Shen Yue’s face still held a lingering smile, her every expression frozen for that instant before slowly fading, life and vibrancy disappearing like a fleeting epiphyllum.
The man’s gaze lingered on her face for a long time, a knowing smile gracing his lips, tinged with a hint of darkness.
“Having a good time, I see.”
He was smiling, but there was no trace of mirth in his eyes.
Shen Yue remained silent, her complexion unnaturally pale.
Lu Jin said, “Aren’t you going to invite me in for a bit?”
Shen Yue lowered her head, the corners of her eyes a vivid red, as if she were weeping.
“I’ll go with you, I’ll go with you…”
She murmured to herself, then raised her eyes, her vision rimmed with red.
*I mustn’t be discovered…*
From the kitchen, Shen Yan’s confused voice and the clatter of cooking could be heard, “Who’s here? Is it Mom?”
Lu Jin looked at her coldly, his imposing figure exuding a palpable pressure. The light from the corridor ceiling cast half his face into shadow.
“What are you afraid of?”
“Aren’t we a couple?”
*No –*
A sharp voice in her mind refuted, but it was immediately ensnared by invisible tendrils, tiny needles piercing her flesh.
If she struggled, the prickling would only deepen.
Shen Yue took a step back. Lu Jin continued to advance, until Shen Yue was forced to stop, no longer able to fit a third person between them. Only then did Lu Jin look down at Shen Yue.
Even with her head lowered, preventing her from meeting Lu Jin’s gaze, she could feel the palpable hostility radiating from him, like a volcano on the verge of eruption, the surface calm barely concealing the turmoil beneath.
“Why didn’t you answer my calls? Do you think hiding here means I can’t find you?”
Shen Yue’s eyelashes trembled violently, her conditioned instincts causing a cold sweat to break out.
She wanted to speak, but her throat was so dry that even opening her mouth was a struggle.
Shen Yan, having heard no response from the kitchen for a while, found it strange. He picked up a spatula, wiped his hands casually with a dishcloth, and came out to see.
At the entrance to the living room stood an unfamiliar figure.
The tall man had Shen Yue trapped like a prisoner. He could only see Shen Yue’s profile, her pale skin, her trembling eyelashes – fear, pure terror.
She was afraid of the man in front of her.
Yet this man was still trying to lay hands on Shen Yue. Shen Yan’s heart felt like a fire burning through his lungs, and he rushed forward, shoving the man aside and grabbing Shen Yue by the wrist, pulling her behind him.
“What do you think you’re doing? Get out now, or I’ll call the police.”
The youth, his features still tinged with immaturity, had broad shoulders. He shielded Shen Yue behind him, as if he could ward off any cruel fate from her.
Baring his teeth in wary vigilance, he stared at Lu Jin, his muscles tensed.
Lu Jin ignored the youth. He gazed at Shen Yue with an air of effortless control, his voice cold and mocking, “Yueyue, you tell him what our relationship is.”
Shen Yan instinctively turned to look at Shen Yue. He expected her to refute him, for he could clearly sense her fear of the man, a sentiment utterly unlike affection.
Shen Yue raised her head. Her face was as white as snow, her dark pupils moist and clear, reflecting Shen Yan’s anxious, worried face with stark clarity.
Shen Yue’s chest felt as though it were expanding, ready to burst and spill forth tears of bitterness.
“I…” Her gaze was unfocused as she looked at the youth. The words felt like shards of glass lodged in her throat, each one bringing a stinging pain.
“We’re… lovers.”
Under the youth’s disbelieving gaze, Shen Yue remained remarkably calm. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, revealing her fair earlobe. “It’s all a misunderstanding.”
Shen Yan’s pupils contracted. He seemed to find it absurd. In that moment, he felt like a self-important clown.
His chest heaved, his voice, barely suppressing his rage, almost a growl, “What the hell are you talking about? You were so…”
Before the word “afraid” could be spoken, Shen Yue interrupted him, “Xiao Yan, I told you, it’s all a misunderstanding.”
Shen Yan was still wearing the apron he hadn’t had time to remove. The clean lines of his jaw tightened, and his eyes blazed with anger. He laughed in his fury, saying sarcastically, “Shen Yue, I thought you had changed for the better. I never imagined it was all my wishful thinking.”
Back then, when Father Shen argued with Shen Yue, it was within their room. Even at the height of his anger, Father Shen would close the door, unwilling to let others hear the family’s shameful secrets.
However, the house’s soundproofing was poor, and Shen Yan, standing by the door, had faintly grasped the gist of their conversation.
He heard Father Shen say, with heart-wrenching pain, “Our Shen family may be poor, but at least we walk the straight path, we don’t steal or cheat, and we are true to our ancestors buried beneath the earth.”
“When you were studying, you always liked to associate with disreputable people. I beat you, I scolded you, thinking you would learn self-respect and self-love, but look at what you’ve become now?”
“Seduced a married man, why couldn’t you do anything else but be a third party that everyone despises! You’ve brought shame upon our family’s name!”
Father Shen had said many harsh words, and Shen Yue had stormed out that very night. It was the first time Shen Yan had ever seen their perpetually stern and stoic father display such disappointment and despair.
Shen Yan had believed that after her amnesia, Shen Yue had truly become a better person, but the reality now was like a harsh slap across his face.
He looked down at Shen Yue with icy disdain, his gaze sharp, as if even his breath carried anger.
“Do you have to be like this?”
Shen Yan clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails digging into his palms.
Shen Yue remained silent, her pale face staring blankly at him, her two dark pupils immersed in a soft, misty sheen of moisture, carrying a certain dampness as if after rain.
Shen Yan’s heart felt a dull ache, a bittersweet pang, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of sour, bubbling soup.
He still felt a shameful softness.
He said, “I’ll be entering society soon. I can earn a lot of money, I can support Mom, and I can take care of you too. Please stay, alright?”
The still-underage youth earnestly vowed to Shen Yue that he could take care of her, his eyes filled with sincerity and an unfeigned seriousness.
Shen Yue flinched as if scalded by this intense yet pure emotion. In that moment, she truly, desperately wanted to stay…
To stay in this dilapidated yet warm place.
But the man’s low, devilish whisper instantly jolted Shen Yue awake.
Lu Jin remained in his position of confident control. He looked at Shen Yue as if she were the person he loved most in the world.
“Come here, it’s time to go home.”
He didn’t believe Shen Yue would agree. She was such a vain person, how could she possibly be willing to stay in such a broken-down, dirty place.