Chapter 93 The Will

Chapter 93: The Will

Shen Qingci sat at his desk, ignoring his work.

He pulled out his phone and opened the file Lin Wei had sent the day before.

Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a cold, sharp outline across his face.

He sat still, eyes fixed on the screen, fingers tapping lightly on his cane—tap, tap.

Lu Lin’s last ten years, in a nutshell, went like this:

He spent a year out of his mind.

After the Lu family took him, they shipped him off to a psych ward, where he was tortured for a year.

When he got back, Old Master Lu named him the heir to the Lu family.

The next eight years were pretty much a loop:

Crazy, normal.

Crazy, normal.

Crazy, normal.

In that time, he grew the Lu family business, finished what the late Shen Qingci left undone, and ran Tianchen Group.

Shen Qingci’s fingers slid across the screen, flipping through page after page.

The cold text documented Lu Lin’s ten years—how he lived through the time Shen Qingci wasn’t there.

Until he hit one page.

"October 15, 20XX: Lu Lin drafted a will."

"The will states: takes effect one year from now."

Shen Qingci’s fingers froze.

He looked up at the man still standing by the window, on the phone.

Lu Lin had his back to him—tall, straight, but somehow radiating loneliness.

"Lu Lin," Shen Qingci said, his voice as cold as ever.

Lu Lin whipped his head around instantly.

When he saw Shen Qingci looking at him, that familiar obedient smile spread across his face.

He hung up fast, walked to the coffee machine, poured a cup, and set it carefully by Shen Qingci’s hand.

"Brother, what’s up?"

He asked, his eyes accidentally sweeping over Shen Qingci’s phone screen.

Then he froze solid.

It was the full rundown of his last ten years.

And the page Shen Qingci had purposely lingered on.

The will. Takes effect in a year.

Shen Qingci didn’t even look at him.

He tapped the screen, his tone flat, betraying nothing:

"What’s this supposed to mean? You don’t want to live anymore?"

Lu Lin pressed his lips together, dropped his head, and stayed silent.

The office went dead silent, suffocating.

Shen Qingci’s brow furrowed slightly.

He didn’t push it. Instead, he pulled up Zhou Jin’s contact and called.

The phone rang once, then picked up.

"President Shen," Zhou Jin’s voice came through, oddly hesitant, "I’m right outside the door."

No sooner had he said that than a knock came at the door.

Lin Wei pushed the door open, Zhou Jin trailing her with a stack of files. They walked in one after the other.

Shen Qingci hung up, his eyes landing on Zhou Jin.

Zhou Jin instinctively glanced at Lu Lin, who stood beside Shen Qingci, head down, face deathly pale.

Zhou Jin’s eye twitched violently.

A bad feeling washed over him.

"Zhou Jin," Shen Qingci said, cold and steady.

"How much do you know about Lu Lin’s will?"

Zhou Jin: "..."

All he wanted was to turn around and walk out.

He never should have come.

Lin Wei quietly stepped back—she wanted no part in this mess.

Zhou Jin shot a look at Lu Lin.

Lu Lin was staring him down, his eyes full of warning.

Zhou Jin let out a mental sigh.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, someone cut him off.

"Lu Lin is planning to commit suicide next year, is he?"

Shen Qingci's voice sounded again, still in that calm tone, yet it somehow carried a hint of displeasure.

That displeasure was faint, so faint it was almost imperceptible.

But everyone in the office could sense it.

The office instantly fell into a silence so deep you could hear a pin drop.

The next moment.

"Thud."

Lu Lin dropped directly to his knees.

The speed was so fast, the movement so smooth, that Zhou Jin and Lin Wei couldn't help but silently praise in their minds: That reaction, absolutely perfect.

Shen Qingci didn't look at him.

He sat in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping on the desk, one tap after another.

His cold, handsome face was expressionless, his eyes lowered, as if lost in thought.

He just felt a bit uncomfortable inside.

That feeling was strange, like something was stuck in his chest, heavy and suffocating, yet he couldn't quite describe it. It was somewhat similar to the ache he had felt for Lu Lin before, but not quite the same.

He didn't know what it was.

But he knew he didn't like it.

Lu Lin knelt on the ground, looking up at him, pulling at his hand, his voice urgent and panicked:

"Brother, I just casually set it... It takes effect after 27 because... because of you, brother..."

Shen Qingci looked down at him.

His gaze was cold, his cold, clear eyes devoid of any emotional fluctuation, just watching him calmly:

"Lu Lin, I want the truth."

Lu Lin opened his mouth to speak.

He looked into Shen Qingci's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, at the face that was cold and detached without a trace of emotion, and all his words stuck in his throat.

He pursed his lips, lowered his head, and stopped looking at him.

The office was deadly quiet.

Zhou Jin and Lin Wei exchanged a glance and quietly slipped away.

The door closed softly behind them, shutting out everything inside.

Shen Qingci watched Lu Lin kneeling on the floor, a flicker of disappointment flashing through his eyes.

But beneath that disappointment, there was an emotion he couldn't even name.

He just felt that the discomfort in his heart had grown heavier.

After a long silence,

Shen Qingci spoke again, his voice still calm, emotionless:

"If I hadn't come back, on my birthday next year, what were you planning to do?"

"Die? How? Where? Isn't living good? Do you think dying means you can be with me forever? I told you, I took you in to make sure you live well, no matter what happens, even if I never came back..."

Lu Lin's head hung even lower.

Then, a tear fell to the floor, cutting off Shen Qingci's lecture.

Another tear.

More.

Those tears hit the floor with soft sounds.

Drop by drop, like a silent accusation and a wordless plea.

Shen Qingci watched those tears, watched them spread into wet patches on the floor.

Those tears made the discomfort in his heart even heavier.

"Brother..."

Lu Lin's voice was choked, hoarse beyond recognition.

He lifted his head, his eyes red, his face streaked with tears, looking pitiful and pathetic, like a stray puppy, utterly disheveled and pitiful:

"But you came back."

Yes.

He had come back.

Shen Qingci looked at Lu Lin, at the face made messy by tears, at those eyes full of dependence and humility, and something deep in his heart was gently touched.

He had already come back.

There was no need to dwell on what had happened before.

But...

Life has too many surprises.

Shen Qingci thought, slowly reaching out his hand to place it on Lu Lin's soft hair.

The gesture was very gentle, carrying a tenderness he himself hadn't even realized.

No one knew if he might die again.

Lu Lin's thinking was too extreme.

No one can't live without someone else.

But seeing Lu Lin crying like a mess, the words he had originally wanted to say suddenly felt hard to utter.

But... what if, one day, he really did meet with another accident?

What should I do?

Should Lu Lin die with him? He's still so young; his life shouldn't be tied to someone else's.

But without him, Lu Lin really can't go on.

Shen Qingci stayed silent for a long time.

Finally, he said flatly:

"Stand up."

Lu Lin froze for a second, then obediently stood up.

He stood in front of Shen Qingci, looking down at the man in the chair, at that cold, otherworldly face, at those eyes that seemed to have so much to say.

The tears he'd just managed to stop started falling again.

Shen Qingci, who still hadn't said a word: "..."

He looked at Lu Lin's tear-streaked face and suddenly got a headache.

He hadn't even said anything.

Why was he...

crying again?