Chapter 290 It’s Still Not Too Late to Escape
When Huo Beiyan saw the two people come in, he pressed the side of his phone with his index finger and the screen went out.
He placed his phone upside down on the dining table and glanced at Ji Linshen.
Qin Jiaojiao rested her elbows on the edge of the table, her thumb unconsciously sliding across the tablet: "Manman, take a look at what you want to eat."
Lu Shiman sat down next to her and leaned over to take a look.
Ji Linshen sat down opposite Huo Beiyan, and their eyes met and then looked away at the same time.
After Lu Shiman ordered the dishes that Ji Linshen wanted to eat, he handed the tablet to Ji Linshen: "See if there is anything else you want to eat."
Taking the tablet, he checked two dishes that Lu Shiman liked. Just as he was about to put the tablet down, he caught a glimpse of Huo Beiyan's hand drawing circles on the table with his fingers.
The tablet was handed to Huo Beiyan.
Huo Beiyan's eyebrows twitched slightly when he took the tablet handed to him, and his index finger slid across the menu bar. The icons of pan-fried silver cod and crab roe vermicelli casserole had already lit up.
He unconsciously rubbed his thumb on the edge of the tablet and looked up at Qin Jiaojiao.
She was stirring the lemon slice in the glass with a straw. The sound of ice cubes clinking mixed with Dui Lu Shi Man's whisper: "When I get home tonight, sweep the pomelo leaves to get rid of bad luck..."
There was a knock on the door of the private room, and the restaurant manager entered respectfully: "Mr. Huo, all the surveillance footage has been deleted, and all the witnesses have been silenced."
Huo Beiyan nodded in satisfaction and waved to the person in charge to leave.
This kind of thing happened more than once, and he had to deal with the aftermath for Ji Linshen more than once.
After watching Huo Beiyan and Qin Jiaojiao leave, Lu Shiman turned and looked at Ji Linshen.
Ji Linshen supported the car door frame with his left hand, his knuckles pressing against the cold metal edge, and the street lights cast a layer of cold glaze on the shoulders of his black coat.
She glanced at the driver in the driver's seat and pondered for a moment: "Let the driver get off work, I will drive you home."
Hearing Lu Shiman's words, Ji Lin's heart trembled suddenly, and he clenched his hands in his coat pockets.
"Is that okay~" Lu Shiman stared at her, tilted his head slightly and smiled.
The tip of my nose was red from the cold, and the white mist from my breath blurred the heartache surging in my eyes.
"Okay." Ji Linshen agreed and gave instructions to the driver in the car.
The driver didn't expect that he could get an early shift, so he left happily.
Lu Shiman got into the driver's seat, adjusted the seat, and fastened his seat belt. The sound of the metal buckle and the lock tongue clicking together was particularly clear.
Ji Lin lowered his eyes and took off his coat. The cuffs of his camel-colored sweater moved up as he raised his arms, revealing the bulging curve of his wrist bones.
The muscles of the forearms were stretched into sharp lines under the heater vents, and the blue veins were clearly visible under the pale skin.
The passenger seat reclined slightly, and he leaned back and stared sideways at Lu Shiman.
Neon lights flashed across the windshield, casting flickering red and blue shadows on his brow.
The fingers on his knees suddenly curled up, and the dull pain from his nails digging into his palms was sobering.
Lu Shiman tightened his grip on the steering wheel, and the words came back to his mouth several times before he swallowed them back.
While waiting for the red light, my fingertips unconsciously tapped on the leather-wrapped steering wheel, and the frequency revealed my anxiety.
The car fell into silence, and in the stillness, only the intertwined breathing of the two people could be heard.
Feeling a little confused, Lu Shiman suddenly lowered the car window. The night wind blew in, blowing away the strands of hair on Ji Linshen's forehead, and the neon lights streaked across his drooping eyelashes like streams of fire.
The cold air blew away the sweat from her temples and the hair on the back of her neck stood up.
"What Fu Bowang said tonight..." Lu Shiman couldn't hold back and asked softly. The click of the turn signal overlapped with the words when changing lanes.
Ji Linshen's hands on his legs slowly curled up, and the decadent past was like a rusty blade churning in his stomach.
He suddenly reached out and pressed the heater knob, and the sound of mechanical gears turning broke the silence.
"The heating is too stuffy." He explained in a hoarse voice, rubbing the patterns on the air vent with his fingertips.
His Adam's apple rolled up and down for a long time before he continued: "From the age of 5 to 9... I did live in a doghouse..."
Lu Shiman turned the steering wheel and slammed on the brakes, leaving two black marks on the snow.
The car is parked on the side of the road.
The stinging pain from the seat belt tightening against her collarbone woke her up. When she turned around, she saw Ji Linshen repeatedly scratching the edge of the door storage slot with his thumb.
"They used chains and collars..." He paused, rolling up the hem of his sweater to reveal a light scar on his waist. "This was from someone who was bitten while trying to steal dog food."
The corner of his mouth curled up in a self-deprecating arc, but his eyes were filled with an indelible dark color.
Lu Shiman unbuckled his seat belt, leaned over, and lightly touched the uneven scar with his fingertips.
Warm tears fell on the back of his hand, creating tiny splashes. She hurriedly wiped them with her sleeves, but the cashmere fabric made the water marks even wider.
"It's all over." Ji Linshen held her trembling wrist and pushed her back into the driver's seat.
The warmth of his palm was transmitted to her skin through the sweater, like the residual heat of a charcoal fire that one accidentally found late at night in winter, warmth wrapped in the burning pain.
Lu Shiman didn't dare to imagine how he spent his childhood, being raised like a dog, buried alive, and even suffering other, worse abuses.
Countless fragments flashed before his eyes, including the way he suddenly tightened his grip when she mentioned the dog collar, and his subtle changes when she kept comparing him with the dog.
All the details that she had previously ignored were infinitely magnified at this moment.
Those topics about dogs turned into thorns, piercing bloody holes of guilt in my heart.
My throat felt like it was blocked by ice, and every breath was accompanied by a slight pain.
The car fell into silence. Lu Shiman lowered her head, making it impossible to see the emotions on her face.
Ji Lin leaned his neck against the cold window glass. He counted Mancuo's breaths as he walked, and his heart sank little by little.
Sure enough, no one could accept him as he was, such a vile and dirty Ji Linshen.
He suddenly grabbed her hand on the gear lever and dug his fingertips into her palm.
The green light from the car clock cut through the crimson depths of his eyes, and his eyelashes fluttered, casting a shadow beneath them. "Lu Shiman, there's something else that's rotten..."
Lu Shiman curled her fingers together, and cried out in a sobbing voice: "Don't say..."
Her reaction stung him.
A stinging sensation exploded along Ji Linshen's spine. His eyelashes suddenly drooped, and he crushed the surging darkness between his teeth.
"Why can't you listen to this?" He suddenly let go of my hand and sneered, his head banging heavily on the headrest: "There's more..."
Ji Linshen suddenly jumped up and grabbed her neck, his nose touching her tear-soaked eyelashes: "It's not too late to escape now."
He pressed his thumb against her throbbing carotid artery, the pain and reluctance in his eyes masked by paranoia: "When I go crazy one day, I might lock you in..."
His voice cut off as he pushed her away, his knuckles hitting the glass with a dull sound.
Lu Shiman was thrown back into the driver's seat by inertia. She wiped her tears and rushed over to grab his arm.
Ji Linshen hid his arms behind his back, his camel-colored sweater gleaming gray in the darkness: "Did you see clearly? I've been rotten to the core for a long time."
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