MNL Chapter 111

Chapter 111: Concealment “You’re truly a rogue.”

After a moment of silence, Xu Jing’s somewhat weary voice echoed in the car, “Shen Yan, I don’t quite understand you.”

Shen Yan’s lips moved slightly as he said, “Don’t understand what?”

Xu Jing lowered his head, staring at his intertwined hands, and slowly said, “When the college entrance exam ended, I went to look for you and attended your engagement banquet.”

Shen Yan’s face turned a little pale, and he said in a low voice, “I know.”

Xu Jing was stunned.

“Every guest who entered and exited the banquet that night was recorded. He originally wanted to hide it from me, but he didn’t know I had people there too.”

“But from beginning to end, I never considered getting engaged to anyone else. That year, he took me to America, and when I woke up, all my accounts and phone numbers had been canceled. It’s not that I didn’t want to come find you, it’s just that I really, truly couldn’t.”

A surge of emotions kept pounding in his chest, as if trying to break free and create a hole, but in the end, Shen Yan suppressed them.

Xu Jing thought, how could there be no way? Isn’t it just because you wanted to stay in New York?

A very strange feeling gradually took over Xu Jing’s reason. He thought he could calmly accept the fact that Shen Yan stayed in New York back then, but now, hearing Shen Yan mention these things, it was as if a long-healed scar was torn open on the spot. Those suppressed, indescribable emotions swept in like a flood, destroying his self-deceptive pretense.

So in his heart, he had never truly let go of this matter.

“Back then, I was young, and many ideas were indeed too naive, but Shen Yan, my feelings for you were never frivolous. Every word I ever said to you, every promise, came from the bottom of my heart, after careful consideration.” He thought he could finish the sentence completely, but he paused for a long time because of the soreness in his nose. Xu Jing turned to look out the window, his voice very soft, “So even if you were honest and told me that you really wanted to stay in New York back then, I wouldn’t blame you.”

The outstretched hand stopped in mid-air, drooped, and finally silently retracted.

Shen Yan lowered his eyes and said, “Who would be willing to stay by the side of someone who killed their own mother?”

The weight of these words was too heavy. In Xu Jing’s heart, two little people fought, but in the end, the one on Shen Yan’s side won.

“Forget it, let’s go.”

Shen Yan quietly started the car.

But after a while, he called out again, “Desk mate.”

Xu Jing ignored him, so Shen Yan called out every five minutes.

Finally, Xu Jing couldn’t help it and replied, “What?”

Shen Yan looked over and asked again, “Can you consider what I just said?”

Xu Jing’s mind was a mess and didn’t react, “Consider what?”

“Give me a chance to pursue you.”

After a while, Shen Yan added another sentence.

“If you don’t answer, I’ll take it as a yes.”

Xu Jing felt really aggrieved. After thinking about it, he couldn’t help but say, “You’re truly a rogue.”

But Shen Yan thought it was a compliment. Hearing this, he smiled softly, “My mom told me when I was very young that when you meet someone you like, you have to seize the opportunity. Being shameless isn’t embarrassing. Besides, what’s embarrassing about pursuing someone you like? After all, the one who gets it is the winner.”

Even though there were only the two of them in the car, Xu Jing felt that the last sentence was full of meaning, as if it was meant for a third person to hear.

The car arrived at the door. The villa was brightly lit. Xu Jing was about to get out of the car when Shen Yan’s actions interrupted him.

He didn’t know what was wrong, but he didn’t dodge either. He just watched Shen Yan slowly approach and then reach out to button up his shirt, one button at a time.

When he finished buttoning the last button, Xu Jing felt Shen Yan’s fingertip lightly brush against the side of his neck and collarbone. Even though it was cool, it made him feel like the touched area was burning hot instantly.

“The temperature outside is low, don’t catch a cold.”

The silent and ambiguous atmosphere grew wildly in the narrow environment. Xu Jing’s ears were a little itchy as he listened. When he came back to his senses, he hurriedly got out of the car.

“You’re back, son. Did you drink? Let the nanny make you some hangover soup.” Xu Huaiyang, who was making milk powder, walked out of the kitchen after hearing the noise.

“Didn’t drink.”

“Didn’t drink?” Xu Huaiyang leaned against the door and laughed, “Why is your face so red if you didn’t drink?”

Xu Jing quickly went upstairs and left a sentence, “The wind blew it.”

After returning to his room, Xu Jing specially looked for a mirror. He was startled when he saw himself. No wonder Xu Huaiyang reacted like that. Even he hadn’t seen himself like this in so many years.

He was the one who made up his mind to forget the past, and he was the one who said the relationship was over with certainty. But in the end, he was the one whose heart was so moved by the other party’s actions.

He was even more useless than Yan Zhe.

Xu Jing coldly cursed at the person in the mirror.

At this time, the car at the door of the villa was still there.

Shen Yan stared unblinkingly at the figure reflected in the window. The person inside sat on the bedside for a while, leaned on the chair for a while, and stood up again after a while. He repeated those actions a dozen times.

The person in the car exhaled a smoke ring, the corner of his mouth curved, and he laughed softly.

At this moment, a phone call came in very inappropriately. The male voice that came was low and pleasant, “Shen Yan, Lin Wei is out of prison.”

Shen Yan stopped smoking and said, “When?”

“Last week. Three days ago, our people found out that he had returned to the country. Pay more attention.”

Shen Yan’s expression was cold and tired. He said lightly, “He doesn’t dare to kill me.”

“He doesn’t dare to do anything to you, but what about the people around you?”

Shen Yan’s eyes sank. After a long time, he said, “Got it.”

“By the way, how is it going in the country? Have you caught up with your sister-in-law?” Seeing that Shen Yan didn’t answer for a long time, the man on the other end laughed, “I didn’t expect that Shen Dong, who is so popular in the business world, would also have such an embarrassing time. But it’s normal to be successful in your career and unsuccessful in love.”

“Song Jinchen.”

The man completely ignored Shen Yan’s threat of calling his full name. Instead, he became more and more curious about his good friend’s relationship problems and asked, “Didn’t you tell your sister-in-law that you’ve been running around the world behind him for more than a year?”

Shen Yan was silent again. Song Jinchen sighed and said in a disapproving tone, “With your way of chasing, it’s a wonder that the red-haired kid hasn’t snatched him away. I’ve investigated it clearly for you. This red-hair is called Xia Zhixing. His dad is in the energy investment business. He’s been studying in the United States before. Later, he returned to China to accompany your sister-in-law for four years of college. Oh, yes, they lived in the same apartment, across the hall, for those four years, living together day and night. Your sister-in-law was in a dry spell, so it’s hard not to develop feelings for each other.”

Because he was distracted, Shen Yan’s wrist was suddenly burned by the cigarette butt. The burned area instantly became red and swollen.

But Shen Yan didn’t even make a sound as if he had lost the sense of pain. He glanced at the burned area and extinguished the cigarette expressionlessly.

“They’re also the same age, so they have a lot in common. Unlike you, you’re older than him, and you’ve been gone for so many years. You weren’t there when he needed you the most. Now that you’re back, you say that you had no choice back then and that you’ve always liked him. Why should he believe you?”

He originally thought that Shen Yan would hang up the phone without hesitation after hearing these words, but after a moment of silence, Song Jinchen heard a sentence from the other side, “Then what do you think I should do?”

They had known each other for four years, and this was the first time Song Jinchen had heard Shen Yan sincerely ask him for advice. His voice couldn’t suppress the excitement, “Call me brother first, and I’ll teach you after you call me.”

Several impatient breaths were transmitted into Song Jinchen’s ears.

The next second.

“Brother.”

Cold and stiff.

But Song Jinchen was still satisfied. He contentedly instructed, “First, learn to be honest and tell him all the things you’ve done for him silently so he knows how you feel about him. Second, learn to act cute. Do you know what’s the most valuable thing about you? It’s your face. If you cry and shed a few tears, he definitely won’t be able to say anything. He’ll be so distressed that he’ll only care about hugging you and kissing you. Maybe you can even do something more intimate. Then you should get along with him well and make up for all the things you’ve owed him over the years. With this set of tricks, even the most hard-hearted person won’t be able to resist. Also, I can use some means to trap that Xia Zhixing in the United States, otherwise he’ll be a trouble.”

“In short, that’s how you should chase someone, understand, brother?”

Shen Yan listened silently throughout the whole process, but his comment was, “You don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand?” Song Jinchen laughed angrily, “I started dating as soon as I developed. The men who chase me can line up from here to Paris. You, a twenty-five-year-old virgin, actually said I don’t understand.”

Shen Yan stopped wasting words and said, “Keep an eye on Lin Wei, and notify me in time if anything happens. Don’t touch Xia Zhixing. Finally, we’re only six months apart, don’t take advantage of me.”

“I’m a major shareholder of your company, your partner, not your subordinate. Don’t tell me what to do. Also, six months is still older, calling me brother is—hello, hello?”

The sound of beeping came from the other end of the phone. Song Jinchen snorted and cursed, then put on his sunglasses, stepped off the sports car with his long legs, and turned to walk into the busiest bar in Manhattan.

After Shen Yan hung up the phone, he raised his head and found that the room had changed to a lamp. The curtains were half-drawn. The man inside was sitting at the desk, looking down and turning a page of a book. The light was dim and the shadows flickered. He was quiet and beautiful like a painting in the night.

From the moment he woke up from being a vegetable, Shen Linzhi treated him as a puppet to manipulate and use. He spent two years solving the company’s crisis and another two years taking back Shen Linzhi and Gu Ruozhao’s assets little by little. Over the years, he was imprisoned and controlled, threatened and tortured, acting insincerely and ingratiatingly. He didn’t know how many times he fell into the abyss of self-loathing and hatred. He wanted to die, but he was pulled back time and time again by the teenager in his dream.

The teenager’s eyes were bright, smiling and telling him that he would always love him.

So every night he was imprisoned in the dark basement, he lived worse than death, but he was reborn because there was still a beauty he was looking forward to in this world, and someone was waiting for him.

Xu Jing, for him, was never a simple lover, but a spiritual sustenance in all his collapses. He was the courage and hope he could live on.

But he didn’t want Xu Jing to fall into guilt and self-blame. He didn’t want to embarrass Xu Jing either. Such a choice wasn’t fair, so he wouldn’t stop Xia Zhixing from getting close, nor would he stop his own pursuit.

He only hoped that the teenager in his dream would be loved, be loved, and be happy forever.

Shen Yan and Song Jinchen met at an auction. This unfavored and notorious illegitimate son of a wealthy family was smart and ambitious. He agreed to help Shen Yan clear the obstacles, and Shen Yan also agreed to give him 40% of the shares after the matter was completed. The two sides hit it off.

Lin Wei had repeatedly proposed to invest in the company at that time, but he was rejected by Shen Yan. Later, the company was investigated and rectified due to financial problems until it went bankrupt. He was completely murderous towards Shen Yan because of Gu Ruozhao’s instigation. Finally, he was imprisoned for three years for intentional homicide.

Now that he came out, the first thing he wanted to do was to return to China.

This matter was definitely not that simple.

Shen Yan looked cold and hurriedly left the villa.

·

One o’clock in the morning, Chinatown.

After rejecting the twenty-third man who had come forward to ask for his contact information tonight, Zhou Jinchen walked out of the bar with a lack of interest.

Because of his Chinese-European mixed-race genes, Zhou Jinchen had a top-notch good figure, a height of 1.9 meters, broad shoulders and a strong waist, and eye-catching long legs. His face was also extremely bewitching, with three-dimensional and deep facial features, cold white skin, and amber eyes that always glowed with a gentle luster. When he smiled, he looked very romantic.

It was still a bit cold in New York at the moment. Shen Yan wasn’t here, so Zhou Jinchen was really bored and decided to go home. As a result, as soon as he got into the car, someone he didn’t know where he had ran out from also followed him in.

Zhou Jinchen reflexively wanted to take out a gun, but when he turned his head, he saw a conspicuous red hair.

Xia Zhixing said breathlessly, “Friend, do me a favor, get rid of the car behind.”

Zhou Jinchen glanced at the rearview mirror, raised his eyebrows, and said, “Why should I help you?”

Seeing that the car behind was about to catch up, Xia Zhixing was a little anxious. He turned his head and said directly, “500,000, do you want to do it?”

At this moment, the faces of the two people appeared in each other’s eyes at the same time. The two people were stunned for a moment when they looked at each other.

Zhou Jinchen carefully looked at Xia Zhixing for a few seconds, a bit of playfulness flashed in his eyes, “Okay, sit tight.”

He was originally worried that he wouldn’t be able to get rid of it, but he didn’t expect that this showy guy had such good driving skills, and he got rid of the car behind in less than five minutes.

Xia Zhixing, who had successfully escaped, breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Thanks, cash or transfer to your account?”

He’s quite honest.

Zhou Jinchen laughed in a low voice, leaned back lazily, and asked without answering, “What did you do?”

Xia Zhixing had a headache when he mentioned this and said irritably, “I want to go back to China, but my dad doesn’t agree.”

Zhou Jinchen deliberately asked, “What are you going back to China for?”

“I have someone very important there, and I want to go back and find him.”

He’s quite affectionate and looks good.

Zhou Jinchen couldn’t help but sympathize with Shen Yan when his competitor was so strong.

“Based on the level of the car just now, it’s obvious that your dad is just joking with you. I have a friend whose dad is a complete animal. As long as you violate his wishes, he’ll lock my friend in the basement for at least half a month.”

Xia Zhixing frowned and said, “Didn’t he get his comeuppance?”

Zhou Jinchen said casually, “He just died of lung cancer last year. My friend pulled out the oxygen tube with his own hands, but that was also because many of his organs were failing at the time. My friend is still too kind. If it were me, I would make him live worse than die.”

Xia Zhixing wasn’t interested in these things. He was just chatting politely now because Zhou Jinchen had just helped him.

He had booked the next flight, and he would miss it if he didn’t go.

“I have something else to do, I’ll go first.”

Xia Zhixing was about to get out of the car, but a sentence came from behind, “Going to the airport?”

Xia Zhixing paused, “How do you know?”

“That’s perfect, I’m going too.” Zhou Jinchen stepped on the gas pedal, and the Porsche instantly sped out like a whirlwind.

The man smiled, “I’m going to see someone important too.”