Chapter 45: Crying So Pitifully
Jin Shi Yue lowered the car window, his gaze falling on Lian Li’s small, reddened nose. He paused for a second, raising an eyebrow.
“Lost money? You’re crying so pitifully.”
Lian Li really wanted him to go see an ophthalmologist to check if his eyes were malfunctioning. She wasn’t crying at all, so where was this pitifulness coming from?
Lian Li tucked her hands into her jacket pockets, her chin tucked into her scarf, revealing half her face. Her clear, bright eyes looked at Jin Shi Yue.
“Get in the car,” he said.
The Eldest Young Master wanted her to treat him to a meal. Lian Li was starving and didn’t waste time arguing. She opened the front passenger door and got in.
The car’s air conditioning was at a comfortable temperature, very warm. Lian Li let out a soft sigh of relief.
Jin Shi Yue’s wrist rested lazily on the steering wheel, his dark cufflinks reflecting an expensive, cold sheen. He turned his head, staring at her without blinking.
Lian Li finished fastening her seatbelt and looked up, unexpectedly meeting the man’s deep, dark eyes. She froze for a moment.
“What is it?”
“Let’s see how much money you lost,” Jin Shi Yue said, his gaze slowly sweeping across her face. “Your nose is as red as RMB.”
“……”
Lian Li inappropriately recalled a classic insult: “What are you looking at? Do I have money on my face!”
—She actually did have money on her face.
She inexplicably felt like laughing.
When people are utterly speechless, they laugh. She hadn’t believed it before, but now she did.
“I didn’t lose money, and I’m not crying,” Lian Li stated plainly. Her stomach was growling; she was so hungry she felt like her front was touching her back.
“I’m hungry, let’s go eat.”
Jin Shi Yue glanced at her calm and composed expression, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He didn’t say anything and started the car.
He had changed cars; it wasn’t the Hongqi L9, nor the Koenigsegg, but the seats were as comfortable as ever. Lian Li leaned back against the seat, loosened her scarf, and breathed in the warm air.
She rubbed her hands, her stiff fingers warming up, and took out her mobile phone to check WeChat messages.
Xue Shufan asked Lian Li if she had eaten an apple on Christmas Eve, and if not, she would eat one for her Junior Sister.
Lian Li smiled and replied: Thank you very much.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom sped down the road, the dazzling shops lining the street flashing by like frames of neon illusions formed from film.
The car slowed down, drove through a crossroads, and finally stopped in front of a tea house with an antique charm.
Lian Li asked in confusion: “Aren’t we going to eat beef noodles?”
Jin Shi Yue mimicked her: “Didn’t you say ‘another day’?”
You didn’t agree.
Lian Li didn’t want to argue with him now. She was truly hungry, and drinking tea probably wouldn’t fill her stomach, right?
Jin Shi Yue got out of the car first. Seeing her hesitate, he rested his arm on the car door and bent down to peer inside: “Shall I get a sedan chair to carry you in?”
Lian Li snapped back to reality, quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, got out, and followed Jin Shi Yue inside.
The tea house was large, with private rooms sectioned off. Antique ceramics and Chinese paintings hung on the walls, and the tables and chairs were arranged in an ancient style.
Jin Shi Yue walked ahead with a lazy, steady gait. His height and long legs were eye-catching, and his entire demeanor was both roguish and noble.
Lian Li looked down at his trouser legs, then up at the back of his head.
Jin Yan Ting was one meter eighty-seven, and Jin Shi Yue was slightly taller than Jin Yan Ting.
She couldn’t win, she couldn’t win…
The garden was extremely spacious, planted with Chinese scholar trees and ginkgo trees as thick as a person’s embrace. Fallen leaves covered the ground like a golden blanket.
Passing through the garden, the two stepped into the backyard. The backyard’s layout was similar to the front yard. The ground was paved with brown-coffee-colored wood-grain flooring, the walls were decorated in a retro, elegant style, and the tables and chairs were walnut-colored, all exuding a low-key opulence.
A curtain was lifted, and someone walked out from inside.
It was a tall, slender middle-aged lady, wearing a shimmering satin qipao and a luxurious wool shawl draped over her shoulders. Her features were grand and beautiful, and her demeanor was elegant and gentle.
“What brings you to my place today, you brat?”
Jin Shuyu said, her gaze sweeping behind Jin Shi Yue. She saw Lian Li, her eyes lingering on Lian Li for a few seconds before shifting back to Jin Shi Yue.
“Came to eat,” Jin Shi Yue said with a composed expression, lifting his chin slightly to indicate for Lian Li to sit down.
Lian Li glanced at Jin Shuyu, then slowly pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Jin Shi Yue.
Jin Shuyu watched their unhurried movements, feeling a little confused.
“You brat, you really think this tea house is a restaurant and came to eat,” Jin Shuyu chided. “Why don’t you fly to the sky and swim?”
“How could I,” Jin Shi Yue replied playfully, a smile in the corner of his eyes. “The food here is better than any high-end restaurant; I’m here for your cooking.”
Her nephew knew how to charm people.
Jin Shuyu pretended to glare at him, then glanced at the quiet Lian Li from the corner of her eye, her gaze filled with kindness: “Whose daughter is this?”
“Don’t know,” Jin Shi Yue said.
Jin Shuyu: “?”
Jin Shi Yue said lazily: “Found a national treasure by the roadside.”
Lian Li was too hungry to explain. She smiled at Jin Shuyu and said: “Hello, my name is Lian Li.”
So polite, such a likable young girl.
Jin Shuyu’s dignified face softened into a gentle smile: “I’m Shi Yue’s aunt, Jin Shuyu.”
Lian Li’s eyes curved into a smile, her expression sweet: “Hello, Aunt.”
Jin Shi Yue leaned back loosely against the chair, tapping his fingers twice on the table, and said casually: “You’re hungry, eat something first.”
“Bring two bowls of noodles.”
His long legs couldn’t fit under the square table and were arrogantly stretched across the corridor. Jin Shuyu playfully kicked him and said to Lian Li with a smile: “It’ll be ready soon.”
Jin Shuyu was very gentle and kind, and a warm current flowed through Lian Li. She replied: “Thank you for the trouble.”
Jin Shi Yue played with a ceramic tea cup in his hand, lifting his eyelids to look at Lian Li.
He stared at her for quite a while.
Lian Li subconsciously raised her hand to touch her face, asking hesitantly: “Is there something on my face?”
“Your eyebrows are crooked,” Jin Shi Yue said lightly.
Lian Li rubbed her fine eyebrows with her fingertips and said nothing.
She hadn’t drawn her eyebrows today; they were probably just unevenly shaped.
Before long, a girl in a tea house work uniform brought over two bowls of old Capital City fried sauce noodles.
“The traditional preparation of old fried sauce noodles involves ‘three fries and three teachings,’ meaning the sauce is fried three times, each time simmered until golden. This results in a rich sauce aroma and a mellow taste. The noodles are made from refined white flour, hand-made, and then boiled, rinsed, and mixed with the sauce. A bowl of authentic fried sauce noodles is then presented.”
She introduced enthusiastically: “There aren’t many chefs who can make the old-fashioned style nowadays, and our chef is one of them.”
“Thank you,” Lian Li nodded.
She was starving, so she stirred the noodles with her chopsticks and began to eat.
The fried sauce noodles had chewy noodles, rich fried sauce, crisp cucumber shreds, and refreshing bean sprouts… The dish was visually appealing, fragrant, and delicious, exceeding her expectations.
As the steaming food went down, Lian Li’s stomach felt warm, and her whole body began to feel warm.
She took a tissue and meticulously wiped her lips.
Jin Shi Yue lowered his eyelids, his gaze lingering on her rosy lips for half a second, and said casually: “Finished eating?”
