Chapter 54: I've Had Designs on You for a Long Time

Stepping out of the educated youth point, Li Na looked at her younger brother in some surprise and said, "You really something, kid! You beat someone up and still made them pay compensation. All the good things in this world seem to fall into your lap!"

Tang Xue chimed in, "That's secondary. Although ten yuan is not a small sum, Xu Hong could scrape it together if he gritted his teeth. The most terrifying part was what he said at the very end!"

Clearly not thinking as far ahead as Tang Xue, Li Na asked immediately, "What was wrong with those last few words? I thought they were great!"

"They were great indeed, but probably not so great for Xu Hong!"

"You mean it's bad for us?"

"If nothing goes wrong, Xu Hong will become the village's public enemy number one from now on. Everyone will steer clear of him on sight. That is what you call attacking the heart while destroying the man!"

Li Na wasn't stupid; she just hadn't thought it through.

Prompted by Tang Xue, she suddenly grasped the crucial point and looked at Li Yi in utter astonishment, asking, "Are you still my little Yi?"

Li Yi smiled and asked, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"My little Yi was never this clever. Confess, who on earth are you?"

Though he knew his third sister was just joking, Li Yi's heart still skipped a beat.

Living a second life, even though he was still himself, some differences remained.

He hadn't expected his third sister to notice so quickly!

"What's this? Is your brother not allowed to become a bit more capable? Saying I'm not your brother—do you want me to spill all your childhood embarrassments for you to hear?"

"What embarrassments could I possibly have?" Li Na retorted stubbornly.

"Heh, remember when you played house with Dajun and the others when we were kids? You insisted on being Dajun's wife, refusing to give up even when he didn't want you, and went home crying your eyes out..."

Before he could finish, Li Na roared angrily, "You little brat, have you got a death wish?!"

With that, she lunged forward to teach Li Yi a lesson, but Tang Xue blocked her path!

At that moment, Li Yi continued, "And when you were fourteen, you suddenly ran home crying and wailing that you were going to die. Mom asked what was wrong, and only then did she find out it was you girls getting your period for the first time..."

Hearing this, even Tang Xue couldn't stand it any longer and blurted out, "Stop talking!"

Li Na felt her blood pressure skyrocket from Li Yi's teasing. She grabbed a random tree branch off the ground and prepared to thrash him.

Pushing his bicycle ahead, Li Yi hurried forward a few steps to dodge out of reach, laughing heartily as he called out, "Sis, remember this for the future: always beat your brother while you still have the chance!"

Though she was practically fuming with anger, Li Na's lingering suspicions vanished.

This punk really was her own brother; otherwise, an outsider wouldn't know those things from their childhood.

It was just bizarre—how on earth had this fellow suddenly become so capable? Too strange!

At that moment, her gaze suddenly locked onto Tang Xue.

The reason her brother had changed so drastically was that he had slept with Xiao Xue, after which he seemed to have grown up overnight.

That's right, he had grown up, transforming from a mischievous boy into a real man!

As if she had discovered some incredible secret, Li Na's look toward Tang Xue shifted once again!

Her good friend really was the lucky charm of the Li family. Her little brother just slept with her once, and he transformed from a good-for-nothing loafer into a master money-maker.

If they rolled around in bed a few more times, he might actually become a ten-thousand-yuan household owner in the future.

For a moment, Li Na's gaze toward Tang Xue grew even more passionate!

Feeling a bit unsettled by Li Na's stare, Tang Xue asked apprehensively, "Sister Na, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Xiao Xue, I truly had no idea you were so charming!"

"What charm? I don't follow," Tang Xue asked, bewildered.

"Haven't you noticed? Ever since you two did *that*, Xiao Yi has changed completely."

"This..."

"You know what he was like before. Just look at him now—not only has he become clever and hardworking, but he's also walked the straight and narrow! If I had known you possessed such magic, I would have tied you to Xiao Yi's brick bed myself!" Li Na said with a smile.

"Sister Na, do you mean his turnaround is all because of me?" Tang Xue asked in surprise.

"Mhm, I can't think of any other reason besides that!"

"This... that can't be..."

Before she finished, Tang Xue realized that Li Na actually made a certain amount of sense.

She knew what Li Yi was like before that incident.

Back then, Li Yi was idle all day long, either gambling and playing cards in the neighboring village, or stealing chickens and dogs to satisfy his cravings in the back hills. Moreover, if he managed to come home for one week out of a month, it was considered a good month.

More importantly, back then his heart was entirely set on Wang Xuemei from the neighboring village, and he didn't give anyone else a second glance.

Yet after that incident, he changed completely—changing so much that he made her look at him in a new light, and even made her willing to give him a chance to pursue her.

Thinking of this, Tang Xue suddenly felt a trace of sweetness ripple through her heart.

She had heard people say that when a man is willing to make certain changes for you, it mostly means he has developed genuine feelings for you.

When you are willing to make certain changes for someone of your own accord, it likewise shows that you have fallen in love with them.

Previously, she hadn't quite understood this saying, and even thought it was inherently wrong because many people were stubborn and hard to change through external forces—herself included.

But now, not only did she understand it, but she also felt that the statement was true.

Li Yi was a living example, and wasn't she one herself?

Before that incident, she had always fantasized about returning to the city and finding the Tan Cheng brother she so deeply missed.

Yet after that incident, she gave up on returning to the city and took her first step of change.

At the very beginning, she believed she was yielding to reality and necessity, driven by both the fact that she had lost her virginity to Li Yi and the pressure from her family.

Though she ultimately stayed, her heart was in despair. She didn't believe her life had any hope left, nor did she hold half an ounce of expectation for the impending marriage, never intending to truly accept Li Yi.

Yet after more than half a month of getting along, she now felt that Li Yi was not as despicable as she had imagined; on the contrary, he turned out to be quite an outstanding person.

Now, she was not only willing to give him a chance, but she even held a glimmer of anticipation for her own marriage—this was Tang Xue's second step of change.

No one makes various changes or concessions for someone for no reason, unless they have deeply fallen in love with that person.

The realization that she might have fallen in love with Li Yi left Tang Xue completely dazed!

Just as Tang Xue was lost in her wandering thoughts, Li Yi's voice suddenly drifted from ahead: "Can you two hurry up? I still have to go back and cook something delicious for you!"

Li Na acknowledged him with a shout, then turned back to Tang Xue and said, "See that? This kid really cares about you. Whenever you come over, he cooks himself. Normally, he hardly ever steps into the kitchen at home!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I have a feeling this kid has been plotting against you for a long time!" Li Na said, dropping another startling remark.

"No way, didn't he... didn't he always like Wang Xuemei from the neighboring village before?" Tang Xue asked in astonishment.

"Wang Xuemei? What's so great about her? Aside from those two big mounds on her chest, how can she compare to you, Xiao Xue?"

Li Na continued, "I'm not lying to you. Think about the cold skin noodles—haven't you had any other thoughts about that?"

"What does that have to do with cold skin noodles?"

"My silly sister-in-law-to-be, didn't you realize that Xiao Yi only learned to make cold skin noodles because of you? That's a specialty snack from Shaanxi province, and nobody around here eats that stuff."

Li Na pressed on, "The people from Shaanxi that Xiao Yi knows can be counted on one hand. Aside from being fairly well-acquainted with you, the others aren't even passing acquaintances. If it weren't for you, why would he bother researching that thing?"

Hearing this, Tang Xue was truly dumbfounded!

Could this be true? Had Li Yi really fancied her for a long time?

For some inexplicable reason, Tang Xue suddenly felt her mood lift with an extra touch of delight!