Peninsula: The young master is poor and doesn't want to date.

Chapter 68 Jisoo's Tears

After leaving the detective agency, Li Zhengyi circled around three times using the counter-surveillance route before going home.

noon.

It was very cold; the December wind in Seoul felt like knives on my face.

An elderly person in the alley was taking down bed sheets that had been hanging on the power line.

The aunt from the next building is calling her son to come home for dinner.

He turned into the alley where he lived and went up to the third floor.

Then he saw another thing squatting in front of his house.

Black.

They curled up in a ball.

Not moving at all.

Li Zheng stepped forward and kicked him.

"oops!"

The lump bounced.

The hat fell off, revealing a face.

Big eyes, small face, her eyes were already starting to redden, but it was obviously because she had been kicked rather than because she was crying.

"Oppa! Why did you kick me again!"

Kim Jisoo clutched her lower back where she had been kicked, her expression shifting between pain and anger.

"I thought it was a garbage bag."

"You recognized me right away! It was the same last time! You always said it was a trash bag, you just wanted to kick me!"

Kim Jisoo stood up and put her hands on her hips.

But because his eyes were red, his imposing presence was diminished by at least half.

Li Zhengyi had no intention of getting entangled in this issue.

He bypassed the debate about "whether you kicked me on purpose" and changed the subject.

"Why are you here again?"

"I brought my own lunch."

Kim Jisoo held up the insulated lunchbox in her hand and shook it.

Then she took a deep breath, straightened her back, and began to speak with an attitude that said, "I'm about to get down to business, so please listen carefully."

"Oppa, do you remember what day the first day of next month is?"

"New Year."

Li Zhengyi took out his key and opened the door.

"When the company gives you time off, go home and spend time with your parents. Don't keep coming here."

"Hey! Oppa!"

Kim Jisoo put her hands on her hips and raised her voice by half a tone.

She took a step forward.

Li Zheng glanced at the neighbor's curtains, who was already peeking out from the corridor, and decisively grabbed her shoulder and pushed her into the house.

Kim Jisoo instinctively struggled a couple of times, but with little strength, and he carried her into the room.

The door closed.

"Alright, alright, my birthday is on the first day of next month, so what?"

"And then? And then, of course, is the gift! I asked you several times but you didn't reply, so I came directly to you. Are you free on your birthday?"

"I'm busy."

"No, I have to be available!"

Kim Jisoo placed the insulated lunchbox on the table, turned around, and looked very serious.

"Take Oppa to buy a birthday present, and buy whatever Oppa likes."

"Just buy me a bottle of Coke at the convenience store downstairs; that'll be a gift. Don't make it so complicated."

"No!"

Kim Jisoo's voice rose again.

"Oppa is going to spend his birthday alone again. It's so lonely. Nobody will play with you. It's so pitiful."

Looking at her serious expression, Li Zhengyi sighed inwardly.

Kim Jisoo thought he was pitying her, but he just didn't want to get her involved.

"I am not alone."

You are lonely.

"I am not alone, I have many friends."

"Oppa is so lonely! So pitiful! I have to celebrate Oppa's birthday with him, otherwise what if you develop a mental illness from being all alone? I'm not a psychologist, I can't treat this, so I have to prevent it."

Looking at her self-righteous demeanor, Li Zhengyi's mind raced.

He knew her true intentions.

Shopping, dating, celebrating his birthday—anything is fine, as long as I'm with him.

From the moment he walked in, she had that little scheme in her eyes.

It is precisely because he cares about her that he cannot let her get close to him.

Bae Joo-hyun is a cautionary tale; she was kidnapped on a plane, drugged, and almost had her life ruined.

It's too dangerous for him to be around until things at home are completely resolved.

The closer Kim Ji-soo gets to him, the easier it is for her to become a target.

Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain.

Li Zhengyi instantly calmed down.

"Jisoo, I have something to tell you."

"Um?"

"I recently got a girlfriend, so please don't come if you don't want her to misunderstand."

Jisoo's smile froze instantly.

She stared at his face for a full three seconds, as if waiting for him to suddenly laugh and say, "Just kidding."

But he didn't.

Then her expression began to slowly change.

His lips were pressed tightly together, his brows were furrowed, and something called tears was gathering in his eyes.

"No way. Oppa, you're lying to me. You're just saying this to keep me from coming."

Her judgment was very accurate.

But this time, Li Zhengyi was very determined.

"So what if I'm lying to you?"

His voice turned cold, sounding somewhat unfamiliar even to himself.

"I lied to you because I didn't want to say 'I hate you' directly. Can you please stop being so annoying?"

"You come to deliver food every few days, blocking my doorway, crying and sobbing. Have you ever thought about how I feel?"

Kim Jisoo's tears fell.

It's not the kind of beautiful, tearful crying you see in idol dramas.

It's a way of crying where tears and snot flow together, the corners of the mouth turn down, and the whole face is scrunched up.

But she didn't wipe them away; she just stood there and let the tears flow.

Because she was trying so hard to speak, she was so focused that she forgot to wipe away her tears.

"Oppa, why do you hate me?"

Her voice was trembling.

"What do you hate about me? I'll change. I really will. You can't hate me."

Li Zhengyi sat in a chair, crossed his legs, and tapped his fingers lightly on his knees.

He felt a mix of emotions as he watched Kim Ji-soo cry.

From childhood to adulthood, no matter which year I recall, there's always a little girl following behind me.

Before you know it, she's grown into a young woman.

When I first arrived in Jiulong Village, it was almost winter.

At that time, he had just been taken in by Uncle Cui.

Kim Jisoo found him through Kim Soo-ho.

Then he took a thermal lunchbox out of his bag, placed it in front of him, and said.

"Oppa, this is what I made. It's my first time, so it might not taste very good."

He opened the lunchbox; the egg rolls were a little burnt, but they were arranged neatly.

He took a bite, and she sat beside him, nervously watching him finish chewing, and then asked.

"How is it? How is it?"

"good."

He said.

It's actually quite delicious.

It tastes better than instant noodles from convenience stores.

However, as the father's health deteriorates, the battle for the family's succession intensifies, and any outsider who gets involved risks their life.

He had to be extremely careful to protect himself, and he had to constantly conduct counter-surveillance when he went to Ding Wulang's place, not to mention that he also had to take care of others.

"Change it? Then prove it to me."

He tilted his head and spoke in a very irritating tone.

"How...how can I prove it?"

Kim Jisoo wiped her tears with her sleeve, leaving the sleeve soaked.

"From today onwards, do not contact me, do not send me messages, and do not call me for the next six months."

He pointed to the doorway.

"If you can do that, I'll believe you can change. If you want to come to me then, I definitely won't stop you. But before that, I need you to prove you can do it."

Kim Jisoo was stunned.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then didn't.

She wanted to say, "Six months is too long."

I want to say, "I can't do it."

I wanted to say, "Oppa, could you change the terms?"

But in the end, she just lowered her head and bit her lip hard until it almost turned white.

Tears dripped onto the floor, one drop after another.

Then she took a deep breath, wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and looked up.

"Okay, since Oppa wants it this way, then I won't bother Oppa anymore."