Chapter 227: Taking Advantage of Vulnerability, Confession
Lian Li’s brow suddenly twitched.
She maintained the proper etiquette: “I’d like to ask, in what capacity are you speaking to me now? As Jin Shi Yue’s elder brother, the Jin Family’s eldest son, or as…”
In this situation, Lian Li didn’t know whether she should address Jin Yan Ting as brother, benefactor, or guardian.
Facing her astonishment, Jin Yan Ting remained calm and composed: “Regardless of the capacity, Xiao Li, I hope you break up with A Yue.”
Lian Li’s left hand rested on the stem of her Burgundy glass, her fingertips twitching. Her pupils dilated uncontrollably, a reaction of disbelief mixed with a sense of inevitability.
Jin Yan Ting represented the Jin Family, prioritizing their interests. Even though he had taken care of her in many ways, he would not back down when it came to the Jin Family’s benefits.
But for some reason.
Lian Li unexpectedly thought of her roommate, Shang Lingyu.
Shang Lingyu had come from a small town to study at Jing University without worry, thanks to her benefactor. She was grateful and wanted to earn money to repay her benefactor, but that benefactor, with his clear and handsome features, had smiled and told her, “Miss Shang, break up with your little boyfriend.”
Later, Shang Lingyu had no choice but to break up, and then later she and that benefactor…
Lian Li felt a sense of absurdity.
Jin Yan Ting didn’t like her; he wouldn’t resort to forceful means.
“I’m sorry, I won’t break up,” Lian Li collected her thoughts and looked directly at Jin Yan Ting. “If you are speaking to me as Jin Shi Yue’s elder brother, I’ve already told Mrs. Jin that the only reason I would break up with Jin Shi Yue is: he doesn’t like me.”
Jin Yan Ting stared at her intently, the warmth in his eyes gradually fading. “Then what about as Jin Yan Ting, who has taken care of you for ten years?”
He didn’t say elder brother or benefactor, only Jin Yan Ting, who had been with her for ten years.
“I am very grateful for your care over the past ten years, but I’m sorry,” Lian Li said decisively and firmly. “Gratitude is gratitude, and love is love; they cannot be conflated. I will not give up love because of gratitude.”
Jin Yan Ting: “You only feel gratitude towards me?”
“Of course not only that.”
Before Jin Yan Ting could feel a flicker of joy, Lian Li continued, “There’s also family affection.”
Jin Yan Ting looked at her, his eyes darker than ever before, making Lian Li’s spine chill as she met his gaze.
Weird.
Everything tonight was extremely weird.
The Chinese garden villa, lilies and jasmine, red wine and delicacies, dim lighting… it was like a candlelight dinner.
The moment the words “candlelight dinner” came out, Lian Li was instantly startled by her own thought.
Impossible!
“The year my father passed away, I was twelve. I had no family in the Capital City, and it felt like the sky had fallen. It was you who held an umbrella over me, shielding me from the wind and rain, and asked me to come with you,” Lian Li tapped her fingernails on the tablecloth. “I know I’m difficult to deal with, not as lively and cheerful as other people my age, nor do I possess admirable virtues that make people comfortable. I’m also not as endearing and pampered as Chen Wei Qi. At first, I thought you would at most leave me with the servants, ignore me, and I’d be ready to leave at any time, to live alone.”
“But you didn’t.”
“Brother Yan Ting, over the years, you’ve provided me with immense help, both materially and spiritually. I’m grateful to you. But gratitude is gratitude; it doesn’t mean you can interfere with my feelings.”
Jin Yan Ting gazed at her deeply, unwilling to give up, and asked again, “Is it only gratitude and family affection, Xiao Li? You haven’t lied to me.”
Lian Li pursed her lips. Past events flashed through her mind like a movie. Nine years of warmth, not counting the recent year of distance; could she honestly say there were no other feelings?
“I know you’ve been diligently nurturing me, but you might not realize that I’m not a person of high moral standing,” Lian Li said. “Nothing can bind me. My mother has a blood connection with me, and she’s done a lot for me, setting up scholarships to indirectly give me money, preparing Taiwanese pastries for me, and paving the way for me in secret… but even though she helped me, I still don’t acknowledge her.”
Whether it was family affection or love, if it had genuinely caused her harm, she could let it go.
Therefore, Jin Yan Ting.
Are you now trying to use gratitude and family affection to force me to give up the person I love, to hurt me?
The previously harmonious sibling atmosphere was now filled with a strange silence.
Their eyes met, and through Lian Li’s eyes, Jin Yan Ting glimpsed a trace of untamed wildness deep within her soul.
That wildness was something no one could tame.
Her strength was deeply etched into her soul; even those in positions of power, accustomed to the vortex of authority, could not shake it in the slightest.
Jin Yan Ting said, “Xiao Li, I’ve liked you for a long time.”
It was like a sudden signal.
The second this confession was uttered, several white lights streaked across the night sky outside the restaurant window over the lake, filling Lian Li’s vision, followed by popping sounds as magnificent and brilliant fireworks exploded.
The crackling sounds drowned out Lian Li’s breathing and heartbeat. Her almond-shaped eyes reflected the fireworks’ light, as bright as ever, yet Jin Yan Ting couldn’t find himself in her gaze.
The fireworks lasted for a short time, yet felt incredibly long.
Perhaps all the strangeness of the night now had an answer.
Lian Li found herself surprisingly calm. She raised her Burgundy glass, took a sip of red wine, and slowly began to speak:
“I just said that the only reason I would break up with Jin Shi Yue is: he doesn’t like me and broke up with me.”
“This might sound like I was forced, but it wasn’t.”
“Before meeting Jin Shi Yue, love was a fog to me. After meeting him, I cleared the fog.”
“In my opinion, love is a math problem. Jin Shi Yue is not only the optimal solution for love, but also the only solution.”
Lian Li’s definition of love was Jin Shi Yue.
Regarding love, people have countless opinions.
For Lian Li, love had only one solution, and that solution was Jin Shi Yue.
Exclusive and unique, existent and singular.
Lian Li heard Jin Yan Ting’s confession, but she didn’t question why he had such a publicly known ambiguous relationship with Duan Shiqing if he liked her, why he tacitly accepted that people around him said he and Duan Shiqing were reconciling and getting married, and why he accepted his friends calling Duan Shiqing his sister-in-law.
Did the answer matter?
Lian Li was good at waiting; she could wait for Jin Yan Ting. But the moment Jin Yan Ting was ambiguously involved with Duan Shiqing, regardless of whether Jin Yan Ting liked her, she could no longer wait and could not turn back.
Whether her good feelings towards him constituted love was no longer important; it wasn’t worth exploring.
Uncle Jiang stood outside, watching the colorful fireworks, then looked at the handsome man and beautiful woman sitting around the exquisite dining table through the glass window, finding the scene quite pleasing.
Just as he sighed in admiration, the next second, the sound of propellers suddenly roared through the vast, empty villa.
Uncle Jiang looked up, staring at the colossal object that had appeared out of nowhere, utterly shocked.
This area was a no-fly zone. Which madman wasn’t afraid of death to dare fly into the Jin Family’s territory!
