Chapter 9
Back in his room, Chenmian immediately dropped his gentle demeanor. He didn't turn on the light, hiding in the shadows and revealing a helpless yet vicious expression.
The palms, unconsciously clenched, had several crescent-shaped red marks left by fingernails. The corners of the lips were trembling from being bitten, and a gentle flick of the tongue revealed a metallic, metallic taste.
Chenmian had never been treated like this before. He leaned against the door and slowly pondered Lin Langli's attitude.
Lin Langli clearly didn't believe him, yet he didn't even bother to expose him. This playful, condescending arrogance infuriated Chenmian more than a direct retaliation.
Chenmian noticed it.
Lin Langli may appear aloof and like a model student, but he is actually cunning and extremely malicious.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have protected him at that time, pretending to be kind-hearted. Shenmian didn't think Lin Langli was genuinely trying to protect him. If he were Lin Langli, he would have crushed himself long ago. But Lin Langli didn't. Just from this comparison, Shenmian felt a little discouraged. He was definitely not as cunning as Lin Langli.
He could only gamble that Lin Langli was arrogant and aloof, and if he treated him well, perhaps he would be too lazy to care.
The phrase "confined for a month" that Shen Mianjun had given him meant that Shen Mian was kept under strict control, and sometimes even when he wanted to go to the flower room, the steward would stop him.
Shen Ci even came to ask him, her gaze sweeping over the ripped area under his short-sleeved shirt, and she frowned as she asked, "Did you go and recruit Lin Langli?"
Shenmian denied it, concealing the gloom in her eyes, and before speaking, put on a tearful look: "He was the one who bullied me."
Shen Ci was skeptical, his mouth moved twice, but he didn't ask any further questions. He didn't quite believe Shen Mian's explanation, but asking Lin Langli seemed like too much of a stretch.
Shenmian was still secretly anticipating Shen Ci's reaction. Even if she didn't teach Lin Langli a lesson, it would be good to make things difficult for him. After all, Shen Ci was her own flesh and blood, and she had raised him at home for more than ten years. The nurturing affection that Lin Langli lacked, and the blood ties that Shenmian lacked, were all present in Shen Ci.
Unexpectedly, Shen Ci truly showed favoritism in this matter, and after hearing his grievances, he had no intention of standing up for him.
Ah, they really are twin brothers who share the same blood and have a deep bond.
Not to mention Lin Langli, Shenmian gets annoyed just looking at him, yet she has to pretend that she has already surrendered and will treat him as family in the future. These days are simply unbearable.
Less than a week had passed, and Chenmian, who had been feeling stifled for a long time, thought of his elder brother at this critical moment.
The eldest brother, Shen Jinshan, had already moved out of the Shen family and was living alone outside. He was the most promising child in the Shen family, possessing all the outstanding qualities that a successor of the Shen family should have, and even surpassing Shen Mianjun.
In the past, no matter what trouble he caused, if his parents wanted to discipline or punish him, as long as his older brother was there, it would all be left unresolved. Even though he wasn't that familiar with Shen Jinshan, after all, he was seven years younger than the man, his older brother still cared for him.
Moreover, the eldest brother has a lot of influence with our father. If we go to the eldest brother's place, our father will definitely give him face and let go of the matter of "confining himself to the house for a month".
After a few moments of thought, Shen Mian came up with a solution, feeling slightly more at ease. She dialed Shen Jinshan's number, and the call was answered after only a couple of rings. Shen Jinshan's gentle voice came through: "Mianmian, it's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?"
"Brother..." She deliberately softened her voice, a hint of grievance in her tone, "I miss you. Have you been busy lately? Can I come stay with you for a few days?"
Shen Jinshan paused, seemingly somewhat surprised, but still smiled and said, "Why did you suddenly think of this? Did something happen at home?"
"Nothing, I'm just bored at home and want to stay with you, brother."
Avoiding the topic of being confined, Chenmian kept pleading, "Brother, please let me go. I'm so lonely at home all by myself. Don't you care about me anymore?" She deliberately sniffled, pretending to be on the verge of tears.
Shen Jinshan softened as expected and sighed helplessly, "Alright, Mianmian, come over tomorrow, I'll have the driver pick you up."
After hanging up the phone, the grievance on Chen Mian's face disappeared, replaced by a smug smile.
He knew his elder brother was susceptible to his charm, or rather, the entire Shen family, except for that heartless bastard Lin Langli, were all susceptible to it. Shen Jinshan's reaction brought Shen Mian some comfort.
Dad is probably really disappointed in him. These past few days, he's been ignoring him at the dinner table, at most just letting him eat a little more and not allowing him to be picky about food.
The same goes for Mom. He went to chat with Mom, but she made an excuse that she had arranged to play mahjong with her girlfriends and sent him away.
Shen Ci is even worse. In the past few days, he has actually established diplomatic relations with Lin Langli. Shen Mian even saw them playing games together, even though Shen Ci had previously refused to include him in the games!
Bad! All of them are bad! He only threw a little tantrum, and they all sided with Lin Langli to isolate him.
The next morning, ignoring the housekeeper's advice, Shen Mian hastily packed a few clothes and got into the car sent by Shen Jinshan. As he drove away from the Shen family villa, he deliberately glanced at Lin Langli's room through the car window. Seeing that the curtains were tightly closed, he couldn't help but snort coldly and drove off.
Shen Jinshan's residence is a large flat in the city center, with an area of nearly 600 square meters. The decoration style is simple yet stylish, but it is somewhat empty and lacks a strong sense of life.
The aunt lives in a small apartment downstairs, and she schedules her time to cook and clean for her employer.
Chenmian was led into the house by her assistant. She kicked off her shoes in the entryway, leaving them askew as she walked in barefoot. She went straight to the sofa in the living room and threw herself on it, acting as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Shen Jinshan came out of the study and saw Shen Mian's relaxed appearance. A hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes, but he still had a gentle smile on his face: "Mianmian, what's wrong? Why did you come over in such a hurry?"
As expected, I couldn't fool my older brother.
With her wet eyes wide open, Shen Mian watched as Shen Jinshan sat down beside her. Then she wrapped her arms around his arm, held up the wound on her elbow to Shen Jinshan's face, and began to complain: "Brother, look how bad my injury is. It's all Lin Langli's fault."
"Oh? What happened?" Shen Jinshan's gaze fell on the scabbed area, and he asked calmly.
Chenmian immediately began to twist the truth, blaming Lin Langli entirely for her fall down the stairs: "That day I was talking to him at the bottom of the stairs. I was just being a little willful and said a few more words, but he suddenly pushed me... and I tumbled down the stairs and got injured. It really hurt. If I hadn't been lucky, I might have died..."
With a hint of malice in her eyes, Chenmian wiped her eyes with her other hand, putting on a pitiful look: "I know he just returned to the Shen family and might be upset. But I've already apologized to him for everything that happened before. He was sarcastic and mocked me, saying I was a good-for-nothing, and that I shouldn't have stayed in the Shen family. He even pushed me downstairs. Brother, I'm really so sad."
Shen Jinshan listened quietly, his fingers unconsciously tapping the leather surface of the sofa, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.
He knew Chenmian too well. This younger brother had been a liar since he was a child. Whenever something went wrong, he would shift the blame onto others. Chen Ci alone had caused him to stumble many times.
Moreover, given Lin Langli's recent return to the Shen family, even if he was dissatisfied, he wouldn't push Chen Mian downstairs. If he really wanted to take action, he would have much more discreet methods, certainly not something so low-class.
Moreover... if that's really the case, I'm afraid that on the very first day after the incident, the sleeping man would cause a huge uproar and disrupt the peace of the household.
Thinking of this, Shen Jinshan couldn't help but chuckle. When Shen Mian was a child, if he didn't get what he wanted, he would lie down on the ground without saying a word. Now that he's grown up, he hasn't improved much. His tactics have become more roundabout, but his strategy is still foolish.
He sighed softly, thankful that Shenmian was not the Shen family's biological child. Such a good-looking but empty-headed fool would only bring shame to the Shen family if he went out with the Shen family's name on his behalf.
But he wouldn't say these things aloud. He wouldn't interfere when Shen Mian was young, and he certainly wouldn't meddle now that she was older. In his eyes, Shen Mian and Lin Langli were just juniors in the Shen family, and no matter how much they argued, it wouldn't cause any major trouble. The only reason he was willing to listen to Shen Mian's complaints was because he had watched Shen Mian grow up, and he had some semblance of affection for her.
After a thousand thoughts raced through his mind, when the baby in his arms had finished complaining and looked up at him with expectant eyes, Shen Jinshan had already put on a look of heartache.
He pulled out a tissue and gently wiped away the tears on Chenmian's face, his voice still gentle: "Alright, Mianmian, don't cry, your eyes will hurt if you cry for too long. You and Lin Langli may have some misunderstanding. He just came back and hasn't adapted to the home environment yet, so please be more understanding of him."
No one had ever told Shen Mian to give way to others. From childhood to adulthood, Shen Mian had been used to everyone revolving around him and coaxing him. Because he was frail and sickly for many years, he received extra attention from everyone.
Everyone should give way to Chen Mian. After hearing Chen Jinshan's words, Chen Mian suddenly realized that his status at home had truly fallen.
Feeling utterly dejected, Shen Mian couldn't even find Shen Jinshan pleasing to the eye anymore. Recalling the day Lin Langli first returned, how her elder brother's few words had made that bastard Lin Langli stay, Shen Mian was even more furious and filled with hatred.
"I'm giving in to him?" Chenmian raised her voice, clearly displeased. "Brother! Why are you taking his side? He's bullied me so badly, and you're telling me to give in to him?"
“I’m not taking his side, I just think things might not be as serious as you’re making them out to be.” Shen Jinshan suppressed his annoyance and, seeing Shen Mian’s face gradually darken, changed the subject. “Stay here with me for a few days, and once you’ve calmed down, go home and have a proper talk with him.”
Seeing that Shen Jinshan didn't stand up for him, and wasn't even on his side, Shen Mian felt even more disappointed. He had such wonderful dreams last night, but today he found the road ahead to be so difficult.
But Shenmian knew she couldn't push too hard now, so she loosened her teeth, curled up the corners of her mouth, and started to act obediently again: "Brother, you're the best. Only you care about me. At home, Mom and Dad are biased towards Lin Langli, and even Shen Ci doesn't stand with me."
Shen Jinshan smiled gently, didn't reply, and stood up, saying, "You just arrived, let me show you your room."
The guest room was reasonably furnished; although it couldn't compare to the spacious bedroom at home, at least she wasn't sitting next to that plague, which made her feel comfortable and at ease. Chen Mian put down her things and went out to follow Shen Jinshan.
"Brother, why aren't you at work today?" He opened the bag of potato chips he had brought, leaving crumbs scattered on the sofa. Shen Jinshan's gaze shifted downwards, landing on the food crumbs, and he frowned slightly.
Looking up at Chen Mian, who had reverted to her usual carefree self, Chen Jinshan said, "Welcome Mianmian to keep me company, so I've given myself half a day off."
Moved, Shen Mian tried to throw herself into her elder brother's arms again, but Shen Jinshan couldn't dodge and caught her with some helplessness.
He gently wrapped his arms around his younger brother's waist, finding it shockingly thin, as if it could break with the slightest force. Shen Jinshan frowned slightly, looking down at Shen Mian's head buried in front of him. The hair was fluffy, with black strands clinging to his neck, and thin, white skin covered with pale blue veins that seemed to be thriving.
Shen Jinshan thought Shen Mian had grown up, after all, Shen Ci had already matured. But Shen Mian still hadn't; she was still the same naive and innocent child.
He felt a little helpless and slightly disgusted, but asked with concern, "Mianmian, why aren't you wearing shoes again?"
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