Crossing the Line – Chapter 51
by Little PandaLifting Her Behind the Knees
Adjusting the seat back, removing the sleep mask.
“When will she arrive?”
“Based on when Miss Jiang sent her WeChat message and the direct flights from J City, she likely arrived at Heathrow Airport about half an hour ago.”
Lin Ji fell silent for a moment, gazing at the curtain of rain beyond the car window.
Sitting through an eleven-hour flight without uttering a word—how exhausting that must be.
And all to surprise me.
Her heart ached slightly at the thought of Jiang Siyi putting herself through such trouble, yet her brows and eyes had already softened with a smile at this restrained devotion.
With no other choice, Lin Ji could only play along with Jiang Siyi’s little scheme.
“After we arrive at the hotel, please go pick her up.”
“Understood. There’s one more thing—you might want to handle it before seeing Miss Jiang.”
The hotel was just around the corner ahead. While waiting at the last traffic light, Fan Qing said:
“Song Hui has also come to London. She’s desperate to meet with you.”
Lin Ji kept watching the street scene outside the window. Hearing the name “Song Hui,” she paused her mental shortlist of restaurants to take Jiang Siyi to for dinner.
She finally showed up. Song Ti’s aunt was even slower than she had expected.
“Where is she?”
“A Jiang says she’s already been waiting in the hotel lobby for three hours.”
A Jiang was the head of the bodyguard team specially hired for this overseas trip.
The incident overseas last time had taught Fan Qing a lesson. This trip was again a sudden situation—they had come in a hurry, and there was fear of traps, so naturally the security arrangements had to be even tighter to ensure nothing could go wrong.
Observing Lin Ji’s state through the rearview mirror, Fan Qing asked:
“Do you want me to send her away?”
“No, I’ll handle it myself.”
Inside the hotel.
Lin Ji stood on the second floor, looking down at Song Hui in the lobby below.
Song Hui sat on a single sofa, her gaze darting back and forth between her surroundings and her phone screen, visibly anxious.
Her hair was somewhat disheveled—not quite presentable—and the new gray strands at her temples hadn’t been tended to.
Her suitcase was right beside her; she must have flown overnight.
By all rights, given her current situation, she shouldn’t have been able to leave the country. The fact that she had managed to come here proved she was indeed an old hand who had navigated the West 5th District for years.
The more capable she was at this, the more corruption would be uncovered in a thorough investigation—and the heavier her crimes.
Judging by Song Hui’s state, she was genuinely panicked this time.
Recalling how Song Hui had been utterly unscrupulous in her harshness toward Jiang Siyi at the Ruihua Bank banquet, Lin Ji didn’t go down immediately.
She sat down unhurriedly in the second-floor café. While waiting for the waiter to bring her coffee and French toast, she made a call to A Jiang.
Then she took out the copy of 《Oblomov》 she hadn’t finished reading yesterday and continued at a leisurely pace.
It was Song Hui who spotted Lin Ji first.
This woman was acting as though she were on vacation, deliberately leaving her hanging without the slightest pretense.
Song Hui sat down across from her. She was furious, seething—yet didn’t dare say anything harsh.
“Xiaoyou.”
Song Hui lowered her voice, striving to maintain her composure.
“I know that I used certain methods regarding the Stella situation, and it wasn’t fair to Siling. But the punishment shouldn’t be this severe… If I’m actually convicted, I might spend the rest of my life in prison.”
Lin Ji didn’t look up. She simply turned a page of her book with composure.
In the height of summer, the thought that her years of careful cultivation were about to be destroyed—and that a dark future loomed before her—brought a sheen of cold sweat to Song Hui’s forehead. Her hands were clasped tightly together as she continuously tried to regulate her breathing.
“I was wrong. I’ve already called Siling personally to apologize. It was a moment of foolishness, and she doesn’t blame me anymore.”
In reality, Jiang Siling had simply hung up on her, denying her any further opportunity to speak.
Song Hui racked her brains. “If—if Siling had really signed with NEXT back then, she wouldn’t have been able to partner with ArtS now. ArtS is the premier contemporary art company in the West 5th District; their operational capabilities are incomparable to NEXT’s… I’m not claiming credit, but wouldn’t you say this was a blessing in disguise?”
“By that logic, I should be thanking you.”
Lin Ji finally raised her eyes, casting Song Hui a gaze so calm it was inexplicably chilling.
“In her utter despair, with no way out, she burned everything she had poured her heart into. All she had was pain—and the executioner claims she did her a favor?”
Lin Ji’s cold smile was faint, but the sarcasm in her words was razor-sharp.
“If I shoved this table knife into your eye, and from then on you never dared to look down on people again—would you thank me too? Would you call it a blessing in disguise?”
Following Lin Ji’s words, Song Hui’s gaze couldn’t help but drift to the sharp table knife beside her hand.
Shock pressed against her chest, and Song Hui’s breathing turned slow and shallow.
“Jiang Siling has talent. She will reach her rightful stage one day and receive the attention and recognition she deserves. Those who inflicted suffering on her deserve only to watch from below, envious and resentful of their own making. They have no right to come fawning, asking for a share of the spoils.”
Song Hui had lived the first half of her life smooth sailing—never short of money or power, never humiliated like this by anyone.
She had expected this trip to London would be unpleasant. What she hadn’t expected was that Lin Ji’s tongue would be even more vicious than she imagined.
Her face gradually flushed crimson, and she had no choice but to swallow her anger.
Song Hui had no choice but to play her final card.
“Xiaoyou, we’re family by marriage. Over the years, the Song family and the Lin family have supported each other and grown together. This is a bond that can’t be severed. If you do this, what will your aunt think? How will your cousin view you…”
Lin Ji picked up the table knife.
The cold gleam of the blade flashed before Song Hui’s eyes. She froze mid-sentence, every word stuck in her throat.
“So what? Jiang Siyi is my wife. Her elder sister is my elder sister. What is the Song family worth?”
Song Hui couldn’t help but find these words familiar.
When she had cut short Jiang Siling’s career path back then, Jiang Siyi had confronted her—you know perfectly well who was in the wrong.
At the time, Song Hui had mocked Jiang Siyi with reckless abandon—so what? Stella is my niece. What are you and your sister worth?
Now Lin Ji had given her a taste of her own medicine. Rendered speechless by her own phrasing turned back on her, Song Hui’s complexion turned ghastly.
It was clear Lin Ji would never let her off.
Song Hui had no desire to humiliate herself further. She said nothing more and rose to leave.
Suddenly, four police officers surrounded her. Shocked, Song Hui tried to flee, but they had already boxed her in—too late.
She looked back at Lin Ji in disbelief.
Lin Ji’s unhurried, deliberate neglect hadn’t been merely to humiliate her—she had been waiting for the police.
From the very beginning, Lin Ji had intended to put her away.
Song Hui’s head buzzed. In her swimming vision, she saw Jiang Siyi standing not far away.
Jiang Siyi had witnessed with her own eyes how Song Hui reaped what she had sown.
As the officers moved to take hold of Song Hui, she sniffed, lifted her head, and said in English:
“Don’t touch me. I’ll walk on my own.”
Song Hui was led away.
Amid the glances of hotel guests passing to and fro, Lin Ji slowly set the table knife down.
She checked her phone, estimating that Jiang Siyi would arrive in about half an hour.
Song Hui was dealt with—now she could get back to selecting candidate restaurants for dinner.
Over forty hours without sleep, during which she had conducted a grueling meeting requiring intense concentration and then dealt with a nuisance—Lin Ji’s brain was inevitably running a touch slower now.
She didn’t notice that Jiang Siyi was already standing behind her.
An hour ago, Jiang Siyi had gotten off the plane and, without waiting for Fan Qing’s reply, hailed a taxi into the city.
In her dictionary, there was no concept of needing someone to pick her up.
Fan Qing had met her two streets ahead of the hotel, and they had arrived within minutes.
So the conversation between Lin Ji and Song Hui, as well as the entire process of Song Hui’s arrest—Jiang Siyi had seen it all.
—Jiang Siyi is my wife. Her elder sister is my elder sister. What is the Song family worth?
These words that made the tips of one’s ears burn red—Jiang Siyi had heard them loud and clear.
Seeing that Lin Ji still hadn’t noticed anything behind her, Fan Qing was about to speak up to remind her.
Two strikingly beautiful young women who had been sitting on the side sofa stood up, phones in hand. With excited yet shy smiles, they nudged each other forward and shuffled up to Lin Ji, striking up a conversation in English.
Asking her name, asking if she was a model, and whether they could add her as a friend.
Jiang Siyi’s footstep toward Lin Ji halted.
Even Fan Qing instantly went on high alert, not daring to breathe.
Lin Ji’s gaze swept casually over the two before her, and she said in perfectly enunciated Chinese:
“Sorry, I don’t understand English.”
Jiang Siyi and Fan Qing: …
The BOSS’s company was listed overseas. Not only did she speak English, but her fluency rivaled that of a native speaker.
She could effortlessly persuade major board members in a London accent and trade banter with individual shareholders using slang.
Whether it was legal documents full of Latin terminology or financial reports spanning hundreds of pages, she could analyze and read through them without difficulty.
And yet she pretended not to know English to completely shut down any possibility of being approached…
Lesson learned. Definitely lesson learned, Fan Qing thought to herself.
Unexpectedly, the two girls suddenly switched languages, speaking Chinese with a clumsy accent.
“That’s okay, we speak Chinese!”
“Jiejie, you’re so beautiful! Add us as friends!”
She hadn’t wanted to share personal details with strangers, but left with no choice, she raised her hand and displayed her ring.
Lin Ji: “I’m married.”
The two sat down directly in the empty seats across from her, one on each side.
The blonde, green-eyed one propped her chin in her hands; the brunette with blue eyes shrugged and leaned forward.
“You can still make new friends even if you’re married, right? Otherwise life would be so boring.”
“It’s no big deal, Jiejie—just add us as friends.”
“We’re very well-behaved. If Jiejie says don’t cause trouble, we won’t.”
“We just want to admire Jiejie’s beauty.”
“Though it doesn’t have to be purely innocent.”
“We’ll listen to whatever Jiejie says.”
The gorgeous girls traded off, one sentence each, their barrage relentless—like two succubi who could seduce anyone with ease.
Jiang Siyi hadn’t expected to encounter a “little sister army” even abroad.
Fan Qing didn’t dare glance at the Lady Boss’s expression beside her, terrified that if this continued, the consequences would be dire.
As an outstanding assistant earning a million-dollar salary, wherever there was a battlefield, that was her stage.
Fan Qing folded her hands in front of her and called out unhurriedly.
“BOSS.”
Lin Ji’s movements visibly paused. She turned her head.
She saw Jiang Siyi.
Lin Ji: .
She even closed her stinging eyes once, then opened them again.
It was indeed Jiang Siyi.
Fan Qing pressed her lips together slightly.
It seemed this was genuinely unexpected—a true surprise. No acting required.
Lin Ji’s gaze locked onto Jiang Siyi.
A rare miscalculation. The arrival time was quite different from what she had estimated…
Jiang Siyi’s expression as she gazed at her was far more complex.
She didn’t know how much Jiang Siyi had overheard. Words of explanation had already piled up to her chest. Then she saw Jiang Siyi stride toward her again and sit down beside her.
Then, without a word, she took her hand—
With the hand that wore the matching ring.
In Lin Ji’s sight, a slender, pale hand covered the back of hers.
The plain band encircled a delicate finger, quietly radiating a subtle gleam.
The two little “succubi” studied Jiang Siyi for a moment and naturally noticed the matching wedding rings.
They exchanged a disappointed glance, shrugged, and left.
Seeing them leave, Jiang Siyi breathed a sigh of relief.
She had always known Lin Ji was popular. But her feelings about it now were entirely different.
Seeing others approach her, the heart in her left chest felt as though it were being ruthlessly squeezed and wrung, twisting out an aching bitterness that made her chest tight.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed Lin Ji watching her. Was my possessiveness just now too real?
Lin Ji was about to clasp her hand in return, but in that moment of hesitation, Jiang Siyi withdrew her hand.
The warmth that had covered her skin and the tightness of that clasp vanished. Lin Ji’s hand felt suddenly empty. The gesture was a bit awkward; she could only loosely curl her fingers into a fist.
She already knew why Jiang Siyi had come. Keeping the word “surprise” in mind, she played along and asked as if she didn’t know.
“Why did you come to London?”
“I came for the exchange conference. This year our department is representing J City’s Jiashibi at the group’s Global Exchange Conference. I figured you happened to be here too, so… anyway, I had to work, so I came to see you.”
Jiang Siyi said this as she stood up and walked toward her suitcase resting nearby.
Lin Ji didn’t expose her. She simply admired this version of Jiang Siyi—the one who over-explained whenever she lied.
Before Jiang Siyi could reach the suitcase, Lin Ji beat her to it and grasped the handle.
At the same time, she looked at Fan Qing.
Fan Qing explained: “I had just dropped you at the hotel when I picked up Miss Jiang two streets ahead.”
The implication being: BOSS, do the math yourself—figure out how much she heard and saw.
According to Lin Ji’s original calculation, by the time Jiang Siyi arrived at the hotel, she would have already finished dealing with Song Hui.
If she hadn’t seen anyone unpleasant, there would be no trigger for unhappy memories.
Instead…
Jiang Siyi had not only witnessed her cold, barbed mockery toward Song Hui but also seen her ruthless tactic of destroying a person’s spirit before destroying them.
Those threatening words had likely all found their way into Jiang Siyi’s ears as well.
Not to mention being inexplicably caught in the middle of that flirtation incident.
She had finally managed to make Jiang Siyi less afraid of her. Who knew if all that effort had just gone down the drain.
She had traveled all this way to see her—please don’t let her be frightened and angry at the same time.
While a thousand words surged through Lin Ji’s mind, she noticed that Jiang Siyi was studying her.
Jiang Siyi tilted her gaze upward with concern, carefully studying the face of the woman before her. A small ridge of worry gradually formed between her brows.
In less than two days, the woman before her had visibly thinned.
She looked to be in genuinely poor condition.
“Your eyes are all bloodshot, and the dark circles are so deep… How much have you slept these past two days?”
The first words out of her mouth were about Lin Ji’s physical condition.
She didn’t bring up Song Hui, nor was she frightened by Lin Ji’s cold, ruthless side as Lin Ji had feared.
Her jealousy was kept hidden deep inside, secretly nursed.
She was simply heartbroken by the crimson at the corners of her eyes and the dark bruising beneath them.
Words of comfort could certainly be spoken, but Lin Ji didn’t want to lie to Jiang Siyi.
She also had a slightly wicked desire to make the woman before her worry about her a little more.
Lin Ji: “I haven’t slept.”
Hearing those three words, Jiang Siyi fell silent.
That aching bitterness washed over her heart once more.
She wanted to trace her fingers over every trace of exhaustion on her face and smooth them all away.
Her hand twitched, but she didn’t actually do it. Instead, she clasped her own hands together.
“Then…”
“It’s fine. I’m used to it.”
Fan Qing’s gaze bounced between the boss and the boss’s wife.
It was time for her to make a graceful exit.
“BOSS, I’ll go handle some work.”
Lin Ji: “Thank you for your hard work.”
Fan Qing departed. Without further words, Lin Ji pulled Jiang Siyi’s suitcase toward the escalator.
Most of the time, Lin Ji was thoughtfully attentive.
Occasionally, that attentiveness radar would suddenly malfunction.
Like now.
Jiang Siyi looked at her back, somewhat speechless.
I didn’t say I wanted to stay here…
Lin Ji’s suite was at the far end of the second floor.
It faced the hotel’s small garden—very quiet.
Lin Ji settled her suitcase and then presented her with three candidate restaurants.
One French, one Chinese, and one Japanese.
“All three have excellent food. Which one would you like?”
Jiang Siyi shook her head. “I’m not hungry. I already ate on the plane. I want you to go rest first. Try to get some sleep.”
“Airplane food…”
“You go rest first.”
Jiang Siyi’s brows were still furrowed in that same worried way. Her tone wasn’t forceful—soft and gentle as always—but those pure eyes were filled with determination and resolve.
Gazed at like that, Lin Ji could only say, “Okay.”
If a third person had been watching, they might have envisioned a certain scene—
A fluffy white little lamb telling a fierce fox to sit down, and the fox actually obeyed.
Lin Ji was reluctant to spend her time with Jiang Siyi on sleeping. But Jiang Siyi was so insistent, and she didn’t want to go against her wishes.
“Then I’ll take a shower first.”
Jiang Siyi nodded.
“There’s another bathroom in the room across the way.”
The implication being that Jiang Siyi could shower at the same time.
Jiang Siyi: …
She had been traveling for over ten hours and did indeed need a shower.
But being alone in a suite with Lin Ji and hearing the word “shower”—her thoughts inevitably wandered.
Jiang Siyi didn’t look at Lin Ji. She nodded again, mechanically.
Lin Ji went to shower.
The sound of water reached her ears from afar, stirring a flush of heat at the back of her neck.
When Lin Ji emerged from the shower, Jiang Siyi saw her standing at the mini bar in a familiar nightgown, mixing her favorite drink.
Being far overseas and unable to get her favorite strawberry juice, Lin Ji let the outer corners of her eyes droop slightly in dissatisfaction.
Her dark, dense long hair still carried traces of moisture. The skin of her calves below the hem was dewy and pale.
An all too vivid mature beauty flooded Jiang Siyi’s vision.
A thought surfaced in her mind unbidden—
I’ve kissed her.
When two people who have kissed find themselves alone together again, what might happen next—no adult could play dumb about that.
It was only a matter of sooner or later—when it would start and in what form.
Her heartbeat skipped several beats.
Lin Ji looked over.
Jiang Siyi pretended to be nonchalant and walked over to the desk.
Her back to Lin Ji.
Lin Ji could only see her slender back and the graceful silhouette faintly visible beneath her sleepwear.
Beneath her pinned-up hair, the small wing tattoo occupied the most conspicuous spot on her pale nape.
She picked up her phone, wanting to check where the company had booked her hotel, thinking she might tell her colleagues to cancel it.
“Siyi.”
A cool fragrance drifted from behind, and a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her.
Jiang Siyi’s breath caught.
Dark curls brushed past her neck, lightly grazing her skin. A tingling sensation slowly gathered at the tip of her heart.
The person behind her leaned against her in silent dependence.
The arms around her were so tight it made her bones ache.
Intense emotion was compressed into the spaces between a single, short sentence.
“I want to kiss you.”
A faint blush of embarrassment seeped onto the backs of her fingers. Jiang Siyi’s eyelashes fluttered nervously.
She looked up and saw in the mirror the image of herself held in Lin Ji’s embrace.
The visual impact made her breathing involuntarily quicken.
“Mm…”
She answered, barely audible.
A burning kiss covered her cool lips, rapidly heating them.
Still as fierce as ever.
Jiang Siyi was kissed until she kept leaning back, with nowhere to retreat, tilting backward.
Forced onto her toes, she half-sat on the edge of the desk.
The kiss deepened, burning.
Jiang Siyi’s chest rose and fell uncontrollably.
The woman kissing her caught her behind the knees.
And lifted her entirely onto the desk.
Her legs had no choice but to part.
Forced apart.
Tap.
The indoor slippers fell to the floor.
Her powerless knees were hooked, and her softening waist fell into a single arm.
Her slender body was pressed firmly into the woman holding her, with nowhere to escape.
The kisses came deep and shallow—one moment too much for Jiang Siyi to bear, the next not enough.
Her lips and tongue were drawn and savored.
Every breath filled with nothing but Lin Ji’s scent.
For the first twenty-five years of her life, the rule-abiding Jiang Siyi had never done anything as outrageous as sitting on a desk.
The first time she sat on a desk—and it was while kissing Lin Ji.
Jiang Siyi was kissed until she was dizzy.
Unbearable yet wonderful.
In her hazy, dizzy state, she finally realized that they had begun just like this—directly and overwhelmingly…
The author has something to say:
Lin Ji: Step 21 of Wife-Pampering—straight to the pampering.
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