Chapter 51 [VIP]
The obstacle was finally overcome, and a dazzling completion animation lit up the screen.
Zong Bingwen appears gentle and refined, yet he plays games with surprising ease. His long, strong fingers move nimbly across the controller, and even when faced with the most tricky traps, he always wears a calm and composed smile, as if everything is under control.
Chenmian was so excited that she wanted to hug the other person, but halfway through her outstretched hand, she remembered her secret romance, cleared her throat, and restrained herself from pulling her hand back.
Unexpectedly, Zong Bingwen turned to the side and gently put his arm around him, the force very light: "Are you happy?"
"...I'm so happy!" Chenmian felt a little awkward, but it was quickly replaced by excitement. "You're really amazing!"
Zong Bingwen said with a hint of feigned modesty and a touch of pride, "I do have a little talent for games."
After playing together for a while, Chenmian brought up Zong Bingwen's dog again.
"Your dog is named Bread, right? What a coincidence, my kitten is named Little Bread. Would you like to see it?"
Zong Bingwen said he wanted to see it and asked how cute it was.
Chenmian ran downstairs and brought the little bread back from the aunt. The little bread was a golden dot with a round face and round eyes, and a pair of innocent sky-blue eyes. It was very obedient and didn't move when held in its owner's arms.
Zong Bingwen's gaze first fell on Shen Mian's panting, flushed cheeks, and after a few seconds, it slowly moved down to the chubby-faced kitten in the boy's arms.
"Call it a small bread roll? That's perfect. How much does it weigh now?"
"It weighs about six pounds, and it's not even a year old yet." Chenmian held the little bread and played with its tiny paws, but didn't hand the cat over to Zong Bingwen to hold. "Isn't it cute? Mom and Dad both say it's an adorable kitten."
Watching Chenmian play with the cat, Zong Bingwen smiled and affirmed, "It is indeed very cute. It looks so sweet and delicious that I want to eat it up in one bite."
Chenmian smiled and remained silent.
Having spent almost the entire afternoon with Zong Bingwen, as darkness fell, Chenmian finally belatedly realized that the person in front of her was her brother's guest. She restrained herself slightly and said reservedly, "Are you and Shen Jinshan very familiar with each other? Is there something you want to talk about? I've taken up your entire afternoon, I'm really sorry."
Zong Bingwen wondered, why did he call Shen Jinshan by his real name instead of calling him "brother"?
However, when other people were mentioned, the smile on his face faded a bit, and Zong Bingwen shook his head: "It's already been settled."
"Mianmian," he called out affectionately by Chenmian's nickname, "I'm so happy to be with you, may I call you that?"
“Sure.” Chen Mian didn’t seem to care much, but she didn’t follow suit and kept calling him “Zong Bingwen”.
It wasn't until the maid came to call them for dinner that they realized the house was quieter than at noon, and even Lin Langli and Shen Ci were nowhere to be seen.
Just as he was about to call the servants to ask, Shen Jinshan came downstairs and passed by him, explaining softly, "Grandma called them to the Su family. Mianmian, it'll just be the three of us having dinner tonight."
Chenmian still ignored him, turning her face away, and even wanted to say something like, "Then I won't eat tonight," in a fit of pique.
But Shen Jinshan leaned closer, brushed aside Chen Mian's stray hairs, and straightened the boy's collar: "Mianmian, Auntie specially made your favorite meatball soup tonight, don't you want to try some?"
Shen Mian scoffed inwardly, thinking that Shen Jinshan must have only noticed his taste when Lin Langli ladled soup for him last time.
What a hypocritical bastard.
Her expression changed again, but after seeing Zong Bingwen's smiling eyes, Chen Mian still gave him face and sat down.
Now, Zong Bingwen was sitting opposite him.
The dinner menu wasn't as extensive as lunch, but it still filled most of the table.
Without Lin Langli serving him the food, Shen Jinshan took over the task, slowly peeling shrimp for the boy.
Chenmian tossed the peeled shrimp into the bone dish, her refusal quite clear.
Zong Bingwen asked with concern, "Mianmian, don't you like it?"
"Mianmian?" Surprisingly, it was Shen Jinshan who spoke first. Although he was the guest he had invited, his expression was not good, with a hint of displeasure. "You two are already that familiar?"
Zong Bingwen said, "Mianmian is very cute."
Who doesn't know that?
After a long while, the smile on Shen Jinshan's face faded, and he remained silent for a moment.
It was nearly seven o'clock when we finished dinner. The sky had cleared up, there were no clouds tonight, and the moon shone exceptionally brightly.
After seeing off his guests, Shen Jinshan went to knock on Chen Mian's door.
He didn't get angry when Shenmian ignored him, but simply asked from outside the door, "Mianmian, do you like Zong Bingwen?"
The door burst open, and Chenmian angrily shouted, "What nonsense are you spouting now?"
Shen Jinshan gazed at him tenderly, then walked into the room and closed the door, her tone light and airy: "He looks a bit like my brother, doesn't he?"
"..."
Shen Jinshan moved closer to Shen Mian and naturally brushed away the wet hair clinging to Shen Mian's cheek, taking in the boy's fair face: "Doesn't it look like him? Your brother carefully selected someone for a long time before finding him for Mianmian."
"What do you mean?" Chenmian finally spoke, asking coldly.
Shen Jinshan sighed with emotion: "Mianmian, your boyfriend is really not good. If you break up with him, would you like Zong Bingwen? He is a good match for you."
Chen Mian brushed Shen Jinshan's hand away, feeling annoyed: "What right do you have to interfere with me like this?"
“Mianmian, I am your brother.” Shen Jinshan’s voice was slightly hoarse. “I will not allow myself to cross that line. Zong Bingwen, he is somewhat like me. You will like him, won’t you?”
What gives him the right to arrange things this way?
No wonder no one came to call Zong Bingwen this afternoon; it turns out it was a blind date!
Chen Mian was so angry that tears welled up in his eyes, and his heart was pounding. But in front of Shen Jinshan, he was far less confident than he was in front of Lin Langli. He wanted to yell back, but tears flowed down his face before he could stop them.
When Shenmian truly cries, she makes no sound; only her eyes and the tip of her nose are faintly red, and her tears silently wet her face.
The man in front of him seemed to pity him for his appearance. Chen Mian's cheek was stroked and his tears were wiped away. Then Shen Jinshan moved even closer, and Chen Mian heard a sigh from above.
Despite his tender and affectionate actions, his words were exceptionally cold. Shen Jinshan said, "Mianmian, it's wrong for you to fall in love with your family."
Chenmian tried to argue that she didn't like him at all.
But tears kept falling, and the overwhelming grievances and sorrows that had been weighing on her mind slowly flowed out before Shen Jinshan's eyes.
He kept crying, and Shen Jinshan patiently wiped away his tears with affection. The scent of a mature man entered Shen Mian's nostrils, and Shen Mian suddenly realized that the two of them were already so close. From the outside, they would probably look like they were hugging or doing something else intimate.
Having experienced the affection of another man, Shenmian quickly realized the inappropriate ambiguity and felt very uncomfortable.
If it were Lin Langli...
If it were Lin Langli, the next step might be for the other person to pick him up, just like that night, place him on the sink, and then the two of them would kiss and do something even more outrageous.
Shen Jinshan did indeed hug him.
Gently pulling the boy into his arms, the man stroked the sleeping boy's back and said, "Isn't it good to treat him as a substitute for your brother?"
Shen Jinshan's calm voice continued, "Didn't your brother promise you that he would always be good to Mianmian?"
Chenmian cried intermittently, finally managing to squeeze out a few words from her throat: "I don't want to."
The strength in her embrace suddenly increased, but her voice remained calm and composed: "Don't want? Don't want what? Do you want Zong Bingwen, or don't want your brother to be good to you?"
Chenmian cried and said, "You're not nice to me at all."
"What else can be done?" Shen Jinshan asked, wiping away his tears, seemingly genuinely confused.
Shen Mian was trembling all over. He hated Shen Jinshan's arrogance and hated Shen Jinshan for just casually throwing him to someone else!
"Mianmian, I'm your brother." He repeated it again, seemingly trying to persuade someone.
Chenmian choked back tears as she denied it: "You're not, I have nothing to do with you."
"You're just saying things out of anger," Shen Jinshan said, refusing to acknowledge Shen Mian's words. "If I'm not your brother, then who is? Your boyfriend?"
"It's definitely not you!" said Chenmian.
Shen Jinshan gazed at him silently, his emotions deep and unreadable.
In the silence, Chenmian finally managed to stop her tears, no longer letting them fall so pathetically. Taking a few deep breaths, Chenmian forcefully pushed away the man who was holding her: "Let go of me!"
Shen Jinshan hugged him even tighter, his voice low and deep: "Mianmian, whatever you do, don't resist your brother, okay?"
"You hate me, and you even said I'm disgusting..."
Shen Jinshan interrupted him in a deep voice: "I don't hate you, I like you the most, Mianmian, those words..." He hesitated for a moment, then continued, "were not meant for you."
Weren't there just the two of them in the room? If she wasn't saying it to him, was she still cursing herself?
She will never forget the humiliation and heartbreak of that day.
He thought to himself that Shen Jinshan was becoming more and more perfunctory with him. It wasn't enough to just try to coax him with a few words and pretend that nothing had happened; he even had to tell such a half-hearted lie.
"You just hate me, you despise me, don't you?" Chenmian couldn't bear it any longer and tried to raise her hand to strike, but she couldn't muster any strength. "Because I actually dared to have thoughts about you, I've tainted your noble self, I've tarnished your image, haven't I?"
“…Naughty Mianmian, how could you say such a thing?”
Shen Jinshan then lightly patted the boy's buttocks. The reprimand was not forceful, but Shen Mian felt humiliated again and burst into tears.
"Shen Jinshan, you hit me!" Shen Mian cried out in accusation, "You bastard!"
"I'm sorry, Mianmian." Shen Jinshan realized that Shen Mianmian was now a grown man and could no longer be treated the same way as before.
The child was still crying, and the sound was very loud.
Shen Jinshan: "Mianmian, how can you forgive me?"
Chenmian immediately fell silent; it turned out she was faking her crying.
He stared at Shen Jinshan's face, his eyes still red, and looked straight at the man: "Give me a beating."
So cute, saying such funny things.
Shen Jinshan felt that the person in front of him was vivid and lively, and his heart was filled with tender love, which was almost overflowing.
Has the boyfriend who is currently in a deep sleep ever seen him like this? If he saw this scene, would he want to kiss him like he did?
Shen Jinshan involuntarily leaned down, getting closer and closer to Shen Mian's face, until their noses almost touched, before the man came to his senses.
He can't.
Hardening his heart, Shen Jinshan tried to appear natural, ignoring the trembling and pain in his heart: "Mianmian, I can't cross that line, but he can. He can love you, pamper you, and cherish you in my place, isn't that good?"
Shen Jinshan did not finish speaking.
Because Shen Mian finally broke free from his restraints, pulled her hand out, and slapped him hard.
A note from the author:
You don't even eat the top dish on the Shen family's must-eat list? Shen Jinshan, I look down on you!
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