MNL Chapter 115

Chapter 115: The Eve of… What a Virtuous Husband.

During these days of living together, Xu Jing hadn’t discovered any of the “abnormal” traits in Shen Yan that he had described. On the contrary, he felt that Shen Yan seemed even more normal than normal people. A textbook-like schedule, extremely stable emotional state, and physical fitness that allowed him to immediately throw himself into work after an overload of exercise – none of this seemed like the reactions someone taking psychiatric medication should have.

The only thing was that Shen Yan would often wake up in the middle of the night. Xu Jing had asked many times about the reason, but each time Shen Yan would avoid the topic with excuses like “It’s all in the past” or “I don’t remember very well.”

But Shen Yan was very interested in the things that had happened to him over the years, especially when he was in college. Xu Jing didn’t want to mention it, because every time he got to the end, he felt like a child who had done something wrong, getting righteously lectured.

On a sunny and breezy day off, Shen Yan walked out of the kitchen carrying a pot of warm tea.

Xu Jing, who was reading on the sofa, looked up and thought to himself that things didn’t look good. He got up to leave.

Shen Yan asked as he placed the teapot down, “Where are you going?”

Xu Jing stiffly replied, “Taking a nap.”

Shen Yan completely ignored him and said, “Come over here, we were talking about when you were slandered in your junior year last time.”

“…”

He remembered it quite well.

Xu Jing reluctantly walked back, meeting Shen Yan’s leisurely expression. He couldn’t help but say, “You’re a chairman with assets of over a hundred million, and you’re just gossiping about my college life every day? If I don’t tell you, you’re not happy, and if I do tell you, you’re still not happy. Do you get some kind of masochistic pleasure out of it?”

“Zhou Jinchen will handle the company’s affairs. Continue, why were you slandered?”

“…”

Wasn’t this over yet?

Xu Jing sat down and said, “Okay, in that case, you have to answer the questions I ask you too.”

Shen Yan got up.

Xu Jing raised an eyebrow, “Where are you going?”

Shen Yan said without changing his expression, “Taking a nap.”

Xu Jing laughed in anger and said coldly, “Dare you?”

Shen Yan, who never took threats, stood for two seconds and then sat back down.

“I’m asking you, how did you get that scar on your back?”

There was a scar nearly seven centimeters long on Shen Yan’s left scapula. He had noticed it that time when he was changing clothes. The scar was especially stark and hideous against his pale skin. Every time he accidentally touched it, he felt a sense of unease.

Shen Yan replied without thinking, “I fell.”

Xu Jing frowned, “How did you fall?”

Shen Yan calmly drank his tea, “That’s the next question.”

“…” Xu Jing restrained himself and said, “I don’t really know much about the slander either. It was probably because someone spread a pornographic video, claiming that I was the protagonist.”

A very direct emotion flashed in Shen Yan’s eyes.

Were these idiots blind?

Xu Jing had only remembered this matter because he had been cornered into talking about it; otherwise, he would have forgotten it long ago. But in reality, that two-minute and forty-five-second video was very explicit and contained many niche elements. In any case, at the time, rumors flew everywhere, saying all sorts of things. The most outrageous rumor even claimed that Xu Jing was a TS being kept by someone.

However, Xu Jing had never seen that video. At the time, he was focused solely on his studies. Xia Zhixing, on the other hand, was so angry that she both reported it to the police and found a technician, painstakingly finding the person who had first spread the rumor and clarifying the matter.

Xu Jing snapped out of his thoughts and said, “Speak, how did you, with your extraordinary talents, fall and get such a scar?”

Shen Yan said concisely, “When I was in the United States, Zhou Jinchen and I were walking down the street one night, and he tripped me.”

Xu Jing wore an expression of ‘Do I look like an idiot?’ for a few seconds before remembering that the scene Shen Yan had just described sounded a little familiar.

“…”

As the sound of muffled laughter entered his ears, Xu Jing immediately got up and pinned Shen Yan to the sofa, hitting him while laughing and cursing, “Your memory is really good, I’m so impressed.”

Naturally, the questioning stopped. The two of them wrestled on the sofa for a while. Because they were so engrossed, neither of them heard the doorbell and footsteps outside, until a trembling “Xiao Jing” came from beside them. At that moment, the expressions of the two people on the sofa went blank, and the blood in their bodies seemed to freeze.

Qin Xin and Xu Huaiyang were also like they had been struck by lightning, standing there gasping for air. They saw that their son’s hands were tied above his head with a belt, and his loose white pajamas had fallen to his chest, exposing skin covered in dense hickeys and an extremely conspicuous red mark on his neck that looked like it had been made by a chain.

“…………”

Silence as death.

The same thought flashed through everyone’s mind: This is over.

At this moment, Xu Cheng, who was in Xu Huaiyang’s arms, suddenly laughed and clamored for Xu Jing to hold her, making the whole scene even more awkward.

Shen Yan silently loosened the belt and got off Xu Jing. Although he looked as calm as could be, he was actually dying inside. He stood up and called out in a restrained and polite manner, “Uncle, Auntie, long time no see, good afternoon.”

As he straightened his clothes, Xu Jing thought that it was a good thing he had stubbornly refused just now; otherwise, the scene they had been caught in would have been enough to give his parents a heart attack.

Qin Xin’s heart was even more complicated than when she had discovered she was pregnant with Xu Cheng, but there was nothing she could do. Since she was the head of the family, she had to bite the bullet and reply first, “Hahahaha, Xiao Yan? Is that you? Oh my goodness, I didn’t recognize you at first. You’re getting more and more handsome, and you’ve grown taller too, hahaha.”

It was so awkward that even Xu Huaiyang felt uncomfortable. He rubbed his forehead with an expression of being unable to watch.

“Then, Uncle and Auntie, please continue chatting. I have something to do, excuse me.”

He had originally planned to confess to them at a suitable time, but he hadn’t expected to be caught red-handed like this, and in such a shocking way. Not to mention that Qin Xin and Xu Huaiyang weren’t prepared, Xu Jing himself wanted to erase all four of their memories at the same time.

Xu Cheng crawled bit by bit along the sofa to Xu Jing’s side. Xu Jing naturally picked her up and took the initiative to say, “Mom and Dad, Shen Yan and I are together.”

Without any buildup, without any transition, he just said it regardless of the consequences.

Qin Xin turned her head, “Lao Xu, I’m feeling a little breathless.”

Xu Huaiyang looked at the ceiling, “Wife, I am too.”

Xu Cheng was playing with Xu Jing’s hair and laughed again at this moment.

The couple: “…”

Qin Xin carefully observed the arrangement of the room, discovering that the two of them had clearly been living together for quite some time.

This was even more upsetting.

After another period of silence, Xu Huaiyang straightened his back under Qin Xin’s hopeless gaze and said seriously, “Son, have you really thought this through?”

Xu Jing said earnestly, “Yes.”

“You can’t get married, and you can’t have children. This society is very realistic. Not only will you not receive blessings from the outside world, but you will also face a lot of doubt and discrimination in the future. Have you thought about all of this?”

Xu Jing replied without hesitation, “I have.”

Xu Huaiyang was about to say something more, but Xu Jing interrupted him with a calm voice, “Mom and Dad, Shen Yan doesn’t have any family anymore.”

“What?”

The couple was a little stunned.

“I know that you still can’t accept this in your hearts, but I have considered everything you are worried about. I won’t regret it. Shen Yan is really good. I can’t stand anyone but him.”

From childhood to adulthood, Xu Jing had almost never revealed his feelings to them as clearly and firmly as he was doing now.

Since the matter had been brought up to this point, the couple looked at each other, completely speechless.

A complex emotion flashed in Qin Xin’s eyes. As she got up, she said, “Forget it, let’s not talk about this for now. I saw that there were only a few vegetable leaves left in your refrigerator before. I knew you weren’t eating well or taking good care of yourself, so I specifically went to the supermarket to buy some groceries.”

As she spoke, she went to the kitchen. As a result, when she opened the refrigerator, she saw that the three-layer refrigerator compartment and the crisper drawer were already crammed full of all kinds of ingredients. And at a glance, they were all Xu Jing’s favorite dishes. Qin Xin was stunned for a moment. Although she was reluctant to admit that thought in her heart, the truth was right in front of her.

Qin Xin stood in front of the refrigerator for a long time and also remembered many things. In the end, all her words turned into a very soft sigh.

The couple ultimately didn’t stay for dinner. When they left, Xu Cheng seemed a little reluctant, clinging to Xu Jing for a long time and refusing to let go.

Qin Xin said in a reproachful tone, “Look at you, living outside and not even knowing to come home. Come back for dinner together this week.”

There were only two more words, but the meaning was completely different. Xu Jing, who was standing at the door, and the person who seemed to be working in the study but was actually paying attention to the movements outside the entire time, were both stunned for a moment, and the big stone in their hearts finally fell to the ground.

Xu Jing gently pinched Xu Cheng’s little face and replied, “Okay.”

As the sound of the door closing rang out, Shen Yan also walked out of the study. Xu Jing stretched out his arms, his eyes bright, as if he had won a battle. Shen Yan smiled and stepped forward to hug him.

“Did you hear it?”

Shen Yan hummed and said, “I heard your confession.”

“I was referring to the last sentence.”

“I heard it too.” Shen Yan stroked Xu Jing’s hair and said slowly, “Thank you.”

Xu Jing was a little strange, “Thank you for what?”

Thank you for being able to love me so passionately and sincerely, thank you for always choosing me unconditionally and firmly, even though these fleeting years, after a few turns, have wasted two thousand five hundred and forty-two days, thank you for still being willing to stay by my side.

Shen Yan leaned down and kissed the corner of Xu Jing’s mouth, saying mischievously, “Thank you—guess.”

Xu Jing: “…”

That night, afterwards.

Xu Jing vaguely had a dream. After waking up, he couldn’t fall back asleep. Seeing that Shen Yan had already closed his eyes, he couldn’t bear to wake him, so he could only force himself to fall asleep again.

Half an hour later.

Xu Jing opened his extremely awake eyes again and sighed softly as he looked at the ceiling.

He tiptoed over, intending to play with his phone, but was suddenly hugged by the sleeping person behind him. A hoarse voice came from his ear, “Can’t sleep?”

“Yeah, a little.” Xu Jing felt a little guilty, “Did I wake you up?”

Shen Yan rubbed the back of Xu Jing’s neck and replied in a tired voice, “No.” After a moment, he asked again, “Something on your mind?”

Xu Jing shook his head and said, “I just had a dream.”

“Okay, tell me about it.”

“You always ask me about my time in college. You don’t know, but I actually went to a lot of places in the year or so after graduation. I rarely stopped during that time. Today I might be sunbathing on a small island in California, and tomorrow I might be rowing a boat in another ocean.”

Shen Yan listened quietly and said, “Continue.”

“Actually, most of the places I went to were pretty safe. It’s just that one time when I was climbing Yamdrok Tso Mountain, I had a severe case of altitude sickness and didn’t keep up with the team. Then I encountered an avalanche. Before I lost consciousness, I was pretty scared. I hadn’t finished the things I wanted to do, and I hadn’t seen the people I wanted to see. It would have been too regrettable to die like that. But after waking up, I found myself lying in a hospital bed. I had actually been rescued. Later, I asked the doctor who had brought me there. They said it was the mountaineering team. At the time, I had some doubts, and now I feel like it’s even more impossible, because I seemed to have seen the person who saved me.”

“Are you still listening?”

“Yes.” Shen Yan said in a low voice, “Did you see their face?”

“No, only their back, but I can confirm that it was a man, very tall.” Xu Jing said somewhat absentmindedly, “I don’t know why, but I suddenly dreamed about it tonight.”

“So that’s why you were afraid and couldn’t sleep?”

Xu Jing admitted frankly, “It would be a lie to say I wasn’t afraid. Sometimes I feel like death is just a matter of an instant. Tomorrow and accidents are like unknowns that constantly overlap in our lives. You never know which one will come first.”

Seeing that Shen Yan hadn’t replied for a long time, and feeling sleepy after saying so much, Xu Jing turned around and hugged Shen Yan, burying himself in his arms and saying softly, “I’m sleepy, boyfriend, good night.”

Shen Yan kissed Xu Jing’s forehead and said, “Good night.”

After a long time, another whisper sounded in the room.

“With me here, you will have countless bright tomorrows.”

Xu Jing fell asleep almost instantly, subconsciously knowing that Shen Yan was talking. Although he didn’t hear a word clearly, he still hummed symbolically.

·

As Xu Jing’s birthday approached, the busiest person was not Shen Yan, but Zhou Jinchen. He had originally just wanted to come to China to help out and then leave, but who would have thought that he would be held back by someone in the company to handle all kinds of affairs, so busy every day that he didn’t even have time to sleep.

One day, Zhou Jinchen finally couldn’t bear it anymore. He held the mountain of documents and strode into the chairman’s office with his head held high, throwing them on the table with a “smack.” He immediately said, “Shen Yan, I’ve had enough!”

Shen Yan ignored him and calmly turned a page of the report in his hand.

Zhou Jinchen was even more annoyed and raised his voice to scold, “I can’t eat well or sleep well here, and I don’t even have time to play with men. I’m just helping you deal with these crappy things all day long. Is this your company or my company?”

Finally, Shen Yan raised his head and glanced at Zhou Jinchen, saying lightly, “What do you want?”

“I want freedom! Free, free! You only stay at the company for three hours a day, leaving after the meeting. You not only have a brother-in-law cooking for you when you go back, but you can also enjoy a happy sexual life in the evening. You’re happy, but what about me? Don’t you care if I live or die?”

Shen Yan stopped what he was doing, leaned back, and said leisurely, “Are you saying you don’t want to do it anymore?”

“Yes… wait!” Zhou Jinchen, being such a smart person, immediately narrowed his eyes and said warily, “What do you want to do?”

Shen Yan said casually, “Your dad is negotiating a deal recently. That person called me the day before yesterday and asked if I was interested in cooperating with him.”

Zhou Jinchen was stunned and perked up, “Really? There’s actually such a thing? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

What could be more fun than snatching a deal from his old man?

So his face changed faster than flipping a book. He poured a cup of tea respectfully and handed it to Shen Yan, saying diligently, “President Shen, give me this project.”

Shen Yan took the teacup, “What about the other things?”

Zhou Jinchen said decisively, “I’ll do it! I’ll do it all! You can rest assured with me!”

So in the following period of time, Zhou Jinchen cursed and grumbled but diligently completed all the piled-up work, directly doubling his efficiency. Shen Yan then felt at ease and became a full-time nanny and bodyguard at home. This transaction was very harmonious.

In the blink of an eye, it was Xu Jing’s birthday. The house was more lively than ever that day.

The first to arrive were Yan Zhe and Lin Jiayu. Before coming, the two of them had actually prepared themselves mentally for a long time. Especially after entering the door and seeing the two big men busy in the kitchen, they always felt like something was strange. So one scratched his head and looked around, and the other touched his nose and looked down at the ground. In the end, they could only awkwardly start watching TV.

Until a sweet voice came from the door.

“Damn it, those paparazzi are really annoying. Luckily, my driving skills are good.”

The two people on the sofa turned around and jumped up from the sofa at the same time.

“AAA… Aiden?!”

Jiang Pei sized up the expressions of the two people and recognized that they were her fans. She smiled slightly, “Hello, it’s me.”

Xu Jing, who came out after hearing the commotion, saw that Lin Jiayu’s face was flushed and he was so nervous that he couldn’t speak, while Yan Zhe was even more beaming and almost drooling with excitement.

“Can you two have a little dignity?” Xu Jing’s disdainful voice came from behind, and then was ignored by the two of them.

Yan Zhe stammered, “Goddess, I really, really didn’t expect to meet you here. I, I, I, I really like your songs.”

Jiang Pei put the cake on the dining table and said, “Thank you, do you want an autograph?”

The two said in unison, “Yes, yes, yes!”

Xu Jing: “…”

Later, Zhou Jinchen also arrived. Seeing that Shen Yan was actually the one cooking, he felt balanced in his heart.

“I’ve been relying on you in the United States for four years and didn’t even know you could cook. Shen Yan, aren’t you going a little too far?” Zhou Jinchen leaned against the kitchen door while smoking.

“When did we ever rely on each other?” Shen Yan skillfully chopped vegetables, then glanced at the person at the door and said, “Go out and smoke.”

“Why? There’s a smoke alarm here.”

“Xu Jing can’t stand the smell.”

Zhou Jinchen was really amused by this couple.

Although the four people hadn’t interacted before, they were all very good at enlivening the atmosphere, and soon they were having a great time. When Shen Yan and Xu Jing came out, they had already started playing cards.

It seemed like it was 2v2, but because there were still two ardent fans present, it eventually turned into 3v1. After half an hour, Jiang Pei hadn’t lost once, and Zhou Jinchen hadn’t won once, making him so angry that he went outside to smoke and calm down.

The dining table was filled with dishes that were both delicious and beautiful. The four people at the card table turned their heads and saw Shen Yan, who was wearing an apron around his waist and carefully arranging the dishes, and a sentence popped into their minds at the same time: What a virtuous husband!

Everyone present had a good alcohol tolerance except for Xu Jing. They all drank a lot, especially Yan Zhe. But this time, Lin Jiayu didn’t touch a drop, because he knew that as long as this guy drank too much, he wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut, and it would be terrible if he made Xu Jing unhappy on his birthday.

Finally, as it was getting late, Yan Zhe stood up unsteadily. Lin Jiayu really needed to pee, so he went to the bathroom. When he came out, he found that Yan Zhe had already hooked his arm around Xu Jing’s neck.

Yan Zhe hiccuped and said unclearly, “Brother Jing, I… I have something to say to you.”

Lin Jiayu was so scared that he quickly stepped forward to stop this guy’s mouth, but unexpectedly, Yan Zhe actually smiled foolishly and said, “Brother Jing, happy birthday, I wish you guys 99.”

“…” Lin Jiayu breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to pull Yan Zhe off Xu Jing, saying, “Brother Jing, then we’ll go first, you two, take care!”

Xu Jing hummed and said, “Be careful on the road.”

Later, Jiang Pei called her assistant over, and Zhou Jinchen also called over a handsome guy he had just hooked up with. After seeing everyone off, Xu Jing walked into the kitchen. At this time, Shen Yan was washing the dishes. He found that Xu Jing suddenly reached out and hugged him, and his head also leaned on his shoulder, as gentle as a feather falling.

Shen Yan’s heart also melted. He turned his head and kissed Xu Jing’s slightly flushed cheek, saying softly, “Be good, wait for me to finish washing.”

However, that hand was not very well-behaved, moving all the way down his muscular abdomen and finally stopping at the place that had already become active.

His fingertip circled the tip.

Xu Jing said meaningfully, “Hurry up, boyfriend.”

Shen Yan’s eyes darkened and his breathing became heavier, “You wait.”

Xu Jing chuckled, withdrew his hand, and was about to walk out of the kitchen when he glanced at the almost overflowing trash can and said, “I’ll go take out the trash first.”

“I’ll go in a bit.”

Xu Jing had already prepared the trash bag and said, “It’s okay, it’s just downstairs.”

Was he drunk tonight? He was actually being so proactive.

As Shen Yan fantasized about what he was going to do later, he washed the dishes.

After walking out of the kitchen, he found that the phone on the coffee table was constantly vibrating.

Shen Yan frowned and suddenly had a bad premonition.

He answered it, and Zhou Jinchen’s frantic voice immediately rang out in the living room, “Damn it, you finally answered. Those useless pieces of trash lost track of Lin Wei. You and Brother Jing be careful these days, this kind of person is greedy for money and will do anything.”

Shen Yan looked at the door, and a deadly chill surged up his spine. The strong uneasy emotion in his heart suddenly erupted at this moment.

Hasty footsteps sounded on the stairs. Shen Yan ran out like a madman.

However, Xu Jing was nowhere to be seen outside. All that was left was a black trash bag lying in the center of the road, with the garbage inside scattered all over the ground.