The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

As the group chatted and laughed, the conversation somehow turned to Li Zhi’s sister, Li Ting.

Although Li Ting was staying at Li Zhi’s house, she rarely came over to the Sun Family’s place. Instead, she spent most of her free time at the mall, buying one thing today and another tomorrow. She had plenty of spending money, after all, and it gave her an excuse to find Liu Yuan.

"Have you mentioned it to Liu Yuan? Does she have a shot?"

Gu’er asked Li Zhi. All of them had noticed that Li Ting was interested in Liu Yuan, but they didn’t know what he thought about it. Gu’er, however, suspected it was a long shot. It didn’t seem like Liu Yuan was interested in Li Ting’s type.

"Not a chance."

Li Zhi said, sounding a bit frustrated.

"Liu Yuan is a great guy, but you all know my sister. She’s been spoiled rotten and has a bad temper. As for Liu Yuan... he prefers, well, how do I put it? Anyway, not my sister’s type. I asked him last time, and he said he’s already found someone. It’s not going to work out for Tingzi."

Li Zhi also wanted his sister to find a good partner. Even though she had a temper, she was still his sister, and he cared about her deeply. He would have been happy to see her get together with Liu Yuan. That was why he’d invited Liu Yuan for drinks and tried to subtly sound him out. But Liu Yuan had said he was already seeing someone. His sister’s chances were completely shot.

"Oh? Who is it? Do we know her? Honestly, that Liu Yuan... He gets a girlfriend and doesn’t even bother to tell us."

Gu’er’s interest was piqued. She really hadn’t known about this at all.

"You know her. You all should. It’s Xiao Bai from our mall—Bai Xiaohua. Liu Yuan is interested in her. It seems they’ve been seeing each other for a month or two."

Li Zhi had clearly done his homework.

"Oh, her. Yeah, she’s nice. A good girl."

Gu’er remembered Xiao Bai. ’When that bombshell of Li Zhi’s was causing a scene at the mall, Xiao Bai was the salesclerk on duty. She’s a nice person—pretty, with delicate features, and a gentle personality. Her character is good, too. Her family’s financial situation doesn’t seem to be the best, though. I wonder if Liu Yuan’s mom will approve? Then again, Liu Yuan is making good money now. His mom probably won’t be so overbearing, right?’

"Which Xiao Bai?"

Sun Jiaming, however, didn’t know who they were talking about.

"She’s the one who handled Li Zhi’s ’bombshell’ when she came to the mall and caused a scene. I’ve observed Xiao Bai a few times; she has a good character. She’s the third-floor supervisor now, you know," Gu’er explained briefly.

Sun Jiaming nodded. He remembered now; Gu’er had mentioned it to him before.

"By the way, Li Zhi, what ever happened to that bombshell of yours? Did you ever find out?"

Gu’er was relieved to know that Liu Yuan had found a good person.

"What do you mean, ’my bombshell’? She’s not mine. Don’t talk nonsense." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Li Zhi shot Gu’er an irritated glare but answered anyway. "I heard she left town. You have no idea about that so-called friend of hers... she went back and just spread all sorts of trash talk. The things she said were really nasty. Zhang Lili couldn’t stay in her hometown anymore, so I heard she left. Haven’t heard a peep about her since. It’s got nothing to do with me, anyway."

Li Zhi really hadn’t asked about her again. ’No matter how beautiful she is, she’s not my wife,’ he thought. ’Why should I care?’

Gu’er nodded. ’Zhang Lili befriended Lan Hua with the intention of using her,’ she thought. ’But she surely never imagined that once they had a falling out, Lan Hua would slander her so viciously.’

’Honestly, when Zhang Lili decided to use someone, she should have considered the consequences.’ Gu’er felt no sympathy for her being run out of town by Lan Hua’s vicious rumors. She also knew that a person like Zhang Lili could survive, even alone in a new place. ’Don’t be fooled by her frail appearance; she must be mentally tough. Plus, she’s beautiful. It should be easy enough for her to find a rich man.’

Since Li Zhi had put it that way, Gu’er naturally dropped the subject. Sun Jiaming wouldn’t say a word, and as for Dingzi, he wouldn’t have responded even if you asked him directly.

An awkward silence fell over the room. Before Gu’er could speak again, Grandma Dingzi came over and knocked on the door.

"Are you all done in here? If so, I need to borrow Dingzi for a moment."

Grandma Dingzi asked the group.

Gu’er burst out laughing. Grandma Dingzi was actually a very witty and amusing person.

"Grandma, he’s your grandson. He’s all yours," Li Zhi chimed in with a mischievous grin.

"Alright. After I’m done with him, you’re next."

Grandma Dingzi nodded, then went over and took Dingzi by the hand.

Dingzi looked resigned, but his gaze was gentle. He would do anything for his grandmother.

Gu’er and the others followed them out, curious to see what Grandma Dingzi wanted with her grandson.

Grandma Dingzi pulled Dingzi into Grandma Sun’s room, took out a new set of clothes, and said to him, "Quick, try them on. I want to see how you look."

’Just to have me try on new clothes?’ Dingzi was confused, but he obediently took them anyway.

"Just change in here. There’s no one else around, and you don’t even have to take off what you’re wearing underneath. What’s there to be shy about?" Grandma Dingzi said hurriedly, seeing Dingzi start to leave with the clothes.

Having no other choice, Dingzi started to change in the room.

"Grandma, so this is how you ’use’ him!" Li Zhi shouted. "It’s not even New Year’s, and you’re already giving Dingzi new clothes. I want some too! Borrow me, borrow me!"

He wasn’t really after new clothes, of course—he was just being playful. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t afford a new outfit.

"Fine by me," Grandma Dingzi said generously, nodding. "I’m having Dingzi try these on so he can go meet a potential match tomorrow. If you’re so eager, Grandma can prepare an outfit for you, too. You can go with him."

Dingzi, who was in the middle of changing, froze. ’Aren’t these clothes for the New Year? They’re for a blind date?’ He knew his grandmother had been asking around to find a match for him, but he hadn’t expected to be sent to meet someone so soon. ’I don’t know a single thing about this woman. Is this really a good idea?’

While Dingzi was still agonizing over it, Li Zhi let out a yelp. "No way! I’m not going on a blind date! I don’t want the new clothes anymore! You could beat me to death, and I still wouldn’t go!"

Li Zhi waved his hands frantically. He was practically traumatized by the idea of blind dates. Even now, his mom would nag him about it whenever he went home. He was completely opposed to the idea.

Gu’er and Sun Jiaming were secretly amused, thinking Li Zhi was hilarious.

"Can I get out of this?" Dingzi asked after changing. In truth, just like Li Zhi, he didn’t want to go either.

"No. I can’t control Li Zhi, but you have to go. If I don’t take care of this, who knows if you’ll ever find a wife after I’m gone. If you can’t get married, how could I possibly face your parents in the afterlife? If you were like Jia Ming and had already found a good wife, I wouldn’t be nagging you."

Grandma Dingzi was being completely serious. With her grandson’s personality, she feared he really might never find a wife if she didn’t push him.

Dingzi said nothing and simply nodded. He couldn’t refuse his grandmother.

"Just go," Gu’er advised. "It won’t hurt to take a look. Who knows, you might really meet someone wonderful."

"Yeah, yeah, just go! And remember to tell us all about it when you get back," Li Zhi added, nodding eagerly. As long as it wasn’t him being sent, he was all for it.