Siheyuan: A Very Happy Era

Chapter 680 I think you're really beyond saving.

"Uncle, what brings you here?"

At the school gate, Chen Siqi had just come out of the school when she was startled by Li Guoqiang, who stood there tall and confident.

"What? Can't I come?" Li Guoqiang raised an eyebrow as he looked at the little girl who looked seven or eight parts like her sister Li Guolan, and then asked with a chuckle.

"No, no, I just didn't expect you to come. Don't you work in Pengcheng?" Chen Siqi hurriedly waved his hand and explained.

"I quit my job!" Li Guoqiang spread his hands and said with a nonchalant air.

"You quit your job? Why did you quit? I was thinking of coming to visit you when I grow up!" Chen Siqi frowned and said with some disappointment.

"What? You really want to go to a bar?" Li Guoqiang chuckled inwardly, then asked with amusement.

"Yeah! Didn't you say bars are a lot of fun? You can watch people sing and dance, and even watch people play drums!" Chen Siqi nodded and said with a longing look on her face.

In his memory, he always thought his uncle Li Guoqiang was pretty cool; he could sing, dance, and even DJ!
In addition, Li Guoqiang would tell him all sorts of interesting things that happened in the bar every time he came over.

So, he had always wanted to go to the bar where Li Guoqiang worked to see just how fun it was.

However, he did not expect that Li Guoqiang would actually resign.

In this way, he will no longer have the chance to go to the bar where Li Guoqiang works and see it for himself.

"Oh, is that so? Then when you grow up, I'll take you to play again, okay?" When Li Guoqiang saw that Chen Siqi really wanted to go to the bar, he not only didn't try to dissuade her, but immediately made a promise, showing no intention of controlling or restricting everything like other parents.

In his view, as long as the conditions are right and the child is interested, the child can experience it.

Only by experiencing enough things can a child's personality develop more fully, and their understanding of the world become more thorough and clear.

In the past, he might have tried to persuade Chen Siqi more tactfully not to be in such a hurry to go to the bar.

But now that he's successful, making a small promise is naturally not a problem for him.

"Really?" Chen Siqi's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she asked excitedly, "How old do I have to be before I can go?"

"Didn't I tell you before? To go to a bar, you have to be at least 18 years old!" Li Guoqiang smiled slightly and then answered softly.

"Oh! That would take another 8 years!" Chen Siqi pouted and said somewhat dejectedly.

"Alright, you're still young. Your most important task is to study. Don't think about other things too much." Li Guoqiang was amused by the sight and reached out to rub the little guy's head.

"Okay!" Chen Siqi nodded in agreement, and then followed Li Guoqiang outside.

As he walked, he looked around but didn't see Li Guoqiang's old, beat-up Corolla or his mother's electric scooter, which made him a little puzzled.

Then, before he could ask anything, he heard Li Guoqiang's voice.

"Hey, get in the car quickly!" Li Guoqiang said as he reached out and opened the back door.

Incidentally, he also reached in and raised the armrest separating the two seats in the back, creating an extra space between Chen Siya and Zhao Manni.

Seeing this, Chen Siya and Zhao Manni immediately felt a little embarrassed.

They had been sitting there the whole way, and every time they spoke, they had to lean in to talk, never once thinking of raising the armrest that separated them.

Fortunately, Li Guoqiang adjusted the handrail and stepped back without saying anything, then moved aside to reveal a bewildered Chen Siqi.

At this moment, Chen Siqi seemed completely stunned by the super cool Panamera in front of him, and just stood there dumbfounded.

"Hey, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and get in the car!" Li Guoqiang raised an eyebrow and urged him with a smile.

"Oh!" Chen Siqi came to her senses and then reflexively walked forward to get into the car.

Chen Siya had already moved her seat to the middle, making room for the car door.

Soon, with a "bang," Li Guoqiang closed the car door for Chen Siqi, then opened the driver's side door and got in.

"Uncle, did you just buy this car?" Chen Siqi asked, looking shocked as he came to his senses.

“That’s right, I bought this car less than a week ago!” Li Guoqiang nodded and then said calmly.

"This car is so cool!" Chen Siqi looked left and right, her eyes sparkling.

"Cool, right! If you study hard and earn money in the future, you can buy one too!" Li Guoqiang thought to himself with a smile, then chuckled and encouraged him.

"Yes!" Upon hearing this, Chen Siqi immediately nodded vigorously, without even thinking about how much the car would cost.

Or perhaps he didn't even consider what level of education he would need to reach in order to earn enough money to buy the car.

He didn't even glance at the speechless expressions on Chen Siya and Zhao Manni's faces.

Ultimately, it's the children who are more innocent!

"Alright, let's go home!" Li Guoqiang smiled slightly at Chen Siqi's serious expression, then gently stepped on the gas, turned the steering wheel, and drove the car into the traffic.

When Chen Siqi saw the car start moving, she didn't bother Li Guoqiang to drive. Instead, she sat there, looking around and touching the car with a look of curiosity on her face.

After all, the best car he had ever ridden in was his uncle's secondhand Camry, which was worlds apart from this Panamera.

There was a time when he even fantasized about his family being able to buy a car just like his uncle's.

But now, he has changed his mind.

He thought how wonderful it would be if his family could also buy a car like Li Guoqiang's!

At this moment, he was immersed in his fantasy and did not notice that the atmosphere between Chen Siya and Zhao Manni was a little strange.

Chen Siya kept a close eye on Zhao Manni's actions, while Zhao Manni would sneak glances at Li Guoqiang from time to time, as if she were a thief.

Actually, she wouldn't have thought about these things in the first place, but because of what Chen Siya said to her, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she really dated Li Guoqiang.
"Hey, why are you always staring at my uncle?" Chen Siya saw Zhao Manni peeking at Li Guoqiang, and although she held back for a moment, she couldn't help but reach out and pinch Zhao Manni.

"I didn't!" Zhao Manni's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly denied it.

"You still say no? You're blushing!" Chen Siya felt a little anxious when she saw Zhao Manni's evasive eyes and the blush on her face.

After all, there's a huge age gap between Zhao Manni and Li Guoqiang. If a three-year age difference is considered a generation gap, then Zhao Manni and Li Guoqiang are a full six generation gaps apart!
"You're talking nonsense, I didn't!" Zhao Manni glared at her, then retorted stubbornly.

"Zhao Manni, I think you're hopeless!" Chen Siya stared at Zhao Manni for a while, then said with a hint of disappointment.

In her opinion, Zhao Manni was good in every way, except that her taste was just too unique.

She's so young, yet she's attracted to older men.

She found it hard to imagine what it would be like if Zhao Manni really married Li Guoqiang in the future, or married an older man who was about the same age as Li Guoqiang.

I bet it'll be pretty cringeworthy!

"Okay! I already said I didn't, so please believe me!" Zhao Manni hurriedly begged for forgiveness when she saw that Chen Siya seemed really angry.

In fact, she didn't even know how she felt about Li Guoqiang anymore.

Normally, she would only have a very simple appreciation for Li Guoqiang, along with a bit of restraint and nervousness towards a classmate's parent.

However, now that Chen Siya has brought it up, she has developed a slightly different feeling towards Li Guoqiang.

It was as if a small pebble had been thrown into a calm lake, causing a slight ripple in her heart.

Of course, to say that she likes Li Guoqiang and wants to date him would be a bit of an exaggeration.

She simply had a different perspective and understanding of Li Guoqiang.

"What if you had it?" Chen Siya stared at Zhao Manni, then asked somewhat seriously.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Manni was speechless.

Then, a thought struck her, and she quickly promised, "If I have any, then I'll be punished by never being able to eat three dishes in my life."

At worst, she can just eat four dishes from now on!
"Okay, then you better remember this." Chen Siya's expression relaxed, and she nodded and said.

After she finished speaking, she glanced at Li Guoqiang discreetly and, seeing that he didn't react unusually, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Little did they know that even when they spoke very softly, Li Guoqiang could hear them very clearly.

He was slightly surprised by this, and then couldn't help but sigh that young girls these days are so precocious.

Apart from that, he had no other feelings for Zhao Manni.

After all, there was a significant age difference between him and Zhao Manni; one wrong move and they could be tortured.

Besides, with his qualities, what kind of girl couldn't he have?
Soon, he drove back to the village next to Chen Haitao and Li Guolan's village, and then, with Zhao Manni's directions, drove to the gate of a one-story house.

Immediately afterward, before he could even call Zhao Manni to get out of the car, he saw a girl who was older than Zhao Manni riding an electric scooter out of the courtyard gate.

"Mom, I'm back!" Upon seeing this, Zhao Manni hurriedly opened the door and got out of the car, calling out.

Zhao Xueyan looked at Zhao Manni, who was getting out of the car, and then at the luxurious car in front of her. She was momentarily stunned.

"Hello, I'm Chen Siya's uncle. When I went to pick her up from school earlier, Zhao Manni said you were too busy to pick her up, so I brought her back with me." Li Guoqiang got out of the car, walked up to Zhao Xueyan, and explained softly.

At the same time, Chen Siya also got out of the car and stood next to Zhao Manni, seemingly wanting to prove what Li Guoqiang had said.

"Oh! That's really too much trouble for you!" Zhao Xueyan felt instantly relieved when she saw Chen Siya, an acquaintance, and quickly said politely.

After saying that, she secretly glared at Zhao Manni.

Seeing this, Zhao Manni secretly pursed her lips, and before Zhao Xueyan could look at her again, she had already returned to her obedient appearance.

"It's alright, it's on the way anyway," Li Guoqiang waved his hand and said with a chuckle.

After saying that, before Zhao Xueyan could reply, he changed the subject and said seriously, "By the way, Manni's mother, there's something I want to discuss with you."

"What is it?" Zhao Xueyan raised an eyebrow and asked with some confusion.

"Here's the thing."

Soon, Li Guoqiang told her that Chen Siya wanted to invite Zhao Manni to stay at his house in Pengcheng after the winter vacation and spend some time there.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xueyan's brows furrowed instantly.

Although she knew that Zhao Manni and Chen Siya were good classmates, she was still a little worried that such a grown-up girl of fourteen or fifteen years old would come to Pengcheng with her and stay at Li Guoqiang's house.

After all, she had only just met Li Guoqiang and didn't know what kind of person he was.

If something were to happen, wouldn't she regret it for the rest of her life?

However, she found it difficult to refuse in front of Chen Siya.

Just as she was thinking about how to get out of this, Li Guoqiang spoke up again with a serious expression:

“Manni’s mom, if you’re worried, you and your husband can come along. And you don’t need to worry about the expenses; I’ll take care of everything.”

"Uh..." Zhao Xueyan was stunned when she heard this.

She didn't expect Li Guoqiang to be so sincere, not only inviting her family to come and have fun, but also covering their expenses.

This immediately improved her impression of Li Guoqiang, and at the same time, it aroused a little curiosity about him.

If she remembered correctly, Li Guoqiang had introduced himself as Chen Siya's uncle.

For an uncle to go to such lengths for his niece is incredibly heartwarming!

Furthermore, as she looked at him, she noticed that although Li Guoqiang wasn't particularly handsome, he had a very upright posture and a mature and charming demeanor, making him more and more pleasing to the eye the more she looked at him.

"Mom, you know that Siya and I are best friends. Now she's inviting me to go to Shenzhen with her, and she can take you with her too. Just say yes!"

Seeing that Zhao Xueyan hadn't said a word, Zhao Manni became anxious and quickly stepped forward, grabbed Zhao Xueyan's arm, and pleaded in a low voice.

She was shaking as she spoke.
(End of this chapter)