Chapter 54: Lips Cool, Surprisingly Soft
Lian Li, prone to drowsiness when sick, fell asleep with her head against the back of the chair shortly after.
The car sped along smoothly, leaving the bustling, dazzling city center behind. The private road ahead was wide and vast, with few vehicles.
Lian Li groggily opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the quiet and deep pine forest outside the car window.
She blinked slowly, her clear black and white eyes moving, her vision gradually shifting from blurry to sharp.
The land in the United States was abundant and fertile, seemingly inexhaustible, nurturing tall and unrestrained forests.
Surrounding deep green bushes, lake water inlaid with white snow in the azure blue, the environment was extremely quiet and secluded. Ahead stood magnificent European-style buildings, looking like a private castle… Had they arrived at the manor?
The Cullinan slowly stopped in front of the villa, passing through the lush garden. Lian Li stared blankly at Jin Shiyue beside her.
The man’s dark shirt hung on his body, simple lines outlining his tall and sturdy physique underneath. Light and shadow played on his straight nose bridge, highlighting his chiseled features.
The main building was the tallest in the center of the villa, with slightly shorter annexes on either side. Lian Li got out of the car without looking around much, quietly following behind Jin Shiyue.
Although he was inscrutable, in this utterly unfamiliar place, she felt he was trustworthy.
A middle-aged butler, accompanied by a middle-aged blonde woman, walked over and respectfully greeted Jin Shiyue. Then, the middle-aged woman approached Lian Li and asked her to follow.
Lian Li looked at Jin Shiyue.
Jin Shiyue glanced at her with his dark eyes, “What, you want me to personally serve you?”
“…No.”
Lian Li was not feeling well. While he, a man, could take care of her, there were differences between men and women, making it ultimately inconvenient. Moreover, she was not accustomed to being alone with him.
With other women present, Lian Li felt much more relaxed. She went to a room in the main building with the middle-aged woman, while a maid followed behind with her suitcase.
The middle-aged woman, named Ruth, was married to the butler. She was kind and amiable. Upon entering the room, she told Lian Li to lie down and rest, then carefully inquired about her eating habits and any precautions.
Lian Li told her everything she could think of.
After Ruth left, Lian Li took out her mobile phone from her bag and found two missed calls from Jin Yanting.
She had been too distraught last night and hadn’t sent him a message.
Lian Li thought it was bad and quickly opened WeChat to edit a message to him to report that she was safe.
He might be busy at this time, making phone calls inconvenient… or he might be with Duan Shiqing.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she sent the message, Jin Yanting called.
“Xiao Li.” His voice was a little hoarse; she wondered if he was also sick.
Lian Li coughed twice, cleared her throat, and said, “Brother, I went to bed early yesterday and forgot to tell you. Everything is fine here, nothing has happened.”
The background on Jin Yanting’s end was slightly noisy, but his voice still came through clearly from the earpiece, “It’s good that you’re safe.”
“Are you feeling… unwell?”
Before Lian Li could finish speaking, Duan Shiqing’s worried voice came from the other end of the line, “Yanting, take the cold medicine first. If you’re really not feeling well, the International Summit…”
Lian Li didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. She pursed her lips and said, “Brother, I’ll hang up now.”
The people around Jin Yanting were close to him; they were more suitable and had more standing to care for him than she did.
Lian Li hung up the phone, composed herself, and opened WeChat to reply to messages.
Xue Shufan: 「Good thing you didn’t come for horse riding, I’m so angry, I actually ran into that scoundrel surnamed Zhao! 」
Xue Shufan: 「The group he brought even said, openly and indirectly, that I was too wild. If I hadn’t been mindful of others, I would have rushed up and fought them! 」
Xue Shufan: 「He’s like a toad pretending to be a frog, ugly and promiscuous. 」
That scoundrel surnamed Zhao refers to Zhao Lizheng.
Lian Li: 「What a shame I wasn’t there, or I would have handed you a knife. 」
Lian Li: 「If they don’t like it, what does it have to do with us? It’s as if being liked by them would elevate one’s life. Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. If you have that much energy, you might as well do a few more experiments. 」
As soon as the message was sent successfully, Ruth entered with a family doctor.
Lian Li obediently let her examine her. Her fever had mostly subsided, but her temperature was still a bit high. She would be fine after a day or two of rest.
Consequently, Lian Li had a pleasant time for the next two days. Seeing that she was sick, Jin Shiyue didn’t tease her and wasn’t as sharp-tongued.
After lunch, Lian Li took a walk in the garden, basking in the sun. She walked on a curved bridge, looked at the two luxurious yachts moored on the lake, and then looked down at the lake surface with floating ice, like a shattered mirror.
The quiet manor, the clear lake water, and the sound of the wind mixed with the chirping of deer…
Not far away, in the main building of the villa, Jin Shiyue stood on the balcony. His gaze swept past the calling deer and landed on the slender figure at the bridgehead on the large platform.
Lian Li sat at the bridgehead, her legs dangling, swaying gently. She tilted her face up, and the dappled sunlight shone on her face, making her exceptionally bright and dazzling.
Ruth pushed a bicycle out of the house and smiled at Lian Li, “This old bicycle hasn’t been ridden in a long time. William checked it and there are no problems. You should try it.”
Lian Li twisted the handlebars, testing the brakes and chain to see if they were malfunctioning.
“The response is very sensitive.”
She got on the bicycle, her smile radiant, “I’ll take a lap around the manor. You go ahead and be busy.”
Ruth smiled.
Lian Li pedaled the bicycle,
The wheels spun rapidly, making a buzzing sound.
The bicycle carried her through the woodland, the breeze blowing her long hair, lifting it, letting it fall, and lifting it again.
The manor was vast, encompassing an entire area of lushly growing pine forest. Lian Li, having just recovered from her illness, breathed in the fresh air in the open forest, feeling very refreshed.
As she rode down a steep slope, she suddenly felt playful. She released the handlebars and, like a bird spreading its wings, opened her arms and swooped down.
The cold wind in the forest whipped against her face, creating a feeling that was both painful and exhilarating.
Lian Li couldn’t help but let out a shout, her clear and bright voice carried away by the wind, drifting towards the sky.
A nightingale fell in love with a king, forgetting it was just a little bird, and flew to his window to sing human love songs all night. But one day, it would remember it was a little bird and return to the forest and fields.
This was a journey worth remembering. Lian Li slowly rode her bicycle back to the villa, thinking to herself.
Despite many setbacks and disappointments, she had resolved the knots in her heart.
As for Jin Shiyue, he seemed different from what she had previously understood or what others had described.
Lian Li handed the bicycle to a servant and walked into the villa.
Ruth saw her and came over to ask if she had enjoyed her ride and if she had encountered anything interesting. Lian Li shared her experiences with her concisely and cheerfully.
Finally, Ruth said, “Mr. Jin is in the study upstairs. It’s time for dinner, could you please call him down?”
Lian Li got along well with Ruth, and had occasionally called Jin Shiyue for her these past two days, so she agreed, “No problem.”
From Lian Li’s observation, Ruth seemed to be somewhat intimidated by Jin Shiyue, especially when he hadn’t slept well and was irritable.
Lian Li walked up the stairs. The study door was ajar. She stood at the entrance and gently knocked. There was no response for a long time.
The study was extremely spacious, and the lights were not fully on, casting a dim and somber atmosphere. Lian Li searched for a while before spotting the man lying on the sofa with his hand covering his eyes.
The sofa was not small, but Jin Shiyue’s build was exceptional. His long legs couldn’t be fully extended, so he casually crossed them over the armrest of the sofa.
Cai Shenye lay on the carpet beside the sofa, his ears drooping lazily. He didn’t look like a fierce Tibetan Mastiff, but more like a sleepy lion.
Lian Li cautiously walked over. She had called Jin Shiyue yesterday as well, so today she did the same, extending her index finger to gently poke his hand.
“Shiyue…”
Before Lian Li could say “Brother,” Jin Shiyue reflexively grabbed her right wrist with his backhand.
Lian Li was caught off guard, her center of gravity suddenly lost. Pulled by his force, she lunged into his embrace.
The situation was urgent, and she quickly pressed her left hand on the sofa’s edge, trying to support herself. However, Lian Li clearly felt her lips touch something unusual.
The man’s nose brushed against hers, and their breaths mingled, warm and moist.
His lips were slightly cool, surprisingly soft.
