Faced with Elder Shen’s arrangement, Shen Yan had no choice but to comply.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that letting Wen Xin move into the family compound wasn’t a very wise decision.
Wen Xin had been sent to the military compound at age eight, when Shen Yan was fourteen. Back then, the little girl was exquisitely delicate, like a snow doll, with a lollipop in her mouth. It was the first time Shen Yan had seen such a pretty little girl in the compound, and he doted on her.
At the time, Lu Wenjing, Tan Ci, and Mo Yan all teased him, asking if Elder Shen was worried Shen Yan wouldn’t find a wife when he grew up, and that this girl was being raised as Shen Yan’s child bride.
Jokes between brothers—he naturally wouldn’t take them to heart. But Shen Yan overlooked the fact that girls have delicate and sensitive hearts.
When Wen Xin turned eighteen, she confessed her feelings to him.
Completely caught off guard.
For Shen Yan, he had been raised with strict discipline. His father was severe, with no tolerance for even a grain of sand in his eyes. Besides, he only ever saw Wen Xin as a little sister…
After hanging up the phone, Shen Yan received another text message from Elder Shen.
Utterly helpless.
In the police reception hall, Xiao Fang gestured for him to look somewhere.
In the corner, Wen Xin was curled up in a white dress, like a lonely, pitiful child. At that sight, he seemed to see the Wen Xin of her childhood, who, due to family circumstances, would often find a corner to cry in secret.
Shen Yan strode over with long legs, crouched down beside her, and called out softly, “Wen Xin?”
Her delicate brows furrowed as she opened her drowsy eyes, only to see a clear, handsome face before her.
Wen Xin instinctively wiped the corner of her mouth, her suspended heart finally settling. Good, good—she hadn’t drooled in her sleep.
She suddenly sat up straight. “I just fell asleep… um, are you off work?”
Shen Yan nodded. “Come on, I’ll take you back to Moon Lake View first.”
Wen Xin was puzzled—hadn’t her call with Grandpa Shen just now worked? That couldn’t be, right?
Then he added, “We’re going to Moon Lake View to move your things to the family compound. It’s right next to the criminal investigation unit.”
Her fluctuating mood finally settled, her brows curving into crescents as her eyes smiled like little moons.
She must have slept too long—the moment Wen Xin stood up, her legs went numb! Her body suddenly lost balance, and her hands instinctively grabbed Shen Yan’s wrist. A warm sensation spread through her palm—firm and strong.
His tall, broad frame and his wrist supporting her small hand were the only things keeping her from hitting the ground.
This was the first time the two had been so “intimate.” The sound of breathing by her ear grew increasingly hot, as if it might devour her, and her earlobes grew hotter and hotter.
She tilted her head slightly to look at Shen Yan, seeing her own flushed cheeks reflected in his pupils. His voice dropped a notch. “Can you still walk?”
Wen Xin shook her head.
A young girl’s heart had hoped for a princess carry.
Little did she expect—only a helping hand was in the cards.
The two walked one after the other.
Their silhouettes, one tall and one short, were perfectly harmonious.
Standing behind them, Rao Shuwan stared at the pair, her eyes filled with an unfathomable darkness.
Moon Lake View.
Shen Yan sat on the sofa while Wen Xin packed her luggage.
Nothing seemed more delightful than the prospect of living with Shen Yan.
He walked to the balcony, about to light a cigarette, when several pieces of pale yellow underwear hanging overhead caught his eye—especially conspicuous, with their straps fluttering in the wind.
Shen Yan averted his gaze, pulling out a cigarette and lighter from his trouser pocket. He tilted his head to light it, the crimson flame flickering bright and dim.
Wen Xin was about to collect the clothes from the balcony when an idea struck her out of nowhere.
“Shen Yan, could you help me grab the clothes off the balcony? Lend a hand?” Wen Xin cradled a doll in her arms, waiting for his reply.
He extinguished the cigarette with his bare fingers, the smoke ring softening the sharp lines of his jaw.
“Is that appropriate?”
“What’s inappropriate about it? You’re my brother—what’s wrong with a brother helping his sister with the laundry?” She was doing this on purpose. Shen Yan’s hands were so big—she wondered what it would look like when he held her little underwear. Just thinking about it made her blood run hot.
Shen Yan clenched his jaw. “Wen Xin, if you still want to live in the family compound, you’ll collect them yourself.”
He walked into the living room, grabbed one of the suitcases Wen Xin had packed, and carried it downstairs first.
Wen Xin made a face at his retreating back.
She muttered under her breath, “Coward!”
Twenty minutes later, Wen Xin lugged another large suitcase downstairs. From a distance, she spotted two girls standing shyly in front of Shen Yan, phones out as if trying to add him as a friend.
Wen Xin put on her mask and walked over, seizing the chance to loop her arm through Shen Yan’s, pressing her upper body tightly against his side. She cooed, “Brother, aren’t we leaving yet?”
Shen Yan’s spine stiffened.
He glanced down at his arm pressed against her chest, his gaze darkening. His eyes shifted to her palm-sized face, her lashes like butterfly wings, her eyes begging for praise.
The soft warmth against his arm—his mind inexplicably flashed to that pale-yellow shape on the balcony. Round. And full.
His Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily as he pulled his arm back slightly.
Meanwhile, Wen Xin was in full battle mode, determined to drive the two girls away.
A young, pretty girl asked, “Are you this gentleman’s sister?”
Wen Xin!!
A blunder! She should have called him “husband” just now—was it too late to take it back?
Helpless, she could only nod and say stiffly, “Mm, he’s my brother.”
A brother with no blood relation.
“We wanted to ask this gentleman to help us move our car. Mind if we borrow your brother for a moment?” The girl spoke with utter sincerity.
Following her gaze, Wen Xin saw a large G-Class parked in the wrong spot not far away. She realized she’d been overreacting.
She immediately released Shen Yan’s arm, lifted her chin, and said, “Brother, go ahead then. Quick, there and back.”
The two girls: The car’s right there, though.
In the car.
Wen Xin was already seated, waiting for Shen Yan. In just a few minutes, she’d added over a hundred items to her cart on Taobao, all to prepare for the long game.
Only then could she get a taste of Tang Monk’s Flesh!
The homepage suddenly recommended a rather intriguing little umbrella. Wen Xin hesitated, wondering whether to tap and take a look, just in case she needed it later.
The driver’s door suddenly swung open. Wen Xin looked at Shen Yan’s stoic, restrained face, then back at her phone screen.
He swung his long legs into the driver’s seat, asking, “What are you looking at?”
“Looking at…” Wen Xin glanced down at her phone, too nervous to figure out how to exit the page.
Nerves make people slip up.
The page suddenly opened, and a video began playing.
A gentle female voice rang out: “Tight, slick, thin—a triple experience…”