Chapter 60 Kneel Down

Chapter 60: Kneel

The faintest flicker of emotion finally appeared on Shen Qingci’s usually calm and unruffled face.

He lifted his eyes, his fingers curling slightly against the tabletop, and looked at Wang Chengshun, his voice clear and cold:

“After he turned sixteen, he made it on his own.”

Wang Chengshun froze, then, as if he’d heard the funniest joke in the world, burst into even more frenzied laughter, rocking back and forth, even squeezing out a few tears.

“Hahaha... Made it on his own? Shen Qingci, are you really that clueless, or just faking it? The Lu family—what kind of place is that? They eat people alive and don’t even spit out the bones!”

“If it weren’t for your name, Shen Qingci, and the paths you quietly paved for Lu Lin when you were alive, plus that weird fear those old Lu family fossils have of the Shen family… he’d have been chewed up and spit out long ago!”

He stopped laughing, his face twisting with sick excitement and venom. He leaned in, like he was about to lunge across the table, his voice dropping to a whisper, but each word cutting through the air:

“And there’s one more thing, you know? Something that’ll make you sick to your stomach once you hear it.”

Wang Chengshun lowered his voice and spoke with excitement:

“That little monster’s in love with you, did you know that, Shen Qingci? The little beast you raised with your own hands—he covets you! He wants to own you, to screw you! Just like me! Do you understand this kind of obsession? Filthy, twisted, and can’t see the light of day!”

His voice shook with agitation:

“Lu Lin and I are the same kind of people! We’re both lunatics, bewitched by you, desperate to drag you off your pedestal! You should hate him just as much as you hate me! Be disgusted by him! Grind him into the dirt! Take away the only light in his world and make him suffer like hell! Hahahahaha!”

He laughed like a maniac, as if he’d already pictured Shen Qingci exploding in rage, disgust, and completely ditching Lu Lin.

But Shen Qingci just frowned slightly.

On that cold, elegant face, there was none of the anger, shock, or revulsion Wang Chengshun had anticipated—just a faint annoyance at being disturbed, and a detached look, like he was watching a clown show.

He didn’t even bother to argue or scold him right away.

Through Wang Chengshun’s grating laughter, Shen Qingci slowly stood up and grabbed the cane leaning against the table.

His movements were still graceful and composed, as if those venomous words were just background noise.

Without even glancing at Wang Chengshun, whose laughter had died into stunned confusion, he directly ordered the bodyguard at the conference room door:

“Show him out.”

Two words, crisp and final.

Only then did Wang Chengshun snap out of his own delusion, realizing that Shen Qingci was about to leave!

He hadn’t gotten the reaction he wanted!

“Wait! I still have things to say! Lu Lin, he…” Wang Chengshun thrashed in his wheelchair, his voice shrill.

Shen Qingci was already at the door. He paused slightly at the words but didn’t turn back, leaving only a cold, clear sentence like a verdict:

“Useless people talk useless talk. Also, for every ‘little beast’ he just said, kick him in the leg a few times. Let him remember: you don’t touch my people, and you don’t badmouth them.”

The door clicked shut, cutting off Wang Chengshun’s incredulous stare and the roar of humiliated fury that followed.

Wang Chengshun sat frozen, Shen Qingci’s last words echoing in his head.

What did that mean?

Could it be... Shen Qingci had known about Lu Lin’s feelings all along?

Was that why he was so calm? And... didn’t even find it disgusting?

And even knowing Lu Lin had those kinds of desires for him, he still had Wang Chengshun punished for insulting him?

This realization hit him like a bucket of ice water, plunging him from manic excitement into a cold abyss, followed by even deeper confusion and disbelief.

It completely blew past his understanding and expectations.

Before he could figure out the details, Shen Qingci’s bodyguards had already dragged him off, each kick landing on his legs. He let out agonized screams before being tossed out of Qingye Tower like a dead dog.

The cold autumn wind hit him, making him shiver.

It also let him see, not far away, a man leaning against a black sedan, a cigarette flickering between his fingers.

Lu Lin.

He didn’t know how long he had been standing there, half his figure in the building’s shadow, half exposed to the pale daylight.

He simply smoked quietly, his gloomy gaze fixed on Wang Chengshun, who had been shoved out and was already drenched in cold sweat from pain, like a lurking beast watching prey that had strayed into its territory.

Wang Chengshun instantly recalled the excruciating pain of his broken legs from years ago. He clutched his knees, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.

Lu Lin seemed not to notice his terror. He leisurely finished his last drag, then casually dropped the cigarette butt on the ground, slowly grinding it out with the sole of his polished leather shoe.

Then, he slightly raised his hand.

Several cars parked nearby quickly disgorged black-suited bodyguards, moving with swift professionalism.

Before Wang Chengshun and his own bodyguards could react, they were surrounded and, without explanation, shoved into an unremarkable commercial vehicle.

The door slammed shut, cutting off Wang Chengshun’s terrified gaze and his unscreamed pleas for help.

Lu Lin stood still, his gaze fixed on the top floor of Qingye Tower. The gloom in his eyes receded like a tide, replaced by a layer of tender yet obsessive undertones.

He adjusted his suit cuffs, then strode toward the building entrance.

---

The door was pushed open silently, bringing in the crisp autumn air from outside.

Lu Lin walked in, holding a large bouquet of blue-purple irises, their petals still bearing dewdrops. Under the office’s slightly cold, hard lighting, they looked exceptionally vivid and gentle.

Shen Qingci stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, leaning on his cane. His back was slender and upright as he gazed at the city’s skyline outside, lost in thought.

Hearing the faint sound behind him, he didn’t turn around, not even shifting his gaze. Only after a moment did he slowly turn, walking back with steady steps to sit behind the spacious desk.

Soon, the bouquet was placed on the desk, arranged in a simple white porcelain vase.

Lu Lin carefully adjusted the vase’s position, setting it at the front left of the desk, within Shen Qingci’s habitual reach, right next to the photo frame that had been placed there earlier.

After setting down the flowers, Lu Lin fell silent, making no further moves.

He just stood before the wide desk, his head slightly bowed.

But his gaze lifted, cautious and unblinking, fixed on Shen Qingci seated behind the desk, like a large dog waiting for its master’s judgment.

Shen Qingci finished reading a page of the document in his hand, then finally looked up.

His overly refined yet expressionless face, under the pale light filtering through the window, seemed to soften slightly in its contours, but his eyes remained as cold as a frozen pool.

He put down the document, his voice flat but carrying an invisible weight:

"Who's this act for?"

Lu Lin seemed stung by the overly cold tone, his body giving an almost imperceptible tremble. He lowered his head further, hands clasped behind his back, his fingers digging into the back of his hand, leaving several distinct red marks.

"Brother..." His voice was soft, tinged with a barely suppressed sob and grievance.

Shen Qingci pursed his lips.

He picked up the cane beside him, stood up, and walked around the large desk to stand before Lu Lin.

As the distance between them closed, Shen Qingci had to tilt his head slightly to meet Lu Lin's eyes, but his commanding presence was in no way diminished.

"Where did you take Wang Chengshun?" His voice dropped lower, his tone clearly interrogative.

Lu Lin's lips parted, but he stubbornly looked away, refusing to answer.

Shen Qingci's brows furrowed, his patience seemingly exhausted.

Without another word, he raised his cane and brought it down on Lu Lin's solid calf with a force that was neither light nor heavy, yet carried undeniable authority.

"Speak!" His cold voice now held a command.

Lu Lin swayed from the blow, then whipped his head back around, his eyes instantly reddening.

In that redness, beyond grievance, surged a hint of cornered ferocity.

"Who told him to disturb brother's peace!" His voice choked, laced with a hatred that made him gnash his teeth. "What is he anyway? Just some discarded trash from the Wang family, should've been abandoned long ago! Dead and tossed into the sea to feed the fish, no one would even care!"

"Lu Lin!" Shen Qingci's voice suddenly rose, carrying rare anger.

He raised his hand, banging the cane heavily against the floor, producing a dull, intimidating thud.

He looked at the man before him—a good half a head taller, already the all-powerful head of the Lu family, yet now acting like a stubborn, obsessive child with no sense of proportion—and felt a surge of fury rush to his head.

"Kneel!" Two words, icy, commanding, and leaving no room for argument.