Chapter 12

Shen Mian was indeed very clingy to him. Shen Ci flipped his phone over and looked at it again: "He just likes to boss people around."

Lin Langli smiled gently: "Really? Dad said I'd live with him. What are your thoughts on that?"

Speaking of this, Shen Ci felt a little strange, but he didn't show it on his face. He fiddled with his fingers and said in a nonchalant tone, "What's the big deal? You two can worry about it. I'm happy to be free."

On the first day of school, there weren't many classes. After finishing his class, Shen Ci came out of the classroom and saw Shen Mian waiting for him at the door with his books.

Returning to campus and integrating into the circle of peers, Chen Mian was clearly in her element. In the short time that Chen Ci was observing, the young man had already responded to the greetings of several people.

One of them asked, "Mianmian, we're having a get-together tonight, can you come? We haven't seen each other in ages."

Chen Mian hesitated, her brows furrowing slightly. Chen Ci's expression turned cold as he strode over and said, "I can't go. He has something to do tonight."

Chenmian glanced at him and smiled, replying, "Yeah, I'm not free tonight."

"Okay." The boy who was rejected looked visibly dejected, or perhaps he had expected it, and after a couple of seconds he spoke again, "Are you free this weekend? How about we go play an escape room?"

Chenmian was somewhat tempted. The two months of summer vacation were spent either worrying and fearing Lin Langli or at her older brother's place, which was indeed very boring.

"I'll tell you when the time comes." Chen Mian replied vaguely, ignoring Shen Ci's subtle hint of squeezing his palm.

Once outside the teaching building, Shen Ci walked quickly, leaving Chen Mian behind.

Having finally caught up, Chenmian deliberately ignored the anger of the person beside her and said in a natural tone, "You're walking too fast. Aren't you hot? Let's go eat. I've been hungry for a while."

Shen Ci found the meal tasteless, but Shen Mian was quite happy. She couldn't eat such oily and salty food at home. While eating, she kept replying to the messages flashing on her phone.

Shen Ci said unhappily, "Are you chatting with your simp again?"

The person opposite paused for a moment, put down their chopsticks, and said, "What? I don't like them."

Seeing that Shen Ci's face was still gloomy, Chen Mian said with a smile, "Besides, didn't I tell you that I like gentle people who are good to me and also good-looking? Have you forgotten?"

"Be nice to you? Like an older brother?"

Chenmian said, "Big brother is very good to me, and you're not bad to me either. Although I'm always angry with you, you're still a good person."

It wasn't a very high compliment, but Shen Ci was easily calmed down by those two sentences, and her expression improved.

But he remained expressionless and spoke coldly: "Stop with the sweet talk. Do you think I'm your lapdog?"

After class in the afternoon, Shen Ci did not go to the laboratory, but accompanied Lin Langli to the dormitory to move his old things.

There wasn't much stuff: a mattress, two blankets, a few faded clothes, and some household items. It didn't seem like it would take two people to move it.

Shen Ci couldn't bear to look at those old things and asked, "Your family gave you money and also bought you new things in Shenmian's room. Why are you still carrying these things?"

Lin Langli paused, looked at him seriously, and said, "You know that my parents and grandmother have all passed away, right? I'm the only one left in the Lin family."

Shen Ci turned his gaze to the old clothes and inexplicably thought about what would have happened if Shen Mian hadn't switched places with Lin Langli in the first place.

The rustic country boy is not as healthy and strong as Lin Langli. Perhaps he couldn't withstand the illness when he was young and died young; or perhaps he grew up strong, but when he first came to the big city, would he feel inferior? And with his appearance, would he easily turn bad?

Shen Ci remained silent, glanced at the small dormitory bed, and said, "I'll go get the car, let's go."

The slumbering apartment is located in a high-end residential area about one kilometer from the campus. Each floor of his building has two units per floor. The apartment that Shen Mianjun bought for Lin Langli is right across from Shen Ci's.

The thought that Lin Langli would be staying with him alone tonight made Shenmian not even bother to pretend to move his luggage. After returning, he collapsed on the sofa, curling himself up like a pancake.

The fingerprint lock beeped, the door opened, and Chenmian tilted her head slightly to peek over.

The homeowner looked like he had lost his parents and ignored everyone. Shen Ci had no choice but to lead Lin Langli in and introduce him: "Your room is next to his. It's also a large bedroom with a private bathroom. Your father heard that you like sunlight, so he installed floor-to-ceiling windows for you. Your apartment also has many windows."

As Chenmian listened to these words, her heart sank completely. She turned her face away, and her other leg, which was hanging off the sofa, swayed as if her heart had turned to ashes.

There weren't many old things there. Lin Langli looked through them after entering the house, and after confirming that Chenmian wasn't foolish enough to do something naughty like before, he went to the living room.

Shen Ci nudged Mian Xiaobing up, and seeing that Chen Mian remained silent, he said to Lin Langli, "Then let's go eat and ignore him."

Thinking of her still-unrestricted allowance and her dwindling balance, Chen Mian didn't want to miss the chance to freeload off Chen Ci's meal. Mian Xiaobing looked up and loudly declared, "I want to eat fish!"

"What are you talking about? Pigs can't eat fish." That's what he said, but in the end, he still let Chenmian eat it.

We weren't satisfied with the chicken hot pot for lunch, so for dinner we ordered boiled fish fillets and a spicy chicken dish. The bright red chili oil was floating on top, and Chenmian didn't care about the other two. She took a few bites as soon as the dish was served.

Chenmian loves spicy food and can handle it, but her face always turns bright red when she eats spicy food, like a ripe peach.

Seeing that Chen Mian's complexion had become very rosy and her lips were as bright as if she had applied lip rouge, Shen Ci reminded her, "Don't eat too much, your stomach isn't good."

Chenmian put down her chopsticks, patted her cheeks, took a sip of her iced drink, and replied, "I'd also like to order a crème brûlée."

“Pigs can’t eat desserts,” Shen Ci added.

Chenmian glared at him and called him a stingy person.

After the meal, Shen Ci carried the caramel pudding that Shen Mian had packed and strolled back slowly.

Chenmian quietly asked, "Do you know when Dad will restore my allowance? He said it would only be deducted for one month, right?"

Shen Ci still doesn't know what happened between Shen Mian and Lin Langli back then. He wanted to ask but didn't want to seem gossipy, so he shook his head.

Lin Langli: "Dad said that things will only be restored when you sincerely apologize to me."

"How could you eavesdrop on my conversation?" Chenmian was furious, her heart clenching with rage. She continued, "I've already sincerely apologized to you. Are you prejudiced against me? Actually, you weren't sincere, were you?"

Lin Langli stopped and gave him a half-smile: "Maybe, but it's really up to me to decide. You can try to be 'sincere' towards me all the time, and maybe I'll forgive you."

"Besides, can't you just ask Chen Ci for money?"

"..." The two people behind him fell silent.

Back at their residence, Chen Mian offered to walk Chen Ci downstairs. As soon as they reached the elevator, Chen Mian couldn't help but speak ill of Lin Langli: "Look at him, so lawless and aggressive! He even talked about you! This is supposed to be your good older brother and younger brother who plays games with you..."

Lin Lang politely interrupted them: "Chenmian, could you please register my fingerprints first?"

That bitch—

Chenmian blushed and went back with Lin Langli.

After registering his fingerprint and opening the door, Chenmian's face was flushed, and he quickly kicked off his shoes and rushed into the bedroom.

Lin Langli knocked on the door from the outside: "Chenmian, aren't you going to eat your pudding?"

Chenmian wanted Lin Langli to consider her dead.

That night, Shenmian didn't sleep well at all. He was no longer able to deal with Lin Langli at the Shen family home, and now that he was back at school, he was worried that he would repeat the same mistake.

I was drenched in cold sweat all night, and when I woke up in the morning, my body was still sticky with sweat. After taking a shower, I sprayed on some perfume and went out smelling nice.

Lin Langli was having breakfast in the living room when Chen Mian stopped walking, looked at the breakfast trays on the table, and awkwardly sat down to one side.

Lin Langli didn't stop him. Chen Mian leaned closer and asked, "Lin Langli, you're not angry, are you? If I really hated you, why would I let you move in?"

Lin Langli stopped what he was doing and suddenly asked out of the blue, "Chenmian, do you spray perfume on yourself every day?"

Chenmian, who has loved such exquisite things since childhood, was a little embarrassed and denied it with a forced smile: "What perfume? I would never wear those. This is my own natural fragrance."

"..."

Lin Langli was amused. Chen Mian really didn't understand. It was true that the sentence was a bit manipulative, but it didn't warrant such an exaggerated laugh. He was almost slamming his fist on the table.

He was a little angry, but he didn't dare to yell at Lin Langli like Shen Ci did. He could only sit quietly to the side, nibbling on the bun skin.

After a while, Lin Langli finally finished laughing and, rubbing his temples, said, "Chenmian, what's the rush? We still have a long time to get to know each other. A few minor disagreements are normal, aren't they?"

Minor friction? Sleepyhead broke out in a cold sweat again.

But Lin Langli was right; his house renovation would take some time, and afterwards, the formaldehyde would need to be dissipated.

Why not poison Lin Langli?

In short, progress wouldn't be quick. The thought of this made Chenmian feel extremely uneasy, as if she were sitting on pins and needles, or had a fishbone stuck in her throat. She stopped eating her steamed bun and packed her bag to leave.

Lin Langli called out to him gently, "You haven't had breakfast yet. Mom and Dad told me to take good care of you." He also picked up his schoolbag, smiling as he walked alongside Shen Mian, "What a coincidence, I also have class this morning. Shall we walk together?"

Chenmian dared not refuse Lin Langli's threat.

That bastard even pretended to see him to the classroom door, said goodbye to him in a normal tone, and even said that they would have dinner together that night.

After spending two morning classes in the slumbering water, I finally came up with a solution.

Once he returns to school, his classmates will be unaware of his family situation and the conflict between him and Lin Langli. It will be easy for them to spread rumors and bad things about Lin Langli.

Even the most adept person will struggle with public opinion and be troubled by rumors.

Sleeping was extremely pleased with itself, and the little devil horns and tail popped out.

Given Lin Langli's previous personality—so stubborn and arrogant—he must have been very disliked. If he registered a new account and posted, he would definitely get a lot of support.

Lin Langli has disgraced the Shen family at school and can't even handle the most basic interpersonal relationships. His parents will definitely feel disgusted with him.

So, what kind of rumors should be spread?

A note from the author:

Once you live together, who can resist eating a bite?

This is the number one must-eat dish on the Shen family's list!!