Pretending To Be A Boss-Chapter 291 - 18: The Third Wish

The vast enclosure was gradually tightening, and the people at the bottom still hadn’t understood what was happening.

The scene resembled the riots of the lower classes decades ago, and even seemed more exaggerated than that time.

After all, back then, there weren’t these seemingly indifferent and frosty knights of judgment.

Looking around, Liu Lang shook his head with a wry smile and said:

"Miss Li, I’m sorry, but this time I can’t help you."

Li Xiaoyu nodded calmly and replied:

"Boss Liu, I hope to see you again in the future."

Despite the large presence, it was merely a game for the rich.

Liu Lang believed that in the end, Li Wanye and Li Zheng wouldn’t be too hard on their kin.

Li Xiaoyu walked towards the back street.

The usually somewhat empty main street now felt oppressive and grim due to the heavy guarding.

Liu Lang headed towards the door of his forge, adopting an attitude of leniency through confession, hoping to suffer a little less.

The time was two hours.

Li Xiaoyu’s idea was simple; as long as she could stall for two hours, she could forcefully leave and, once reaching the mining area, think of a plan with Akasi and the others.

Li Zheng seemed to see through his sister’s thoughts, and he shook his head as he said:

"Yu, stop thinking about doing something foolish. The trouble has already been caused, and it’s time to go home. As long as you’re willing to go back, father won’t investigate further."

In Li Zheng’s eyes, this was ultimately a moment of irrationality on his own part, causing some needless trouble alongside his brother Li Xiaonian.

He thought he understood Li Xiaoyu.

From fourteen or fifteen to eighteen or nineteen, everyone might go through a period of rebellion during those years.

Clashing beliefs and worldviews with the adults at home, wanting to obtain freedom, recognition, or perhaps, love.

But in the end, they still return to their family’s side.

Some capitulate quickly. Others take years, even decades.

But the outcome is always the same.

"Come back," Li Zheng said.

Li Xiaoyu shook her head:

"Both of us know that once I return, regardless of whether father pursues the matter, I won’t be able to leave the Li family."

Looking at Li Xiaoyu’s appearance with a touch of haggardness between her brows and eyes, Li Zheng said with heartache:

"This is just a game. You’ll live the life you think you want for a while, but when you’re found, it’s time for the game to end.

Look at you now, so bedraggled. Where is the little princess of the Li family?"

Li Zheng then softened his tone:

"I will plead with father to lift your house arrest earlier."

Li Xiaoyu was aware she looked bedraggled, and she didn’t like that either.

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Dressed in dirty, old clothes, there were still some not yet faded wounds on her body.

Like a well-cared-for Persian cat that had roamed the dirty streets for a month, gradually turning into a stray.

"I know you’ve always indulged me from childhood. Brother, thank you."

Li Xiaoyu thanked Li Zheng sincerely.

To her, the fact Li Zheng could be persuaded by Li Xiaonian was already somewhat unimaginable.

This might be the least rational decision of her brother’s life.

"This time... I can’t indulge you. Come back with me, Yu, be good." Read latest stories on novelbuddy

"I know. But I also know that father isn’t someone easily persuaded, and none of us can convince him. This departure has caused an irreparable rift between him and me unless I marry into some other family."

Li Xiaoyu shook her head, resolute:

"That’s why I won’t go back."

"But this is your fate! Just a few months ago, didn’t you agree to such an arrangement? Whichever family you marry into, at least your future won’t be too bad."

Li Zheng said with a serious expression:

"If you’re unwilling to go back, I can only forcibly take you back. Every street in the lower levels is under guard blockade. This is Fort Thirty-Nine, how could you possibly escape?"

Li Xiaoyu, already surrounded by guards, heard even more footsteps of guards approaching at that moment.

Li Wanye had already arrived with additional guards.

This man of the highest status in Fort Thirty-Nine, until no fortress could expand to the eighth level, could even be called the man of the highest status in the world.

Upon seeing Li Xiaoyu, Li Wanye didn’t appear angry; on the contrary, he had a gentle smile on his face.

Like a father playing hide and seek with his daughter, who had just found her.

"Girl, come back with me. Don’t let so many people see this spectacle."

Li Xiaoyu stood alone at the center of the guards.

She suddenly smiled, but the somber atmosphere didn’t lift.

"Father, I don’t want to end up like mother, living with someone I don’t love, merely putting on a show of respect in front of others and being insignificant behind the scenes."

Her words were like a thorn.

Li Zheng’s expression turned ugly in an instant, while Li Wanye remained unchanged, smiling:

"Your mother, at least, lives without worrying about food and clothing and doesn’t have to worry about her children’s future, unlike these people who labor to death in the mines every day and might not even find enough to have three meals a day."

"I’ve said it before, life in the end is only about suitability; liking or not liking isn’t important. You will understand eventually."

Li Xiaoyu lowered her head, looking at her own blurry reflection on the floor:

"You always say that with age comes compromise, but does compromise erase those regrets?"

Li Wanye’s smile remained as he said:

"A life without regrets is just a lie. The difference lies in whether it’s a minor regret or a lifetime of remorse."