The two walked side by side into the mansion, which was different from the deserted and bleak atmosphere of the last time, probably because Shang Zonghai had settled here, guard figures could be seen everywhere in the mansion.
Li Qiao passed through without turning a hair and soon reached the living room.
Shang Zonghai placed his Tai Chi Sword on the black and gold marble coffee table, and as soon as he sat down, a bodyguard brought over ginseng tea.
"Young lady, don’t be too formal, just make yourself at home and sit wherever you like," Shang Zonghai said, blowing the steam off his ginseng tea as he looked up at Li Qiao.
Li Qiao obligingly found a spot to sit down, her gaze calmly fixed as she waited for Shang Zonghai to speak.
Even though the patriarch of the Shang family was extraordinarily indulgent with her, Li Qiao dared not take it lightly.
Those in power always had a way of controlling the overall situation without making a sound, especially someone like Shang Zonghai.
At this moment, after Shang Zonghai took a few sips of his ginseng tea, he leaned forward to put down his cup, and as if by chance he casually asked, "Did your father say anything to you when you went home that day?"
Li Qiao’s eyes serenely met his as she fluently replied, "He did. He told me that the card you gave me is a Rare Gold Diamond Card, very rare, with fewer than ten holders worldwide.
So I came today specifically to thank you. I am not worthy of such an expensive diamond card."
Li Qiao spoke without missing a beat.
Shang Zonghai adjusted his glasses, the reflective lenses perfectly concealing the depth in his eyes, "Young lady, you’re being too modest. The diamond card isn’t something rare, Shaoyan and the others have them too.
Had there been no annulment, when you came to Parma, that card would have been yours as well."
Although his words seemed unremarkable, Li Qiao couldn’t shake the feeling that there was an underlying message.
Just then, Shang Yu arrived.
A man’s footsteps are always steady and forceful. With his arrival, the living room seemed to be infused subtly with his scent, crisp and mingling with a faint hint of ebony fragrance.
The moment Shang Yu appeared, Shang Zonghai stood up, picked up the Tai Chi Sword from the table, and said, "You keep the young lady company for a while; I’m going to change clothes."
"Mm, the documents you wanted are in the tea room," Shang Yu reminded him, and with that, Shang Zonghai left the living room.
With that, Shang Yu, hand in pocket, walked around the coffee table and glanced sideways at Li Qiao, "Been practicing Tai Chi Sword with the old man?"
Li Qiao laughed and shook her head, "No, I happened to run into Uncle just as I arrived on the terrace."
"What did you talk about?" Shang Yu sat opposite her, casually propping up his legs, his actions always exuding a lazy indifference.
Li Qiao relaxed her posture as well, leaning back against the sofa with a light smile, "Not much. We hadn’t started talking before you arrived."
At this, Shang Yu’s gaze became slightly intense, contemplatively distant as he playfully curled his lips, "Seems like I showed up at the wrong time."
"That’s not what I meant..." Li Qiao glanced at him sidelong, catching the teasing in the man’s deep eyes, and couldn’t help but pout, "Master Yan really knows how to joke."
The man said nothing, but low laughter spilled from his thin lips, softening the austere contours of his handsome face.
Before long, Shang Zonghai returned.
He had shed his Tai Chi uniform for a cotton and linen casual outfit, losing the intimidating authority yet gaining more of an elder’s warmth, "Young lady, if you don’t mind my chatter, how about joining me for breakfast?"
Li Qiao was about to rise when Shang Yu, looking over at him, lit a cigarette and said, "You always said not to talk during meals or at bedtime; it’s not too late to chat after eating."
Shang Zonghai narrowed his eyes, "You won’t join me for a meal, and now you’re telling her what to do as well?"
Shang Yu took a drag on his cigarette and nodded unapologetically, completely unfazed by Shang Zonghai’s feigned anger, "Enjoy your meal; I’ll take her out for a walk first."
After the two of them left, the pretense of anger on Shang Zonghai’s face gradually faded, replaced by a look of profound contemplation as he watched the direction they had gone with a soft sigh.