Chapter Seventeen: The Complaint

Inside the Li Family Villa—

After returning home, Li Kunjie and Li Fengmei both wore grim expressions, their faces dark and sullen, as if someone owed them tens of millions.

At this time, Li Xinghao was at work, not at home. However, Li Xingjue had no classes today, and Li Xuehui was practicing piano at home for a competition, so both were present.

Seeing their parents come home like this, the two were quite surprised.

“Dad, Mom, what’s wrong with you?” Li Xuehui quickly stepped forward, her face full of concern. At the same time, she immediately instructed the servants to bring two cups of hot tea.

Seeing Li Xuehui’s thoughtfulness, Li Kunjie and Li Fengmei’s expressions softened considerably. They sat down on the sofa, their demeanor much more relaxed.

“Dad, Mom, weren’t you supposed to visit Grandpa?” Li Xingjue sat opposite them, curious. “Why do you look so upset coming back? Did Grandpa say something?”

Actually, what he really wanted to ask was whether Grandpa had scolded them, because otherwise, they wouldn’t look so displeased. But he was afraid that if he asked directly, he might be blamed, so he chose to be tactful.

“It’s that ungrateful girl,” Li Kunjie’s expression darkened again, anger emanating from him. “She actually went to Grandpa to complain. As expected, she’s hopeless—mingling in the entertainment industry all these years, refusing to come back, and now she even dares to complain like this.”

“Why did I have to raise such a daughter!” Li Fengmei’s coldness was palpable. “If we had known she would turn out this way, we would have disciplined her strictly from the start.”

“Little sister complained?” Li Xuehui was shocked, covering her mouth. “Dad, Mom, what do you mean?”

“Why would she go complain to Grandpa?” Li Xingjue was also puzzled. “She’s been stuck in that entertainment circle, bringing shame to the Li family’s reputation, and she still has the nerve to complain? Where does she get the face to do such a thing?”

Li Kunjie and Li Fengmei’s faces grew even darker.

“Dad, Mom, what exactly happened?” Li Xingjue asked, curiosity evident.

—

“Her living expenses,” Li Kunjie forced the words out. “All these years, she hasn’t received any living expenses.”

“That’s impossible!” Li Xingjue exclaimed. “Aren’t her living expenses transferred directly to her account every month? Could it be that you…”

He left the rest unsaid, but everyone understood the implication.

If Li Kunjie or Li Fengmei didn’t request it, there was no way the living expenses would have been stopped.

Only Li Xuehui’s face turned pale. She knew exactly where those funds had gone.

A few years ago, her parents had the company transfer Li Chuxi’s monthly living expenses directly to her account. In other words, over these years, she had been spending the living expenses meant for Li Chuxi.

Because she was an adopted daughter, she held no status in front of Grandpa Li. He simply did not acknowledge her existence, so her living expenses could never be equal to those of the Li family’s granddaughter. All her living expenses came from Li Kunjie and Li Fengmei, and the amount was modest.

Only after Li Chuxi’s living expenses were assigned to her did her life become especially comfortable. With that sum, she maintained the facade of a wealthy, elegant young lady.

Yet, she never expected Li Chuxi to return and complain, escalating the matter all the way to Grandpa Li himself.

The thought of Grandpa Li’s sharp eyes, seeming to see through all her thoughts, sent a chill through her heart.

“Don’t concern yourself with this,” Li Kunjie shot Li Xingjue a warning glance.

Facing his father’s stern look, Li Xingjue naturally dared not say more.

Li Fengmei took a deep breath and looked at Li Xuehui. “Xuehui, from now on, we will cover your living expenses.”

Previously, Li Xuehui had been using the living expenses meant for Li Chuxi. Now that Grandpa Li had personally intervened, there was no way those funds could be misappropriated anymore.

“It’s alright, Mom,” Li Xuehui smiled gently. “I don’t spend much usually. I live and eat at home, so it’s fine even if I don’t get living expenses.”

—

“How can we not give you any!” Li Fengmei shook her head, disapproving. “You’re a young lady—you need to shop for clothes and go out with friends. How can you have no money at all? Don’t worry; from now on, we will give you 100,000 yuan a month for living expenses.”

Li Xuehui’s face remained gentle with a smile. “Okay, thank you, Mom.”

Though her expression was calm, her eyes were filled with shadows.

One hundred thousand yuan—is that how they were dismissing her? Li Chuxi’s monthly living expenses were 500,000 yuan. Why did she only get a tenth of that?

How was she inferior to Li Chuxi? Compared to that uneducated bumpkin, wasn’t she more like the true lady of the Li family?

She truly did not understand why they refused to acknowledge her. Was bloodline really that important? She could confidently say that no other Li family young lady could compare to her. So why? Why treat her this way?

Now that her monthly living expenses had been drastically reduced, how could she maintain her dignified lifestyle?

At this moment, Li Xingjue finally grasped the meaning behind his parents’ words.

He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Dad, Mom, so you’ve been cutting off Li Chuxi’s living expenses all these years? You’ve been giving her money to Sister Xuehui instead? What is Li Chuxi supposed to do?”

Although he also found Li Chuxi disagreeable, their parents’ actions were indeed excessive.

“That ungrateful girl Li Chuxi refused to listen and insisted on staying in the entertainment industry. We just wanted to teach her a lesson,” Li Kunjie said, embarrassed and angry. “Besides, although I had the finance department transfer Li Chuxi’s living expenses to Xuehui, your mother has also given Li Chuxi some pocket money from time to time.”

“Otherwise, how do you think Li Chuxi managed to survive so long in the entertainment industry?”

“What?” Li Fengmei was momentarily stunned, then instinctively responded, “When have I ever given Li Chuxi pocket money? Haven’t you been the one giving it all these years? I haven’t given her a penny!”

—