Crossing the Line – Chapter 43
by Little PandaThen, I’ll Be Intruding on You
It was already late, but the outdoor garden party had only just begun.
The smart mosquito-repelling system had long since cast a barrier across the entire garden, keeping insects at bay.
The courtyard climate control regulated the garden’s temperature, giving one the refreshing crispness of autumn.
“It’s definitely fake.”
Zhou Yanlin had even forgotten to drink the wine in his hand. He sat down and tossed out those words, unable to hide his frustration.
“Enough, shut up already. Is the wine not good enough or the food not tasty enough?”
Xie Shuyi crossed her legs, kicking the toe of her shoe in his direction.
Zhou Yanlin: “Did I say anything wrong? They had zero interaction before, and then suddenly they’re married and so high-profile and intimate — no matter how you look at it, it’s a transaction, an act.”
Miss Xu had already drunk enough to be slightly tipsy. She laughed and tried to reason with Zhou Yanlin:
“Look how worked up you are. It’s fine — isn’t it just stewing yourself in an iron pot live? You’ll be a hero again in eighteen years.”
Zhou Yanlin: …
Xie Shuyi swirled the wine glass in her hand and said, “Whether it’s real or fake, publicly claiming each other in front of this many people, acknowledging the other’s identity — that means they care. What’s the point of you getting all worked up?”
Zhou Yanlin: “What does it have to do with me? Why would I be worked up? Obviously I’m upset on Stella-jie’s behalf. Think about it — someone Stella-jie didn’t even want, how could Lin Ji possibly want her—”
Before Zhou Yanlin could finish, Xie Shuyi gave him a solid, hard kick.
“Talk about the drama but don’t drop names — what’s wrong with you?!”
Zhou Yanlin, scolded into holding his breath, didn’t continue.
Xie Shuyi knew that Zhou Yanlin had been secretly in love with Song Ti since childhood, so anything about Song Ti would set him off — he’d definitely follow through on whatever she egged him on to do.
Back when Jiang Siyi first broke off the engagement, Zhou Yanlin hadn’t even needed prompting. He’d gone out of his way to find people to hassle Jiang Siyi at the auction house.
Though Jiang Siyi had ultimately deflected it.
His current agitation was also because he wanted to fight on Song Ti’s behalf.
But the situation had shifted.
The matter between Song Ti and Tan Ya had been broadcast to everyone by some blind fool, and now the whole world knew.
Even Xie Shuyi, who usually loved watching drama, felt a bit on edge.
It felt like powerful figures had entered the fray, and watching the gossip unfold required more caution now.
Now Lin Ji and Jiang Siyi had publicly announced their marriage right in front of Song Ti. Whether it was real behind closed doors or not, what everyone saw was two people deeply in love.
After today’s high-profile appearance together, anyone who wanted to gawk at Jiang Siyi’s misfortune in the future would have to consider their own weight — whether they could afford to offend the Lin family.
And Song Ti had become a complete laughingstock. It was perfectly normal that Zhou Yanlin couldn’t swallow this.
Nothing Zhou Yanlin said was right. He furiously downed several glasses of wine, then looked around and said:
“Where’s Stella-jie? Why don’t I see her?”
Xie Shuyi: “I don’t know. I can’t find her either.”
At this moment, Song Ti was leaning quietly against the door at the far end of the second floor.
She had secretly followed her mother Lin Yunting over. Her mother and her eldest aunt Lin Xuebo had just gone inside.
The door was closed. Through the wooden door, she could still make out some of the muffled voices inside.
Inside, Lin Xuebo sat on the sofa, still holding her favorite apple rum mulled wine.
She’d been in a good mood today — until her younger sister came looking for her.
There was another single sofa right across from Lin Xuebo, but Lin Yunting walked past it several times without actually sitting down.
Clearly she wanted an answer, yet was afraid to face her eldest sister directly.
She didn’t speak, and Lin Xuebo didn’t either, perfectly at ease.
After weighing her words, Lin Yunting finally steeled herself and asked in a measured tone:
“Eldest Sister, is it really necessary to publicize something so disgraceful?”
She’d already suspected her eldest sister of scheming something. The scandal of Song Ti and Tan Ya being spread everywhere didn’t seem accidental.
Having just witnessed Lin Ji and Jiang Siyi making a high-profile appearance as a married couple, it completely confirmed her suspicions.
Her eldest sister’s frequent visits to the auction house were meant to let everyone see that her relationship with Jiang Siyi was growing closer.
That she supported it. That she welcomed it.
But… what would people say about their family?
A younger sister’s wife stolen by the elder sister — and stolen so brazenly. One could imagine how the outside world would gossip about their family’s relationships.
Lin Yunting felt wronged, felt her eldest sister was being foolish, felt she was owed an explanation.
She’d thrown the question out, but Lin Xuebo didn’t even look at her for a long moment. Only after leisurely savoring the wine in her hand did she say:
“Only someone who has truly done wrong would find it disgraceful.”
Lin Yunting’s back went rigid.
The next second, she saw her eldest sister’s icy gaze turn toward her, each word unhurried yet making her scalp prickle:
“Yunting, do you remember what you promised me back then? You promised you’d take good care of Siyi and not let her suffer the slightest grievance. And how did you take care of her? You let Stella bully her, and even called her to your home to berate her. Is this how you honored your promise to me?”
Lin Yunting’s face changed abruptly.
She hadn’t expected her eldest sister to know…
In truth, Lin Xuebo hadn’t known the full story before.
She had her own business and pressing matters to attend to, and was still seeking out medical institutions everywhere to help her daughter recover.
Regarding Jiang Siyi’s relationship with her younger sister’s family, she’d only seen the surface.
It was only recently, after Lin Ji told her she’d married Jiang Siyi, that she sent someone to investigate in detail.
And what she discovered far exceeded her imagination.
Back then, when Lin Ji went missing, they couldn’t even determine whether she’d been deliberately kidnapped or had encountered human traffickers.
Lin Xuebo was in agony. Her younger sister came over and hinted that Song Ti and Jiang Siyi were in the same kindergarten class, going to and from school together every day, their bond very close.
The implication was that Song Ti liked her, and she wanted to transfer the engagement over.
Lin Xuebo was deeply reluctant to part with Jiang Siyi, but rationally speaking, with her daughter’s fate unknown, the engagement probably couldn’t continue.
Her younger sister didn’t just mention it once — almost every time they met, she’d bring it up openly or covertly.
Every time she did, Lin Xuebo would think of her daughter, suffering somewhere unknown.
Under extreme torment, she agreed to her sister’s request.
“Siyi is a good child. It’s just a pity that our family has no fate with her…”
Lin Xuebo wiped away her tears, steadied herself, and sighed before continuing:
“I had no other request. I only hoped you would treat her well.”
Seeing her sister relent, Lin Yunting was inwardly delighted, but maintained a composed smile on the surface:
“Of course. Stella likes her so much — we’ll certainly treat her like a little princess and dote on her for the rest of her life.”
The rumors that Song Ti treated her fiancée well, always picking her up and dropping her off — Lin Xuebo had heard them all.
She hadn’t expected it to be all surface.
Only after investigating did she learn that not only had Song Ti cheated, she’d also been giving Jiang Siyi the cold shoulder in private, trying to force Jiang Siyi to break off the engagement herself.
And Lin Yunting was no different from Song Ti — initially decent to Jiang Siyi, but growing increasingly arrogant and dismissive as the Jiang family’s fortunes declined.
She’d felt that working at an auction house was beneath her, and had even lectured Jiang Siyi from a position of superiority.
Lin Xuebo fixed her gaze on her sister’s eyes and said, “If Xiaoyou hadn’t gone missing back then, they would have maintained the engagement all along, legitimately gotten engaged after college, and they’d be married now too. Xiaoyou would never have mistreated her or made her wait three years. And I would absolutely never have been petty and neglectful toward her just because she had no one to rely on — unlike you.”
Standing at the door, Song Ti heard this and her heart clenched.
Gone missing?
So Biaojie1 hadn’t gone abroad to study — she’d gone missing.
Lin Xuebo: “I never expected that you’d waste the connection you had with Siyi, betray my trust, and still have the nerve to come question me.”
Lin Yunting was rendered completely speechless, only able to call out with reddened eyes in a weak voice:
“Eldest Sister…”
Lin Xuebo half-lowered her eyelids. “Go back. I don’t want to see you right now.”
Lin Ji never attended garden parties.
Tonight, nearly everyone of any standing in J City had added Jiang Siyi as a contact.
All the premium connections had flowed into Jiang Siyi’s phone. With their relationship now widely known, the banquet was also winding down.
The two walked past the garden entrance together and ran into a group of Huanwei employees.
The employees knew exactly which living saint had descended to bestow upon them a three-and-a-half-day holiday.
Seeing Jiang Siyi, they enthusiastically called her “Lady Boss.”
“Lady Boss is so pretty!”
“Lady Boss, can we get a photo? I’ve watched your auction videos over and over!”
Jiang Siyi, called “Lady Boss” left and right, grew a bit shy, glancing back uncertainly at Lin Ji.
“You’re not going to join in?”
The employees all followed her gaze, sneaking looks at the BOSS.
The BOSS’s aversion to photos was legendary. In the five years since the company was founded, she rarely took pictures unless absolutely necessary, let alone group photos with employees.
But seeing Jiang Siyi surrounded by young, pretty girls, with someone else standing in what should have been her spot—
Lin Ji quietly walked to the closest position beside Jiang Siyi and stood firm.
Lin Ji’s cold face appeared in the frame, and the girl taking the photo felt her hand tremble, sensing that the boss was about to make her report on her work performance in the next second.
Jiang Siyi caught Lin Ji’s reflection in the nearby glass — her face completely devoid of a smile — and understood why the photo-taking girl hadn’t said “one, two, three” for so long.
They were already in the photo composition, so it wasn’t a good moment to whisper sideways.
So she hooked her pinky around Lin Ji’s instead.
Whispering, “You look a bit fierce.”
Lin Ji, who had no instinct to smile for photos, was disarmed by Jiang Siyi’s little gesture and cute words — the corners of her mouth tugged upward involuntarily.
The girl taking the photo saw Lin Ji’s smile, thought oh my god she’s that beautiful, and immediately captured the moment.
After the photo, the employees were about to leave, but Lin Ji asked the girl with the camera:
“Do you have my WeChat?”
The girl, making eye contact with the boss, stuttered:
“Ah, no.”
She was a newly minted regular employee in the marketing department, low on the totem pole — let alone the chairman’s WeChat, she hadn’t even had the chance to add the CEO’s.
Lin Ji displayed her QR code.
“Add me as a contact and send me the photos.”
Just like that, the girl dizzily added the chairman’s WeChat and sent all the photos in one go.
Under the brilliant starry sky, the evening breeze lifted skirt hems, carrying a hint of alcohol and scattered laughter from the garden.
Jiang Siyi clasped her hands behind her back, stealing a glance at Lin Ji’s phone.
Lin Ji was looking at their group photo.
“I look so silly smiling.”
Lin Ji said this, but Jiang Siyi watched her save the photo and then lock the screen.
When Fan Qing brought the car around, Jiang Siyi tried to take off the red diamond ring to return to Lin Ji.
The pile of fine jewelry Lin Xuebo had given her had already made her uneasy enough to rent a bank safe deposit box.
If she added a red diamond ring worth tens of millions on top of that, she really wouldn’t be able to sleep.
Lin Ji pressed down on her hand, stopping her from removing the ring.
“If someone sees you put it on and then take it off, rumors that our marriage is fake will be spreading everywhere by tomorrow morning.”
Jiang Siyi felt a little deflated, thinking — well, it wasn’t like it wasn’t fake.
Lin Ji: “Wear it if you like, or stash it somewhere if you don’t. The only reason it exists is to make you happy.”
These heart-fluttering words and considerate gestures sometimes made Jiang Siyi feel like the person before her was truly her wife, that she was genuinely being unconditionally doted on.
Jiang Siyi’s ear tips grew warm. She stopped refusing and accepted it.
“Then I’ll keep it safe for you for now.”
After all, there would be many occasions in the future where she’d need it.
Fan Qing finally drove the car over — a bit late, which was unlike her usual meticulous style.
The car stopped. Inside sat not only Fan Qing, but also a woman Jiang Siyi hadn’t seen before.
The woman had a head of wine-red French-wave curls, red lips, and a cold expression. Despite it being nighttime, she wore sunglasses, exuding a mature, formidable air.
Even with the sunglasses blocking her eyes, one could still sense her don’t-mess-with-me demeanor.
“Chairman Ji.” The woman’s lips parted slightly. “I heard my little pet has been hiding out with you.”
Little pet?
Jiang Siyi gave Lin Ji a meaningful look.
“…CEO Wei, it’s been a while, and you’re still as blunt as ever.”
Lin Ji then explained to Jiang Siyi:
“This is Zhou Ni’s former employer.”
Jiang Siyi remembered — Fan Qing had said that something had happened between Zhou Ni and her former employer, making it impossible to continue the employment, and she’d badly needed money, which was why she’d come work for Lin Ji.
CEO Wei’s energy was low and heavy; one could sense her urgency and anxiety, yet she was patiently trying to speak gently.
“Apologies for disturbing you, Chairman Ji. I’ve been looking for her for a long time. I just want to know if she’s with you.”
Lin Ji looked at Fan Qing, seemingly waiting for her to provide the answer.
Fan Qing, stared at by multiple pairs of eyes, fell silent.
I’m just Zhou Ni’s fellow townsfolk. I really can’t make decisions for her.
Just as everyone was looking at each other, Zhou Ni herself walked out from the dark garden.
The wind blew from afar, parting Zhou Ni’s thick bangs and revealing a scar on her forehead — strikingly similar to the one on Fan Qing’s face. The scar ran vertically down her forehead like a closed eye.
This was the first time Jiang Siyi had clearly seen Zhou Ni’s face. She was younger than expected, her expression placid, but the look in her eyes toward CEO Wei carried an indescribable complexity.
No one spoke. The atmosphere was taut, as if the two of them might erupt into a quarrel at any moment.
Unexpectedly, CEO Wei got out of the car and walked toward Zhou Ni, taking her hand.
After an almost imperceptible sigh, she said in a slightly yielding tone: “Come back with me.”
The oppressive air vanished.
Zhou Ni lowered her gaze without speaking — a stark contrast to her earlier fierce demeanor — and obediently went with her.
After a few steps, Zhou Ni turned back to Lin Ji and said, “Chairman Ji, thank you for taking me in these past weeks. The month isn’t over yet, so about my wages…”
Lin Ji: “You helped me greatly. This month’s salary will be paid in full.”
Zhou Ni was silent for a second, then said, “Thank you.”
That notoriously difficult and arrogant CEO Wei in the industry actually followed Zhou Ni in thanking Lin Ji as well.
“Thanks, Lin Ji. I owe you one.”
The two left hand in hand.
Watching Zhou Ni’s retreating back, Jiang Siyi suddenly recalled the day Zhou Ni had shielded her from Song Ti.
At the time, she’d revealed that she liked Lin Ji — Zhou Ni must have heard that too…
She probably hadn’t told Lin Ji about it, though.
Judging by Lin Ji’s attitude… she didn’t seem to know anything, acting no different from usual.
They got in the car, still heading to drop Jiang Siyi off at home.
Fan Qing had been about to say she could look for more fellow townsfolk to see if there was a suitable candidate to continue protecting Miss Jiang in secret.
But she heard Lin Ji in the back seat say to Jiang Siyi: “Zhou Ni seems to have reconciled with her boss, so she probably won’t be coming back. Fan Qing is also going abroad for a while, so there likely won’t be a suitable person to protect you in secret anytime soon.”
The words on the tip of Fan Qing’s tongue were immediately swallowed back.
Good thing she was half a beat slow — otherwise she’d certainly have earned a razor-sharp glare from the BOSS.
Also, BOSS, you haven’t even approved that one-week leave yet…
She said a week was a bit long for just one assistant.
And then suddenly agreed.
When was this decided? Even I didn’t know.
Lin Ji continued: “With no one at your side, I can’t stop worrying. If you’re willing to move in with me, I can take on that role myself.”
Lin Ji had already proposed cohabitation back in the banquet hall.
At the time, Jiang Siyi hadn’t had a chance to respond before being interrupted.
Now that Lin Ji was bringing it up again, it seemed she hadn’t forgotten.
“…Huh?”
Jiang Siyi made a sound of thought.
Lin Ji’s suggestion was perfectly reasonable — it was to make their marriage sufficiently believable, since married couples living separately was too unusual.
It was also out of concern for Jiang Siyi’s safety.
There seemed to be no room to refuse.
It was just that Jiang Siyi couldn’t imagine how deeply she’d fall if she lived with Lin Ji, seeing her day in and day out.
Jiang Siyi didn’t answer right away. Lin Ji, as always, didn’t press her — but her brow and eyes seemed to relax with a hint of pleasure.
They happened to arrive home. Lin Ji said, “Alright, see you tomorrow.”
Jiang Siyi smiled and said “good night.”
But inwardly, she felt a bit puzzled.
“See you tomorrow” was understandable — it meant continuing to spend time together, getting to know each other better.
But what did “alright” mean?
Early the next morning, Lin Ji answered her question.
It was a day off. Jiang Siyi slept until almost ten before waking up.
When she woke, she found that Lin Ji had sent her a WeChat message.
,:【Are you up?】
Sent half an hour ago.
Sanzhuang Tusi:【I just woke up. What’s up?】
,:【Can you be ready in half an hour?】
Jiang Siyi sat up with a start.
What did that mean?
Sanzhuang Tusi:【I can. What’s the matter?】
,:【Coming to pick you up.】
Coming to pick her up?
Seeing those three words, Jiang Siyi’s head filled with even more question marks. She immediately got out of bed.
She only managed to slip on one of her capybara slippers, stumbling to the window in a panic to look down — and really did see Lin Ji’s Bentley.
Parked next to it was a moving truck.
She was really here to move her in?
But…
When Jiang Siyi opened the door for Lin Ji, she looked at the woman standing in the doorway in confusion.
“H-how are you here to move me in?”
“Didn’t you agree?”
“When did I agree?”
“You said ‘mm’ yesterday.”
Jiang Siyi sifted through a head full of question marks, trying hard to recall when she’d said “mm.”
In the end, she couldn’t find an “mm” — only an “uh?” tucked away in a corner of her memory.
Jiang Siyi: …
Was that it?
Jiang Siyi: “That was a questioning tone, not an agreement.”
After that one sentence, Lin Ji’s initially bright and eager expression slowly dimmed.
Even though she tried to hide it, the unmistakable disappointment was still visible.
That disappointment hit Jiang Siyi right in the heart, tugging at it.
“I’m sorry, I misunderstood. You go on resting.”
Lin Ji didn’t press the issue. She accepted whatever Jiang Siyi said.
Then she turned to leave.
Watching her retreating back, Jiang Siyi’s hand moved faster than her mind — she grabbed hold of her in an instant.
“Wait…”
Lin Ji turned back.
She couldn’t bear to see Lin Ji disappointed.
With a slight dip of her brow, she wanted to fulfill her every wish.
And besides…
Stop being coy, Jiang Siyi.
She told herself, You’re honestly happy about this.
Jiang Siyi took a quiet breath, and under the gaze of both Lin Ji and Xueqiu, she said:
“Then, I’ll be intruding on you.”
The author has something to say:
Lin Ji: Wife-pampering Step 15 — when receiving your wife’s cohabitation invitation, you must accept within one second 3.0. Now that they’re cohabiting, can kisses be far behind?
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