Chapter 170: Graduation Ceremony
Jin Yan Ting was preparing to attend her graduation ceremony, and Lian Li didn’t know about it. “Is he going?”
Jin Shi Yue’s gaze scrutinized her expression. Her beautiful face was flawless. He commanded, “Don’t let him go.”
Lian Li found him unreasonable. “His legs are his own. If he wants to go, there’s nothing I can do.”
“Is it him who wants to go, or you who want him to go?” Jin Shi Yue pressed.
If it were the old Lian Li, she would definitely want Jin Yan Ting to go.
Perhaps it was girlish thoughts, or perhaps vanity at play. Whenever Jin Yan Ting appeared, she would always be happy, especially when other classmates praised her brother, saying he was truly handsome and had great aura, even more attractive than male celebrities.
Lian Li stated based on facts, “He’s been sick recently, with recurring common colds. He might not have time to go.”
“The slightest hint of Jin Yan Ting’s presence, and you capture it clearly.” Jin Shi Yue pressed his palm against the back of her neck, stroking it slowly. His fingers were chillingly cold, his movements unhurried.
Lian Li got goosebumps from his touch. “Isn’t that your problem? As his younger brother, you don’t care about him at all.”
Even though Lian Li had said not to inform her about Jin Yan Ting anymore, Assistant He still sent her WeChat messages without fail.
Lian Li naturally knew about Jin Yan Ting’s physical condition, but she no longer had the fervent, meticulous care she once did.
“What about me?” Jin Shi Yue pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes attacking her with intense sharpness. “Besides fulfilling your duties as a girlfriend, have you ever truly cared about me?”
When Jin Yan Ting was sick, she offered words of comfort and concern; when he displayed his emotions openly, she turned a blind eye.
Lian Li was only slow to understand her own feelings; she was extremely sensitive to the emotions of others.
Take Xu Jing Xi, for example. Jin Shi Yue said she was his friend’s fiancée, his tone distant, yet Lian Li saw at first glance that there was a story between them.
Zhong Yang had also said that Jin Shi Yue and Xu Jing Xi’s relationship was not simple.
If they were truly ex-partners, he could have just said so. She only hated deception; the past was the past.
Lian Li didn’t disbelieve Jin Shi Yue’s words. On the contrary, she believed he liked her, but he wasn’t the only one who said he liked her. If anyone who said they liked her meant she had to be with them forever, she simply couldn’t handle it.
Lian Li feared separation and departure the least.
She could let go of feelings, just as she had when she discovered Jin Yan Ting and Duan Shi Qing’s ambiguous interactions.
“When you’re sick, you even bite people. You don’t need anyone’s care.” Lian Li felt that if Jin Shi Yue were sick, she would be the one to be afraid.
Jin Shi Yue lowered his head, burying it in the crook of her neck, holding her tightly without a word.
She never saw him.
Jin Shi Yue had attended Lian Li’s concerts several times before, but Lian Li never noticed him because her focus was strong, and her heart and eyes were filled with Jin Yan Ting.
When did he realize she couldn’t see him?
It was last year at the Magnificent Blue Bay Club, when he learned that Lian Li had someone she liked.
The thought of Lian Li liking another man, even if that man was his own biological brother, still made Jin Shi Yue feel a sense of unease deep down.
This kind of emotion was rare for him.
Lian Li couldn’t see him before, and now she was unwilling to peer into his heart. Even though she knew his emotions were off, she didn’t ask a single question.
It wasn’t like this with Jin Yan Ting; she cared for Jin Yan Ting in meticulous detail, willing to actively enter Jin Yan Ting’s world from the outside in.
But with him, she remained clearly separated, drawing a distinct line.
Surface-level feelings couldn’t withstand trials; they would crumble on their own without any wind.
Lian Li was being held too tightly by Jin Shi Yue, it hurt a little, and she couldn’t help but frown slightly. She reached out to push him, “Let go, I need to take a shower.”
Jin Shi Yue didn’t loosen his grip, burying his head in her shoulder and neck, his voice low, “Lian Li, what did I do wrong?”
Lian Li was stunned, then thought of his arrogant and wild nature, and said, “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
How could the Second Young Master Jin possibly be wrong?
“Then open the door here and let me in.” Jin Shi Yue’s fingertips unfastened the buttons on her back, his hand moving forward, his palm cupping her soft, fair skin.
He wanted to enter her heart and possess her completely.
Lian Li’s long, curled eyelashes fluttered, unable to discern if his words implied both body and soul.
He had said similar things when he was being vile.
Jin Shi Yue looked directly into her eyes. His pupils were dark and deep, his gaze burning, causing an indescribable panic in Lian Li’s chest.
She turned her head, wanting to avoid his gaze, but Jin Shi Yue gripped the back of her neck and forcefully turned her back.
Their eyes met, their gazes entangled, and something sticky and damp seemed to breed in the air, unsettling their minds.
Lian Li had never experienced love, nor did she know how to love. She feared she would be like Lian Jing Cheng, becoming infatuated with someone and falling into endless self-deception.
Love always came with pain.
In the past twenty-two years, she had not established an intimate relationship with anyone.
Her current intimate relationship with Jin Shi Yue was very superficial, and she felt that was enough, that it couldn’t go any deeper.
Lian Li understood that she had a mild case of intimacy phobia.
Lian Li also admitted she wasn’t brave enough, but she could accept and like this unbrave version of herself.
Lian Jing Cheng’s feelings always made her feel that her mother loved them both, but Lian Li couldn’t find any trace of her mother’s love for them.
Jin Yan Ting’s traces always made her think he liked her, but she couldn’t feel the slightest bit that he did.
Only Jin Shi Yue.
With him, Lian Li felt both his liking and clearly saw the traces of it.
The more he attracted her, the more she wanted to escape.
If she couldn’t escape, the more she disliked him.
Their eyes met. A mist formed in Lian Li’s clear eyes. She blinked her lashes and whispered softly after a moment, “You’re hurting me.”
“Where?” he asked hoarsely.
Lian Li pursed her lips and didn’t answer, her bright eyes looking at him wetly.
“Jin Shi Yue.”
“Mm?”
“Did you and Jin Yan Ting have a conflict?”
“When you’re with me, you’re not allowed to mention other men.” Jin Shi Yue’s eyes were deep and dark, with a dangerous warning in the corners of his eyes.
Lian Li innocently replied, “Didn’t you bring it up first?”
He could bring it up, but she couldn’t. What kind of unequal treaty was this?
“I brought it up because I mind.” Jin Shi Yue tightened his grip around her waist and lifted her, making her straddle him.
He said, “You bring it up because you care.” His other hand slid under her skirt, his knuckles lightly brushing the cotton fabric.
Lian Li let him have his way. “But I’m caring about you.”
Jin Shi Yue raised his eyelids, his dark eyes examining her expression. She didn’t seem to be lying.
He liked to make love while holding her.
His long fingers hooked down the fabric. Lian Li leaned against the man’s shoulder, biting her lip lightly, feeling his strong, firm fingers.
Having succumbed to his fingertips once, she hadn’t recovered yet when Jin Shi Yue lifted her with one hand, walked to the bedside, opened a drawer to retrieve something, and returned to the recliner.
Lian Li didn’t understand.
He stuffed the item into her hand, his deep black eyes staring at her. “Compensate me.”
His voice was husky and lustful.
Lian Li didn’t know how.
She studied the instructions before opening it and followed them step by step. Her movements were clumsy, and she slowly, inch by inch, put it on.
Jin Shi Yue watched the process, his breathing growing heavier, his gaze extremely deep and profound.
Lian Li finished and let out a sigh of relief. “Done.”
Jin Shi Yue’s gaze towards her was filled with dark danger and burgeoning lust. “You do it.”
Upon hearing this, Lian Li was stunned.
She… do it?
