The Sickly Beauty is Too Good at Seducing - Chapter 31

The crowd had varying thoughts, but Shen Congbai truly couldn’t stand the atmosphere. Since the manager was indeed implicated because of him, he planned to resolve the matter quickly. He was the first to speak: “I’m sorry. I disturbed the guests’ enjoyment just now. I… I apologize to everyone first!”

Shen Congbai’s cheeks burned a fiery red, and his lips were pressed into a thin line. He rarely appeared in public, let alone having to trample on his pride to apologize in front of so many onlookers.

For a moment, no one responded. The manager hurriedly grabbed an empty wine glass, filled it with red wine, and handed it to Shen Congbai. “Xiao Shen, words aren’t enough. Hurry and drink a few glasses to show your sincerity.”

Shen Congbai hung his head in silence. The floor in his vision grew increasingly blurred as a heavy tear escaped his lashes, falling to the ground and vanishing.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the glass, the man sitting in the center stood up abruptly. Under the ceiling lights, Shen Que’s eyes were hidden in the shadows of his brow; only his grimly set lips were visible. His expression was inscrutable, radiating an aura like a brewing storm.

A voice with absolutely no emotional fluctuation reached Shen Congbai’s ears: “He cannot drink. For my sake, please waive the requirement for this glass.”

Since he had asked for a favor, the others naturally didn’t dare to cross him. Someone quickly replied, “Haha, it’s a small matter! Since CEO Shen has spoken, we’ll let it pass.”

The manager smiled along, but his peripheral vision remained on Shen Congbai. He was trembling inside—the head of the Shen family was known for being indifferent to carnal desires and had never been heard to keep a “pet.” Why would he intervene for Shen Congbai?

Shen Congbai didn’t care what the people around him thought. He clenched his fists tight. Reason told him not to show weakness in front of Shen Que, but appearing before him in this uniform was inexplicably humiliating. Tears fell like broken pearls, dropping uncontrollably.

In the next instant, a coat still warm from its owner’s body was draped over his shoulders. A heavy scent of sandalwood like a reckless venomous snake invaded Shen Congbai’s nose before he could even struggle.

As he instinctively tried to pull it off, a lean arm wrapped around his shoulders like an iron chain, firmly gripping his arm.

He struggled, whispering, “Don’t touch me!”

Why act like a refined hypocrite now? Only coming to the rescue after I’ve been laughed at—you just love doing surface-level favors!

His words terrified the manager, but looking around at the others, they seemed quite unphased. The manager wiped cold sweat from his forehead. Who on earth is this Shen Congbai, to dare speak to Shen Que like that?

To his surprise, Shen Que showed no signs of anger. Instead, he looked submissive. He leaned down slightly, as if helpless. “I’m just afraid you’ll catch a cold.”

His tone was as gentle as if he were facing a fragile piece of porcelain. Unfortunately, Shen Congbai was a “beauty” who didn’t appreciate the sentiment. His eyes turned red instantly. Yesterday he said he’d always be my brother and all that, but today he just watches me be made a fool of. He won’t even call me ‘Wuwu’—using ‘you’ and ‘me’… has he run out of patience for surface-level acting?

His voice carried a hint of a sob. “You’re so mean.”

“…”

Shen Congbai regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth; it sounded like he was acting spoiled. Fearing Shen Que would mock him for it, he turned and ran out of the box.

Shen Que straightened up, his gaze turning indifferent instantly. He gave a slight nod. “Excuse me.”

Leaving only those words, he followed and pushed open the door, leaving the guests staring at each other.

Shen Congbai had only made it halfway when a powerful force seized his waist. He was suddenly hoisted into the air. “Shen Que! You… mmf!”

He was unceremoniously placed onto a vanity in the restroom. The scene was far too familiar. He habitually pressed his legs together to stop Shen Que from squeezing in between them, unaware that against such an absolute strength gap, the gesture was meaningless.

Shen Que placed his hands on the boy’s thighs and exerted slight pressure. The soft flesh there immediately yielded to the shape of his fingers. Shen Congbai’s strength couldn’t stop the man’s movements; his legs were easily pried open. In the next instant, Shen Que’s hot body squeezed between his thighs. The heat made him instinctively try to close them again, only to find the action pressed their bodies even closer.

Shen Que leaned his chest down. Due to the height difference, only the hem of his coat near his wrists was visible from behind. The contrast of the black coat and his vein-mapped arms provided a strong visual impact. Just then, a few slender, pale fingers gripped that arm, looking exceptionally intimate.

Shen Congbai glared at him with tear-filled eyes that lacked any intimidation. He couldn’t help but complain internally: Why is Shen Que just like Feng Yu? They both love to hoist people onto sinks and trap them like this.

Seeing the tears still clinging to the boy’s puffed-out cheeks, Shen Que laughed softly. “Wuwu is so stupid.”

Shen Congbai’s fur stood on end. His toes kicked helplessly in the air. “You’re the stupid one! Get off me right now!”

“Why are you just like Feng Yu? You both love pinning people down like this! It’s disgusting!”

The expression on Shen Que’s face cooled. He gripped the boy’s chin, pinching the soft flesh of his cheeks toward the center. Looking at the “duck-faced” Shen Congbai he had created, his mood improved slightly, but his tone remained cold: “Don’t compare me to someone like Feng Yu. If he were truly that good, how could he let you come to a place like this to work alone?”

He was a head taller than Shen Congbai. As he looked down, his face still cold from the boy’s previous words resembled a statue devoid of emotion. He reached a finger toward Shen Congbai’s red, swollen eye. “A pity Wuwu is too stupid; always being tricked away by bad men.”

Shen Congbai turned his head away from the finger, his misty eyes filled with obstinacy. “If I weren’t stupid, how could I have been tricked by a hypocrite like you for so long?”

Shen Que’s gaze froze. Before he could speak, Shen Congbai added, “You’re bad yourself, so you think Feng Yu is bad too. Feng Yu doesn’t even know I came out. I wanted to support myself, so I snuck out while he was away.”

To his surprise, Shen Que let out a mocking smirk. “That’s because he is incompetent; only then would you have such an idea.”

He had raised Shen Congbai for over twenty years without the boy ever having such a ridiculous “self-reliant” thought. Feng Yu had only had him for two days, and already he was wearing that outfit and suffering grievances.

Thinking of this, Shen Que couldn’t help but grab Shen Congbai’s wrist. It felt thinner again. He frowned. “Come home with me today. You’ve had your fun out for a night—”

Slap!

A handprint appeared instantly on Shen Que’s face. Shen Congbai’s tears started falling again as he looked at the man with a gaze that felt like a stranger’s. “Why do you always think I’m ‘playing’!”

He grabbed two locks of hair near Shen Que’s temples and pulled down, pounding on the man’s head as if to vent his rage. “I don’t want you! I hate you! I just don’t want to be your brother, I don’t want to be lied to, I don’t want to be used! I’m this sad and you still think I’m just having a tantrum!”

Shen Que’s hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. Only when Shen Congbai had mostly run out of steam did he helplessly catch the boy’s hands. “I just don’t want you to be tricked by someone like Feng Yu. He doesn’t know how to take care of you at all.”

Shen Congbai didn’t listen to a word. He delivered another slap to the other side of Shen Que’s face. Looking at the matching handprints and the messy hair locks of which were now falling over the man’s forehead the “all-powerful” CEO look was completely gone.

Shen Congbai felt a twinge of regret after the hit. His fingers curled, and he instinctively swallowed. “You… you’re the one who made me angry first.”

His eyes reddened again. “When Grandfather scolded me, you didn’t let me go home. When so many people mocked me to my face, you didn’t let me go home. Now that I’ve said I’m cutting ties with the Shen family, you want me back? Do you just want to laugh at me?”

Shen Que’s Adam’s apple rolled dryly. He explained, “Both Jiang Yan and you are my brothers. If I had openly favored you then, the side branches who aren’t happy with me running the family would have used it to stir up trouble. Even if you stayed, it would have been harder for you to find your footing.”

What Shen Que didn’t say was that he had a selfish motive: if Shen Congbai left the Shen family, he could legitimately be with him, just like Feng Yu. He wouldn’t have to hide behind the hypocritical title of “brother” to commit “indecent” acts.

Shen Congbai remained silent. Shen Que continued to entice him: “If Wuwu really wants to work, you can come to Brother’s company. You won’t have to work this hard selling dishes.”

The discomfort of the tight trousers and jacket seemed to intensify. Shen Congbai shifted his body, only to be held firmly by Shen Que’s arm. Veins popped on Shen Que’s forehead as he struggled with his emotions. “Wuwu, don’t move.”

His face was somewhat distorted by the effort of restraint. Shen Congbai, who couldn’t stand his cold face, let out a snort. “I want nothing more to do with the Shen family. I can’t afford CEO Shen’s ‘kindness’!”

Shen Que didn’t understand why he was angry again. He followed the opening: “Not Shen’s then. A company belonging to a friend of mine…”

Shen Congbai turned his head away. “No need. I can find work myself.”

He shoved Shen Que away. Caught off guard, the man actually took a step back. Shen Congbai took the opportunity to jump down. His expression was cold, but his eyelids were still swollen, and his voice carried the remnants of a sob. “I’m going back. Don’t go looking for trouble with Feng Yu. I’m just staying with him for a few days; I’ll be leaving Kyoto soon.”

Shen Que frowned, almost asking “Where do you want to go?” but seeing the emotions in the boy’s eyes that he didn’t dare think too deeply about, he conceded. “Then… let Brother drive you back, okay?”

Shen Congbai bit his lip. After a long while, he relented. “Fine.”

I won’t be in Kyoto much longer anyway. I might as well let myself be deceived for a little while longer.

Shen Que led him out by the wrist. Shen Congbai followed behind, his entire frame enveloped in the man’s large coat like a child wearing adult clothes. He couldn’t help but look at the man’s back, feeling an unhelpful urge to cry again. Once he got to Jiang City, he wouldn’t even have this kind of “hypocritical” care.

The swelling in his eyelids didn’t go down; it got worse. By the time Shen Que opened the passenger door for him, his eyes were brimming with tears, locked in by his stubbornness. He looked piteously watery.

Shen Que couldn’t help but sigh. He leaned into the car and gently touched the boy’s eye. The tears Shen Congbai had been holding back finally fell, only to be caught and licked away by Shen Que’s tongue.

Shen Que whispered, “Come home with Brother, okay?”

Just as Shen Congbai was about to shake his head, Shen Que was violently yanked out of the car. Caught off guard, he took a punch to the face and fell unceremoniously to the ground.

Seeing the newcomer, a trace of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and offered a provocative smile. “Seeing this makes you this angry? Wuwu, it seems your precious little boyfriend doesn’t have much of a stomach for these things.”

Shen Congbai’s heart skipped a beat. Following Shen Que’s gaze, he saw Feng Yu standing not far away. His eyes were bloodshot and he was panting heavily who knew how long he had been watching.