Shen Zhe remembered, right after he’d first been recognized back into the Shen family, he’d finally started living the pampered young-master life.
He’d transferred to an elite private high school, where Jiang Qinian became his best friend. The two of them were always together, arms slung over each other’s shoulders, inseparable.
“Zhe, who’s that?”
Chu Li had come looking for him a few times back then, the teenage girl a little awkward, waiting outside the school gate for him.
Sunlight fell over her, and she blinked her tea-brown eyes. Amid the crowd, she waved at him, looking happy to see him.
Jiang Qinian: “Looking for you?”
Shen Zhe stood tall in his blue-and-white school uniform.
He’d only just returned to the Shen family then, and didn’t particularly want to be tangled up again with his past, with Chu Li. “Not really close.”
Chu Li wasn’t discouraged, since she’d come to borrow money.
Inwardly, she rolled her eyes without a sound.
Then she raised a hand, wiped the sweat from her cheek, the tip of her nose faintly reddened, and called out to him again. “Zhe.”
With plenty of people watching curiously, Shen Zhe noticed all their eyes on him and finally answered.
He drew out his words lazily. “Qinian, she’s such an annoying little shadow.”
Jiang Qinian’s skin was pale, his eyes dark.
He looked at Chu Li for a while, seemingly lost in thought. After a long pause, he said, “Zhe, she really likes you.”
Shen Zhe sighed lazily. “Yeah, she really likes me.”
Back in school, Chu Li had been short on money and had borrowed from him a few times, and she’d also worked part-time at a convenience store.
Whenever Shen Zhe remembered her and went to find her—
He’d see Jiang Qinian sitting inside. In the whole big store, he’d be the only customer, having Chu Li heat up milk tea for him.
Jiang Qinian would stare at her, his gaze fixed and unwavering. His eyes dark and murky, his face carrying its usual lack of any smile.
So Shen Zhe assumed Jiang Qinian must dislike her, deliberately giving Chu Li a hard time.
Every time Shen Zhe brought up Jiang Qinian to her—
Chu Li would go quiet for a moment, then change the subject.
Shen Zhe just never expected that, after all these years, the first time Jiang Qinian came back to the country and saw Chu Li, he’d immediately try to talk him into breaking up with her.
Why did everyone around him disapprove of this relationship? None of them liked Chu Li.
Shen Zhe took a sip of tea, troubled by the thought.
Chu Li was clearly so gentle and adorable.
【Such a smooth mess of a love-tangle, everyone in the room has their own agenda, except the original male lead.】
【Shen Zhe: You all better not have any objection to Li Li. Everyone else: The one we have an objection to is you.】
【Every restricted-content novel has to have a little dark room somewhere in the plot.】
【Li Li has no idea, does she, ever since the breakup, Jiang Qinian has been keeping her clothes, her hair ties, even her used scratch paper hidden away in the basement of his villa.】
Chu Li: “…”
Great. Now she knew.
Back when she’d broken up with Jiang Qinian, besides knowing he had health problems and needed to go abroad for treatment, it had also been because of bullet comments just like this one.
She’d only been in high school then, and her tolerance for this sort of thing hadn’t been nearly as good as it was now. Seeing the words “dark room,” she’d been terrified.
She’d assumed she was the female lead of some wife-chasing story and that Jiang Qinian was the deranged villain, and had immediately sent him a clean, efficient breakup text.
She never expected things would turn out this way.
Jiang Qinian seemed to sense the unnatural look on her face.
His gaze shifted slightly, still dark, but his posture remained still as he looked at her, his voice low and gentle in an eerie sort of way.
“You really haven’t changed at all.”
He said this, then curved his lips again, his eyes still fixed unwaveringly on her.
Shen Zhe pulled Chu Li behind him. “Alright, Qinian. Don’t do this, you’ll scare her.”
“Li Li likes eating little cakes.”
“She doesn’t trust leaving food out of her sight, so I’ll go buy some more outside. You stay here, don’t go bullying her, okay.”
Chu Li grabbed his wrist, signaling for him not to leave yet.
She only thought of Shen Zhe as a walking ATM. But she was afraid that the moment he left, some bizarre plot development would land squarely on her.
“Don’t be scared.”
Shen Zhe looked toward Pei Mo. “Little Mo, keep her company, chat with her a bit.”
Pei Mo curved his lips, agreeing readily.
The moment Shen Zhe left, he moved closer, the obsidian-black stud in his ear glinting under the light.
“Sister, do you really like my cousin that much?”
【Here we go, the moment the original male lead leaves, his true colors come out.】
【Nominally, Pei Mo’s Shen Zhe’s cousin, but they’re actually half-brothers with the same mother, he’s resented Shen Zhe since childhood and likes to secretly steal what’s his.】
【He’s not a good person, but he does wear a wolf tail. Support Li Li going for the physical thrill over the emotional connection, take him down.】
Chu Li: “?”
What wolf tail.
Was that the imaginative kind? If so, this person played rough.
She blinked her clear eyes and studied Pei Mo.
The pale silver-gray dye at the tips of his hair. His features looked sweet on the surface, but carried a hint of sharp, defiant edge underneath.
He really did look like a little wolf.
He asked again. “Sister, do you really like my cousin that much? But his temper isn’t good, you know.”
“Yesterday some Miss Xia called him in the middle of the night. Last week, some underclassman wanted to add him on social media, and he didn’t refuse either…”
Ah, this was an attempt to drive a wedge between them.
Chu Li played along, letting a faint hint of sadness show. “I see.”
When she stayed quiet, her eyes took on a clear, forlorn look, the same as back in school, when Shen Zhe had claimed they weren’t close. It made people feel unusually sorry for her.
Jiang Qinian, drinking beside them, watched her expression and let out a soft, cold snort.
Having sown his seed of discord, Pei Mo knew when to stop.
He shifted to other topics with Chu Li, steering away from Shen Zhe. Learning she’d been an upperclassman at the same university, he searched for various common threads to bond over, until eventually he asked for her contact information.
“Sister, we really click, don’t we.”
He added, once she’d given it to him, “I’d really like to talk to you more from now on.”
Beside them, Jiang Qinian let out another cold, disdainful laugh, unable to stand it.
His dark eyes stared straight at Chu Li.
Although he said nothing, it was as if he were silently asking her, could she really not see through Pei Mo’s ulterior motives?
Chu Li: “…”
Of course she could see through it. But it was just an exchange of contact information.
Pei Mo also looked fairly wealthy.
If, next time, he too ended up paying her to break up with Shen Zhe, that would just be another stroke of good fortune.
She was never one to turn down more money.
Jiang Qinian’s eyes were dark as he watched her carefree, dimpled smile, utterly unbothered. His thin, slender fingers, hidden behind his black shirt, tightened.
Pei Mo kept calling her “sister” over and over.
Jiang Qinian cut in coldly. “Shen Zhe just left, and you’re already calling her ‘sister’ instead of ‘sister-in-law’?”
That was a fast turnaround.
Interrupted, Pei Mo snapped back to the present, remembering there was a stranger in the room.
He didn’t seem embarrassed about it at all. Slouching against the back of his chair without a trace of self-consciousness, he said idly, “Mr. Jiang.”
“Weren’t you just hoping my brother and her would break up?”
So if he tried to flirt with Chu Li—
Shouldn’t the man be reacting with more than this blank expression?
【Anyone else find this hilarious? All these undercurrents swirling around, and Li Li’s only thinking about making more money~】
Pei Mo glanced at Jiang Qinian a few more times.
He could only sense his hostility, but couldn’t quite figure out the reason for it in the short time he had.
He turned back and chatted with Chu Li a bit more. “Sister, you and a friend started your own design studio after graduating, that’s really impressive.”
“Can I come visit your studio sometime?”
“Sure.”
When Shen Zhe returned to the private room with the dessert Chu Li liked, he sensed something a little off about the atmosphere.
Pei Mo was talking with Chu Li.
He wasn’t sitting particularly close, half his face bathed in the light, the corner of his mouth clearly curved in a smile. Something about his posture made it seem as though he were close to her.
Shen Zhe felt inexplicably annoyed.
He walked over and handed the dessert to Chu Li.
Then, as usual, he draped an arm over Pei Mo’s shoulder and pulled him a little farther from her. “What are you two talking about, looking so pleased?”
Pei Mo dropped the subject. “Just chatting.”
He got a little mischievous, his peach-blossom eyes curving. “Before you left, weren’t you the one worried sister-in-law might feel shy around strangers, and asked me to help smooth things over?”
“Why are you getting jealous now?”
Chu Li, meanwhile, was busy tasting the little cake, not particularly interested in their undercurrents.
Shen Zhe didn’t think much of it.
After all, ever since he’d gotten together with Chu Li, his older brother, his cousin, and his friends had all told him, more than once, that the two of them would break up easily.
If they could grow a bit fonder of Chu Li, that would only be a good thing.
Whatever he’d felt just now.
Must have just been some strange misperception, nothing more.
This impromptu gathering had only these few people.
The atmosphere stayed a little off throughout. Chu Li ate her own food, staying out of it. Shen Zhe himself, oblivious, thought the mood was pleasant enough.
“Pei Mo’s grown up now, seems like he’s past his rebellious phase, more mature.”
“Qinian doesn’t seem to be in a good mood, he’s been drinking the whole time. Maybe he just got back and hasn’t adjusted yet.”
As the night deepened, Shen Zhe took her home.
He chatted with her on and off along the way.
Feeling the night wind was a bit chilly, he leaned against her shoulder, nuzzling lightly at the curve of her neck.
“Li Li, should I come to your place tonight?”
Ever since graduating, Shen Zhe had always prided himself on not relying on his brother’s protection. He wanted to be independent, build his own racing club, and carve out a career of his own.
Sometimes he’d go back to the Shen family estate, sometimes he’d stay in his own place outside. Sometimes, when the mood struck him, fueled by a bit of alcohol, he’d stubbornly insist on going to her apartment.
【100,000 yuan received.】
Chu Li kept her tone as gentle as ever.
She said, straight-faced, “Zhe, don’t do this. We’re decent people, we can’t be trading money for that.”
Shen Zhe said, “You sure accept the money fast, though.”
He reached over and pinched the tip of her nose lightly.
“Little money-grubber.”
Chu Li had gotten together with him back in college.
Shen Zhe had once found it troublesome, this little shadow he’d known since childhood. He knew he liked his freedom, didn’t want to be tied down, and had never had any interest in dating her.
That day, Chu Li and Qin Mian had gone drinking and called him.
By the time he got there, her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol, a thin sheen of tears in her eyes.
She’d first punched him squarely in the face, saying she refused to be the female lead of a wife-chasing story.
Then she’d thrown her arms around his neck, saying she didn’t want to be locked in a dark room. Her face turned serious, telling him to get with the program and just accept her confession already.
Shen Zhe figured she’d been watching too many novels and short dramas lately, no idea what nonsense was going through her head.
Chu Li’s breathing was shallow, brushing against his neck, carrying a ticklish, faintly teasing sensation.
At first, Shen Zhe thought she was just being drunk and unreasonable.
Then, with her pressed so close against him in his arms, he’d gradually sunk into it too, bit by bit. And then the two of them had slept together.
And they’d stayed together ever since.
Today, having been plied with quite a bit of alcohol by the moody Jiang Qinian, Shen Zhe felt a little worn out by midnight, while Chu Li in his arms didn’t look tired at all.
He traced his fingertip lightly along her ankle.
“Li Li.”
“You were never good at sports back in school… so why is it that with this kind of thing, you never seem to get tired at all?”
It gave him a sense of defeat.
He wasn’t even at the age where he should need any kind of enhancement yet.
Shen Zhe murmured against her earlobe, his words laced with insinuation. “Every time, I get this feeling, like I can never satisfy you enough.”
Was that really just a feeling?
【Tsk, getting hooked on enhancers this young, not good for you (pointing fingers)】
【Hahaha, that’s because your wife Li Li here is the female lead of a restricted-content novel. Her heart’s got room enough for plenty of pieces, you’re not going to be the only one she loves.】