Chapter 151: Is She My Girlfriend?
There’s no need to meet the parents.
Oh, Jin Shuyu is his aunt.
The night wind rustled the leaves in the backyard of the carved beams and painted rafters, and a few strands of hair brushed against Lian Li’s fair cheeks. She looked at Jin Shi Yue and asked, “Can’t it be like before?”
“I pick you up on the road every time,” Jin Shi Yue said casually, with one hand in his pocket, “What do you take me for?”
Lian Li was referring to meeting Jin Shuyu as a regular friend, while he was referring to picking her up by the roadside.
However, with the Capital City being so large, a metropolis of twenty million people, the probability of him running into her every time was indeed extremely slim.
The ancient-style light boxes hanging from the eaves swayed in the wind, casting mottled shadows on Jin Shi Yue’s broad and upright figure. Lian Li’s gaze moved from his eyebrows to his shoulders, then down along his sharp Adam’s apple and smooth jawline, before returning to his dark eyes.
Meeting Jin Shuyu as his girlfriend would be no different from making it public. She could ask Lu Hansheng to keep it a secret, but she couldn’t ask Jin Shuyu to pretend not to know.
After all, they weren’t close, and Jin Shuyu’s status was undeniable, being both an elder and a distinguished member of the Jin Family. Whether Jin Shuyu acknowledged Lian Li was another matter, but Lian Li certainly didn’t want the Jin Family to know.
It was always the noble young masters who denied the women beside them were their girlfriends, a term for which the circle had coined the word ‘with’.
Lian Li, however, was doing the opposite, unwilling to be publicly associated with the Jin Family’s arrogant Second Young Master.
She thought, why should the affairs of two people be known to everyone, and why should she make her life chaotic because of a limited-time dating period.
After a moment of silence, Lian Li’s watery eyes flickered. She put her hands into her jacket pockets, tilted her delicate face, and said to Jin Shi Yue, “Then forget it, let’s go somewhere else.”
Lian Li was a strange person; although she was greedy for money, no amount of power or wealth could shake her.
Degradation was even less likely.
Lian Li turned to leave, but her wrist was grabbed by a large hand, pulling her back.
Jin Shi Yue’s cold and distant voice fell from above her head, “Lian Li, what are you afraid of?”
His clean and pleasant scent, carried by the cool breeze, entered her nostrils. The scent of fir mixed with a very faint aroma of bitter orange leaves, as if silently melting into her flowing blood.
“I’m not afraid. Wasn’t it agreed that we wouldn’t go public?” The prerequisite for them being together was not to go public; had he forgotten?
Jin Shi Yue’s gaze swept over her face. She was very bold and knew nothing of fear. Back then, she had traveled all the way to New York for Jin Yan Ting, her whole being radiating joy.
Jin Shi Yue looked at her for a moment, then released her wrist and walked towards the restaurant without a word.
The warmth on her wrist left with the force. Lian Li watched his tall and straight back, then looked back the way she came. After pondering for a few seconds, she still followed him.
He was tall with long legs and took large strides, so she quickened her pace to catch up.
Jin Shi Yue’s expression was indifferent, much like usual, but there seemed to be something different. Lian Li kept stealing glances at him, but he didn’t even cast a glance her way.
The two sat in their usual spot. The person who came to serve them was a middle-aged man named Uncle Qin, the chef here.
Jin Shi Yue, as usual, ordered two bowls of noodles. Uncle Qin’s friendly gaze fell on Lian Li, and he smiled warmly, telling her to wait.
In addition to two bowls of authentic Fried Sauce Noodles, some pastries and cold dishes were also served. Lian Li lowered her eyes and quietly ate her noodles. She occasionally looked up at the man opposite her; his movements were unhurried, and his demeanor was elegant and noble.
Jin Shi Yue put down his chopsticks. As he wiped his long, distinct fingers, Jin Shuyu, wearing a champagne-colored handmade qipao, gracefully emerged from the inner room. She looked at him and said with a smile:
“Where did you get into trouble that you’ve come to me for refuge?”
Jin Shi Yue clicked his tongue.
“Can’t you wish your nephew well?”
Jin Shuyu’s smile deepened. As she walked, her qipao skirt swayed gracefully, revealing her fair calf skin, exuding charm and elegance.
As a junior, Lian Li’s eyes curved slightly, and a smile bloomed on her face. She took the initiative to greet her, “Aunt.”
“Lili ah.” Jin Shuyu remembered her; she was the national treasure her nephew had picked up by the roadside.
Lian Li’s posture was obedient, “Mm.”
Jin Shi Yue’s well-defined knuckles idly spun his mobile phone, his demeanor lazy and indifferent, as if he didn’t care at all what they were talking about.
Jin Shuyu’s gaze subtly shifted between Jin Shi Yue and Lian Li, her eyebrows lifting slightly.
Night was the perfect time for an extravagant and decadent life. Her Second Young Master wasn’t frequenting places of debauchery but instead brought a young girl to the tea house for hot noodles… how rare.
Jin Shi Yue’s striking brow bone held a hint of arrogance. He slightly raised his eyelids, his voice cold, “Let’s go.”
Lian Li: “Okay.”
Jin Shuyu, full of doubt, grabbed Jin Shi Yue and quietly asked him, “What’s with this girl? Is she your girlfriend?”
She kept her voice low, so Lian Li couldn’t possibly hear.
Jin Shi Yue, however, did not lower his voice. Instead, he looked directly at Lian Li, “I’m asking you, are you my girlfriend?”
Both Jin Shi Yue’s and Jin Shuyu’s gazes fell on her. Lian Li’s long, thick eyelashes blinked slowly, as if she were contemplating.
Jin Shuyu kicked Jin Shi Yue, “You brat, I’m asking you, why are you calling Lili that?”
Lian Li did not answer.
Jin Shi Yue looked away and said to Jin Shuyu, “She’s not even familiar with me, how could she be my girlfriend?”
His tone was lazy, but his voice was like quenched ice, piercingly cold.
Jin Shuyu naturally didn’t believe him. He had brought the girl to her place to eat noodles twice already; how could they not be familiar?
Jin Shi Yue reached out and grabbed Lian Li’s slender wrist, leading her away directly.
Lian Li didn’t forget to bid farewell to Jin Shuyu, “Goodbye, Aunt.”
“Goodbye.” Jin Shuyu stared at their clasped hands, her eyes narrowing slightly. She seemed to have discovered something extraordinary.
There was no communication between Lian Li and Jin Shi Yue on the way home.
She took out her mobile phone to play with, and he didn’t say any arrogant words like “No one is allowed to use their phone while I’m driving.”
He drove her back to Xi Shang Yuan.
Jin Shi Yue slowly applied the brakes, stopping smoothly. “Get out.”
Lian Li tilted her head to look at him. The man’s profile was sharp and defined, shrouded in dim light, making his specific emotions indistinguishable.
Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly. She wanted to ask him where he was going, but her throat tightened, and she ultimately didn’t ask.
Lian Li withdrew her gaze, pushed open the door, and got out.
She closed the car door and had taken two steps forward, not yet reaching the stairs, when the car had already started and sped away arrogantly.
Lian Li looked back, only to see the dark sedan gradually disappearing into the dense night.
She never understood Jin Shi Yue.
He was dangerous, casual, and indifferent, like an untamed beast full of aggressiveness, his thoughts and actions unpredictable.
Lian Li stepped onto the stairs and entered the villa.
The rooms and bathroom here were several times larger than her own. After Lian Li finished washing up and came out of the bathroom, she checked the time; it was 11:30 PM, and Jin Shi Yue hadn’t returned yet.
Several photo frames stood on the bedside table, looking somewhat familiar.
Lian Li walked over and bent down to examine them, discovering they were photographs of her and Lian Jingcheng.
The little girl was exquisitely beautiful, wearing a blue overalls dress and small boots, sitting in her father’s arms, holding a skewer of tanghulu.
…Jin Shi Yue had moved her most important belongings here.
Lian Li wanted to see if there were any photos of Jin Shi Yue, but she didn’t find any solo pictures of him. Instead, she saw a photo of the two of them together in Shanghai.
She picked up the photo frame, examined it carefully, and then slowly put it back.
The larger the house, the quieter it became. The bedroom was as desolate as a labyrinth from which there was no escape.
Lian Li lay on the bed to rest, without turning off the light. She closed her eyes, pondering in her mind why Jin Shi Yue hadn’t returned yet.
Perhaps he was busy with work.
As she thought, she unknowingly drifted into dreamland.
After an unknown amount of time, she faintly heard a slight movement nearby, followed by the bed sinking downwards.
