The Ling Family Residence.
At eight o’clock in the morning, the servants punctually served breakfast on the dining table. There were a total of more than a dozen items, including soup dumplings, steamed dumplings, stewed soup, vegetable porridge, and small pickles. It was far richer than when Shi Jiufeng ate alone.
Shi Jiufeng waited for five minutes, but Ling Xiao did not come down. He said calmly, Let’s eat.
The servants stood still and did not move. Shi Jiufeng glanced at them, and the housekeeper smiled and explained, Young Master Ling said he wanted to eat breakfast today.
The meaning behind these words was that under certain circumstances, without the Ling family members present, Shi Jiufeng could not even eat a meal. This rule did not appear just today. On the second day Shi Jiufeng moved in here, he had already witnessed it with Shen Biyun.
That day happened to be a weekend. Shen Biyun did not go to work, leaving Shi Jiufeng hanging until nearly ten o’clock before she belatedly showed up.
Shi Jiufeng had been so hungry that he drank a pot of tea. After the meal started, he ended up eating very little of the breakfast. Later, he tried waiting for Shen Biyun to go downstairs to the dining room first before going himself. The result was that he didn’t even get any tea, and was forced to go on an empty stomach until Shen Biyun got off work in the evening, eating his first meal of the day only then.
Looking back now, Shi Jiufeng could no longer quite remember what his state of mind had been back then. It felt like grievance and helplessness, feeling as though he was suffering all kinds of torment in the Ling family.
However, as these things happened more and more often, Shi Jiufeng instead lost his previous righteous indignation. Numbly, he accepted all of this, coldly watching these people cross his bottom line time and time again.
Occasionally, he would secretly laugh at the Ling family members.
He laughed at how, in a modern society with rapidly developing technology, they used decaying feudal systems to maintain their family’s pride and reputation.
Once he finished laughing, he would feel that it was pathetic.
Shen Biyun and Ling Xiao, who deceived themselves and others, were pathetic. And he himself, who was dragged along by them, was the most pathetic of all.
Shi Jiufeng knew that sooner or later, there would come a day when he would no longer be able to endure it. But for the sake of his younger brother, who was hanging on by a thread in the hospital, he hoped that day would come a little later.
Shi Jiufeng waited until half-past eight, but Ling Xiao showed no sign of coming downstairs. Although he had no experience living with Ling Xiao, he could guess from Ling Xiao’s behavior outside that this person probably wouldn’t get up until noon or even the afternoon.
Yet, after only half an hour, the stewed soup on the table had already begun to emit a sickening, greasy, and fishy odor, the thick porridge had congealed into lumps, and the fresh side dishes had started to secrete excess juice, losing all color, fragrance, and appeal.
Shi Jiufeng’s stomach churned. Even though he hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, he couldn’t muster the slightest bit of interest at this moment.
He stood up directly and said calmly, Have the car prepared. We’re going to the sanatorium.
The housekeeper looked troubled.
Shi Jiufeng said, Mother instructed me to go check on Mr. Ling.
A single sentence dispelled the housekeeper’s hesitation to stop Shi Jiufeng. Although Ling Xiao had ordered that Shi Jiufeng be watched no matter what, Shen Biyun and Mr. Ling were the true masters of this house, so the priority of Shen Biyun’s orders was naturally higher than Ling Xiao’s.
Three minutes later, Shi Jiufeng was sitting in the back seat of a Bentley as it drove out of the villa.
Regarding Ling Yuehua, Shi Jiufeng knew very little. When he initially married Ling Xiao, Ling Yuehua was already in a vegetative state, and Shen Biyun never talked to him about this person.
From the occasional gossip he had overheard over the past two years, Shi Jiufeng managed to piece together an image of Ling Yuehua.
He was a very dignified middle-aged man. After taking over the Ling family back then, he used thunderous methods to suppress numerous relatives, enabling the Ling family’s enterprise to secure a firm footing in Beijing’s upper circles.
The outside world had no definitive conclusion regarding the cause of Ling Yuehua’s illness. Some said it was due to a car accident, while others said it was due to a sudden disease.
Logically speaking, such an inconclusive matter would make prime gossip material, but the actual situation was that Shi Jiufeng had hardly ever heard anyone discuss it.
Shi Jiufeng’s intuition told him that this was Shen Biyun’s doing.
Ling Yuehua and Shen Biyun had a business marriage. Back then, a major medical accident occurred at Shen Biyun’s family’s hospital, and it was Ling Yuehua who stepped forward to smooth things over. It was said that after marriage, the two of them were in deep harmony with a profound affection, and therefore, after Ling Yuehua fell heavily and unexpectedly ill, it was Shen Biyun who unhesitatingly supported this family.
Shi Jiufeng felt that these rumors were untrue.
Judging by Shen Biyun’s secretive attitude regarding Ling Yuehua, the two of them looked more like they had had a blind marriage without mutual understanding.
However, even if it were a blind marriage, their relationship should still be better than his and Ling Xiao’s.
At the very least, Shi Jiufeng had never heard of Shen Biyun being denied even the right to eat a meal.
Shi Jiufeng turned his head to look out the window. His lukewarm palm lightly rested against his stomach, and a subtle sense of discomfort tugged at his mind, making even the tree shadows flying backward outside the car window feel boring and irritating.
Before the vehicle could even drive out of the winding mountain road, the smoothly running Bentley suddenly slammed on the brakes and stopped in its tracks.
Under the influence of inertia, Shi Jiufeng’s body swayed. He frowned as he looked ahead.
On the quiet road that should have been completely empty, a tall figure of a man was standing.
It was Jin Cixu.
He was wearing a simple shirt and dress trousers, his expression cold, yet there was a clear trace of obvious anger in the depths of his eyes. When Shi Jiufeng raised his eyes, Jin Cixu had just put down one of the arms he had raised; clearly, it was he who had intercepted the Bentley.
A few meters behind Jin Cixu, a Maybach with its hazard lights flashing was parked on the side of the road. The driver’s side door was open, and the driver was sitting inside.
Shi Jiufeng’s heart skipped a beat.
Jin Cixu’s unhinged remarks from yesterday resurfaced. He pressed his lips together, and a strong intuition told him that Jin Cixu had come looking for him.
Wu Chang’an had never met Jin Cixu, but judging by the other person’s attire, temperament, and that luxury car with a repeating license plate number, he knew that the newcomer was far from simple.
Out of the instinct to protect his employer, Wu Chang’an unbuckled his seatbelt and said, Mr. Shi, please wait a moment. I’ll go ask him if he’s run into trouble.
According to normal logic, Shi Jiufeng should sit securely in the car and let Wu Chang’an handle the matter.
But what if Jin Cixu said something he shouldn’t to Wu Chang’an?
Shi Jiufeng knew that Wu Chang’an would report his words and actions to Shen Biyun. Once Shen Biyun learned that Jin Cixu had spoken to him in that manner, how would she view him?
She would most likely think he was shameless and had seduced Jin Cixu.
What was even more fatal was that Ling Xiao was at home right now.
If he let Ling Xiao find out…
Shi Jiufeng didn’t know how he had fallen into the scenario of Madam, surely you wouldn’t want your husband to know about this, but he only knew one thing: he must absolutely prevent Ling Xiao from discovering that he had any contact with Jin Cixu!
Feigning composure, Shi Jiufeng said, I know him. I’ll go.
When Wu Chang’an turned around in a daze, Shi Jiufeng had already opened the door and gotten out of the car.
He walked quickly toward Jin Cixu. The sweeping autumn wind whipped up his coat, and even beneath the loose shirt, his excessively slender waistline remained vividly striking in Jin Cixu’s eyes.
Wu Chang’an was a skilled driver, and the Bentley had stopped a short distance from Jin Cixu, but at this moment, even separated by a short distance, Shi Jiufeng still felt it wasn’t safe enough.
Afraid that Wu Chang’an might overhear his conversation with Jin Cixu, he had no choice but to walk as close as possible.
Because of this, the faint, light scent on his body was the first to drill into Jin Cixu’s nasal passages.
However, Jin Cixu’s tense nerves had barely relaxed for half a second before his narrow, sharp, and deep eyes locked fiercely onto the scattered red marks on Shi Jiufeng’s neck.
Stripe after stripe, shockingly bright red, with slightly swollen edges.
Were they scratches?
Or… were they left by that cheap dog Ling Xiao?
Jin Cixu felt a sour ache in his teeth. He truly regretted choosing to wait here; he should have simply rushed into the villa on top of the mountain, directly snapped Ling Xiao’s neck, chopped off his dead dog paws, and thrown them onto the highway to let that hateful thing be crushed into pieces!
Daring to bully Shi Jiufeng, how could he dare? How could he?!
Why did you come?
Does your neck hurt?
The cold voice and the hoarse voice overlapped with each other. Shi Jiufeng started, instinctively covering his neck.
Unwilling to answer this question, he lowered his eyelids to block his golden-brown eyes, turned his face slightly away, and repeated, Mr. Jin, why did you come here?
This undisguised posture of evasion pierced Jin Cixu like a needle, and amidst a fine, dense pain, he felt blood beads of scarlet welling up and spilling from his heart.
Yet this trace of pain was hardly worth mentioning. Compared to Shi Jiufeng’s rejection, the gratifying thing was that at this very moment, this person was standing right before his eyes.
Thus, Jin Cixu accepted it gladly. That sharp pain was forcibly twisted by him and viewed as the excitement of seeing Shi Jiufeng once again.
This wasn’t self-brainwashing; he genuinely was happy.
Less than eighteen hours after parting ways with Shi Jiufeng, he was seeing a brand-new side of him. This was entirely a wonderful event worthy of setting off fireworks!
Not daring to reveal his excitement, Jin Cixu took an imperceptible deep breath. After finding his voice again, he spoke softly, I missed you.
These were four words Shi Jiufeng had never expected at all.
He had even prepared himself to hear the other person pitch himself again, but Jin Cixu had simply spoken these four words, words that no one had said to him in a very long time, in a very light and gentle tone.
These four words struck Shi Jiufeng’s heart as heavily as a thousand-pound boulder.
Having been emotionally neglected for too long, even a person born knowing how to love had grown clumsy.
Shi Jiufeng subconsciously felt apologetic for his coldness just moments ago.
Apologizing was all too common for him. In front of Shen Biyun, in front of Ling Xiao and those young masters and socialites, Shi Jiufeng was frequently forced to utter words like apologies, I’m sorry, and I was wrong.
Yet in front of Jin Cixu, such words actually turned out to be exceptionally difficult to say.
Other contents squeezed the words of apology aside, rushing first up his windpipe and onto his tongue.
Shi Jiufeng said, It doesn’t hurt.
Jin Cixu had answered his question, so he would answer Jin Cixu’s as well, hoping that Jin Cixu could understand what it was that he couldn’t quite bring himself to say out loud.
Jin Cixu glanced once more at those glaring marks, swallowing all his interrogation and dissatisfaction back down into his stomach. Shi Jiufeng was willing to speak properly with him now; he could not waste this opportunity.
On his way here, he had already figured out what he wanted to do.
He was going to take Shi Jiufeng away.
But he had to respect Shi Jiufeng’s opinion. If Shi Jiufeng wasn’t willing, he would settle for his next best option.
As for what this next best option actually was, he had been too preoccupied on the way here with wanting to take Shi Jiufeng away that he hadn’t thought of it yet, and could only improvise if Shi Jiufeng refused.
He asked, Ah-Feng, where are you going? Will you let me drive you?
Yet another piece of content Shi Jiufeng never expected.
However, at this moment, Shi Jiufeng didn’t have the luxury to ponder the reason why he said these words. He raised his head, looked into Jin Cixu’s eyes, which were filled with sincerity, and frowned, asking, You stood in the middle of the road and stopped the car regardless of the danger just for this?
Taken aback by being glared at, Jin Cixu couldn’t help curving his lips. Yes, just for this.
Shi Jiufeng choked. He really had never seen someone like Jin Cixu before.
If you called him good-tempered, no one in the entire social circle didn’t fear him. If you called him bad-tempered, yet he lowered himself to be so humble in front of him, acting as if no matter how he was treated, he wouldn’t get angry.
The trace of mild anger in Shi Jiufeng’s heart instantly lost any reason to vent. He said, No need, I have a car.
Jin Cixu turned halfway around and made a hand gesture.
Gao Dahe immediately got out of the car, walked over quickly, nodded slightly when he reached Shi Jiufeng and the others, and then resolutely climbed into the passenger seat of the Bentley.
Jin Cixu said, Now you don’t.
Shi Jiufeng: …
Jin Cixu added, I promise, no one else will find out about what happened today.
Shi Jiufeng sighed.
Watching Shi Jiufeng, Jin Cixu curved the corners of his lips into a tentative, cautious arc and asked probingly, Then… shall we leave now?
Shi Jiufeng was speechless.
Emboldened, Jin Cixu grabbed Shi Jiufeng’s wrist.
The force was very light; Shi Jiufeng could break free with just a twist of his wrist. Lowering his gaze, he looked at Jin Cixu’s distinct-jointed fingers, and abruptly tasted a hint of rebellion within this action.
His dormant heart pounded wildly. Rebellion were two exceptionally distant words for him. Even during his puberty, he had been the most obedient kind of child, let alone during every single day after losing his mother.
This momentary daze was interpreted by Jin Cixu as tacit consent, so not willing to delay for even another second, he grabbed Shi Jiufeng and began to walk.
The dappled tree shadows cast mottled yellow patches between Shi Jiufeng’s brows and eyes. A pale blue tinge bloomed on the distant horizon, and the blowing wind carried the scent of the forest.
Shi Jiufeng suddenly let out a soft laugh.
The short chuckle was precisely captured by Jin Cixu.
Hearing the sound, he turned his head and was caught off guard by Shi Jiufeng’s gentle, lingering smile. The heart that had been aching just seconds ago began to beat frantically, thump-thump-thump, like a runaway train.
How I long to kiss Shi Jiufeng.
Would Shi Jiufeng agree to kiss him?
He promised he would be very gentle, just kissing for… 5 minutes!