The Sickly Beauty is Too Good at Seducing - Chapter 26

Shen Congbai hung his head. The moment he saw Shen Que, his blood seemed to freeze in his veins. A bitter smile touched the corners of his mouth, and his fingertips dug deep into his palms until the color drained away, leaving them a deathly, pallid white.

In those few short moments, Shen Que walked up to him. He cast an indifferent glance at the two men by the boy’s side, his eyes flickering with a deep, hidden meaning when they landed on Jiang Yan.

Shen Que’s voice, laced with a hint of confusion, came from above: “Wuwu, why aren’t you speaking?”

Shen Que stroked the top of his head dotingly. “Brother has been too busy lately, which is why I didn’t go to Port A to pick you up. Are you angry because of that?”

Jiang Yan curled his lips maliciously, happy to fan the flames of chaos. “Why is Big Brother being so biased? There’s another brother standing right here, you know.”

Shen Congbai’s entire body stiffened. In the next instant, he was pulled behind Feng Yu. This movement successfully drew the gazes of the other two men.

Feng Yu’s fingertips were rough and warm; his grip on Shen Congbai’s wrist was thick and powerful, steadily transmitting heat through his skin.

Shen Congbai felt a slight stir in his heart as he heard Feng Yu speak: “He just got back. If you want to argue, go do it somewhere else. I’m taking him to rest first.”

Shen Que’s eyes darkened slightly. He looked at the small, fluffy top of a head peeking out from behind Feng Yu’s shoulder, and his expression softened somewhat. “Wuwu, do you want to go play with him, or do you want to come home with Brother?”

Shen Congbai’s heart skipped a beat. “I… I want to go with F—”

“Wuwu.” Shen Que interrupted him with a frown. “Jiang Yan has just returned to Kyoto. As his brothers, we must host him properly.”

He softened his tone. “Be good, and come home with Brother. Whatever misunderstandings there are, we can talk about them at home. Don’t let outsiders make a spectacle of us.”

Jiang Yan also restrained his temper. Standing slightly behind and to the side of Shen Que, he tilted his head up, his gaze entirely hidden beneath his lowered long lashes. He spoke lazily, “That’s right. This is my first time in Kyoto. Is Brother… really going to throw me away?”

Feng Yu’s brow furrowed. He bent down to look Shen Congbai in the eye, his gaze firmly locking onto the boy’s expression. “Don’t listen to them. If you don’t want to go back, come back to the Feng house with me…”

Shen Congbai looked past Feng Yu’s hunched shoulders at the two men standing straight in the distance. He gave Feng Yu a dry smile and slowly shook his head. “No need.”

He and the Shen brothers still had many things to resolve; simply running away would only cause the mistakes to snowball. Moreover… he truly wanted to find out exactly why Shen Que had done everything he did.

He gave Feng Yu a light hug and whispered, “Thank you. Let me have a good sleep, and once I wake up, I’ll treat you to dinner. I said I’d treat you when I returned to the country; I must make good on it this time.”

Feng Yu froze, letting out a helpless sigh. “Are you still choosing Shen Que?”

It was the same three years ago Shen Congbai had cast aside his hand and run toward Shen Que without hesitation. He hadn’t expected the choice to remain the same three years later.

Feng Yu watched Shen Congbai’s retreating back before turning to leave in the opposite direction with forced restraint.

He comforted himself: Shen Congbai has lived with Shen Que for so long; it’s only natural he’d find it hard to suddenly distance himself from his former family.

He thought: I’ll give Shen Congbai a little more time. If he still can’t bear to leave the Shen family by then, I’ll take matters into my own hands and help him escape that home that’s been keeping us apart, piece by piece.

After parting with Feng Yu, Shen Congbai remained silent. Shen Que sat beside him, watching him for a long time before suddenly speaking: “What’s wrong with Wuwu? Why is it that after a trip to Port A, you don’t even want to talk to Brother anymore?”

Shen Congbai pursed his lips. Finally, he shifted his gaze from the scenery outside the window to Shen Que. He asked, “Where is Jiang Yan? Where did you send him?”

Shen Que replied nonchalantly, “Jiang Yan fled from Port A; naturally, he should go back to where he came from.”

Shen Congbai’s eyes widened instantly. He looked at the man in disbelief. “You! How can you send him back!”

“Do you have any idea how chaotic Port A is? He is your biological brother.” Having said that, he tried to prop himself up to tell the driver to stop, but he was caught around the waist by Shen Que’s hand.

Shen Congbai kicked his feet helplessly, only to have both legs clamped firmly under the man’s arms. Shen Que inhaled the clean fragrance from the boy’s face, his eyes dark and his voice husky. “Tell Brother is Wuwu throwing a tantrum?”

Shen Congbai accidentally met his gaze, and his struggle faltered. A soft gasp escaped his lips. “I’m not— mmf!”

Shen Que suddenly lowered his head and pressed his lips against the boy’s. Shen Congbai didn’t react in time and ended up taking the kiss full-on.

The mind that had been intent on interrogation was turned into a complete muddle by this sudden kiss. He looked at Shen Que blankly as he was held in the man’s arms like a small child.

Shen Que rested his chin on the boy’s head and let out a sigh. “It’s Brother’s fault. I shouldn’t have let Wuwu go out. We haven’t seen each other for just a few days, and already Wuwu has been incited by outsiders to ignore Brother.”

“I was lying to you just now. Jiang Yan is in the car behind us. Brother just wanted to be alone with you for a while. Is that okay?”

Shen Congbai’s fingers, pressed between their chests, twitched. A trace of emotion flashed in his eyes as he tried to explain, “I…”

Shen Que’s breathing suddenly grew steady. His warm breath spilled over the top of Shen Congbai’s head, bringing a very subtle sense of heart-fluttering.

Curiously, Shen Congbai looked up. Shen Que had heavy dark circles under his eyes; he had actually fallen asleep just like that.

He carefully scanned Shen Que’s face, instinctively softening his own breathing. Shen Que looked exhausted, and his complexion was poor. Even in sleep, his brow was furrowed into a small “frown.”

The awkwardness in Shen Congbai’s heart suddenly dissipated by half as he silently traced the expression on Shen Que’s face. Shen Que really does seem… very busy.

What is he busy with? Is Feng Yu causing him trouble again, or are the Shen family affairs so numerous that he’s tired enough to fall asleep in the car for just this short while?

Shen Congbai leaned into his embrace, and Shen Que instinctively pulled him tighter. Shen Congbai puffed out his cheeks and lowered his eyes in thought. Fine. Seeing as Shen Que is so busy, I won’t hold the fact that he didn’t call me against him.

He would reluctantly give Shen Que one more chance. If the man couldn’t provide a good reason later, it wouldn’t be too late to settle the score then.

The two remained in that position until they reached home. Shen Congbai woke Shen Que, and as they stepped out of the car, the vehicle carrying Jiang Yan pulled up immediately behind them.

Jiang Yan, his face full of gloom, snatched his coat from the driver. His expression only slightly improved upon seeing Shen Congbai. He walked to the boy’s side and unceremoniously took hold of his other hand.

He spoke with ill intent, “Where did Big Brother go to play last night? Why do you look so terrible?”

Shen Que glanced at him. “I would have liked to, but there were so many of your messes to clean up that I didn’t even have time to eat.”

Shen Congbai asked curiously, “What messes?”

“After Jiang Yan left Port A, the position of the Shen family’s representative there was left vacant. Brother had to find someone to replace him overnight; otherwise, I would have been able to go to Port A personally today to pick Wuwu up.”

Shen Congbai pursed his lips slightly. “I’m sorry. I’m the one who brought him out.”

He had caused trouble for Shen Que again. He had even believed Jiang Yan’s one-sided story and thought Shen Que was a hypocrite.

Shen Que smiled. “It’s fine. Just… next time Wuwu wants to do something, talk to Brother first. We are the closest people in the world; you can’t just get angry with Brother without a word. Okay?”

“Mm.”

Seeing Shen Que coax Shen Congbai back with just a few words, Jiang Yan let out a silent sneer. On the surface, however, he wore a look of confusion. “Big Brother, don’t blame Wuwu. It’s my fault. I thought Big Brother already knew what we were going to do, so I didn’t remind Wuwu to tell you.”

Shen Que looked at him with perfect composure, raising an eyebrow. “What nonsense are you talking about? How could I know what you two were planning?”

Jiang Yan gave a low laugh and pulled the anklet Shen Que had given Shen Congbai from his pocket. He pinched the bell decoration with his fingertips, revealing a tiny object hidden beneath. Jiang Yan acted as if he didn’t understand: “Is this monitor not something Big Brother gave to Wuwu?”

He turned toward Shen Congbai, whose face had turned deathly pale, and said guiltily, “I’m sorry, Brother. I thought Big Brother gave it to you. Was it really something you bought yourself?”

With trembling fingers, Shen Congbai took the weightless anklet. He squeezed the small decoration and took a look; indeed, a very tiny object was visible through the opening of the bell.

The item in his hand felt like it weighed ten thousand tons, crushing him until he could barely breathe. Jiang Yan moved closer at the perfect moment, his arm firmly supporting Shen Congbai’s back as he shot a provocative look at Shen Que.

Shen Congbai suddenly hurled the anklet at Shen Que, breaking down into tears. “Shen Que, you’re disgusting!”

The anklet slid slowly down Shen Que’s chest and fell lightly into his palm.

There wasn’t a trace of panic on Shen Que’s face. Instead, he looked at Jiang Yan with total calm. “I bought the chain. But the object inside… was not placed there by me.”

He stepped forward and placed the anklet back into Shen Congbai’s hand, saying softly, “Wuwu, you know exactly what kind of person Jiang Yan is. This chain was in his hands for so long; who knows if he intentionally added that to slander me and drive a wedge between us?”

Shen Congbai slapped his hand away. His tears almost entirely obscured his vision, and his already fragile body was swaying.

He summoned every ounce of strength to demand, “At that banquet… did you intentionally let me overhear that conversation?”

Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence? The door just happened to open with a push, I just happened to hear Jiang Yan was in Port A, and I just happened to find out how much Shen Que had sacrificed for me.

Shen Que stared at him heavily, his expression unchanging. He spoke slowly: “No.”

Shen Congbai’s face was covered in tear tracks, and his chin looked terrifyingly sharp. He looked at Shen Que coldly. “Then swear it. Say: ‘If Shen Que is deceiving Shen Congbai, then let Shen Congbai be plagued by illness for a lifetime and die a horrible death.'”

Shen Que gazed at him silently. The atmosphere between them had never been so heavy. Shen Congbai waited for a long time before he heard Shen Que speak with suppressed emotion:

“Wuwu, don’t push me.”