Chapter 14

There was still some time before the auction began, and the venue was at its busiest.

Avoiding the crowds, Qi Jinyu led Yu Ling to a clean, quiet lounge.

Qi Jinyu seemed to have a lot on her plate. She stayed with Yu Ling only briefly before hurrying off, leaving her with a few reminders.

“Little Ling, don’t wander off. I’ll be back soon.”

“You can use this screen to browse today’s auction catalog. Once the auction starts, it’ll show a live feed of what’s happening inside, too. See if there’s anything you like.”

Yu Ling impatiently urged Qi Jinyu to go.

Qi Jinyu kissed her on the lips once more, lingering for a while before finally leaving.

As soon as she was gone, Yu Ling took out her phone and sent Lu Li a message.

“Come over.” She added her location.

The moment she sent it, a strange feeling crept over Yu Ling.

Why does it feel like I’m having an affair?

Lu Li arrived quickly.

When she entered and saw Yu Ling alone, her long brows drew together. “Qi Jinyu isn’t here?”

Yu Ling’s eyes widened slightly. “Were you hoping she would be?”

“You went out of your way to provoke me and get me to come here. What was it for?”

Lu Li sat down, her expression cool. She didn’t answer directly. “I ran into Qi Jinyu this morning.”

Yu Ling bristled at the mention of her. “That’s your fault, anyway.”

Lu Li fell silent for a moment. Her gaze wandered over Yu Ling, then settled on her earlobe.

Yu Ling’s skin was too delicate, too pampered. Even the slightest pressure left a mark.

Now, the soft flesh of her earlobe was tinged pink, with faint bite marks visible on it.

“I’m sorry.” Lu Li apologized without hesitation, her eyes still fixed on Yu Ling’s earlobe as she slowly traced its shape with her gaze.

Yu Ling scoffed. “What do you have to apologize for?”

“You won’t even admit you like me. Why should I waste my time getting worked up over a coward?”

Silence answered her.

So Yu Ling fell silent, too, more out of spite than anything else.

“You’ve never met Qi Jinyu’s mother, Aunt Qi, have you?”

After several minutes of quiet, Lu Li leaned back against the sofa and asked the question as casually as she could.

As she spoke, she turned on the screen in front of them. It was showing the press conference before the auction.

[This auction is a collaboration between two industry-leading companies. Dozens of masterpieces have been carefully selected, featuring renowned artists from home and abroad. The auction will even include the final work by Master You Hui before her death. The event has drawn countless art lovers and promises to be a major celebration of the arts in S City…]

A reporter stood at the auction entrance with a microphone, delivering the news to viewers.

The image shifted to a middle-aged woman.

[Our next interview is with Ms. Qi Lian, one of the organizers.]

The woman had clearly taken excellent care of herself. Fine lines gathered at the corners of her eyes, but she carried herself with warmth and composure. She accepted the reporter’s microphone and began answering questions.

Yu Ling’s gaze settled on the screen. Her brows furrowed, and a flicker of something hard to read crossed her face.

She pursed her lips. “I met her a few times when I was little.”

“But Yu Lingyi definitely hasn’t,” Lu Li said with absolute certainty.

She paused, then amended, “Or rather, Aunt Qi has never met Yu Lingyi.”

The remark was strange enough to make Yu Ling frown. “What do you mean?”

Lu Li didn’t rush to explain. After a moment, she slowly began, “Aunt Qi is a renowned artist herself. Even though her health has kept her from taking much part in company affairs in recent years, she would never miss this auction.”

“According to the original plan, Yu Lingyi wasn’t supposed to attend.”

“So you deliberately arranged for Yu Lingyi to come so she could meet Aunt Qi?” Yu Ling tried to make sense of Lu Li’s words.

“Yes and no.” Lu Li gave her a sidelong glance.

“Yu Lingyi won’t have a chance to meet Aunt Qi this time.”

Lu Li’s words left Yu Ling reeling. She could only stare at the screen.

The reporter introduced the next guest as a representative of Yu Group. The image cut to a woman with shoulder-length hair in a black suit. It wasn’t Yu Lingyi; the reporter introduced her as an executive at Yu Corporation.

“You can ask Yu Lingyi what happened.” Lu Li’s voice was cool, like the first snow of winter. She was prompting Yu Ling to do just that.

Yu Ling realized whatever Lu Li was talking about seemed to be serious.

She messaged Yu Lingyi on WeChat.

A few seconds later, Yu Lingyi called.

“Sis, is something going on over there?” Her voice was bright and lively, the word “Sis” ringing out as sweetly as a warbler’s song.

“Yes. I was supposed to be interviewed with Aunt Qi, but a problem came up with a document I was handling. I have to get it sorted out before the auction starts, so I had to send someone else in my place.”

“Why are you asking all of a sudden, Sis?” Yu Lingyi asked.

Yu Ling glanced at Lu Li and replied casually, “It’s nothing. I just thought I might get to see my sister on TV.”

A clear, bell-like laugh came from the other end. Yu Lingyi sounded like a carefree younger sister playfully wheedling her way around.

“Sis, if you really want to see me on TV, switch to channel 26. They’re rerunning my interview.”

Yu Ling hung up, at a loss for words. “All right, I won’t keep you. Busy woman.”

This time, Yu Ling was the one who fell silent for a moment.

“But what does that prove? It only proves Qi Jinyu doesn’t want my sister to meet her mother.” She put extra emphasis on my sister.

“What do you know, and why did you want me to know it, too?” Yu Ling asked, her voice calm and steady.

At that, the black-haired beauty’s lips curved. Her brows lowered slightly, and a strange warmth entered her usually cool, unreadable eyes.

Her dark gaze rested on the girl in the wheelchair, her expression almost reluctant.

“Little Ling, you can’t accept this either, can you?”

Yu Ling was taken aback.

“Someone as clever as you could excel in any field,” Lu Li said, her voice flowing like a stream, unexpectedly gentle.

The strange feeling inside Yu Ling grew stronger.

“What are you trying to do?”

After a brief pause, she continued, “No matter what, Yu Lingyi is still my sister.”

Lu Li’s eyes shifted. She looked up at Yu Ling, as though she hadn’t expected her to defend Yu Lingyi.

Soft footsteps sounded as Lu Li approached. She opened her arms and, making use of her height, drew Yu Ling into an embrace, enveloping her completely.

Lu Li let out a sigh of satisfaction. Her cool voice, in that moment, carried a faint chill.

“That’s right, Little Ling. She’s your sister…”

“And Qi Jinyu’s sister, too.” The lilt at the end of her voice was almost mocking.

Yu Ling’s pupils contracted. She turned the words over and over in her mind as her heartbeat quickened.

Yu Lingyi was Qi Jinyu’s sister?

Yu Lingyi had been adopted by her mother. According to her mother, she’d found her at an orphanage.

Yu Lingyi and Qi Jinyu were four years apart.

Yu Ling had never heard anything about the Qi Family losing a girl.

However she looked at it, the whole thing seemed absurd.

The embrace was too tight. Yu Ling pushed Lu Li away in protest.

Lu Li let her go without a word, then moved behind her. Her long fingers rose, her thumb and forefinger gently pinching Yu Ling’s chin.

Her cool, finely boned fingers held Yu Ling with just enough pressure to guide her face toward the screen.

“Little Ling, look.” Lu Li’s voice came from just behind her, close enough to brush her ear with each breath.

Yu Ling’s gaze was forced onto the screen.

The image was now split in two. On one side, Qi Lian answered questions in front of the reporters. On the other, Yu Lingyi bustled around backstage. The station had combined footage of the two organizers.

Yu Ling watched in silence.

After a long while, the footage moved on. An art critic praised the auction’s rare pieces, and images of the works appeared on screen between his remarks.

Only then did Yu Ling nod. “They do look alike.”

Normally, no one would have thought to connect the two. Besides, Yu Lingyi and Qi Jinyu didn’t look alike at all.

Lu Li lowered her eyelids. Her dark eyes shifted down as she studied Yu Ling’s expression from above and to the side, like a black snake in the shadows watching a human’s every move.

Her fingers still held Yu Ling’s chin. Her thumb pressed a little more firmly, and faint red marks appeared on Yu Ling’s pale skin.

The Eldest Miss, usually so spoiled and domineering, had been quiet for an unusually long time. Her long lashes fluttered, hiding whatever she was feeling.

The woman beside her lowered her head and leaned closer. Her soft lips nearly brushed Yu Ling’s earlobe.

Warm breath spilled over Yu Ling’s neck, making her skin shiver.

“Yu Ling, she got close to you…”

A note of pity crept into Lu Li’s voice as the woman, cold as frost, murmured like a pure goddess tempting mortals.

“She clearly had an ulterior motive.”

Qi Jinyu had gotten close to Yu Ling for Yu Lingyi’s sake.

Lu Li had just revealed that fact to Yu Ling.

They held that pose for who knew how long, until the door across the room clicked open.

A woman with chestnut curls leaned against the doorframe, watching the pair in their intimate pose with a knowing smile.