother really had died some years ago. He also grew up with his third brother. As for the eldest and second brothers, he had never heard what kind of person their mother was.
Li Jianglin has a wife.
His wife’s name is Zhu Yun, who hasn’t been able to bear a child in her life. Perhaps it is because Zhu Yun is infertile that Li Jianglin found a woman outside to give birth to a child. Li Zhenruo thought that he probably didn’t love those women, but only his wife, so he would find different women to have children and deprive those women of the right to raise children.
For the children of the Li family, Wang Ma is equivalent to half of their mothers.
Wang Ma gave birth to a son and a daughter. The daughter is older and is now married. The son is Li Zhenran’s assistant, Hua Yibang.
In the past, Wang’s husband worked as a servant for the Li family for a long time. After she gave birth to the child, she served as a nanny for the Li family’s child. After that, the couple stayed at the Li’s house until her husband passed away, but Wang Ma did not leave.
As for Li Zhenruo, who has been missing his mother’s love since childhood, his feelings for Wang Ma were naturally unusual.
Now that Li Zhenran came back with a cat in his hand, Wang Ma asked when she saw it, “Zhenran, is this the cat that Zhenzi mentioned?”
Li Zhenran gave an “um” and raised his arms to hand Li Zhenruo to Wang Ma.
Wang Ma stretched out her hand but didn’t know how to pick it up.
So Li Zhenran carried him into the room and put Li Zhenruo on the ground.
“Oh,” Wang Ma was a little worried, “Will it make a mess?”
To be honest, Li Zhenran didn’t know. He removed the cat hair that was left in his hand and asked Wang Ma, “What did the third child say?”
Wang Ma shook her head, “He just say that Su Yao is going to send a cat over and let me take over.”
Li Zhenran said, “Then let’s talk about it when he comes back. It’s better for the cat to stay in the living room first.”
Li Zhenruo was still in a daze at this time, he raised his head and stared blankly at the big house.
When he left at that time, his heart felt very painful. He thought that he would never have a chance to come back here in his life, but he didn’t expect to be in this strange and odd situation today.
He walked two steps forward, and suddenly wanted to go upstairs to take a look at his room.
At this time, Li Zhenran’s driver took in all Li Zhenruo’s daily necessities, and Wang Ma directed him to put them in the corner.
Since it is Li Zhenzi’s cat, Wang Ma thought that most of the cat toilets should be put upstairs and kept in Li Zhenzi’s room. But now that the person hasn’t come back, and no one can make the decision, they can only put it in the corner of the living room on the first floor.
Li Zhenran unbuttoned his shirt collar while walking towards the second floor, probably to take a shower and change his clothes.
Li Zhenruo hesitated, pretending to stick to Li Zhenran, and walked upstairs by his legs.
Li Zhenran paused, lowered his head to look at him.
So he also looked up at Li Zhenran, and hurriedly chased after him when he took another step.
In the three-story building of Li’s main building, on the first floor, in addition to the living room, there is Li Jianglin’s bedroom, study, and two guest bedrooms. On the corner of the stairs leading to the second floor on the first floor, there is a wedding photo of Li Jianglin and his wife Zhu Yun.
The photo was already a bit old, Zhu Yun’s wedding dress now looks tacky, and Li Jianglin even had shoulder-length hair at that time. But it’s such an old photo, which has been hanging here as far as Li Zhenruo could remember, and he could see it every time he went up and down the staircase every day.
A few years ago, Li Jianglin even asked someone to retouch it.
In regards to his wife, Li Jianglin is probably deeply in love with her.
On the second floor of the main building are the bedrooms of the brothers; Li Zhentai, Li Zhenzi, and Li Zhenruo. They are all large bedrooms with separate bathrooms, and only Li Zhenran’s room is on the third floor.
In fact, this was not the original room arrangement. The room on the second floor was enough for all four of their brothers to live. Later, Li Zhenran moved to the third floor alone, in the small attic on the left of the third floor. At that time, Li Jianglin did not object.
In addition to Li Zhenran’s room on the third floor, there is a study filled with large bookcases and a recreation room, which has a home theatre and large soft sofas, as well as a small bar, and a wine cabinet behind the bar filled with expensive red wine.
On the top floor is a glass-roofed sunroom1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunroom on which there is a pool table, a table tennis table, and a large swing chair.
The Li brothers are all very good at enjoying life.
Li Zhenruo followed Li Zhenran’s legs on the second floor and wanted to go to his own room to have a look, but it’s not good enough to be too obvious, so he strayed from Li Zhenran’s legs and swayed outside the rooms of Li Zhenzi and Li Zhentai. And finally saw that the door of his room was locked tightly.
A situation that he should have been expected long ago.
Li Zhenruo raised his paw and touched it. The door didn’t move, so he could only turn around and return.
He didn’t expect Li Zhenran to stand on the edge of the stairs and wait for him.
Li Zhenran asked him, “Where are you going?”
Li Zhenruo was a little dumbfounded, thinking how to answer to him well, and so he could only answer him, “Meow.”
Li Zhenran raised his leg and continued up the stairs.
Li Zhenruo hesitated for a moment and chose to follow.
Li Zhenran’s room is in the small attic on the far left of the third floor. The attic has a pointed top and the upper edge of the window is an arc. When the window is opened, it faces the swimming pool outside.
The whole room is full of sunshine and neatly tidied up.
After Li Zhenruo followed Li Zhenran in, he realized that this was the first time he had entered Li Zhenran’s room.
It’s very amazing. Li Zhenruo obviously lives in the same big house, but Li Zhenruo never entered this brother’s room once. If there was something he needed from him, he would just stand at the door and knock, and Li Zhenran would come out and talk to him.
After Li Zhenruo followed in at Li Zhenran’s feet, he suddenly felt that this room was really good. The pointed roof looked very high and it doesn’t look suffocating at all. When the sun was high, you could even see the reflection of the swimming pool swaying on the ceiling when you lay on the bed. It is particularly cool in summer.
After entering the room, Li Zhenran smoothly locked the door.
Li Zhenruo looked back at the door but didn’t feel nervous. Anyway, Li Zhenran would go to dinner later, so he can look around his room at ease.
Li Zhenran’s bed is very low, resembling a tatami, and a mattress is thrown on the raised wooden floor, and the bed is covered with sheets.
The end of the bed faces the large wardrobe, a single desk on the right side with a computer on it, and a bookshelf next to it with more than a dozen books.
Li Zhenruo had also seen the general layout of the room in the past from the door, but today he has time to take a closer look. The dozen books on the bookshelf are all financial investments, and the computer screen is black, probably not turned on.
Li Zhenran stood by the bed and began to undress as if no one was there.
Li Zhenruo accidentally looked up and found that Li Zhenran had taken off his shirt, revealing a strong and supple chest. At the same time, he opened the suit pants with one hand, allowing the pants to slide down his legs.
Even though he was still wrapped in underwear, Li Zhenruo still saw the bulge between Li Zhenran’s legs. He immediately turned his eyes away and thought that everyone clearly grew up eating together. Why did Li Zhenzi and Li Zhenran have grown such big guys, and there seems to be a gap between them?
Could it be only because they are truly Li Jianglin’s son, and because he is not?
Li Zhenran took off his clothes directly in the room before heading to the bathroom.
Li Zhenruo stayed silently. He was embarrassed to look at Li Zhenran, and then he just lay down, with his round chin resting on his fleshy paws, staring at Li Zhenran’s bed in a daze.
It wasn’t until Li Zhenran entered the bathroom and closed the door that he let out a long breath and looked around in the room.
However, Li Zhenran didn’t have the habit of bringing work stuff to the house. Li Zhenruo looked around and saw nothing. He couldn’t open Li Zhenran’s drawers and cabinets. After turning around, Li Zhenruo went back to Li Zhenran’s bed and lay down.
Li Zhenran’s tatami is quite comfortable. He lay down for a while and switched to lying on his side.
Within ten minutes, Li Zhenran came out after taking a shower.
He still has no clothes on and just wiped the water off his body with a towel.
Li Zhenruo thought: Exhibitionist. And then squinted his eyes.
Li Zhenran put on a set of casual clothes, wiped his face with a towel, and heard the Wang Ma downstairs yelling, “Dinner’s ready.”
He didn’t respond, but just walked over and lifted Li Zhenruo’s neck, then opened the door of the room and walked out.
Li Zhenzi hadn’t yet returned during dinner at night. He had a dinner party outside today.
In addition to Li Zhenran, there was also the eldest brother Li Zhentai at home.
Li Zhentai is thirty-two years old this year, four years older than Li Zhenran, and nine years older than Li Zhenruo.
Although he is not as good-looking as Li Zhenran and Li Zhenzi, Li Zhentai could be regarded to have a tall figure with good features, coupled with an easygoing personality, and always have a smile on his face to some extend.
He is not married yet, but he has a fiancée. The two have a close relationship, and they were probably beginning to raise money for marriage.
Seeing Li Zhenran grabbing a cat down, Li Zhentai was surprised and asked, “Where did the cat come from?”
Li Zhenran came down to the first floor, released him from his hand, and put Li Zhenruo on the ground, saying, “The third one’s.”
Li Zhentai smiled when he heard this and said, “The third child indeed have a good spirits.” After finishing speaking, he didn’t pay much attention to Li Zhenruo, and only said to Li Zhenran, “Let’s eat.”
Notes:
I have not decided how much the update per week and/or what day I will update.
But I will try to update at least one chapter/week at first and gradually increasing the amount of chapter I will update~
Happy new year!
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“Perhaps it is because Zhu Yun is infertile that Li Jianglin found a woman outside to give birth to a child. Li Zhenruo thought that he probably didn’t love those women, but only his wife, so he would find different women to have children and deprive those women of the right to raise children.”
So like a surrogate? Totally possible Li Jianglin did it in a super unethical way but this sounds like a super dramatic description of hiring a surrogate. 😑
Ah, it will be explained properly in the later chapter~
But yes, in a sense the mothers are surrogate mothers. The concept of surrogacy is not really well received after all