Chapter 3: Impossible, Absolutely Impossible
Chen Bo’s villa was only two streets away from Li Tiantian’s house.
Opposite the villa lay a sports park, and behind it flowed a river.
Chen Bo deliberately drove around his villa, allowing Li Tian’er to fully appreciate the surroundings and scenery.
Under the starlit sky, Chen Bo’s white European-style villa stood out among a row of dull, grey two-story houses, strikingly elegant and distinguished.
“How do you like my villa?” he asked.
“It’s nice,” she replied.
“What do you think of the landscaping in the yard?”
“It’s nice.”
Li Tian’er kept her head turned, gazing out the car window. To her, everything passing before her eyes was merely the backdrop against which she must decide how to live next; she needed to find her answer on this stage.
Li Tiantian was a worker at the Dongling Bomei Garment Factory. From what Chen Bo had said, the factory was already insolvent and on the verge of bankruptcy and liquidation; soon, she would become an unemployed worker…
“How would you feel about moving in?”
“It’s nice.”
Whenever Chen Bo asked how something was, Li Tian’er answered unhesitatingly with “nice.”
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“That’s wonderful! Tomorrow, I’ll help you move your luggage over, how does that sound?”
Chen Bo excitedly grabbed Li Tian’er’s hand, trying to pull her closer to him. Startled, she shook off his hand and leaned toward the car window.
“What did you just say?” she asked.
Seeing Chen Bo’s suspicious look, Li Tian’er smiled calmly, faintly.
“I said I’ll help you move your luggage over tomorrow. Don’t worry, I’ll be good to Kai Kai.”
“To your villa? Oh, no, no, I think things are fine as they are now. Let’s not bother for now…”
“Alright, you need time to think about it.”
Chen Bo said no more and turned up the volume of the stereo.
The song flowed softly and plaintively: “With you all the way, I’d endure any pain…”
Li Tian’er turned to look at the back seat. Kai Kai was fixed in the baby seat by Chen Bo, his chubby face sleeping sweetly.
Chen Bo was unmarried, yet there was a baby car seat in his BMW. Whether he intended to share the car with someone or had already planned ahead for Li Tiantian, even considering her son, was unclear.
But what could Chen Bo possibly want from Li Tiantian?
According to Li Ma, Chen Bo was a successful businessman—he had a house, a car, good looks, leisure, and was only thirty-one years old. With such qualifications, he was considered a “diamond bachelor.” He could have any woman he wanted; why would he be so devoted to a widow with a child?
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The BMW slowed to a stop, and Chen Bo, gentlemanly and attentive, opened the car door. He offered to carry Kai Kai upstairs, but Li Tian’er refused.
It was already the early hours of the morning. If she let a man enter a widow’s home at this hour, neighbors might hear or see it, and trouble would surely follow.
Chen Bo watched as Li Tian’er carried her child up the stairs, his gaze lingering on the stairwell she passed through. He did not drive away until he saw her open the door on the fourth floor, enter, and lock it behind her. Then he started his car and headed to his villa.
After tucking the plump baby into bed and covering him with a quilt, she sat on the edge of the bed and let out a long, deep sigh.
Outside the window, the waterlogged rice fields reflected the starry sky, shimmering and dreamlike.
If this house were taken away, she would have to rent somewhere to live. In this unfamiliar small town, apart from Chen Bo, Li Tiantian didn’t know how many friends she had.
With Li Tiantian’s appearance, which almost mirrored her own, there ought to be many people who liked Li Tiantian.
Only then did she remember to check her popularity value. A string of pink numbers quietly froze at 29,000, showing not the slightest change.
Li Tiantian had parents, a son, and, for now, a friend who seemed like a confidant, Chen Bo. Was it possible that not one of them liked her?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!