Chapter 42: A Handsome Man’s Downfall
Lian Li suspected she had misheard.
She rested the umbrella handle on her left shoulder, gazing at Jin Shi Yue without blinking.
Jin Shi Yue moved two fingers lightly, signaling for the God of Wealth to go call her.
The colossal creature agilely ran over, first rubbing against Lian Li’s trouser leg, then biting it, attempting to drag her to its master.
Lian Li worried it might bite too hard and tear her pants, so she followed it.
Lian Li stood two steps away from Jin Shi Yue, moving the umbrella behind her, tilting her face up to look at him: “Brother Shi Yue.”
Jin Shi Yue’s gaze swept over her and he said, “So far away, the person you’re protecting would be dead a hundred times over. Come here.”
Lian Li had no choice but to take a step forward.
Jin Shi Yue had superior bone structure; simple white clothes and black pants on him exuded the elegant composure of a noble young master, perfectly outlining his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and fit physique.
Sporadic snowflakes fell on his hair and shoulders, and in the dimming light, he appeared piercingly cold.
“Are you…” bullying a child?
Lian Li turned to look at the child and the dog, choosing her words carefully as she asked Jin Shi Yue, “Do you have a grudge against this little boy?”
Jin Shi Yue glanced at her indifferently: “Protect me, don’t interrogate me.”
Who was it that spoke words of prophecy?
Lian Li took the money and didn’t argue with him, a friendly smile blooming on her face as she looked at the little boy.
This older sister was clearly kinder than that fierce older brother.
The little boy’s frightened heart calmed, and he complained to Lian Li: “He snatched Xi Xi away!”
Lian Li said softly, “Who is Xi Xi?”
“Xi Xi is my girlfriend!”
An unexpected answer, Lian Li froze for two seconds.
What surprised her wasn’t that Jin Shi Yue had snatched someone’s girlfriend, but that Jin Shi Yue had snatched a child’s girlfriend… how old was this girlfriend?
“Because of him, Xi Xi doesn’t even talk to me at school anymore!” the little boy said, feeling very wronged.
Lian Li turned to look at Jin Shi Yue, hesitating to speak.
He wasn’t a pervert, was he?
Jin Shi Yue’s eyebrows subtly arched, a half-smile playing on his lips: “Are you cursing me in your heart?”
Lian Li: “…No.”
“What are you doing here!” a childish female voice rang out.
Lian Li followed the sound and saw a little girl, as delicate as a carved jade.
The little girl frowned and glared angrily at the little boy, but upon seeing Jin Shi Yue, her face lit up with a sweet smile.
“Big brother, here’s a flower for you.” The little girl held a sprig of wintersweet in her small hand and offered it to Jin Shi Yue.
The little girl’s face was full of collagen, so cute that anyone would be delighted to see her.
Jin Shi Yue’s tone, however, was devoid of warmth: “I’m allergic to pollen.”
Lian Li felt he was allergic to cuteness.
“Okay then.” The little girl’s face fell in disappointment.
The little boy got angry and, with a sudden burst of courage, yelled at Jin Shi Yue: “You’re lying! Xi Xi gave it to you, how can you not take it!”
The little girl hit him, and only then did he quiet down.
Lian Li suddenly understood.
Jin Shi Yue, this harbinger of disaster, was ruining their childhood sweethearts’ innocent feelings.
The little girl asked Jin Shi Yue with hopeful eyes: “Big brother, can I be your girlfriend when I grow up?”
Jin Shi Yue glanced at Lian Li: “Ask her.”
The little girl immediately stared expectantly at Lian Li.
Lian Li: “…” What did it have to do with her?
Lian Li changed the subject: “Whose children are they?”
Jin Shi Yue stated concisely: “The little one is from the Pei family. The brat is from next door.”
Pei Xi Xi blinked her big eyes and asked Lian Li in a childish voice: “Sister, are you Big Brother’s girlfriend?”
“No, I…”
Before Lian Li could finish speaking, Jin Shi Yue hooked the strap of her single-shoulder crossbody bag with his long fingers and pulled her away: “Just talking nonsense.”
“Aren’t you going to look after them?” Lian Li was pulled forward by his strength for two steps.
Jin Shi Yue’s dark eyes flickered over, carrying a hint of aloof disdain.
“The Pei family can’t even manage their own children. They should go bankrupt soon.”
Lian Li said “oh” and looked back, noticing a servant running out to take the two children back.
She felt relieved.
Wan Yi Hua Fu had strict security and frequent patrols, but with the two children outside, she couldn’t help but worry.
Children from powerful aristocratic families were still just children, and children were a vulnerable group.
It grew darker, streetlights illuminating the falling snow, each flake like a goose feather, falling faster and faster, the pellets of snow hitting the umbrella with a pattering sound.
Lian Li reached out to brush the falling snow off the God of Wealth’s back, tilting the umbrella forward to shelter the giant Tibetan Mastiff.
Jin Shi Yue glanced at her sideways, saying meaningfully: “You’re quite good at reading people.”
Lian Li looked up at him, her eyes darting around, not taking the Eldest Young Master’s words to heart.
In the middle of winter, Jin Shi Yue was wearing thin clothing, certainly not because he didn’t have any clothes.
The only reason she could think of was that he didn’t feel the cold.
If he wasn’t cold, why should she go out of her way to ask?
The hand holding the umbrella was suddenly enveloped by a warmth. Lian Li felt as if she had been electrocuted and wanted to pull away immediately, but his firm, strong palm completely covered her hand, leaving her no escape.
“You only care about not getting snow on yourself, and you don’t care if others freeze to death, right?” Jin Shi Yue’s voice was lazy.
He loosened his grip slightly, and Lian Li withdrew her hand.
She said, “Didn’t you say you weren’t cold?”
“Which eye of yours saw that I wasn’t cold?” Jin Shi Yue held the umbrella with one hand, and it subtly tilted towards her.
Both eyes.
Lian Li’s apricot eyes were bright, her gaze falling on the snow stains on his broad shoulders, then looking up at his composed, handsome face.
She changed her answer: “Brother Zhong Yang said you are omnipotent, so of course you wouldn’t feel cold.”
They walked side-by-side on the bluestone path through the bamboo forest, the wind rustling the bamboo leaves.
Jin Shi Yue’s thin lips parted, his tone casual: “Only the dead don’t feel the cold.”
Lian Li asked, “So… he wasn’t praising you, but calling you dead?”
Hearing this, Jin Shi Yue turned his head to look at her, raising an eyebrow playfully: “I think you’re the one calling me dead.”
Lian Li tilted her head, raised her eyelashes, and met his gaze, pausing for a moment.
Just as they reached Jin Yan Ting’s residence ahead, she abandoned the umbrella and immediately said goodbye to leave: “I’m here, goodbye.”
Lian Li ran into the villa. Jin Yan Ting was sitting on the large sofa in the living room looking at documents, with Assistant He Shu waiting beside him, answering questions from time to time.
Lian Li brushed off the snow clinging to her before entering. The new auntie, Li Sao, brought her a cup of ginger and brown sugar water to ward off the cold.
While flipping through the documents, Jin Yan Ting glanced at her but said nothing.
Finally, He Shu said, “President Duan has requested a meeting tomorrow evening at eight to discuss cooperation. Should we change the time?”
President Duan… his ex-girlfriend Duan Shiqing, the eldest daughter of the Duan family.
Lian Li’s palm rested against the cup, feeling no warmth at all.
Within Sijiucheng, in terms of family background, perhaps no one was more suitable for Jin Yan Ting than Duan Shiqing.
Lian Li had thought about it many times; she knew this better than anyone.
Love was a false proposition; reality, hidden behind it, was the true proposition.
If Lian Jingcheng had not died in the line of duty, during those most isolated and helpless years, having a father to rely on and protect her, even if she had fallen for Jin Yan Ting, it would have been nothing more than a smile and a sigh, at most tears of sadness.
But in her most unguarded years, Jin Yan Ting had occupied everything.
Nine years passed like gravel, day after day impacting the bedrock of her heart, carving out a fissure that was difficult to heal.
The cracks were where light entered, and also where rainwater seeped in, cold and damp, breeding countless bacteria.
Whether this feeling was beneficial bacteria, giving rise to brilliant flowers from the darkness;
or harmful bacteria, slowly eroding her flesh and bones over time.
The answer would come soon.
