Chapter 25 Sitting on his lap?!
The Wang family's backyard appeared exceptionally secluded in the night, and the music sounded hazy, like a reflection in a lake, indistinct and unreal.
Meng Huaiwen sat alone on a stone bench by the waterside pavilion, facing a pool of still, inky water. A few koi occasionally stirred the surface, creating ripples that shattered the reflection of the crescent moon in the water.
The lanterns hanging from the eaves of the waterside pavilion cast a dim, yellowish glow, enveloping him in a sense of solitude.
His lips were tightly pressed together, his jaw was taut and hard, and he looked like a stone statue abandoned in a beautiful landscape, with a silent sense of anguish about him. His back was straight, but it was stiff and hard. His hands were on his knees, and his knuckles were slightly white from the pressure.
His attitude and words when he rejected Sun Xin were firm and resolute, but that doesn't mean that his feelings for Sun Xin have been completely erased.
The lingering emotions in his heart, the happy times he spent with Sun Xin, those beautiful memories that shone brightly, were like sharp knives, repeatedly cutting into his already fragile spirit, bringing endless suffering.
He lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on his own reflection in the water, a blurry and swaying reflection, just like his chaotic thoughts at that moment.
Just then, the sound of unhurried footsteps came from behind, clear and steady as they trod on the bluestone path.
Wang Shunduo approached slowly. He had just emerged from behind a thick clump of purple bamboo and had already taken in the brief but embarrassing encounter. But on his face at this moment, there was not a trace of abnormality, only a slight surprise that was performed perfectly.
He stopped a few steps away from Meng Huaiwen, his hands casually in his trouser pockets, his gaze sweeping across the rippling water, his tone as nonchalant as if it were truly a chance encounter: "Huaiwen? Why are you here alone in the wind?"
Wang Shunduo's voice broke the stagnant air around Meng Huaiwen. He stiffened slightly at the sound, but did not turn around immediately. He merely pulled his gaze away from the shattered moonlight, his voice slightly dry: "It's a bit stuffy in there, come out for some fresh air."
Meng Huaiwen thought he had concealed his disappointment well, but little did he know that it was all too obvious to Wang Shunduo.
The handsome, sharp-featured man's lips tightened as he thought to himself: For someone like that... he's actually so heartbroken.
Wang Shunduo took a few steps closer and stood beside him, gazing at the deep pool. He casually pointed to the other side of the pavilion: "See the newly paved bluestone path over there? And those newly transplanted late-blooming cherry trees next to it? They were all planted in the spring. The old path was uneven, and several old trees were sick, so we simply replaced them all."
His tone was casual, as if he were talking about something very ordinary.
The moonlight elongated his tall figure, which overlapped almost imperceptibly with Meng Huaiwen's shadow.
He paused for a moment, as if recalling something, and then gently said, "You used to come here often when you were little. Which corner of this backyard didn't you explore? Back then, you loved to curl up under the wisteria trellis over there and read for an entire afternoon, not even hearing Selena calling you for dinner."
Wang Shunduo had wanted a younger brother or sister since he was a child.
His parents both came from prominent families and married through a family alliance. After he was born, they went their separate ways and no longer lived together. Therefore, he has no siblings from the same mother or father.
The Wang family is large and prosperous, with many descendants and numerous branches. Like the Li family, they are both aristocratic families that have accumulated wealth for hundreds of years and possess immeasurable riches.
Such a family background inevitably led to discord within the family. From a young age, Wang Shunduo was separated from his cousins by calculations of interests. Once he got close to them, his mother and father would warn him. As a result, he became the closest "brother" to Meng Huaiwen.
The Meng family was not as powerful as the Li or Wang families, posing no real threat and having no conflict of interest, but they were still a genuinely wealthy family. Meng Huaiwen's mother and Wang Shunduo's mother were even friends from their time studying in Europe.
Therefore, a baptism banquet was held when Meng Huaiwen was born, and Wang Shunduo was also present. It was the feeling he had when he held Meng Huaiwen that made him Meng Huaiwen's brother for life.
He is strong-willed, cold-blooded, and ruthless. He believes that he works hard to provide his younger siblings with a carefree and happy life. Meng Huaiwen is his only younger brother, so he has become the focus of his care.
Wang Shunduo was six years older than Meng Huaiwen. The two grew up together and witnessed many of each other's precious firsts.
Whenever he recalls those memories, Wang Shunduo feels both happy and wistful.
Meng Huaiwen followed the direction he was being directed to, and seeing the unfamiliar new scenery, his eyes flickered slightly, and he gave a soft "hmm." Those carefree memories of his childhood and adolescence were gently evoked by Wang Shunduo's calm tone, intertwining with his current state of mind, and a complex bittersweet feeling arose.
Wang Shunduo turned his head and looked at Meng Huaiwen's somewhat thin profile in the lamplight. He lowered his voice and spoke with a barely perceptible, restrained probing: "I just feel that you haven't been coming here as often lately."
Upon hearing this, Meng Huaiwen's fingertips unconsciously twitched. There was no blame in Wang Shunduo's tone, but Meng Huaiwen could sense a hint of melancholy on his face.
Meng Huaiwen and Wang Shunduo have known each other since childhood. They have spent more time together than he has spent with his own sister. Wang Shunduo is strong-willed and arrogant, but he is always very attentive to Meng Huaiwen and never hides his true emotions from him.
For some reason, the moment he sensed the other person's emotions, Meng Huaiwen himself felt a little lost, and the sadness he had felt because of Sun Xin was greatly reduced.
He lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on a bluestone slab in front of his shoes, glistening in the moonlight. His voice carried a hint of embarrassment: "My sister said... I'm all grown up now, I can't always be like when I was little, constantly running around and bothering you." He paused, his tone becoming even softer, "She said... that's not appropriate."
A faint hint of understanding flashed across Wang Shunduo's deep eyes; so this was the root of that inexplicable estrangement.
The corners of his lips twitched up almost imperceptibly, a curve so fleeting it was like an illusion. Only the person in question knew that the unease in his heart had been filled with the joy of regaining what he had lost.
The mature man did not directly respond to the "inappropriate" assertion. Instead, he turned his gaze to the newly planted late-blooming cherry blossoms not far away, and said in a gentle tone, with a brotherly and reassuring sense of understanding: "So that's why."
His tone was gentle, but his gaze remained fixed on Meng Huaiwen's slightly lowered profile. "I was wondering why you only heard about things like your allergy hospitalization last month from other people."
These words were spoken casually, yet they made Meng Huaiwen suddenly raise his eyes. Wang Shunduo not only knew these things, but also remembered the exact timeline: "I'm sorry, Brother Shunduo, I was just thinking that you've been busy lately and I was afraid you would worry."
Given how much Wang Shunduo cared about him, he might even move his office to the hospital and work by his bedside every day.
Meng Huaiwen felt that he was already an adult and could no longer let the other party worry about him so much.
Wang Shunduo chuckled softly, his laughter low and deep, blending into the night breeze: "Besides, when did you come here, how long did you stay, and when did that count as 'bothering' me?"
He deliberately obscured the key point, cleverly transforming the issue of "inappropriate" social distancing into the issue of "living time".
“...That’s true.” Meng Huaiwen didn’t say aloud what his sister had told him.
It was rare for his sister to get angry at him then. She said to him, "Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about the family. Do you think you can just take sides in the power struggle within the Wang family?"
However, Meng Huaiwen didn't care about power at all. Even if Wang Shunduo was far away from the power center of the Wang family in the future, he was still willing to stay with Wang Shunduo every day.
Wang Shunduo is his brother. This has nothing to do with any other external factors; it's simply because of Wang Shunduo himself.
"The guest room you used to stay in is exactly the same, still cleaned daily, and always stocked with your favorite fragrance. The bathroom next to the master bedroom has also been renovated to your preferred style." Wang Shunduo took a half step forward, his figure completely enveloping Meng Huaiwen in the moonlight. "If you ever don't want to go home, I'm here... waiting for you anytime."
Sometimes retreating is not necessarily a bad thing. If he is too forceful in trying to keep Meng Huaiwen, it will only make the other party feel uncomfortable.
Xi Nian is right. He can no longer treat Huai Wen like a child. If he wants to get closer to him, he must retreat in order to advance, and gamble on whether Huai Wen's feelings for him are that deep.
Because this time, he didn't want to lose.
Meng Huaiwen's expression shifted.
The suite next to Wang Shunduo's master bedroom had a great view, overlooking the entire bamboo forest behind the mountain. The two of them used to sit on the terrace late at night and drink Longjing tea together.
Sometimes he would fall asleep and wake up in his own bed the next day. When he went downstairs for breakfast, Wang Shunduo would always pat his head and say, "You're growing so fast, it's getting harder and harder to carry you back to bed."
In fact, Meng Huaiwen missed this place and the people here even more, but he always felt that he was already an adult and there were some things he was ashamed to say.
His older sister and parents were strict with him, always hoping that he would do everything perfectly, but Brother Shunduo was different.
He always stood behind him, patiently guiding and encouraging him, willing to clean up the mess he made, and even willing to fly across the entire Pacific Ocean to bring back a piece of extremely pure Inca rose from the distant Andes Mountains just for a smile from him.
Before he turned seventeen, he never thought about dating because Wang Shunduo seemed to occupy most of his time, leaving him no time to think about anything else.
It was during that empty period after being ordered by his sister that he agreed to Sun Xin's pursuit and chose to enter into a relationship that was somewhat novel to him.
Wang Shunduo was an extremely intelligent man. He must have understood the reasons behind Meng Huaiwen's estrangement. Meng Huaiwen thought that the two of them would drift further and further apart because of his estrangement, but he did not expect that on such a quiet night, they seemed to have become very far away from the noisy and glamorous world of fame and fortune, and Wang Shunduo stood by his side and took the initiative to invite him back to his side.
Meng Huaiwen simply couldn't refuse such an invitation.
“...If it won’t bother you, of course it’s fine.” Meng Huaiwen looked at him, the two of them very close. “Then...I won’t go home tonight.”
“How could that be?” Wang Shunduo’s response was so quick it was almost unlike his usual composed demeanor.
Wang Shunduo turned to the side, subtly closing the distance between them until they could smell the faint, melancholic scent of wine emanating from Meng Huaiwen. "I'll take you there after the banquet."
His palm rested naturally on Meng Huaiwen's lower back, and he patted him gently through the thin fabric of his formal dress.
His fingertips paused almost imperceptibly on Meng Huaiwen's waist for a moment, as if confirming the other's acceptable limits on physical contact, before casually moving away, as if it were just a normal contact between brothers.
“Let’s go,” Wang Shunduo’s voice was a few decibels lower and hoarseer than before. His gaze swept over Meng Huaiwen’s slightly reddened earlobe, and he turned to lead the way.
Directly ahead, out of Meng Huaiwen's sight, Wang Shunduo's lips finally couldn't help but curve into a clear and joyful arc. His smile carried the satisfaction of prey finally entering its territory, as well as a deeper expectation that even he himself hadn't fully grasped.
The wind in the courtyard seemed to soften, enveloping the two figures one in front of the other, silently seeping into the warm light of the old house.
*
In the stillness of the night, only the bedside lamp casts a glow in the bedroom, dispelling the surrounding darkness.
Li Xinian stared at the hazy figure beside him, made up of faint light, a very faint longing that even he himself did not notice flashed in his gray-blue eyes.
He was silent for a moment, then suddenly, very slowly, he opened his palms, palms facing upwards, and held them in the air between the two of them.
It was a silent, even somewhat clumsy, invitation.
Shake hands?
The other party thought for a long time, and this time the text appeared very slowly.
Li Xinian did not withdraw his hand, but his fingertips curled up almost imperceptibly. His gaze remained fixed on the light and shadow, and his tone was deliberately slowed down, almost stubbornly calm: "Hmm."
After a brief silence, the figure with the shimmering light seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then a cool "hand" made of light spots with an indistinct outline gently and tentatively covered his warm palm.
There is no tangible touch, only a clear sensation enveloped by some kind of gentle energy.
The instant the hand of light fell, Li Xinian almost immediately clenched his fingers, making a grasping motion, and firmly "held" the cool light in his palm with undeniable force.
The movements were so fast that they even seemed somewhat urgent.
Lin Suxing outside the companion module: !
My hand was being held very tightly.
An indescribable warmth spread suddenly from the "fingertips" that were being enveloped. Although it had no physical form, he could almost clearly feel the soothing warmth of the other person's palm and the tenderness contained in the gentle, enveloping force.
No, and no one told him that the companion module's interactive communication system was so well done that it felt like he was interacting directly with the other person using his body.
Lin Suxing's face flushed, and her hands trembled as she typed in voice input: [You went to the banquet today, you must be tired.]
"Hmm." Li Xinian responded softly, his voice muffled. He raised his hand and pressed hard on his brow, revealing without any attempt to hide the genuine exhaustion brought on by official duties and family infighting.
You should go and rest.
Li Xinian shook his head, opened his eyes, and looked at the hazy light and shadow in the dim light with his gray-blue pupils. There was a real weariness in his eyes, but also a very faint hint of cheating.
“There are still some documents that need to be dealt with tonight.” He paused, his tone softening, revealing an almost submissive quality that he only showed to “it”. “Will you stay with me in the study?”
Li Xinian knew that "it" could not truly refuse him. Just as he knew that this was the only one to whom he could let down all his guard, and even... deliberately show a need to be taken care of, without worrying about being used or looked down upon.
Sure enough, the other party's reply dispelled the few remaining anxieties in his heart: [Okay, but you need to rest in an hour.]
"Okay." Li Xinian agreed, took the first step, and led the faint light that only he could perceive towards the study.
His large hands remained in a loosely clenched position, his fingertips even unconsciously and very lightly caressing that slightly cool "presence," as if confirming that this unique companionship was within reach.
Lin Suxing, who was being "held" by him, could only follow passively, feeling his "hand," which was made of system energy and had no feeling, being enveloped by a firm and warm force. An unprecedented, almost heart-palpitating, strange feeling spread silently along that invisible connection.
Nian Nian's hands are always so warm, so cozy.
Lin Suxing glanced at the intimacy level in the upper left corner of the module again and found that the intimacy progress bar had been rising rapidly as the two held hands, and it had now reached LV21!
While he was checking the system for the reason, Li Xinian had already pulled him into the study and placed a round, soft stool next to the large leather office chair.
She held his hand tightly and didn't let go.
In the pixel-style study interface, several interactive options pop up next to the chibi-style character:
[1. Sit on his lap]
[2. Massage his temples]
[3. Disrupt the process and take his tablet]
Lin Suxing never expected that after reaching an intimacy level of 20, there would be such an explosive interactive option: What is the first option?! Is this even correct?!
After clicking the second option, he said softly, "Shall I give you a massage?"
"Well... thank you." Li Xinian sank into the large office chair, his brows furrowed with weariness and agitation after a long day of work.
But today he was clearly in a much better mood than usual, with a faint smile on his lips. If others had seen it, they would probably have been quite surprised: President Li hasn't smiled like this in a long time!
Several points of light quietly slipped away from Li Xinian's palm, leaving only wisps of emptiness remaining in the man's heart.
Li Xinian dislikes physical contact with anyone. His long-standing vigilance and defensiveness towards others has led him to a pathological degree where he needs to repeatedly wash and disinfect his skin after any skin contact with others.
But for some reason, holding "it" did not make Li Xinian feel disgusted.
"Relax, relax," the boy thought for a moment, then rubbed the little man's forehead with both hands. "I'm quite good at massage."
He had intended to joke, "Your massage therapist, Master Lin, is online!", but ultimately didn't say it.
People with social anxiety find it difficult to joke with people they don't know well, which is why Lin Suxing's messages to Niannian were always so formal and cold.
There were no footsteps, no breath, but Li Xinian could sense that presence, that "ghost" that had guided and protected him countless times when his life hung by a thread, silently approaching from behind him.
The next instant, a cool touch, carrying a gentle force that was hard to describe, landed precisely on his temples.
The "fingers" were not physical entities, but rather composed of flowing energy or intention, gently yet effectively pressing and swirling to soothe the throbbing pain that was irritating him.
Li Xinian's body tensed up slightly for a moment.
This touch... is too intimate.
This was far more than any cold, impersonal arrow or text prompt before. It was an almost...caressing gesture.
If anyone else had dared to get so close, their wrist would probably have been broken by now. But it was "it".
Knowing it was "it," the mental defenses built up became difficult to maintain.
After a brief pause, his taut jawline slowly relaxed, and he even leaned his head back more slightly, almost imperceptibly, surrendering one of his most vulnerable points even more deeply to that invisible caress. His closed eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.
An extremely subtle, unfamiliar heat, accompanied by the gentle pressure, spread uncontrollably from the point of contact, silently seeping into every part of the body.
The feeling wasn't intense, but it was so clear that it couldn't be ignored, a stark contrast to his usual cold and self-controlled demeanor.
"How about that? Pretty effective, right?" Lin Suxing watched as the chibi figure's head continuously displayed "Fatigue Value -1," and his sense of accomplishment was already overflowing!
Li Xinian's lips curved into a smile, and he completely relaxed: "...very effective."
The night was as dark as ink, and only a brass desk lamp cast a warm yellow glow in the study. Li Xinian sank into the leather chair, his eyes closed, letting the other person's cool fingertips gently circle his temples.
How have you been lately? Are those annoying people still giving you trouble?
When this was mentioned, a cold glint flashed in Li Xinian's deep eyes, but it was quickly suppressed and disappeared: "Of course, they will not let me go, just as I will not let them go."
“My third uncle lost 1.5 billion in Macau last month.” He spoke calmly, as if he were commenting on the quality of the tea tonight. “He used a family trust fund.”
Lin Suxing paused slightly at the tip of his finger.
Li Xinian accurately caught this subtle hesitation and slowed down his speech: "The trust fund is... he treated the family's common property as his private money and squandered it at the casino."
He opened his eyes, his grey-blue pupils gleaming coldly in the darkness: "I had someone play along with him for three months, and now I have every single one of his transaction records. Now he's trying to embezzle disaster relief funds from Southeast Asia to fill the hole. Tell me, should I let him jump into this pit?"
Lin Suxing only had a superficial understanding of these intricacies: [You want to take this opportunity to bring him down.]
“How clever. If the disaster relief funds are gone, there will be even more casualties,” Li Xinian said with a half-smile, holding the delicate fingers that were placed on his temples and touching them reassuringly. “However, if I expose him now, at most he will lose a position, but I cannot shake his foundation.”
At this moment, the other person's fingers seemed no different from human fingers, allowing him to feel the delicate skin on the other person's slender fingertips.
However, the only drawback is that there seems to be a scar running across the fingers, making the texture feel somewhat different from other parts of the hand.
He suddenly released his grip, leaned back in his chair, and the light cast a shadow on his angular face: "So I'm waiting for him to succeed in misappropriating it. When that happens... it won't be as simple as just dismissing him."
The muscles beneath his fingertips suddenly tensed, and Li Xinian's voice turned icy: "As for that idiot my cousin planted in the finance department..." He curled his lips into a cruel smile, "I hope he's having a good time in the mental hospital."
Lin Suxing then noticed that on the ebony desk, Niannian was playing with an ebony seal in her right hand. When he clicked on the seal, its information was displayed: [Seal of the Legal Representative of Hengsheng Group Shipping Company]
The description of the stamp was quite long. Lin Suxing read it for a moment, but her wrist, which she was massaging, was suddenly grabbed.
Li Xinian opened his eyes at some point, his icy gray pupils shining like dusty gems in the darkness: "Were you frightened?"
"I'm not afraid of these things, I will protect you," Lin Suxing replied.
Li Xinian was also somewhat confused as to why he had to reveal these family secrets to a strange being whose face he could not see.
He was once an abandoned son of the Li family.
When his mother's family fell from power, they scattered like monkeys after the tree fell. The huge Li family estate had nowhere for him and his mother to stay.
Those "relatives" with the same surname, it's already merciful to just stand by and watch, some even secretly offered more than one poisoned knife.
Gunshots outside his study late at night in London, special spices placed in the old house... He had teetered on the brink of death many times.
But he survived.
What sustained him was never the protection of his family, but the resentment that compelled him to seek revenge.
He was like a wild grass struggling to survive in the cracks of a cliff, turning every bit of malice and hardship into nourishment for growth, silently and stubbornly taking root again and sprouting branches.
When he revitalized a business on the verge of bankruptcy with his undeniable abilities, when he demonstrated his shrewd business acumen in international mergers and acquisitions, and when the profits he generated finally became so large that they could not be ignored, his grandfather, who had always sat at the top of the family and watched coldly from the sidelines, finally turned his scrutinizing gaze to this descendant who had long been abandoned.
However, this belated "attention" did not bring peace; instead, it ignited an even fiercer fire of jealousy.
The open attacks turned into covert ones; the projects he handled began to encounter frequent "unexpected" setbacks, approval processes were inexplicably delayed, partners turned against him at the last minute, and core data was mysteriously leaked...
Those who once wanted him dead now want him to "make a mistake," to fall out of favor, and to be trampled into the mud again, never to rise again.
They wanted to destroy the value that their grandfather had worked so hard to build in front of him, turning him back into someone who could be discarded at will and was insignificant.
But he didn't care about any of that, because he believed he would win.
He was already a lonely soul willing to do anything for revenge, and he no longer had any feelings of worry or fear.
But as if by some cruel twist of fate, at this very moment, he found himself with a new concern.
"Will you always stay with me?" Li Xinian heard himself ask this question.
He seemed to have transformed from the omnipotent and blood-soaked Li Xinian back into the helpless teenager who didn't want his mother to leave, repeatedly revealing his true emotions and vulnerabilities, demanding an answer from the other party that might not be believable at all.
Li Xinian himself felt that he was being foolishly naive.
Just like Wang Shunduo's loss of control today, many times when you're involved, even someone as skilled at manipulating people's hearts as them finds it hard to stay out of it.
When you have things you care about and people you care about, there will be moments when you let go of everything and lose your rationality.
[I will, I will always be by your side watching over you.] These words floated in the air.
A slight smile appeared on Li Xinian's usually calm face, and all the unease in his heart was washed away: "Mm."
Time passed slowly. Lin Suxing yawned repeatedly. Seeing that Li Xinian had already put down his documents and gone to wash up, she typed a few words: [It's almost time. You should get some rest. Goodnight.]
Li Xinian frowned, his face still glistening with water droplets: "Will you show up tomorrow too? Like today?"
The man couldn't help but think that the "ghost's" lack of response a few days ago would disappear again, just like it did last time.
I will, but I have work tomorrow. I'll come find you after I finish work and get home.
Work? Do ghosts need to work?
Or, to put it another way, do humans with such superpowers, who can remotely control others, also need to work?
Li Xinian paused, a bold guess surfacing in his mind once again: "...You are a human like me, right?"
After a long wait, two words finally slowly emerged in the air:
[Yes. ]
-----------------------
Author's Note: In addition to the romantic relationship between the main characters, Xiaosong's story also touches on the romantic developments of other characters, laying the groundwork for the subsequent plot.
If the wives don't like it, I can shorten it a bit, but, but, but really, doesn't anyone find it incredibly cute that the scheming and obsessive older brother originally only wanted to protect his younger brother, but was driven mad by a love rival and decided to take the initiative to slowly devour this → completely unsuspecting, super-powerful 189cm younger brother?!
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