Chapter Fourteen: Living Expenses

“Oh!” Li Chuxi lifted her eyes to look at the old master Li, speaking calmly, “Grandfather, if you are informing me, then I must tell you that I do not accept your notice.”

Though her words were simple, they carried absolute certainty and an unyielding force.

Seeing this Li Chuxi, old master Li was momentarily stunned. Then, coming back to himself, he looked at her with a trace of anger in his voice. “Do you even know what you’re saying?”

“Of course I do,” Li Chuxi said with a lazy smile. “If I didn’t understand my own words, wouldn’t that be foolish?”

“Li Chuxi!” The old master’s face lost its composure. The fury in his eyes could no longer be concealed. “Are you trying to rebel?”

“Rebel?”

As if hearing a joke, Li Chuxi looked at him with a teasing glint in her eyes. “Grandfather, are you really sure you can say such things? The Qing Dynasty has been gone for many years, yet you still speak with such feudal notions!”

“Looks like you think you’re some kind of local tyrant!”

Li Chuxi’s words were like pouring fuel on a fire. The old master Li violently swept the chessboard and pieces onto the floor, his voice laced with gritted teeth, “You’re asking for death.”

“Heh, a troublemaker like me is one for the ages,” Li Chuxi replied indifferently. “Besides, you’re much older than me. If either of us has to go meet the King of Hell, it has to be you first! I won’t compete with you over that.”

Her words made old master Li feel a sharp pain in his chest. “You ungrateful wretch! You dare say such things? You live off the Li family, drink from the Li family’s wealth, spend the Li family’s money freely, and now you dare talk back to me? I think you’ve lived too comfortably and forgotten who gave you those good days.”

“Tsk tsk tsk!” Li Chuxi curled her lips and rolled her eyes. “Grandfather, I think you’re really senile. Didn’t you do any investigation before calling me here? In the past seven years, the Li family hasn’t given me a single cent!”

She truly admired the soul from another world. Without any support from the Li family, she managed to survive solely on the little savings she had left before entering the entertainment industry to struggle and make a living.

Old master Li, who was about to get angry at her calling him senile, paused after hearing her words.

“The Li family not giving you living expenses for seven years? That can’t be.”

The living expenses from the Li family were approved by the group and transferred by the finance department; it was impossible they didn’t exist. But he didn’t think Li Chuxi would lie about such a thing.

“Whether it’s true or not, why don’t you check yourself?” Li Chuxi blinked and smiled. “After all, it’s very easy to find out.”

“I will have this matter investigated thoroughly,” old master Li said, still angry. “You may refuse to apologize to your parents, but there is one thing you must do.”

“Quit the entertainment industry.”

“I can’t do that,” Li Chuxi said bluntly. “No matter what, I will not quit the entertainment industry.”

“Li Chuxi, are you deliberately opposing me?” The old master was struggling to contain his anger. “You’ve been in the entertainment industry for so many years; what have you achieved? Do you even know what kind of reputation you have now? If this continues, you’ll ruin the Li family’s name.”

“The Li family’s reputation?” Li Chuxi shook her head with amusement. “Grandfather, what does the Li family’s reputation have to do with me?”

“Who outside even knows I’m from the Li family? If the Li family’s reputation is truly ruined, it has nothing to do with me. Don’t blame everything on me.”

“Have you stopped considering yourself a member of the Li family?” The old master’s sharp gaze fell on Li Chuxi.

“Grandfather, do I still count as a member of the Li family in your eyes?” Li Chuxi didn’t answer but asked instead. “Or rather, do you acknowledge that I am a member of the Li family?”

“What do you mean?” The old master’s eyes were searching as he looked at her. “What are you trying to do?”

“I’m not trying to do anything,” Li Chuxi spread her hands with an indifferent look. “I just want to understand your attitude clearly so I know how to proceed.”

The Li family was ruled by the old master. His attitude decided everything. Her father, Li Kunjie, wouldn’t dare utter a word in front of him.

The old master didn’t answer immediately but gave Li Chuxi a long, sharp look, filled with suspicion and scrutiny.

Facing his gaze, Li Chuxi remained calm and composed, meeting his eyes steadily.

Though not outwardly visible, as time passed, the old master grew inwardly alarmed. From the start until now, Li Chuxi’s demeanor toward him had completely lost the timidity of before; she was poised and confident.

If it weren’t for her confident air, he might have thought this wasn’t the same person at all.

Perhaps even now, he still doubted whether this person before him was truly Li Chuxi.

Or perhaps the original Li Chuxi had been pretending all along.

After a long moment, the old master spoke: “Li Chuxi, you are a member of the Li family, that is beyond doubt. However—”

His eyes narrowed sharply. “Do you really consider yourself a member of the Li family?”

“As long as you, Grandfather, acknowledge me as Li family, I naturally will consider myself as such,” Li Chuxi raised an eyebrow and continued with a smile. “But regarding quitting the entertainment industry, that is non-negotiable. Though I am Li family, I am also an independent person. If there’s something I want to do, I will never compromise easily.”

“Compromise?” The old master sneered. “Do you really think you have a future in the entertainment industry given your current situation?”

“Of course,” Li Chuxi replied confidently. “Once I decide to do something, I will do it to the best of my ability. That way, I won’t betray my own choice.”