Chapter 224: Taking Advantage of Vulnerability, Confession
“Skip the period of gossip and suspicion, and go straight to the official announcement,” Xue Shufan said. “They all say you didn’t give any warning signs and suddenly declared your sovereignty, unlike others who first create fake scandals and then officially announce them to confirm them.”
Lian Li smiled and teased, “And ‘suddenly,’ are you winning a championship?”
“When the Second Young Master gets you as his girlfriend, isn’t that like winning a championship?” Xue Shufan said with certainty.
Other wealthy young men and beautiful women watched Zhong Yang walk around, personally helping Lian Li mix a glass of Sangria cocktail.
Is it because she’s the Second Young Master’s girlfriend that they are so enthusiastic?
“Li Mei, your drink.” Zhong Yang sat on the sofa opposite Lian Li and Xue Shufan, the red wine-colored liquid in the highball glass shimmering refreshingly.
Lian Li thanked him and slowly picked up the glass to take a sip.
“I heard you’re not getting married again,” Zhong Yang asked Xue Shufan. “Are you treating marriage as a game?”
“We have different views, so we can’t get married,” Xue Shufan said.
Lian Li looked up at Xue Shufan. “The male doctor?”
“Yes.” Xue Shufan, perhaps thinking of something absurd, pulled at her lips and smiled. “He thinks my research is useless and that my career contributes nothing to social development, unlike his noble profession of healing and saving lives. When I debated him, he apologized after just a few sentences.”
“You didn’t forgive him?” someone else asked curiously upon hearing this.
“I didn’t forgive him,” Xue Shufan said. “He said he apologized not out of weakness, but because he wanted to marry me as planned, and because he liked me.”
Lian Li’s pupils suddenly widened slightly.
Liked her? Wasn’t it a fake marriage?
“That’s great, apologizing and backing down because he likes you,” another person said.
“Great, my foot.” Xue Shufan’s temper was about to flare. “He apologized because he was wrong, not because he liked me. He didn’t realize he had a problem at all.”
The people present sighed.
It seemed that as long as the man ultimately loved the woman, all his previous hurtful actions would be rationalized.
Lian Li mused and asked Xue Shufan, “Are your uncle and aunt still making you go on blind dates?”
Xue Shufan sighed with a look of despair, “Yes.”
“What type do you like? I’ll ask Brother Pei to introduce someone to you,” Zhong Yang said, crossing his legs and leaning casually against the back of the sofa.
“Forget it, I’m not interested in your group of young masters,” Xue Shufan refused without hesitation.
She just wanted to find an honest person to appease her uncle and aunt.
Zhong Yang chuckled. “Aren’t young masters good? Ask Li Mei, isn’t Master Yue good?”
The people in the sofa area all turned to look at Lian Li.
Lian Li’s expression remained unchanged. “Average.”
Jin Shi Yue is still average? His looks, his influence, his family background… he’s top-notch in every aspect. Even in Sijiucheng, which is filled with noble scions, he stands out. This sister is being humble.
“See, Junior Sister is on the same page as Senior Sister.” After showing off to Zhong Yang, Xue Shufan turned to Lian Li and said, “Has the Jin Family contacted you?”
“I’ve met Mrs. Jin,” Lian Li said truthfully.
Zhong Yang offered advice. “If Auntie contacts you, just go to Master Yue. He’ll definitely handle everything.”
“No need to find the Second Young Master,” Xue Shufan said instead. “Lili can discuss anything you want openly with you, but whether she’ll be swayed to follow your demands is another matter.”
“Li Mei, you’re the best,” Zhong Yang said, giving Lian Li a thumbs-up without reservation.
Lian Li’s lips curved upwards, and she smiled faintly.
“What about Brother Qingji?”
“The workaholic is on a business trip,” Zhong Yang called out to her. “Want to play cards? Let’s have a few rounds of Dou Dizhu.”
Lian Li agreed.
She sat at the card table, with Xue Shufan sitting next to her, chatting with her while watching her play cards, calling it “learning.”
No gambling, purely for entertainment.
Her mobile phone, placed on the side, rang. Xue Shufan glanced at it, picked it up, and handed it to Lian Li. “It’s the Second Young Master calling.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the lively card game instantly fell silent. No one dared to disturb the Second Young Master and his girlfriend’s phone call.
Lian Li answered with little reaction. “I’m at the Rui Kong Ju Siheyuan.”
He had asked her to wait for him at home, but she had come out without leaving him a message.
Jin Shi Yue wasn’t angry. He let out a low chuckle and lazily commanded, “Wait.”
“Okay.”
After the call ended, everyone blinked in stunned silence.
They hadn’t expected this couple’s phone call to be so clean and efficient.
Lian Li, holding her mobile phone, suddenly remembered that Jin Yan Ting had sent her a message not long ago. She clicked into WeChat to check.
Jin Yan Ting: 【 Back? 】
Lian Li: 【 Yes. 】
Jin Yan Ting didn’t reply immediately. He was probably busy, or perhaps he was just sending a casual greeting with no other purpose.
Lian Li didn’t pay much attention and focused on playing cards.
It was time for Xue Shufan to return to her aunt’s house. Lian Li checked the time; Jin Shi Yue would be arriving at the Siheyuan soon. She then stood up and accompanied her Senior Sister as they left.
As the two walked out of the East Wing Room and strolled along the vermilion corridor, Jin Yan Ting sent a new WeChat message, asking how Lian Li had been recently.
“The Second Young Master’s message?” Xue Shufan asked with a smile.
“No,” Lian Li replied, her eyes downcast, her fingers nimbly typing. “Brother Yan Ting.”
The smile on Xue Shufan’s face froze for a few seconds. She suddenly remembered Pei Qingji mentioning that Jin Yan Ting liked Lian Li. She hesitated, staring at Lian Li for a moment.
After politely replying to the message, Lian Li looked up. “What is it?”
Xue Shufan hesitated for several seconds and then asked, “If, I’m just saying if, Jin Yan Ting liked you, what would you do now?”
“Jin Shi Yue asked me, ‘Who do you choose between him and Jin Yan Ting?’ You’re asking the same thing.”
Lian Li put her phone in her bag, her pupils reflecting a gentle, faint smile. “Firstly, Jin Yan Ting doesn’t like me. Secondly, I like Jin Shi Yue. Lastly… the question is invalid.”
“Why is it invalid? Didn’t you like Jin Yan Ting before?” Xue Shufan pressed.
Lian Li smiled without speaking.
After a moment, she linked her arm through her Senior Sister’s and spoke again. “When I was little, my dad often told me that my mom’s appearance made him lucky, and that the person who made him lucky was his destined one. The concept of a ‘destined one’ was popular back then, don’t laugh. On the rainy day my dad passed away, Jin Yan Ting descended from the sky and took me away, bringing me luck to a certain extent.”
“So I was predisposed to believe Jin Yan Ting was the right person.”
Since he was the right person, she would definitely like him.
Lian Li unconsciously convinced herself: she liked Jin Yan Ting.
But Jin Shi Yue, Lian Li constantly reminded herself: he was the god of misfortune who affected her financial luck, she didn’t like him.
Lian Li wasn’t sure if her previous good feelings towards Jin Yan Ting constituted true liking.
But towards Jin Shi Yue, Lian Li clearly knew she liked him.
Liked him very, very much.
A liking that persisted despite knowing it was impossible, uncontrollable, and irresistible.
After listening to her Junior Sister, Xue Shufan looked at her with a relieved expression. “Did you secretly go to a temple for advanced studies? You’ve suddenly had an epiphany.”
“People,” Lian Li said calmly, “can’t just eat without growing.”
The Senior and Junior Sisters walked out of the Siheyuan, chatting and laughing.
Under the night sky, a black car was parked by the roadside, like a beast lurking in the darkness.
“Wow, it’s different when someone’s here to pick you up,” Xue Shufan nudged Lian Li with her elbow.
Her Senior Sister had driven herself and didn’t need a ride.
Lian Li smiled brightly and bid her farewell. “I’ll be going now.”
“Go on, go on. You’ve got a man now and you’ve forgotten your Senior Sister,” Xue Shufan joked.
Lian Li’s smile deepened.
She walked over gracefully, and the rear car window slowly lowered. However, the person inside was not Jin Shi Yue.
Lian Li’s eyes reflected Jin Yan Ting’s silhouette, and she was momentarily stunned. “Brother?”
