Chapter 108: Only One Wish Per Year
This person, Lian Li recognized.
One of Jin Shi Yue’s bodyguards, Ling Yu.
Ling Yu carried a large cubic box in one hand. Lian Li glanced at it; it contained a cherry cake.
“Miss Lian, Happy New Year, I’ve come to deliver a cake for you.” Ling Yu’s features were rugged, his personality a bit simple, like a rough guy but with a youthful air. “May I come in?”
“Happy New Year.” Lian Li smiled and offered a blessing, then stepped aside to let him in. “Please come in.”
Lian Li directed Ling Yu to place the cake on the dining table and gave him a red envelope.
Ling Yu accepted the red envelope and performed a serious set of military boxing in the living room for Lian Li as a token of his gratitude.
Lian Li was amused, her smile blooming, and her mood was excellent. She gave him another red envelope.
She hadn’t genuinely smiled during New Year’s for a long time.
“It’s not bragging, I get second place every year in boxing competitions,” Ling Yu said, patting his chest proudly.
Lian Li believed him; those who bragged usually claimed first place.
She asked, “Who is first place?”
Ling Yu answered readily, full of pride, “Our boss!”
Jin Shi Yue.
Thinking of his fierce and sturdy physique, Lian Li found it quite believable.
After performing three sets of military boxing, Ling Yu bid farewell to Lian Li. “Li Ye said I shouldn’t stay too long at a girl’s home. Miss Lian, I’m leaving now!”
Lian Li smiled and said, “Goodbye.”
After Ling Yu left, Lian Li first put the cake in the refrigerator, then took out her mobile phone to message Xue Shufan, informing her that she had a cake and didn’t need to bring one.
Xue Shufan quickly replied, “OK, then I’ll bring some drinks.”
An hour later,
Lian Li’s eyes sparkled as she smiled at Xue Shufan arriving with gifts and two bottles of red wine. The two girls were relaxed and casual, choosing to watch television and have hot pot in the living room.
Lian Li tied her hair into a simple, round bun with a hair tie. Xue Shufan turned and saw her slender, fair neck. She leaned in to sniff and said, “It looks delicious, smells even better.” She added, “No matter how good it smells, it’ll all be covered in hot pot aroma later.”
“The hot pot smell is no big deal,” Xue Shufan said, holding a pair of chopsticks. “We can take a bath afterward, and we’ll be two beautiful water nymphs again.”
Lian Li’s eyes twinkled with amusement as she slowly stirred the lamb in the hot pot, casually asking, “How was your time at your aunt’s place?”
Xue Shufan’s aunt was the dean of Xiehe Hospital, a renowned decision-maker with outstanding contributions in the medical field.
The large screen of the television was playing a movie silently.
Xue Shufan glanced at it and replied, “My aunt’s family is fine, it’s just that old, pedantic man from the Lin family who’s incredibly annoying.”
Lian Li looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Old Man Lin heard I was coming back and specifically came to introduce me to his grandson, saying I’m almost thirty and should get married. The Lin family and the Xue family are well-matched, perfect for a marriage alliance.”
Xue Shufan recounted vividly, “I replied to him: You should be dead already, you’re seventy-five.”
Lian Li couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Xue Shufan opened a bottle of red wine, decanted it, and poured a glass for Lian Li. “According to them, after twenty you’re heading for thirty, and after thirty you’re heading for forty. It’s like those ten years were eaten by dogs.”
“You should have just said you’re heading for a hundred,” Lian Li said. “Indirectly wishing you a long life.”
Xue Shufan laughed heartily.
“I remember some of the handsome senior and junior brothers in your laboratory like you,” Lian Li said slowly, taking a sip of red wine. “Are there one or two who are your type?”
Xue Shufan shook her head, then declared emphatically, “What’s the difference between dating fellow disciples and incest? None!”
Lian Li nodded in agreement.
Fellow disciples were too busy with internal strife to even be normal friends, let alone date.
The television was playing an idol drama. The female lead, experiencing her physiological period and seeing the male lead in discomfort, offered to help him.
The male lead refused, saying in a very considerate voice, “I’m afraid of dirtying you.”
“Hypocritical,” Xue Shufan scoffed. “Weren’t you afraid of getting dirty when you were doing it? If you truly felt dirty, you shouldn’t have touched her!”
After her rant, Xue Shufan turned to the innocent junior sister and said, “Don’t believe a man’s sweet talk, and then get self-moved by how much he loves you.”
Lian Li, who was eating fresh tripe, looked up blankly at the remark.
“Sex and love are two different things. Sex is physical completeness, love is spiritual abundance,” Xue Shufan said with emotion, tirelessly. “Girls, be wary of men’s cheap love. Especially harm disguised as love, like when he abuses you but claims it’s because he loves you too much. This behavior is no different from domestic violence. Domestic violence has two forms: physical and psychological. Neither is forgivable.”
Although her junior sister was smart, she had too little emotional experience and was easily deceived by men.
Lian Li felt her senior sister was worrying too much.
She was like wild grass; if someone showed her a little love, she would give her heart away.
Xue Shufan had a standard oval face, with a hint of heroism in her brows. Her slender eyebrows were slightly upturned, and her eyes held a touch of defiance, as if ready to meet any challenge, exuding a spirited aura.
Even after drinking, she didn’t appear delicate but displayed the demeanor of a female general.
Lian Li nodded at her senior sister’s sincere teachings.
The hot pot was almost done. Xue Shufan stood up, casually took the cherry cake from the refrigerator, and they lit candles, turned off the lights, and let Lian Li make a wish and blow out the candles.
Lian Li made only one wish every year: to find her mother this year.
After singing “Happy Birthday” and making her wish, they sat down to eat cake.
During their chat, they mentioned how quiet their small group chat had been lately. Xue Shufan said, “It’s normal. If I were still at the Xue family’s, I’d probably be confined at home dealing with things and wouldn’t be able to come out and play.”
“You enjoy the honor the family brings, but you also have to bear the corresponding responsibilities,” Lian Li said calmly.
Xue Shufan: “Indeed.”
“Brother Qingji has the elegant aura of an old money family. I couldn’t quite figure out what he was like before, but I realized it today,” Lian Li said in a gentle, flowing voice.
“Like what?” Xue Shufan asked.
Lian Li said, “The Western Mansion Crabapple.”
Xue Shufan chuckled. “You know, he really does resemble it.”
She changed the subject and suddenly mentioned, “They’re all saying President Jin is the ideal man in this world.”
Lian Li ate half a cherry. “Jin Yan Ting?”
Xue Shufan: “Yes.”
The two Jin brothers were aloof, possessing wealth and status that allowed them to look down on everything.
In terms of power and wealth alone, they were unmatched.
Lian Li mused, “If Jin Yan Ting is the ideal man in this world, then Jin Shi Yue must be the King of Hell in the Underworld.”
Even the Underworld wouldn’t take him.
“Cough cough!” Xue Shufan accidentally swallowed a whole cherry and patted her chest a couple of times. Lian Li handed her a glass of water.
Xue Shufan caught her breath and suddenly lowered her voice, saying, “That Jin Shi Yue person…”
Her expression was cautious, as if afraid of being overheard.
“Guess why he left the military region early?”
