Chapter 72: Poisoned, need a kiss to detoxify
In the autumn and winter season, a fallen leaf drifted from a branch in the courtyard, swaying and descending to the ground, exuding a sense of loneliness and desolation.
Jin Shi Yue leaned against a pillar, his long legs propped on the ground, a cigarette held between his fingers. Smoke curled around his well-defined knuckles, dissipating in the wind.
Lian Li looked around. She was unfamiliar with the paths of the mountain villa, only knowing the way back to her room, and that path was blocked by Jin Shi Yue.
Before sleeping, she could still call him “ge”; after sleeping, it was truly difficult to say.
Lian Li hesitated for a moment, then decided to walk over.
Jin Shi Yue’s dark pupils watched her, his gaze unreadable, like the unfathomable depths of the sea, without a ripple.
“Where are you going?”
Lian Li stopped and told him, “Back to my room.”
Jin Shi Yue’s cold, white, slender fingers moved. He flicked the cigarette, and the falling ash landed in a potted plant, mixing with the soil.
Lian Li glanced at it, thinking, “This isn’t very appropriate, is it?” Then she suddenly remembered that this mountain villa seemed to be the private property of the Jin Family.
She closed her mouth.
“Aren’t you going to soak in the hot springs?” Jin Shi Yue asked.
“No.” Her body was covered in traces he had left. Going to soak in the hot springs would be like walking into a trap.
Jin Shi Yue clearly understood her concern. “Then come to my room to soak.”
His exclusive suite had a private hot spring bath, different from other rooms, a special treatment provided only for the Second Young Master Jin.
“No need.”
Lian Li worried that the Eldest Young Master was accustomed to being domineering and couldn’t stand being refused, so she explained, “I have something to do and need to leave the mountain villa.”
Jin Shi Yue’s dark eyes scanned her up and down. “Are you feeling unwell?”
His gaze at this moment was surprisingly serious.
Lian Li was surprised inwardly but remained outwardly calm, looking up at Jin Shi Yue. “No.”
She chose her words carefully. “It’s a private matter, and I’m not at liberty to disclose it.”
Jin Shi Yue looked down at Lian Li for a moment, his voice devoid of warmth. “Do you like Jin Yan Ting that much?”
Before taking the call, she had no private matters; after the call, she suddenly did.
As soon as Jin Yan Ting returned, she couldn’t wait to see him.
Not willing to wait even half a second longer.
Lian Li didn’t understand why Jin Shi Yue suddenly brought up Jin Yan Ting, but she felt his words were laced with mockery.
She liked Jin Yan Ting, yet she slept with his younger brother.
Did she like Jin Yan Ting that much? So much that she would climb into his brother’s bed.
Unable to be Jin Yan Ting’s wife, she was desperately trying to become his sister-in-law.
“Last night was just an accident.”
Lian Li realized her mood seemed easily influenced by Jin Shi Yue. She pursed her lips and tilted her head to look him in the eye. “Drunkenness and lust. No one takes it seriously. Since I said we should part on good terms, it means I won’t use this matter to demand anything from you, now or in the future.”
Jin Shi Yue: “So, you’re going to find Jin Yan Ting?”
His voice was cool and indifferent, sounding to Lian Li like, “You want to use me to threaten Jin Yan Ting.”
Jin Yan Ting was about to marry Duan Shiqing, yet she was still by Jin Yan Ting’s side, likely displeasing the Duan Family.
Jin Shi Yue, representing the Jin Family, had an obligation to quietly eliminate any troublesome romantic entanglements that might affect Jin Yan Ting’s marriage alliance.
This made more sense as to why Jin Shi Yue hadn’t refused her last night.
He was sacrificing himself, first for a friend, then for a relative.
Jin Shi Yue and Lu Wei Qi were indeed family, both believing she would be unscrupulous to be with Jin Yan Ting.
If Jin Yan Ting truly liked Lian Li, she would do anything for him.
Doing anything and being unscrupulous were two different things.
Lian Li sometimes overthought things, wondering if Lian Jingcheng loved her mother so much because he could never find her. Would their love have faded if they had met? What if her mother, like Jin Yan Ting, had told Lian Jingcheng she didn’t love him?
Would Lian Jingcheng have had to suffer so much?
These questions yielded no answers.
No answers might also be a kind of answer.
Lian Li had a more practical, science-oriented mindset, not one of naive innocence.
Everyone yearned to be loved, to wait for love.
To love others while receiving an equal emotional return. The probability of this was too low.
Lian Li didn’t want to live solely in her own world, but after going in circles, she realized that the love with a return she desired could only be given by herself.
“Don’t worry,” Lian Li’s tone was overly calm. “He doesn’t like me. I have self-esteem; I won’t chase after him.”
Jin Shi Yue remained silent, his gaze fixed on her face, taking in all her expressions.
Lian Li truly didn’t want to see any members of the Jin Family.
Seeing them reminded her of Lian Jingcheng. Now, Jin Yan Ting was added to the list.
Lian Li could be indifferent and not care about others, but she couldn’t pretend nothing happened with those she cared about.
If Jin Shi Yue wanted her to stay away from Jin Yan Ting, he should have just said so. Why offer her help, make her lower her guard, and why have relations with her?
Damn Jin Shi Yue, so annoying.
Annoying when she was little, even more annoying now.
Lian Li looked at his tall, slender figure. She couldn’t win a fight against him.
She simply gave up on communicating and turned to leave.
The lights of the mountain villa gradually lit up, casting a glow on the courtyard lake, making it shimmer. A gentle breeze swept across the lake water, creating ripples.
Jin Shi Yue’s dark eyes reflected Lian Li’s retreating back. He calmly extinguished his cigarette and threw it into the trash can, then strode forward.
Lian Li no longer wanted to kill Jin Shi Yue; she now only wanted to get far away from him, so she walked faster and faster.
As she reached the corner of the long corridor, before Lian Li could turn, the man chasing after her grabbed her wrist with a large hand and pulled forcefully, forcing Lian Li to turn around.
“You’re so righteous about liking Jin Yan Ting,” Jin Shi Yue’s palm pressed against her back. He bent down, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Why aren’t you righteous about taking responsibility for me?”
No matter how much she liked Jin Yan Ting, she had to take responsibility for him.
Lian Li couldn’t understand his sudden actions and frowned, struggling. “What are you doing?”
“I’m poisoned, I have no strength.”
Jin Shi Yue held her weakly. He was too heavy, and Lian Li almost lost her balance.
“How did you get poisoned?”
It couldn’t be that she had poisoned herself with her own words and reaped what she sowed.
“Food poisoning,” Jin Shi Yue coughed a few times. “If you don’t believe me, ask the doctor.”
The quiet corridor was empty. Lian Li couldn’t find anyone to help. She wanted to get her mobile phone to make a call, but Jin Shi Yue held her hand. “Take me back to my room.”
With that, he coughed violently.
The food she had eaten not long ago contained mushrooms. Lian Li didn’t doubt him.
Jin Shi Yue’s arm was draped over her shoulder. They were very close, and she could glimpse the fading tooth marks inside her collar.
“Didn’t the doctor prescribe you any medicine?” Lian Li asked.
“He gave me a prescription,” Jin Shi Yue said.
Lian Li pushed open the door with one hand and helped the delicate and noble Eldest Young Master into the room.
“What prescription?”
Jin Shi Yue’s fingers hooked her hair, his voice deep and pleasant, with a hint of a mischievous smile, sounding in her ear: “A kiss is needed to break the poison.”
There is no group chat, and I don’t have the energy to manage one for now~
