Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Shen Liuyun sat by the bed, his fingertips tracing Shen Muyun's cheek—cool and rough, raising goosebumps on Shen Muyun's skin.

He tried to pull away but found his hands tightly bound, leaving no room for movement.

"Mu Yun, don’t run. Aren't you comfortable here? All the family’s assets can be yours. I’ll publicly announce that you will inherit the Shen Group. We can live here together, undisturbed."

"You’re insane! You’re a madman, Shen Liuyun! What exactly are you trying to do?"

Shen Muyun struggled fiercely, even leaving bloodstains on his wrists.

Shen Liuyun gently stroked the wounds, lowering his head to kiss the injured spots. "Mu Yun, don’t struggle. You can’t escape from here. Besides, there’s no cell signal. No one can find you, not even Lu Huainan."

Shen Muyun froze for a moment, glancing at his phone on the bedside table. "Impossible! He will find me. Shen Liuyun, we’re brothers! How could you do this? Father is watching over us. How can you face him?"

Shen Liuyun rose abruptly from the bed. "Is that so? But publicly, everyone already knows I’m the adopted son of the Shen family. Our household registries are separate now. Doesn't that mean we can be together?"

"You’re crazy! You must be completely out of your mind! Brother, wake up! I’m Shen Muyun! We grew up together since we were in the orphanage. How could you…"

Shen Liuyun covered Shen Muyun’s mouth, glaring fiercely into his eyes. "Mu Yun, you still remember the orphanage? You were so young back then. I thought you’d forgotten."

"I have all the records. Shen Liuyun, wake up! We grew up together…"

"Lu Huainan also grew up with us. Why can you be with him, but not me?"

"We’ve been brothers for over twenty years. It’s not right."

"Father is gone. I’m your only family now. As your guardian, I have legal rights, don’t I?"

Shen Muyun was stunned. This version of Shen Liuyun felt utterly unfamiliar to him.

"Brother, what guardianship? I’m already an adult. Please wake up! There’s no future for us. Huainan must be looking for me already. You have to come to your senses."

"I’m perfectly clear-headed now, Shen Muyun. Stop struggling. I know ever since that incident when you fell into the water, you’ve seemed like a different person. But it doesn’t matter. No matter who you are, I’ll always love you."

Shen Muyun lay on the bed with his eyes closed, refusing to acknowledge the madman before him.

"Mu Yun, it’s been a while since you’ve eaten. I’ll cook for you, okay? When you were little, you always followed me around, saying, 'Brother’s cooking is the best. I wish I could eat it every day.' You’ll be able to eat it every day now."

Shen Muyun turned his face away, expressionless.

Shen Liuyun instructed his subordinates to guard the door and left alone. "Mu Yun, I’ll be back soon."

Shen Muyun glanced toward the door, his heart filled with unease.

Where exactly was this place? He looked around—the only small window was boarded up with wood, letting in no light. What should he do? How could he escape?

He glanced at the phone on the table. It didn’t even have a signal. Could Lu Huainan possibly find this place? He wasn’t sure at all.

——

"Keep searching! Weren’t they all at the funeral? How could he just disappear?"

Lu Huainan threw the investigation report on the ground. It was the third day since Shen Muyun had gone missing, and there were still no clues aside from the footage of him leaving with Shen Liuyun. Nothing else.

"Mr. Lu, we’ve checked all the surveillance near the funeral. There’s nothing unusual. The only possibility is that Young Master Shen left voluntarily, leaving no traces."

Lu Huainan recalled the details of the funeral, especially his interactions with Shen Liuyun. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He couldn’t find any reason for his disappearance.

"Keep looking."

Lu Huainan sat at his desk, staring at the unsent messages on his phone, his hands pressed against his forehead.

"Brother Yun, where are you?"

Shen Liuyun’s phone glowed blue—it was a call from Lu Huainan.

He answered immediately.

"Brother Liuyun, have you seen Brother Muyun? I haven’t been able to contact him for three days."

Shen Liuyun glanced at the soup simmering on the stove and added some vegetables.

"No, I haven’t. What’s wrong? Did you two have another argument? Huainan, I’ve told you before—Muyun has a peculiar temper. Maybe he went somewhere to cool off. He’ll be back in a few days."

"That’s impossible, Brother Liuyun. He’s never done this before. Even when he’s angry, he replies to my messages. Now I can’t reach him at all. His phone isn’t even in a service area. I’m really worried."

Shen Liuyun paused stirring the soup. "Huainan, don’t worry. He’s an adult. It’s normal for him to go somewhere. Besides, Father just passed away. He might just be upset and needed some time alone."

Lu Huainan felt like Shen Liuyun was hiding something, but he had no evidence.

"Brother Liuyun, if you hear from Brother Muyun, please call me immediately."

Shen Liuyun agreed. "Sure, no problem."

After hanging up, Shen Liuyun’s anger surged.

He carried the freshly made soup upstairs to look for Shen Muyun.

Shen Muyun sat blankly by the bedside, unable to see outside. His life was bound, and in three months, whether the task was completed or not, everything would end.

"Mu Yun, you haven’t eaten for two days. You need to eat something, or your body won’t be able to take it."

Shen Muyun looked up at Shen Liuyun. "What exactly do you want? I’m your brother. Everyone knows that."

"So what if you’re my brother? We share no blood. I promised Father I would take good care of you. Isn’t this one way of caring for you?"

Shen Muyun glared fiercely at Shen Liuyun. "Brother, Father said everything in the family belongs to you. I won’t fight for anything. But please, don’t do this."

Shen Liuyun set the soup bowl aside. "I know. You never fight for anything. You even pretend to be a useless fool. But the truth is—the projects in the north, those troublemakers, the repeated kidnappings, and yet you always come out safely. Mu Yun, do you think it was that easy?"

"What do you mean, Brother? Did you have something to do with those incidents?"

Shen Liuyun shook his head. "How could I? Mu Yun, I adore you. Why would I do such things? It was Zhou Shiqing. But he can’t do anything now. I’ve made arrangements for him in prison."

Shen Muyun struggled violently, trying to break free from the restraints, his wrists bleeding from the friction.

Watching him struggle, Shen Liuyun felt a strange sense of pleasure.

"Mu Yun, don’t do this. It excites me."

He picked up a spoon and blew on the chicken soup. "Mu Yun, the doctor said your body is weak. You need to nourish yourself. Be good and drink this, okay?"

Shen Muyun turned his head away, refusing to cooperate. Shen Liuyun grabbed his chin firmly.

"Be obedient. If you won’t cooperate, I have ways to make sure you never wake up again."

Shen Muyun shuddered in fear. "This is illegal, Brother! What about your future? Your overseas company? The image you’ve carefully built? Where did it all go? Wake up! This isn’t you. If you let me go, we can go back to how things were before. Please!"

Shen Liuyun shook his head, "It's impossible, Mu Yun. We can't go back to the way things were. When you kept going back to the orphanage, I knew everything would come to light soon. Tell me, do I still have a way back? Absolutely not."

Shen Muyun struggled fiercely, "Brother, we can. As long as I'm willing, we can still return to how we were before."

Shen Liuyun took a sip of the chicken soup and kissed Shen Muyun, biting his lip until it bled.

Shen Liuyun touched the wound on his lip, "Mu Yun, it hurts. When we were together as kids, even if I fell, you would follow me with concern, asking if I was okay. Why are you so cruel to me now?"

Shen Muyun glared fiercely into Shen Liuyun's eyes, "Brother, it's because you've changed. You weren't like this before. You used to be an industry elite, full of drive, the heir to the Shen family. Now you've become a rat in the gutter—afraid of the light."

Shen Liuyun gripped his chin, "So what? You know we're both crazy. Lu Huainan is too. You've seen it—he has his issues. Why can't you accept that I have mine too?"

"Brother, it's not the same. If you really had problems, I would stay by your side and take care of you. But our bond is that of brothers. With Huainan, it's different—we're lovers."

"Hahaha, in the end, you just can't let go of Lu Huainan. How many benefits has he given you? Or should I say, how many times have you been together? Could it be that you can't live without him now?"

Shen Muyun shook his head, "Our love isn't measured by physical intimacy. We connect on a soul level. Somehow, I always feel like I knew him in a past life. Brother, you will find your own happiness, but that person shouldn't be me."

"Mu Yun, you've said so much, but is any of it useful? I can't turn back now. Being with you—I'm not afraid. Everyone thinks you're the heir to the Shen family. I announced that you're in poor health and recuperating abroad. The other shareholders have no objections. The company is running smoothly now. You can be with me properly."