Chapter 59 [VIP]
When I woke up from my deep sleep, I found myself not in the room.
He felt a chill run down his spine, and half-propped himself up, letting out a trembling cry, only to find his throat burning with pain.
Footsteps approached, and someone opened the curtains, letting in the bright sunlight. Chen Mian closed his eyes briefly to adjust to the light before realizing that Chen Ci was standing by his bedside, looking at him against the light.
He finally felt a little relieved. After Shen Ci looked him over, he put on a stern face and went to pour him water and adjust the temperature. Then he sat back down on the bed and fed him water.
Chenmian's lips remained still as she raised her eyes to glance at the other person.
Their eyes met, and Shen Ci's words were curt: "Awake? Have some water."
Where is this?
“Maldives,” Shen Ci said, “You’ve been sleeping for almost a day and a night. If you weren’t snoring, I would have thought you had passed out.”
Shenmian then noticed that Shenci's eyes were dark and bloodshot.
"You've been watching me the whole time?" Chenmian coughed twice and asked lightly.
"And him?" Chenmian then asked.
Shen Ci squeezed the water glass to Chen Mian's lips, the glass pressing against the boy's lips, which appeared even more rosy through the wisps of steam in the transparent glass.
As he drank from Shen Ci's hand, he had just woken up. His body was still weak, and his heart felt empty and somewhat uncomfortable.
She drank half the water, then refused to drink any more, turning her head away to look to the side.
Shen Ci put down her water glass and began to recount what had happened in the past two days: "After you fainted yesterday, he went crazy at home and refused to listen to Dad's advice to study abroad. We were worried that he might do something to you, so we took you out. We'll go back after he leaves home."
Chenmian didn't speak and remained silent for a long while.
Shen Ci waited quietly for half a minute before noticing that the blanket around the boy's waist was slightly damp, and glistening teardrops were still falling from the air.
He looked at him for two seconds, then awkwardly wiped the boy's wet eyes with his fingertip: "Stop crying, you only drank a little water, and you've cried it all out."
Chenmian raised her eyes and glared at him coldly, then lowered her head and continued to sob silently.
"Judging by the timeline, you two haven't been together for very long..." Shen Ci deliberately left his sentence unfinished.
As expected, Chenmian retorted: "No, we've been together for a long time, we just haven't officially confirmed our relationship."
Shen Ci's brows furrowed, and he tried to sound friendly as he continued, "When?"
"...After returning from Shen Jinshan, I suppose." Shen Mian still dared not say how his relationship with Lin Langli began.
Shen Ci gritted his teeth in anger, but then he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief when he remembered that their relationship had broken down.
“And then there’s my older brother…” Shen Ci glanced at Shen Mian’s face, seeing that the boy seemed indifferent to him, and wondered if he should go into more detail. “Mom and Dad also became suspicious of him, and then Shen Jinshan said that he had illicit feelings for you, and Dad beat him up with family discipline—Lin Langli was also beaten up.”
Chenmian's eyelids twitched, as if he should be thankful that he was too weak to take a beating.
Otherwise, given Shen Mianjun's mindset, he would beat up every single one of them.
However, he did not expect that Shen Jinshan would not say anything to him.
Shen Ci, perhaps sensing his thoughts, took the initiative to say, "Your parents don't blame you. After Lin Langli went abroad, they won't let him come back for the next few years."
I wonder what kind of mood one must be in when one is in deep sleep.
Are you heartbroken? Because your first relationship ended like this.
Are you happy? Because you finally drove Lin Langli out of the Shen family and sent him far away abroad, where he was forbidden from returning for several years.
Did he win this battle with Lin Langli? If only he hadn't invested any feelings in it.
In mid-February, the temperature on the resort island was just right.
Shenmian and Shen Ci spent all their time holed up in the hotel. Shen Ci never mentioned the words she had uttered, "I will never care about Shenmian again," and served the boy with a mix of cheerfulness and trepidation.
The Shen family processed Lin Langli's paperwork for going abroad very quickly. One day, Chen Mian suddenly received a text message from an unknown number: "[Mianmian, I miss you. I regret it.]"
After reading the message, Chenmian paused for two seconds before casually deleting it and running off to eat tangyuan (sweet rice balls) amidst Shen Ci's calls.
This was the worst Lantern Festival he had ever experienced. No family members were by his side, only Shen Ci, the butler who had come with him, and a few bodyguards.
Lin Langli was not there either.
As Chenmian took the bowl, she kept wondering if Lin Langli had eaten glutinous rice balls today.
After returning to the Shen family, did Lin Langli not even spend a complete New Year with his biological parents before leaving the Shen family again?
As soon as Shenmian opened her eyes, tears streamed down her face. The only light in the room was a small floor lamp behind her. Shenci looked at the scene before him. The dim light shone from behind Shenmian, shrouding even his hair in light, making him look like a little angel. Yet his eyes were misty, as if he were holding back a rain. Shenci's heart pounded.
His Adam's apple bobbed, his throat was dry: "Why are you crying?"
After asking, she hurriedly went to wipe away Chenmian's tears, "You're not thinking about Lin Langli, are you? What's so good about him? How can you be like this? You've already broken up and you still can't forget him?"
Chenmian didn't speak, only kept shedding tears and swatting away Shenci's outstretched hand that was trying to wipe away his tears.
Having no other choice, Shen Ci hugged Chen Mian, held back his two restless hands, and pressed the boy into his arms, patting Chen Mian's back with one hand: "I'm holding you, don't make a fuss."
The person in his arms calmed down strangely after hearing his comforting words. After a while, Shen Ci noticed that the boy had leaned his head on his shoulder and was breathing softly.
"Shen Ci, will you blame me?"
"What?"
“I’ve made a complete mess of the house. Lin Langli just got back together with you, and now he’s separated from you all again,” Chen Mian said, her voice choked with emotion. “And then there’s Shen Jinshan. I was the one who liked him first and confessed to him, but he accepted me back. It’s all his fault. Mom must be so heartbroken…”
“It’s not your fault.” Shen Ci interrupted him, pulling the boy closer. “You know, you and I are the best of friends in the world, how could I blame you? Shen Mian.”
"Don't be sad, eat some glutinous rice balls. Do you want to go home? How about we go back tomorrow? He's already left today."
He really left, Chenmian wondered. Did he leave when she sent him a message?
—
When we returned to City A, it was pouring rain, so heavy that it seemed the entire city would be submerged.
I sat listlessly in the car, looking at the city through the rain.
Rain pounded against the car windows with a muffled thud. Although the car was heated, Chenmian still felt an indescribable dampness that had seeped into his skin inch by inch since he got off the plane.
He leaned into Shen Ci's arms again and casually picked at the other's fingernails.
Shen Ci's hands were much larger than his, with distinct finger bones and neatly trimmed nails, but his palms had rough calluses. It took Shen Mian two seconds to realize that Shen Ci had a habit of exercising.
He then grabbed Shen Ci's hoodie strap, took out his phone, and followed an online tutorial to braid a wheat ear knot for Shen Ci.
Shen Ci lowered his head and asked in a hoarse voice what this was.
Chenmian then untied the knot and tied two bows for him again.
Shen Ci gently pinched the cheek of the mischievous boy and hugged Shen Mian tightly.
Back home, the atmosphere had never been so deathly still. Even the servants dared not whisper to each other as usual, standing silently to the side.
As usual, Shen Ci took Chen Mian's hand and went to see Su Yueqiu and Shen Mianjun first.
Looking at the smile his mother forced at him, Chenmian noticed a hint of fatigue on her usually beautiful face. Looking at his father, he also saw a few gray hairs.
He dared not look any longer and left in a hurry.
After returning to her room, taking advantage of Shen Ci's inattention, Shen Mian quietly sneaked into Lin Langli's room.
The room was heavy and gloomy, with a faint smell of blood. Shenmian turned on the light and went to see what had been left behind.
Lin Langli's belongings were all removed, and the room looked exactly the same as when he was recognized and brought back that day; it was just an ordinary guest room.
Chenmian retreated silently, but dared not return to her own room. Instead, she turned around and went back into Chenci's room.
Shen Ci was packing her things, preparing to sleep with Shen Mian tonight, when she saw the boy come in looking flustered. She put down the blanket and pillow she was holding and looked at him silently.
She threw herself into his arms, then stopped talking and started crying while holding him.
Shen Ci sneered, stroking the fluffy head of the person in his arms to comfort them. Thinking of Lin Langli and Shen Jinshan, who were now both injured, he revealed a smug smile.
Chenmian has finally returned to his side.
As before, he neither got close to Shen Jinshan nor was Lin Langli involved.
The two of them have the closest relationship in the world because they were born on the same day, month, and year, grew up in the same cradle, went to school in the same environment, and will continue to be close together in the future.
What is Lin Langli?
Didn't they get kicked out in a sorry state?
It's not fair to blame Chenmian for being deceived by Lin Langli and falling for the tricks of bad men outside.
At his age, he's in the prime of his life, full of curiosity and a love for food.
Lin Langli just returned to the Shen family. Shen Mian must be feeling very stifled, right? When people feel helpless, they become vulnerable. So, isn't it normal for them to seek support or try something nearby?
The way they got together was definitely improper. Others might not know, but surely he did?
After returning from Shen Jinshan's place, they became entangled, but officially confirming their relationship was still a long way off.
During this time, there was also the incident where Chenmian was bullied by Lin Langli to the point of crying, and ran away from home to live in his dormitory.
What couple in a healthy relationship would do this?
Therefore, it must have been Lin Langli who deceived and controlled Chen Mian.
As for Shen Mian's defense of Lin Langli and her resistance to him when he discovered their relationship, Shen Ci didn't care at all.
He gently patted the shoulder and back of the person in his arms to comfort them, feeling the sleeping body gradually calm down and stop trembling.
“Lin Langli is gone, so what? Just pretend he never came back to the Shen family, isn’t that good? Dad will definitely give him a lot of money, a lot of houses, and a lot of things. Mianmian, you don’t need to worry about him or think about him anymore.”
The baby in her arms raised its head, its face half-wet with tears, its snow-white skin glowing with a thin layer of pink, making it breathtakingly beautiful.
But what came out of his mouth was no different from the devil's words: "What do you know? Lin Langli, Lin Langli is my first love. There's still the smell of blood in his room. Can't I be sad?"
"What first love?" Shen Ci denied it. "Does he even deserve it?"
Chenmian stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly said, "How could you be so mean? He's your own brother!"
Shen Ci pressed down on the corner of his mouth and continued stroking Shen Mian's back: "I'm not familiar with him, you know that. I'm more familiar with you."
A note from the author:
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