Chapter 99 I’ll Be Pinned Down

Chapter 99: I'll Be Pinned Underneath

The car was driving smoothly on the return trip.

The street scenes outside the window flew by, and the afternoon sunlight cast patchy light and shadow through the car window into the cabin.

Lu Lin leaned to the side, his eyes bright and shining as he looked at Shen Qingci.

That gaze was overly intense, almost greedy.

He just looked at him like that, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, his eyes filled with undisguised smiles and joy.

Shen Qingci was getting annoyed by his staring.

He turned his head slightly toward the window, offering the back of his head to that burning stare.

Seeing this, the corner of Lu Lin’s mouth lifted in an indulgent smile.

He thought to himself: Brother is so cute.

That smile was so gentle it was as if he were a completely different person from the sinister and ruthless man from school just now.

The car fell silent for a few minutes.

Shen Qingci suddenly turned to look at Lu Lin.

A hint of scrutiny flickered in his cold, clear eyes. He spoke in a flat tone:

"You built the apartment complex where Lin Wei lives, and you're a board member at her daughter's school."

He paused, frowning slightly, he asked:

"Do you like Lin Wei?"

Lu Lin was stunned.

He stared at Shen Qingci's serious, frowning face, at those eyes narrowed slightly in confusion, and was frozen for several seconds.

Then, he couldn't help it—he let out a "pfft" and burst into laughter.

The laugh was low, but it carried undisguised delight.

He leaned against Shen Qingci's shoulder, his shoulders shaking, laughing uncontrollably.

Shen Qingci looked at him expressionlessly.

His gaze was cold and emotionless, but it caused Lu Lin's laughter to fade until it died completely.

He lifted his head, meeting Shen Qingci's cold, clear eyes, the corners of his mouth still holding the remnants of a smile.

He spoke slowly, his voice as gentle as if he were coaxing a child:

"I just..."

He paused, his eyes filled with endless love:

"wanted to protect the people Brother cares about, for his sake."

Shen Qingci looked at him.

Looked for a long time.

Then, he looked away.

For him.

Wang Chengshun's words suddenly rang in his mind.

Without you, Lu Lin is nothing. He lives his entire life under your protection. How pathetic.

Lu Lin lives in your shadow. His whole life depends on your pathetic obsession to keep him going.

At the time, Shen Qingci thought he was just spouting nonsense.

But now, he seemed to understand a bit.

For the past ten years, it seemed that Lu Lin had been living for him.

He tried to live his life in Shen Qingci's image, tried to protect the people Shen Qingci cared about, tried to finish what Shen Qingci had left unfinished.

And then what?

Pretend he still exists?

Deceive himself for a lifetime?

Or leave with him when he turns twenty-seven?

Shen Qingci glanced at Lu Lin again.

Lu Lin met his gaze and immediately leaned in, his face taking on a spoiled expression, his voice sweet and clingy:

"Brother~ What’s wrong?"

Shen Qingci expressionlessly raised his hand and swatted away the face that was too close, his tone full of disgust:

"Get away, you're too close."

"No~" Lu Lin leaned in again, almost sticking to him, "I just like sticking to Brother~"

The driver in front got goosebumps.

He tried hard to become invisible, staring straight ahead at the road, but couldn't stop the waves of goosebumps.

Shen Qingci’s train of thought was interrupted. He looked coldly at the man almost clinging to him, his brows slightly furrowed.

Not weaned yet?

Always acting spoiled?

But even as he thought this, his hand unconsciously lifted, landing on Lu Lin's soft hair, gently ruffling it a few times.

The motion was very light, carrying a hint of indulgence that even he himself didn't notice.

Lu Lin curled the corners of his mouth, enjoying the feeling as he rubbed against his palm.

---

In the evening,

Shen Qingci finished going through the last document in the study, closed his laptop, and walked back to the bedroom with the aid of his cane.

The instant he pushed the door open, his steps faltered.

Lu Lin, whom he’d chased out of the study, was lying on his side on the bed, one hand propping up his head, his eyes shining as he gazed at the doorway.

Those eyes were exceptionally bright in the dim light, like two twinkling stars, waiting for him to return.

Shen Qingci glanced at him.

He didn't say a word.

He went straight to the bathroom.

Ever since he’d fallen in the bathroom, all the bathrooms in the villa had been renovated.

The floors were all replaced with non-slip material, handrails were installed beside the bathtub, and even the shower area was redesigned to make sure every detail was as safe as possible.

Shen Qingci leaned his cane against the edge of the bathtub and slowly lowered himself into the warm water.

The hot water enveloped him, washing away the day’s fatigue.

He leaned against the edge of the bathtub, his hair fanning out over his shoulders, turning darker and softer in the steam.

He closed his eyes, his fingers tapping gently on the edge of the bathtub.

Back in the bedroom,

Lu Lin watched Shen Qingci walk into the bathroom, and his obedient smile slowly disappeared.

He picked up his phone and looked at the message sent by Zhou Jin, his eyes growing colder by the second.

"Zhou Jin: The leak of Mr. Shen’s video online was almost certainly from the Lu family, but they covered their tracks well—we couldn’t find solid proof."

"Zhou Jin: Chen Zhiyuan was sent by Shen Suili, the head of the Shen family. No cover-up; he was easily traceable. It seems like... a provocation."

Lu Lin stared at those lines of text, the coldness in his eyes intensifying.

So his older brother had caught on and used his own influence to open the school gate.

Not for him.

It was a message to Shen Yuanli:

He’s back.

Lu Lin lowered his eyes, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes.

He typed a reply, his fingers gliding lightly over the screen:

"Got it. Brother’s back. We need to rework the original plan."

He paused, his fingers hovering above the screen, then slowly lowered them:

"The goal stays the same, the timing stays the same. I want to give my brother a birthday he’ll never forget."

"But we need to be more careful. I don’t want to be separated from him again."

Zhou Jin's reply came quickly: "Yes."

Lu Lin set down his phone.

He turned and stared out into the dark night.

Moonlight filtered through the curtain gap, spilling a cold light across the floor.

His eyes were utterly lifeless.

It was as if he had stood in the darkness for too long and had forgotten what light even looked like.

Only when Shen Qingci's voice came from the bathroom did he snap back to his senses.

"Lu Lin."

The voice was cool, carrying the humid air of the bathroom:

"Bring me my bathrobe."

Lu Lin grunted in acknowledgment, hopped out of bed, grabbed Shen Qingci’s bathrobe from the closet, went to the bathroom door, gave a soft knock, and passed it through.

The door cracked open, a hand reached out to take the bathrobe, and then withdrew again.

Lu Lin waited quietly by the door.

After a while, the bathroom door opened and Shen Qingci came out.

He was wearing the white bathrobe, the collar slightly open, revealing skin as pale as jade underneath.

His wet hair hung loose over his shoulders, water droplets dripping from the ends, soaking the bathrobe’s edge.

Lu Lin took the towel from his hand, helped him sit down on the sofa, then picked up the hair dryer and started blow-drying his hair.

His movements were gentle and skilled.

Shen Qingci leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes, feeling the warm air rush through his hair, feeling Lu Lin’s fingers comb through his hair.

They were quiet for a while.

Then he spoke, his voice soft:

"Lu Lin."

Lu Lin's hand paused: "What's wrong, Brother?"

Shen Qingci was silent for a few seconds.

Then, he spoke:

"What Chen Zhiyuan said today—"

He paused:

"What does it mean that I’ll be pinned underneath?"

The sound of the hair dryer stopped abruptly.

Lu Lin's hand froze in mid-air.