Chapter 11

The fragrance wafting from the tip of my nose grew even stronger with the sight of that shimmering white figure ahead, to the point of being almost irritating.

Shen Jinshan was suddenly displeased. Shen Mian had so rashly exposed his body in front of him. He wondered how stupid he would be in private. No wonder Shen Ci was worried that someone else was deceiving him.

He forced his gaze away, walked to the sink to wash his hands, and the pure white water flowed over the back of his hands, cooling down Shen Jinshan's previously agitated mind.

Seeing her older brother come in, Chenmian stopped being lazy and continued washing herself in the bathtub. She carefully observed her older brother's expression and, seeing that there was nothing unusual about his face, said ingratiatingly, "Brother, I'm washing very carefully."

Shen Jinshan felt a little more at ease, took out a tissue to wipe his hands, and Shen Mian was already almost done with her work, only needing to rinse off the last step. She quickly completed all the steps.

The young man stepped down from the bathtub steps, his face still flushed, his eyelashes curving with laughter, like a crisp, red peach, looking quite delicious.

"Brother, I feel so relaxed here. I don't have to worry about Lin Langli bullying me anymore."

Shen Jinshan turned his head to look at his younger brother. His younger brother's cheeks were still wet with water droplets, and his hair was sticking to his face, revealing his round and fair shoulders and neck.

He frowned as he stared at the water stain, pulled out a tissue and gently wiped it away. Chenmian blinked slowly and suddenly asked, "Brother, do you think I'm cute?"

The man chuckled at those words, stroking the back of the boy's head with his palm, his fingertips brushing against the hair, without answering the question: "Chenmian, your hair is still wet."

His attention was quickly drawn to those words. He touched his head and hesitated before asking, "I think I'm alright."

Shen Jinshan released his grip, washed his hands again, and looked at the person beside him in the mirror.

"Mianmian, you'll get a headache if you don't blow-dry your hair, have you forgotten?"

"But I'm too tired. Washing the bathtub is so tiring, and your bathtub is so big." The boy still didn't want to dry his hair. He gestured to show how tired he was and dejectedly prepared to leave. "Brother, you take a bath. I'm leaving."

But his arm was grabbed, and the man's hot palm encircled his forearm, making Shenmian shudder. He turned his head and looked over with puzzled eyes.

Shen Jinshan took the hair dryer from the table and said in a low voice, "Dry your hair."

Chenmian tried to run away, but Shen Jinshan easily pulled her back.

"My lovely Chenmian, please finish drying your hair before you leave." Shen Jinshan handed over the hair dryer with a firm attitude.

The young man moved his lips twice, his eyebrows drooping and his eyes narrowed. Shen Jinshan guessed that Shen Mian was talking about his bad brother.

He couldn't help but let out a genuine smile, quietly leaning to one side as he watched Chenmian fiddle with her hair.

The hairdryer hummed, and the hot air made the space even more stuffy. Shen Jinshan saw that Chenmian's shorts were half wet and stuck to her thighs, with occasional water droplets forming and running down.

That's really outrageous.

With her hair mostly dry, Chenmian turned off the hairdryer, complaining somewhat sullenly, but in a coquettish tone: "Brother, you even have to control this."

Shen Jinshan: "My father told me that since you've come here, I have to take responsibility for you."

She added, "Didn't you say I was a good older brother during the day? Why are you complaining now?"

"Where is it?" Chenmian denied it and turned to run away.

After staying with Shen Jinshan for a while, Chenmian finally returned to her previous comfortable state, and even her spirits became lighter.

Although Su Yueqiu only called to check on him on the second day after he arrived, Shenmian didn't care much. Every day after waking up, he would sit at home playing on his phone.

During this time, Shen Jinshan took him out to the company for two days; he also took Shen Mian on a business trip. While he was busy with work, Shen Mian was busy having fun; he also accompanied a young man to the mall to buy the new high-end jewelry and custom-made jewelry, which made Shen Mian very happy.

Time flies, and with the start of the new school year approaching in September, Shen Mianjun called Shen Mian back and instructed him to get along well with Lin Langli in the new semester. He had already purchased another apartment next to Shen Mian's, which was a gift for Lin Langli's graduation.

Upon hearing this, Chenmian felt a sudden darkness engulf her, and her entire body stiffened; she was likely on her deathbed.

Biting her tongue, Chenmian asked with difficulty, "Why, Dad, shouldn't you have arranged for him to be with Shen Ci? If you put him next to me, I'm sure he'll bully me."

Shen Mianjun glanced at him and said, "I'll be thanking my lucky stars if you don't bully him."

Chenmian wanted to cry. In her parents' eyes, Lin Langli's image as a victim was firmly established, while he had become the villain.

That's not fair!

But he still didn't cry. When Shen Mianjun said this to him, Shen Ci was also there. Because of their argument last time, the two hadn't been in contact for a long time.

Shen Mian has already categorized Shen Ci as part of Lin Langli's faction. All the promises he made to Lin Langli before, like saying he would take care of him, were bullshit. He will never believe Shen Ci again.

After leaving the study, Chen Mian stormed out with a puffed-up face. He ignored Chen Ci's calls and went back to his room to have the housekeeper pack his things while also asking about the situation.

The aunt carefully said to him, "Mianmian, I heard that Langli's house is not yet fully renovated. The master wants him to stay temporarily in your house or Xiaoci's house."

Chen Mian's heart pounded, feeling a sense of relief at surviving a disaster. She thought that since her father hadn't mentioned this to her, he must have wanted that bastard to team up with Shen Ci.

That's right. They are twin brothers, fraternal, but they are still blood brothers. Even if they need to get along and have feelings for each other, it's not his turn.

Knock knock—

There was a knock on the door.

Chen Mian thought it was Chen Ci, and with her back to the door, she fiddled with the things on the table while saying, "I will not forgive you, you went too far!"

The aunt whispered a reminder: "Mianmian, this is a small gift."

Chenmian suddenly turned her head to look. In the month since she last saw him, Lin Langli seemed to have grown a little taller, and his skin seemed to have become a little whiter. The poor and shabby air he used to have had completely disappeared in this short period of time.

With a sour taste in his mouth, Shen Mian had to admit that Lin Langli looked more like a member of the Shen family than he did.

“Sleepless,” Lin Langli stepped aside to let his aunt leave and went into the room. “Didn’t you say you were going to be a good older brother? Why haven’t we seen each other for so long? You didn’t contact me at all, and you didn’t even say hello when you came back?”

Chenmian was puzzled, but she didn't show any anger or force a smile. She just stared back at him with her eyes open and said, "You haven't contacted me either."

Lin Langli chuckled: "Mianmian? Chenmian, you contacted Chen Ci on the day you left. Why didn't you contact me then?"

Chenmian was genuinely surprised and opened her eyes wide, truly feeling innocent.

What's wrong with him? Lin Langli knows their relationship best. He's been pretending all this time, and now he's asking questions. He's such a strange person. Is he mentally unstable?

That's terrifying. He really is a bastard.

Lin Langli observed for a moment the tense expression on Shen Mian's face before getting down to business: "You left too quickly. Dad asked me to inform you that I will be living with you for a while after school starts."

"..."

What does it mean to be a lamb entering a tiger's den?

Does Dad really hate him that much? Does he really want him to be bullied?

Chenmian's vision blurred with gray and black, and he broke out in a cold sweat. Leaning against the table, he slumped weakly and said, "Lin Langli, don't tease me."

"Why would I tease you? Brother, Mianmian brother, aren't you happy living with me?" Lin Langli's expression was very serious. He changed his affectionate address several times, and his interest grew even more as he watched Chenmian's expression change.

Chenmian wanted to yell back and shout back, but her IQ rarely came online. If she really acted like that now, how could she live her life in the future?

After a long pause, Chenmian stammered, "My house is very small, only a little over 200 square meters, enough for only one person to live in."

Seeing that Lin Langli's expression remained unchanged, Chen Mian hardened her heart and continued, "Lin Langli, you go live there. I'll move back to the school dormitory."

"That's not good," Lin Langli said with a smile, his expression surprisingly gentle. "I heard from my family that Mianmian, you're like a princess, and if you stay in the dormitory, you'll get rashes, is that right?"

This was the reason I used when I was in middle school. Although it was true, I made a fuss about it for a long time, and in the end, I had no choice but to be driven to and from school every day.

Once the decision was made, there was no turning back.

On the night before school started, Chen Mian hid on the balcony and secretly wiped away his tears. His eyes were red from crying. He sobbed as he dialed Chen Jinshan's number and complained in a trembling voice.

Shen Jinshan comforted him and transferred some money to him.

Chenmian was still feeling unwell. It wasn't until Chen Ci came in that Chenmian hung up the phone and silently hid behind the swing on the balcony.

Shen Ci came in and looked around but couldn't find anyone. Just as he was about to leave, he saw a shadow flicker outside the glass door. He went over and pulled out the shadow, and saw Shen Mian crying pitifully. He frowned.

Shen Mian was no longer in the mood to argue with Shen Ci. Even when her wrist was grabbed, she just looked sullen and unhappy.

“He won’t bully you,” Shen Ci said after thinking for a moment, the mockery he was about to say turned into comfort. “Lin Langli promised Mom and Dad that he wouldn’t do anything to you.”

Shen Mian glanced at him listlessly, not really wanting to say anything. Shen Ci, who didn't usually do anything mischievous, didn't know that there was a kind of prank called instigation or using someone else to do the dirty work.

Lin Langli could have done it without leaving a trace; not everyone is as careless as him and always forgets some details.

"Go away, I'm ignoring you." Chenmian shooed him out.

Upon exiting the door and hearing the sound of the door being locked, Shen Ci remembered what she had forgotten to tell him, but it wasn't a big deal; she could bring it up later.

The next morning, the three Shen brothers boarded the bus back to school. Although the university and the Shen family were in the same city, it was a 60-kilometer journey each way. In their first year of university, Shen Mian and Shen Ci would only go back on weekends when they had no plans.

Chenmian got into another car first and urged the driver to leave as soon as possible.

Helpless, Shen Ci and Lin Langli ended up in the same car. Not long after they set off, Shen Ci's phone lit up with a message from Shen Mian.

Let's have lunch together! But you can't bring him, I don't like him.

I want to eat at that chicken hot pot restaurant. Do you miss it?

Shen Ci glanced at it, his face was cold, but his fingertips were tapping away. Lin Langli saw out of the corner of his eye that he had replied with a long string of words.

Then Lin Langli saw something else come in, and he noticed that Shen Ci's lips curled up slightly, with a hint of pleasure in them.

Lin Langli suddenly spoke up: "You told me before that he had a terrible personality and that your relationship was just so-so, but I feel that he's quite clingy to you."

"Are you and him the closest people in your family? He always thinks of you first when he encounters problems. It's strange, has it always been like this?"

A note from the author: