Chapter 61: Love grows over time
“He’s very kind, and very kind to me too.”
Lian Li turned her eyes to look at Jin Shi Yue, and said softly, “He’s been taking care of me since my father passed away. He’s my provider, so isn’t it normal for me to like him?”
Jin Shi Yue nodded, “You like his money.”
“Then I only like his money, not other people’s money.” Lian Li wasn’t angry either, and said calmly.
Jin Shi Yue chuckled, and said brazenly, “You say it so righteously. Have him come and bow to you, kowtow, and thank you for only liking his money. How about that?”
“……”
The wound on Lian Li’s hand was so affected by his words that it felt numb. She lowered her head, staring at the blood-stained disinfectant tissue, feeling unexpectedly relaxed.
“When I was fifteen, I lived in Jin Yan Ting’s villa. I got sick once, a viral cold, and my head was foggy, and I kept coughing. Jin Yan Ting was on a business trip at the time, and Auntie had to take leave due to a family emergency. I thought no one would show up, but he came back.”
Before that, although Lian Li was by Jin Yan Ting’s side, there was a great sense of distance.
The heir of a top wealthy family going to great lengths to take care of her, wringing a towel to wipe her face, feeding her medicine, and cooking porridge for her, was the turning point in their relationship.
From then on, they slowly became more familiar with each other.
After a few seconds of silence, Jin Shi Yue asked, “So you like him because of this?”
“Of course not.”
At fifteen, she was still young and it wasn’t love yet, it was merely the catalyst for Lian Li to open her heart.
That incident was a bridge connecting them.
They stood at opposite ends of the bridge, and as time slowly passed, she walked towards him step by step. She thought she would meet him in the middle of the bridge, but when she looked up, she found that he had always remained at the beginning of the bridge, never moving forward even an inch.
He lingered for someone else, painting a beautiful love story of a prince and princess.
And she, performed one self-indulgent one-man show after another.
“For nine years, he has been taking care of me, and I am very grateful to him.” Lian Li said frankly, “My feelings for him grew over time.”
“Love grows over time through attraction, not through being moved.” Jin Shi Yue sneered mockingly, “If you want to thank him, why don’t you give him the ‘Top Ten Figures Who Moved China’ award?”
“I don’t have the connections to directly nominate him.” Lian Li had actually considered it.
Jin Shi Yue chuckled and asked, “Do you want me to be your backer?”
His voice was low, magnetic, and pleasant, as if he were saying it casually, yet also like an enticement.
Lian Li was startled.
She raised her face to look at Jin Shi Yue, and Jin Shi Yue was also looking at her.
The light from the carriage’s ceiling lamp illuminated his face clearly, with well-defined features, a high nose bridge, and eyes as dark and deep as an unfathomable cosmic vortex, easily drawing one in.
Lian Li’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat. She averted her gaze and said, “No, I’m afraid of being reported.”
“You’re so vengeful, who would dare report you.” Jin Shi Yue said lazily.
Lian Li glanced at him. Before she could speak, Jin Shi Yue suddenly leaned forward. She instinctively leaned back, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
“What are you dodging for.”
Jin Shi Yue’s right hand gripped her chin between his thumb and forefinger, while his long left fingers brushed away the stray hairs from her forehead. After examining her, he concluded:
“You’ve got a hemorrhoid.”
Lian Li’s rapidly beating heart instantly returned to normal. She was speechless, “A hemorrhoid doesn’t grow on your forehead.”
Jin Shi Yue raised his eyebrows playfully, “Then where does it grow?”
It was a very ordinary question. It wasn’t strange for a pampered young master to lack common sense. For some reason, Lian Li’s throat felt blocked, and she didn’t answer immediately.
She raised her hand to touch the large bump on her forehead, estimating it was from hitting it during the sudden braking.
They were close, their breaths almost intertwined. Jin Shi Yue’s gaze fell on Lian Li’s face, observing the fine, soft down on her fair skin, and her slightly pursed, rosy, and moist lips.
She pursed them, then relaxed them, the movement so small that her white teeth and soft tongue hidden inside were not visible.
The man’s hot breath on her cheek made Lian Li’s porcelain-white skin flush red. She looked up at him, and what entered her vision was his slightly bobbing Adam’s apple.
Sharp and full, indescribably sexy.
“It doesn’t hurt.” Lian Li said, touching the large bump on her forehead, “It should go down in a couple of days.”
Jin Shi Yue gently pressed her forehead with his finger. Lian Li immediately frowned and hissed.
“You call this not hurting?” Jin Shi Yue said.
Lian Li covered her forehead with her uninjured hand, guarding against him touching her again, “Of course it hurts if you poke it.”
The young master was truly vile, deliberately rubbing salt into wounds.
Completely unlike Jin Yan Ting.
The moving Hongqi L9 stopped smoothly. Li Ye, in the driver’s seat, got out and opened the rear door.
Jin Shi Yue slowly got out, and Lian Li followed him out of the car.
The cold winter night wind blew, its chill seeping into her skin. Lian Li shivered. She looked up and around, then paused.
Why had Jin Shi Yue brought her to the Military Region General Hospital?
The last time Lian Li saw Lian Jingcheng was in a hospital. She had had many dreams over the years, dreaming of that day.
The accumulation of dreams and reality made her somewhat resistant to hospitals.
“Who are you thinking about so absentmindedly?” Jin Shi Yue said.
Lian Li looked at him, “I’m fine, I don’t need to get checked.”
“With such a big bump on your head, how can you be fine?” Jin Shi Yue lowered his eyes and glanced at her.
Lian Li turned her head to look at the hospital building. It still felt eerie, making her very uncomfortable.
She mentally rehearsed her words, turned back, and was about to look up at Jin Shi Yue when a dark shadow flashed across her vision. A high-end jacket, still warm, was draped over her.
“Not getting checked. You plan to wait until your head is broken and then extort a sum of money from me, right?”
The familiar warmth and scent enveloped Lian Li like a fine net. She froze for a moment.
When did she become accustomed to his scent…
While Lian Li was still wondering, Jin Shi Yue had already walked towards the hospital building.
She looked at his tall, straight figure, feeling confused again.
Zhao Lizheng was responsible for today’s events, not Jin Shi Yue. How severe was his paranoia that he could even think she was trying to extort him?
Seeing the man walking further and further away, Lian Li sighed and quickened her pace to follow him.
It was ten o’clock at night. Most visiting family members had already left, and the building was relatively quiet.
The one examining Lian Li was an old professor, a kind and amiable female doctor wearing glasses. Her demeanor was gentle yet sharp, a testament to the passage of time and the influence of power.
Lian Li clutched the suit jacket on her body with her fingers. As she went inside for the X-ray, she looked back at Jin Shi Yue, who was waiting outside.
Jin Shi Yue was also looking at her.
After three seconds of eye contact, Lian Li averted her gaze. The unease in her heart lessened a bit.
During the examination, Lian Li took off Jin Shi Yue’s jacket. After the examination, she didn’t put it back on, but held it in her arms.
A nurse handed her a cup of hot water. Lian Li sat on a chair, holding the cup with both hands, and drank two sips absentmindedly.
The wound on her forehead had already been treated and was covered with a medical bandage.
Lian Li looked down at the jacket on her lap. Engraved on the inside of the jacket were three letters: JSY.
Jin Shi Yue’s initials.
The young master’s clothes were all custom-made.
In the office, the old professor was looking at Lian Li’s X-rays, with Jin Shi Yue looking on. He lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes obscuring his sharp, indifferent gaze.
Lian Li held the water cup with both hands and took a sip, suddenly remembering what Zhong Yang had said at STAR bar tonight.
“Auntie” likely referred to Mrs. Jin.
Zhong Yang said that Jin Shi Yue almost died at his mother’s hands… Did his mother dislike him too?
