Chapter 26: Truly a Talented Person
Pei Qingji followed the sound with his eyes.
He saw Jin Shiyue had woken up at some point, sitting on an ebony rosewood chair, reaching out to grab the cigarette case on the table and taking out a cigarette.
Pei Qingji asked, “Who?”
The sound of a lighter igniting rang out. Jin Shiyue turned his head to light the cigarette, not even lifting his eyelids, his voice hoarse and lazy, “Lian Li.”
Pei Qingji’s knuckles gripped the teapot, and he lowered his eyes to pour two cups of tea. “We just added each other as friends. Junior Sister hasn’t explained the specifics yet.”
“Where did you get her contact information?”
“Shu Fan gave it to me.” After a two-second pause, Pei Qingji tilted his head to look at him and tentatively asked, “Do you want me to give it to you?”
Jin Shiyue let out a meaningless hum, as if his mood had suddenly been spoiled. He sneered, “A mute, boring.”
Pei Qingji chuckled, his gaze falling on the burning cigarette in Jin Shiyue’s fingertips. He placed a cup of tea in front of him. “Teacher’s birthday banquet is arranged. When do you plan to go?”
“In the next few days.”
Elder Mei disliked overly grand birthday banquets, considering them extravagant and wasteful. The banquet didn’t invite many people, only close friends and family.
The elder’s wishes naturally had to be met, but he also had to have a comfortable birthday. Nothing could go wrong with the hotel arrangements; it had to be to his liking. Someone needed to scout the location in advance to ensure everything was perfect.
The Central Concert Hall is located on the south side of West Chang’an Street and is the largest and most bustling concert hall in the Capital City.
On this day, after Lian Li finished her concerto for 《Hongyan》, she returned to the prop room and put her cello into its instrument case.
She slung it over her shoulder and bid farewell to the other musicians with a smile.
Lian Li walked out of the main entrance and scanned her surroundings, not seeing Xue Shufan. Just as she was about to take out her mobile phone to message her, the window of a silver Bentley not far away rolled down, and the person in the driver’s seat honked twice.
Lian Li looked up and saw Xue Shufan in the car waving at her.
Lian Li walked over gracefully.
“Beautiful, get in.” Xue Shufan raised her heroic eyebrows. “Sister will take you for a spin.”
Lian Li stood by the car, glancing at the interior layout through the window, and asked with a smile, “Where did you get this car?”
“Borrowed it from Pei Qingji,” Xue Shufan said.
Lian Li walked around to the back of the car, opened the trunk, and carefully placed the cello inside before closing it. She then walked to the front passenger seat and opened the door, getting in.
“Where are you taking me for a spin?” Lian Li asked while fastening her seatbelt.
After she had buckled her seatbelt, Xue Shufan handed her a cup of warm coffee and said mysteriously, “You’ll know when we get there.”
Lian Li held the coffee with both hands, lowered her head, and sniffed. The rich aroma of coffee wafted into her nostrils.
“You’re not planning to kidnap me and sell me to Myanmar, are you?”
Xue Shufan glanced over and laughed heartily, “Definitely not. The experiment is over, so I’m out to have some fun.”
In the bustling areas of the Capital City, there is a place of natural beauty and modern charm – the Canal. The canal is 9.3 kilometers long and was once a royal horse farm. As night falls, the lights on both sides of the riverbank gradually light up, forming a picture of urban charm with brightly lit buildings and neon-lit streets.
Xue Shufan had reserved a good spot at an open-air restaurant by the riverbank to enjoy the brilliant and colorful scenery.
The evening breeze brushed against their faces, small boats gently drifted by, and a dreamy light show flashed, making it feel like being in a galaxy.
When Xue Shufan mentioned the members of the laboratory, she couldn’t help but complain, “Gold will always shine, but this guy’s glass shards are always reflecting. I won’t even mention the other minor issues; he actually forgot to properly inactivate anthrax samples and almost came into contact with it!”
Anthrax is not an ordinary bacterium; contact with it can be fatal.
Lian Li said, “Your junior disciple is truly a talented person; he can even find such creative ways to commit suicide.”
Xue Shufan sighed, “He committed murder and arson in his past life, and now his junior disciple has come for revenge in this one.”
Lian Li took a chestnut out of the paper bag in her hand and fed it to Xue Shufan, her lips curving slightly. “The experiment is over, and you’re out of purgatory.”
“Yeah.”
After watching the light show and walking along Haoyun Bridge for a while, they headed home.
Xue Shufan sat in the driver’s seat, slowly turning the steering wheel to pull the car out of the parking space, and said to Lian Li, “What exactly is Jin Yanting…”
Before she could finish speaking, a sharp sound of tires screeching on the ground was heard, followed by a loud “bang.” Lian Li and Xue Shufan were involuntarily thrown forward, only to be pulled back by their seatbelts.
“Lili?” Xue Shufan called out to her with a frown.
Lian Li’s heart leaped, and she quickly said, “I’m fine.”
Seeing that her complexion was still good, Xue Shufan breathed a sigh of relief, but her anger quickly flared up. She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car in a huff.
A red sports car had unceremoniously crashed into the rear of her car.
“Hey!” Xue Shufan walked over, so angry she slapped the roof of the sports car. “How do you drive? Get out here and apologize!”
The sports car door was kicked open from the inside, and a girl in a black silk slip dress got out. Without a word, she viciously swung a slap at Xue Shufan.
“How dare you smash my car!?”
Xue Shufan caught her wrist in return, her eyes blazing. “How dare you lay a hand on me?”
“What’s wrong with hitting you? I’ll hit you!” The black-dressed girl swung her other hand. “Worst case, I’ll pay you. I have plenty of money!”
Xue Shufan pushed her away. The black-dressed girl was clearly quite drunk and slumped onto the hood of the car.
“You old hag, you dare push me?!” The black-dressed girl became even angrier and slammed her hand on the sports car’s window. “Wei Qi, come down and help me beat her!”
Lian Li took a moment to recover and got out of the car to see this scene.
“Don’t be impulsive. It involves drunk driving; let’s call the police,” Lian Li said, pulling Xue Shufan back.
Upon hearing this, the black-dressed girl’s eyes widened. “Drunk driving? Call the police? Who’s drunk driving? What nonsense are you talking about!” She then inexplicably started to laugh hysterically. “Go ahead and call if you dare. You won’t get away with it… Wei Qi, are you done with the phone call? You’re so slow.”
Wei Qi? Chen Wei Qi?
Lian Li’s brow twitched.
The person in the car hadn’t gotten out yet. A woman in an elegant, plain off-white long dress, wearing high heels, walked over. Her steps were quick but still graceful.
The woman grabbed the black-dressed girl’s wrist and pulled her forcefully to the back. Chen Wei Qi quickly got out of the car and held onto the black-dressed girl. “Xingyu, stop messing around. Sister Shiqing is here.”
Sister Shiqing… Duan Shiqing?
Lian Li paused, not expecting to encounter Jin Yanting’s first love under such circumstances. With her charming and alluring fox-like eyes, tall figure, and cold, beautiful features, she was indeed a captivating beauty.
Lian Li subtly pulled her jacket closer, shielding herself from the cold wind by the river.
Duan Shiqing glanced at the rear of the Bentley. The damage wasn’t severe, just a slight dent. As she was about to look away, her gaze suddenly fixed on the license plate… Pei Qingji’s car?
“Do you two know Pei Qingji?”
Xue Shufan said irritably, “Before asking others, shouldn’t you tell us who you are?”
“My apologies, that was my oversight. My surname is Duan, and my given name is Shiqing. I am their elder sister.”
Duan Shiqing spoke generously and directly, “I hope this matter will not involve the police.”
“Miss Duan, this is not a matter of whether we hope for it or not.”
Lian Li’s expression was calm, and her tone was unhurried. “If it were you today, and someone was drunk driving and attempted to harm you and your friends, threatening your property and personal safety, would you just let it slide?”
Duan Shiqing fell silent.
She hadn’t expected this seemingly easy-going girl to be so sharp-tongued.
“What do you want?” she asked.
