Chapter 156 I Love You, I Know

Chapter 156: I Love You, I Know

Lu Lin finished cooking, carried a tray upstairs, and as he pushed open the door, his movements paused slightly.

On the bed, Shen Qingci was already fast asleep.

His face turned to the side, jet-black hair scattered across the bright red bedding, making his face look even more fair and jade-like.

The corners of his eyes were flushed, as if he had been thoroughly worn out; his thin lips were slightly pursed, and his brows were lightly furrowed.

Lu Lin's goofy, happy expression instantly softened.

He crept over and gently placed the tray on the bedside table.

Then he slowly bent down, his fingers lifting the stray strands of hair from Shen Qingci's cheek and gently tucking them behind his ear.

His eyes were filled with an overwhelming, undissolvable love.

As he looked at Shen Qingci's sleeping face, his eyes grew red again.

Tears slid silently down his cheeks, falling onto the bright red bedding, staining a small patch darker.

"Why are you crying now?"

A hoarse voice said. Shen Qingci, eyes half-closed, fixed his gaze on Lu Lin's face.

Lu Lin was smiling, tears still on his face, his eyes full of adoration and deep, bottomless love.

That expression was both silly and sweet, enough to make anyone's heart melt.

Lu Lin didn't answer; he just smiled, lowered his head, and kissed the corner of Shen Qingci's mouth.

The kiss was very light and soft, devoid of any lust, filled only with love that reached deep into the marrow.

Warm tears fell again, landing on Shen Qingci's face.

Shen Qingci let out a silent sigh and said calmly:

"Don't cry."

Lu Lin hummed in response. He spoke, his voice low and hoarse with tears:

"Gege... I love you."

A sudden confession.

Shen Qingci looked at him, a flash of tenderness in his cold, clear eyes.

He raised his hand, fingertips lightly touching the wetness at the corner of Lu Lin's eye, then said slowly:

"I know."

Lu Lin squinted happily, nuzzling against his fingers, then opened his eyes, a smile lingering in them:

"Gege, want to eat? You must be starving."

He straightened up, gently lifted Shen Qingci, and propped him up against the headboard.

To make him more comfortable, he placed several soft cushions behind Shen Qingci's lower back, carefully adjusting each one to ensure perfect support.

Then he picked up the soup, blew on it to cool it, and brought the spoon to Shen Qingci's lips.

Shen Qingci glanced at him, then lowered his head and drank the spoonful of soup.

Perhaps because he was extremely hungry, Shen Qingci, who usually ate very little, this time devoured all the food Lu Lin had brought, leaving the plates spotless.

Lu Lin watched him finish, a smile spreading across his face. He picked up a tissue and carefully wiped Shen Qingci's mouth.

After wiping, he kissed Shen Qingci again on the lips.

Then he stood up and began clearing the bowls and chopsticks from the table.

"Change the sheets and blankets when you come back."

Shen Qingci burrowed into the covers, leaving only his eyes visible as he looked at Lu Lin. His voice was muffled, tinged with disdain:

"It's dirty."

Lu Lin glanced back at him.

Seeing him curled up like that, Lu Lin couldn't help laughing, then said cheerfully:

"Okay, Gege, I'll be up in a minute."

The door closed softly, and the room fell silent.

Shen Qingci looked away and turned over.

Perhaps because of the medicine, the discomfort down below had eased a lot.

He stared blankly out the window as the sky gradually darkened.

In his mind, the image from moments ago surfaced: Lu Lin smiling with tears on his face, that silly, sweet expression.

He lowered his eyes and thought faintly:

"Like a little lunatic."

-

Lu Lin came back up quickly.

When he pushed the door open, Shen Qingci was curled up in the quilt, spacing out.

Lu Lin walked over, bent down, and scooped him up from the covers with one arm.

Shen Qingci sat in the crook of Lu Lin's arm, steadying himself with one hand on his shoulder.

He looked down at this ridiculously strong man, his face expressionless, but thinking inwardly:

This kid, after all that moving around, isn't he tired?

Lu Lin used his other hand to sweep the tangled red bedding off the bed and tossed it onto the floor.

Then, still holding Shen Qingci, he walked to the cabinet, opened the door with one hand, and took out a new set of bedding.

He carried Shen Qingci back to the bed, and with one hand, smoothed out one corner of the sheet.

Then he gently set Shen Qingci down, and Shen Qingci just leaned against the headboard, watching him work.

Lu Lin's movements were quick and precise.

He spread out the blanket, smoothed every wrinkle, and fluffed the pillows, then picked up the bundle of dirty sheets and took it out of the room.

When he came back, he started cleaning the room.

Shen Qingci simply watched him.

Watched his busy silhouette, his focused side profile, as he walked back and forth across the room.

Only when he was done and went into the bathroom did Shen Qingci look away.

After a moment, the sound of water stopped, and Lu Lin walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair.

He was wearing dark blue silk pajamas, his wet hair with a few strands plastered to his forehead.

He walked over to the bed, and just as he went to sit down, he met Shen Qingci’s icy stare.

Lu Lin froze mid-motion, half-lifted his hips, then stood up straight.

Shen Qingci kept staring at him, his eyes empty, but it sent a chill down Lu Lin’s spine.

He knew his gege was about to call him out.

His mind was racing, and then he decided to go on the offensive.

“Gege, do you not want to take responsibility?”

There was a mix of hurt and entitlement in his voice:

“Gege, are you going to break your promise?”

“Gege, are you going to bully a kid?”

At the last question, Shen Qingci fell silent.

He looked at the man in front of him, nearly six foot three, a twenty-six-year-old grown man, and this grown man who was so boldly calling himself a kid.

He just felt like this world was a little surreal.

The word “shameless” popped into his head.

And what right did this “kid” have to question him? Three questions in a row?

His brows knitted slightly, and just as he looked up to scold him,

Lu Lin leaned over the bed, his eyes red, grabbing his hand, his voice impossibly soft as he started to back down:

“Gege... I was wrong.”

“I shouldn’t have talked back to gege...” *I should kiss gege.*

Shen Qingci watched Lu Lin’s Jekyll-and-Hyde act and remained silent for a long time.

From the “triple interrogation” to the “immediate cowardly apology,” the whole process took less than three seconds.

His lightning-fast change of tune was truly something.

He said coldly, asking:

“How did I break my promise?”

Lu Lin looked up pitifully, his eyes full of tears, gazing at him with a miserable expression:

“Gege said tomorrow morning would be okay.”

He paused, his voice sounding even more wronged:

“But when morning came, I had just started, and gege told me to get out...”

Shen Qingci was taken aback.

He replayed last night’s conversation in his head.

— “We’ll do it tomorrow.”

— “Can we do it tomorrow morning?”

— “Yes.”

Then this morning’s events came flooding back, and he was silent for a moment.

He looked at Lu Lin, his voice cold:

“What I meant by tomorrow was the same as before—with my legs...”

He didn’t finish the sentence and stopped speaking. Shen Qingci’s expression remained normal, but his ears quietly turned red.

He closed his eyes, no longer looking at Lu Lin.

Thinking about how Lu Lin had used nearly half the lube, he opened his eyes again and looked at Lu Lin.

His cold eyes held a hint of scrutiny and suspicion:

“How did you know the thing I brought back was...”