Chapter 229: One After Another, They’ve Gone Mad
Meeting Jin Shi Yue’s cold, stern gaze, Jin Yan Ting’s reason returned. He let go, releasing Lian Li’s arm.
Jin Shi Yue lowered his eyes to examine the person in his arms, confirming she was unharmed. He lightly lifted his eyelids to look at Jin Yan Ting, his voice sounding casual yet laced with coldness.
“You’re taking my girlfriend out for a meal, why didn’t you invite me?”
“It’s just a meal, not meeting the parents,” Jin Yan Ting replied, his expression unruffled, as if he hadn’t been the one acting impulsively moments ago.
Jin Shi Yue was tall with long legs, taking large strides. Uncle Jiang couldn’t keep up, rushing over breathlessly, “Mr. Jin, this…”
Jin Yan Ting understood immediately and said to Uncle Jiang with gentle refinement, “It’s alright, you can go attend to your duties.”
Uncle Jiang hadn’t recovered yet. He stole a glance at the three people in a tense atmosphere and obediently retreated.
Jin Shi Yue’s sharp gaze swept over the restaurant’s decor. The subtly ambiguous atmosphere was clear to him, and the corner of his lips curved into a sneer.
“If it’s not meeting the parents, then what is it? This meal is quite novel, red wine, flowers, fireworks, and a beautiful view.”
Lian Li’s brow twitched. She looked up at Jin Shi Yue’s smoothly contoured jawline and gently tugged his hem.
Jin Shi Yue lowered his eyes and glanced at her, “What, you want to defend him?”
Jin Yan Ting was as sharp as an eagle. Upon realizing there was an issue between Lian Li and Jin Shi Yue, he suppressed his doubts and didn’t ask. Jin Shi Yue, however, would.
They’ve dug up the corner of the wall and reached his grave; is he supposed to pretend he doesn’t know?
Lian Li shook her head. Before she could explain, she heard Jin Yan Ting speak, “A Yue, don’t make it difficult for Xiao Li. This has nothing to do with her.”
Jin Shi Yue let out a cold laugh.
The surrounding air pressure dropped instantly, creating a tense, almost confrontational atmosphere.
Jin Shi Yue saw through the restaurant’s layout at a glance. Lian Li wouldn’t lie to him, so he quickly said, “It’s not what you think.”
“What do I think?” Jin Shi Yue moved his arm from Lian Li’s waist and asked with an ambiguous tone.
He asked her, but didn’t give her time to answer, then lightly parted his lips and said, “Li Ye, get in here.”
His voice sounded like it was laced with ice shards. Li Ye was startled, then quickly stepped forward.
“Take her back,” Jin Shi Yue gestured towards Lian Li.
Li Ye immediately invited Lian Li to leave, “Miss Lian.”
Lian Li looked at Jin Shi Yue, then at Jin Yan Ting.
Seeing this, Jin Shi Yue gently pinched her face with his long fingers, “What are you looking at?” His voice softened noticeably, “Go back and wait for me.”
Lian Li had already said what she needed to say to Jin Yan Ting, so she nodded, “Then don’t be too late.”
There were some things Jin Shi Yue and Jin Yan Ting needed to discuss privately, and her presence would be inconvenient. Besides, they were brothers; their relationship couldn’t be that bad.
With that thought, Lian Li left the restaurant with Li Ye. Before stepping out, she glanced back. Jin Shi Yue and Jin Yan Ting were talking, and they seemed quite calm.
Lian Li withdrew her gaze and looked at the neat suit Li Ye was wearing, which was clearly from a different faction than Jin Shi Yue’s camouflage uniform.
“Did you come with Jin Shi Yue?”
She didn’t walk fast, and Li Ye slowed his pace as well, saying, “No. I received an order and drove here.”
Lian Li caught the key information: “Jin Shi Yue didn’t drive here?”
Li Ye didn’t answer immediately. After a moment, feeling that the Second Young Master had no defenses against her, he said, “The boss just returned by helicopter.”
And it was a military helicopter at that.
An elite general from the military, flying a helicopter from the military region to this place at night just to deliver Jin Shi Yue.
Even if that general was subservient to Jin Shi Yue, regulations were regulations. He couldn’t act arbitrarily.
Furthermore, flying in a no-fly zone so openly, without permission from above, even the most skilled helicopter pilot couldn’t have flown here.
Short-term exceptions were numerous, but the difficulty was extremely high.
Yet, for such a difficult matter, Jin Shi Yue had resolved it upon learning that Jin Yan Ting had brought Lian Li to the villa for dinner.
Li Ye sighed inwardly.
Fireworks, helicopters; one by one, they’ve gone mad.
He guessed Old Master Jin would call them home for dinner again.
Lian Li’s eyelids kept twitching. She raised her hand and pressed them, “The camouflage uniform he’s wearing is a type of military uniform, right?”
Li Ye: “Yes.”
Walking down the long corridor, Lian Li scratched her brow bone, feeling something was off. Her fingertip felt a bit sticky. She looked and saw it was a dark red substance.
She brought it to her nose to sniff, then looked down at the clothes on her chest. The light fabric was particularly noticeable with the dark liquid stain.
Lian Li’s thoughts froze for two seconds. Without a word, she turned and ran back, the wind through the corridor whipping her hair.
“Miss Lian!” Li Ye called out to her, but she didn’t hear, sprinting back.
…
In the luxurious and dazzling restaurant, Jin Yan Ting surveyed Jin Shi Yue, then leaned to the side and raised his wine glass, downing the red wine in one gulp.
“It seems our Second Young Master has achieved another great feat.”
Jin Shi Yue’s bangs naturally fell on his brow bone, his deep eyes devoid of their usual cynicism. His tone was ambiguous, “I’m out there risking my life, and you’re here having a candlelight dinner. Quite comfortable, aren’t you?”
“No matter how chaotic it is outside, life must go on at home,” Jin Yan Ting said unhurriedly, with a gentle smile.
Jin Shi Yue scoffed dismissively, “You used to set off fireworks for Duan Shiqing, and now you’re setting them off for Lian Li. What do you take her for?”
“She’s been by my side for ten years, and I’ve raised her for ten years,” Jin Yan Ting said. “We’ve eaten countless meals during these ten years. You hadn’t returned then, and now we’re just having a meal together. What are you upset about?”
Jin Yan Ting’s perceptiveness was terrifying. By this point, how could he not know that Jin Shi Yue, knowing he liked Lian Li, still wanted to snatch her away from him?
He had found her first, and he was just a little bit away… but then Jin Shi Yue returned, disrupting his plans and taking Lian Li.
“A Yue, on what grounds do you object?”
Jin Shi Yue’s voice was cold and distant, “On the grounds that she is my girlfriend.”
Jin Yan Ting, who was pouring red wine into his glass, paused at this. He gave a mocking, faint smile, “She’s also Xiao Li.”
“So what?” Jin Shi Yue leaned lazily against the table edge, his voice devoid of warmth.
Jin Yan Ting’s eyelids lowered, and he slowly poured more wine, “I told her to break up with you.”
As soon as the words fell, a heavy punch landed squarely on Jin Yan Ting’s cheek. Caught off guard, he staggered, and the wine bottle and glass in his hand slipped, falling to the ground with two thuds.
The wine bottle rolled across the floor, and red liquid gushed from its opening, staining an entire white blanket.
When Lian Li ran in, the restaurant was a mess. Tables and chairs were overturned, several wine bottles were scattered on the floor, and crystal wine glasses were smashed into pieces, their sharp shards glinting with blinding cold light.
By the window, two men were grappling with each other’s collars, fighting fiercely. Their cold, sharp voices exchanged words that cut each other to the core.
“Stop!”
Lian Li’s scalp tightened, and she quickly shouted to stop them. No one stopped. She shouted again, “Jin Shi Yue!”
