Chapter 25

Lu Yi froze for half a second, then recovered, shaking hands with the team in turn, polite and composed.
One of them complimented her looks, said the two of them made a stunning couple. He even added Lin Jinshen had talked about her before, how the two of them were total opposites, that Lu Yi worked in the arts, so different from him.
He’d mentioned her?
Lu Yi glanced up, mostly surprised and curious.
Lin Jinshen’s expression was calm as ever. “A harmonious family signals low risk and more stability,” he explained.
“Oh.”
So he’d only brought her up for work reasons.
Lin Jinshen went on, introducing Lu Yi as a curator, saying the two exhibits she’d been in charge of were both fascinating, he admitted he didn’t get much of it, and had to rely on her to explain.
His words were unhurried, his tone effortlessly smooth. Everything he said was the truth, nothing sugar-coated, but hearing it from him, it somehow had an aftertaste, like a couple showing off their perfect marriage.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries before heading upstairs.
Lin Jinshen knew she was here with friends, and that business events weren’t her thing. He told his staff to take the KS team ahead; he stayed behind to greet Lu Yi’s friends.
He wasn’t the warmest guy, but for Lu Yi’s sake, he made the effort.
“I’ll leave my wife in your care.”
“President Lin, you’re too polite! We’ve been friends for ages, we’ll make sure to return Lu Yi to you, safe and sound.”
“Thank you.”
Lin Jinshen’s gaze slid to Wu Sidong, meeting his eyes, cold, detached. The memory of the other night flashed between them. Wu Sidong suddenly felt an inexplicable guilt, like a secret boyfriend caught red-handed. His smile stiffened.
Heaven knows, there was absolutely nothing between him and Lu Yi.
“Have fun, put it all on my tab.” Lin Jinshen pulled his gaze back, then said to Lu Yi, “I’m heading out first.”
Lu Yi nodded. “Alright.”
Lin Jinshen took one step, then seemed to remember something, and lowered his voice: “Don’t drink too much.”
It sounded offhand, but Lu Yi couldn’t help thinking he was reminding her about that night, when she lost control after drinking. She bit her lip, color rising quietly in her cheeks.
Ah.
The whole group gawked in collective astonishment.
Just a minute ago, they’d all been feeling bad for Lu Yi because Lin Jinshen ignored her. Who’d have guessed he’d actually come down himself, with an entourage, no less, to greet her. Far from ignoring, he’d put her front and center.
Yu Yin had always had her little gripes with Lin Jinshen: his chilly personality, their first meeting at a hotel art show, squeezing in their marriage license on a weekday... One thing on top of another, it all seemed to scream how much he didn’t care about this marriage.
But now? Was he actually okay?
Because Lin Jinshen hadn’t just introduced Lu Yi’s name, he’d smoothly mentioned her career too, brought up her curator creds, even quickly listed two exhibitions she’d managed. And for the other show, he seemed to know the details better than she did. He’d probably gone himself.
Lin Jinshen was nothing like Yu Yin had imagined.
He genuinely seemed to respect Lu Yi, and this marriage.
After Lin Jinshen left, everyone settled back in their seats. Wu Sidong hugged a throw pillow, complaining, “That look President Lin gives is like, I dunno, catching a criminal. He glanced my way and I felt like I’d just confessed under duress, kinda made me want to plead guilty for real.”
“Guilty of what, exactly?”
“Obviously, being too handsome. No wonder President Lin’s so jealous of me.”
“Get lost.”
“Shameless showoff.”
“…”
Lu Yi still hadn’t snapped out of the surprise; her waist could still feel the imprint of a warm hand, sending her mind running wild.
Yu Yin noticed Lu Yi spacing out. She poked her, tilted her head, and mumbled awkwardly, “Okay, I take back what I said earlier. If you picked him, he must have something going for him.”
“I’ll try not to trash talk him anymore. Honestly, you two looked pretty great together just now.”
No, really, ‘great together’ fit them perfectly.
Lin Jinshen was tall, all quiet maturity, while Lu Yi was elegantly reserved. Looks and aura both, they made an easy-on-the-eyes pair.
Lu Yi finally shook the daze away and laughed: “You switch sides that fast?”
“It’s called healthy skepticism, then affirmation. If I always jump to conclusions, wouldn’t that make me the problem?”
Wu Sidong snorted, “You’ve only just noticed?”
Right then, the waiter brought over a tray and bent down to set several glasses of juice on the table.
“Did you get the wrong table? We didn’t order these,” Wu Sidong frowned. Everything he’d ordered was alcoholic, no juice.
The waiter smiled, “No mistake, sir. These are a special order from President Lin.”
“There’s more on the way, just a moment,” he added.
Yu Yin raised an eyebrow. “There’s more?”
“Yes, President Lin asked for one of each non-alcoholic drink we offer.” The waiter gave a professional smile, straightened up, and headed back to the bar.
Lu Yi: “…”
Even if she swore off alcohol, there’s no way she could drink her way through all this.
“Dang, a full sweep of the menu, is he trying to treat us, or just feed us dog food?”
Yu Yin had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, but decided to offer, “Lu Yi, maybe you should go sit with the kids’ table. I don’t think the rest of us oldies can handle all this PDA.”
“Marriage is great, huh? Always someone looking out for you, banning you from drinking and all.”
Lu Yi groaned and rubbed her forehead, waving off their teasing. She grabbed an orange juice. “Can we please talk about something else?”
“Or we could discuss what exactly happened that night, that made President Lin come order you not to drink?”
Wu Sidong slipped into drama mode, clasped his hands over his stomach, and imitated Lu Yi, “Well then, next time, after my husband leaves the house, you all can come play.”
“Guess what, let’s hang out just us next time.”
“…”
The whole table burst out laughing.
Only Lu Yi knew the truth: what they joked about was actually the least of what happened that night. She took another drink to hide her embarrassment, then squinted suspiciously at the glass. Was there something suspiciously boozy about this orange juice?
The waiter had to go back and forth three times to finish delivering all that Lin Jinshen had ordered.
The entire table was packed, and people at neighboring tables kept glancing over, probably wondering what kind of weird game they were playing.
Lu Yi winced at the spectacle, snapped a picture, and sent it to Lin Jinshen, just to show how ridiculous one offhand comment could be.
She wrote: [There’s no way I can drink all this. It’s going to waste.]
A few minutes later, Lin Jinshen replied: [If it keeps you from drinking alcohol, it’s worth it.]
Lu Yi: […]
It’s not like she was a raging drunk.
Lin Jinshen sent: [.]
Conversation over, apparently.
Lu Yi stared at that period, frowning and shutting her eyes. She had a sneaking suspicion he was doing it on purpose.
It was almost nine. Lu Yi glanced at the time and announced she’d be leaving early. From the moment Lin Jinshen walked in, she’d kept an eye on the clock. Better to leave before he finished up and risk tonight getting even messier than planned.
“Leaving so soon?”
“We’re all in the same city. There’s plenty of time to hang out, doesn’t have to be today.” Lu Yi had made up her mind. She grabbed her bag and waved. “See you next time.”
“Alright, get home safe. Text when you’re back.”
Lu Yi left the club. The night air was still heavy with leftover heat from the day, pressing against her skin, restless and hard to shake off.
Her car was parked not far away, a two-minute walk.
The city streets at nine were dim, cool, drained of color, made even paler next to the dazzling glow of the Tang Palace across the road, like the faded edge of a painted scroll.
When Lu Yi reached her car’s usual spot, she spotted a familiar license plate, her own family’s car. She thought, there’s no way it’s a coincidence, just as Lin Jinshen stepped out of the vehicle.
Her first instinct was to turn around and leave. The car could wait here; she could come back for it any time.
But before she could take a step, Lin Jinshen called out to her.
Lu Yi made a show of acting calm, even a little surprised, as she walked over, gripping her bag tight, trying to sound natural. “You’re done over there already?”
She hadn’t seen him come down at all.
“No, I haven’t.” Lin Jinshen closed the car door, shadows of the night sharpening his features, every line more pronounced under the streetlights.
“Then what gives?” Lu Yi frowned, confused.
“Because if I came any later, someone would’ve bolted.” His voice was matter-of-fact, the same tone he’d used when Jiang Xun passed along her excuse. Lin Jinshen knew she was avoiding him, the excuse she’d given for not coming home had been half-baked at best.
Running into her at Tang Palace, she didn’t even try to hide how pointedly she avoided his gaze. That only confirmed his guess.
Lu Yi understood where he was going, but she wasn’t the only one not ready to face this. “You’ve been living in a hotel for a week, haven’t you?” she shot back.
“The first day, yes. But after that, work genuinely kept me away. I have no reason to lie about it.” Lin Jinshen answered honestly. Sure, it was awkward at first, but they were married, what happened that night hadn’t crossed any wild line.
Lu Yi’s cheeks betrayed her: a faint redness, whether from the cold or something else, was impossible to hide.
Lin Jinshen pressed on, “Which is why, I think we should talk things through.”
She couldn’t disagree. Surely, they couldn’t spend a lifetime sidestepping each other like this.
“Car keys?”
“Mine?” Lu Yi fished them out of her bag and handed them over.
The driver took her keys, circled past the Bentley, and headed to unlock the Mini parked ahead.
Lin Jinshen opened the passenger door of the Bentley and gestured. “Tonight, I’ll play your chauffeur.”
He was composed, refined, zero trace of sleaze or anything less than completely gentlemanly.
Lu Yi took a steadying breath and walked over. Once she slid in, Lin Jinshen closed her door and circled to the driver’s seat.
He didn’t start the engine. The interior was comfortably cool. She leaned back and, wanting to take control, announced, “How about this, we forget everything that happened that night. Wipe it clean. Not like it ever happened.”
Her voice was clipped and formal, like reciting the terms of a contract.
Lin Jinshen’s fingers, resting on the steering wheel, twitched slightly. As she spoke, fragmented images flashed through his mind.
Lu Yi went on, “Neither of us was acting normal that night. I was drunk, you had a fever, we were both out of it. So some things we did, some things we said, didn’t… come out right.”
“Let’s just forget it all and go back to how things were before.”
After a pause, Lin Jinshen looked directly at her. “You really think you can forget?”
They both knew it was just make-believe, a silent pact, pretending none of it mattered.
“I’ll do my best,” Lu Yi replied quietly.
“Sorry, I can’t,” Lin Jinshen said, voice steady and even. “I may be two years older than you, but I’m hardly senile yet.”