Lin Nuo’s eyes were filled with sheer panic. He felt like a solitary skiff cast adrift in the middle of a vast river, trapped helplessly amidst raging winds and a torrential downpour.
The only thing he could do was cling tightly to Li Jin.
He clung to him as if he were his lifesaving straw, his driftwood, his sole hope of survival.
Lin Nuo’s body temperature ran naturally low. His skin felt like polished jade—cool to the touch. Yet, the moment his fingers brushed against Li Jin, it was as if Li Jin had been scalded. With a sharp jerk, Li Jin recoiled, evading his grasp.
Lin Nuo froze, visibly hurt.
Slowly, hesitantly, he withdrew his hand. The faint glimmer of hope in his eyes gradually extinguished alongside his retreating movement.
Li Jin seemed to realize what he had done.
The moment Lin Nuo lowered his head, all color draining from his face, Li Jin lunged forward and grabbed him. He held onto the lover he had fought so hard to drag back from the gates of death.
He had already messed up once in the past. How could he dare to hesitate at a critical moment like this?
I am utterly pathetic, Li Jin berated himself internally, his gaze hardening with renewed resolve.
The shift in their movements and mindsets had occurred in a flash. Though it felt like an eternity had passed, in reality, it had only been a brief two minutes.
But two minutes were more than enough.
It was enough time for Fang Jinshi to see exactly where Li Jin stood.
The ambiguity and affection between the two of them were completely unshielded, showing not a shred of respect for him—the “current boyfriend.”
To Fang Jinshi, watching them was like watching a silent film. Even Ren Minghui, whose face was flushed with fury beside him, seemed to fade into stark black and white. It was supposed to be an infuriating scene, yet for some reason, he found it absurdly comical.
Finding it funny, he actually let out a laugh.
His smile was clean, devoid of irony or mockery. It was like sunlight piercing through a thick layer of clouds, warming everything it touched and making one’s chest flare with heat.
Despite sharing remarkably similar facial features, when Fang Jinshi stood before Lin Nuo, it was like comparing a dazzling sun to a dim, fading star. Their personalities were distinct, entirely worlds apart.
Lin Nuo shrank back slightly. Like a traveler lost in the dark, he possessed an innate reverence and fear of such blinding sunlight.
He had heard Fang Jinshi’s name from countless mouths before—from Li Jin’s friends, Li Jin’s subordinates, and even from Li Jin himself.
Through their vague descriptions, they had sketched out a portrait of Fang Jinshi: a proud, arrogant, yet physically frail young master.
Lin Nuo had envisioned him over and over in his mind, even trying to mimic him. He used to think they were at least fifty percent alike, because once, in a drunken stupor, Li Jin had held him tightly, passionately crying out Fang Jinshi’s name while making love to him.
He had genuinely believed they were similar, save for the pride Fang Jinshi was born with.
But the reality was starkly different.
Fang Jinshi’s open, effortless confidence was something Lin Nuo had never dared to even dream of.
He wasn’t anything like Fang Jinshi at all.
Panic seized Lin Nuo, and he instinctively gripped Li Jin’s hand back. His palm was slick with cold sweat, and tiny beads of perspiration broke out on the tip of his nose, making him look utterly frantic and pitiful.
Catching this out of the corner of his eye, Li Jin felt his heart melt with tenderness.
Though the current situation was undeniably awkward, he maintained a forced composure and greeted, “Jinshi, it’s been a long time. Come in and have a seat.”
His tone was casual and plain, as if he were merely hosting an old friend he hadn’t seen in years.
Fang Jinshi had zero interest in “having a seat” with Li Jin. He hadn’t come here to walk down memory lane.
However—
In the heavy silence echoing between the inside of the office and the hallway outside, it felt as though countless gossiping eyes were watching them from the shadows. Fang Jinshi had no desire to provide the company with fresh office rumors.
After a brief thought, he stepped into Li Jin’s office.
Fang Jinshi sat down on the long sofa. Ren Minghui sat right next to him, silently providing him with a strong, imposing presence.
Seeing the two of them take control of the room as if they owned it, Lin Nuo suddenly snapped out of his daze. He broke free from Li Jin’s grip and murmured, “Please, have a seat. I’ll pour some tea for you both.”
His voice was quiet and his demeanor submissive, yet he spoke with the authority of the master of the house.
Ren Minghui’s face darkened instantly, taking Lin Nuo’s words as a direct provocation.
Li Jin, on the other hand, felt a surge of warmth in his chest.
How can my Nuonuo be so sensible? He thought. He’s clearly terrified of losing me, yet he’s still trying to help me entertain guests. He is so sweet it breaks my heart!
Overwhelmed with sympathy, Li Jin blurted out, “Nuonuo, you don’t need to do that.”
Ren Minghui let out a cold sneer. “This little substitute is entirely dead-set on acting like the spouse. Looks like you still treat him as an outsider, huh?”
Every syllable dripped with heavy sarcasm.
Lin Nuo froze, his eyes dimming as a bitter expression washed over his face.
Li Jin’s expression twisted instantly, and he barked, “Ren Minghui, watch your mouth!”
Ren Minghui wasn’t one to back down from him. He immediately fired back, determined to win the argument.
Fang Jinshi watched the spectacle from the sidelines. He was supposed to be the main character of this drama, yet he felt entirely like an onlooker, watching coldly without a single ripple of emotion in his heart.
Suddenly, he spoke up. “Li Jin, your eyesight is truly terrible.”
In Fang Jinshi’s opinion, calling it “terrible” was already an understatement.
Li Jin’s face darkened instantly, a look of displeasure crossing his features.
He did feel guilty toward Fang Jinshi, and he was more than willing to compensate him. He simply hadn’t gone to see him yet out of a temporary awkwardness and anxiety. He hadn’t expected Fang Jinshi to hunt him down at his own company.
Disrupting his office order and disrupting his working hours—that was Fang Jinshi’s first strike.
Mocking his eyesight and taking passive-aggressive jabs at his partner—that was Fang Jinshi’s second strike.
Relationships were supposed to be consensual. Six months ago, Fang Jinshi was the one who had advised him to let go and start over with someone new. He hadn’t expected that open-mindedness to be a mere facade. Clearly, Fang Jinshi couldn’t let it go and had come to disrupt his life.
At this thought, Li Jin’s attitude shifted drastically. “Jinshi, if you came here just to hurt Nuonuo, you aren’t welcome. I will give you your compensation, but we can discuss that over the phone.”
His tone was ruthless, laced with an arrogant superiority.
In the past, Lin Nuo had heard him speak in that exact tone countless times. It was a voice that would grind Lin Nuo’s heart into dust, only to glue it back together with fleeting moments of sweetness, leaving him to drown in the agony of unrequited love.
Ever since he and Li Jin had officially defined their relationship, he hadn’t heard Li Jin speak like that in a very long time.
He never expected that the next time he heard this tone, it would be directed at Li Jin’s precious “White Moonlight.”
Lin Nuo felt despicable, but he couldn’t stop a surge of secret joy from bubbling up inside him. Li Jin’s stance gave him an immense boost of confidence. He realized: Li Jin truly doesn’t love Fang Jinshi anymore.
The current Li Jin belongs to me.
Lin Nuo pressed his lips together, offering a faint smile.
That subtle smile did not escape Fang Jinshi’s eyes.
Fang Jinshi raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t angry, nor did he have any intention of turning his blade toward Lin Nuo. Instead, he simply said, “Li Jin, are you overestimating yourself, or are you seriously underestimating me?”
His eyes were crystal clear, completely devoid of lingering attachment, regret, or the jealousy and hatred Li Jin had anticipated. His tone was so calm it left no room for refutation. “In the past, it was my eyesight that was garbage, which is why I picked you out of the trash can. Now that someone else is willing to recycle you, why on earth would I be upset?”
Li Jin’s face contorted once more.
Refusing to waste any time analyzing his expressions, Fang Jinshi continued, “I came to see you today intended to make a clean break. I just didn’t expect that you couldn’t even handle a workday without your substitute lover by your side—which happened to give me the chance to meet him.”
Fang Jinshi’s gaze shifted to Lin Nuo, remaining perfectly serene.
Yet, Lin Nuo flinched violently as if he had been stung by a scorpion.
Li Jin immediately pulled the man behind his back, adopting a protective stance.
Ren Minghui was infuriated by Li Jin’s pathetic display of deep affection. Just as he was about to unleash a tirade of insults, Fang Jinshi reached out and held him back.
“A-Shi!” Ren Minghui grumbled, his temper flaring.
Fang Jinshi soothed him with a single look.
When it came to tearing people down, he preferred to do it himself.
“But seriously, your substitute lover looks absolutely nothing like me.”
Hearing his critique, Lin Nuo bit his lower lip, his expression a mix of thirty percent shame and seventy percent sheer mortification.
The moment he pulled that face, the resemblance vanished completely.
Fang Jinshi truly couldn’t fathom how, in Li Jin’s eyes, he and the man standing before him could be considered even remotely similar. Aside from sharing a vaguely similar face, what else did they have in common?
Was it because they had picked the exact same trash boyfriend?
Or was it because they were viewed through the exact same garbage filter?
Fang Jinshi offered a piece of sincere advice: “If your eyesight is that poor, you can wear glasses. But if you lack the judgment to read people, you need to open your eyes and figure it out yourself. Making a joke of yourself like this is one thing, but if people start dragging my name into it because of your antics, I will be very displeased.”
“You seem to have forgotten that before jumping into a new romance, you skipped a step.”
Fang Jinshi’s expression remained detached. “Fortunately, it’s not too late. Allow me to say it—we are broken up. From this day forward, whoever you date has absolutely nothing to do with me.”
“As for this lover of yours.” Fang Jinshi shifted his gaze toward Lin Nuo.
Lin Nuo pressed his lips together, expecting another lecture on whether they looked alike or whether he was worthy. Instead, Fang Jinshi delivered a razor-sharp observation: “Judging by his reaction, he seems perfectly aware that he’s just a substitute.”
Lin Nuo snapped his head up, staring directly at him.
He utterly despised it when people called him a substitute—let alone when the words came from Li Jin’s “White Moonlight,” the original person he was meant to replace. A wave of bitterness and resentment instantly surged within him, leaving a wretched taste in his mouth.
“Knowing he’s a substitute yet still willing to swallow his pride and compromise, it seems he is truly, desperately in love with you.”
Though Fang Jinshi framed it as “swallowing his pride,” Lin Nuo felt as if his clothes had been violently ripped away, leaving him standing completely exposed on a crowded street, utterly humiliated.
He knew all too well that his so-called compromise involved inserting himself into someone else’s relationship. Such a sordid past was something he himself couldn’t bear to look back on, yet Fang Jinshi had ruthlessly dragged it into the light, tearing open his scabs and exposing the bloody wounds to the open air.
His shoulders trembled violently—whether from rage or profound heartbreak—and within seconds, a thick mist of tears veiled his eyes.
Fang Jinshi, however, couldn’t care less about Lin Nuo’s emotional display.
Throwing tantrums and making faces were stunts meant for people who actually cared. He didn’t care in the slightest, so he didn’t give it a second thought.
“You really ought to cherish a lover this devoted.”
The corners of Fang Jinshi’s lips curled into a light smile, though his eyes remained entirely devoid of warmth. “I wish you two—the trash ex and the pathetic lover—an absolute eternity together.”