Suddenly, an invigorating scent of sandalwood began to surge discreetly around her.
Li Qiao turned her eyes in surprise.
At this moment, no more than two meters away on the neighboring balcony, Shang Zonghai was sitting in a rocking chair, with incense burning on the table in front of him and Ming tea set aside, looking at her with a content expression, "Little girl, why are you sighing all alone?"
Li Qiao composed herself and turned slightly towards Shang Zonghai, nodding her head, "It’s nothing. Did I disturb Uncle?"
Shang Zonghai sniffed the teacup on the table and then gestured towards Li Qiao, "Not at all, would you like to come over for a cup of tea?"
Hearing Shang Zonghai’s invitation, Li Qiao covered her eyelids, blocking the faint gleam in her eyes, "Alright, I’ll be right over, please wait a moment."
Li Qiao left the guest room and rounded the corner to arrive at the tea room.
A confidant led her to the balcony outside the tea room and then left on his own.
The night was dense like ink, and Li Qiao sat on the soft chair opposite Shang Zonghai, watching the sandalwood incense from the incense burner wafting gently, its fragrance rich and lasting.
Li Qiao was quiet for a few seconds until Shang Zonghai pushed a steaming cup of black tea in front of her, at which point she nodded politely, "Thank you, Uncle."
"Don’t mention it," Shang Zonghai waved his hand and his gaze slid down to look at her foot again, "Is your foot better?"
Li Qiao couldn’t help but laugh and drew her legs back a little, "It’s really just a minor injury, no bleeding, just a scraped skin, don’t worry about it at all, Uncle."
Upon hearing this, Shang Zonghai adjusted his glasses with a look of surprise, "Really? It’s alright?"
Seeing that Li Qiao’s expression didn’t seem deceptive, Shang Zonghai fell silent and shook his head with a light laugh, "I thought the wound was very serious to have made Shaoyan so anxious.
This afternoon when you weren’t in the Mansion, he even had Liuyun fly a helicopter to the pharmaceutical factory in Lin City to get experimental drugs."
After speaking, Shang Zonghai looked at Li Qiao’s surprised expression and sighed with obscure meaning, "I haven’t seen Shaoyan this anxious about a person in many years."
Even his own brother Shang Lu failed to gain such attention.
At this moment, as Li Qiao sipped her tea with apparent composure, her fingers tightly gripping the teacup and her eyelashes trembling slightly, betrayed her inner thoughts.
Shang Zonghai looked at her thoughtfully as if there were more to it, and for a time, neither of them continued the topic.
After drinking half a cup of tea, Li Qiao adjusted her emotion and looked towards Shang Zonghai again with a spark in her eyes, she broached the subject, "Does Uncle usually live in Parma?"
"Yes, I’m not accustomed to the climate in the South Sea; Parma is more habitable for me." Shang Zonghai’s gaze drifted into the far night as he sipped his tea, then he heard Li Qiao say with a voice tinged with yearning, "I’ve always heard that Parma has beautiful scenery, mysterious and prosperous. Hearing Uncle talk about it, I’m even more eager to see it for myself."
With that, Shang Zonghai turned his head and his gaze inadvertently collided with Li Qiao’s.
The young girl’s eyes were clear and pure, as if they truly held nothing but anticipation and longing.
Shang Zonghai narrowed his eyes without showing much emotion and replied with a faint smile, "Indeed, Parma has changed quite a bit over the years. You should visit when you have the chance."
It was another remark with a hidden message. Li Qiao shifted her gaze away from Shang Zonghai’s face and nodded as if naïvely, "You’re right, Uncle. However, I’ve never been there before, so I can’t really witness these changes. It’s somewhat regrettable when I think about it."
Li Qiao was deliberately playing dumb, trying to probe Shang Zonghai’s intentions.
She made it clear that she had never been to Parma, so where was the question of ’going back to see’?