After Falling for the Handsome CEO - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Your Brother is Quite the Looker

“Why would I even think like that?” Shen Jin murmured to himself, feeling bewildered.

After all, there was no real connection between them. It was merely a 100,000-yuan transaction; once the business was concluded, they were supposed to go their separate ways.

Yet, images of the man passionately kissing him the night before kept flooding his mind—memories that made his heart race and his face burn with shame.

Shen Jin pulled the pillow Yan Yu had used into his arms, buried his face in it, and inhaled. He could still catch the faint, lingering scent of cologne. In a daze, he whispered, “His technique was so good…”

He didn’t actually know much about these things; he was just speaking from the heart.

Even though the man was gone, the scenes from last night and the man’s charming smile remained etched in his mind.

He felt a bit shameless. He had only slept with the man once, yet here he was, overthinking everything. It wasn’t like he was even gay.

When he picked up the check for 100,000 yuan, his fingers trembled slightly. He lowered his eyes and whispered to himself, “Lianlian, I got the surgery money…”

As for how he got it, Shen Jin doubted he would ever have the courage to tell her in this lifetime.

In her eyes, her brother was a gentle, introverted, and pure person. He didn’t want to ruin that image; he didn’t want to become the kind of person she would despise.

…Then again, wouldn’t Yan Yu despise someone like me too?

Someone who would cast aside his dignity to seduce a man just for money…

Shen Jin didn’t dare think any deeper. Tucking the check away, he fled the room—the site of their recent intimacy—as if escaping a crime scene. He didn’t dare linger for a second, fearing that the more he fantasized, the more miserable he would become.

He didn’t dare go to the hospital to see his sister just yet. Instead, he dragged his aching, trembling body back to his cramped, dilapidated apartment. He changed out of the expensive rented clothes and cooked himself a simple meal.

It was already noon, and the sun hung high in the sky.

There was no luxury like air conditioning in his run-down apartment; he even tried to use the electric fan sparingly to save on electricity. Scorched by the midday sun until he felt half-cooked, he finally gave up and took a cold shower.

As he looked at his own body—marked by the man’s rough play the night before—his face heated up inexplicably.

“Strange…” Shen Jin patted his cheeks. He couldn’t understand why he couldn’t stop thinking about the man after just one night.

After much thought, he reached a conclusion: “Is it because of guilt?”

He felt that must be it.

With that thought, he felt a bit lighter. He dried himself off and changed into a fresh, simple outfit. His pale face, now tinged with a healthy flush, looked much more energetic.

His sister, Shen Lian, was staying at the hospital. She had many dietary restrictions and needed extra nutrition, but the food near the hospital was far too expensive. Thus, Shen Jin did his best to brew nutritious porridges at home to bring to her.

He lived on the eastern edge of the city—a dilapidated, sparsely populated area known simply as “East End.” To the high-and-mighty wealthy elite, this place was nothing short of a slum. Only the poor and destitute stayed in such a godforsaken place.

“Lianlian… I’m fine, I just overslept. Yeah… I’m on my way, I’ll see you soon.” Shen Jin spoke into his phone with a smile to keep his sister from worrying. “Get some rest.”

His sister, Shen Lian, had grown up with him in the orphanage after they were abandoned as children. They didn’t know who their parents were. Having depended on each other for so many years, she was the most important person in his life.

She was eighteen this year and had gotten into a decent university. She was a hardworking, sensible girl, but now she was plagued by illness.

An elderly man cooling off under an old tree saw him passing by and waved. “Yo, Shen Jin! Off to see your sister?”

In the poverty-stricken East End, most people—aside from a few bad apples—were quite kind, simple, and easygoing. They got along well with Shen Jin.

“Yes. Good afternoon! Just cooling off, I see,” Shen Jin smiled back. He continued walking with a somewhat uncoordinated gait, moving cautiously for fear that someone might notice something was wrong.

“The shade of a big tree is the best place to be!” the old man cheered, fanning himself. He pushed up his glasses to squint at him. “By the way, Shen Jin, have you been working too hard? Not feeling well? Your walk looks a bit… off.”

“Ah,” Shen Jin’s smile froze. Startled, he quickly forced out a dry laugh. “No, nothing like that. Probably just lack of sleep… Anyway, I’ve got to go. Enjoy the shade!”

Feeling guilty and embarrassed, Shen Jin hurried away. Once he was out of sight, he stopped abruptly and leaned against a wall, sucking in a quiet breath of pain.

The ache was still very much there.

And in his mind, Yan Yu’s handsome face remained vividly clear.

The hospital was crowded. Shen Jin, his mind a mess of wandering thoughts, walked toward his sister’s ward. Before he could enter, he heard a furious scream: “Get out! Get out! Get out! Get as far away as you can!!”

Shen Jin froze, his heart sinking. He immediately recognized his sister’s voice. For a split second, he was so anxious he thought she was shouting at him.

Then, a male voice rang out: “Get out? Why should I get out? If you owe money, you pay it back! It’s only natural! Three thousand yuan—pay up now. Who the hell wants to stay here anyway!”

Shen Jin frowned, his expression turning grim. Shen Lian had never mentioned borrowing money from anyone, let alone three thousand yuan…

“Li Zhen, don’t push it! I will pay you back. You gave me a deadline, and it’s not now. Besides, it was originally one thousand yuan!” Shen Lian said through gritted teeth. “Don’t go overboard with your so-called interest!”

The youth named Li Zhen sneered. He scanned the girl on the hospital bed with a subtle gaze, his eyes lingering on her pale face. He let out a mocking laugh. “To be honest, Shen Lian, I didn’t lend you money because I’m a nice guy. I wanted you to sleep with me to cancel the debt, but you were too damn stupid to get it!”

“Now look at you—sickly and frail. Who the hell would want your body to pay off a debt now?” Li Zhen spat on the floor and looked at her with disdain. “You might not even live another few months. Who has the time to wait for you to pay it back?”

Shen Lian gritted her teeth. “I said I’ll pay it back, and I will!”

“Yeah, right. Like that’ll happen. With how poor you and your brother are, do you actually think you have the money for surgery?” Li Zhen waved his hand dismissively. “Be realistic. Just give up.”

Shen Lian knew she couldn’t reason with him. She could only respond with a cold laugh. “Don’t you worry about that. Even if I die, I’ll pay back your ten thousand yuan before I go. You don’t need to lose sleep over it!”

“Tsk, you’ve gone senile. You can’t even understand plain English.” Li Zhen clicked his tongue and leaned back lazily. He looked at the original IOU with its black ink and thumbprint, a meaningful smile spreading across his face.

“By the way, Shen Lian… your brother is quite the looker…”