Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 287 - 282: Taking Advantage

"Relationship issues are your own business, and it’s not really convenient for me, your cousin, to say much, right?

But the way you keep dragging things out definitely isn’t the solution.

Anyway, I’ve already conveyed your parents’ thoughts to you, so you better think it over yourself.

Oh, right, your mom also asked me to tell you, the kid from the neighbor’s in Melbourne, your Senior Brother Lei, is going to be stationed in Paris in a few months." Yan Ling slowly drifted out a string of words.

These words were spoken to Yan Yan, but they were clearly intended for Qi Yi to hear.

Yan Ling had not been involved in his cousin’s and her boyfriend’s unorthodox romantic banter.

Yan Ling was very aware of how busy his cousin was and knew that it was not easy for these uniquely talkative lovers to meet.

But Yan Ling still felt he had to defend his cousin’s interests.

"Wow, is that so? Brother Pili is coming to Paris? Didn’t he go to Africa just a couple of years ago? He got promoted again so quickly? What rank will he hold once he’s in Paris?" Yan Yan hadn’t heard much about Lei Pili in the past two years.

Busy to the point of exhaustion, sometimes she had to think hard about where her boyfriend even was, and Senior Brother Lei and others like him seemed to have grown distant since she left Italy.

Lei Pili was previously only a third secretary, which is a fairly junior position for a diplomat, without much freedom regarding when and where to go.

"If you care so much for your Senior Brother, you might as well just ask him yourself. Your mom said that the neighbor’s Aunt had come over several times, suggesting the kids shouldn’t stay single," continued Yan Ling, speaking without any particular concern.

"Ah? What is all this? What do you mean by ’staying single’? I’ve always been part of a duo, okay?

Brother Yan, my mom never mentioned any of this to me. Where did you get these plotlines from?

For as long as I can remember, my parents have had a laissez-faire approach to raising me, completely unlike Uncle and Aunt — they’re the open-minded ones." Yan Yan sensed there was a bit of fiction in what Yan Ling was saying.

Yan Dabang and his wife had never pressured Yan Yan to make any choices.

"Laissez-faire is one thing, but your parents now regret it so much they’re kicking themselves.

Knowing they couldn’t bring themselves to say it and that I was coming to the United States, they’ve been calling me three to five times a day, making me promise to have a good talk with you.

If I don’t fulfill my mission and just go back like that, who knows how many calls I’ll receive a day," said Yan Ling. Yan Yan wasn’t sure how much of what he was saying was true and how much was an exaggeration.

But looking at Yan Ling’s expression, it didn’t seem like he was deliberately mocking her.

"Ah? Is it that serious? Qi Yi, looks like I need to dedicate a song to you." Yan Yan turned to her boyfriend and used a pitiful yet cute expression.

"What song?" Qi Yi asked, not understanding the sudden change in topic.

"Break Up at the Next Intersection," Yan Yan provided the title of the song.

"Is there really such a song?" Qi Yi questioned Yan Yan.

"No," Yan Yan pouted cutely and shook her head.

"Oh, good," Qi Yi couldn’t resist Yan Yan’s cute expressions. If Yan Ling weren’t around, he would have come right over to kiss those pouting lips.

"What do you mean ’good’?" Yan Yan acted slightly childish, sticking her tongue out a little as she spoke.

Yan Yan, having had good sleep on the plane, was in a great mood now.

Rare leisure time, with her cousin and boyfriend around, Yan Yan couldn’t help but start being coquettish.

"If there’s no such song, then there’s no next intersection, and with no next intersection, there’ll be no breaking up. Isn’t that nice?" Qi Yi patiently explained to "little kid" Yan Yan.

"Just because it doesn’t exist now doesn’t mean it won’t in the future. It just hasn’t been written yet. Do you know how many rap fans I have now? Writing a song can be done in minutes," Yan Yan rolled her eyes at Qi Yi.

"Rap fans, huh? Only our Waiwai would think to spend 160,000 US Dollars to have someone insult their own brand. In our country, if someone insults you, they could become a millionaire. If you invite a song with that same energy, you wouldn’t need to wait for tomorrow; the song would be written tonight," Qi Yi said, playing along with Yan Yan’s playful jab.

"Should I give it a try then?" Yan Yan teasingly avoided looking directly at Qi Yi.

"Sure, you just let Master Y post a bounty, and I’ll hijack the notice. Then I just cobble together some lyrics, and I’ll be a millionaire," Qi Yi seemed very satisfied with Yan Yan’s plan.

"Oh my, our little Xiao Qizi is about to become a private equity General Partner, casually starting with several billion US Dollars as a billionaire. Yet, you’re interested in a title as unimpressive as millionaire?" Yan Yan teased her boyfriend on purpose.

"A few billion US Dollars, that’s other people’s money, not my personal property. Private equity GPs aren’t as wealthy as you Limited Partners, right?

After all, we’re working for LPs. Thank you, my LP." Qi Yi deliberately emphasized that Yan Yan was an LP (Limited Partner), and he seemed very pleased with himself using the abbreviation, which in Chinese would have been a term he’d happily embrace.

"Can’t you stop taking advantage of me? Who’s your LP? At most, I’ve only ever been Ian’s LP. I’ve been associated as an LP with Ian, not with you," Yan Yan clarified the facts seriously.

"How did I dig myself into this hole? My bad. I won’t dare to take such liberties with you again," Qi Yi quickly changed his tune.

Having your girlfriend with no connection to yourself, who actually turned out to have been the LP of your boss for three years, was definitely not a privilege to take lightly.

"Can’t you two let a person eat in peace? Why don’t you switch seats, go whisper sweet nothings to each other on the other side, and stop flaunting your love in front of me? Don’t forget, I came here on a mission to break you two apart," Yan Ling finally couldn’t stand it anymore.

"How could I do that? Ever since I was little, I always stuck by you whenever you were around. If I don’t sit next to you, how could I manage to eat?" Yan Yan firmly refused to move.

Yan Yan’s chances to see Qi Yi were scarce, and her opportunities to see Yan Ling were less than a quarter of that.

Her boyfriend was important, of course, but she couldn’t neglect her own brother.

Most crucially, Yan Yan wanted to keep sending out smokescreens. If she sat with Qi Yi and couldn’t help but take advantage of him or let him take advantage of her, then today’s "dinner" would’ve been in vain.