Crossing the Line – Chapter 27
by Little PandaLet Me Borrow Your Waist
Jiang Siyi’s throat rolled slightly, unnaturally.
One-day girlfriend.
So… what am I supposed to do…
Lin Ji saw the panic in Jiang Siyi’s eyes that she couldn’t hide.
Like a little sheep lost in the forest, suddenly face-to-face with the hunter, filled with dread of the unknown.
Lin Ji leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Let me borrow your waist. I’ll return the favor with a generous gift later.”
A fine, dense itch quickly covered Jiang Siyi’s ears. She asked timidly, with confusion:
“Borrow… my waist?”
As they spoke, another woman came down from the second floor where Lin Ji had been earlier.
The woman wore a deep-V red dress, luxurious from head to toe, as if ready to step onto an awards stage at any moment. Her gaze was like a tracking device, locked on Lin Ji the entire time, occasionally flicking a startled glance at Jiang Siyi beside her, as if witnessing something incomprehensible.
Jiang Siyi had some impression of this person—Zhou Yanlin’s younger sister, Zhou Yanqiong.
Zhou Yanqiong had liked Lin Ji since childhood, following her every move, so she had personally witnessed many scenes of Lin Ji rejecting confessions on the spot.
Lin Ji was universally acknowledged as the hardest to pursue. Even making casual small talk with her was difficult, let alone romance.
Zhou Yanqiong’s close friend had even spoken bluntly to her about it.
“I advise you to stop fixating on Lin Ji. She’s basically asexual—’romance’ probably isn’t even in her dictionary. Forget impossible—even if you actually married her, you’d probably spend your life with a refrigerator. Can you even imagine what she’d be like in bed?”
Zhou Yanqiong found her friend’s big mouth annoying, but on reflection, it didn’t seem entirely unreasonable.
Lin Ji saw her own perfect face in the mirror every day—who could still make her heart flutter?
She liked her, yes, but she truly couldn’t imagine what Lin Ji would look like when moved by passion…
An unattainable person was like treasure—the more impossible to truly possess, the more they made one ache with desire.
Over the years, Zhou Yanqiong had been in many relationships, but whenever marriage came up, she’d compare them against her white moonlight1 and always find them lacking.
Compared to those hypocritical, worldly people, each ugly in their own unique way, even receiving a cold glance from Lin Ji had more flavor.
A few days ago, her mother and aunt had come to her, telling her to attend the Ruihua Bank banquet for a blind date. Zhou Yanqiong, who was on vacation abroad, was thoroughly unwilling.
When she heard the blind date was Lin Ji, she took a red-eye flight back overnight.
Only on the way did she learn that Lin Ji herself had no knowledge of this blind date.
It was her aunt and Lin Ji’s father, Kong Yuchen, who had made arrangements—a little program inserted at the last minute.
Zhou Yanqiong’s aunt and Kong Yuchen were old classmates. Their families had some old ties—the kind where they’d visit each other during holidays. This time, her aunt had gotten wind of the news early and told Zhou Yanqiong to prepare quickly.
Years of living as a socialite overseas had given Zhou Yanqiong the impression that her appeal had only grown. She had matured and become even more beautiful. Given just one chance, she was certain she could capture Lin Ji’s heart—along with Lin Ji’s bottomless wealth.
She had gotten up early today, spent a fortune on hair and makeup, and under her mother and aunt’s clockwork, spy-like operation, finally managed to track Lin Ji down.
After Lin Ji finished meeting with a business partner and came out of the conference room at the end of the corridor, Zhou Yanqiong stepped forward immediately.
The two met face-to-face, but before Zhou Yanqiong could say a single word, Lin Ji had already shifted her gaze, attention caught by something downstairs, and turned away.
Zhou Yanqiong: …
How was this different from what she’d imagined?
Wasn’t this look supposed to make her beloved unable to look away?
Silently firing her stylist in her heart, Zhou Yanqiong hurried after her.
She guessed suspiciously—could there be another blind date today?
Just as she was puzzling over this, she saw Jiang Siyi.
Zhou Yanqiong breathed a sigh of relief. Oh, it was Jiang Siyi. No problem, then.
Jiang Siyi couldn’t possibly be Lin Ji’s blind date—she wasn’t qualified.
Probably just a coincidence, chatting briefly about auction business—she had long heard about Lin Ji appearing at Jiashibi Auction House and the salon. Lin Ji had always been searching for her grandmother’s heirlooms. Jiang Siyi must have seized this opportunity to get close to Lin Ji and leverage her influence.
She’d just wait for Lin Ji to dismiss Jiang Siyi.
To her surprise, the two of them whispered to each other as if no one else existed, with no sign of stopping anytime soon.
Zhou Yanqiong stood three paces away, staring helplessly. Her aunt strode over and pinched her waist, snapping her out of her daze. She cleared her throat and stepped forward to force an interruption between Lin Ji and Jiang Siyi’s conversation.
“Xiaoyou-jiejie, um, Uncle Kong said he’d arrange for me to intern at Huanwei. Could I add your WeChat? That way I can contact you later.”
Zhou Yanqiong clasped her hands in front of her, speaking softly.
Such a gentle, proactive beauty deserved to be treated tenderly.
Yet Jiang Siyi saw that when Lin Ji turned around, her eyes instantly turned cold, sending a slight shiver through her heart.
Their time together lately had subconsciously softened Lin Ji’s coldness in Jiang Siyi’s mind, making her almost forget how unapproachable Lin Ji really was.
Watching her turn that familiar, distant cold face on someone else, the familiar fear crept back.
Only this time, the fear was on someone else’s behalf.
Jiang Siyi’s thoughts were still drifting when a hand gently encircled her waist.
“Whoever made you a promise, go to them to cash it in.”
While Jiang Siyi was still stunned, Lin Ji pulled her entirely into her embrace and said to Zhou Yanqiong:
“Interrupting someone else’s conversation is not polite.”
Her forceful words left Zhou Yanqiong speechless.
The Jiang Siyi in her arms was no better—her expression so stiff it looked like her features were barely hanging on. Her small ears, already flushed red, turned an even deeper crimson from the intimate contact.
So this was what borrowing a waist meant…
So, was she supposed to pretend to flirt with Lin Ji now, to make this elaborately dressed woman retreat?
But Jiang Siyi was terrible at lying and couldn’t flirt, let alone perform such a routine smoothly.
If it were anyone else, being held like this by Lin Ji, they would probably instantly become a boneless, alluring little pet in her Jiejie’s embrace.
Jiang Siyi also leaned into her, settling against her chest.
Except her movements were stiff as hell, no different from a puppet—even Xueqiu would shake his head at her.
Zhou Yanqiong opened her lips, but for the sake of maintaining her composure, chose to stay silent.
She watched helplessly as Lin Ji took Jiang Siyi’s hand and left.
Her mother and aunt, who had been anxiously watching from the sidelines, asked her in frustration:
“You’re just giving up like that?”
“What’s the rush? Could she really be on a blind date with Jiang Siyi? Obviously it’s because their interests are aligned—she’s pulling her along to put on an act.”
Zhou Yanqiong’s words made her mother and aunt exchange a glance.
Fair enough.
How could Jiang Siyi possibly marry into the Lin family.
“She’s just a shield,” Zhou Yanqiong said with certainty. “Xiaoyou-jiejie knew she’d inevitably be set up on blind dates today, so she found the most unlikely person to be her companion and deflect them. They barely know each other.”
What Zhou Yanqiong didn’t know then was that she had accidentally stumbled upon part of the truth.
Lin Ji’s palm was narrow, her fingers long and slender, her palm dry.
Being led through the crowd by that hand, Jiang Siyi could no longer feel the stares of people around her. She could only hear her own heartbeat. Her ears were hot and unbearably itchy—she couldn’t help pressing and folding them with her fingertips.
Among the people attending tonight’s bank banquet were some familiar faces who frequented J City’s various social clubs and gatherings.
In the past, when Song Ti had dragged Jiang Siyi along to various parties, the way these people looked at her had been contemptuous and brazen.
It was the same people, dressed even more glamorously, looking even more human. When they saw Lin Ji steadily holding Jiang Siyi’s hand, their gazes changed—less frivolous, carrying polite smiles mixed with surprise. When they accidentally met Jiang Siyi’s eyes, they would widen their smiles, then quickly look away.
So they did know what normal social etiquette looked like.
Then again, with so many people tonight, Song Ti was conspicuously absent.
It was for the best that she wasn’t here. Jiang Siyi had no interest in studying her movements and quickly put her out of mind, focusing on playing Lin Ji’s companion.
Song Ti was indeed not at the venue.
Xie Shuyi, in a corner, sneaked a photo of Jiang Siyi and Lin Ji in the same frame and sent it to Song Ti.
She had been hoping for a reaction from Song Ti, but after ages, Song Ti still hadn’t replied.
Song Ti was at home, arguing with Song Liming.
Their argument filled the entire living room, sending the housekeeper Ming Jie and the servants all scrambling to avoid them.
“You say I can’t invest, but the moment I switch tracks, you come in calling a halt. You were the one who told me to take over the group, and you’re the one who finds fault with everything. If you don’t trust me this much, just fire me—I could use the break.”
Hearing his daughter say this, Song Liming, who had been facing the window, whipped around.
“Who said switching tracks is the problem? The problem is you switching tracks recklessly, doing shoddy market research and still daring to expand blindly? You think I wouldn’t dare fire you? Ridiculous. If your mother hadn’t fought tooth and nail to protect you, I would’ve sent you packing to London long ago. You must attend tomorrow’s shareholders’ meeting. You’d better have figured out how to persuade those old fogies, or you can expect to be exiled to a subsidiary!”
Song Liming slammed the door and left. Song Ti irritably shoved her hair to the top of her head.
Can’t run the company well himself, so he takes it out on me all day.
Song Ti leaned back hard against the chair.
Of all the days to lose his mind, he had to pick today.
Today was the Ruihua Bank banquet.
Song Ti had planned to attend the banquet—her dress was already on.
Earlier, she had received Xie Shuyi’s photos saying Jiang Siyi was also at the banquet, and didn’t know what tricks she’d used to end up with her Biaojie2.
She’s using her Biaojie to get back at me.
Could the watch have been meant for her Biaojie too?
Song Ti laughed out loud.
Ridiculous. Her Biaojie only gave her the chance to appear in the same frame on my account.
Besides, her Biaojie never wore jewelry, let alone something as cheap as a mass-market model.
Song Ti took out the “Date” series watch and clasped it around her wrist.
She would wear the watch that Jiang Siyi had wanted to buy but she had intercepted, and parade it in front of her—the watch’s rightful owner. Jiang Siyi would probably be furious enough to see red.
The thought of Jiang Siyi being driven to tears by her gave Song Ti immense satisfaction somewhere deep inside.
Full of anticipation, she was about to head out, but unexpectedly her father blocked her way, and the two had a massive argument.
Song Ti had genuinely forgotten about tomorrow’s shareholders’ meeting—until Song Liming brought it up.
If she messed up again, she might really be sent abroad.
The banquet was a no-go now.
Pressing her ring finger against her throbbing temples, Song Ti’s brow gradually furrowed in confusion.
Come to think of it, how did her old man find out about her expansion plans?
Who told him?
On the way out to the company, Song Ti was still wondering who had prompted Song Liming to pick today of all days to give her hell.
Song Ti had been having terrible luck all day. While waiting at a red light, she happened to run into her most hated neighbor—the owner of Unit 3, a slick-haired, smarmy man she’d previously feuded with over right-of-way.
The slick-haired man pulled up beside Song Ti’s car in the Barbie-pink Maserati that she had once mocked as “tacky and tasteless,” resting his arm on the convertible’s door and waggling his wrist at her.
Song Ti shot him a disgusted, puzzled glance.
Slick-hair: “Wearing the same watch as me—secretly in love with me?”
Song Ti: …
The curse was already on her lips, but the man didn’t give her a chance to speak—when the light turned green, he gunned it and sped off.
It really was the same model.
What horrible luck!
Feeling sick to her stomach, Song Ti immediately yanked the watch off and hurled it into a trash can on the side of the street.
Jiang Siyi had known Lin Ji was popular since she was young.
Knowing was one thing, but… weren’t there too many people coming up to hit on her?
Being led around by Lin Ji for a short loop, she was met with a sea of beautiful women, each dressed impeccably, clearly here on the matchmaking circuit.
Jiang Siyi’s professional eyes swept over them—none of their outfits cost less than seven figures.
Remembering the flood of comments under Lin Ji’s social media posts, it was like stepping into that torrent in real life—one soft, coquettish “Jiejie” after another cloyed in her ears.
So much so that when Lin Ji handed her champagne, she almost blurted out, “Thank you, Jiejie.”
Fortunately, she caught herself in time.
Sipping her drink, she noticed something strange.
Today was Lin Ji’s birthday. Attending this kind of business banquet was one thing, but why had not a single person wished her happy birthday?
She stole a glance at the person holding her hand—Lin Ji didn’t seem displeased at all.
…
One group dispersed, and Jiang Siyi could finally rest her sore facial muscles from all that smiling.
“Didn’t expect you to have matchmaking troubles too.”
Lin Ji hadn’t taken more than half a sip of her champagne. “Mm, before getting married, you always accidentally fall into the marriage-pushing trap.”
“Was I too fake just now? Nothing like your girlfriend at all.”
“If it becomes real, then it won’t be fake.”
Jiang Siyi: …
Lin Ji had never pressured her about the marriage alliance, and had never forgotten either.
Come to think of it, so much time had passed and Jiang Siyi still hadn’t decided—it was quite unreasonable.
But Lin Ji let her be.
It wasn’t that Jiang Siyi hadn’t considered it. If Lin Ji wanted to find a marriage alliance partner, she had plenty of choices with better family backgrounds and looks no worse than hers.
Why her specifically?
And yet Lin Ji gave her ample patience, waiting for her answer.
Contrary to what she had thought before, Lin Ji didn’t seem to have a conflict with Song Ti and want to use her for revenge.
She didn’t have concrete proof—it was just that from their recent interactions, she felt Lin Ji wasn’t that kind of person.
She thought about it again and again, but couldn’t come up with any reason why Lin Ji insisted on a marriage alliance with her.
It couldn’t be that she likes me, could it?
The thought flashed through her mind, and Jiang Siyi was speechless at herself.
This year’s quota of narcissism was officially used up.
Lin Ji thanked her. With her by her side today, no matter who threw themselves at her, she had an excuse to gracefully extract herself, saving her a lot of energy.
Jiang Siyi understood, really.
Rather than her being Lin Ji’s one-day girlfriend, it was more accurate to say that Lin Ji had tied herself to her, voluntarily becoming her shield.
Through layers upon layers of prying eyes, warning those with ill intentions.
After today, at the very least, those in this circle who wanted to step on her to curry favor with Song Ti because she had broken off the engagement would have to weigh the consequences before trying anything.
The matter of Zhou Ni escorting Jiang Luo to the police station would probably spread too. Under Lin Ji’s protection, those who wanted to hurt her might lower their flags and retreat. She was, for the time being, safe.
Actually, there was an even more permanent solution.
And that was to accept Lin Ji’s marriage alliance proposal.
A comfortable life, a fair world, a loyal partner—who wouldn’t want that?
Especially with a woman as exceptional as Lin Ji.
But agreeing under these circumstances felt like taking advantage of Lin Ji, taking advantage of this marriage.
As Jiang Siyi’s thoughts wandered, she heard Lin Ji say:
“I promised to give you a generous gift in return.”
“Hmm?”
As they spoke, a slim but spirited middle-aged woman walked over from a distance.
Jiang Siyi recognized her immediately.
Lin Ji: “Teacher Huang, this is the outstanding auctioneer I mentioned to you before—Jiang Siyi.”
The woman gave Jiang Siyi’s hand a light shake and quickly withdrew.
“I’ve watched the livestream of your auction. You’re even more impressive in person than on video.”
This elegant woman was none other than Huang Qingzheng, the most sought-after painter in the art world over the past five years, whose paintings could auction for over a hundred million.
Jiang Siyi hadn’t expected to meet Huang Qingzheng in person.
As they talked, Huang Qingzheng directly expressed that she had a new work seeking an auction channel.
Huang Qingzheng said, “I wonder if Miss Jiang would be interested.”
No auctioneer in the world could possibly not be interested.
But Jiang Siyi had to be honest.
Jiang Siyi: “I of course also love Teacher Huang’s work, but I’m in the Gold, Stone, and Jade Department, and Teacher Huang’s paintings fall under the Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Department…”
Before Jiang Siyi could finish, Huang Qingzheng, who had glanced at Lin Ji, smiled and said:
“There are too many rules in auction houses nowadays—I don’t understand them all. I’m old. Some institutions and companies, seeing my age, haven’t hesitated to cheat me. It’s made me a bit afraid. You’re Chairman Lin’s friend. I want you to handle this for me. I only trust you. I believe your CEO Gu will understand.”
With Huang Qingzheng putting it like that, and even invoking CEO Gu, how could Jiang Siyi still object?
But this matter was significant, and Jiang Siyi instinctively turned to look at Lin Ji.
The usually independent Jiang Siyi rarely showed such a seeking gaze.
Like she was consulting a wife for her opinion.
Lin Ji tapped the back of her hand.
No words, and they weren’t exactly close, yet somehow Jiang Siyi understood what she meant—go ahead.
She couldn’t know the final outcome yet, or whether she would truly be able to lead the auction of Huang Qingzheng’s painting, but at least she was fighting for it.
While Jiang Siyi was seriously discussing the auction details with Huang Qingzheng, Lin Ji’s phone rang.
Lin Ji hung up and stood attentively by Jiang Siyi’s side.
Soon, the caller persistently called again.
Lin Ji took out her phone, glanced at it, and said to Jiang Siyi, “I’m going to take a call outside in the corridor.”
She pointed in the specific direction.
She had always been someone who gave explanations.
Jiang Siyi’s eyes sparkled with happiness. “Okay.”
After Lin Ji left, Jiang Siyi reviewed the photographic version of Huang Qingzheng’s new work and sent it to Manager Wu.
Manager Wu, who hadn’t gone to dinner with the Network Operations Department either, was on her rare day off, on a date with her friends. When she saw Jiang Siyi’s WeChat, she abandoned her friends, rushed out of the movie theater, and replied excitedly:
【No matter what, secure this first! This is Huang Qingzheng! My god, a blue-chip benchmark whose every auction hits over a hundred million! Hold steady, I’m telling CEO Gu right now!】
There was probably not a single ambitious auctioneer who didn’t dream of presiding over the auction of a masterpiece.
The consignment and intake time for the auction piece was quickly confirmed.
CEO Gu personally called Huang Qingzheng. Lin Ji still hadn’t come back.
Jiang Siyi saw Lin Ji’s figure deep in the corridor. Fresh champagne had just been served, so she picked up two glasses and planned to bring them to Lin Ji.
Summer always brought many events.
Exams, graduation, and life changes, intertwined with a lingering, intense heat, carved into Jiang Siyi’s memory.
She hadn’t expected today to be the same.
Wind blew from the direction of the European-style cascade landscape, coolness and moisture brushing against the skin, taking away the heat, stirring up a sticky dampness.
Lin Ji, with her back to her, was still on the phone. Her voice drifted over faintly.
Very faint fragments of speech—Lin Ji had always spoken like this, steady and composed.
Jiang Siyi seemed to hear the words “marriage alliance partner.”
Talking about her?
She had never been someone who eavesdropped on others’ conversations, but in that moment, curiosity slowed her retreating steps by a beat.
“How could it be serious.”
Lin Ji’s teasing voice pierced her ears, making her back suddenly go rigid.
Before her thoughts could even begin to interpret or translate what she’d heard, Lin Ji continued:
“I just want an obedient and hassle-free wife, that’s all.”
The author has something to say:
Lin Ji: Wife-Luring Step 14—don’t rush the wife, but occasionally pretend you’re not rushing while reminding her
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A small twist, not angsty
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