Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

Chu Lui didn’t eat much during dinner. He didn’t care for the meal cooked by the Li family. Mrs. Li was constantly putting food in his bowl while she threw glances at Li Manni. Li Manni understood what her mother was trying to say. However, with the lukewarm attitude that Chu Lui was giving and putting her at a distance, there was nothing she could do. On top of that, she was already very shameless, but he remained unmoved by her actions. He had always been so. How much more could she possibly do?

Mr. Li was still having chest pains. He was too angry to have dinner. It was obvious that he was having a lot of pent-up anger. He had been harboring the thought of gaining some information from Chu Lui, but after a long time, his son-in-law gave nothing. Where was he going to get the information he needed?

Out of fury, Mr. Li refused to let Li Manni leave. However, she was not dumb. Her relationship with Chu Lui was already as strained as it was. If they were to live separately, things might change. Mr. Li was furious with her. He glared at her with his bulging eyes and almost slapped her across her face.

“Look. Look at him. This is your good son-in-law, the one chosen by your daughter.”

As Mr. Li gestured outside the door, the lumps of fat on his face shook.

Mrs. Li was no longer that arrogant, too. Whenever there were people around her, she felt naked as though her ugly body was exposed before them. She even thought that those people were pointing at her body of fats mocking her. During her youth, she was considered pretty, quite influential, and unscrupulous in her ways. In the end, she became old and let herself be the subject of those humiliating photos. Not only was her integrity was at stake, but if those photos were to be seen by anyone, she would also have nowhere to hide her face.

“Alright now,” she persuaded her husband. “You have already gained quite a bit from Chu Lui. I think it’s time for you to stop for a while. I believe he is wary of us now. What will happen to our daughter?” Mrs. Li was placing all her chips on Li Manni now. No one was allowed to badmouth her daughter. “Can that small company of yours have expanded to its current scale if she had not married Chu Lui in the first place?”

“You know nothing.” Mr. Li glared at his wife. “Old woman, your foresight is as long as your hair.” Old woman. Those two words sent a piercing pain straight into Mrs. Li’s heart. She was infuriated as she pointed a finger at Mr. Li’s nose, scolding, “So what if I am old? Do you know how you look now? Your head resembles the Mediterranean Sea, and you are as fat as a pig with that big belly. Are you looking for a younger woman? I am all that you’re going to get. If you hadn’t gotten on your knees and begged me all those years ago, would I have married someone like you?”

Mr. Li was also irate. “I kneeled and begged you? With your looks? If you hadn’t pestered me and followed me everywhere, would I have married you?”

There was a saying ‘everything went wrong for the poor couple’. They were not in poverty yet, but they were already going at each other’s neck. Li Manxuan heard his parents arguing the moment he returned home, and he left after slamming the door shut. He had slogged like a dog in the office with tons of work crushing on him, and yet they were having the time of their lives here. Instead of coming up with a solution, they were having a fight, unmasking each other’s shortcomings. The things they said didn’t sound kind like those of an ordinary family.

He went to his car, drove directly to the bar, and ordered some hard liquor. He drank one after another, pouring liquor down his throat. Lately, the frustration had caused him to have ulcers in his mouth. He smirked at the expectation of surpassing Chu Lui. They had different backgrounds, and they didn’t start at the same place. Chu Lui was standing at the top of the pyramid so how could he catch up with him?

At this thought, he downed another glass. The alcohol was starting to numb his nerves. Things began to blur and waver before his eyes. He swirled the glass with alcohol inside. He found it hard to reconcile. In what way was he inferior to Chu Lui? Oh, right. His family lineage was not as prominent. If he was to have the same family background as Chu Lui, Xu Shiyang wouldn’t have deserted him and made him a cuckold.

The bottom line was his woman had shown interest in Chu Lui. The most annoying and hateful thing he had in this life was he wouldn’t be able to surpass his brother-in-law.

In his dazed, he felt someone helped him up. He was so drunk that he couldn’t see anything clearly, and neither could he see to make out who had taken him or where he went. He was too intoxicated to know anything.

“Hey.” Du Jingtang reached out and pointed his finger not far away from him.

“Isn’t that Li Manxuan, my cousin-in-law’s elder brother? What is he doing here? Perhaps he’s also a gay?”

“Stop poking into someone else’s business.”

Dong Fangjing pushed a glass into his hand. “If you are that idle, why don’t we go back and play our own games?”

Get lost!” Du Jingtang kicked Dong Fangjing’s right leg hard. Play his goddamn game. Du Jingtang wondered what Dong Fangjing would feel if the latter was the one playing the submissive role. Would he still be fond of his games?

On the other hand, Du Jingtang was puzzled. He stretched his hand out towards Dong Fangjing. “Lend me your phone.”

Dong Fangjing graciously raised his hands up and allowed Du Jingtang to reach into his pockets.

Du Jingtang took Dong Fangjing’s phone and started dialing Chu Lui’s number.

“Hello, Cousin. Your brother-in-law is here at the bar. Only gays frequent this place.”

Shortly after that, he tossed the phone back into Dong Fangjing’s pocket who flicked his sleeve. “So, what did he say?”

“He told me not to be bothered.” Du Jingtang spread out his hands. This bar was specially designed for people like him. If one could come here, that only meant the person was one of them. He was not an idiot or a busybody. Why should he be bothered by someone else’s business? Maybe Li Manxuan was having the time of his life right now.

Chu Lui stopped his car. Li Manxuan’s business had nothing to do with him. That man was seeking death; he shouldn’t blame another for his recklessness.

Chu Lui pressed the doorbell.

The door opened swiftly. It was the Chu family’s maid.

“Oh, Young Master Chu. You are back.”

“Yes, I just arrived.” The aloofness in his face receded slightly. It was no longer that terrifying. The more unreadable he was, the more alluring he was to the others. However, the danger he possessed was the same. At this moment, he was the same unpredictable Chu Lui.

He entered and saw his parents who were feeling artistic. One was having a game of chess while the other was playing the zither.

“Dad, Mom, I’m back.”

Chu Lui set his briefcase down and called out. He walked over to his father, sat down, and took the black seeds to spar with Chu Jiang. Chu Lui rarely had an opponent to play with. He insisted on having three hundred rounds of battle with his son.

Song Wan’s fingers were numb from playing, but the father and son were far from done. In times of war, a father couldn’t care less about his son. She felt that this applied to the game of chess right now. Blood would be spilled regardless of their relation.

She stood up and asked the maid to put her zither away. Then, she went into the kitchen to cook something for her son to eat. She searched everywhere, but she didn’t see Li Manni.

“Ah Lui, where is Manni? Isn’t she here?”