Chapter 192: She created a beam of light with her own hands
The hat that fell from the sky covered her head and obscured her eyes.
The hat, which he had worn and which carried his scent, also carried her scent.
Lian Li took off the hat and, through the light of the corridor ceiling, cast her gaze at him.
Her features were beautiful and lively, her almond-shaped eyes clear, the corners slightly upturned, tinged with a gentle, soft smile. Her nose and lips, delicate and exquisite individually, combined to create an air of grandeur and beauty.
The two looked at each other under the bright moon, and he clearly saw the defensiveness and wariness in her eyes.
That night, she only said four words to him: “I’m sorry.” Then, she returned the hat to him and ran off without a moment’s delay.
Jin Shi Yue had owned many residences in Wan Yi Hua Fu for many years, but he had rarely visited Wan Yi Hua Fu before, only returning when he had arranged to meet Jin Yan Ting for discussions.
He had left the Jin Family and the Capital City a long time ago, spending most of his time in the Military Region.
It wasn’t until he saw Lian Li in Jin Yan Ting’s garden that Jin Shi Yue began to frequent Wan Yi Hua Fu. However, not long after he noticed her, Lian Li moved out of Wan Yi Hua Fu.
That day, Jin Shi Yue, in a rare moment of interest, went to Jin Yan Ting’s villa for a meal, thinking he might see Lian Li. To his surprise, he heard Jin Yan Ting say that she had moved out to live on her own.
Jin Shi Yue’s expression remained unchanged, as indifferent as ever, as if he had heard about an uninteresting stranger.
For Lian Li’s cello performance, her assistant sent a few VIP tickets. Jin Shi Yue glanced at them indifferently and said, “Trouble. It would be easier to book the entire venue.”
Jin Yan Ting, with an air of knowing Lian Li very well, said that she played the cello not for money, and booking the entire venue would affect her.
Jin Shi Yue feigned disinterest, but afterward, he investigated why Lian Li played the cello.
He also thoroughly investigated her performance schedule and all her music competitions.
Jin Shi Yue attended Lian Li’s concert for the first time, sitting openly next to Jin Yan Ting. But on stage, Lian Li, even when doing something she disliked, shone brightly. Her eyes were large, yet she could only see Jin Yan Ting.
Despite Jin Shi Yue’s strong presence, she didn’t even glance his way.
From then on, Jin Shi Yue continued to attend Lian Li’s concerts; it was the only opportunity he had to watch her openly.
But he no longer sat next to Jin Yan Ting.
Jin Shi Yue discovered that no matter where he sat, she couldn’t see him.
Later, he realized that she liked Jin Yan Ting and that her eyes had only ever held Jin Yan Ting.
It was as if she was steadfastly declaring that her world contained only Jin Yan Ting, and no one else could fit.
The Spring Festival of the year before he left the Military Region.
Jin Shi Yue returned to the Capital City and visited Elder Mei. He overheard Elder Mei and Lu Huier discussing Lian Li. They said Lian Li was a promising talent, tenacious and resolute, with a boundless future.
Unfortunately, at this prime age, she seemed unaware of who she was, where she came from, or where she was going.
At that time, Jin Shi Yue occasionally overheard such conversations but made a surprising decision.
He deliberately left the Military Region ahead of schedule.
No one knew why he left the Military Region early, nor how he managed to do it.
After Jin Shi Yue returned, he purchased a villa in Xi Shang Yuan, but he hardly ever lived there. The empty house seemed to be waiting for someone to move in.
It was rumored that Jin Yan Ting and his friends were organizing an event at Rui Kong Ju, and all the Young Masters attending brought a female companion. Lian Li might also be there.
The Director of Municipal Station and high-level leaders invited Jin Shi Yue to meet at Rui Kong Ju, a Siheyuan located within the Second Ring Road. Jin Shi Yue had initially refused, but upon hearing about Jin Yan Ting’s female companion, he inexplicably agreed.
He also made a last-minute request for Li Ye to change the meeting location with Meng Dingkai to Rui Kong Ju.
Zhao Lizheng was persistently bothering Lian Li. When Jin Shi Yue came out and pulled Zhao Lizheng away, he noticed her hand was injured, red and swollen.
Her skin was as fair and tender as jade, and the red swelling was particularly noticeable, let alone such a large area. That patch of red felt like countless needles piercing Jin Shi Yue’s eyes.
He instructed Li Ye to buy medicine when they passed a pharmacy.
Li Ye didn’t react immediately upon hearing this. It wasn’t until Jin Shi Yue gave the order for Jin Yan Ting’s driver, who had been sent to escort Lian Li, to leave, and for him to drive Lian Li home instead, that Li Ye understood.
Li Ye finally realized that the Second Young Master’s medicine was for Miss Lian!
Jin Shi Yue was not unfamiliar with Lian Li. Although he hadn’t spent extended periods behind her, he would find time each year to leave the Military Region and attend her concerts.
Even though her eyes had never made room for him, he consistently appeared wherever she was.
The two of them, like falling beings, one soaring upwards with the tenacious vitality of a plant growing on a cliff’s edge, the other letting themselves fall, indifferent to everything in the world.
The moment he saw Lian Li, Jin Shi Yue felt something stir within his blood and bones, his body and soul coming alive.
“I will love you from afar, with a calm distance.”
When he walked up to her, she found him utterly unfamiliar, yet he had already seen her countless times.
No one can pinpoint the exact moment love began. By the time the feeling of liking was recognized, it was already in progress.
Lian Li, at twenty-one, was extremely guarded, unlike her former carefree self. However, Jin Shi Yue never considered making her return to how she was at eighteen.
A person’s character is always closely related to their living environment.
It is a case of survival of the fittest.
Her current personality allowed her to navigate everything with ease in today’s social circles.
Lian Li at each stage of her life might have differences in her approach and personality, but the core of her being, deeply rooted, would not change.
Whether it was Lian Li at eighteen or Lian Li at twenty-one, she possessed an attractive strength.
Jin Shi Yue never intended to ask anything from Lian Li.
But when he approached Lian Li, he found that she was friendly with everyone, such as Zhong Yang and Pei Qingji.
She avoided him as if he were a plague.
Jin Shi Yue thought back carefully; he shouldn’t have offended her.
It was the first time the Second Young Master Jin reflected on himself. How could he find anything unusual? Moreover, he had returned the hundred yuan to her as soon as she cried. Who could have guessed she held such a grudge?
However, when Jin Shi Yue heard Lian Li say, “When I was little, you tricked me out of my New Year’s Money,” a hint of secret joy bloomed in his heart.
She remembered him.
She had remembered him for over a decade.
It was as if he had been deeply etched into her life.
But shortly after his return to the Capital City, he happened to overhear her conversation with Chen Wei Qi and learned that she liked Jin Yan Ting.
Lian Li did not prioritize emotion, and coupled with her calling Jin Yan Ting “brother,” almost no one could tell she had someone she liked.
Jin Yan Ting liked Lian Li, and Lian Li also liked Jin Yan Ting; they were mutually in love.
Jin Shi Yue, however, had no intention of wishing them well.
What if they were mutually in love? They weren’t together.
Jin Shi Yue basely squeezed Jin Yan Ting out of Lian Li’s heart, wanting to make her exclusively his.
Lian Li’s life lacked a sun, so she created her own beam of light.
That beam of light was herself.
The light named ‘Lian Li’ burned Jin Shi Yue’s body, flowing through his blood and reaching his heart.
Every second he saw her was like starlight descending from the heavens.
Since they met, why should he fulfill someone else’s wishes?
“I will love you from afar, with a calm distance.”
Excerpt from, Mary Oliver 《I Will Love You From Afar》
