Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Shen Yue's words could no longer be passed off as a "joke."

In the brightly lit living room, Shen Yue made no attempt to hide his malice. Wei Jinchuan stared in shock, lips slightly parted, unable to speak. He stared, unblinking, at those captivating, expressive eyes, beginning to doubt his own hearing. How else could he have heard such a cruel, vicious, and morally reprehensible statement?

Yet Shen Yue’s tone was sincere and earnest—teasing, provocative, as if he truly meant it. Wei Jinchuan struggled to find words. He couldn’t believe such words had actually come from Shen Yue’s mouth, nor could he accept that Shen Yue genuinely thought this way. After a long pause, he finally managed to ask, "How did you become like this?"

"What did you think I was like?" Shen Yue replied indifferently, bending down to catch Zhao Lian, who was about to slide off the sofa. "How long have you even known me? What makes you think you understand me so well?"

Wei Jinchuan fell silent. From a certain perspective, Shen Yue was right. They hadn’t known each other for long, and for most of that time, Shen Yue had been the one pursuing him while he responded with cold indifference. His understanding of Shen Yue was far less than he had assumed. What right did he have to define who Shen Yue was or question how he had changed?

Seeing his distress, Shen Yue pressed his advantage, smiling faintly. "You see, you say you like me, but you don’t really know me. You don’t know what I’m like or what I like. Do you really like me, Wei Jinchuan? What you like is merely a fictional construct—a figment of your imagination that fits your ideal of a partner."

Wei Jinchuan shook his head, his eyes momentarily dazed. "...That’s not true."

"It is," Shen Yue cut him off without giving him a chance to react. "I’m the same. I don’t really know you either, yet I convinced myself that you met my standards. I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble because of that. But since we’ve laid it all out now, let’s cut our losses while we still can."

"Who said we’ve laid it all out? Who said anything about cutting losses?" Wei Jinchuan suddenly grew agitated. He could brush off Shen Yue’s other remarks, but the moment Shen Yue suggested severing their connection, he exploded. "Are you trying to say you never really liked me? That everything before was a mistake? Then why did you approach me in the first place?"

He had already accepted reality—he had never expected anything from the start. He knew he and Shen Yue belonged to different worlds. He had never dared to covet what wasn’t his. All he wanted was to follow a predictable path: graduate from university, work at his family’s company, perhaps eventually agree to an arranged marriage or follow some other plan. He wouldn’t go out of his way to pay attention to Shen Yue anymore, but since they were both in Haicheng, they were bound to cross paths again. When that happened, he would calmly greet Shen Yue. Maybe by then, he would have achieved enough in the business world to stand on equal footing with Shen Yue. They could sit together like friends and chat. Or perhaps by then, he would no longer have feelings for Shen Yue, and they could chat amiably, with Shen Yue treating him with the same polite detachment as any other business partner. There might even be others present, but what did that matter? No one would ever know how fiercely his heart had once beat for Shen Yue, or how throughout his youth, he had taken advantage of the collaboration between the Wei and Shen families to ask his elder brother about Shen Yue.

He had never been greedy. So why had Shen Yue been the one to approach him, to tempt him, to make him sink into desire, only to discard him so easily now?

Wei Jinchuan wanted to demand answers, to seek justice for himself. But Shen Yue’s eyes were so cold, his face was a mask, as if Wei Jinchuan were no different from any stranger. Even when he smiled, it didn’t reach his eyes, leaving one feeling chilled rather than warmed.

"I’m sorry," Shen Yue said with apparent sincerity, though his tone held more mockery than remorse. "I was shallow back then. What I liked was your face."

—He liked his face.

Shen Yue said it so lightly, without any reluctance or sadness—only the annoyance of having mistaken his own feelings. It was as if everything that had happened between him and Wei Jinchuan was truly insignificant—he had simply been mistaken, and it wasn’t a big deal. If you make a mistake, you correct it. As long as you don’t persist in the error, what you’re doing is right.

As for Wei Jinchuan? The sunk costs? Shen Yue didn’t care about any of it—or at least, that was the impression he gave.

Watching Shen Yue’s calm detachment, Wei Jinchuan felt a heart-wrenching pain. He couldn’t "cut his losses" as effortlessly as Shen Yue, and he couldn’t comprehend such ruthlessness. All he knew was that he was being abandoned—Shen Yue had sought him out only to cast him aside. How could he accept that?

On the sofa, Zhao Lian groaned uncomfortably. Shen Yue glanced down, adjusting his position gently, but his voice was colder and more resolute than ever. "Let’s leave it at that, Wei Jinchuan. We’re both adults. It’s already embarrassing enough to drag out this 'you don’t love me, I don’t love you' drama for so long. Let it end here. I’ll pretend you never came tonight."

He was immensely grateful he had listened to his friend’s advice back then. He was glad he hadn’t recklessly agreed to Shen Yue’s advances, which had now given him some room to maneuver.

"You can refuse to listen if you want," Shen Yue said, annoyed by his obstinate behavior. "As I said earlier, as long as you don’t interfere with me seeing other people, I can give you a chance. But Wei Jinchuan, can you really not mind?"

He didn’t believe it—no man could remain indifferent to being cuckolded.

As expected, Wei Jinchuan fell silent. Shen Yue smirked inwardly, thinking the matter settled, and was about to usher him out when he suddenly heard an emotional outburst: "You’re right, I don’t mind! Don’t think you can use this to shake me off!"

Wei Jinchuan gritted his teeth, his voice low and heavy. His eyes burned into Shen Yue as if trying to bore a hole through him. "As long as those men have what it takes to surpass me, as long as I never find out—and you’d better hide it from me for the rest of your life."

He smiled, baring his teeth in a ghastly smile. "Otherwise, you’ll regret it. They’ll regret it too. Shen Yue, go ahead and fool around. Do whatever you want with those men. I won’t do anything to you, but I promise—if you dare, and if I find out, you will regret it."

He stared at Shen Yue, his eyes revealing a sinister, ruthless side he had never shown before.

He had been too good to Shen Yue, too gentle. Wei Jinchuan knew that in others’ eyes, he was the "model child"—obedient, sensible, harmless compared to his elder brother. But Wei Jinchuan knew himself: he was no saint. The Wei family did not allow others to take what was theirs. He had never revealed that side of himself because no one had ever truly crossed him. But if Shen Yue dared... Wei Jinchuan would make sure he understood what kind of person he really was. He would show him how the Wei family had maintained their standing in Haicheng for a century.

Wei Jinchuan said darkly, "If it makes you happy, then go find others. Just make sure I never find out... You’d better pray you can keep it from me."

"..." This was completely unexpected. Shen Yue was so taken aback that his malicious smile froze on his face. His pupils dilated slightly, and he wondered if he was the one with the problem. "What did you say?"

He felt he must be drunk, or perhaps sleep-deprived and not thinking clearly. Otherwise, how could he have heard Wei Jinchuan say such a thing?

Wasn’t this essentially saying, "As long as I don’t find out, you’re free to cuckold me as much as you want"?

Shen Yue looked up in astonishment, his gaze filled with doubt and disbelief.

Wei Jinchuan pressed his lips together, a storm of emotions swirling in his eyes—pain, sorrow, ruthlessness, but most of all, a desperate resolve.

The longer the silence stretched, the more intense the atmosphere grew. For the first time, Shen Yue found Wei Jinchuan’s gaze too scorching to withstand. Just then, Zhao Lian stirred again, giving Shen Yue an excuse to look away. As he lowered his head, he heard Wei Jinchuan’s voice—pleading yet fiercely aggressive, with an intense sense of being watched: "What I mean is, Shen Yue, come to like me again."

.

Shen Yue thought Wei Jinchuan had probably lost his mind.

But considering how often and how intensely he had "lost it" before, such remarks almost seemed normal. Shen Yue had repeated the "back then... now..." refrain too many times and was tired of saying it again. He had made his point clear before; if Wei Jinchuan had listened even once, he wouldn’t be saying such things now.

The events of that night were too chaotic for Shen Yue to recall how it ended. He only remembered that Wei Jinchuan eventually took charge of caring for Zhao Lian, was busy all night, and ended up resting on his sofa.

Around that time, "Shishi Reading" replied to his message from days ago, agreeing to meet.

Shen Yue was surprised. This person had left him hanging for three to five days without any contact, only to suddenly remember him now. It felt strange no matter how he looked at it.

But strange as it was, they had gotten along well in their previous conversations, and Shen Yue subconsciously trusted the other party. Besides, these past few days, Wei Jinchuan had been getting carried away, constantly taking liberties with the "world’s will" to bother him—though his attitude had improved compared to before, that didn’t mean Shen Yue had to put up with the harassment.

Eager to escape Wei Jinchuan’s persistence, and with nothing urgent at work, Shen Yue didn’t even wait for the private investigator’s report. He booked a flight to Jiangcheng outright.

He was partly trying to avoid Wei Jinchuan, so he didn’t tell anyone about the trip. At work, he merely claimed he was taking a couple of days off due to illness. Yet, to his surprise, he ran into Wei Jinchuan on the plane.

Both seemed taken aback. Wei Jinchuan, in particular, looked initially expressionless but brightened upon seeing Shen Yue. Anticipating Shen Yue’s accusatory questions, he preemptively said, "This time, I really wasn’t following you!"

From the day Wei Jinchuan promised not to mind being cuckolded as long as he remained unaware, only a few days had passed. Yet the man before him had undergone a dramatic transformation. Though still inexperienced and somewhat green in handling affairs, he now carried a steadiness he lacked before. While not yet on par with his brother’s cunning, among Haicheng’s younger generation, he was already quite remarkable.

Shen Yue didn’t believe him, but he had to pretend otherwise. Wanting to shake him off, he found his seat and said, "Really? What a coincidence."

Wei Jinchuan knew he wasn’t convinced. After a pause, he explained, "It really is a coincidence. I didn’t know you were traveling today. I requested this leave days ago—Linda helped me with the paperwork."

He seemed sincere. Moreover, Shen Yue had booked his ticket hastily to avoid complications. If Wei Jinchuan had applied for leave days earlier, the timing indeed didn’t match.

Shen Yue sat down without another word.

To his surprise, Wei Jinchuan was seated right beside him. The series of coincidences heightened his suspicion. With nothing else to do, Shen Yue asked, "Why are you going to Jiangcheng?"

Wei Jinchuan replied, "My brother asked me to attend a meeting there for him."

Shen Yue raised an eyebrow. "Skipping work at my company to help your brother?"

"If I had real responsibilities at Shenghua, I wouldn’t be here."

That much was true. Although Shen Yue had brought him into the company, he had no intention of actually nurturing him. Linda, aware of his intentions, assigned Wei Jinchuan mostly trivial tasks. As for the other employees... most knew he had gotten in through connections and avoided causing trouble.

Shen Yue nodded in acknowledgment and closed his eyes to rest. But Wei Jinchuan seized the opportunity to talk. "My brother said if I’m just wasting time outside, I might as well go back and help at the family company."

"Not bad," Shen Yue said, unfazed. He asked a flight attendant for a blanket and draped it over himself. "Work hard. Maybe someday I’ll have to rely on you after you return to your family’s company."

Wei Jinchuan hadn’t expected him to actually want to drive him out of Shenghua. He clenched his fists.

Silence fell between them. Shen Yue, likely sleep-deprived from the previous night, closed his eyes under the blanket and prepared to rest.

Wei Jinchuan watched him for a while before deciding to rest as well. But the moment he closed his eyes, Shen Yue spoke again: "Did your brother say when he wants you back?"

"..." Wei Jinchuan knew Shen Yue wouldn’t ask him to stay, but he hadn’t expected him to be so eager to see him go. He turned to Shen Yue and, after a long pause, gave a sinister smile. "Don’t worry. I have no plans to go back and help my brother. I’d rather die at your company."