Daddy! Come Home for Dinner!

This time, because he had some prior knowledge about Li Xiaoyun, Zhao Dingli took a special look at Li Xiaoyun’s home.

"Why don’t I see any Legos around?" Zhao Dingli asked.

"I gave them all to Xiao Mo." Li Xiaoyun explained while brewing tea for Zhao Dingli, "The house is too small to put them out."

"I don’t like building the simpler ones; you finish them in one or two hours, and there’s no fun in that." Li Xiaoyun said, "So, I bought more complex ones to build with Xiao Mo. Once they’re done, there’s no room at home to display them. Luckily, Ye Fei’s house is big, so we put them all at Ye Fei’s place."

"Before Ye Fei reunited with Zhao Gushen, I often went to Ye Fei’s house, so it didn’t matter where they were placed," Li Xiaoyun said, "Going to Ye Fei’s house to see them felt the same as having them at mine."

After all, she was busy with work and didn’t spend much time at home.

Even if they were displayed at home, she didn’t have much time to appreciate them.

Zhao Dingli began contemplating clearing out a room in their house specifically for Li Xiaoyun to display her Legos.

"I’ve seen videos where people have a whole room with a large long table to display Lego street scenes, castles, and they form a small city with trains and high-speed rail circling around," Zhao Dingli said.

"Yes, yes, I’ve seen a lot of those." Li Xiaoyun’s eyes lit up when mentioning this, "I’ve always been envious of that."

But she could only think about it.

After all, she didn’t have those conditions.

The housing prices in City B were so high that her ability only allowed her to afford a small apartment like this.

A larger one would exceed her financial capacity.

Tightening her belt might make it possible.

But one life to live, and she didn’t want to be tied down by a house until her old age.

Before having the chance to enjoy life, she’d always be struggling to save money.

So thoughts of buying a bigger house were fleeting, and Li Xiaoyun decided it would be better to enjoy life fully.

Now she had her little home; even if she paid the mortgage monthly, it was for her own house.

Not like renting, where after a year, she had to consider where to rent next.

She couldn’t buy too many things, otherwise, when moving, she’d either have to toss them or find a way to take them with her.

Having her own home, she could buy things she liked at ease, without worrying about where to move next year.

Paying the mortgage was also motivating because it was the place she’d live in for a long time.

One must be content to live a happier life.

So, after a moment of envy for others’ big houses, Li Xiaoyun had no other thoughts.

But Zhao Dingli was already thinking, since Li Xiaoyun liked it, he could set up a big table in a room and let Li Xiaoyun design her own city.

The fun of LEGO isn’t just in building or the playability of installing lights or power sets.

It’s more about designing your ideal world.

You can design a Lego frame on the wall or set up your favorite street, beach, etc., in a transparent coffee table.

When the time comes, they’ll clear out a large room just for Li Xiaoyun to arrange as she likes.

If not, they could get a villa instead.

However, a villa’s actual usable space isn’t much bigger than his large duplex.

Because when it comes to usable space, his large duplex actually offers more.

Since his large duplex is equivalent to two enormous flat floors.

Also, villas tend to waste some corner spaces during design.

Li Xiaoyun then sliced some fruit for Zhao Dingli to sober up with.

Zhao Dingli stayed for quite a while, then said, "When I called you this morning, you still seemed so formal in addressing me."

It was either Mr. Zhao or Fourth Uncle Zhao.

Li Xiaoyun: "..."

Doesn’t this man remember things a bit too clearly?

Why does he keep doing this?

These things happened quite some time ago, and every time she thought he’d never bring it up again, he’d unexpectedly mention it, catching her off guard.

Li Xiaoyun was sitting, rubbing her palm on her knee, and said, "I just felt... using both the first and last name felt too distant and impolite."

"If you didn’t want me to call you Mr. Zhao, I naturally called you Fourth Uncle Zhao," Li Xiaoyun lowered her head, showing the top of her head, which looked so cute in Zhao Dingli’s eyes.

Zhao Dingli’s mouth curved slightly as he said, "Calling me by both my first and last name does seem rather inappropriate."

Li Xiaoyun received this acknowledgment and nodded repeatedly.

"But calling me Fourth Uncle Zhao makes me sound old, doesn’t it?" Zhao Dingli put up a look of grievance, "Do I seem old?"

"Of course not." Li Xiaoyun hurriedly said.

But Mr. Zhao didn’t fit right, and calling him Fourth Uncle Zhao felt quite endearing to her.

But alas, Zhao Dingli wouldn’t accept it.

Li Xiaoyun couldn’t figure out what to do.

"You could just drop the surname and simply call me by my first name." Zhao Dingli finally revealed the hidden agenda, showing his true intentions.

Li Xiaoyun: "..."

Dropping the surname and calling just by the first name, isn’t that...

Ding Li?

This... this seems a bit too intimate!

Have they reached such a stage?

"My family and close friends call me that," Zhao Dingli said.

As if.

He was only trying to convince Li Xiaoyun with this.

His family certainly did call him that, but it was only Zhao Dinghuan’s generation and those older than them.

Zhao Gushen and the younger ones still had to call him Fourth Uncle.

As for outsiders, peers of Zhao Gushen still had to call him Fourth Uncle, regardless of any blood relation or not.

Just like how Shi Hongze, knowing Chu Zhaoyang and of the same generation, also called him Fourth Uncle.

As for others, even if they were older, no one dared to directly call him "Ding Li."

They all respectfully called him "Mr. Zhao."

Zhao Dingli only said this to coax Li Xiaoyun.

Even though what he said seemed reasonable, it actually had a slight feel of sophistry.

Li Xiaoyun heard it clearly.

She twitched the corner of her mouth, but went along with it, "Okay."

Zhao Dingli was really considerate, helping her with many things.

If she still claimed they weren’t familiar, that they weren’t friends, she’d be a heartless ingrate.

With Zhao Dingli being so forthcoming, she couldn’t act coy and hesitant.

Having figured this out, Li Xiaoyun felt much more at ease.

Zhao Dingli didn’t insist that she call him that right away, but said, "We agreed on this, so don’t address me so formally anymore."

"Otherwise, don’t blame me for pretending not to hear, and ignoring your calls," Zhao Dingli added.