Chapter 48

The arm pinched her—not hard, but not gently either—and Wen Yan winced slightly, turning to look at Jin Zijin in mild surprise.

Yet Jin Zijin acted as if nothing had happened, her arm still intimately looped through Wen Yan’s.

With an impeccable, poised smile, she looked toward Jiang Linyue on the sofa and asked in a warm voice, “Wen Yan, who is this? Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

Maybe it was just Wen Yan’s imagination, but there seemed to be a hint of chill in that tone.

She steadied herself and introduced, “This is my senior from undergrad, Jiang Linyue.”

“We were at the same school for grad school too, but we had different advisors. She’s in cardiothoracic surgery; I’m in orthopedics.”

Then she turned to Jiang Linyue with a small smile. “Senior, long time no see. This is my wife, Jin Zijin.”

Jiang Linyue’s pupils widened slightly when she heard that. “You’re married?”

Her surprise was obvious; she rose almost at once, her gaze flicking back and forth between Wen Yan and Jin Zijin.

“Mm.” Wen Yan nodded. Feeling Jin Zijin’s arm tighten around hers, she followed that pressure and said the half-formal, half-sincere line, “Zijin and I... fell for each other at first sight, I guess. We thought it was a good fit, so we settled it.”

It was a polished, perfect answer, neatly skimming past all the exchanges of interest and tentative probing that had led here.

As expected, a trace of satisfaction appeared in Jin Zijin’s eyes, and that faint chill from earlier seemed to fade a little.

But Jiang Linyue’s expression only grew more complicated; beneath the shock, there seemed to be something else she couldn’t quite name.

Jin Zijin had already led Wen Yan forward and extended her right hand with graceful composure. “Miss Jiang, hello. I’m Wen Yan’s wife, Jin Zijin.”

“Yan Yan often mentions you. She says you took good care of her back then.”

Jiang Linyue quickly gathered herself and shook her hand, her smile returning to its earlier composed calm. “Miss Jin, hello. I’m Wen Yan’s senior.”

“Nice to meet you.”

The two hands clasped briefly. Their eyes met across the gap with steady politeness; each sized the other up with perfect restraint, yet it felt as though an invisible string had quietly gone taut between them.

At the head seat, Jin Shuangye took in the whole scene and cheerfully stepped in to smooth things over. “Well now, so Xiao Jiang and Yan Yan already knew each other? That’s great; then you’re even less of an outsider.”

Jin Zijin took the opportunity to lead Wen Yan to the sofa on the other side. They sat very close together, their posture intimate and natural.

Jiang Linyue’s gaze fell on the pair leaning into each other; a nearly imperceptible shadow flashed in her eyes, and then she lowered her lashes and picked up the teacup on the coffee table.

The old lady was clearly still interested in the topic that had been interrupted and turned to Jiang Linyue again. “Xiao Jiang, that research you were talking about just now sounds very promising to me. Zijin has a sharp nose for these things; you young people should talk more.”

At that, Jin Zijin showed just the right amount of interest. “Oh? What project is it? Something that even caught Grandma’s attention.”

Jiang Linyue lifted her eyes. Her expression had already returned to professional composure, and she introduced the project clearly and in order: “It’s about using 3D bioprinting technology to create organ prototypes that can be used for transplantation.”

“At the moment, we’re mainly focusing on ex vivo construction of heart valves and some vascular tissues...”

She went on to explain the technical principles, the team’s current results, and the latest international developments.

Her words were clear, the data solid; she fully displayed the caliber of a top-tier researcher.

Jin Zijin listened intently, occasionally asking a few key questions. Before long, the two of them were deep in discussion.

Wen Yan sat quietly to the side, her eyes moving between them.

When something important came up, she naturally added, “Senior Jiang’s team has always been among the best in China when it comes to combining biomaterials with clinical application.”

“Their paper on printed cartilage repair in a Nature sub-journal before was beautifully done methodologically.”

It was an objective assessment, carrying academic recognition.

Jin Zijin glanced sideways at her, the smile in her eyes deepening, though she said nothing.

At that moment, a brisk set of footsteps came from the entrance to the living room.

A tall woman with shoulder-length hair, dressed in neat trousers, walked in. Seeing how lively the room was, she raised her brows and laughed. “Well, I just went out to answer a phone call, and you’re already chatting so enthusiastically?”

It was Jin Ziyu.

Her arrival briefly interrupted the conversation.

Wen Yan looked up at the sound and saw a beautiful woman with features somewhat similar to Jin Zijin’s, though her temperament was more open and sharper.

She walked in with a breeze at her heels, her smile bright, carrying an unmistakable presence.

“Third Sister Ziyu.” Jin Zijin greeted her with a smile.

“Long time no see, Zijin.” Jin Ziyu strode over. Her gaze landed on Wen Yan first, and unhidden admiration and interest flashed through her eyes.

She directly extended her hand to Wen Yan, smiling broadly. “So this is the ‘brother-in-law’ who’s got my little sister so hopelessly smitten?”

“Hello, hello. I’m Zijin’s third sister, Jin Ziyu.”

Wen Yan stood and shook her hand. “Third Sister.”

Jin Ziyu didn’t let go right away. She looked Wen Yan over from head to toe and clicked her tongue in praise. “I was just wondering what kind of celestial being could make our lofty, impossible-to-please Zijin willingly walk into the marriage ‘grave.’”

“Seeing you today...” She deliberately stretched out the last syllable, a teasing glint in her eyes. “Dr. Wen really is... mm, exceptionally elegant. No wonder she’s so easy to fall for.”

Wen Yan was momentarily at a loss from the slightly playful compliment; the tips of her ears warmed, and she wasn’t sure how to answer.

Jin Zijin promptly stepped in to save her, gently pulling Wen Yan’s hand back and shooting Jin Ziyu a reproachful look. “Third Sister, stop teasing her. Sit down already; we were just talking about the project you and Miss Jiang are collaborating on.”

Only then did Jin Ziyu smile and let go, taking the vacant seat beside Jiang Linyue and picking up the topic.

She set aside her joking expression; once she began discussing business, she became instantly shrewd and capable.

Jiang Linyue’s team had already built a very solid foundation overseas in basic research and early-stage clinical trials. The technology itself was unquestionably strong.

But for a project like this, one involving life ethics and cutting-edge biotechnology, especially one that might touch the interests of the traditional organ transplantation field, truly landing in China and being promoted on a large scale would require more than technical thresholds; the bigger obstacles were access barriers and the difficulties of ethics review.

They needed the Jin family’s resources and connections, especially channels for communication with regulatory bodies and top-tier medical systems, to build a compliant and stable path forward.

If successful, it would indeed be a revolutionary breakthrough in medicine.

But by the same token, the risks were enormous.

Public pressure, ethical controversy, retaliation from traditional vested interests...

A single misstep could drag down the entire business reputation and public image the Jin Group had built over decades.

Jin Shuangye listened to their discussion and slowly nodded.

Her fingers idly rubbed the dragon head of the rosewood cane in her hand; her expression remained calm, clearly weighing the enormous opportunities and risks involved.

The discussion in the living room only grew deeper and more animated.

Wen Yan said less, simply listening quietly and taking an occasional sip of tea.

Most of her attention was on Jin Zijin beside her.

Seeing how focused she was, Wen Yan reached casually into the nut dish on the coffee table, picked up a few walnuts, and used a small silver nutcracker to crack them carefully open. She picked out the intact kernels, then naturally brought them to Jin Zijin’s lips.

Jin Zijin was deep in thought; she opened her mouth almost on instinct and took them in, the tip of her tongue brushing Wen Yan’s fingertip by accident.

Wen Yan’s fingers curled slightly. She withdrew her hand without changing expression and continued cracking the next one.

Between them flowed a silent understanding and intimacy. Against the backdrop of serious discussion, those tiny gestures looked especially warm and lingering.

Jiang Linyue saw all of it in silence from the side.

Her gaze couldn’t help but follow Wen Yan’s movements: the lowered lashes, the fingertips pressing a little as she cracked the shell, the natural way Jin Zijin accepted the offered kernel...

Her fingers around the teacup tightened slightly, and deep in her eyes, something seemed to quietly dim.

Her thoughts drifted uncontrollably far away.

She remembered many years ago, at the medical school freshman orientation.

As a senior in clinical medicine, she had gone to the basic medical school building to promote an academic club.

The lecture hall was packed with fresh, youthful faces, but at a glance she had noticed Wen Yan in the corner.

Back then, Wen Yan was already fairly tall, but thin and slight. Sitting there quietly, she was wrapped in a kind of stillness completely different from the surrounding noise.

Like a stand of young bamboo that hadn’t fully unfurled yet, bathed in moonlight.

Not especially dazzling, but for some reason impossible to look away from.

She had been drawn to her and couldn’t help but get closer.

Only after truly getting to know her did she realize that beneath that face, which already seemed to have the contours of maturity, the girl’s actual age was so young.

In the same university campus, there was a full six years between twenty and fourteen.

Six years of first skirmishes with society; six years of immaturity that had not yet fully faded.

Wen Yan was pure as a blank sheet of paper.

The feelings that had started to bloom in Jiang Linyue’s heart simply couldn’t carry even a trace of impropriety or impatience when faced with such clear eyes.

She could only look at that prematurely serious face, at the body that had begun to develop, and talk herself into believing: this was someone she could date normally, someone she could wait to grow up.

So she guarded her role as a senior carefully, taking Wen Yan to projects, to events, to meals, looking after her clumsily when she was sick.

She thought time was long; things would naturally fall into place. Once Wen Yan grew a little more, she would surely understand the feelings hidden inside those everyday acts of care.

But in the end...

For all those years, she had never figured it out.

When Jiang Linyue finally realized the other person truly had no such intentions, she decisively pulled back before her own emotions could spiral out of control.

She left for six years; when they met again, the other party was already married.

To a woman, no less.

Jiang Linyue stared at Wen Yan’s fully matured face, a little lost in thought.

Jin Zijin keenly noticed it.

Seeing Jiang Linyue’s overly focused gaze, one that was plainly fixed on Wen Yan and nowhere else, she frowned almost imperceptibly.

An odd displeasure rose in her chest; it felt exactly like having her territory intruded upon.

What was with this person?

Why did she look so heartbreakingly nostalgic, as if she couldn’t let go of an old love?

Jin Zijin didn’t show it on her face, but under the table, her hand moved quietly and took Wen Yan’s firmly.

Their fingers interlaced on their own, and that hand was fully gathered into her palm.

Wen Yan turned to look at her, a little surprised.

Jin Zijin smiled faintly at her and lightly scratched her palm with her fingertips, carrying a touch of proud satisfaction.

Hmph.

Who cared about some rival in love? They were all defeated opponents.