Chapter 54

Chi Chunxin clicked her tongue twice, just about to pile on a few more “precision strikes” against Jin Zijin when she was suddenly interrupted.

From the entrance to the banquet hall came another soft but distinct voice. “Wen Yan…”

The instant that voice rang out, Chi Chunxin keenly sensed the person beside her; Jin Zijin’s entire bearing changed at once.

Like a leopard that had been lazily licking its paw a moment ago, she suddenly went taut, her gaze sharp as fire as it locked onto the source of the sound.

Surprised, Chi Chunxin followed Jin Zijin’s line of sight and turned to look.

Sure enough, Jin Ziyu was walking in side by side with a woman.

The woman was of average height, around 165 centimeters, yet her posture was exceptionally straight.

She wore a simple beige satin evening gown, with a sheer shawl of the same color draped over her shoulders, giving her a clean, crisp appearance.

Her features were refined, her expression composed, and she carried herself with a steady, capable air.

She looked somewhat like Wen Yan, but not quite the same.

Chi Chunxin narrowed her eyes and quickly searched her memory for who this might be.

A stranger.

Never seen her before.

From the way she was addressed, she had to be someone on Wen Yan’s side, a friend or relative?

Chi Chunxin instinctively looked toward Jin Zijin.

Only to see Jin Zijin unobtrusively loop her arm more tightly around Wen Yan’s, a flawless smile spreading across her face as she reminded her in a gentle voice, “Yan Yan, your senior sister is here.”

At the sound, Wen Yan shifted her gaze away from Chi Chunxin and toward the newcomer.

Seeing Jiang Linyue, her brows curved slightly. “Senior sister.”

Jin Zijin, still linked with her, took a few elegant steps forward, her tone carrying the kind of familiar warmth that came naturally to someone already used to making herself at home. “Senior Sister Jiang, we meet again.”

The crisp way she said “Senior Sister Jiang” sounded perfectly proper to everyone who didn’t know any better; it only seemed like polite respect for her wife’s schoolmate.

But what sort of people were Chi Chunxin and Ye Jianlan?

They almost immediately caught a trace of faint but unmistakable chill beneath that intimacy.

There was killing intent.

Chi Chunxin and Ye Jianlan exchanged a knowing glance.

The spark of interest in Chi Chunxin’s eyes ignited instantly, like an explorer who had just stumbled upon a new continent.

Oh-ho…

Looks like today’s show is going to be even more exciting than expected.

She had always been the sort who loved trouble and never minded watching things burn, so she promptly trotted after them.

She squeezed in beside Jin Zijin and looked Jiang Linyue up and down without the slightest restraint. “Sister Ziyu, who’s this beautiful lady? Aren’t you going to introduce her?”

Jin Ziyu smiled and took over. “This is my friend, and also Wen Yan’s senior sister from school, Jiang Linyue, Dr. Jiang.”

“Wow—” Chi Chunxin drew the word out, lifting a brow with interest. “So you’re ‘Senior Sister Jiang.’ No wonder your presence is so outstanding.”

She copied Jin Zijin’s tone and extended a hand toward Jiang Linyue, smiling brightly. “Hello, Senior Sister Jiang. I’m Chi Chunxin, Sister Ziyu’s younger sister.”

Jin Zijin almost reflexively wanted to snap at her: Do you have no shame?

The words reached her lips, but when she glanced at Jiang Linyue’s calm gaze, she swallowed them back down and held on to that immaculate, “Jin CEO”-style smile.

Chi Chunxin caught every fleeting trace of restraint and subtle reaction on her face, and her amusement deepened. This was getting better and better.

Jiang Linyue met her hand graciously and shook it, her voice even. “Miss Chi, hello. I’ve long heard of you.”

“Oh?” Chi Chunxin withdrew her hand and tilted her head. “Senior Sister Jiang knows me?”

Jiang Linyue nodded, sincere. “I watched the documentary you directed, Deer Kingdom. It was very powerful. Both the visual language and the depth of the storytelling were deeply impressive.”

Wen Yan, hearing that, clearly looked surprised and turned to Chi Chunxin. “Deer Kingdom was directed by Miss Chi?”

Now it was Chi Chunxin’s turn to be surprised. Her eyes brightened. “You’ve seen it too?”

“Yes, I have.” Wen Yan nodded, and the look she gave her was noticeably more earnest with admiration. “During the years I was studying for my doctorate, the pressure was at its worst; watching documentaries was one of my main ways to decompress.”

“Deer Kingdom is one of the best documentaries on humanities and geography I’ve ever seen.”

“It has a unique perspective, restrained but powerful emotion, and it was made extremely well.”

She paused, seeming to remember something, then turned to Jiang Linyue. “Back then, Senior Sister was also often staying up late for experiments and under a lot of pressure. I recommended this documentary to her too.”

After saying that, she looked back at Jiang Linyue, her tone carrying a touch of admiration. “Senior Sister, you’re so attentive that you even noticed who the director was.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Chi Chunxin’s sharp eyes caught Jin Zijin’s perfect smile stiffening for a split second.

It vanished so quickly that anyone else might have thought it was an illusion, but Chi Chunxin caught it.

She immediately nudged Ye Jianlan lightly with her elbow and sent her a look that said, Look, look.

Ye Jianlan had noticed it too, and returned a knowing glance, the corners of her mouth lifting in a helpless little smile.

Jealous, huh.

How rare.

Their childhood friend, who was usually so cutting and dismissive that she seemed like some kind of AI, uninterested in human emotions, actually had such a vivid moment?

At this moment, Wen Yan was completely absorbed in the pleasant surprise of an unexpected discovery, and so missed Jin Zijin’s brief ripple of emotion.

Jiang Linyue smiled faintly and explained, “Actually, the first person who recognized the director was Ziyu.”

“One time we were hiking and camping. That night, during our rest, I happened to be watching this film. Ziyu passed by, glanced at it, and said she knew this director. She told me quite a bit about Director Chi.”

Chi Chunxin instantly grew interested and looked at Jin Ziyu. “What else did Sister Ziyu say about me?”

Jiang Linyue smiled. “She said you were a talented painter, a forward-thinking artist, and also a pioneer director with a unique perspective.”

She paused, then summed it up: “In short, very impressive.”

Chi Chunxin immediately gave Jin Ziyu a thumbs-up, her eyes crinkling. “As expected of an older sister with good taste! You really know how to talk!”

Jiang Linyue then turned to the person standing beside Chi Chunxin, who had been quietly smiling all this time. Her tone was polite as she asked, “And this is?”

Ye Jianlan curved her brows and stepped forward half a pace, extending a hand. Her bearing was gentle as water. “Ye Jianlan, Zi Jin’s childhood friend. Dr. Jiang, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Jiang Linyue shook her hand, and they let go with excellent restraint. “Jiang Linyue, Wen Yan’s senior sister. A pleasure.”

“All right, all right,” Jin Zijin cut in at just the right moment, interrupting the increasingly formal round of introductions.

She put her impeccable host’s smile back on and said softly, “It’s windy by the entrance. Don’t stand here; let’s go inside and talk.”

Only then did the group move together into the warm, brightly lit banquet hall full of perfume, fine clothes, and sparkling elegance.

Waiters moved through the crowd carrying champagne trays.

Chi Chunxin suggested, “It’s rare for everyone to be together like this today. How about a toast?”

No one objected, and each person took a glass of champagne from a tray.

“Cheers!”

After the clink of glasses, Wen Yan unconsciously lifted her own glass to her lips, only for a slender hand to reach in from the side and lightly hold the stem of her glass.

She turned her head; it was Jin Zijin.

Jin Zijin looked at her, her eyes soft. “You still have several surgeries tomorrow. You can’t drink; it’ll affect your condition. I’ll drink for you.”

Wen Yan paused, then warmth spread through her chest. She nodded obediently and answered softly, “Okay.”

Jin Zijin took the glass from her and drained it in one go.

The others took in the scene.

Especially Chi Chunxin, who immediately began heckling them. “Oho, so marriage really is different, Jin Zijin! You even know how to dote on and protect people now!”

She turned to Wen Yan and exposed her at lightning speed. “Dr. Wen, you don’t know this, but before, whenever I drank with this one and you left even a sip in your cup, she’d nag at you for ages.”

“She’d say, ‘You raising fish in a pond or what!’ Then she’d go all fierce and make you punish yourself with three extra drinks! And now look at her…”

Jin Zijin’s ears turned faintly hot, and she shot her a glare at once. “Chi Chunxin! Stop spouting nonsense in front of my wife.”

“If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll really have security ‘invite’ you out and let you enjoy the manor’s night view. Believe it or not?”

“Oho, your wife, your wife!” Chi Chunxin deliberately mimicked her, grinning like a cat that had stolen fish. “You’ve got a wife and you’re acting all smug! Always using your wife to scare people!”

Seeing that the two of them were about to launch into another round of kindergarten-level bickering, Ye Jianlan stepped in at the right moment and cut them off gently but firmly. “All right, all right, enough from both of you.”

“It’s a formal occasion today, and there are too many people around. If you want to make trouble, do it in private later.”

She deftly shifted the topic, then turned her attention to Jiang Linyue, who had been quietly watching the whole time, and asked naturally, “Dr. Jiang, come to think of it, we still haven’t heard in detail how you and Sister Ziyu met. It sounds like quite an interesting story.”

The question was a little abrupt, but it successfully drew everyone’s attention.

Jin Zijin and Chi Chunxin both temporarily halted their sparring and looked at Jiang Linyue.

Even Jin Ziyu raised a brow.

Only Wen Yan quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank heavens; the topic had finally moved to safe ground.

Anything was fine, as long as those two didn’t keep publicly exposing each other’s secrets and flirting by fighting.

She cooperated readily and nodded toward Jiang Linyue, her eyes clear. “Yes, Senior Sister, we didn’t get a chance to ask in detail yesterday.”

Jin Zijin quickly glanced at Ye Jianlan and gave a silent huff.

Old Ye.

You talk a bit too much.

She swiftly adjusted her expression and turned to Jin Ziyu at the right moment, her smile carrying just the right amount of curiosity and teasing. “Yes, Third Sister, I wanted to ask yesterday too.”

“It’s rare to see you bring a friend home. Come on, tell us how you and Senior Sister Jiang met.”

Jin Ziyu looked at the several pairs of eyes in front of her, each filled with a clear thirst for gossip, and could only smile helplessly.

She sighed and explained, “You’re thinking too much.”

“It was last year. I was on a self-drive trip through a stretch of wilderness road in North America, and my car broke down halfway. There wasn’t a village ahead or a shop behind me.”

“Just as I was worrying, Linyue happened to drive by.”

“She saw that I was Asian and probably in trouble, so she stopped to help. In no time at all, she had the problem solved.”

“Wow!” Chi Chunxin was the first to gasp, looking at Jiang Linyue with renewed admiration. “My goodness! Senior Sister Jiang, you can not only fix people, you can fix cars too? Amazing.”

Jiang Linyue wore a smile, her expression calm. “Doing research overseas is stressful. In my spare time, I like to tinker with things, so I picked up a little bit of everything. I didn’t expect it to come in handy.”

At that, Chi Chunxin’s curiosity turned to Wen Yan again. “Dr. Wen, what about you? Can you do any of these little things too?”

Wen Yan quickly waved both hands, a little embarrassed. “Not really. I barely ever drive. Most of the time I take the subway or ride with someone else.”

“No problem!” Chi Chunxin waved a hand grandly, very considerate. “As long as Jin Zijin can drive!”

“Her driving skills are top-notch, especially on mountain roads; smooth, accurate, and ruthless. Next time there’s an event, have her take you; let you experience what it’s like to fly along the road…”

Before she could finish, she felt a sharp pain in her arm.

Chi Chunxin turned her head and saw Jin Zijin gripping her arm, smiling with her teeth but not her eyes. “Chi Chunxin…”

She muttered through clenched teeth, her words indistinct. “I stopped test-driving myself ages ago, so stop talking nonsense.”

What a joke.

Wen Yan was an orthopedic surgeon; every day she fought life and loss on the operating table, and people like that usually held life in the highest regard.

Racing, a sport that most people associated with danger, extremes, and the consumption of life, could very well be placed in the category of disrespecting life.

They’d only been married a month, not ten years.

Her wild past was definitely not something she was ready to lay out in front of Wen Yan so casually.

This bastard Chi Chunxin really couldn’t wait to watch her score in Wen Yan’s eyes get knocked down to nothing, could she?

Chi Chunxin winced from the pinch, but when she met Jin Zijin’s eyes, full of warning and a clear you-dare-say-another-word-and-see look, enlightenment struck her all at once.

No way?

She was really putting on the act of a gentle lady and model citizen here?

Chi Chunxin widened her eyes, sending a message with her stare: I can’t believe this.

Jin Zijin shot her another glare.

“Ohhh, I get it, I get it!”

Chi Chunxin reacted lightning fast and immediately changed her tune, laughing it off. “What I meant was, President Jin’s driving skills are excellent. Riding in her car is absolutely safe and steady.”

“Yes, safety first, safety first! Haha…”

She awkwardly ended the topic and took a sip of champagne to cover her embarrassment.

Wen Yan, standing nearby, had seen all of their interactions in full.

Watching the unspoken understanding in their eyes and the effortless way they cooperated without needing to say much, her gaze lowered, dimming for a moment.

Childhood friends.

The kind who had known each other since they were little, who knew all your embarrassing stories, who had drunk together, raced together, survived their rebellious years together, who could trade barbs and also cover for each other.

That was nice.

But… why did it make her even more jealous?

————————

Chi Chunxin: a perfectly modeled beauty with a sound card full of spicy strips, and also a little bit deranged.

The three-person group is basically: an ice-cold poisonous-tongue queen, a gossip spirit medium, and—an unruffled old cadre.

Very perfect.

So there’s a reason they’re still single to this day [laugh-cry]

I’m not sparing anyone in this Shura Field [laugh-cry]