Chapter 142: Her Infatuation
Senior Sister Lian sent three messages in a row, and Lian Li replied one by one:
「Jin Yan Ting is coming to my concert tonight, and Zhong Ying Yi is sitting right next to him.」
「It’s not just beautiful, it’s astonishingly beautiful. The moment I saw her, it was like a shooting star flashed by, so breathtakingly beautiful.」
Xue Shufan: 「Damn it! Just hearing about it sounds beautiful. I’ll go ask Zhong Yang for a photo to feast my eyes.」
Lian Li smiled.
At the dining table, the orchestra members were chatting and laughing. Lian Li put down her mobile phone, fully immersed in the party, and didn’t look at her phone again.
A group of musicians gathered together, and their activities always revolved around music. Some tapped porcelain bowls with chopsticks to produce beautiful melodies, asking everyone to guess which piece it was. Others hummed songs to continue the melody, discussing their mentors and their collaborations with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Full of anticipation, they talked about their ideals and their futures. Everyone deeply loved their music.
After the dinner party, those who drank called for a designated driver or took a taxi home. Those who didn’t drink drove themselves.
Lian Li walked out of the Peace Hotel and saw the cars parked on the street from afar. The senior sister from the orchestra behind her held her car key and said, “Lian Li, where do you live? Do you need a ride?”
“No, thank you,” Lian Li turned back and smiled gently at her. “Thank you.”
The senior sister didn’t insist, “Then be careful.”
“You too, have a safe trip.”
The one picking up Lian Li was Tao Su, Jin Shi Yue’s subordinate.
The bodyguard arranged by Jin Yan Ting was most likely called away by Jin Shi Yue again.
The Eldest Young Master’s actions seemed to be erasing Jin Yan Ting’s traces in every aspect, forcefully inserting himself.
Lian Li’s lips curved into a smile. She sat in the back seat of the car. Tao Su closed the car door, walked around to the driver’s seat, and looked at Lian Li through the rearview mirror, reminding her:
“There’s a new blanket in the box on your left.”
Lian Li did feel a bit cold. She turned sideways, opened the exquisite box, and using the dim streetlights outside, took out the wool blanket, shook it out, and covered herself with it.
Seeing her sit properly again, Tao Su started the engine.
Lian Li leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. The car had driven about ten meters when her mobile phone suddenly rang. She flipped it over, and the light from the screen illuminated her fair face.
It was Xue Shufan calling.
Lian Li swiped to answer, holding the phone to her ear. Xue Shufan’s excitement was evident on the other end of the line: “Li Li, don’t tell me, Zhong Yang’s aunt is really beautiful, simply stunning.”
It seemed she had gotten the photo from Zhong Yang.
“You haven’t seen her?” Lian Li yawned, her voice a little muffled.
“No,” Xue Shufan said. “The Fourth Miss Zhong has been outstanding since childhood, mysterious and low-key. I’ve only heard of her but never had the chance to witness her graceful demeanor.”
Lian Li chuckled, “If you fly to Shanghai now, you might even get to see that noble lady in person.”
“I’d love to, but my experiments aren’t finished yet.” Xue Shufan sounded dejected, weighing a stack of materials in her hand. “I’ve been in my study all day and only organized this much information. How will I join the scientific research team in the Amazon rainforest in the second half of the year?”
“Then go to Xishuangbanna. Xishuangbanna preserves its tropical rainforest area, with a forest coverage rate of 81.34%. I’m sure there are many good things to be found there,” Lian Li said.
Xue Shufan said NO: “It’s too safe, not exciting enough.”
Senior Sister Lian liked adventure and conquering the world.
Lian Li’s eyes curved slightly, like a bright crescent moon, and she said with a smile, “I’ll return to Beijing tomorrow after meeting Mrs. Lu.”
Xue Shufan hummed and asked, “How are Lu Hansheng and Lu Yan Ying?”
Lian Li thought for a moment, “They’re both fine, no changes.”
Xue Shufan wasn’t familiar with the Lu siblings, so she asked casually. She paused for a moment and then said, “They both have the surname Lu. Is Professor Lu related to the Lu family?”
“No,” Lian Li paused for a second and added, “Perhaps they had a common ancestor a few hundred years ago?”
Xue Shufan laughed heartily, “We are all descendants of Yan and Huang, with a common ancestor?”
Lian Li laughed along, “We have relatives all over the country.”
The two girls talked about everything. As they chatted, Tao Su smoothly parked the car at the hotel entrance. Lian Li hung up the phone and pushed the car door open to get out.
Tao Su watched her enter the hotel and then called his boss on his mobile phone to report that Miss Lian had been safely delivered back to the hotel.
*
Lian Li swiped her card and pushed the door open. She inserted the card into the slot, and the spacious suite was instantly illuminated as bright as day.
She walked through the living room to the room and looked around but couldn’t see Jin Shi Yue’s shadow anywhere.
He hadn’t returned yet.
Lian Li stood in front of the L-shaped sofa, gazing at the neon-lit, bustling night view outside the floor-to-ceiling window, her eyes unfocused, staring blankly.
A WeChat notification sound broke the silence of the room.
She came back to her senses, swiped to her phone, and saw that Xue Shufan had sent her a photo. The background was an ancient-style siheyuan.
Xue Shufan: 「Zhong Family group photo.」
Xue Shufan: 「To the left of Zhong Ying Yi is her husband, Second Master Duan, and to her right is her son.」
Lian Li zoomed in on the picture and examined it. Recalling Zhong Ying Yi’s appearance, she suddenly felt that the noble lady wasn’t photogenic.
The photo was beautiful, but the real person was even more so.
Lian Li sighed, “「Your families’ relationships are so complicated.」”
The Jin Family’s Jin Zhengchuan and the Chen Family’s Chen Shifei are in a marriage alliance. The Fourth Miss Zhong and Second Master Duan are in a marriage alliance. Now Jin Yan Ting is about to enter into a marriage alliance with Duan Shiqing… it’s all so convoluted.
Xue Shufan: 「Little girl, you don’t find it complicated to solve math problems or write hundreds of tedious procedures.」
Xue Shufan: 「*knock knock.jpg*」
Xue Shufan: 「How is this complicated? You haven’t seen the family trees of noble families. The relationships in the family trees are much more complex than this, extending back several generations.」
Lian Li’s family relationships were very simple: herself, Lian Jingcheng, and an unknown mother.
The family trees accumulated over a hundred years by the great noble families were worlds apart from hers.
Lian Li sent Xue Shufan a sticker pack of LinaBell with her head buzzing, and typed: 「I’m going to take a bath.」
She put down her phone and picked up her pajamas to go into the bathroom, when she suddenly heard a noise outside.
Lian Li stood still for a few seconds, then walked out to investigate.
The man who had briefly appeared at the concert was now leaning against the sofa. His simple black shirt outlined his broad shoulders and back, and his tight waist. His straight legs, encased in trousers, were slightly spread apart.
He lightly lifted his thin eyelids, his deep eyes glancing around, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment, a playful smile appearing in his eyes.
“Come here.”
Lian Li looked at Jin Shi Yue for a moment without blinking, then walked towards him. “What do you want me for?”
Jin Shi Yue grabbed her wrist and with a subtle pull, brought her to sit face-to-face on his lap.
He lowered his head, burying his face in her shoulder. His dark hair and his powerful strength pressed down on her.
The scent of him, mixed with a clear, light wine aroma, enveloped her. Her shoulder went numb from his grip. Lian Li struggled slightly, but he held her even tighter.
“Are you drunk?”
Jin Shi Yue didn’t answer. His lips nibbled at her earlobe, and his hot breath softly caressed the carotid artery on the side of her neck.
His thin lips slowly kissed her neck. The slow kisses were particularly torturous, and Lian Li couldn’t help but shrink her shoulders.
He seemed displeased by her evasive movement. His sharp teeth gnawed at her delicate, slender neck, licking every inch of her skin like a wild wolf.
A tingling, itchy pain spread to the nerve endings. Lian Li placed her hands on his shoulders, pushing to create distance between them.
Their eyes met. Jin Shi Yue’s gaze was filled with her face, a fair, dewy, beautiful face. Her eyes were as lively as water lilies at midnight, her almond-shaped eyes filled with crystal-clear moisture. Below that were a delicate, small nose and soft, rosy lips.
Their eyes met. Jin Shi Yue’s eyebrows twitched. On his handsome face, the slightly unrestrained upturned corners of his eyes were particularly alluring.
Whether it was a moment of infatuation or a tacit understanding conveyed through their gazes, Lian Li’s hands climbed onto his shoulders. She raised her face and easily pressed her lips against his.
