The moment Lin Sui stepped out of the car, he acutely felt the overwhelming power of the raging storm. Every single step forward demanded an immense effort of physical strength.
He had no choice but to hunch his body, attempting to lower his center of gravity to withstand the impact of the wild wind. The rain lashed mercilessly against his face. His brows were tightly knit, and his eyes were narrowed into thin slits as he struggled to see the path ahead through the blurry, impenetrable curtain of rain.
Rainwater kept flowing into his eyes, causing a sharp sting. Yet he had no time to wipe it away, his mind entirely consumed by the single thought of reaching Meng Chengyuan as quickly as possible.
Even at this point, Lin Sui did not harbor the slightest doubt about the truth of Meng Chengyuan’s words. His only focus was to fulfill the other man’s request as fast as he could by delivering the umbrella.
Halfway there, Lin Sui accidentally dropped his phone into a mud puddle. After being soaked in the rain, it could no longer be turned on to make a call.
Having waited for a long time without receiving any contact from Lin Sui, Meng Chengyuan took the initiative to call him, only to hear the automated prompt indicating that the phone was switched off.
This kind of situation had almost never happened before. Especially after learning that Meng Chengyuan’s health was having issues, Lin Sui was constantly worried that Meng Chengyuan might need help and would never miss a single call from him.
Outside the house, the storm grew increasingly fierce. Meng Chengyuan stood in front of the window, listening to the deafening claps of thunder. The aura surrounding him seemed to gradually surge like turbulent, roaring waves.
Meng Chengyuan dialed Lin Sui’s number again, but the automated prompt remained identical to the one before.
Perhaps the resort was too remote, causing poor mobile phone signal.
At this moment, that was how Meng Chengyuan surmised it. Or perhaps, in his subconscious mind, he resisted linking Lin Sui with the word “danger.”
However, at that exact same time, because Lin Sui could not clearly see the path under his feet, his entire body slipped and fell into the mud. A sharp wave of pain shot through his knees. He tried to push himself up from the ground, but even the slightest shift of his body sent more pain coursing through various parts of his frame.
Muddy water continuously poured in through the collar and cuffs of Lin Sui’s clothes. The icy chill made him shudder involuntarily.
He bit his lip, braced both hands against the ground once more, and tried to stand up. But the muddy ground beneath his feet was too slippery; as soon as he applied force, his foot slipped again, nearly causing him to fall a second time.
Just then, an anxious shout reached Lin Sui’s ears. Amid the noisy surroundings, he could not distinguish who the voice belonged to.
“Get up quickly! Get up!” The person said while making a move to support Lin Sui up from the ground. He was holding an umbrella in one hand, which swayed precariously under the assault of the wild wind. He simply tossed the umbrella aside, scooped the drenched Lin Sui up from the ground, and quickly brought him into the car.
It was only after they were inside the car cabin that Lin Sui realized the person who had come to his aid was Shen Xinglan.
“Manager, Manager Shen?” Lin Sui asked, full of suspicion. “Why are you here?”
Shen Xinglan had no towels prepared in his car, so he could only pull out some tissue paper to help wipe Lin Sui down as best he could. Ignoring the question, he urged, “Let us not talk about that for now. Quickly wipe your hair and face. We are going to a nearby hotel so you can change into a set of dry clothes.”
Lin Sui took the tissues, but his heart was still preoccupied with Meng Chengyuan’s situation. He said, “I need to go to the resort to deliver an umbrella. Brother Yuan is still waiting for me. I need to go.”
Shen Xinglan cut off the rest of Lin Sui’s words without hesitation. “You what? He is your partner, right? How could he let you deliver an umbrella to him in weather like this? Does he even know how dangerous it is here?” Extreme dissatisfaction seeped through his words.
Lin Sui could not stand hearing others criticize Meng Chengyuan. Just as he was about to defend him, he was cut off again by Shen Xinglan: “Do not say anything. Listen to me. Go change your clothes first, and then take care of your injuries. When the rain gets lighter, I will drive you up there. Is that alright?”
As he said this, Shen Xinglan had already started the car. Lin Sui glanced out the window, knowing deep down that relying on his own strength would make it impossible to reach his destination smoothly. He had no choice but to comply with Shen Xinglan’s arrangement.
Lin Sui wanted to call Meng Chengyuan to let him know, only then realizing that his phone was completely unresponsive.
Fearing that Meng Chengyuan would be worried, he made a rare request to Shen Xinglan: “Could you please lend me your phone to make a call?”
While driving, Shen Xinglan pulled out his phone and handed it to Lin Sui in the back seat. But after taking it, Lin Sui discovered that Shen Xinglan’s phone could not be turned on either.
“Manager Shen, your phone is turned off too.” Lin Sui was anxious, and combined with the recurring pain in his body, his breath was somewhat unstable as he spoke.
Shen Xinglan recalled that his phone had not been charged all day and assumed it had run out of battery. However, seemingly out of a provocative mindset toward Meng Chengyuan, he suddenly did not want Lin Sui to get in touch with that man.
Thus, Shen Xinglan lied: “It probably got wet just now.”
Lin Sui did not suspect anything at all. Kind-hearted as he was, he felt guilty instead. With a troubled look on his face, he said, “I am sorry, it is all because of me. Tomorrow I will take it to a repair shop to have it checked for you.”
Perhaps what sparked Shen Xinglan’s affection was precisely Lin Sui’s naive and innocent nature.
This made Shen Xinglan, who was accustomed to the intrigue and deception of the entertainment industry, feel that such innocence was rare.
Shen Xinglan smiled and said, “No need. It is no big deal.”
Shen Xinglan drove the car to a nearby hotel, then ordered express delivery for two sets of dry clothes and a bottle of injury liniment.
After changing into clean clothes, Lin Sui applied the liniment to his throbbing knees, then stood anxiously by the window to gauge the intensity of the rain.
Seeing this, Shen Xinglan could not help but tease him: “Lin Sui, if I remember correctly, your partner is an adult male who is older than you. I do not understand what you are worrying about. From the looks of it, you are the one who needs to be taken care of.”
Lin Sui pulled his gaze back from outside the window, embarrassment making him purse his lips without saying a word.
He would not deliberately share details about his relationship with Meng Chengyuan with outsiders. This relationship was like drinking water; only the drinker knows whether it is cold or warm. Lin Sui did not need others to understand anything; as long as he felt happy and content, that was enough.
Before changing clothes earlier, Lin Sui had tried to call Meng Chengyuan using the room’s landline, but the call failed to go through, leaving him restless and uneasy at this moment.
Meng Chengyuan’s phone had a firewall enabled, so unfamiliar calls could not easily get through.
At this time, Meng Chengyuan was already driving toward the hotel where Lin Sui was located.
Because he had been unable to reach Lin Sui earlier, Meng Chengyuan ordered Xu Zhi to deploy manpower to locate Lin Sui’s whereabouts. Unbeknownst to him, just a few minutes ago, Meng Chengyuan learned that Lin Sui had gone to a hotel with another man.
Meng Chengyuan’s emotions hovered on the brink of fury, making even his breathing uneven. His hands tightened fiercely on the steering wheel, and a fleeting, hard-to-detect trace of malevolence flashed across his eyes.
When he arrived at the hotel, Xu Zhi was already waiting for him at the entrance.
As a capable assistant, Xu Zhi immediately caught the flames of anger in Meng Chengyuan’s emotions.
“Mr. Meng, room 8607,” Xu Zhi stated the exact location of Lin Sui and Shen Xinglan, then waited on the spot in a schadenfreude mood.
Meng Chengyuan walked past Xu Zhi in hasty strides and went straight to Room 8607.
As his fist slammed against the door repeatedly, it produced a series of loud, heavy thuds.
Lin Sui inside the room was startled. Before Shen Xinglan could react, Lin Sui had already rushed to the door and pulled it open.
In the next second, what met Lin Sui’s eyes was Meng Chengyuan’s furious expression.
“Brother, Brother Yuan.” Lin Sui was dazed for a brief moment, failing to react immediately.
Meng Chengyuan pushed right past him, barging into the room, and saw the calm and composed Shen Xinglan.
Shen Xinglan sat on the leather sofa, looking at Meng Chengyuan with a relaxed smile.
Meng Chengyuan clenched his fists. At this moment, he could not deny the turmoil in his emotions, nor did he have the mind to explore why his temper had been so easily ignited.
Over the years, except for matters concerning Meng Yan, Meng Chengyuan hardly ever lost control for anyone.
Yet right now, he genuinely wanted to use the irrational method of violence to solve the problem; he found every single move of Shen Xinglan’s to be an eyesore.
In the next second, Meng Chengyuan did precisely that. He stepped forward, grabbed Shen Xinglan by the collar, and questioned him in a fit of rage: “What did you do to him?”
Only then did Lin Sui snap back to reality, realizing that Meng Chengyuan had misunderstood. He hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed Meng Chengyuan’s arm, and explained anxiously, “It is not like that, Brother Yuan! Manager Shen was just being kind enough to bring me here to change clothes. We are clear.”
In Meng Chengyuan’s ears, these words sounded like an attempt to defend Shen Xinglan, causing the fire inside him to burn even fiercer.
The last remaining bit of rationality was gradually eroded. Meng Chengyuan abruptly raised a hand, feigning to slap Lin Sui, but the moment his gaze met Lin Sui’s eyes, bright like stars, he pulled back his motion just in time.
Having been in love for nearly three years, whether out of pretense or genuine feelings, Meng Chengyuan had indeed never laid a finger on a single hair of Lin Sui’s head.
And the softness in his heart at this moment seemed to overflow, causing a wave of sour pain within him.
Meng Chengyuan gradually regained his rationality, and his hand clutching Shen Xinglan’s collar loosened.
Then, he grabbed Lin Sui’s wrist and said in a cold voice, “We are going back!”
Just like that, Lin Sui was forcibly taken away from the hotel by Meng Chengyuan.
Having never seen this side of Meng Chengyuan before, Lin Sui was so frightened that tears fell from his eyes.
Meng Chengyuan had no intention of giving him a moment to catch his breath. As soon as they got into the car, he ordered Lin Sui in a demanding tone, “Explain.”
Lin Sui hastily recounted the whole story from start to finish, but omitted the part where he had fallen.
Lin Sui was not good at lying, and Meng Chengyuan was willing to believe his explanation.
Having calmed down slightly, Meng Chengyuan also sensitively caught the smell of the injury liniment.
Frowning, he asked, “Are you hurt?”
Thinking that Meng Chengyuan was still angry, Lin Sui instinctively avoided his intense gaze, lowered his head to wipe his tears silently, and replied unclearly, “Yes, but it is not severe. It does not hurt anymore.”
Meng Chengyuan took a deep breath, his expression softening a bit, but his tone carried an unquestionable firmness: “Tell me clearly how you fell.”
Lin Sui had no choice but to recount the details of his fall as well.
After listening, Meng Chengyuan drove the car to a nearby pharmacy and bought a new bottle of liniment, intending to help Lin Sui treat his injuries once they got back.
Xu Zhi, who had been tailing them the entire time, witnessed this scene as well. Even though Meng Chengyuan kept a tense expression throughout, Xu Zhi, relying on his understanding of the man accumulated over years of close working relationship, could see the tenderness lying beneath that cold facade.