Chapter 43 [VIP]
After lunch, Shen Mian was the first to return to his room, leaving Lin Langli to talk with Shen Mianjun. The boy waited anxiously for Shen Jinshan to knock on his door.
Sure enough, not long after I returned to my room, there was a knock on the door.
The person knocking was slow and deliberate, making three knocks, each one seemingly the same in time, clearly audible in the quiet environment.
After a two-second pause of thought, I numbly moved over and opened the door.
Shen Jinshan stood outside the door, his face still bearing his usual gentle smile, as if he were just an older brother who had come to check on his younger brother.
But as he calmly stepped into the room, closed the door behind him, and the click of the lock echoed, the atmosphere in the space suddenly plummeted into a chilling, eerie silence.
The air in the room seemed to have thinned. Sleepyman fidgeted with his clothes, dejectedly awaiting Shen Jinshan's judgment.
Their relationship had probably fallen apart by now, Shen Mian wondered what Shen Jinshan's first words to him would be.
Shen Jinshan walked towards him, stopped a meter away, and lowered his eyes to look at Shen Mian.
The young man's gaze drifted absently to one side, as if lost in thought. His long, curled eyelashes blinked slowly, and the half of his face, visible as he lowered his head, was incredibly pure and captivating, revealing only the tip of his pert nose and soft lips. Yet, the corners of his eyes held a hint of pinkish-red, adding a touch of allure.
Along with it came a subtle fragrance, unlike the sweet scent that Chenmian usually used. Instead, it was deep and cool, slowly spreading out when its owner was still, so that others would have to actively explore it.
Taking advantage of his height, he could clearly see that on Shen Mian's flawless white neck, a little further down where the fabric covered, there was a bright red hickey, conspicuously placed there.
Upon seeing the hickey, Shen Jinshan's smile almost imperceptibly froze, and his knuckles unconsciously curled.
He recalled the audio message he received in the email, the enchanting voice that resembled a sleeping murmur, and the ambiguous sounds accompanied by splashing water.
Shen Jinshan's smile deepened imperceptibly, but his eyes suddenly turned cold.
After a long pause, the man spoke softly: "Chenmian, you have a boyfriend?"
"Huh?" Looking up and meeting those unfathomable eyes, Chenmian's first reaction was doubt, followed by guilt, and then a defensive retort, "No! What nonsense are you talking about!"
He tightened his clothes a little, wondering if the hickey had been seen, but if Shen Jinshan asked, he could simply pretend to be innocent and say it was a bug bite.
But Shen Jinshan didn't ask. He just frowned after receiving the denial and stared down at him intently.
That look was malicious, even malice-filled.
Chenmian felt an embarrassment and resentment at being examined and priced like an object, but he didn't dare to yell at the man as usual. Instead, he stood obediently to the side and let the man look at him.
Shen Jinshan withdrew his gaze and said casually, "Now that you have a boyfriend, let's pretend that what happened before never happened. Can you do that? After all, we're brothers."
"..." Is this Shen Jinshan's true nature?
Speaking to him so arrogantly, completely lacking the gentle demeanor of a good older brother he had before, was he also faking it at the dinner table?
Moreover, how could he so casually try to cover up the past, deny all his struggles, his sincerity, and those sleepless nights?
Chenmian gritted her teeth and said, "Stop spreading rumors about me. What do we have to do with each other?"
Shen Jinshan's gaze finally returned to him. The man chuckled softly, but there was no hint of a smile in his eyes: "Right, what do you have to do with me?"
He felt a fire burning in his chest because of Shen Mian's few words. After so much continuous contact, he wanted to humbly apologize to Shen Mian and continue to coax her.
But then I received an email with a blatantly obvious subject: "Stop trying to seduce other people's boyfriends."
Shen Jinshan initially suspected he was seeing things, but then another message arrived, sent directly to his phone, its tone arrogant: "[Seducing your own brother, how shameless! (sneer) (sneer) (sneer)]"
He opened the audio file with a stern face.
The sounds of slurred water, the smacking of kisses, and the soft, coaxing whispers of a sleepy woman: "I love you the most... mmm, I love you..."
Several voices mingled together indistinctly, almost shattering Shen Jinshan's reason.
Shen Jinshan couldn't remember his reaction when he recognized Chenmian's voice at all, nor did he care about the scene in which the audio was recorded. In the man's mind, only one sentence echoed: "I like you the most."
She was still immersed in his love letter, and she had sworn that she liked him the most. How could she turn around and be with someone else, do that kind of thing, and say that sentence?
In Shen Mian's mind, is "like" such a cheap word that can be said casually and guaranteed anywhere?
The audio echoed repeatedly in his mind. Shen Jinshan's blood surged, his hand gripping the phone so tightly that the veins bulged and his knuckles turned white from squeezing the edge of the screen. As if possessed, he pulled back the progress bar and listened to that sentence several times.
The almost whispered words, when the receiver was pressed against his ear, made it seem as if the person in the audio was speaking those words to him.
But Shen Jinshan knew that this was not the case, because the next part of the audio was the sudden arousal of the other person in the affair, followed by more intense smacking sounds.
The desk was cleared of everything, and Shen Jinshan was furious. He drove to Shen Mian's apartment himself, but couldn't even get in the door.
He leaned against the corridor wall, his face ashen, and waited for a long time, only to be met by Lin Langli. Lin Langli asked him, "Brother, are you here to see Chen Mian?"
"Hmm. Where is he?"
Lin Langli sighed softly, shook the shopping bag in his hand, and said apologetically, "Big brother, although I don't know what happened between you, Chen Mian doesn't want to see you recently, and he also told Chen Ci not to talk to you either."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Shen Jinshan subconsciously wanted to show a doting smile, but he stopped himself in time. He looked at the person in front of him coldly, his eyes unwavering: "Has Shen Mian been getting close to anyone lately?"
Lin Langli forced a helpless smile and spread his hands, saying, "Big brother, you know my relationship with him. I don't know who Chenmian is close to."
After saying that, the person in front of him asked again, "What's wrong, brother? What happened between Chenmian and who?"
Shen Jinshan certainly wouldn't tell Lin Langli about this. He ignored the smugness in the other's faint smile when he asked him the last question and left empty-handed.
Since then, he has stopped contacting Chenmian, but he still receives provocations from Chenmian's boyfriend from time to time. Sometimes there are no attachments, just simple insults.
Shen Jinshan was completely baffled. One day, unable to bear it any longer, he took a picture of the love letter Shen Mian had written to him and sent it to her.
Just when Shen Jinshan thought the situation had finally died down, he received a photo the next day. The background was heavily blurred out, except for the central figure: Chen Mian.
The boy, his hair wet, eyes closed, tears welling in his eyes, and his face flushed, leaned against a strong arm. It was a reaction that only comes after sex, and even his shoulders and neck were covered in a greasy pink.
The young man in the photo, who is half-embracing the sleeping man, is holding the boy's hand, their fingers intertwined, showing their close relationship.
The moment Shen Jinshan saw the photo, his blood seemed to freeze instantly. He stared intently at the sleeping figure in the photo, his jaw clenched, each breath carrying a chilling coldness.
This was the first time he had received a photo from the other party. It seemed that he had really angered the other party yesterday. Shen Jinshan's eyes did not move, his face was completely expressionless, and his expression was terrifying.
The person asked: "Shen Jinshan, do you still think about using your brother's body for sexual gratification?" (sticks out tongue, winks, and smiles)
As his memories faded, Shen Jinshan closed his eyes, a terrifying smile spreading across his face. He couldn't quite explain his state of mind.
She found someone else and didn't seem to feel even a little bit sad about being rejected. She seamlessly transitioned to being with someone else and quickly progressed to bed with them—you idiot, do you think the people outside will be sincere to him?
Such rapid progress was beyond what a proper couple should be doing.
Therefore, it must be that Shenmian was tricked by others into handing herself over, and even letting others know about her affair with him.
Shen Jinshan's mind raced, and just as he was about to unleash his anger again, the boy in front of him suddenly rushed forward angrily and shoved him hard: "Get out! Did you come here just to humiliate me?"
Shen Jinshan was pushed back half a step by him, and the smile on his face finally faded, but did not disappear; it only became colder and more dangerous.
He watched silently as Chenmian lost control, a hint of satisfaction even flashing in the depths of his eyes, as if he had finally elicited the reaction he wanted to see.
"Humiliation? Chen Mian, you were the one who said it had nothing to do with me first," Chen Jinshan said. "What? If I don't accept your confession, am I not even your brother anymore?"
Her sleeping eyes were already brimming with tears, but they didn't fall. Instead, they stubbornly held them back, and she stared at the person in front of her with bright and beautiful eyes, like a charming knife, stabbing straight into Shen Jinshan's heart.
Chenmian said, word by word, "That's right! If you don't want me, then I don't care to be your brother. You have so many brothers, both cousins and relatives, but I have no blood relation with you!"
He glared at Shen Jinshan and continued, "Falling in love with you is truly the most shameful thing that has ever happened to me."
When Shen Mian denied his previous feelings in this way, Shen Jinshan's expression changed abruptly. He stared at the boy in front of him, trying to find evidence that Shen Mian was acting impulsively and that his words were lies.
But Chenmian looked straight at him without flinching: "Mind your own business! Since we have nothing to do with each other, stay away from me! Just pretend I misjudged what happened back then."
Shen Jinshan was angered by the repeated and easy denial of their past feelings. His chest heaved violently, and his breathing became heavy.
If Chenmian wasn't truly interested and just wanted to play around, then why provoke him?
As a result, their relationship is now so strained!
He clearly had many more options for his lovers to play with than his older brother!
Shen Jinshan tried to force a cold laugh, but found that he couldn't laugh at all. He didn't know how horrifying his expression had become, almost overlapping with the ghostly face that Shen Mian remembered from that night.
"It's alright?" He repeated those four words, his voice lowering, carrying a sense of impending doom. "Chenmian, you were the one who provoked me first. I've always taken care of you and comforted you since you were little. When you were a baby, I had to change your diapers for you and feed you your medicine. Now you think you can erase everything with just 'it's alright'?"
He took a step forward, and Chenmian was forced to take a step back. The man approached step by step until the boy's back hit the cold wall, leaving him with nowhere to retreat.
Chenmian trembled, pressing herself tightly against the wall, her tone becoming even more defiant: "Get out! I hate you! I despise you!!"
"Look at me, and fall into slumber," Shen Jinshan commanded, his voice low but the sense of oppression was palpable.
Shen Mian turned his head away, staring hatefully at the furnishings beside him. He refused to look! Who was Shen Jinshan? Did he think he could discipline him as a subordinate?
But tears still streamed down her face uncontrollably, reflecting light almost as if they were falling in the dim room.
Staring at the light reflected from the fallen teardrop, Shen Jinshan couldn't help but move a little closer. His usual concern was about to resurface—he wanted to wipe away Shen Mian's tears.
Shen Mian tilted her head, looking like she didn't want to negotiate with him and wanted to be a coward. She looked so pitiful that Shen Jinshan's anger softened a little, and he wanted to put on his usual gentle mask and coax her.
But then the doorknob turned, and someone opened the door from the outside.
With a click, the door opened, and the young man outside the corridor showed just the right amount of surprise: "Brother, are you arguing with Shen Mian?"
Upon seeing a familiar and reliable person, Chenmian felt as if he had grabbed a piece of driftwood, and his heart calmed down immediately. He glanced at Lin Langli outside the door, ran over and threw himself into the young man's arms, burying his face in his chest. His body trembled slightly with excitement and grievance, and he sobbed uncontrollably.
After crying for several seconds, Chenmian finally stopped crying, her eyes still red, and looked up to continue shooing him away: "Get out, this is my room."
Lin Langli, standing beside him, smiled helplessly, gently patted the boy's back to comfort him, and advised in a doting tone, "Chenmian, he is your brother."
"No way! I have nothing to do with him!" Chenmian blurted out, completely losing her temper.
Seeing Chen Mian nestled so dependently in another man's arms, the last trace of feigned gentleness on Shen Jinshan's face vanished completely.
The man's eyes were sharp as arrows as he swept over Lin Langli's hand, which was wrapped around Shen Mian's waist in an extremely natural manner.
"Xiao Li, I'm disciplining Chen Mian, it's none of your business to interfere, get out." Shen Jinshan's voice was even colder.
Lin Langli's smile remained unchanged, but his eyes darkened slightly. He held Chenmian even tighter and said in a light tone, "Brother is joking. We are family. Besides, Mianmian's emotions are unstable right now. I think he needs comforting, not discipline."
Shen Jinshan's gaze fell on Shen Mian again, his eyes filled with a complex and unreadable expression, containing anger at being defied, deep sarcasm, and perhaps even a hint of...
Even he himself was unwilling to admit that when he saw Chenmian embrace another person, he felt a sharp discomfort, as if he were being pricked by needles.
Shen Jinshan attributed it to the sting and anger born of betrayal.
“Good, very good,” Shen Jinshan nodded, his tone eerily calm. “It seems you two are indeed getting along well. Shen Mian, you no longer need your brother, do you?”
The slumber was buried only in Lin Langli's chest like a quail.
Receiving no response, Shen Jinshan gave the two of them one last, deep look, his gaze seemingly trying to root them to the spot. Then, without saying anything more, he turned and left.
The moment Shen Jinshan left, the worry on Lin Langli's face instantly transformed into a sense of control, joy, and deep affection.
He tightened his arms, pulling the sleeping man deeper into his embrace. Then, he lowered his head, his warm lips, burning with possessiveness, kissing away the tears from the young man's eyes, before lingering on his sensitive earlobe.
Thinking of the commotion he was listening to outside, Lin Langli couldn't help but smile.
“Alright, don’t be afraid anymore, he’s gone…” the young man coaxed softly, his tone as gentle as honey, yet carrying an undeniable implication, “You see him clearly now, don’t you, Mianmian? He doesn’t care how sad you are at all; he only cares about his authority and his face. All he gave you was harm.”
The young man finally asked, "Mianmian, you won't like Shen Jinshan anymore, right?"
Exhausted, Shenmian let Lin Langli hug and kiss him, but he didn't want to answer the questions. He just slumped against the young man's chest, burying his head in Lin Langli's neck.
Lin Langli's smile slowly faded, and a sinister glint flashed in his eyes.
What is it about Shenjin Mountain that makes Shenmian like it?
Having lived in seclusion for so long, I've developed some aesthetic issues—if I don't even like seclusion anymore, I really don't know what kind of person I'll like.
Even after such a terrible falling out with Shen Mian, he still shamelessly tried to contact her in different ways. Was he just keeping Shen Mian hanging on?
He sent an audio message, and Shen Jinshan shamelessly sent a love letter in return. Lin Langli was extremely jealous. The old man was such a troublesome thing, shamelessly still thinking about someone else's boyfriend.
Only a fool like Shen Mian, who has never tasted good food, would be so obsessed with Shen Jinshan.
Yes, he was indeed secretly imitating Shen Jinshan's personality in treating Shen Mian, but so what?
He was younger than Shen Jinshan, and he had a natural and close bond with Shen Mian that no one else had. He was also good-looking, and he was willing to humbly let Shen Mian do anything for him—of course, all of this was on the premise that Shen Mian made the choice and that he was in control of Shen Mian's overall direction.
Chen Mian may still harbor illusions about Shen Jinshan, but he doesn't care.
He had plenty of patience, slowly peeling away all of Shen Mian's attachment to Shen Jinshan, until he belonged entirely to him. Just imagining the completion of this process was enough to bring Lin Langli immense pleasure.
"Forget him, Mianmian." Lin Langli's kiss landed again, this time on the forehead, the tip of the nose, and finally lingered above the slightly trembling lips. Their breaths mingled, and Lin Langli cupped the boy's face, their eyes meeting.
"Only I truly love you and accept everything about you. Your good, your bad, your willfulness, your tears... I want them all."
"I will treat you better than he ever did, a thousand times, ten thousand times better." Lin Langli's voice was like a devil's whisper, full of temptation and obsession. "You just need to look at me and rely on me. I will help you to completely dig Shen Jinshan out of your heart, leaving no trace."
As she slept, her eyes were closed, tears still clinging to her long, curly eyelashes.
But he did not respond.
A note from the author:
While Mianmian was away from home, the wicked Xiaolin went on a rampage, biting people everywhere.
Babies, the weather's getting colder, take care of yourselves! The author also unfortunately caught a cold, and my eyes were watering the whole time I was writing this last night; my eyelids are swollen.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
