It looked like he was bullying a small animal. Lee Shan was nervous and trembling. Anyone who saw this would think he was up to no good.

Why come and visit without being prepared for the consequences of her actions?

This trembling was more annoying than it was endearing. It might work to soften Bai Tao, but it irritated Bai Li.

"If you are not planning to say anything, then get out." His voice contained no force.

"I need to talk to you." She grit her teeth. Lee Shan refused to turn back.

"I imagine you did. Or else you would have had no reason to come down here and disturb my peace." Did she want him to be warm and welcoming?

Lee Shan was standing outside in the cold with a boulder beside her. Despite being warned not to. She threw the boulder at the glasshouse she lived in.

Bai Li gestured towards the couch.

Lee Shan hesitated for a moment before going to sit.

“What do you want from my son?” Her voice was serious and her gaze sharp. The trembling had stopped.

It was admirable how far she would go for her son. If she used that same attitude when dealing with everything else, she would have been fine.

“What do you think I want from my younger brother?” Since we were pointing out family relations.

“You know about that?” The rabbit-like trembling started all over again.

“Did you plan to keep it a secret forever?” Oops. He put his foot in his mouth. Bai Li didn’t know what Bai Tao was thinking by not telling her. “Even if that wasn’t the case, what do you think I would do to him?”

Lee Shan looked down at her hands then back up. “He is a threat to you.” She sounded confident.

Bai Li started laughing. He was wrong. The adults in his life were good for comedic effect and stress relief. It was good that all of them weren’t as smart or resourceful as his mother.

“Does Bai Fang have a chance to be a threat to me?” He was good, but he was young. Did she realize that if he had ill will against his brother, this would have added to his desire to clean him up?

He beat Bai Fang already. In this timeline, the age gap between them didn’t allow much room for Bai Fang to do anything. Last time, Bai Li wasn’t exceptional till later. Right now, he could take over Wen Shi at this moment and not have problems running it.

“I know you aren’t a suitable heir?” Lee Shan pressed forward. The effect would have been better if her words didn’t trail off into a question.

Oh, did she now? “I wonder where you heard that?” Bai Li rested his head on his hand. Tilting it, he smiled at her.

“Everyone knows?” She was confused. This is not the reaction she was expecting. They said that he was immature and temperamental.

Someone was giving her information from behind. The family kept him out of the spotlight. Only the people invested in getting his information would go through the trouble.

“Considering whose bed you are sleeping in, do you think it is smart to be taking information from random people?” Bai Li wasn’t in the mood to help her, but it would affect Bai Fang, so he extended an olive branch.

“What are you talking about?” She blushed heavily.

“Do you think the information about me is so easy to find? Think carefully about who told you. Then ask yourself, where would that person be able to get the information?”

Her eyes widened. “She would never put me in danger!”

If a mother wouldn’t put her child in danger, then he wouldn’t be in this position. “Do you think she is in any position to verify the information she is given? Before you charge in like a bull in a china shop?”

“I will talk to Tao about this!” The blush in her face was getting deeper.

“That is what you should have done in the first place.” He patted the phone in his pocket. Pulling it out, he showed it to her. “Do you think I didn’t tell him before I opened the door to you?”

“He called, and I answered. The phone has been connected this whole time. I wouldn’t want to end up in trouble because you told the story whichever way you felt like.” Bai Li only planned to record the conversation, but Bai Tao wanted to listen for himself.

“Tao,” She called out, reaching for the phone.

“Since you came to talk. Then let’s talk.” Bai Li shifted the phone out of reach. “What made you think I wanted something from Bai Fang?”

“Why else would you come here?” She didn’t take her eyes off the phone. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Bai Li couldn’t understand this logic. If he wanted something, then the person he came here for would most likely be Bai Tao. “Is Bai Fang old enough for me to get any benefits? Wouldn't it be more likely that I came here for Bai Tao?”

“That…” She didn’t continue for a moment. “Isn’t your relationship with your father bad?”

“Is that a question you should be asking after you are already here?” Bai Li didn’t want to continue this conversation. He needed to adjust his thinking again. So far, the people he interacted with were just like their past selves that he remembered. That would not be true for everyone.

He would need to judge whether their personalities were the same or had changed over the years.

“Don’t you know how my mother is? Then why are you going around telling people about Bai Fang?” Lee Shan wouldn’t put her child in danger, but she didn’t filter the people around her.

No wonder Bai Tao thought she was a good person. She saw the good in everyone and didn’t put up her guard. It was easy to get close to her, and she would believe you even if you told a lie. She would forgive you if she found out your lies.

After dealing with Ping An, this type of magnanimous person would have been a balm to Bai Tao’s soul. It was a pity that medicine was only supposed to be used for a short time.

“She would never tell anyone.” She clenched her fists. The tears were replaced by anger.

Something big must have happened in his past life to change a person that much. He wasn’t close to the family, so he wouldn’t have known if anything big happened to Bai Fang.

Lifting the phone to his ear. “We are going to have to move Bai Fang from the school he is at. It is no longer up for discussion. I am sure you can agree that he needs to meet Ping Zen. Without our grandfather’s protection, too many flies will try to get close.”

“Sometimes I wonder who is the father and who is the son.” Bai Tao sounded tired. “I am sending someone to pick him up from school. I already sent people to investigate on Lee Shan’s end.”

“Do you want to listen to the rest?” Bai Li asked. Bai Tao should be busy with work.

His father directly hung up without answering.

He set the phone to record before dropping it on the table.

He looked at Lee Shan, who was trembling with anger instead of fear. “Christ, you are stupid.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

“You can’t talk to me like that!” She cried out.

“Why?” This woman was far out of her wheelhouse. “Who will stop me if I want to talk to you like this?”

“Tao…”

“If you hadn’t come down here to talk with me like this, dad might have taken your side. From what you have seen, does our relationship look bad? Shouldn’t you have asked him for information before you made a move?” It was disappointing.

Bai Li went in for the kill. He was a firm practitioner of an eye for an eye. “As you are, dad could never bring you anywhere by his side. You should stay in your ivory tower and not stick your foot into matters on the outside.”

“Bai Fang will get what he is entitled to because he is a Ping. If you wanted to shelter your child from harshness and cruelty, you would never have used Ping An’s egg. You can’t teach him the lessons he needs to learn.” Getting up, he walked to the door. “If you aren’t careful, you won’t even be able to hold onto Bai Tao.”

“That will never happen! We love each other!” At moments like this, he caught a glimpse of the woman he remembered Lee Shan to be.

She would have to find a different path to development. With him here, it was unlikely that anything would happen to Bai Fang. She would lose her impetus to grow.

He gestured for her to leave. If love was enough, why would so many relationships fail. Why would lovers become the most bitter enemies?

Blue eyes that haunted him flashed in his mind. “Sometimes love is the justification we use to do the most damage and destroy the people we care about.” She looked like she had more to say, but he cut her off. “Get out. I don’t see any reason to entertain you as you make an even bigger fool of yourself.”