The car glided smoothly along the road.
Shen Huaijin sat in the back seat, holding the sleeping Lin Wanfu in his arms. Gently, he brushed aside a stray lock of hair from her cheek, his gaze tender and focused.
He watched Lin Wanfu quietly like this, as if everything around them had vanished.
The night scenery outside the window gradually receded, and the interior of the car fell into a serene silence, broken only by the soft sound of breathing.
“Sir, the ambush on Red Maple Highway seems to be preparing to withdraw. Should we seize the opportunity…”
Shen Huaijin lifted his gaze slightly, his eyes instantly turning cold, like flickering stars of frost.
He didn’t speak, merely raising a finger to his lips in a gesture for silence.
The driver immediately understood, closing his mouth and saying no more.
The partition between the front and back seats slowly rose, isolating the rear into a private space.
Seeing this, Shen Huaijin lowered his head again to look at Lin Wanfu, still asleep in his arms, the tenderness in his eyes resurfacing.
Perhaps Shen Huaijin’s gaze was too intense, for Lin Wanfu suddenly let out a soft murmur, her eyelashes fluttering as she opened her light tea-colored eyes, still tinged with drowsiness.
“Brother Ajin, aren’t we home yet?” As if out of habit, she wrapped her arms around Shen Huaijin’s waist, nestling into his embrace, which carried the fresh scent of pine after snow.
Shen Huaijin spoke softly, “We’ll be there soon, Fufu. Go back to sleep for a while.”
His voice was magnetic and clear, with a hint of huskiness, as if moistened by mist, incredibly alluring.
It was so pleasing to the ear that one could almost feel their ears tingling.
Lin Wanfu, however, shook her head. She sat up straight, facing Shen Huaijin directly. “Brother Ajin, at the banquet, I heard many people say you want to keep me as a caged bird. Is that really what you think?”
Shen Huaijin’s expression faltered for a moment. “Fufu, I don’t want to lie to you. I did think that way once, but I know you wouldn’t be happy like that. So, no matter how much I might want it, I won’t do it. You have to believe me—no matter what, I won’t hurt you, and I won’t let anyone else hurt you either.”
His hands rested lightly on Lin Wanfu’s waist, steadying her to prevent her from slipping off his lap.
Lin Wanfu neither agreed nor disagreed with Shen Huaijin’s words. Instead, she hooked his tie and began toying with it. “Then, can you help me pay off the Lin family’s debts? I want to be the Lin family’s young lady again. I don’t want to keep living as a dependent in the Shen family.”
Deep down, she knew very well that Shen Huaijin would refuse her, just as he had in the book’s storyline.
Shen Huaijin liked her, dreamed of having her. Now that she was in trouble and had to rely on him, he would never let go of such a perfect opportunity. He wouldn’t force her, but he also wouldn’t let her leave.
Boiling a frog in warm water was his usual tactic—he would find ways to make her accept him willingly.
Sure enough, Shen Huaijin’s eyes darkened.
“It’s not being a dependent. If you wish, you can become the mistress of the Shen family anytime.” He lowered his head and kissed Lin Wanfu’s forehead, treating her as if she were a rare treasure.
Lin Wanfu tilted her head slightly, avoiding Shen Huaijin’s attempt to kiss her further. A thoughtful glint flashed in her eyes.
She remembered the book’s plot: at the Su family banquet, she had been humiliated by Shen Congyan.
Because of this, her relationship with Shen Congyan grew even more hostile, giving Shen Huaijin the perfect opportunity to step in.
After that, she was forced to accept Shen Huaijin’s marriage proposal.
Now, even though the plot had become a tangled mess, the main storyline was still being pulled back by an uncontrollable force.Undoubtedly, if she were to agree now to become the mistress of the Shen family with Shen Huaijin.
On the day of her wedding with Shen Huaijin, that outlaw Shen Congyan would likely kidnap her again.
What awaited her then would be three days and three nights.
Seeing Lin Wanfu’s resistance toward him, Shen Huaijin would be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed.
But he quickly concealed the subtle expression on his face, smiling gently. “It’s okay. It’s okay if Fufu doesn’t want to. I’m willing to wait, to wait until you accept me.”
He had already waited nearly seven years; what difference would a few more years make? After all, time was the one thing he had in abundance.
Lin Wanfu suddenly grasped Shen Huaijin’s hand. “I just don’t want to be so unfair to you. Brother Ajin, I can’t accept myself thinking of Shen Congyan while agreeing to be your bride. That version of me would be too despicable.”
When she wanted to deceive someone, even Shen Huaijin, who was most skilled at disguise, couldn’t detect any flaws.
Shen Huaijin’s desire to eliminate Shen Congyan grew even more urgent, but he showed nothing on his face. “No matter how Fufu treats me, I’ll never complain. In my heart, Fufu will always be the best.”
“I’m not good, I’m terrible. I clearly don’t like you, yet I can’t bear to let go of your kindness toward me.” Lin Wanfu cupped Shen Huaijin’s face with both hands, her gaze tinged with confusion as she murmured, “Sometimes, when I see your face, I even mistake you for Shen Congyan and want to kiss you.”
“Fufu, stop. I don’t want to hear this.”
Shen Huaijin’s hands at his sides clenched tightly, his nails digging into his palms until faint traces of blood appeared. Yet he refused to let go, as if he felt no pain.
Lin Wanfu seemed not to hear Shen Huaijin’s words, nor did she notice his distress. She continued, “Brother Ajin, do you know? Every time this happens, I despise myself. How could I treat you like this?”
Shen Huaijin took a deep breath, struggling to steady his turbulent emotions. “Fufu, it’s not your fault. Matters of the heart are inherently complex and unpredictable.”
However, Lin Wanfu seemed completely immersed in her own world, paying no heed to Shen Huaijin’s words.
She reached out and removed the thin gold-rimmed glasses from Shen Huaijin’s nose, gently stroking his face.
“Even more alike now. Brother Ajin, you really do look so much like Shen Congyan. Except he never smiles at me like you do. He’s always cold toward me, as if I owed him a fortune in a past life.”
Shen Huaijin forced down the overwhelming surge of bitterness in his heart. He suddenly grasped Lin Wanfu’s hand, his gaze fixed intently on her as he said in a low voice, “So, in the end, you just want me to be Shen Congyan’s substitute?”
“I—”
Before Lin Wanfu could answer, Shen Huaijin pressed the back of her neck and kissed her forcefully.
His hand around her waist tightened, pulling her close against him as if to embed her into his very bones and blood.
Lin Wanfu was firmly trapped in Shen Huaijin’s embrace, with no room to retreat. He kissed her fiercely, unleashing emotions long suppressed.
Perhaps driven to reveal his true nature, Shen Huaijin was nothing like his usual gentle self.
He held absolute dominance, his intense possessiveness threatening to crush her.
Reason and thought both gave way, leaving only instinctive plunder and invasion.I don’t know how much time had passed when Shen Huaijin finally released Lin Wanfu. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Even being a substitute is fine.”
He never imagined that one day he would stoop so low, willingly becoming Shen Congyan’s substitute just to receive those meager scraps of attention.
But what else could he do if not be a substitute? From beginning to end, he was nothing but an unloved wretch.