Chapter 233: Endless Passion
Lian Li softly hummed in acknowledgment, choosing to skirt the main issue. “He asked me to break up with Jin Shi Yue. This is probably the Jin Family’s intention too.”
“What did you say?” Xue Shufan could tell Lian Li didn’t want to discuss Jin Yan Ting’s confession, so she tacitly shifted the focus of the conversation.
“I won’t,” Lian Li said with a smile. “I’m dating Jin Shi Yue, not his family.”
Xue Shufan: “Spirited! Just like my Junior Sister.”
However, if they were to get married, they would definitely have to face the elders of the Jin Family.
Lian Li smiled and asked, “Are you planning to go ice climbing in Rjukan, Norway?”
“Yes, next month.” Xue Shufan invited her along, “Interested?”
“Not interested,” Lian Li replied. “Last year, I went trekking around Mont Blanc in France, and after I came back, I could only write my thesis while lying in bed.”
My Junior Sister has abundant energy, but is a sports cripple. She can only use her brain, not her limbs.
Extreme sports are only suitable for Senior Sister.
A pharmacy flashed by outside the window. Xue Shufan suddenly remembered and shared with Lian Li, “That scoundrel Zhao Lizheng was eyeing you before, wasn’t he? His family has fallen.”
In a single turn of events, a prominent aristocratic family of nearly a hundred years could collapse. It was quite lamentable. However, with the Shen Family as a precedent, Lian Li was already accustomed to it.
“The Shen Family fell because they backed the wrong horse. What about the Zhao Family?” Lian Li leaned against the railing on the second floor, looking down at the concert hall below. Lu Dieyi, wearing a lemon-yellow slip dress, stood beside her Mother, chatting with guests. The mother and daughter shared a sixty percent resemblance, making their relationship obvious at a glance.
Xue Shufan: “I don’t know the details, but it’s said to be abuse of power.”
The information that leaked out was only what those people wanted the public to know. Deeper content or truths couldn’t be transmitted.
“Zhao Lizheng did whatever he pleased in Sijiucheng. The loose ends he left behind are too numerous to count on ten fingers. The Zhao Family’s downfall was expected,” Xue Shufan mused. “No wonder I haven’t seen Zhao Lizheng since we went horse riding in the Capital Suburbs at the beginning of the year.”
Lian Li lowered her eyelashes, examining the red jade chain on her wrist, and said casually, “Indeed, I haven’t seen him in a while.”
The horror of that night was still fresh in her memory. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t scared.
But Lian Li wouldn’t belittle herself or blame herself for others’ malice.
Xue Shufan and Lian Li always had endless things to talk about. After half an hour on the phone, Lian Li hung up as she had a performance to attend.
When Xue Shufan returned home, she opened her computer and began listing the pros and cons of her contract marriage with Pei Qingji in a spreadsheet.
The pros and cons were evenly split.
While she was pondering the advantages and disadvantages of marrying a good friend, the lab group chat was asking who wanted to visit Hong Kong for an exchange and learning opportunity from other labs.
At the same time, Pei Qingji sent a WeChat message, telling her to take her time to consider.
The word “slowly” seemed to imply: ‘Hurry up.’
Xue Shufan immediately decided to go to Hong Kong for the visit. She traveled light, packed a small suitcase, and took a taxi to the airport.
However, she didn’t expect to run into Jin Yan Ting in Hong Kong.
In a way, it was Lian Li who indirectly connected them.
On the third day of her exchange program in Hong Kong, Xue Shufan had some free time and decided to treat herself to a good meal. This habit was learned from Lian Li, who often liked to treat herself for no particular reason.
Xue Shufan messaged Lian Li, asking for recommendations for good restaurants in Hong Kong. Lian Li recommended a Michelin three-star restaurant.
Lian Li had eaten at that restaurant with Jin Yan Ting when she visited Hong Kong for a concert in the past, so Assistant He also arranged for Jin Yan Ting to be there.
Both had window seats, with the Victoria Harbour night view outside. Xue Shufan and Jin Yan Ting could see each other with a glance.
Recalling the words of Pei Qingji and Lian Li, Xue Shufan’s expression soured, and the delicious dinner tasted like ash.
She couldn’t eat anymore, so she put down her cutlery and looked at Jin Yan Ting’s table. He had a cool expression and was slowly picking up his wine glass to take a sip.
After a moment of thought, Xue Shufan stood up and walked over.
Assistant He saw it was her and didn’t stop her.
Xue Shufan stopped and asked, “President Jin, may I have a word?”
“Miss Xue.” Jin Yan Ting raised his left hand, adorned with a Patek Philippe mechanical wristwatch, and gestured for her to sit.
Xue Shufan pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down.
Jin Yan Ting’s expression was impassive. Even in his calm and composed demeanor, he exuded the oppressive aura of someone in a position of power.
His status was something he was born with, and his methods were decisive and ruthless.
Logically speaking, given Xue Shufan’s status, it wasn’t her place to interfere in Jin Yan Ting’s affairs. But for her Junior Sister, she couldn’t hold back.
Xue Shufan got straight to the point: “In no aspect has Li Li wronged you.”
“Li Li always says she doesn’t have high morals and can give up anything, but in reality, she is the one with the highest morals.”
“You brought her to your side to care for her because her father saved you before he died.”
Jin Yan Ting’s gaze shifted from the Victoria Harbour outside to Xue Shufan’s face, his emotions unmoved.
How could a man who could cover the sky with one hand be swayed by a few words?
His tenderness, apart from Lian Li, was only enjoyed by his first love, Duan Shiqing.
In Xue Shufan’s opinion, Lian Li didn’t need to dwell on Jin Yan Ting’s ten years of kindness.
Xue Shufan didn’t believe Jin Yan Ting was completely unaware of how Lian Li had lived and what difficulties she had faced over these ten years.
Because of Jin Yan Ting, Lian Li bore the infamy of being a canary and of ruining his relationship with Duan Shiqing. At that time, Lian Li was only a teenager, and rumors like monstrous floods rained down on her.
Her father’s death, her mother’s abandonment, the canary scandal, being the third party in a relationship… Lian Li endured much hardship, yet she never put on a pitiful act.
Xue Shufan thought that if it were her, she would have hated the world long ago.
Lian Li believed in Jin Yan Ting, so she bore those external rumors alone. But what about Jin Yan Ting?
He himself confirmed the scandal with Duan Shiqing.
Did he expect Lian Li to shamelessly ask if you liked me?
“Li Li has never resented anyone, and no one is worthy of blaming her.”
Xue Shufan said, “Li Li is not the type to complain about her fate. President Jin, you should also understand how strong her self-esteem is.”
Jin Yan Ting naturally knew how strong Lian Li’s self-esteem was.
Therefore, the first time he heard her say she liked Jin Shi Yue, Jin Yan Ting was extremely surprised.
Lian Li wasn’t slow to understand feelings; she directly blocked them out. When she said she liked someone, it meant she truly, truly liked Jin Shi Yue.
Why did it have to be Jin Shi Yue?
Jin Yan Ting was heartbroken and pondered deeply, ultimately deciding to let her go.
But Lian Li had liked him…
Hope rekindled.
Xue Shufan paused for a few seconds and continued, “You can imagine how much courage she mustered to go to New York to find you back then.”
Jin Yan Ting was wasting his time here, listening to Xue Shufan speak, solely because she was Lian Li’s Senior Sister and the topic was Lian Li.
He had been listening absentmindedly before, his expression unchanged. Only now did his expression show a slight shift: “Find me in New York?”
