MNL Chapter 49
by VolareXu Jing’s face instantly flushed crimson.
“What should we do?” Shen Yan asked, closing in, his gaze fixed on Xu Jing with a hint of a smile.
Xu Jing looked away as if avoiding something, and said dryly, “How would I know?”
“Otherwise—”
“Don’t even think about it.”
The resolute tone made the narrow passage even quieter.
“I just wanted to answer your question from earlier.” Shen Yan slowly leaned down, his voice low as he whispered in his ear, “Xiao Jing, I really like you.”
Hearing his given name so intimately made Xu Jing’s ears tingle, like an electric current flowing through his body.
“…Don’t call me that.”
“Then what should I call you? Are we supposed to address each other by our full names like before when we’re in a relationship?”
Shen Yan’s words were reasonable, but Xu Jing felt there was an ulterior motive behind them, so he tilted his head slightly and mumbled, “What do you want me to call you?”
Shen Yan’s face didn’t even turn red, and he said with a straight face, “I’m older than you, what do you think?”
Xu Jing paused and cursed, “Shameless.”
This was the first time in Shen Yan’s life that he felt happy after being cursed. He took full advantage of his height, and with just a slight downward glance, he could see the pink color spreading from the base of Xu Jing’s ears all the way down his neck under his loose sweater.
Shen Yan’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
His suppressed gaze went from deep to shallow, and Shen Yan turned his head away with difficulty, saying in a low voice, “Let’s go, I’ll take you home.”
Xu Jing suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
However, five minutes later, he realized he’d celebrated too early.
When they arrived downstairs at his home, the clueless young man was once again pressed against a tree and stuck there for a while, until Shen Yan heard a soft gasp. He raised his head and, using the faint streetlight, saw Xu Jing raise his hand to touch his lips, his fingertip stained with a few drops of blood.
“Are you a fucking dog?”
Xu Jing’s voice was already hoarse. Shen Yan was also stunned for a moment, he didn’t even know when he had bitten him.
“First time, poor technique.” Shen Yan gently wiped the excess liquid from Xu Jing’s lips with his fingertip, his tone a bit apologetic, “Please bear with me.”
As soon as Xu Jing heard that tone, he was helpless. He cursed himself for being spineless and slowly said, “It wasn’t that bad.”
Although he had hit his teeth a total of three times, bitten his tongue four times, once causing bleeding, twice causing numbness, and once even causing a loss of sensation.
Thinking of this, Xu Jing couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t you say you’d dated before? Didn’t you kiss?”
“Who said I—” Shen Yan’s voice stopped. He suddenly remembered the joke he had made at the hospital before. He didn’t expect Xu Jing hadn’t realized it.
“You lied to me?”
These words should have been filled with anger, but if you listened carefully, you would know that Xu Jing’s voice was mixed with a bit of joy.
Shen Yan didn’t answer directly, but instead moved closer and said, “Kiss me a bit more and you’ll know the answer.”
“…” Xu Jing quickly backed away, “I’m leaving.”
The person under the tree stood still, arms crossed. After a few seconds, the person who was almost at the door turned back halfway.
Shen Yan raised his eyebrows and smiled, “Did you forget something?”
Xu Jing didn’t speak, but instead tilted his head and gently touched Shen Yan’s lips in the evening breeze, his eyes gentle and firm.
“Really leaving, Brother.”
“…”
Until the other person’s back disappeared at the entrance, Shen Yan couldn’t recover from the proactive kiss and the unexpected “Brother.”
·
The final exams finally ended in an atmosphere of tension.
Linhe No.1 High School was the last high school in Linhe City to start its vacation, and it was also known for starting school early. Fortunately, Liang Yin took into account the students’ emotions, treating them to milk tea and buying snacks. If the school were to organize a “Most Beautiful Homeroom Teacher” selection, the students of Class Four unanimously said that they would sell everything they owned to make Liang Yin the first.
“Brother Jing, there’s an event tonight, wanna come?”
Although he called out Xu Jing’s name, Cha Fei’ang couldn’t help but glance at Shen Yan while speaking. Recently, he didn’t know what was going on, but every time he turned around to chat with Xu Jing or borrow a pen, he could feel Shen Yan’s gaze on him, filled with chill.
If it were summer, Cha Fei’ang felt he wouldn’t even need an electric fan, Shen Yan alone would be enough to make his back feel cool.
“I’m not going.”
“Why?”
Xu Jing said without looking up, “It’s boring.”
“I guarantee the atmosphere will be great, and if you go, it’ll bring us closer together.”
Xu Jing glanced at Cha Fei’ang lightly and said, “Why would I want to get closer to you?”
Cha Fei’ang made a heartbroken expression and said, “Brother Jing, you’re so cruel. If we say goodbye now, we won’t see each other for a whole month.”
During the winter vacation, Xu Jing was going back to his hometown, Jiaqing City, where Xu Huaiyang’s parents lived. The two cities were far apart, which meant he wouldn’t see Shen Yan for a month.
Xu Jing turned to look at Shen Yan, who said, “I have no objections.”
Cha Fei’ang heard this and said excitedly, “It would be even better if Yan-shen could come!”
“I’m leaving, see you tonight.” After Shen Yan said this to Xu Jing, he slung his bag over his shoulder and left.
It wasn’t until Shen Yan had been out of the classroom for a while that Cha Fei’ang said with a worried face, “Brother Jing, have I offended Yan-shen recently? Why does he always look like he wants to eat me?”
Xu Jing was a bit absent-minded, only replying, “Is there?”
Cha Fei’ang curled his lips, thinking, definitely not to you.
“Want me to give you some advice?”
“Tell me!”
“Just stay away from me.”
Cha Fei’ang was puzzled and asked, “Why?”
Why indeed.
Just jealous.
Xu Jing almost blurted out the truth. After calming down for two seconds, he found it funny. Even if he really told Cha Fei’ang that he and Shen Yan were dating, the other person wouldn’t believe him, and even if they did believe him, they definitely wouldn’t accept it.
Shen Yan did things neither ostentatiously nor discreetly, his every move entirely based on his mood, so many of his actions were particularly easy to read. Xu Jing didn’t want to hide anything either. But liking someone not only made you brave, but often made you timid, weak, and cautious because of the other person.
After a long silence with a blank expression, Xu Jing replied to Cha Fei’ang’s expectant gaze, “Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed.”
Cha Fei’ang: “…”
At this time, an SUV was parked at the school gate. Liu Xiaoguang looked around through the window, finally seeing the familiar figure walking out.
“Boss, he’s here.” Liu Xiaoguang was about to honk the horn when he heard a voice from the back say, “No need.” The voice was low and magnetic.
Liu Xiaoguang was stunned, carefully sizing up Shen Linzhi in the rearview mirror, only to see his boss sitting elegantly, watching the young man’s every move outside with an interested expression.
The car door was opened heavily. Shen Yan resisted the urge to swing his bag at him, his sharp eyes cold as ice.
“Do you really think I won’t kill you?”
Shen Linzhi looked ahead, and Liu Xiaoguang instantly understood, hurriedly getting out of the car.
“Don’t be so angry, son, let’s calm down and talk.”
These words undoubtedly added fuel to Shen Yan’s anger. Shen Yan almost squeezed these words out from between his teeth, “If I wasn’t calm, do you think you’d still be sitting here properly?”
“It’s just that I took a picture of you.” Shen Linzhi’s expression changed slightly. He raised his eyebrows and asked, “But you… you really like that boy named Xu Jing?”
“What’s it to you?” Shen Yan said angrily, “What right do you have to have someone follow me! From the moment my mom left, you and I have had no relationship whatsoever in this life. I, Shen Yan, am the same to everyone, except for you, I hate you to the core!” Shen Yan looked directly into Shen Linzhi’s eyes, saying each word carefully, “I couldn’t do anything a few years ago, and could only watch my mom leave this world, but now, if you dare to touch Xu Jing, I guarantee, I won’t let you go.”
Shen Linzhi was a bit stunned by these words, a few glimmers of coldness flashing in his eyes. “You shouldn’t talk to me like that.”
It was just that the person he sent to monitor Shen Yan took a photo of them holding hands. He almost ruined a two million dollar project he had just secured when he saw the photo during a meeting. Shen Linzhi thought, he hadn’t even said anything yet.
“Did I say I was going to do anything to him?” Shen Linzhi quickly hid his emotions and said slowly, “I just wanted to care about you.”
“Who the fuck wants your care!”
Many people were coming out of the school one after another, the outside was noisy and bustling, and the atmosphere inside the car was extremely stifling. Shen Yan’s hand clenched suddenly when he saw the boy with the black bag slung over his shoulder appear at the school gate.
Shen Linzhi noticed this and his expression became intriguing.
“Let’s have dinner together, there are some things I think you wouldn’t want to say here.”
If it were before, Shen Yan would have felt that even a second of not rejecting him would be disrespect to Zhong Yiqiu, but now that it concerned Xu Jing, he had no choice.
His clenched fist loosened little by little. Shen Yan closed his eyes, completely devouring those irrational thoughts, letting the car start slowly.
Driving was commonplace for Liu Xiaoguang, but because the atmosphere in the back was too eerie, he almost ran three red lights along the way. Even though Shen Linzhi didn’t say anything, Liu Xiaoguang couldn’t help but feel weak in the legs after getting out of the car.
Several people were standing at the entrance of the restaurant, led by a pot-bellied man in a suit. When he saw Shen Linzhi get out of the car, he hurried to greet him, his face full of flattery, “Oh, President Shen! It feels like three autumns since I last saw you, I’m so happy you could come!”
Shen Linzhi shook hands with the man with a slight smile and said quietly, “You’re too kind, President Du.”
“The same private room you usually use, I’ve already told them to prepare the dishes.” Du Kang adjusted his unbuttoned jacket, then noticed the young man standing behind him and was surprised, “Who is this?”
Shen Yan remained cold-faced throughout. Shen Linzhi didn’t introduce him, but Du Kang was a clever person and immediately understood that things weren’t that simple, so he quickly changed the subject: “Let’s go, let’s go, it’s cold outside, let’s go inside and talk, let’s go inside and talk!”
Du Kang continued to flatter them during the serving of the dishes until Shen Linzhi waved his hand, and he tiptoed away.
“What’s it like?”
Shen Yan frowned in confusion.
“This feeling of being looked up to wherever you go, of making the other person worry with just a word.” Shen Linzhi smiled slightly. “As long as you want, your father can give you far more than this.”
Shen Yan coldly curled the corner of his mouth and said, “That’s all you have left.”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“Then why did you come looking for me now?”
Shen Linzhi paused for a moment, a few hints of approval appearing in his eyes. “Continue.”
“You’ve been abroad all these years, disappearing for so long and suddenly coming back to me. I think it’s because your company has had some problems recently, or a major crisis that will affect all the efforts you’ve made over the years. So you now urgently need a helper, or rather an heir, to turn the situation around for you, and that person is none other than me.”
“Anything else?”
Shen Yan sneered and said, “The other thing is, I won’t help you.”
“Oh?” Shen Linzhi narrowed his eyes and said slowly, “Even if you now have a weakness?”
Shen Yan’s eyes changed suddenly.
“You’re eighty percent right, and I never thought of hiding any of this, but you should know that people like me always do whatever it takes to achieve our goals.”
Shen Linzhi seemed tired of playing the role of a loving father. Both his expression and his actions were completely different from before. He leaned back slightly, casually swirling the wine glass in his hand, and said, “I don’t want to force the other person to do things, anything in this world can be traded, as long as you have bargaining chips, anyone can become the object of a trade.”
Shen Yan looked at him deeply and said, “What are your bargaining chips?”
“My bargaining chips are your bottom line.”
The private room fell into a deathly silence. After a long time, Shen Yan heard his own trembling voice.
“What will you do to him?”
Shen Linzhi said nonchalantly, “His father, Xu Huaiyang, runs a very good company, but for me, if I wanted to make it disappear completely from the business world, it would be as easy as flipping my hand. Furthermore, if I send that photo to Xu Jing’s mother, what do you think will happen, son?”
The implication was that whether it was emotionally or economically, he could destroy a previously happy family completely.
The blood drained from Shen Yan’s face. He gritted his teeth and said, “You’re ruthless enough.”
“I have a thousand ways to make you go abroad with me, but I still say the same thing, forcing things isn’t fun, that’s my principle.”
After Zhong Yiqiu died, Shen Yan felt that he would never encounter such a desperate moment again.
On one side was Xu Jing’s future, on the other was his own life.
His life wasn’t important, but what about Zhong Yiqiu? If she were still alive, she would probably be very disappointed in him.
But he had no choice.
He only had this one path to take.
“When?”
“I want to hear your thoughts.” Shen Linzhi said amiably, “You were a little wrong about one thing just now, I’m not in a hurry, what I need is a definite answer.”
Shen Yan picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all in one gulp. It was the most famous strong liquor here, commonly known as “half a cup down.” The spicy liquid rolled over his throat, but he didn’t even frown.
“Two years later, after the college entrance exam, I’ll go with you, but you have to guarantee that none of the things you just said will happen.”
“Otherwise, I will spare no expense to die with you.”
“Good.”
The bottom of the wine glass hit the glass table, making a crisp sound. Shen Yan didn’t hesitate at all, getting up and leaving immediately.
Listening to the gradually fading footsteps, Shen Linzhi’s lips curled into a faint smile, and countless layers of dense nets seemed to be woven into his sharp eyes, making him even more unfathomable.