Chapter 25: You Have What Other Girls Have
Lian Li tilted her head to look at Ruan Ning, her eyes clear, and asked, “Should I know them?”
Her tone was gentle and sincere, carrying no other hidden meaning.
It’s good that you don’t know them.
“No, I was just asking casually,” Ruan Ning relaxed, smiling softly, “Congratulations on getting the opportunity for the Concerto 《 Hong Yan 》.”
Lian Li: “Thank you.”
Ruan Ning fumbled in the storage cabinet, clenched her fist, and put it in her pocket, her voice timid:
“I found it, are you going back? This whole building is too quiet, I’m a little scared, can I go down with you?”
Lian Li glanced at her and said, “Mm.”
Lian Li held her mobile phone, her fingertips nimbly tapping into WeChat. The pinned account had no new messages. She was used to it and pressed the side button to turn off the screen.
Turning off the lounge light, Lian Li and Ruan Ning walked through the corridor towards the elevator hall. There was almost no one in the building at this hour, and the elevator quickly arrived at their floor.
The elevator car was brightly lit, and Ruan Ning looked at Lian Li in the elevator’s mirror.
Even without smiling, Lian Li’s face held a faint smile, making her very approachable, yet not someone to be trifled with.
She possessed an aura of inviolability.
The orchestra members initially thought Lian Li was an easy-to-bully soft girl, but before long, they witnessed her “cool girl” demeanor.
A top student from Jing University’s ace major, she was equally dedicated to the cello.
Despite the vastly different fields of mathematics and music, Lian Li refused to give up on either. Everyone called her an oddball.
Jing City’s college entrance examination used a 3+3 system, without a distinction between arts and sciences. Lian Li, as the top scorer with raw scores in her cohort, chose not to stay within her major but to compete with art students for opportunities.
Wasn’t that quite strange?
The elevator reached the first floor. Ruan Ning stepped out first, waiting a few seconds for Lian Li.
“You mentioned last time that the Jin Family still lives in the compound and hasn’t moved out. Where did you hear that?” Ruan Ning’s voice was soft and endearing.
Lian Li casually lifted her eyelids.
Ruan Ning looked up expectantly.
To her surprise, Lian Li said, “I guessed.”
Ruan Ning’s expression froze, and she stared at Lian Li in disbelief.
Her tone was so firm, it was a guess? And she had been worried for over twenty days because of a baseless guess.
Thinking back now, after Lian Li mentioned the Jin Family’s address, she immediately said she was going back to walk her cat.
Someone allergic to cat dander couldn’t possibly walk a cat. That statement was false, so the previous one was also false.
Lian Li was unaware of Ruan Ning’s internal analysis. She walked out of the building and, passing the security booth, stopped. She took a small can of tea from her bag and handed it through the window to the old master on duty.
The old master on duty smiled and accepted it, asking how her rehearsal went today and reminding her to be careful on her way.
Ruan Ning caught up with Lian Li’s pace and glanced back at the security booth, “Are you familiar with that guard?”
“Reasonably.”
Ruan Ning was about to say something else when a Maybach parked by the roadside suddenly stopped about a meter in front of them.
Lian Li was slightly taken aback, then understood and immediately said to Ruan Ning, “I’m heading back now, see you next time.”
Ruan Ning stood frozen, watching Lian Li expertly open the back door and get into the luxury car worth tens of millions. She then watched the luxury car drive away, disappearing into the dark night.
Zhao Lizheng from the Zhao family?
When did that playboy start spending so much money on a low-key luxury car? Wasn’t he all about flashy things? And this license plate…
Inside the Maybach carriage, Lian Li sat in the back seat, acutely smelling a faint but not overpowering scent of alcohol.
Jin Yan Ting leaned back against the seat, his eyes flickered up, and he glanced at her with his misty eyes, “Why were you at the orchestra so late?”
She had stayed even later before, but he just didn’t know.
Lian Li said, “There was a piece I hadn’t practiced well, so I wanted to practice it a few more times.”
“The teacher didn’t explain it well?” Jin Yan Ting asked.
People in high positions always speak in veiled terms. Lian Li knew his question implied that if the teacher hadn’t explained it well, they should replace the orchestra members and find new ones.
“No. It’s been resolved now.”
Jin Yan Ting had drunk quite a bit, and as the alcohol took effect, he furrowed his brow.
Lian Li rarely saw him drunk because no one dared to force him to drink. On social occasions, him accepting a toast was a gesture of respect to others; not drinking was perfectly acceptable.
This time, Lian Li didn’t ask him why he drank so much.
Upon returning home, Zhang Sao, timing it perfectly, brought the steaming hot meal to the table. Seeing Lian Li and Jin Yan Ting, she beamed.
“The weather was good today, so I took Xiao Mao out to bask in the sun, and it’s fully charged now.”
The Xiao Mao robot didn’t use traditional charging methods but solar power.
As before, Jin Yan Ting left after dinner. Lian Li was full and didn’t rush to shower. She lay on the lounge chair on the bedroom balcony, bathing in the moonlight.
If only basking in the moonlight could fully charge her…
Feeling a chill, Lian Li got up and went back inside. Just then, the phone rang.
“Miss Lian, this is He Shu.” Assistant He, a graduate of Princeton University, one of the eight Ivy League schools, spoke with a refined tone.
“Assistant He.”
Assistant He said that the location for Elder Mei’s birthday banquet had been decided, and the address had been sent to her WeChat. The service there was good, and girls would like it, so he asked if she wanted to come and stay for a few days.
Lian Li tapped on WeChat, looking at the hotel name, and recalled past events.
Once, she asked Jin Yan Ting, “Why do you always bring me gifts?”
He replied, “What other girls have, you have too.”
The “other girls” likely referred to Chen Wei Qi and the like.
Thinking of this, Lian Li felt her breathing become slightly constricted. She placed her mobile phone on the dressing table and walked into the bathroom.
Almost the moment she put down her phone, a message popped up on the screen.
Pei Qingji: 「 I’ve accepted your friend request, and now we can start chatting. 」
Pei Qingji’s eyes reflected the chat page with Lian Li.
Zhong Yang, holding a Burgundy glass, weaved through the boisterous hall, bypassed three screens, and entered the inner chamber, saying, “Who are you chatting with so intently, little sister?”
A sliver of moonlight passed over the carved beams and painted rafters, shining in through the rhombic window, like a thin veil covering the exquisitely glazed celadon. Behind a golden screen, two female university students in off-white qipaos held pipa and played 《 The Peony Pavilion 》.
Amidst the pleasant music, Pei Qingji put away his phone, “Junior Sister Lian Li, she needs something from me.”
“If you need anything, you can tell me. I can create a group chat for you all.”
After speaking, Zhong Yang scanned the surroundings and asked, “Where is Young Master? I saw him just now.”
Pei Qingji pointed in a direction, and Zhong Yang looked over.
Through the wisps of incense smoke rising from the bronze censer, he saw a man resting with his eyes closed.
The man had an exceptionally fine physique. Lying on the couch, he seemed somewhat cramped, his long legs hanging over the armrest and trailing to the floor, his hand resting loosely over his eyes.
Young Master was asleep, so Zhong Yang dared not wake him. He turned to another part of the room and called out to his other unfortunate brothers to go to the hall.
Pei Qingji lowered his head and poured out the now-cold tea from his cup. A faint, cold voice suddenly sounded beside him:
“What does she need from you?”
