191 The reason behind Jin's concern
Jin raised his brow. “Ask me questions? What questions do you have to ask me?”
Shui clenched her hands together tightly. She was uncertain as to why she felt this strange tension in the air.
Ai didn’t pull any punches as she said, “I can understand why the Han family may feel bitter about this. Han Shui is their daughter after all.”
Xinyi and Zhiyuan exchanged glances.
“But why are you so particularly invested in this matter? You might feel uncomfortable like the rest of the family because it is sudden. I understand that. But aren’t your words a little too personal and harsh for a matter that is between Jun and Han Shui?”
He stared at her coldly with the air turning chillier.
“Why are you confronting Jun over this so earnestly? Because you feel bad for Han Shui? At this point, everybody does though I am against it because nobody is trying to understand Jun here. But keeping that aside for now, aren’t you feeling a little too bad for her? Is it because you feel hurt on her behalf as a friend or as someone who loves her?”
Shui froze.
Everybody focused their gazes on Ai after listening to the last four words of her question. It made their breaths stop in their throats.
Someone who loves her?
Jun widened his eyes, seeing her pop that question without any hesitation at all. He was trying to avoid going down that path because he didn’t want to open another can of worms. Explaining Jin and Shui’s feelings to the whole family was even more challenging than explaining his breakup with Shui or his relationship with Ai.
Jian blinked. “Jin loves Shui? That’s not the case.”
Ai cast a sideway look at him. “It is quite so. That is why he is particularly affected by this the most and why he came forward to confront Jun. He loves Shui and to him, Jun has hurt her feelings. So, he cannot stand that.”
Jinhai observed Ai with his narrowed eyes wondering something in his mind.
Xinyi shook her head. “It’s not like that. Jin and Shui have been the closest friends till now. Jin also used to come frequently to our house along with Jun to play with Siying and Shui. That’s why they are a lot closer.”
Shui trembled.
Ai said, “A lot closer, yes but that also makes room to develop feelings, isn’t it? More so for them because they are only one year apart in age. So, they will probably bond much more compared to Jun. Five years’ age gap may not feel like much but between five years and one year, it does make a lot of difference.”
She shot a sharp stare at Jin. “Isn’t it why you are doing all this?”
Nana felt her heart pound in her chest because if what Ai said was true then…
Liu Hai glanced at Jin. “Jin. Why are you keeping silent over this?”
Jin’s black eyes glinted with an indecipherable emotion that made Jun uncomfortable for some reason. Jun expected that he would get all panicked and flustered because that’s how it went down in his past life on Shui’s twenty-fifth birthday.
Jin was desperate to prove to Jun that he didn’t love Shui or that he never meant in coming between him and Shui. He cried and begged for his forgiveness. But compared to that night, Jin’s reactions and mannerisms looked really different now.
Jin’s lips finally curved into a light smile. He took a step towards Ai, and he looked straight into her eyes as if he was staring right through her soul.
“Why I am doing all this shouldn’t necessarily link my actions to Shui, right? Indeed, I am more concerned here than anybody else, but it could also be because of you, right?”
Ai blinked.
“I think you have forgotten that Grandpa wanted to match us together on Mom and Dad’s anniversary night. He thought we suited each other and when I gave it a thought later, I felt the same.”
Shui stiffened. She felt as if her body was thrown into a block of ice.
Jun stared at his brother unblinkingly. He had a feeling he knew where Jin was taking this conversation and if that was the case then…
“I felt it wouldn’t be bad dating you. At first, I thought it was bizarre or that Grandpa was just fooling around. But later on, I thought why not give it a try? I know we didn’t get to spend much time, but you seemed to be good enough to give it a shot. That’s why I am so salty about this. Naturally, I feel bad for Shui but if you think about it from my perspective, then didn’t Bro Jun steal the woman I had interest in-“
Suddenly a punch sharply landed on Jin’s face, and he fell backwards with the brutal impact.
Nana gasped. “J-Jin!”
Shui shrieked in terror and pulled a sharp breath. “Jin!”
She rushed to his side and cried. “Jun, stop!”
Jun grabbed his collar and was about to land a second punch on his face when the twins pulled him back. “Jun! Get back!”
But Jun pushed them away and dropped another punch on his face.
Jian and Nian’s expressions turned extremely frigid. “Jun, we told you to stop.”
But Jun didn’t heed to their words. Not just them, it was as if Jun couldn’t hear anything else. His eyes held madness and rage. His fists trembled as he hit Jin. His body shook with an urge to kill him.
“Liu Jin…” his icy words were extremely quiet and marred with bloodlust. “You like Ai? You…have an interest in Ai? You? You?”
Veins popped on the back of his hand, and he raised his fist to land a third punch on his face. “You like Ai?”
Then his lips curled into a smile and his voice turned into a sinister laughter, “That is impossible, Jin. You cannot like Ai because she is mine. You cannot like Ai…” his words almost turned into a whisper that nobody could hear, “because I won’t let you snatch the woman I love from me a second time…”