Chapter 20

"Am I wrong?" Lin Langli's fingertips, calloused, slowly and maliciously traced the slump's jawline, where the skin was delicate and white, completely devoid of the dark stubble of other men. Lin Langli's eyes darkened.

"You're so old, yet you're always so intimate with other men. That time when Cui Quan tried to kiss you and touch you, you got angry. Why do you like it when Shen Ci and Shen Jinshan touch you like that?"

Shenmian was so angry that he trembled all over. He knew that Lin Langli had always looked down on him. Hadn't he said before that he had seduced Cui Quan?

What do you mean by saying these things now?

Chenmian bit her lower lip hard, tasting a faint metallic flavor of blood, her subconscious desperately trying to avoid that terrifying possibility.

He preferred to believe that Lin Langli was just jealous, jealous that this imposter had taken over the life that should have been his and stolen the attention of his family.

That's why I said such...nonsense-like things to disgust him.

"You pervert!" Chenmian's voice trembled, almost incoherent. He abruptly brushed away Lin Langli's outstretched hand, covered his face, and cried.

But Lin Langli was so strong that he grabbed Chen Mian's wrist the moment he was pushed away. Chen Mian struggled desperately as if he had been burned, his nails scratching the back of the other man's hand, leaving several red marks. But the man did not move. Instead, he used the force of Chen Mian's struggle to pull the young man into his arms, locking him in like an iron hoop. Chen Mian could not even breathe because of the other man's aura.

A very soft sigh fell beside my ear, carrying a suffocating sense of oppression.

Chenmian felt Lin Langli's gaze slipping through the gaps between his fingers covering his face. The gaze was so intense that it felt like it was burning his skin, as if it were a simplified trick of removing his clothes.

Lin Langli looked down at Chenmian's lips, which were hidden between her fingers. They looked moist and watery red, and seemed to turn even redder when she cried, making them look delicate and alluring. When she cried, she would slightly part her lips to breathe, as if she were waiting to be kissed.

Lin Langli's fingertips rubbed heavily against it.

Shenmian opened her eyes in surprise, but in the instant she unconsciously opened her mouth, she gently sucked on the young man's fingertip.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey." He quickly spat it out.

But before Chenmian could express further surprise or questioning.

Lin Langli's face drew closer, so close that Chen Mian could even see his own reflection in Lin Langli's pupils. His heart pounded; he almost had the illusion that Lin Langli was going to kiss him—

The thought flashed through his mind like lightning. The young man was startled and terrified. He used almost all his strength to shove the man in front of him hard.

With a "plop".

Lin Langli fell into the lake, creating a splash of pure white water.

Chenmian panicked, all traces of drunkenness and her previous fear and aversion vanished. The young man quickly got up, knelt by the lake, and called out Lin Langli's name.

But after waiting for a while, he saw no one floating on the water, nor did he hear any cries for help.

Chenmian's head was spinning with fright. Her voice trembled as she called out Lin Langli's name a few more times, bending down to take a closer look.

There was no movement underwater, and the ripples on the surface gradually subsided.

A chill crept up his spine, throwing Chen Mian into a panic. He couldn't imagine what would happen to him if the Shen family found out that he had killed Lin Langli, and that the fake young master had killed the real young master.

He struggled to get up and call for help, but his legs were too weak to move.

But just as she pushed herself up, a cold hand grabbed her ankle and pulled her down backward, causing her to fall into the water.

The icy lake water swallowed him up. Chenmian couldn't swim. The moment he fell into the water, he was so frightened that he thrashed about.

Several mouthfuls of water entered her mouth and nose, and the fear of suffocation brought tears streaming down her face. She could only cry out in vain, "Lin Langli!"

The next second, Lin Langli emerged from underwater, expressionless, and wrapped his arm around Chenmian's waist, pulling him to the surface.

Once ashore, Chenmian knelt and lay prone on the lawn, coughing incessantly. He was soaked to the bone, water droplets dripping from his clothes and pooling in a small puddle on the grass.

Finally recovering, Chenmian sneezed twice and turned her face away to look at the equally soaked man on the other side with disgust.

"Lin Langli, what do you mean?"

He looked utterly devastated, his pale face glistening with water, his hair soaked and clinging to his cheeks, water droplets sliding down his slender white neck and down to his chest, which was barely visible beneath his collar.

He glared at Lin Langli from his slumber.

"Why did you scare me? And why did you try to pull me down? You're so mean!"

Chenmian was going crazy. He thought Lin Langli was going to die.

A deep laugh came from beside him. The man grabbed the boy's waist with one hand, which was covered in bulging veins, and pulled him into his arms.

Chenmian struggled twice but couldn't break free, and could only sit in Lin Langli's arms with his help.

Lin Langli rested his chin on the top of his head, and Shenmian heard him say, "You were the one who pushed me down, so why are you blaming me?"

Chenmian's eyes reddened a little more, and she retorted loudly, "That's because you were so close to me! I thought you were going to kiss me!"

There was no sound behind me.

Chenmian breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, Lin Langli didn't want to kiss him.

The things she said were nothing more than an attempt to humiliate him.

But the next time, Lin Langli's body pressed against him. Even though they were both soaked, Shenmian could still clearly feel the scalding heat emanating from the body behind him.

The slumbering figure was startled by the heat.

That strange feeling returned, and the young man felt uncomfortable all over, squirming and trying to break free from Lin Langli's arms.

But the man easily restrained him. If it weren't for the grass beneath his buttocks, Chenmian might have even vaguely felt that when Lin Langli's arms were wrapped around his shoulders and waist like iron hoops, it was almost like holding a child or like holding a cat, pressing him into his arms.

Too close...too much.

It was as if his body was being invaded; Lin Langli locked him in with an unstoppable, forceful momentum.

Was he in this position with Shen Ci before? Did he also have this feeling of being invaded and controlled? Shen Mian wasn't quite sure anymore.

If that's the case, why doesn't he have those feelings for Shen Ci? This is too strange.

Do other people see them as this intimate?

My dormant brain suddenly conjured up a jumble of thoughts.

Lin Langli pressed his lips to the sleeping man's earlobe and whispered, "Why do you think that? Did the expression on my face at the time make you feel like I wanted to kiss you?"

Sleepyhead stirred restlessly, about to retort.

The man's voice behind her suddenly lowered: "Or do you want to fuck you?"

Chenmian was stunned by the last two words in Lin Langli's response that night, and her whole body froze.

"You are very cute and beautiful," the man's lips brushed against his earlobe, almost like a caress, and Shenmian heard Lin Langli say, "So is it all your fault?"

Snap—

Hands move faster than brains. Without a second thought, Chenmian raised her hand and slapped him hard.

"Lin Langli, what are you saying?" His eyes welled up with tears again, and his eyes were red with anger.

Lin Langli's face was slapped so hard it was twisted to the side, and a trace of blood seeped from the edge of his lower lip. Chen Mian had really used all her strength in that slap; it was a genuine blow.

The man turned his head and stared menacingly at Chenmian, who couldn't help but regret slapping him and bit her lower lip.

Seeing the tears welling up in Shen Mian's eyes, and her barely suppressed panic while still putting on an angry expression, Lin Langli stared at her for a long time. Just as Shen Mian felt a chill run down her spine and regretted her impulsive actions, a very slight, malicious smile suddenly appeared on Lin Langli's lips.

"What? Didn't Shen Ci say anything like that to you?" Lin Langli leaned closer without restraint, his breath hot on Shen Mian's cheek, and said slowly with a smile, "That day in the car, if I hadn't been there, would you two have kissed? You slapped Shen Ci and he wasn't angry. You two really have nothing going on?"

Chenmian trembled all over, feeling that the person in front of her had completely gone mad, and she couldn't bear it any longer and wanted to break free from his shackles.

—

On the other side, upon discovering that Chen Mian had left her seat and Lin Langli had also disappeared, Shen Ci's expression changed.

After saying "Excuse me" to the guests surrounding him, Shen Ci walked to a corner of the banquet hall and dialed a number.

Neither Chenmian nor Lin Langli answered their calls.

Frustration gripped him instantly. Shen Ci opened a hidden folder on his phone and brought up the location software—on the screen, the red dot representing sleep was hovering over the lakeside of the old house.

Why did you go there?

Shen Cixin's heart sank suddenly, his hand trembled uncontrollably, and his thoughts uncontrollably slid towards the most terrifying guess.

That idiot Chenmian, is he going to do something rash?

Haven't he and Lin Langli been getting along quite well lately? Lin Langli even specifically asked him not to contact Shen Mian anymore, implying that with him as Shen Mian's backer, she would only go further and further astray.

Shen Ci thought it made sense, so he deliberately avoided the few times when Shen Mian took the initiative to contact him, and also refrained from contacting her again.

Indeed, Lin Langli was very resourceful. Before long, Chen Mian's relationship with him improved; they went to and from class together, and even went out together on weekends.

Shen Ci felt somewhat relieved, but still felt uneasy and even disappointed.

Can this ungrateful little devil Chenmian really be so shameless as to hook up with anyone who spends more time with him and treats him well, and then coax them into emptying his shopping cart?

With a stern face, he carefully searched everything in sight before hurrying to the lakeside.

From a distance, Shen Ci saw two figures sitting by the lake.

With a huge weight lifted from his heart, Shen Ci impatiently stopped and stood by the red pillars of the pavilion, hesitating whether to go forward or turn back.

He looked for two seconds and finally realized something was wrong.

Are they standing too close together?

Has Lin Langli and Shen Mian's relationship gotten this good?

Shen Ci was still in disbelief, staring blankly at the figure on the shore who was being tightly embraced by a much larger figure.

He felt a little pain in his eyes, wondering if it was because he had been staring intently without blinking.

Shen Ci looked down at his phone.

8.58.

At nine o'clock, fireworks will be set off at the old house, a tradition of his and Shen Mian's birthday banquet in previous years. This year, there is another happy event: Lin Langli has returned.

Shen Ci calmed himself down.

When I looked up again, my phone had fallen from my hand.

Shen Ci felt that everything before her eyes must be an illusion.

Otherwise, why would he see Lin Langli pinching Chenmian's chin, forcing her to look up, and then lowering his head to kiss her with impatient excitement?

A note from the author:

Incompetent husband (bushi)