Chapter 155: She Was Pinned Against the Door by Him
Lian Li walked through the banquet hall, frequently glancing at the circular white jade platform on the second floor.
She couldn’t explain why.
Nor could she articulate what she felt.
Many things in life happen mysteriously, as if by wish fulfillment, or as if pulled by an invisible thread, only to suddenly hit a transparent wall, and then the wheel of fate turns, abruptly dragging one towards unknown encounters.
When Lian Li went to the restroom on the second floor, she deliberately detoured along the corridor past the curved railing. It was empty and silent,
with nothing special about it.
Perhaps she hadn’t slept well recently due to staying up late, making her nerves a bit sensitive.
Lian Li put it out of her mind. After using the restroom, as she pushed the door open to leave, she saw Duan Shiqing standing in front of the mirror, reapplying her lipstick.
Their gazes met in the mirror, both calm and composed.
They both knew that there was no need for pretense or forced warmth in private. Lian Li didn’t greet her and walked to the sink to wash her hands, placing them under the sensor faucet.
“Are you interested in Yan Ting?” Duan Shiqing suddenly asked, her tone more of a statement than a question.
She was asking what she already knew.
Warm water flowed over her hands. Lian Li slowly washed her hands, “Why don’t you ask him instead?”
Duan Shiqing screwed the cap back onto her lipstick and, looking in the mirror, played with her long hair. “My company also has many young girls who admire experienced men.”
She was implying that Lian Li was young and naive.
Lian Li felt she had a broad mind, to be thinking about the TV series where the main wife beats up the mistress in this situation.
A capable and shrewd career woman willingly becomes a housewife for her husband vs. a young woman who enters a relationship knowing the man is married.
Looking at the labels in the premise, it was clear the former would win.
“Are you and Jin Yan Ting together?” Lian Li asked.
As soon as she asked, she took control of the conversation. Duan Shiqing, without missing a beat, curved her red lips and said, “I’ll send you wedding candy when the time comes.”
“No, not yet.” Lian Li dried the water droplets on her hands and said gently, “Then, after you two are together, I’ll formally call you sister-in-law.”
A pair of first loves from many years ago were forced to break up due to family reasons, and the woman had to go abroad under duress.
Duan Shiqing had achieved great success abroad, and her career in China was also flourishing. They were both ambitious individuals, and it was highly likely she and Jin Yan Ting had maintained contact, rekindling their old flame.
Using various means, she wanted to discreetly eliminate any potential rivals around him.
Lian Li tried to understand love by putting herself in others’ shoes. If she were Duan Shiqing, in an ambiguous stage with Jin Yan Ting, and at this very moment, Jin Yan Ting had a sister who wasn’t biologically related to him, and that sister liked him, how would she feel?
…Well, she couldn’t figure it out.
A complex love triangle was harder to understand than the Riemann hypothesis at the boundary of science.
If you like someone, you like them; if you don’t, you don’t. Why engage in ambiguous relationships?
Lian Li’s “sister-in-law” was said with sincerity, making it impossible to tell if it was sarcastic.
Duan Shiqing turned her head to look at her. “You two aren’t related by blood.”
“I’m not familiar with your family’s rules,” Lian Li said, taking a tissue to wipe her hands. She looked up, her bright, dark almond eyes sparkling with a smile. “In my family, family affection doesn’t need blood ties as a pivot to be maintained.”
After speaking, Lian Li slowly tossed the tissue into the trash can, gave Duan Shiqing a slight smile, and then turned to leave.
Duan Shiqing watched the slender and beautiful figure, pondering the deeper meaning of her words.
Was Lian Li implying that her relationship with Jin Yan Ting was purely a sibling relationship, nothing more?
However, Jin Yan Ting had clearly tacitly agreed to the answer back then.
—He liked Lian Li.
The private manor was located in the Capital Suburbs, vast and boundless, with a deep and tranquil environment.
Intricate carpets covered the sprawling corridors. Lian Li retraced her steps back to the banquet hall.
However, just as she rounded a corner, a familiar figure in a black shirt unexpectedly appeared in her vision.
The corridor lights were dim. The man leaned lazily against the wall, one hand in his pocket, his eyelids drooping, making his expression unreadable.
He removed the cigarette from his lips. A pale, slender wrist was adorned with an expensive wristwatch. He casually flicked off some ash, then put the cigarette back in his mouth, inhaling. Thin mist enveloped his face, giving him a listless, aloof aura.
Lian Li rarely saw Jin Shi Yue smoke, and she couldn’t help but freeze for a few seconds.
She stopped in her tracks, blinking her eyelashes thoughtfully.
What should it be like when ex-lovers meet again?
In the dormitory, Shang Lingyu had talked about school gossip. Couples who broke up would often mock each other like enemies on social media, their relationships extremely strained.
Her breakup with Jin Shi Yue could be considered relatively peaceful.
He wouldn’t curse her, would he?
Should she say hello?
…Probably not necessary.
The reason Jin Yan Ting and Duan Shiqing could still interact amicably and maintain an ambiguous relationship after their breakup was likely due to the possibility of reconciliation and a marriage alliance.
Her relationship with Jin Shi Yue was completely severed, leaving them as strangers with no possibility of reconciliation.
Wandering around someone else’s territory was impolite. Lian Li recognized the path and, after clearing her thoughts and adjusting her mood, walked towards him as if nothing had happened.
When she was four or five steps away, Lian Li saw Jin Shi Yue slightly lift his eyelids and glance at her. He then reached for an ashtray and forcefully stubbed out his cigarette.
The moment their eyes met, Lian Li’s heart plummeted.
Strange.
She averted her gaze and pretended not to know him as she walked past.
Just as Lian Li breathed a sigh of relief, her arm was grabbed by a large hand and pulled back. Her skirt billowed, creating a gust of wind that brushed against her calves.
Jin Shi Yue pulled her into an embrace, bending down and burying his face deep in her shoulder, his breath mixed with the faint scent of alcohol.
The man seemed to be pressing down on her, with most of his strength leaning towards her. Lian Li, wearing high heels, couldn’t support his weight.
Just as she was about to push him away, footsteps suddenly echoed from around the corner.
The sound made one tense up, but Jin Shi Yue, despite drinking, reacted swiftly. His hand fumbled for something, and a faint lock-unlocking sound was heard.
The door to the VIP lounge opened. Lian Li, with his arm around her waist, was pulled inside.
With a “click,” the door closed.
She was pressed against the door by him, trapped in a small, confined space.
Jin Shi Yue rested his head in the hollow of her shoulder. His hot breath made Lian Li’s cheeks burn, and her earlobes grew hot.
She reached out, her palm pressing against his broad, firm chest, trying to push him away. But his physique was powerful, and she couldn’t budge him at all.
Lian Li frowned, her tone clearly displeased. “Let go of me.”
They had broken up. She didn’t understand what his current actions meant.
The faint scent of the girl’s hair spread and diffused within inches, as Jin Shi Yue’s hand slid to her waist, his voice low and husky.
“You’ve ignored me for a month, isn’t that enough?”
“When did I ignore you? It was you who…” Lian Li stopped herself. There was no point in complaining about past events, as they had already broken up.
“Breakup. The debt between us from that night is settled. I don’t owe you anything now.”
Jin Shi Yue smirked slightly and looked up from her shoulder, his dark eyes appraising her expression.
Lian Li’s face was delicate and fair, her eyes bright, reflecting countless shooting stars, making her seem utterly clueless about love.
Jin Shi Yue’s voice was cold and devoid of warmth. “Who told you we broke up?”
