Chapter 176: She Likes Him
The coffee shop had an artistic decor, and the air was filled with the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans.
Jin Shi Yue and Jin Yan Ting sat on opposite sides of a wooden table, with two cups of coffee placed on it.
At this moment, the brothers were relatively calm.
Jin Yan Ting maintained his usual dignified and steady demeanor, his tone also calm, “When did this happen?”
The interior was spacious and bright, clearly illuminating the calm and composed look in Jin Shi Yue’s eyes, “At the beginning of the year.”
At the beginning of the year.
About half a year.
One younger brother, one sweetheart, together under his nose for half a year.
Jin Yan Ting suddenly felt the cold air in the room turn into biting frost, entering his lungs with each breath, chilling him to the bone.
Jin Yan Ting’s gaze was deep, “Is it meaningful to hide it from me?”
The peaceful atmosphere cracked, undergoing a subtle change.
Jin Shi Yue smirked, his words carrying an ambiguous meaning, “She’s an adult. Does she need to report to you to date someone or have a boyfriend?”
He had always been fearless and cynical, so how could he be intimidated by his own brother?
“Miss Lian has complete independent thinking ability. She doesn’t need to report her actions to me, but I am her legal guardian, and she has never lied to me,” Jin Yan Ting said.
Jin Shi Yue leaned back, lifting his eyelids, his sharp eyes looking at Jin Yan Ting, “Are you talking to me as my elder brother now, or as Miss Lian’s adoptive brother?”
He paused for a second and continued, “Or, are you talking to me as a man?”
Jin Yan Ting’s hand on his leg suddenly trembled slightly, as he struggled to maintain his composure, “In what capacity do you think I am?”
The usually good relationship between the brothers was now filled with an unusually strange atmosphere, and it was all because of the same person.
They understood each other well, and they understood Miss Lian, so there were no issues with character or flaws in conduct.
Jin Shi Yue liked Miss Lian, which Jin Yan Ting could understand. However, Miss Lian knew they were brothers and would deliberately avoid any impropriety, making it impossible for her to meet, get to know, confess to, and date Jin Shi Yue through the usual process.
“Asking this is meaningless,” Jin Shi Yue said. “Besides, didn’t you already know?”
The seed of doubt had been planted long ago.
The pocket square that appeared at Miss Lian’s home, the silhouette of Jin Shi Yue embracing and kissing her in the elevator, Miss Lian’s slightly swollen lips, Miss Lian’s increasingly busy days, the scent of fir on Miss Lian’s hair… countless details had made him deeply suspicious.
Now, seeing it with his own eyes, he had no choice but to believe.
Jin Yan Ting’s expression showed little outward change, but his heart felt as if it had touched dry ice by mistake; at first, he felt nothing, but after extreme freezing, a burning sensation arose.
The brothers fighting each other would not happen between them; all their turmoil was hidden beneath the surface calm.
The seemingly ordinary conversation was subtly laced with confrontation.
“Miss Lian didn’t tell you about her plans to go abroad after graduation, did she?” Jin Yan Ting held his coffee cup, took a sip, his taste buds filled with bitterness. “The military industry requires you to stay in the country long-term. What are your plans?”
Jin Shi Yue’s eyes turned cold, not because of Jin Yan Ting, but because he was hearing about Miss Lian’s plans to go abroad from Jin Yan Ting.
“What else can I do? Follow my wife’s lead,” Jin Shi Yue’s tone was slightly flippant and lazy. “Wherever she goes, I go. If she goes to an all-girls school where men are not allowed, I’ll be outside like Wang Baochuan, waiting faithfully with money for her.”
“After all, Miss Lian loves money as much as she loves me.”
Miss Lian loved Jin Shi Yue.
Jin Yan Ting’s expression visibly darkened for a few seconds.
For the past ten years, Miss Lian had only had him, and now there was another man.
Had he been completely removed? Was ten years less than one year?
“Is that so?” Jin Yan Ting suddenly gave a cold laugh, changing his usual address, “Miss Lian is skilled in many areas, but she doesn’t understand feelings.”
It was as if countless taut strings hung in the air, tugging at sensitive nerves, making the atmosphere tense.
Jin Yan Ting looked up and met Jin Shi Yue’s gaze, “She would never say she loves.”
And certainly not that she loves you.
Miss Lian would not get together with Jin Shi Yue through the normal dating process.
Even if she liked him, she wouldn’t be with Jin Shi Yue.
Miss Lian had a phobia of intimate relationships, which Jin Shi Yue didn’t know, but Jin Yan Ting was well aware of.
If she truly liked Jin Shi Yue, she would only stay far away from him, never dating him.
Jin Shi Yue was silent for a second, it passed in a flash, leaving almost no trace.
However, Jin Yan Ting caught it perfectly. He controlled his emotions and asked in a suppressed voice, “How did you two get together?”
The moment the question was asked, the peaceful mirror between them seemed to be shattered by a sharp stone, revealing a tense standoff.
Jin Shi Yue admitted that Miss Lian didn’t need to be responsible for him. As she had said, neither of them lost out that night at the mountain villa; in fact, he had gained an advantage and still had to compensate her.
It was he who relentlessly pursued her, distorted right and wrong, and time and again forced her to take responsibility.
She had no choice but to agree to date him for half a year.
Half a year was approaching, and she wouldn’t even tell him she was going abroad. Was she afraid he would follow her and pester her relentlessly?
For the first time, Jin Shi Yue lacked confidence.
Regarding Miss Lian, he had no leverage from beginning to end.
Just as Jin Shi Yue saw through Jin Yan Ting’s feelings for Miss Lian, Jin Yan Ting also knew that Jin Shi Yue was unsure if Miss Lian had him in her heart.
The brothers, knowing each other’s minds, hurt each other.
Jin Yan Ting said, “Ah Yue, Miss Lian is not like others. She has been by my side for ten years. I understand her better than anyone.”
Jin Shi Yue sneered, “You understand her, yet you don’t know she dislikes the cello?”
Miss Lian dislikes the cello?
Jin Yan Ting paused slightly and said, “Whether she likes the cello or not doesn’t change the fact that she plays it well.”
“In short, she’s not suitable for you.”
Jin Shi Yue smirked, “She’s not suitable for me, but suitable for you?”
Their eyes met, and the air was filled with invisible blades and swords. The thoughts of the two men were almost completely laid bare, neither willing to back down.
Just then, Assistant He’s voice came from the doorway, “Miss Lian!”
They both looked in the direction of the sound and saw Miss Lian walking quickly towards them, her long hair flying freely, as if she were a heroic female student from the Republic of China era.
Miss Lian had a few beads of sweat on her forehead and was breathing slightly heavily.
She didn’t care. The next second she stood before them, she reached out and grabbed Jin Shi Yue’s hand.
Under Jin Yan Ting’s gaze, Miss Lian’s fingers slipped into Jin Shi Yue’s, gripping his hand tightly with great force, interlocking their fingers.
In that instant, Jin Yan Ting’s heart, which had been suspended high in the air, plummeted, stirring up an indescribable discomfort.
“Brother Yan Ting.”
Miss Lian, holding Jin Shi Yue’s right hand, turned her head to Jin Yan Ting on her left and said, “The person I like is not the Second Young Master Jin, nor is it you.”
“I just like him!”
