Chapter 14 Younger Brother?

Chapter 14: Brother?

Shen Qingci arrived at room 8201 and swiped the key card to open the door.

The room was spacious, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a view of Helsinki's streets.

He placed his suitcase in the corner and sat down at the desk to start handling his work emails.

Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened.

Night fell early in Helsinki; by 5 PM, the sky was already tinged with deep blue.

Having dealt with the last email, Shen Qingci closed his laptop and walked over to the window.

Streetlights came on one by one, and the city's silhouette gradually sharpened in the twilight.

His stomach, which had gone without food all day, began to protest.

Leaning on his cane, he draped his suit jacket over his shoulders, wondering.

Does Lu Lin know Finnish?

Can he order food by himself?

He remembered the last time he took Lu Lin abroad—the boy couldn't even read an English menu, clinging to his sleeve the entire time, following him everywhere.

Now...

Shen Qingci walked to the door and pulled it open.

Lu Lin was standing in the hallway. Hearing the door open, he abruptly looked up.

"Brother..." he blurted out instinctively.

Shen Qingci looked at him, remained silent for a couple of seconds, then asked:

"Have you eaten?"

Seeing Lu Lin shake his head, Shen Qingci's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He looked at the man standing before him, half a head taller than himself. He resembled a small animal waiting to be fed, gazing at him with expectant eyes.

Shen Qingci said nothing more. He simply tapped his cane lightly on the floor with a soft "tap," then turned and walked toward the elevator.

After a few steps, he noticed Lu Lin was still rooted to the spot.

"Are you coming or not?" Shen Qingci glanced back, his tone as flat as if he were calling an unruly pet.

Lu Lin's eyes instantly lit up. He hurried to catch up, his steps quick and eager, yet carefully maintaining a half-step distance behind Shen Qingci.

The two entered the elevator.

Lu Lin pressed the button for the first-floor restaurant. Shen Qingci saw it but said nothing. As the elevator descended, he casually asked, "Do you know English?"

"A little," Lu Lin replied.

"How much?"

Lu Lin paused, his voice lowering slightly. "What you taught me before."

Shen Qingci's expression stiffened for a rare moment.

The elevator arrived at the first floor with a soft "ding," and the doors slid open.

Shen Qingci pressed his lips together tightly and brought his cane down sharply on the floor.

*Thump.*

The dull sound was especially clear in the quiet elevator car.

Lu Lin's body tensed, thinking Shen Qingci was about to call him stupid.

But when Shen Qingci spoke, what he said was:

"Is the Lu family so busy they can't even properly educate one child?"

His tone was icy, laced with undisguised contempt.

"One would think the Lu family were the world's richest. A bunch of useless fools who only know how to fight among themselves. Utterly idiotic."

Lu Lin was stunned.

This tone... was exactly the same as eighteen years ago.

Eighteen years ago, when Shen Qingci had just found Lu Lin and learned he was a child of the Lu family, he had evaluated the Lu family with the same contemptuous tone.

Back then, Lu Lin thought Shen Qingci would send him back to avoid trouble.

But Shen Qingci had merely sneered, "The Lu family? A bunch of fools whose brains are smaller than walnuts. Can't even manage to kill an eight-year-old child."

Then Shen Qingci raised him for eight years, and the Lu family never managed to find him.

It wasn't until Shen Qingci passed away that the Lu family took him back.

With a cold expression, Shen Qingci led Lu Lin into the restaurant and found a table by the window.

A waiter handed them menus. Shen Qingci skillfully ordered several dishes in English, then turned to Lu Lin. "What do you want to eat?"

Lu Lin looked at the all-English menu and pressed his lips together. "The same as brother."

Shen Qingci glanced at him but said nothing.

During the meal, Lu Lin watched Shen Qingci—watching him elegantly arrange his napkin, watching his slender fingers lightly trace the rim of his glass, watching the shadow cast by his eyelashes when he slightly lowered his eyes.

He watched for a long time, until Shen Qingci lifted his gaze and met his eyes.

"If you're not eating, then go back to your room."

The voice was faint, but Lu Lin detected the impatience within it.

He hurriedly lowered his head and picked up his knife and fork to start eating.

Shen Qingci watched him for a few seconds, confirming he had begun to eat properly, before shifting his gaze away.

After the meal, Shen Qingci went straight back to his room.

Lu Lin followed him to the door, watching as it closed in front of him. He then leaned against the hallway wall, waiting silently.

Three hours later, after finishing his emails, Shen Qingci prepared to go downstairs to retrieve the items Lin Wei had pre-stored for him.

He opened the door and saw Lu Lin still standing there.

Shen Qingci’s brows knitted together.

He rested his hands on his cane and lifted his gaze to Lu Lin. “Lu Lin, you’re twenty-six.”

Shen Qingci’s voice was calm, his words laced with detachment.

“You’re no longer that child who always followed behind me. What exactly do you want?”

This question truly perplexed Shen Qingci.

He believed Lu Lin should live his own life, not keep disturbing each other.

Because the Shen family had always upheld this parenting philosophy.

From birth, Shen Qingci had been taught this.

Give you the best resources, raise you until adulthood, give you a lump sum, and then you’re on your own.

So after taking in Lu Lin, he had planned to raise him until he was eighteen and then send him on his way.

It was just that the plan was interrupted by a car accident ten years ago.

So he hadn’t been able to see Lu Lin through to eighteen.

Was it due to those two missing years?

Shen Qingci was uncharacteristically at a loss.

Was that why Lu Lin was so attached, why he followed him like an overgrown child, why at twenty-six he still called him “brother” and expected him to handle everything?

Then… should he make amends?

As soon as this thought surfaced, Shen Qingci thought it ridiculous.

Lu Lin was already twenty-six, just a year his junior.

They were contemporaries now, not guardian and ward.

“Brother…” Lu Lin pursed his lips, said only that before going quiet.

Shen Qingci ignored him after that.

He had his own affairs to deal with.

Over the next week, Shen Qingci immersed himself completely in preparing for the new company.

Lu Lin followed behind him like a shadow.

He didn’t speak or interfere, just followed.

When Shen Qingci went to meetings, he would wait outside the conference room; when Shen Qingci met with clients, he would wait in the café; when Shen Qingci returned to the hotel, he would wait in the hallway.

Until one afternoon, during an important business negotiation.

The negotiation lasted two hours and finally resulted in a preliminary agreement.

Shen Qingci stood up and shook hands with Hill.

“A pleasure doing business, Mr. Shen,” Hill said with a smile.

“Likewise,” Shen Qingci replied.

Just as the handshake ended, Hill’s fingers grazed the back of Shen Qingci’s hand.

The gesture was subtle, quick, as if by accident.

But Shen Qingci felt it.

Without expression, he pulled his hand back, pulled a white handkerchief from his suit pocket, and gently wiped the spot that had been touched.

The gesture was elegant yet dripping with disdain.

“President Hill,” Shen Qingci began, his voice icy, “I hope we can have a pleasant working relationship.”

The edge in his tone caused Hill’s smile to freeze for a moment before quickly returning to normal. “Of course, Mr. Shen. I apologize.”

He hesitated, his eyes drifting to Lu Lin standing not far away. “And this is? He’s been by your side all along.”

Shen Qingci stated blandly, “My brother.”

Three words, spoken as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Then, without so much as a glance back at Hill, he took his cane and turned to go. “Farewell.”

Lu Lin followed behind him, but as he passed Hill, his pace faltered slightly.

His gaze landed on Hill’s right hand.

His look was frighteningly intense, as if he were imagining chopping it off.

Hill rubbed the fingers that had brushed Shen Qingci, his lips quirking into a faint smirk, but when his eyes accidentally met Lu Lin’s, he felt a chill down his spine, and his smirk gradually disappeared.

After Shen Qingci and Lu Lin left the conference room, Hill had the strange feeling he’d had a close call. “Just… a brother?”