Chapter 46: A Passionate Kiss Through the Window
“Alright.”
Lian Li was in a good mood after eating her fill, her patience increased. She looked at his face, an unnatural joy blooming in her smile.
Jin Shi Yue’s gaze swept over her cheek and landed on Jin Shu Yu, who was walking over elegantly.
“No gifts for Christmas?”
Lian Li thought he was talking to her and, after a moment’s pause, was about to speak when she suddenly heard Jin Shu Yu ask, “Why don’t you prepare one yourself?”
“The tea house is yours, not mine.” Jin Shi Yue was accustomed to his casual ways, leaning back against the chair with a relaxed posture, the top two buttons of his shirt undone, looking nonchalant and unrestrained.
It was as if he was saying, “Do you have any elders like this? Not even giving a Christmas gift.”
Jin Shu Yu found it strange.
This nephew of hers wasn’t the type to disdain Western holidays.
He used to argue that Chinese people shouldn’t celebrate foreign festivals; it was boring.
Lian Li thought Jin Shi Yue was bickering with Jin Shu Yu, so she remained silent, taking a couple of sips of tea from her teacup.
A moment later, a girl in a tea house uniform walked over and handed a beautifully wrapped gift bag to Jin Shu Yu.
“Lili.” Jin Shu Yu spoke at an unhurried pace, her voice sounding like seagulls gliding over a lake in spring, creating gentle ripples.
It matched Lian Li’s imagination of her Mother. Hearing Jin Shu Yu call her name, Lian Li’s heart stirred faintly.
“A small holiday gift.” Jin Shu Yu placed the gift bag on the table. “It was a bit rushed this time, so it’s simple. Next time you visit, Aunt will prepare a bigger gift for you.”
Lian Li had only come to fill her stomach and didn’t intend to accept a gift. Just as she was about to politely decline, Jin Shi Yue casually stood up and picked up the gift bag. “Let’s go.”
His long legs covered a lot of ground with each stride, and in a few seconds, he was already some distance away.
Lian Li looked at Jin Shi Yue’s tall, slender back, then turned to Jin Shu Yu, her obsidian-like pupils shimmering with a polite smile.
“Aunt, we’ll be going then. Happy holidays.”
“Happy holidays, be careful on your way.”
“Okay. Goodbye, Aunt.”
Lian Li picked up the scarf she had just taken off and followed Jin Shi Yue’s pace.
In this prime location, the tea house’s Chinese decor wasn’t opulent but possessed an elegant charm.
Lian Li sat in the front passenger seat. As soon as she fastened her seatbelt, Jin Shi Yue tossed the gift bag he was holding into her lap.
Lian Li looked at him, puzzled.
The car’s interior was dimly lit. The man’s profile was sharply defined, his jawline crisp, his nose bridge as straight as a mountain peak. His dark eyes were hidden in the shadows, making his expression unreadable.
“Junior Sister, what are you looking at?” Jin Shi Yue turned his head to look at her, his voice cool and lazy.
Lian Li pointed at the gift bag in her lap and asked, “Is this for me?”
“Who else would it be for?” Jin Shi Yue raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at her with amusement.
“It’s for you,” Lian Li said truthfully.
“I wasn’t crying, why would you give it to me?”
The car’s engine started, and Jin Shi Yue said, “If it’s for you, then keep it.”
Lian Li didn’t reply. After a moment, she heard him ask, “Where to?”
It was getting late, so Lian Li said she was going home and told him the address.
By the time they reached the apartment building, it was nearly ten o’clock, and the night was deep.
Lian Li got out of the car with the gift bag and said to Jin Shi Yue, standing in front of the car, “Thank you.”
Jin Shi Yue looked at her from inside the car, a lazy smile tugging at his lips. “What for?”
Before Lian Li could speak, she heard him say in a leisurely tone, “Next time you lose money and cry, remember to call the police.”
“……”
She had already said she didn’t lose money and wasn’t crying, but he just wouldn’t believe her.
Lian Li didn’t want to talk to him anymore. She simply said “Oh” and went upstairs without looking back.
Only after she was out of sight did Jin Shi Yue pick up his mobile phone, which had been ringing all evening.
The voice on the other end said, “Second Young Master, are you coming tonight? Everyone is asking where you went.”
Jin Shi Yue leaned back lazily, a hint of cynicism in his voice. “Not going. You all have fun, and put all the expenses on my tab.”
Receiving a gift on a holiday was a happy occasion.
Lian Li returned home, changed into her slippers, turned on the air conditioning, and sat on the sofa to open the gift.
Inside the bag was a rose-gold gift box with a top luxury brand logo. The box contained a pair of silk gloves, similar to those worn by young ladies in the Republic of China era, soft and comfortable to the touch.
Lian Li tried them on, feeling as if her fingers were wrapped in a warm current from a temperate monsoon, so comfortable that they felt a little soft.
Besides the gift box, there were also two small aromatherapy diffusers. The noble scent of sandalwood mingled with a subtle floral fragrance, which was very pleasant.
A new message popped up on WeChat. Xue Shufan asked her again, urging her to eat an apple quickly.
Her Senior Sister, a researcher, was even more superstitious than she was.
Lian Li got up, took an apple from the refrigerator, washed it, took a bite, then took a picture of the apple with her mobile phone and sent it to Xue Shufan.
Xue Shufan was then satisfied: Wishing her peace, smoothness, and health.
The weather grew colder, and it snowed heavily. When Lian Li returned to school for her graduation project, she avoided going out whenever possible.
Xue Shufan invited her to dinner. Lian Li, uncharacteristically, left early and went to the laboratory to find her Senior Sister.
Xue Shufan had just finished an experiment and hadn’t changed out of her lab coat yet. Lian Li handed her a cup of hot coffee.
“Senior Sister, who is this?” Xue Shufan’s fellow lab mate asked, staring curiously at Lian Li.
“My darling,” Xue Shufan said proudly.
“Do you have a boyfriend yet?” This fellow lab mate was clearly an extrovert and asked directly in front of Lian Li, showing no embarrassment.
“A few,” Xue Shufan said mercilessly. “You have no chance, give up.”
There were always people who had designs on her Junior Sister.
“Hahaha, that’s a shame,” the fellow lab mate said, scratching the back of his head and laughing.
Lian Li watched, nonchalantly taking a sip of her coffee.
Xue Shufan changed her clothes and walked out of the laboratory with Lian Li. The snow had stopped, and the campus was covered in white snow. The frozen lake surface was devoid of mandarin ducks and white geese.
“Isn’t that Meng Yi?” Xue Shufan pointed towards a luxury car at the bridge, signaling her Junior Sister to look.
Lian Li looked over.
A Lamborghini was parked by the roadside. Meng Yi got out from the front passenger seat, her cold and elegant appearance and demeanor perfectly complementing the icy landscape.
The driver’s side window rolled down, and a hand reached out from the car. Meng Yi leaned in, and the hand went around the back of her head, pulling her closer…
“Kissing through the window,” Xue Shufan commented insightfully. “This kissing posture is uncomfortable for the girl, not recommended. One person inside the car and one outside is bad for the neck.”
Lian Li asked, “Is that man Wen Zhixing?”
Xue Shufan replied, “It is him.”
“He’s quite handsome,” Lian Li said.
They arrived at the canteen and sat by the window.
“Speaking of which, the downfall of the Shen family has something to do with the Wen family,” Xue Shufan suddenly mentioned. “It was Old Master Wen himself who investigated and brought them down. Shen Huaining and Meng Yi are probably enemies now.”
Lian Li said, “Probably not. Their relationship is very complicated, both rivals and friends. Before, they were competing for their future on the same track. Now Shen Huaining is abroad, and Meng Yi is preparing to marry Wen Zhixing, so their tracks are different.”
Xue Shufan pondered for a moment, then said, “Aren’t you free the day after tomorrow? Let’s go horse riding in the Capital Suburbs to welcome the new year.”
Upon hearing this, Lian Li lowered her eyes, a little lost in thought.
She used to spend New Year’s Eve with Jin Yan Ting, but yesterday her secretary said Jin Yan Ting was on a business trip and would return in a week.
The worst part was knowing she shouldn’t, yet still wanting it.
Lian Li realized she was in a bad state.
Perhaps Jin Yan Ting’s influence on her had set the tone from the beginning.
He was deep and steady, like the color blue, a color of melancholy.
“Lili?” Xue Shufan called out.
Lian Li pulled her thoughts back. She thought about it and realized she had nothing else to do, and since the location was a Hot Spring Villa, she could go soak in the hot springs.
“Okay.”
