Crossing the Line – Chapter 8
by Little PandaMarriage?
For the next several days, Jiang Siyi was exceptionally busy.
She was busy contacting collectors and authenticating auction lots—wherever there was work, there she was.
It was good to be busy.
Being busy meant she could temporarily forget the “Cousin” incident—the source of her desire to pack her bags and flee the planet.
Jiashibi paid commission to its auctioneers by the session, and the commission from the Spring Auction had already been transferred to Jiang Siyi’s account. It was the first six-figure commission of her professional career.
Jiang Siyi treated Duan Ning and Manager Wu to dinner at the Michelin-starred restaurant near the company.
Duan Ning had wanted to try this restaurant for a long time, but after looking up the average price per person, her desire had suddenly vanished.
Today, thanks to Jiang Siyi, she was finally able to check this dream restaurant off her bucket list, burying her face in her food the entire time.
Seeing her eating with such ravenous intensity, Manager Wu commented,
“Xiao Duan, if you worked with even half the focus you bring to eating, you’d probably have made it to the main stage of the Spring Auction long ago.”
Duan Ning: “…”
Suddenly, the Australian beef in her mouth lost its appeal.
Unlike Duan Ning, who was diligently stuffing her face, Manager Wu’s mind was not on the food at all. After picking up her chopsticks, she merely placed a crispy pigeon leg into her bowl; before she could even take a bite, her mouth was already busy praising Jiang Siyi.
“You usually seem so quiet and gentle, but your whole aura changes the moment you step onto the main auction podium. For us auctioneers, the most important qualities are composure, a commanding presence to control the room, a quick tongue, and a clear head. Wan Xin lacks that. As soon as a collector projects a strong aura, she lets them suppress her, and she falls into chaos. How can you command the room like that? Once you lose control, you make mistakes, and once you make mistakes, you panic even more. You cannot be an auctioneer with that kind of psychological makeup. Xiao Jiang, out of all the young people I’ve met over the years, your professional integrity and personal temperament are the most suited for this industry. Your career ceiling will be exceptionally high, and I have great expectations for your future.”
Manager Wu had been at Jiashibi for over five years, and had worked at other auction houses for seven or eight years before that. Having been in the industry for so long, she had mentored many juniors, but Jiang Siyi was the first to receive such genuine, heartfelt praise from her.
Jiang Siyi was somewhat flattered, but even more so, deeply moved.
She thought of her mother.
Jiang Siyi’s mother had passed away early. During the year she realized her days were numbered, her husband was still out running around, his mind never on his family. Her eldest daughter, meanwhile, poured her entire heart into her artistic creations; far from taking care of her younger sister, she even needed her sister, who was four years younger, to tidy up her room for her.
On her deathbed, the one her mother had been most unable to let go of was her youngest daughter.
Jiang Siyi would always remember her mother lying in the hospital bed, covered in tubes, her withered hand holding Siyi’s as tears flowed ceaselessly. In a hoarse, weak voice, she had said in fits and starts,
“If Mama is gone, what will you do… Who will take care of you? Who will protect you?”
Her mother had passed away carrying that regret and anxiety.
Over the years, her mother’s tearful, worried eyes had never faded from Siyi’s memory.
Whenever she felt weak or wanted to retreat, she would remember her mother’s hand gripping hers, reluctant to let go.
Therefore, whether it was burying herself in her studies or moving out of the Jiang family home to live independently with her mother’s portrait, every steady step she took was to bring peace to her mother’s spirit in heaven.
Over the years, Jiang Siyi had maintained extremely strict demands on herself, both academically and professionally.
While others were playing, enjoying themselves, and wasting time, she was constantly pushing herself to see more and learn more.
Her tedious youth and the bit-by-bit accumulation of knowledge had finally paid off at the Spring Auction.
After dinner, Duan Ning and Manager Wu both headed home, and Jiang Siyi decided to treat herself.
Her reward would be to stop being so tense tonight, allowing herself to freely spend her evening hours without a care.
She went to watch a mindless comedy, laughing from start to finish while eating popcorn and drinking cola, experiencing pure, simple happiness.
After the movie, she bought a large stack of tokens to play the claw machine for her favorite dog plushies.
As the saying goes, good fortune brings a bright spirit; her luck turned out to be exceptionally good tonight.
By the time her pile of tokens ran out, she had won six plush dogs.
Even if some of the dogs had crooked faces, they still looked incredibly adorable to her.
Passing by a pet store, she bought another pile of treats, toys, and little outfits for Xueqiu. With her backpack stuffed full and her hands draped with shopping bags, she finally headed home, thoroughly satisfied.
Song Ti had finally returned from London.
According to custom, as soon as she returned to the country, she would gather with a group of friends for dinner.
This time, she invited Jiang Siyi along as well.
Throughout the entire dinner, Song Ti’s phone never stopped buzzing, vibrating every few moments.
Jiang Siyi was not one to pry into others’ privacy; even though Song Ti was her fiancée, she still respected her personal space.
But they were sitting right next to each other, making it extremely difficult not to notice the constant stream of WeChat notifications flooding Song Ti’s screen.
Almost all of Song Ti’s friends were right here at the table—who was she texting?
Slipping her phone into her pocket, Song Ti shrugged and said, “Just work. I swear the company can’t function without me.”
Jiang Siyi asked, “Is there anything I can help with?”
Song Ti patted the back of her hand. “You’ve never worked in such a large corporation, so you wouldn’t understand how these big enterprises operate anyway. Don’t worry about it.”
Jiang Siyi lowered her head to sip her drink and said no more.
After dinner, Song Ti offered to drive her home.
It was the same familiar attentiveness, the same familiar envious remarks from others, and the same familiar silence inside the car on the way back.
It was so quiet that the feeling of sitting on pins and needles washed over her once again.
Jiang Siyi searched her mind, trying hard to recall any interesting things she had heard about recently to share with Song Ti.
But no matter what she said, Song Ti would only offer a faint chuckle or reply with a brief, “Is that so?” by way of response.
Jiang Siyi remembered the hit movie Xie Shuyi and the others had mentioned during dinner, which Song Ti had claimed she was too busy to watch.
Jiang Siyi asked if she had any free time this weekend.
“Shall we go see a movie together?”
Song Ti’s fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel.
Even though Jiang Siyi had made a suggestion, the stifling silence in the car continued.
Not until the next red light, as Song Ti slowly brought the car to a halt at the end of the queue, did she look out at the line of vehicles ahead and speak.
“You decide. Anything is fine with me.”
Her speech was still slow and soft, accompanied by the familiar smile that made her seem like an incredibly gentle, considerate partner.
But as always, her ambiguous response and refusal to make any decisions left Siyi with a rising sense of inexplicable anxiety and frustration.
During dinner just now, Song Ti had clearly had so much to say to her friends, and they had even mapped out travel plans all the way into next year.
Yet in front of Siyi, she could barely summon the enthusiasm to speak.
If one were to call her cold, Song Ti loved to invite her to every gathering, parading her around and even showing her off under the title of “fiancée.”
But if one were to call her warm, their sparse, cold exchanges when alone and their empty chat history were far from anything resembling “warmth.”
After arriving home and before taking Xueqiu out for a walk, Jiang Siyi thought about it and decided to send Song Ti a WeChat message anyway.
【Thanks for driving me back. Is the Saturday evening screening okay? If so, I’ll buy the tickets now.】
She waited for a while, but there was no reply.
After walking the dog and returning home, she was wiping Xueqiu’s paws when her phone suddenly buzzed with an incoming message.
Jiang Siyi immediately opened it, only to find it was a push notification from her company’s antique appraisal account.
The hope that had just flared up plunged instantly to rock bottom.
As the minutes ticked away, Song Ti still did not reply.
Every topic, suggestion, and greeting sank like a stone into the ocean.
Laden with worries, she showered and lay down in bed. A heavy, low-pressure weight seemed to press against her chest, making it difficult to breathe, and sleep remained frustratingly out of reach.
Anxious, self-defeating doubts kept flooding her mind.
Did other couples also go without frequent contact? Everyone had their own things to do; they didn’t necessarily have to watch movies together, did they?
Or was it…
Jiang Siyi opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, which was dimly illuminated by her nightlight.
Or was she truly so boring that Song Ti simply had no response, with no desire to communicate?
No matter how long she rubbed her ear, the sensation of sleep eluded her.
Song Ti was like a heavy fog, a baffling maze that stripped Siyi of all sense of direction.
Faint laughter echoed from within the thick fog, yet Jiang Siyi could not even distinguish whether it was a friendly chuckle or a malicious sneer.
Since her outstanding performance at the Spring Auction, Jiang Siyi had become the lead auctioneer for the daily thematic auctions, hammer-conducting several sales in a row.
An auctioneer’s job was not limited to conducting the bidding. Appraising daily consignments, maintaining contact with clients, and understanding the specific preferences of various collectors were also of paramount importance.
During this period, Jiang Siyi was communicating with clients very frequently. When Zhao Jun called, Siyi was holding a Hetian jasper1 bracelet; assuming it was a collector, she answered without even looking at the screen.
【Hello? Siyi? What time will you be here? The whole family is waiting for you to start dinner.】
Jiang Siyi’s movements faltered as she recognized Zhao Jun’s voice.
Calculating the date, today was indeed the day of the Jiang Family banquet.
She had ignored the previous reminders, but she had not expected Zhao Jun to be so persistent as to call her directly.
【I’m still at the office. We have a new batch of auction lots tonight, so I’ll be busy until quite late.】
Jiang Siyi intended to use work as an all-purpose excuse to brush her off.
To her surprise, Zhao Jun said aggressively, 【Since when can work not wait? Your grandparents and your Second Aunt are all here tonight. Even Stella has been waiting for you for ages!】
Jiang Siyi froze. 【Stella?】
【Yes! Stella arrived early and brought a mountain of gifts. She really is such a polite child. Right now, she’s chatting with your younger brother.】
When Jiang Siyi rushed back to the Jiang Family Mansion, she indeed saw Song Ti there.
Zhao Jun’s son, Jiang Cheng, was standing with Song Ti in front of his garage, complaining that his motorcycle was complete garbage compared to the new Kawasaki Versys 1100.
He ranted about how insane the new model’s engine was, calling it a true cheetah while his own was just a laughable little kitten.
Pointing at his motorcycle, Jiang Cheng declared, “I don’t even have the face to ride this out of the house!”
Throughout his rant, Song Ti maintained her smile, offering no comment.
When she spotted Jiang Siyi, she cast a casual glance over.
Zhao Jun took a fruit platter from a servant, scolding her son half-heartedly.
“Why are you telling your Stella-jie all this? Ride these motorcycles less; your father doesn’t like it. Aren’t there enough news stories about motorcycle accidents every day?”
Jiang Cheng sat down on an outdoor sofa nearby, his legs spread wide at a careless right angle.
“Am I like those idiots?”
Zhao Jun asked, “How much is that 1100 you mentioned?”
“Not expensive, just around a hundred thousand or so. But it’s not for sale domestically yet; you have to pull strings to buy it from abroad.”
As he spoke, Jiang Cheng turned his gaze toward Song Ti.
“Stella-jie, I heard you often go to London on business trips. Can you help me look into it and see where I can get one? If there’s a way, could you help me reserve it first? You can give me your bank account number later, and I’ll have my dad transfer the money to you.”
Zhao Jun slapped her son lightly. “Look at you, so thoughtless, causing trouble for your Stella-jie. Since you’ve asked, how could your Stella-jie actually take your money? You’re putting her in such an awkward position.”
Before Song Ti could respond, Jiang Siyi said with a cold face, “Since you know it’s an awkward position, you shouldn’t have asked.”
Zhao Jun glared sideways at her, and Jiang Cheng clicked his tongue, snapping in irritation,
“What does this have to do with you? I’m asking Stella-jie and my dad to give me a gift, what are you so jealous of? Stella-jie, ignore her. Just go ahead and reserve it for me, and I’ll make sure my dad wraps up a massive red envelope2 for you.”
Jiang Cheng kept referring to “my dad” as if he were completely oblivious to the fact that there was another child of the Jiang family standing right there.
With the conversation having reached this point, Song Ti replied,
“Sure, I’ll have my colleagues in London ask around for you when I get a chance.”
Zhao Jun held Song Ti’s hand, affectionately patting the back of it as her eyes narrowed into two crescent moons.
“Oh, Stella, you’re spoiling this child rotten.”
Jiang Cheng grumbled, “What do you mean, ‘child’? I’m already eighteen, alright?”
Song Ti smiled but said nothing, her indifferent gaze sweeping across Jiang Siyi’s face.
Jiang Siyi felt her face burn, and she averted her eyes out of sheer embarrassment.
Just as Jiang Siyi had expected, today’s family banquet was entirely arranged for Song Ti.
During the meal, Zhao Jun held Song Ti’s hand the entire time, while Jiang Cheng sat on Song Ti’s other side. Sandwiched between them, Song Ti was kept in their focus, squeezing Jiang Siyi all the way to the far end of the table.
Jiang Siyi had originally planned to leave; she had no desire to visit the Jiang family in the first place.
But Song Ti was still here.
Moreover, from what was being said, it seemed Zhao Jun had specifically gone to Song Ti’s office and drunk two pots of tea before managing to invite her to the mansion.
Since Song Ti had been dragged to the Jiang Family Mansion and extorted by that mother-and-son duo, yet still good-naturedly humored them, Jiang Siyi felt she would lose all face if she simply walked away. Thus, she had no choice but to stay.
Sitting beside Song Ti, Zhao Jun never stopped talking, constantly dropping hints about when they planned to marry, insisting that the wedding must invite all friends and family for a grand, magnificent celebration.
Her grandparents added that their wedding gift money was already prepared, along with gold rings, gold bracelets, and gold necklaces, all fully crafted—they were just waiting for the two of them to set a date.
Throughout it all, Song Ti kept a smile on her face. No matter what questions came her way, she merely responded with a grin, offering noncommittal hums and completely avoiding any direct answers.
Having received no clear answer, Jiang Luo, the “head of the family,” could no longer sit still.
He had put on such a grand show tonight precisely to lock down this marriage and resolve his greatest worry.
Seeing the Song family’s daughter effortlessly parrying their advances, Jiang Luo cleared his throat, put down his chopsticks, and looked directly at Song Ti.
“Xiao Song, you and our Siyi have been engaged for three years now, haven’t you? Over these past three years, this uncle of yours has never rushed you, right? I’m getting old. Ever since the day you two got engaged, I’ve been looking forward to seeing Siyi wear her wedding dress. Can you give me a definite answer today? When will you register your marriage this year? Which month do you plan to hold the banquet3?”
Jiang Luo’s face flushed easily when drinking. Tonight, he had specifically downed two glasses of Moutai, and his alcohol-flushed face lent him what he believed to be a look of parental authority.
Under the influence of the alcohol, this half-pleading, half-coercive speech directed at Song Ti came to him with much greater ease.
Zhao Jun subconsciously stroked the jade bracelet on her wrist.
Now that things had been laid out so plainly, Song Ti was riding a tiger and would surely have to commit to a date.
Everyone’s eyes fell upon Song Ti, waiting for her to provide a mutually satisfying answer.
Song Ti slowly ladled a bowl of soup for herself. As her soup bowl touched the table, she turned her eyes toward Jiang Siyi on the other side.
“Sure.”
Song Ti smiled sweetly.
“Siyi can decide. I’ll defer to her in everything.”
…
There was no wind tonight, only an invisible chill that seeped bone-deep, bit by bit.
Along the lawn path leading out from the main gate of the mansion, numerous fallen leaves lay scattered, and weeds grew neglected from the cracked brick seams.
Jiang Siyi remembered that it had not been like this when her mother was alive. Back then, every corner of this mansion was clean and immaculate; her mother would never have allowed the home to show the slightest hint of decay, regardless of the season.
This was the place where she had grown up, yet now it felt increasingly unfamiliar, filled with a sense of estrangement and even revulsion.
Walking side-by-side with Song Ti, Jiang Siyi kept her head lowered, constantly turning over what she should say.
Song Ti stopped walking and spoke first.
“Siyi, you really didn’t need to do this.”
Jiang Siyi turned her head, her exhaled breath dispersing as white mist before her eyes.
Song Ti truly seemed to have dissolved into the fog, her features becoming hazy, like a face she had never seen before.
With both hands tucked into her woolen coat pockets, Song Ti withdrew her trademark smile, her red lips slowly parting.
“If you want to get married, you can just tell me directly. Don’t get your parents to force me.”
Specks of freezing rain landed on their hair, the dampness slowly dissolving the surrounding world.
Jiang Siyi’s chest jolted at this sudden accusation. Suppressing a full-body shiver, she retorted,
“I didn’t. I had absolutely no idea they went to find you.”
Song Ti tilted her chin up, casting her eyes downward as her lips curled into a mocking smile.
As she brushed past, Jiang Siyi said coldly,
“And besides, you know perfectly well that she’s not my mother.”
…
By the time Song Ti drove into the city center, her phone rang with a call from Xie Shuyi.
Xie Shuyi asked her, 【Are you still at the Jiang family’s?】
Song Ti: 【I’ve left.】
【So fast? Are you coming to ECHO? We’re all still here.】
ECHO was a private club, a year-round gathering spot for the second-generation heirs of J City.
Tonight was Xie Shuyi’s birthday. She had originally wanted to book the entire venue, but the third floor had been reserved in advance by someone else. She had no idea what kind of prominent figure was being hosted there, but it was all very mysterious, so she had to settle for the lower two floors.
Song Ti agreed, saying she was on her way now.
As Xie Shuyi hung up, Zhou Yanlin, who was always tagging along with her for free meals and drinks, lit a cigarette and asked curiously,
“Isn’t Stella dead set on breaking off her engagement with Jiang Siyi? Why would she go all the way to the Jiang family for some banquet, practically rushing to tie herself to her? Besides, she usually seems quite nice to Jiang Siyi, driving her around and all. With all this, if she still wants to break the engagement, won’t she just get tied down tighter and tighter by that Jiang girl?”
Xie Shuyi scoffed.
“What the hell do you know? Stella is employing a strategy of retreat to advance. She can’t be the one to bring up breaking the engagement, otherwise how would she explain it to the elders in her family?”
Given this revelation, Zhou Yanlin was suddenly enlightened.
“Ah! Stella-jie is doing it seamlessly. She’s subtly making Jiang Siyi back off, pushing her to be the one to propose the breakup. That way, the Song family can’t blame her, and even the Jiang family will only blame Jiang Siyi for being ungrateful…”
“Shh, shut up.”
Xie Shuyi cut him off. She glanced behind them; the rest of the crowd was making a racket inside, and no one was paying attention to the two of them on the balcony.
“Just keep it to yourself, don’t go blabbing.” Xie Shuyi punched Zhou Yanlin’s arm. “Otherwise, you’re dead.”
Zhou Yanlin grinned and waved his hand. “Come on!”
“Who would I even tell? Stella is like my own sister, and so are you. Even if they flayed me alive, I could never betray my own people.”
“Look at you.”
Xie Shuyi rolled her eyes and playfully scolded him.
As they walked back inside together, Xie Shuyi said mockingly,
“Seriously, how can Jiang Siyi have such wild ambitions? She actually wants to marry Stella. She should look at her own situation. Never mind Stella, is there anyone in our circle who would look twice at her now?”
Zhou Yanlin chimed in as he closed the balcony door, “Well, she’s good-looking, at least.”
The voices on the second-floor balcony faded.
While Xie Shuyi and Zhou Yanlin’s conversation went unnoticed by their companions who were drinking their lives away on the same floor, it carried clearly up to the third floor.
Lin Ji stood on the third-floor balcony, holding her blacked-out phone. A trace of coldness lay hidden in her light-colored eyes.
The glass door slid open behind her.
A woman with broad shoulders, a wasp waist, and a sexy silhouette stepped out of the room. Finally locating Lin Ji, she pleaded,
“You-jie, have some mercy. The entire room is here for you, yet you’ve run out here to stand by yourself? With so many beauties gathered together, is there really not a single one who makes you want to chat?”
Lin Ji’s ink-black long hair whipped in the wind, her elegant yet radiant face possessing an intense, striking beauty.
“If I’d known tonight was meant to be a blind date for me, I wouldn’t have come.”
The newcomer was named Yan Yu, a classmate of Lin Ji’s and one of her few close friends.
Back in high school, Yan Yu and Lin Ji had been in the same class, sitting right in front of and behind each other, which meant Yan Yu had grown up entirely in Lin Ji’s shadow.
However, she was much more open-minded than other children. While others only felt the pressure of Lin Ji’s overwhelming excellence, Yan Yu took full advantage of her proximity, spending the years of their acquaintance copying Lin Ji’s homework.
Frankly, the girl possessed a unique talent of her own—she had literally managed to copy her way into a Double First-Class4 university.
With a long face, Yan Yu said, “Wasn’t this forced by your mother and mine joining hands? If I hadn’t complied, my mom would’ve frozen my cards. Since you wouldn’t come help at my studio either, I had no choice but to take this desperate measure.”
Thinking of the conversation downstairs moments ago, Lin Ji leaned back against the railing, crossing her arms over her chest.
“In that case, you can put their minds at ease. This autumn, reserve a table at your family hotel’s Chinese restaurant.”
“For what?”
“A wedding.”
Yan Yu failed to register this for a moment. She asked, “A wedding? Who?”
Lin Ji said, “Me.”
The author has something to say:
Lin Ji: Step six of stealing a wife—first, set the auspicious wedding date.
Footnotes
- A variety of dark green nephrite jade primarily sourced from the Hetian region of Xinjiang, highly prized in traditional Chinese lapidary art.
- A monetary gift traditionally given in red envelopes during holidays or special occasions as a gesture of appreciation or blessing.
- Literally 'to host a banquet,' a common Chinese term for holding a wedding feast, which culturally represents the official community recognition of a marriage.
- A prestigious higher education initiative launched by the Chinese government to develop world-class universities and disciplines, representing elite academic status.
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