Chapter 146: Intervention Part 6

Whether out of stubbornness or fear, she refused to turn her head, her neck and shoulders stiffening in refusal.

Shen Yi’s heart stirred. That pale, dazzlingly thin neck and body seemed as though they were trembling only for her to see.

The surrounding area was frozen in a state of shock. Shen Ruoshuang and the other two looked up, but under the surveillance of Shen Yi, Lu Yuan, and the distant members of the Ji family, no one dared to move impulsively.

“CEO Lu, she’s just a young girl who recently turned eighteen. She’s timid, please don’t…” Qin Jiashu forced a smile, trying to persuade Lu Yuan to stop making things difficult.

In the next second, however, she saw Lu Yuan brazenly reach out, intending to pinch Xu Yinian’s chin. She wanted to forcibly turn that face—crimson as if in the throes of passion—toward her.

Xu Yinian’s reaction was violent; she actually dodged backward, not letting Lu Yuan’s fingertips touch her even slightly.

This act of defiance undoubtedly wounded Lu Yuan’s pride, especially in front of Shen Yi, fueling her anger. Her gaze, which had been a mix of desire and contempt, instantly turned gloomy. She let out a low chuckle.

“CEO Shen just chased those people away for you. Why aren’t you offering a toast to thank her?”

With that, she beckoned a waiter. Her fingers curled around the stem of a red wine glass as she smiled, “No need to leave. Just wait right here.”

…She was going to force Xu Yinian to drink.

Qin Jiashu and Shen Ruoshuang knew all too well how terrible her tolerance was; she practically couldn’t touch a drop of alcohol.

“CEO Lu, my junior can’t drink. I’ll offer the toast on her behalf. I’ll drink for her.” Qin Jiashu moved to take the goblet.

“Who are you to her? Isn’t it just a part-time job relationship? She hasn’t even opened her mouth to refuse, so who are you to speak? Does the Qin family love meddling in other people’s business this much?”

Having been interrupted and blocked by Qin Jiashu for the second time, Lu Yuan finally snapped in displeasure.

The expressions of the Qin family members shifted. The very thing they feared had happened… Jiashu couldn’t handle this situation, and she certainly couldn’t protect the girl. Aside from keeping a respectful distance, they would never allow their daughter another chance to associate with that “Disaster” again. Self-preservation had always been the Qin family’s guiding principle.

Only Qin Jiayan looked up. Her eyes, usually as stagnant as dead water, stared at Lu Yuan without a hint of fear.

Qin Jiayan’s extraordinary concern for Xu Yinian was actually quite simple. Just like her previous warning, she didn’t want the girl to be easily deceived or violated by her sister. Even though she had already warned her, she still couldn’t help but play the role of a mother hen protecting her chick.

Qin Jiayan had lacked emotional depth since childhood, yet she possessed a stubborn, singular adherence to her own pure nature. Upon meeting Xu Yinian—from the misunderstandings and profiling to the moment she realized they were of “The Same Kind”—she saw herself as pure black, while the other was pure white.

They were worlds apart, yet like whales on the same frequency, they emitted the same lonely signal for help. She could fight back with simple violence and isolation, but Xu Yinian could only endure it.

And the girl wouldn’t listen to her. She was so stupid it was irritating, yet Jiayan couldn’t just leave her be.

That was why she had come today and why she had questioned her. She had even been misunderstood as a pervert of the same ilk as the others. That was why she had been so annoyed that she blurted out the truth—that Xu Yinian was not Qin Jiashu’s girlfriend.

…Now, seeing her being bullied, she couldn’t just stand by.

Xu Yinian was always sensitive to the emotions of others. She felt the trouble she was causing her senior, the wary distance of the Qin family, and Qin Jiayan’s sudden impulse to help her. All of it made it impossible for her to simply remain weak and keep escaping.

But the moment she looked up, she collided with those familiar, cold, and elegant eyes.

No matter how high-and-mighty or full of ruthless control Shen Yi was, the moment she saw the mist in the girl’s eyes, she subconsciously suppressed the frown that was about to form.

It was the only exception of indulgence in the meticulous, rational, and cold years of a Power-holder. A hint of comfort and caress from someone accustomed to being stern clearly carried the marks of tightening control.

Yet, in this moment, the girl—who was terrified and helpless to the extreme—only needed that small amount of consolation to be willingly controlled and manipulated.

Undoubtedly, the atmosphere between the two as they locked eyes was almost palpable.

Lu Yuan noticed that Shen Yi seemed like a completely different person; the indifference she usually showed her lovers had vanished without a trace. Her own actions were merely pushing the girl toward Shen Yi, which infuriated her.

Everyone else was submerged in a bizarre, deathly silence. It was as if they were all waiting for a signal that Shen Yi was making an exception.

“Shen… Shen…”

Along with Xu Yinian’s timid, dependent, and stuttering soft voice, another voice rang out—one as cold and ethereal as a being from another world.

“The sentiment of being roommates is enough to step in for her.”

“That’s what you said.”

Shen Ruoshuang repeated the very words Shen Yi had used to test her earlier, throwing them back at her mother.

As she spoke, Shen Ruoshuang walked over. It was as if she had cast off the shackles of restraint that had bound her for so long. At this moment, both her gaze and her aura were filled with a dense, obsessive darkness born of endless suppressed longing.

She looked at Xu Yinian. Her dark Peach-blossom Eyes held an inexplicable, wicked quality—her deep affection remained unchanged, but it was now accompanied by a stubborn, point-of-no-return determination.

“Shen Ruoshuang…”

The name that had been cut off earlier now followed naturally. It was laced with an endless, dazed worry that was reserved for that one person alone.

It was exactly the same as that day when, in a state of semi-consciousness, she could only subconsciously call out that name in front of Shen Yi.

From the very beginning, the person she had been calling for was never her.