Crossing the Line – Chapter 42
by Little PandaWe Need to Be More Familiar with Each Other in Every Aspect.
“I was the one who pursued her.”
Brief, and matter-of-fact.
Yet it made Jiang Siyi’s racing mind grind to a halt.
She vaguely heard someone gasp.
Lin Ji had pursued Jiang Siyi?
Impossible to imagine that a reincarnated refrigerator could actually pursue someone.
She’d even admitted it in front of this many people.
The shock and curiosity in the many eyes fixed on Jiang Siyi now slowly shifted to envy.
Zhou Yanlin, standing amid the crowd, felt thoroughly uncomfortable—humiliated by the looks that seemed to demand, “When are you going to stew yourself in an iron pot live?”
He still wanted to salvage the situation, but seeing Lin Ji’s glacier-like face, he didn’t dare ask anything directly. He could only circle around it:
“You-jie, congratulations! I was wondering about you two…”
He’d barely gotten started when Lin Ji cut him off with two words: “Excuse me.”
The message she wanted to convey to the outside world had been delivered. Lin Ji didn’t want Jiang Siyi wasting energy surrounded by inane questions.
Without so much as a glance at anyone else, she led her wife away, eyes straight ahead.
Zhou Yanlin, who’d tried to salvage his dignity only to lose even more of it: …
Lin Xuebo and Kong Yuchen were sitting on a sofa not far away, chatting with important Huanwei business partners, glancing their way from time to time.
Lin Ji led Jiang Siyi toward the heart of her family and business circle.
With her mind back online, Jiang Siyi thought about how Lin Ji had answered for her just now: “I was the one who pursued her.”
She marveled inwardly—Lin Ji-jie was truly wonderful, so thoughtful on her behalf, saying things that cast her in a good light.
Song Ti watched firsthand as Jiang Siyi and Lin Ji walked hand in hand through the crowd, oblivious to onlookers, eyes only for each other.
Occasionally leaning toward each other to whisper, smiling softly, drawing farther and farther away.
As if a nightmare were replaying in reality.
The person walking intimately with Jiang Siyi in her dream now had a clear face.
Her Biaojie didn’t care about her at all, and Jiang Siyi seemed not to have noticed her in the slightest.
She had no idea when her wine glass had slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor, the sweet, viscous wine splashing across her expensive, glittering high heels.
Her eyes held only those two people who shouldn’t be together.
When had they gotten in touch?
Was that watch Jiang Siyi had spent so much money trying to buy meant as a gift for her Biaojie?
How far had things gone between them?
The image of Jiang Siyi standing mercilessly amid countless crushed Zhushawan camellia petals kept surfacing in her mind, along with those words—
I’m married.
I like her.
A torrential surge of indignation and jealousy nearly shattered her reason in an instant.
Her legs moved of their own accord, ready to chase after Jiang Siyi.
But the moment she took a step forward, she was yanked back. Her already aching wrist was gripped hard from behind, and the pain made her cry out softly.
She looked up into the livid face of her mother, Lin Yunting.
Lin Yunting leaned close to her ear and hissed through clenched teeth—urgent, fierce, barely audible.
“What do you think you’re doing? Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough?!”
Song Ti’s eyes were bloodshot, her mind a chaotic mess.
“They’re married… Why? I never agreed to break off the engagement—how could she marry someone else? Mom, she was my fiancée!”
As she spoke, tears began falling uncontrollably.
Her sobbing drew looks from people nearby. Lin Yunting had no choice but to drag her somewhere private before her ravings could be overheard.
Hauling Song Ti into a corner, Lin Yunting felt a pang of heartache seeing her daughter’s face streaked with tears—but far greater was her frustration at her incompetence.
She and her eldest sister had grown up in the same household, shared the same blood—how could the daughters they’d raised be so vastly different?
“Stop crying. You know perfectly well what you’ve done. What good is crying now?”
Lin Yunting wiped Song Ti’s tears with a handkerchief while warning her.
“Don’t go saying crazy things in front of your Xiaoyou-jie, do you hear me?”
Song Ti’s face was a mess of tears. She choked out:
“You think there’s no way to fix this, too? Would I really have to call Jiang Siyi Dasao2? How could I ever call her that!”
Lin Yunting was also deeply vexed, but there was no other path forward.
“They’re married. You call her what you’re supposed to call her.”
Song Ti: “I won’t.”
“You won’t…”
Those two simple words sent Lin Yunting spinning half a circle on the spot, her mouth corner burning so painfully she wondered if Song Ti had literally given her a blister.
Whirling back, Lin Yunting stepped right up to Song Ti, pointed at her, and warned again:
“I don’t have time for your nonsense. I’m telling you one thing—you are forbidden from making a scene in front of your Xiaoyou-jie. Whoever she married, she had her reasons, and it’s not something you can interfere with. If you want to keep living comfortably, bring your brain with you when you leave the house. Are we clear?”
Song Ti hung her head in a daze, unclear whether any of it had registered.
Lin Yunting really didn’t want to deal with this anymore, but this was her own daughter—she couldn’t just walk away.
She needed to find her eldest sister and sound out her attitude. She needed to know where things stood.
Jiang Siyi and Lin Ji walked past the flower-adorned anniversary displays, through the colorful balloons, and reached the semicircular sofa arrangement where every seat was occupied.
Besides Lin Xuebo and Kong Yuchen, many middle-aged men and women held wine glasses.
Only a single armchair remained empty.
Newlyweds obviously shouldn’t sit apart, and the group began making room for the couple.
Lin Ji said, “No need,” and guided Jiang Siyi to sit in the armchair.
Jiang Siyi wondered—was Lin Ji going to sit apart from her?
Before the thought could finish, Lin Ji casually settled onto the armrest of the sofa.
She had the main seat; Lin Ji stood guard beside her, right next to her.
The group’s eyes swept over. These were all seasoned veterans—smiles unchanging, but genuine surprise flickered in the depths of their eyes.
The Lin Ji they knew was decisive, composed, even ruthless.
A clingy Lin Ji was absolutely a first.
What kind of person could make Lin Ji suddenly marry—and then refuse to be half a step away from her?
Curious gazes turned toward Jiang Siyi one after another.
The young wife was fair-skinned and beautiful. Whatever the style of the dress she wore, she still projected a classical, refined elegance.
Her features were serene, seemingly carrying an innocent naivety—yet those bright eyes clearly held stories and wisdom.
Her figure… they didn’t dare look too closely—that wouldn’t be polite—but even a cursory glance revealed she was strikingly attractive.
With a wife this beautiful, they could understand why Lin Ji couldn’t bear to leave her side for even a moment.
Every person smiling warmly at Jiang Siyi was a familiar face from the financial news.
Under normal circumstances, these were exactly the clients she’d want to cultivate.
But this was clearly not the right setting.
These entrepreneurs and bankers had come today for Lin Ji.
They hadn’t expected to walk into the scene of her marriage announcement.
Facing this freshly minted, unfamiliar “Mrs. Lin,” everyone was intensely curious.
A curly-haired woman complimented Jiang Siyi’s appearance and poise, then politely asked about her profession.
The word “auctioneer” had already reached Jiang Siyi’s lips, but she paused.
Lin Yunting’s old dismissive words about her career surfaced in her memory without warning.
—You have to maintain client relationships, just like sales, groveling and begging.
Jiang Siyi understood, of course, that Lin Xuebo and Lin Yunting were different.
She came to the auction house regularly to show support, never looked down on her profession, and had never once told her to abandon her career and focus on family the way Lin Yunting had.
With people like Lin Yunting who belittled her, she could argue her case.
But with people who were kind to her, she worried more about whether she might cause them trouble.
As she was weighing how to answer, Lin Ji’s fingertips pressed lightly on her shoulder, steadying her thoughts.
“Siyi is an auctioneer at Jiashibi.”
The words she’d hesitated to say out of so many concerns, Lin Ji said without the slightest hesitation.
Jiang Siyi glanced at Lin Xuebo’s and Kong Yuchen’s expressions almost immediately.
Kong Yuchen smiled benevolently throughout, and Lin Xuebo not only kept her warm smile but picked up right where Lin Ji left off.
“Our Siyi is truly outstanding. She’s earned the White Glove3 at every session.”
No one present showed the slightest contempt for the auctioneer profession. On the contrary, they followed Lin Xuebo’s lead, agreeing that earning the White Glove at every session at such a young age was no small feat.
Their manners were impeccable; even their flattery was delivered with studied casualness.
A bespectacled, graying middle-aged man said with delighted surprise:
“Jiashibi? I attended the spring auction’s oil painting session. I didn’t see you there, Miss Jiang. Which department are you in?”
Jiang Siyi: “I’m in the Gold, Stone, and Jade Department.”
“Gold, Stone, and Jade? So you handle jewelry and antiques?”
“Yes.”
The bespectacled man laughed, spreading his hands to the person beside him:
“What a coincidence! My son is getting married soon, and I’ve been worrying about what betrothal gift to get my future daughter-in-law. Jewelry and antiques would be perfect.”
After sharing a laugh, he turned to Jiang Siyi with a beaming smile:
“Miss Jiang, would it be convenient to add your WeChat? That way I can prepare a proper betrothal gift for my daughter-in-law.”
Jiang Siyi wasn’t sure of his relationship with Huanwei or what Lin Ji would think.
She wasn’t sure whether it was appropriate to add him.
Lin Ji’s fingertips, which had been resting on her shoulder, tapped almost imperceptibly near her collarbone.
Without a single word exchanged, Jiang Siyi simply knew what Lin Ji meant:
Go ahead.
Jiang Siyi added his WeChat, and then the J City power brokers seated around the sofa circle each found a reason to add her as well.
In the past, she’d always been the one expending tremendous effort to get the WeChat of collectors’ agents, assistants, or secretaries.
Later, when they found her bothersome, they’d delete her from their contacts.
Today, they were the ones chasing to add her.
It felt quite novel.
After the round of adding friends, a waiter brought wine.
Jiang Siyi picked up a glass, seized the moment to turn toward Lin Ji, straightening in her seat as if she had something to say.
She sat in the enveloping sofa while Lin Ji perched on the armrest; even sitting as straight as she could, she couldn’t reach Lin Ji’s ear.
“Mm?”
Lin Ji braced against the sofa back, obligingly leaning down to bring her ear to Jiang Siyi’s lips.
“Don’t worry,” Jiang Siyi said. “I won’t pester these clients or embarrass you.”
The faint puff of breath lingered around Lin Ji’s ear, carrying Jiang Siyi’s scent.
A tingling sensation flashed from her ear to the tip of her heart—somewhat excruciating, but Lin Ji loved it.
“You can pester them all you like.”
“Huh?”
While Jiang Siyi was still puzzled, Lin Ji smoothly slipped the wine glass from her hand.
“I wouldn’t be embarrassed.”
After that, Lin Ji took her time sipping the wine.
Her hand empty, Jiang Siyi didn’t quite understand—there was a waiter right there with a tray full of glasses. Why did Lin Ji have to take the one from her hand?
Lin Ji took Jiang Siyi’s wine, naturally, because she knew that after a few drinks, the woman beside her would start shrinking the safe social distance between them.
With so many people here today, she didn’t want a tipsy Jiang Siyi getting too close to anyone.
Jiang Siyi, however, assumed Lin Ji was simply being practical—the waiter, however close, couldn’t be as close as the glass already in her hand.
She’d just get another one.
Jiang Siyi picked up another glass.
She was about to drink when Lin Ji took that one too.
Jiang Siyi looked at Lin Ji, who now held a glass in each hand: ?
Through two prior experiments, Lin Ji had already validated the kind of smile and way of speaking that wouldn’t frighten Jiang Siyi—that she even rather liked.
Her eyes curved slightly, the smile soaking into them.
“You love drinking that much? Have you thought about what happens when you’ve had too much, Siyi?”
The trailing note rose gently, like the indulgent admonition of an older sister.
At some point, she’d started dropping the surname and calling her by her given name alone.
Jiang Siyi felt as if a feather had brushed the tip of her heart. The thrill of attraction sent an unfamiliar, tender ache spreading through her chest.
Lin Ji’s beauty was almost overwhelming. Jiang Siyi didn’t quite dare meet her eyes, glancing away with a soft “Oh.”
“Then… I won’t drink anymore.”
Lin Ji’s gaze darkened for an instant at Jiang Siyi’s obedient demeanor.
It took a while for the surrounding voices to reenter her awareness.
With Lin Ji beside her, Jiang Siyi felt no lingering anxiety facing anyone.
Because she knew that even if she said or did something wrong, Lin Ji would never blame her.
Lin Ji would never judge her.
Listening to the casual chatter around her, when the topic occasionally turned her way, she handled it with ease.
A professional habit honed at the auction house: never let a conversation stall.
In truth, they discussed rather ordinary topics.
How she and Lin Ji had known each other since childhood, how they’d reconnected at the auction house after Lin Ji returned to the country, how Lin Ji’s search for her grandmother’s keepsakes had become the reason for their occasional meetings…
All of it was true.
Of course, some of it was embellished with a touch of exaggeration and creative license.
Like the depth of her familiarity with Lin Ji’s life—to date, every time they’d been alone together had been at Jiang Siyi’s apartment.
She hadn’t even entered Lin Ji’s life, much less “gotten deeply familiar” with it.
Building on two previous rounds of improvisation, Jiang Siyi was quite natural this time.
Only at one point, after a certain remark, she noticed a faint awkwardness in Lin Ji’s expression.
Others might not have caught it, but Jiang Siyi could.
In the lull between topics, Jiang Siyi whispered to Lin Ji:
“Did I say something wrong just now?”
They’d been talking about Lin Ji’s major acquisition of the Huanwei Technology Headquarters Building, and when the topic turned to Lin Ji’s office, she’d casually chimed in that the view from Lin Ji’s office was excellent—playing the part of a proper wife who’d visited her spouse’s workplace.
Lin Ji’s office would naturally have the best view in the entire building—surely that was a safe assumption?
Lin Ji: “Not exactly.”
That “exactly” was rather telling.
Jiang Siyi: “…So there is something.”
Jiang Siyi was confused—how could that be?
Lin Ji kept her smile. “My office is on the first floor.”
Jiang Siyi: .
What?
Even Manager Wu’s office could overlook the entire CBD—and Lin Ji’s was on the first floor?
So inhumane?
Jiang Siyi, who’d been composed for most of the evening, started clenching her fist again. “Then…”
Lin Ji’s fingers pried open Jiang Siyi’s fist, slipped inside, playfully spreading her five fingers apart and folding them into her own grip, keeping her from clenching.
“The first floor can have a great view too.”
Jiang Siyi’s attention was entirely on Lin Ji’s words. She didn’t notice that her hand had once again fallen into Lin Ji’s palm, being gently kneaded, her fingers slowly unfurling.
“So is your office view good?”
Lin Ji loved quiet, so beyond the glass curtain wall lay an empty courtyard with nothing but sunlight.
It could be said to have no connection whatsoever to a “view.”
Lin Ji, however, said breezily, “Once I build a dry landscape garden next week, it’ll be an office with an ‘excellent view.'”
Jiang Siyi: .
Fortunately, Huanwei’s headquarters hadn’t been back in the country for long, and not many people knew her office was on the first floor or had visited it. So very few people knew its exterior was a barren wasteland.
Lin Ji rarely entertained visitors in her office, and her aloof demeanor now provided an unexpected cover.
Jiang Siyi was about to ask—So why is your office on the first floor?
Lin Ji whispered first.
“Even if we get away with it this time, we might be exposed next time. We’re married—let’s stop doing long distance.”
Jiang Siyi’s eyes slowly went wide. “Mm?”
Lin Ji’s burning gaze slowly descended to the depths of Jiang Siyi’s eyes.
“Move in with me. We need to be more familiar with each other in every aspect.”
The author has something to say:
Lin Ji: Wife-pampering, Step 14—of course, bring the wife over to cohabit, making it convenient to take care of her in all aspects.
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