At two in the morning, the private jet landed smoothly at Xingcheng International Airport.
The cabin door opened, and a man in a black overcoat stepped out, followed by Li Yang carrying a briefcase.
A black Bentley, sent to pick them up, had been waiting for a long time.
The driver got out and opened the rear door. “Young Master Jin, please.”
Jin Chenyue bent down and got into the car.
Li Yang walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and sat down.
The door closed, shutting out the cold air outside. The car was warm and cozy.
The driver started the car and headed toward the five-star hotel in the city center.
Xingcheng and Beicheng were over four hundred kilometers apart, a distance easily covered by a domestic light private jet in about an hour.
The drive from the airport to the hotel took around twenty minutes.
Li Yang yawned and glanced discreetly at the back seat.
The man in the back seat had his eyes closed, clearly exhausted.
Buzz, buzz—
His phone vibrated in his pocket. Li Yang took it out and saw an unfamiliar number.
He was about to hang up, but considering how late it was and that someone was calling his work number, it might be something urgent.
Li Yang answered the call. “Hello, who is this?”
“Assistant Li, this is Lian Caige. Sorry to disturb you so late.”
Li Yang hesitated for a moment before asking, “Are you the Lian who founded the ‘QL’ brand?”
“I wouldn’t dare call myself a teacher. I was just fortunate enough to meet Anyun, who gave me a helping hand back then. Without her, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
That matched.
This was the founder of the niche brand ‘QL,’ which his young mistress had heavily invested in.
Li Yang was surprised but remained cautious. “Is there something urgent you need, Lian, calling so late?”
“Well, there’s something I need to confirm with Young Master Jin. Could you help me with that, Assistant Li?”
Li Yang glanced at the back seat. The man still had his eyes closed.
“It’s quite late, so I’m afraid it might not be convenient,” Li Yang replied politely, declining the request.
Having worked with Jin Chenyue for so many years, he had seen too many women who went to great lengths to get close to him.
Most were wealthy socialites, while others used their supposed friendship with Gu Anyun as an excuse to approach Jin Chenyue.
So, when Lian Caige said this, Li Yang instinctively categorized her as one of those women trying to get close to Jin Chenyue.
Lian Caige knew calling at this hour was somewhat intrusive, so she didn’t push too hard. She simply said, “Then could you please let Young Master Jin know tomorrow that I’d like to speak with him? I just want to check on your young mistress’s situation.”
“Alright, I’ll inform Young Master Jin of your call tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Assistant Li. I’ll hang up now.”
The call ended, and Li Yang sighed softly.
He thought to himself how ambitious some women could be, willing to exploit friendships just for a man.
“Whose call was that?”
The man’s deep voice suddenly broke the silence.
Li Yang turned around and replied, “It was Lian Caige, the one who’s close with the young mistress.”
Hearing this, Jin Chenyue rubbed his temples. “What did she call for?”
“She said she wanted to speak with you.”
Jin Chenyue paused and looked at Li Yang. “With me?”
“Most likely, her intentions aren’t genuine. Sigh, the young mistress finally made a friend in Beicheng, but it seems this Lian isn’t as sincere as she appears. Calling so late to say she wants to speak with you about the young mistress’s situation—what a clumsy excuse to get close to you.”Jin Chenyue stared at Li Yang’s coldly mocking face, his gaze somewhat gloomy.
Just as Li Yang was still feeling proud of his ‘tea-identifying skills,’ he suddenly heard the man order coldly, “Call her back.”
“Huh?” Li Yang was dumbfounded. Looking at the man’s somewhat gloomy expression, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. “Young Master Jin, you mean…”
“Do I need to repeat myself? You might as well write your resignation letter.”
Li Yang: “…”
A resignation letter was out of the question.
Li Yang swiftly pulled out his phone, found the number from earlier, and redialed.
The call connected. Li Yang handed the phone to Jin Chenyue.
Jin Chenyue took the phone and held it to his ear just as the call went through.
“Assistant Li?”
“It’s me.” Jin Chenyue got straight to the point. “Did you contact An Yun tonight?”
“Young Master Jin?!”
Lian Caige was shocked. After a low exclamation, she quickly composed herself.
Clearing her throat, she said, “Yes, I video-called her first, but that call was interrupted because you had food poisoning. Seeing An Yun rush off in a hurry, I was worried, so I spent the whole night sending her messages and calling her. Around one o’clock, she answered my call, and we talked for a while.”
Jin Chenyue patiently listened to her explanation, then asked calmly, “What did you talk about?”
“I wanted to ask her about the divorce, but she kept flaunting how in love you two are.”
Jin Chenyue: “…”
“Young Master Jin, although An Yun and I have only known each other for a little over two years, she has been a great help to me. To me, she is both my benefactor and my good friend. You know her—she doesn’t have many friends in Beicheng, so I’m probably the only one she can confide in.”
As Lian Caige spoke, she couldn’t help but feel some resentment toward Jin Chenyue.
Gu Anyun hadn’t suffered much in the Jin family over the past three years, but she hadn’t been happy either—and the source of that unhappiness was Jin Chenyue.
“Young Master Jin, the reason I’m contacting you now is to find out what exactly happened during those three days when I couldn’t reach An Yun. Why has An Yun’s attitude toward you completely changed now?”
Jin Chenyue narrowed his eyes. “What did she tell you?”
“Not much, but it was unbelievable! She actually told me that the two of you have been deeply in love for the past three years. I don’t believe it, and I doubt you do either, Young Master Jin.”
Lian Caige grew somewhat emotional as she spoke. She paused, took a deep breath, and continued, “Young Master Jin, I’m not questioning your character, but three days ago, An Yun told me she was going to divorce you. I know the state of your marriage, so seeing her like this now is both surprising and worrying.”
Listening to Lian Caige’s firm and respectful questioning on the other end of the line, Jin Chenyue could sense her protective nature.
He said, “She was in a car accident three days ago.”
Upon hearing this, Lian Caige was shocked. “A car accident?! What happened? Was she badly hurt? Was it on the way to get the divorce certificate?”
She asked several questions in a row, clearly genuinely concerned about Gu Anyun.
“She was rear-ended on the way to get the divorce certificate,” Jin Chenyue replied in a low, unreadable tone. “She wasn’t physically injured, but she suffered a head impact. There’s no major issue, but after waking up, her memory became confused. We’ve consulted many specialists, but there’s no clear explanation.”
Jin Chenyue patiently answered and added, “Her current state is exactly as you’ve seen.”With a sharp snap, Lian Caige broke her paintbrush. “So, in her current memory, you two are genuinely in love?”
“Yes.”
Lian Caige: “…” Good heavens, what a shocking twist!
Jin Chenyue felt that Lian Caige genuinely cared about Gu Anyun, so he was willing to patiently communicate with her.
In fact, even if Lian Caige hadn’t approached him tonight, he would have had Li Yang contact her tomorrow to discuss the situation.
But since Lian Caige took the initiative to understand Gu Anyun’s condition, it showed she was worthy of Gu Anyun’s favoritism toward her.
“I’ve scheduled an appointment with an international expert in this field, who should arrive next week. Before that, I’ve discussed with both our families that we should go along with her memories to avoid frightening her.”
“I understand.” Lian Caige’s emotions were complicated at the moment, and she sighed with lingering fear. “Luckily, I reacted quickly. After realizing something was off, I stopped mentioning your divorce.”
“Thank you.” Jin Chenyue wasn’t good at expressing himself, but for Gu Anyun’s sake, he was willing to exchange a few more polite words with Lian Caige. “Anyun trusts you deeply, and I’m grateful you haven’t betrayed that trust.”
Lian Caige was slightly taken aback, never expecting the aloof and proud Young Master Jin to thank her?
The fact that he was willing to thank her on Gu Anyun’s behalf, and with such sincerity—did it mean he wasn’t completely devoid of feelings for Gu Anyun?
“Young Master Jin, I have a question for you. It might be a bit presumptuous…”
“If you know it’s presumptuous, then don’t ask. Goodbye.” With that, Jin Chenyue ended the call.
Lian Caige: “…”