Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Have you always loved Ke Yuan?

  So you envy Shu Mu.

  You envy Shu Mu for monopolizing Ke Yuan's goodness, you envy Shu Mu for enjoying all of Ke Yuan's dedication and devotion alone, you envy Shu Mu for always standing firmly on the tip of Ke Yuan's heart.

  That's the place you've always wanted to go but can only yearn for.

  You don't even dare to be jealous of or hate Shu Mu, you're afraid that if you have such emotions, Ke Yuan will dislike you.

  Li Yi Heng turned his head and replied in a light tone but with an unusually firm voice: "Yes, I have always loved him."

  So you double your kindness towards him, thinking that if you're a little nicer to him, he might notice you.

  You are always trying to be the one "he loves", but you don't want to disturb his feelings of loving someone else.

  Li Jin pushed open the door and stood in the middle of the narrow porch, with a dark corridor behind him. His voice was so loud that it startled all the voice-controlled lights on the entire corridor.

  "Why didn't you tell him?" His nose twitched with each word, "Why didn't you tell him you love him?"

  "So he will leave Shu Mu and come to me?" Li Yiheng sneered with a smile.

  "What if...?" Li Jin held her breath, "What if he will?"

  "What's the use?" Li Yi Heng looked at him, "He's already gone, even if he would, I'll never have the chance to tell him again."

  So what?

  Li Jin let out a deep breath.

  Even if Li Yiheng loudly admitted his love for Ke Yuan, what's the use?

  Ke Yuan Ta ——

  It's gone already.

  One Christmas, Ke Yuan accompanied Li Yi Heng on a trip to the United States for vacation.

  At that time, Shu Mu was involved in the production of a new film nearing its end, but there were problems with the submission. The other party picked and chose not to pass, and with the filing period imminent, Ke Yuan had no choice but to seek out Li Yi Heng.

  Li Yiheng didn't say it was good or bad, he just handed him a plane ticket and asked if he would accompany himself for Christmas.

  Ke Yuan didn't even pack his luggage and left with just his ticket.

  New York's winter was gloomy and dull, Li Yiheng didn't stay in a luxurious hotel, but instead found an inn near the bustling district to stay, taking Ke Yuan for walks every day. From one end of the street to the other, from the tail to the head. Ke Yuan had a cold constitution, and when they first went out, he couldn't withstand the wind, so Li Yiheng opened his coat wide, wrapped him entirely in his arms, and walked with him half-embracing him.

  To this day, all his memories of New York came from that winter wrapped in a coat.

  On New Year's Eve, they counted down together in the crowd, and the neon lights of Times Square illuminated everyone's eyes. When the fireworks rose, Ke Yuan lowered his head and hastily made a wish, with so many things he wanted to achieve in his heart, making him draft an entire night's worth of words, eager to be spoken. But as he wished, he unconsciously lifted his head up.

  Under the bright LED screen, Mr. Li smiled and looked at him with his usual spoiled eyes.

  He asked foolishly: "Why don't you make a wish?"

  Li Yiheng held his face and planted a deep kiss right in the middle of his forehead.

  "That's enough."

  Li Jin thought, I should have discovered this earlier.

  He lay in the middle of the bed, the old-fashioned alarm clock had struck twelve times, but Li Yiheng still hadn't returned.

  Li Jin raised her head and gazed at a distant crescent moon hanging in the sky.

  Why would someone be so good to you for no reason?

  How is it that someone always finds various kinds of opportunities to run into you for no reason at all?

  How can someone inexplicably miss you and remember every detail of your affairs?

  Unless he loves you.

  But do I love him?

  Li Jin asked himself.

  He should have been moved by him.

  You can't help but be moved by such a person, who always pulls you out of the worldly mire when you're at your most frustrated, under the guise of making a deal, letting you enjoy the rare leisure time with him without any psychological burden. Then after returning to the world, you find that he has already taken care of everything.

  He is almost spoiling you without any principle.

  But do I love him?

  Lying in bed, thoughts racing through his mind like a runaway horse, he couldn't sleep, watching the moon rise high in the sky, then slowly set in the west, until the first light of dawn crept over the horizon before finally falling into a deep sleep from sheer exhaustion.

  I slept until daylight, and my phone was ringing loudly next to my ear.

  He dazedly unlocked his phone and put it to his ear, but as soon as he heard the first sentence, all the hairs on his body stood up like they had been electrocuted.

  Li Jin?

  Li Yiheng!

  Li Jing kicked his leg and sat up from the bed, not even bothering that his hair was a mess as if it had been blown by a typhoon. He straightened his waist and responded with full energy in conditioned reflex: "Present!"

  "There's a cocktail party at the He Estate this afternoon, did you forget?" Li Yi Heng's voice was calm, without any hint of blame.

  But Li Jin's body hair stood up again, and began to freeze at a speed that was imperceptible to the naked eye.

  Good heavens!

  How could he have forgotten this matter!

  The He family, a well-established clan, was the undisputed leader in the entertainment industry before the Li group's foray. The He family's ancestors founded a film company, which later acquired three major film and television companies during the financial crisis, forming their own film and television group. As they entered the new century, the He family seized the opportunity to establish a record company and venture into the music scene.

  If it weren't for Mr. Li's influence in the entertainment industry, I'm afraid He Shi would be a dominant figure in the circle today.

  The He family's helm was handed over to the third generation, eldest grandson He Yuxuan three years ago. He Yuxuan returned from abroad and deeply understood local rules. In recent years, he has widely recruited talents and made the originally declining He family prosperous again, even surpassing the Li family in some areas. Today is the day when the second young master of the He family, He Yuesong, returns home after completing his studies. He Yuxuan held a grand welcoming banquet and specially asked his assistant to deliver an invitation letter to Li Yiheng's place, warmly inviting him to attend.

  But Li Jin is so stubborn, how can he just throw this matter to the back of his mind!

  He changed his clothes while freeing up his hand to answer the phone, glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 10 o'clock. The cocktail party started at 11:30 sharp, so he instructed the driver to speed all the way there in order to make it on time.

  Unfortunately, God never gave him a chance to "make it".

  "I didn't bring a change of clothes, I'm still wearing yesterday's," said Li Yiheng. "Go to Diva and get the suit I ordered earlier, then send it over to me."

  Diva is Mr. Li Yi Heng's exclusive tailor, and her workshop is in the opposite direction of the He Estate!

  What else can Ke Li Jin say? Even if this matter is more difficult than ascending to heaven, he will still build a ladder to achieve it!

  Who made him oversleep at this critical moment!

  Fortunately, Li Yi Heng sensed his difficulties and kindly offered to help him out: "I'll drive over to the He Estate first, you bring the clothes and hurry over afterwards. There should be a dressing room at the cocktail party, I'll change there."

  "Okay..." Li Jin pursed her lips, her voice trembling, "I'm sorry."

  "It's okay." A soothing laugh came from the other end of the phone. "Tell the driver to drive carefully, even if we're late, it doesn't matter."