Chapter 17

He couldn't understand it, but then Chenmian urged him softly from the other end, her pupils surprisingly bright, her eyelashes trembling slightly, making one's heart itch. Lin Langli's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, but in the end he just casually replied, "Whatever."

Chenmian lowered his head, his fingers idly stroking the cat in his arms. Lin Langli saw his lips move as if he had something to say, and for a moment he did not turn around and leave.

After a long while, Chenmian finally mustered up the courage to lift her face.

The boy's large, cat-eye-like eyes were crystal clear, and his expression was so sincere it was almost as if you could squeeze water from them.

No, Lin Langli sneered inwardly. Shen Mian was born with this extremely deceptive face. She looked pure and innocent, but who knew how many tricks and schemes she had hidden inside.

He casually examined the sleeping woman's features: long, curled eyelashes and bright, watery eyes.

Further down, it should be that he's full of bad intentions.

"You're so kind, Lin Langli." A blush rose on Shenmian's cheeks, as if they had been steamed by heat. He stared into Lin Langli's eyes and said softly, "It was all my fault for being so stubborn and targeting you before. That day you protected me and were hurt even more than me. Actually, I regretted it then and wanted to apologize to you."

Lin Langli remained expressionless, his gaze drifting vaguely to the slumbering lips of the woman.

Before Chenmian could respond, she continued, "But you were so mean to me, I was so scared. That night I went to you to get the medicine and apologize, but you looked down on me. I was a little angry and didn't dare to be with you anymore, so I kept avoiding you."

Your post, Shen Ci wronged me and thought I did it, but you didn't. I thought about it for a long time afterward. It's understandable that you hate me and retaliate against me for what I did, but I got angry because you didn't forgive me. I really went too far..."

Lin Langli's eyes flickered, his thoughts pulled away. Fierce?

Moreover, when did he ever think that the post had nothing to do with Shen Mian?

His gaze swept downwards, from Chenmian's face, which looked as if it had been lightly powdered, down to her full lips, and then back to the area under Chenmian's slightly bluish eyes, where he frowned.

Looking at his expression, Chenmian saw neither displeasure nor emotion.

Torn between conflicting emotions, she finally said, "Do you still want revenge? I've thought about it for a long time. If you want to hit me—go ahead and hit me. I won't tell my family. I'll do anything as long as you can forgive me. This time it's for real."

The two men looked at each other. The taller, younger man stared down at them expressionlessly, while the younger man tilted his head back slightly.

In the silence, Chenmian felt that he had broken out in a thin layer of sweat, and a little water was gradually rising in his eyes without his master's awareness.

Lin Langli turned his head to look at him, signaling Shenmian to continue. Shenmian's heart skipped a beat, realizing that he might still have a chance—the family recognition ceremony was at the end of next month, and he couldn't afford to have any more strained relations with Lin Langli.

As Shen Jinshan said, his family was reluctant to give him up completely, but what about the old house? Not to mention whether his uncles would use this as an opportunity to incite his grandparents to expel him from the Shen family.

After all, the younger generation of the Shen family are all eyeing those shares and family assets. The fewer people eating the cake, the more they can get.

"When I first met you, I noticed you, but you were so mean to me. I thought you hated me, so I started causing trouble for you to get your attention. But I didn't expect it to get to that point. I have a bad temper, and you wouldn't back down to me."

"It's all my fault for being wrong," Chenmian said thoughtfully, observing Lin Langli's expression. He had had very little contact with Lin Langli and was unsure of Lin Langli's attitude at this moment.

Is it good or bad for him to continue like this?

“I’ve been using your identity for so many years, and I haven’t even apologized to you since you came back. That’s so wrong of me, Lin Langli. Can you tell me about your parents?” Chen Mian tried to empathize with them, “making your voice sound pitiful, “I’ve never even met them.”

As expected, Lin Langli's expression changed very slightly, and the chill emanating from him seemed to have lessened somewhat.

Rationally, Lin Langli believed that Shen Mian was just spouting nonsense to coax him into not retaliating and to forgive her.

To believe that Chen Mian truly repents would be naive and too weak.

But Chenmian looks so docile. When she shows weakness to him, she holds the cat and looks up at him as if he is the only one in the world. He seems to have become the master who can dominate the person in front of him.

He truly understands this skill; he can easily fool others and has managed to get Shen Ci to dutifully clean up his messes for so many years. Shen Mian certainly has his strengths.

He nodded in agreement with his own guess, but his Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably. Looking at the scene before him, he felt ashamed and guilty, and his heart softened for a second for Shen Mian.

After softening his heart,

"Is it really that fierce?" After a moment of silence, he asked.

Shenmian was stunned for a moment, not expecting the first thing to be said, but he quickly composed himself and said, "Lin Langli, you look like your father. You look very aloof when you're not smiling."

Shenmian wanted to say that Shen Ci was the same, but he felt that Lin Langli might not want to hear other people's names at this moment, so he wisely refrained from saying it.

"Actually, you weren't being mean to me back then, were you? It's just that you don't smile much, so I misunderstood..."

They attributed all the mistakes to Lin Langli and then found excuses for him, using the trick of putting him to sleep with great skill.

Lin Langli's initial desire to deny it was now stuck in a rut.

He felt a dull ache in his heart, as if tiny fireworks were exploding inside. It was itchy, warm, and he couldn't quite describe the feeling.

In the end, he simply exhaled and looked at Chenmian with a cold gaze.

Chenmian stared at Lin Langli's indifferent face, her heart pounding, waiting for his reaction.

But it didn't happen.

There was neither the sarcastic tone he used when calling him "good brother" last time, nor the subtle clashes that occurred when they were at odds.

He slept soundly, lost in thought, suppressing the resentment in his heart.

The cat in my arms meowed twice.

Shenmian suddenly realized what was happening, put the cat down, and continued to look at the other person with teary eyes.

Lin Langli raised his eyebrows and suddenly smiled. He usually had a cold face, and occasionally he would wear glasses to soften his indifference and make him look more refined, but at this moment he revealed his blatant wickedness.

Chenmian had never seen him like this before.

He had seen Lin Langli as indifferent, hateful, and disgusted with him.

But I've never seen him like this before. He looks wicked, even a little frivolous. The feeling I had when I hugged him in the elevator and spoke harshly to him that day came back to me.

Chenmian paused for a moment, staring blankly at the young man who had unknowingly almost enveloped him again.

Lin Langli leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Let me make a request of you, Chenmian. You're not qualified." He looked at Chenmian and his eyes flickered, as if he was stung by his words. He smiled contentedly and wrapped one arm around the waist of the person in his arms, rubbing it against his clothes.

“I won’t do anything to you. I came back just to see how you—Chenmian—were abandoned by everyone step by step.”

"If you give up on me now, I'll be very distressed and fall into a deep sleep. You should hold on a little longer."

"..."

Chenmian looked away, his whole body stiffening. He knew Lin Langli harbored a deep hatred for him, but he never expected it to have reached this point. Why did he provoke him in the first place? Was bullying him really Lin Langli's intention at first? It must have been instigated by someone else.

He was overwhelmed with regret, covered his face with his hands, and tears streamed down his face.

Through the gaps in his fingers, Chenmian could see the person covering him. The cold and handsome face did indeed resemble Shen Ci's, and he was staring at him expressionlessly.

Chenmian pleaded, "But I've almost lost everything. My parents haven't contacted me in so long, and Shen Ci said yesterday that he didn't want to take care of me. And all those people have started bullying me. Lin Langli, I've already been punished, isn't that enough?"

Lin Langli removed Shenmian's hand and saw that he was crying with tears streaming down his face. Here it comes again, that strange feeling, that inexplicable irritation, it comes again.

“Sleep is not enough,” Lin Langli said, his lips close to the ear of the person in his arms. If Shenmian had just tilted his head, he could have brushed against the man’s lips, but Shenmian did not. He tensed up and listened carefully to what Lin Langli was about to say, “You still have a lot to lose.”

She looked up, her expression a mixture of innocence and confusion.

Sleepless, you still have hope for the Shen family, don't you? I want you, abandoned to the point where even that last bit of hope is gone.

Lin Langli did not say it.

He simply looked down at the strands of hair clinging to Shenmian's cheeks, glistening with sweat, and gently brushed aside the dark strands, speaking in a tender tone: "You think I'm fierce, Shenmian? When Shen Ci treated you like that, would you think he was fierce?"

"Shen Ci ignored you, so you came to find me..."

“It has nothing to do with him,” Chenmian interrupted urgently, explaining, “I just want to apologize to you. It’s understandable that you’re upset with me, but since you hate me so much and don’t want me to move out, can you tell me how I should get along with you?”

Lin Langli glanced at the cat not far away and said, "Just treat me the way you treated Shen Ci before."

"..." Is that all? Then should Lin Langli still hit him?

Lin Langli's ruthlessness that day seemed to be just an illusion. The next morning, Shenmian had no morning classes. When she got up to get water in the living room, she found Lin Langli sitting on the sofa playing with the cat, looking calm and composed. He was wearing his glasses again, looking refined and gentle, completely unlike the person who had frightened Shenmian the day before.

He paused in his drinking, remembering the man's words from yesterday, and softly called Lin Langli's name: "Have you had breakfast? Let's go out for breakfast."

Lin Langli agreed.

In the days that followed, the two began to "get along well" as if they were playing house.

Chen Mian tried to contact Chen Ci several times, but was either avoided or given the cold shoulder, which made her angry. Gradually, she devoted more attention to Lin Langli in order to make him more satisfied.

The once high and mighty young master now has to fawn over the person he once trampled into the dust. Chen Mian can't say whether it's humiliation or resentment, but there's definitely some reluctance in it.

Lin Langli, however, seemed oblivious, and his attitude towards him softened.

They would travel together to and from get out of class, and on holidays they would go shopping and take photos with Chenmian at restaurants.

Besides, at home, while Chenmian was playing with Xiaomian in the living room, Lin Langli would also come out of his room and sit on the sofa to quietly watch them.

Shenmian couldn't quite figure out what Lin Langli meant, but it seemed that their relationship had really become like the way Lin Langli had described his previous interactions with Shen Ci.

However, they still lack some physical intimacy.

A note from the author: