Watching Lin Wangye’s figure disappear into the roadside ice-powder shop, Lin Shen slowly turned his gaze away. He lay there silently for a while. A few seconds later, he looked up at the sun visor overhead and lifted it with his arm.
“Damn, how many days has it been since I last shaved?”
He checked himself in the mirror, frowned, and ran his hand over his chin. After a moment, his expression relaxed again.
“If I keep this beard, would it make me look more mature and steady, so investors see me and think I’m reliable enough to throw another billion into the project? Then I wouldn’t have to worry about how to convince those old foxes not to bail when I invite them to dinner.”
Lu Chengxuan glanced at him, stayed silent for a moment, then said:
“Nope.”
“Can’t you have a sense of humor?” Lin Shen shot him a look, a bit speechless. “Can’t you tell I’m joking?”
Lu Chengxuan said nothing. He lowered his eyes and, seemingly out of nowhere, pulled out an electric razor and handed it over. Lin Shen took it without thinking, turned on the light above the passenger seat, and started shaving while chatting casually:
“So, what do you think—what are Linhong’s chances?”
Lu Chengxuan didn’t hesitate long. “Fifty-fifty.”
Lin Shen glanced at him and couldn’t help but tease: “If your wife goes to the hospital to have a baby and asks the doctor if it’s a boy or girl, and the doctor says it’s either a boy or a girl… would you be annoyed?”
Used to all sorts of sarcasm, Lu Chengxuan didn’t react. He calmly switched the topic: “If we can stabilize the investment, the odds could reach sixty to seventy percent.”
“What if the part of the bid your family is responsible for falls on you? How would you handle it?” Lin Shen asked.
“That depends on whether you get involved,” Lu Chengxuan answered.
“What do you mean?” Lin Shen didn’t get it. “Are you trying to target me specifically?”
“If you don’t participate, the bid I put together won’t be much different from what your family can produce. The plans that have already performed well in the market are the safest.”
Then Lu Chengxuan shifted his tone.
“But you’re the type to go all in and take risks. Playing it safe won’t work against someone like you.”
Lin Shen took a few seconds to process this, then chuckled: “Sounds more like a compliment than an insult.”
Lu Chengxuan didn’t answer directly but countered with:
“When have I ever insulted you?”
Though technically a question, in the context it came out more like a statement.
Lin Shen, pressing his lips together while shaving, sensed something off. He turned to study him for a few seconds, locked eyes briefly, then turned back to the mirror:
“Alright, alright. Usually, it’s just me insulting you. I get it.”
He said this with a vague smile at the mirror.
“You’re really something. After all these years of being a punching bag, you only now decide to complain about me.”
When he turned his head back, Lu Chengxuan also withdrew his gaze and fixed it on the road ahead. His voice was calm and even: “I wasn’t complaining.”
“Heart for a heart, then?”
Noticing Lin Shen’s eyes on him again, Lu Chengxuan instinctively turned and met his gaze. By now, Lin Shen had finished shaving. He switched off the razor, and with that tiny sound gone, the car suddenly fell into silence.
Lu Chengxuan thought back for a few seconds. He was sure that what he’d said earlier hadn’t been meant as a complaint—he’d just been stating a fact. Whether or not there’d been any trace of that meaning, he wasn’t sure.
But Lin Shen seemed to have already found the answer he wanted in those few seconds of eye contact. He lowered his gaze, smiled faintly, and set the razor down between the seats.
“Yeah, I can’t help but go after you sometimes. But you can’t blame me completely. I’m just a bit of a bastard by nature. The more you don’t fight back, the more I want to test where your bottom line is. After all these years, I’ve realized—you don’t seem to have one.”
With that, Lin Shen spread his hands in a half-apology.
“If you’re annoyed, I’ll try not to push you so hard in the future. Otherwise, Xiao Lin will keep saying I treat you badly, like I’m some villain.”
It was already late. Outside the window, the streetlamps cast fragments of light into Lu Chengxuan’s dark eyes, flickering softly.
He listened quietly to the end, then said in a low voice: “Don’t trouble yourself over that.”
Lin Shen, who’d only been making small talk to kill time, let out a confused “Huh?” and looked at him with a bit of doubt.
“Whatever state makes you feel comfortable—just be that way with me. Don’t worry about what I think,” Lu Chengxuan told him. “You can be your real self. I don’t have a bottom line.”
Lin Shen felt like something had just slammed against his chest.
It was like an old bell tower tolling, the deep vibrations echoing endlessly in his ears, leaving him unable to return to himself for a long time.
It took him a good while before his mind started working again. Hastily sorting his thoughts, he blurted: “You… you already went overboard by revealing your bid plan to me. You don’t need to bend over backwards with every word and action. My dad’s death didn’t traumatize me that much.”
Seeing that Lin Wangye still hadn’t returned, Lu Chengxuan let go of the wheel and turned off the engine.
“Whether I tell you or not won’t affect the final result. Haven’t you already thought through your own plan? If I can trust you with my cards, why wouldn’t I expect you to trust me with yours?” he said.
Lin Shen honestly hadn’t thought of it that way. Only now did he realize it, sitting bolt upright in alarm. “Shit—you’d better keep this a secret. That trick is my last resort. If your family catches on and pulls the same move, Linhong is finished!”
“I believe you.” Lu Chengxuan’s tone was serious. “And you believe me more than you think.”
“Wow, when you put it like that, I sound like an idiot,” Lin Shen muttered. “Like a chicken doing a striptease in front of a weasel.”
“Strictly speaking, Lin Wangye also counts as part of the Lu family. Aren’t you afraid he’ll spill this?” Lu Chengxuan asked.
At the mention of Lin Wangye, Lin Shen instantly perked up, speaking with full confidence: “Of course I trust Xiao Lin. He’s definitely on my side. Didn’t you see? Just now he was about to throw a few coins from a kiddie ride into my multi-billion project!”
A faint curve tugged at the corner of Lu Chengxuan’s mouth.
“This is your subconscious picking your teammate. You’re not fighting alone.”
After that day at the hospital, Lu Chengxuan didn’t show up again. In the meantime, the two of them only spoke once on the phone, and that conversation—about the public tender in the old Huanghe Road district—lasted no more than ten minutes.
Without even thinking, Lu Chengxuan had revealed his most crucial card.
Not even Lin Wangye had been told in advance.
That damn trust made Lin Shen feel like he was silently admitting how important Lu Chengxuan was to him, and at the same time, his heart ached with the frustration of exposing the secret himself.
In all the ten-plus years they’d known each other, Lin Shen had never felt awkward around Lu Chengxuan, even though the guy didn’t talk much.
So why did he suddenly feel so uneasy now?
Out of nowhere, Lin Shen’s mind flashed back to something Lin Wangye had said not long ago.
—‘Feels like we’re a family.’
Hearing that had given him goosebumps at the time. The more he thought about it, the stranger it felt. He’d even sent Lin Wangye away, worried he’d say something even more explosive.
But as the atmosphere calmed after the group left, the tension only grew heavier.
Lin Shen hastily pulled his gaze away, too nervous to look at Lu Chengxuan, and shifted in his seat, glancing anxiously out the window—completely failing to spot Lin Wangye.
Buying a bowl of ice powder… took that long?
Making it from scratch?
They stayed silent like that for a while. Lin Shen felt he had to say something to ease the mood. He coughed awkwardly a couple of times.
“This bowl of ice powder really is hard to wait for, huh.”
“I’ll go check.”
With that, Lu Chengxuan unbuckled, opened the door, and walked around the front of the car toward the ice-powder shop Lin Wangye had just gone into.
As soon as Lu Chengxuan’s figure disappeared, Lin Shen let out a relieved breath, checked his appearance in the mirror, closed the visor, shifted his posture, and tried to calm his breathing.
Soon, Lu Chengxuan returned with Lin Wangye.
Lin Wangye was holding two bowls of ice powder—one untouched, the other half-eaten.
As soon as he got in, Lin Shen couldn’t help but turn and complain:
“Why so slow?”
“You’re the one who sent me away on purpose.”
Lin Wangye held the half-eaten bowl and handed over the other.
“I thought it might be awkward to eat in front of you, so I had some in the shop first. I’m not gonna drop it—no need to rush Brother Lu out to find me.”
Lin Shen took the bag and was completely speechless.
“What could possibly be awkward in front of a kid? You think we were doing… something?”
Lin Wangye blinked innocently. “I thought you two were talking about some secret stuff and didn’t want me to spill it, so you didn’t tell me.”
As soon as he said that, Lin Shen instantly realized he’d just admitted to something without meaning to—he’d been caught cross-channel chatting.
Luckily, Lin Wangye didn’t catch on.
Lin Shen glanced at Lu Chengxuan, and the moment their eyes met, he quickly looked away, feeling guilty. While opening his ice-powder bowl, he forced a grin and said, “You’re overthinking. I was just hungry.”
“Yeah, then eat up.” Lin Wangye nodded and turned to Lu Chengxuan. “Brother Lu, can you drop me off at Grandpa and Grandma’s later?”
“Mm,” Lu Chengxuan replied.
“You’re not coming back to my place?” Lin Shen asked.
“I said I’d take Suihe out today. Haven’t had the chance in the past few days.” Lin Wangye swallowed a small bite of ice powder and said, “Kids don’t understand how busy adults are. They just feel like you don’t keep your word. I’ll take her out tomorrow so she doesn’t have to wait around.”
Lin Shen nodded and couldn’t help sighing.
“And these past days… I even delayed your flight. You and Xu Suinian haven’t seen each other in over two years. I’ll book you a new ticket for the soonest flight back.”
To ease Lin Shen’s worry, Lin Wangye smiled. “It’s fine. No one expected this to happen so suddenly. Don’t stress over it. I’ve already told him I’m staying in the country to help you out. Whenever things settle down, I can go anytime. A plane ticket isn’t a big deal—he’s been crazy busy lately anyway.”
“Okay.”
After they finished eating, Lu Chengxuan drove Lin Wangye to the grandparents’ place.
By the time they reached the Lin residence, it was nearly one in the morning.
Lin Shen turned his head, staring through the car window at the familiar yet strange mansion. Except for the living room, all the lights were dimmed. He sat in the car for a long while before unbuckling his seatbelt.
“Thanks. You should get home too.”
He said it, reached for the door, hesitated for half a second while closing the car door, then, as if nothing had happened, turned and walked to the front door. He opened it with the fingerprint lock and went inside.
Lin Pengcheng had always loved to show off. After making his fortune, he had moved several times; this was the largest and most luxurious villa, worth a fortune. After his death, Lin Shen dismissed most of the showy housekeepers, leaving only two to handle daily cleaning.
The housekeepers knew something serious had happened. They didn’t wander around for no reason and wouldn’t appear without being needed.
Even with most of the public-area lights left on, the huge mansion still felt empty.
Since his father’s passing, Lin Shen had been in a dazed state. His mind was clear about what he should do, but he felt like he’d been drugged—his perception of everything around him was dulled.
Maybe the image of his father had already collapsed long ago, because Lin Shen didn’t feel that overwhelming, crushing grief you see in movies.
What he felt more was… a sense of strangeness.
It wasn’t until after the funeral that his senses slowly began to come back.
For the past few days, wherever he went, Lin Wangye had been tagging along like a little shadow, so he hadn’t felt much else. But now, sitting here alone in a place more familiar than anywhere else, Lin Shen finally felt the heavy, suffocating weight pressing on his heart.
Not long ago, he’d stood here, arguing with his father, the two of them at each other’s throats.
Most of their time in this house had been spent fighting.
The same sofa and coffee table were still there.
But so many things could never go back.
Lin Shen still didn’t feel much sorrow—what he felt instead was a deep, hollow sense of loss.
He sat alone on the sofa. He’d planned to think about what path to take next, but instead he just sat there, silent and staring, time slipping by without him noticing.
Until the doorbell broke the silence. Lin Shen jerked out of his thoughts. Without waiting for the housekeeper to come out, he stood up to open the door. His hand was already on the knob when he realized—no one should be visiting at this hour.
Worried it might be relatives coming to stir up trouble, Lin Shen switched on the entryway camera. On the screen, Lu Chengxuan was looking up at the lens.
The lock turned. Lin Shen opened the heavy security door.
“Why didn’t you leave?”
“Forgot something.”
When Lu Chengxuan said that, Lin Shen’s face showed a flicker of confusion. He instinctively reached into his pockets to check if he’d left something behind. But as soon as his hand moved, Lu Chengxuan grabbed his wrist and, in one motion, pulled him out of the doorway.
By the time the housekeeper, late to react to the doorbell, stepped out from the bedroom, all she saw was the wide-open door and a car speeding away.
*
Lin Shen: Who’s the ‘something’ you forgot? Explain. Who’s the ‘thing’?
Lu Chengxuan: I never said you were a ‘thing.’
Lin Shen: Who taught you to insult people so elegantly?
Lin Wangye: Do you adults find it that hard to just say some plain, straight-up love words like ‘I need you’ or ‘I love you’?
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
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