novellhall Chapter 8 Golf
Chapter 8 Golf
At the entrance of Yingyue Tower, the night breeze from Victoria Harbour carried a fishy smell.
As soon as Lin Dong stepped out the door, the red Ferrari stopped at the bottom of the steps. Li Jiaxin's hand was on his arm, still immersed in the dizziness brought by the hundred million.
"Lin Sheng!"
The voice came from the side. It was soft and alluring, and seemed to ooze moisture.
Lin Dong turned his head away.
A woman walked over from beside the pillars, her long, wavy hair cascading over her shoulders, her beige trench coat open, revealing a tight-fitting undershirt underneath.
The warm light from Yingyue Tower shone through the glass doors onto her, making her face appear so white it seemed to glow.
Rosamund Kwan.
Thirty-four years old, the age when a woman is fully mature.
She was named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People magazine this year and is widely recognized as the number one beauty in the Hong Kong entertainment industry.
Big eyes, a straight nose, and cherry lips—each feature is exquisite when viewed individually, and when put together, they are simply breathtaking.
"What a coincidence," she stopped in front of him, her eyes crinkling, "I came here to eat, and from a distance, I looked just like Lin Sheng—and it really is. The newspaper made you look ugly."
Li Jiaxin tightened her grip on Lin Dong's arm.
"Miss Guan," she spoke first, her voice neither too loud nor too soft, "coming to Yingyue Restaurant for dinner so late? Alone?"
Rosamund Kwan's gaze shifted from Lin Dong to Li Jiaxin's face, lingered for less than a second, and then returned to Lin Dong.
"I made an appointment with some friends, but they haven't arrived yet." She took another half step forward, getting closer to Lin Dong. "Mr. Lin, I heard you just got back from America? I have some friends there too—"
"Miss Guan," Li Jiaxin interrupted her directly, her tone unusually calm, "your friend is still waiting for you, and we also have things to do. Let's do it another day."
Rosamund Kwan acted as if she hadn't heard, took out a business card from her handbag, pinched it between two fingers, and handed it to Lin Dong: "Mr. Lin, this is my phone number."
Li Jiaxin stared at the business card and suddenly smiled.
She didn't reach out to stop her, nor did she try to snatch it. She simply tilted her head, glanced up and down at Rosamund Kwan out of the corner of her eye, and then looked away as if she had seen something insignificant.
"Zhizhi," she called softly, "you don't look well today. There are two more wrinkles around your eyes than the last time I saw you. Have you been sleeping poorly lately?"
Rosamund Kwan's hand froze in mid-air, her expression changing.
"By the way," Li Jiaxin continued, "how's Da Liu doing lately? I haven't seen him in ages, I miss him terribly."
Liu Luanxiong.
The two words she uttered were neither too loud nor too soft, yet they were like a knife.
She was the one who called and berated Lau's ex-wife, the one who made him climb twenty floors to deliver takeout—she was the eternal white moonlight in his heart.
As for Rosamund Kwan, she was just a "good friend" whom she foolishly introduced to Lau back then, only to be bitten in the end.
As for that rumor about the golf ball, Rosamund Kwan still can't shake off that stigma.
No one knew this old story better than the two of them. During the years they competed for Liu Luanxiong's favor, they had long since seen through each other.
But now, the winner is Li Jiaxin—the man she's with can spend 100 million yuan in one night.
Rosamund Kwan's business card was still held in mid-air. She finally turned her gaze to Li Jiaxin, and her eye twitched slightly.
Li Jiaxin, however, had no intention of stopping. She looked at Guan Zhilin's face, her gaze lingering on the fine lines at the corners of her eyes for a moment, then smiled—a smile so gentle it was almost unbelievable. "Zhizhi, I really envy you. To be so confident in your thirties is truly remarkable."
Rosamund Kwan's face turned completely cold.
But only for a moment. She put away her business card, turned to Lin Dong, and her eyes regained their soft warmth: "Mr. Lin, then I won't bother you any longer. I'll invite you for tea another day when you're free."
After she finished speaking, she walked away in her high heels. Her off-white trench coat swayed a few times in the night before disappearing behind the pillars.
Lin Dong didn't say a word the whole time, he just watched Li Jiaxin perform, wishing he could say "wonderful" in his heart.
As Li Jiaxin watched her retreating figure, the smile on her lips gradually faded.
The two men got into the car. The Ferrari started, the engine roared under the porch, and it sped onto the main road.
The carriage was quiet for about ten seconds.
"Ah Dong." Li Jiaxin's voice came from the driver's seat.
"Um."
"she--"
"I'm not interested."
Lin Dong leaned back in the passenger seat, a smile playing on his lips, his tone casual.
Li Jiaxin paused for a moment, then the corners of her mouth curved slightly. But she didn't stop talking.
"An old woman," she said sarcastically, gripping the steering wheel. "She's done what Big Liu did, yet she still has the nerve to come near you."
Lin Dong glanced at her sideways, but then smiled and shook his head.
However, he genuinely had no interest. He was thirty-four years old, several years older than Li Jiaxin. And he had always been very devoted to women.
He's only interested in young women. There are plenty of young and beautiful women in the entertainment industry now—Zhang Baizhi, Zhu Yin, Fan Binbin—aren't they all fresher than Rosamund Kwan? Why waste time on a middle-aged woman?
…………
Halfway up the mountain, Ligende Pavilion.
As soon as the door closed, Li Jiaxin kicked off her high heels, stepped barefoot onto the beige carpet, and collapsed onto the sofa.
But she didn't rest. Her eyes were bright. She pulled out a notebook from under the coffee table, then took out a pen and started calculating while leaning over the coffee table.
Lin Dong sat opposite her, watching her bite the pen cap, her brows slightly furrowed, her lips moving as she silently recited numbers.
"Six thousand eight... and the rent for that shop in Central..."
She calculated for a while, then looked up.
"Ah Dong."
"Um."
She slid off the sofa, walked barefoot to him, sat down next to him, put one leg on his knee, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her chin on his shoulder.
"Seventy million Hong Kong dollars—is that possible?"
Lin Dong looked down at her.
"You have that many?"
Li Jiaxin buried her face in his shoulder, her voice muffled, a mix of embarrassment and pride. "We sold a villa halfway up the mountain last year."
Lin Dong smiled.
"That looks like a huge profit."
She lifted her head from his shoulder, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him, tracing circles on his chest with her finger. "Is seventy million enough?"
"That's enough." Lin Dong leaned back on the sofa, his tone casual. "You'll handle the paperwork yourself tomorrow and open the account. I'll tell you how to buy afterwards."
She nodded.
"Remember." Lin Dong extended a finger and tapped her chin, lifting her face slightly. "When I tell you to sell, don't hesitate for a second. Even if you think it can still rise, even if everyone else says it can still rise—if I tell you to sell, then sell."
She looked at him, the light in her eyes changing from excitement to solemnity.
"understood."
She responded softly, but there was not a trace of hesitation in her voice.
Then she buried her face back in his shoulder, pressing her whole body against him, her arms wrapped tightly around him.
The living room was quiet for a few seconds.
"Ah Dong."
"Um."
"Thank you."
Her voice was muffled in the hollow of his shoulder, with a slight nasal tone. It wasn't the perfectly controlled coquettishness she displayed at the banquet; it was genuinely choked up.
Lin Dong didn't say anything, but patted her on the back.
Outside the window, the night was serene on the hillside. The lights of Victoria Harbour flickered in the distance.
She lifted her head from his shoulder, her eyes a little red, but the corners of her mouth were curved.
"Seventy million," she said. "I've staked everything on you."
"It's not a bet on me," Lin Dong corrected her, "it's a bet on yourself."
She froze for a moment.
Then she smiled. Her smile made her eyes crinkle, as if the whole room brightened up a notch. She got up from him, walked barefoot towards the bedroom, took a few steps, then turned back, leaning against the doorframe to look at him.
"Then—tonight, there's something else I'm giving you as collateral."
Lin Dong stood up and walked over.