Chapter 71: Severing love and affection, do not disturb
Lian Li pressed the phone screen off, intending to ignore it. But she remembered the overbearing Eldest Young Master wouldn’t give up if he didn’t get an answer.
So she opened her phone again and slowly replied: 「He can swim」
God of Wealth Master: 「What if he can’t」
Lian Li: 「You save him, I’ll cheer you on from the shore」
God of Wealth Master’s text was chilling: 「I can’t swim」
Lian Li: “…”
The Eldest Young Master actually couldn’t swim? What happened to being omnipotent?
Then there’s nothing she could do. She was a landlubber, so they could both die together. Before they died, they should remember to write a will leaving all their money to her.
Lian Li lowered her eyes to the WeChat chat page and then looked up at Jin Shi Yue.
The man leaned back leisurely in his chair, his posture tall and relaxed. Wherever he went, he exuded a powerful aura of being in his own territory, combined with a lazy casualness of inspecting his domain.
Jin Shi Yue appeared to be engrossed in conversation with someone else, but when Lian Li looked over, he subtly glanced back at her with a knowing look.
That glance held the coldness of someone in a superior position, completely unlike a man who would ask childish questions on WeChat.
Lian Li realized it belatedly.
He was sitting next to her, so why was she using her phone to reply to his messages one by one?
It made it seem like they had some kind of illicit relationship.
Thinking this, Lian Li’s slender white fingers typed nimbly: 「I can’t either」
Exiting the chat page, she tapped her finger around, changing her WeChat status to: Meditating and praying, do not disturb.
The implied meaning was: Severing all emotional ties, do not disturb.
After changing it, Lian Li closed her phone, no longer looking at it or replying.
However, the phone seemed possessed, lighting up every few days. Lian Li had no choice but to pick it up again, to see what new confusion the Eldest Young Master needed her to resolve.
Catching sight of the incoming call display on her phone screen, Lian Li froze.
Holding her phone, she said to Xue Shufan, “I’m going to take a call.”
Xue Shufan looked at her, “Mm, okay, go ahead.”
Lian Li slowly got up. Jin Shi Yue’s peripheral vision caught sight of the caller ID on her phone, which was Jin Yan Ting. He raised an eyelid and gave Lian Li a meaningful glance.
Lian Li didn’t notice, nor did she notice his sudden expression of waning interest.
Dong Tan Yi Hao Mountain Villa was located halfway up a mountain, built against the slopes, with the mountains behind and water in front. It was surrounded by clouds and mist, and from the bed, one could see the mountains and the sunset.
The villa was primarily designed by a Pritzker Prize winner. Within the expansive space, there were waterside pavilions and towers, wooden windows with carved patterns, creating a tranquil atmosphere filled with Zen.
Lian Li left the restaurant and walked onto the long bridge in the courtyard. Sunlight fell on the eaves and corners, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
The call had already automatically ended.
Lian Li checked the call history and found that Jin Yan Ting had called her three times, more than usual.
If it were in the past, her heart would have been filled with countless joys, but now her mood was very calm.
Lian Li called Jin Yan Ting back, holding her phone to her ear with one hand and gripping the raised stone of the stone bridge with the other.
As soon as the call connected, she said calmly, “Brother.”
Jin Yan Ting had returned to the capital by business jet the previous night and had a morning meeting at the Sheng Jing Group headquarters. During lunch, he inquired about Lian Li’s recent situation.
Assistant He said that Miss Lian had temporarily given Zhang Sao leave, and Miss Lian had not been staying at home recently.
Although Lian Li had decided to leave Jin Yan Ting, he had treated her well after all. She couldn’t possibly break down the wall between them and make their relationship awkward.
A dignified exit would leave a good impression on both sides.
“There’s a lot going on at school, so I moved back to the dormitory,” Lian Li explained.
Professor Lu Huier had high demands for the assignments students submitted, and Jin Yan Ting knew this, so he didn’t doubt her: “When do you have vacation?”
“Next Monday.”
Lian Li paused, then continued, “I plan to go back to the house my dad left me during the winter break. I haven’t been back in a long time, and I need to sort through his belongings.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before he said, “Xiao Li, have you encountered anything unhappy recently?”
Lian Li lowered her eyes to look at the clear lake water and said with pursed lips, “No. I’m just busy with my graduation project, and I haven’t been back in a long time.”
Jin Yan Ting sat in his office, looking at the documents on his desk, his voice tinged with weariness: “Really nothing?”
“Brother, I’m fine. If anything were wrong, I would definitely tell you,” Lian Li said.
She trusted him and would only seek his help if she encountered any trouble.
Jin Yan Ting closed his eyes and raised a hand to pinch his brow.
His voice sounded a bit tired, and Lian Li didn’t want to disturb his rest: “Brother, I need to get back to work. I’ll hang up now.”
The call ended.
Lian Li lowered her eyes to look at her phone, her fingertip sliding across the screen. Most of the entries were call records between her and Jin Yan Ting.
The last time Zhao Lizheng caused trouble, she had called him, but he didn’t answer. Later, he called her back and asked if she had encountered a problem.
Lian Li said no, it was just an accidental dial.
Xue Shufan said that those in positions of power were inherently selfish, cold-blooded, and arrogant, and Lian Li believed this.
However, she also believed that Jin Yan Ting’s other qualities outweighed his selfishness and cold-bloodedness.
As for Jin Shi Yue, Lian Li couldn’t figure him out. She always felt he kept a lot hidden.
People aren’t just one-dimensional.
Aside from his roguish demeanor, Lian Li didn’t know what other sides Jin Shi Yue had, but there was definitely a coldness to him.
In front of her, he often made comparisons between himself and Jin Yan Ting.
He seemed very concerned about Jin Yan Ting. Yet, their relationship as brothers wasn’t bad, nor was there any struggle for inheritance among heirs in wealthy families.
A cold wind blew, and Lian Li couldn’t help but shiver.
Would Jin Shi Yue, that dissolute and wicked young master, be interested in a woman who had been by his elder brother’s side for nine years and admired him?
Lian Li didn’t think so.
Setting aside the numerous grudges involved, just considering Jin Shi Yue as a person. The first time they met, he was playful and tricked her out of her New Year’s money. Over the past three months of more contact, he had teased her multiple times.
He was completely insincere, treating everything as a game.
It was only because she had slowly let down her guard that the situation last night occurred.
Jin Shi Yue asked her to take responsibility, perhaps because they were compatible in bed and he hadn’t tired of it after obtaining it.
Lian Li had stayed by Jin Yan Ting’s side for nine years, and her decision to leave him was not to run to another man.
“Then let’s get married.”
The moment Lian Li heard this, her heart trembled violently.
She was greatly surprised, but quickly understood.
Jin Shi Yue’s mouth could be as poisonous as arsenic, and he was skilled at sweet-talking. If he wanted to, he could probably coax anyone into being completely devoted to him.
Lian Li looked down at her phone balance, staring at the two deposits. She suddenly felt that her current feelings towards Jin Shi Yue were similar to how she had felt when she first opened her heart to Jin Yan Ting.
They offered material things, like Jin Yan Ting’s robots, or Jin Shi Yue’s money.
And she had let down her spiritual guard.
Those material things were insignificant to them, but her spirit was the only thing she truly possessed.
She couldn’t continue like this.
Lian Li sent a WeChat message to Xue Shufan: 「Professor Lu needs me for something, so I won’t be attending the rest of the activities.」
Lian Li prepared to return to her room to pack her things and leave the mountain villa.
As she walked under the eaves, she unexpectedly saw a tall, elegant figure.
