Chapter 155: The Sickly Fake Young Master Doted On by the Real One 50

Chapter 155: The Delicate Fake Young Master is Doted on by the Real One 50

"Hahahaha, you're really amusing! In the Central Plains, I go by Chu Mo. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"

The girl's bright, clear laughter echoed throughout the garden. Her dress, with its distinct ethnic-minority flair, shimmered in the sunlight. Anyone who saw her couldn't help but be drawn to her.

After asking the Lin residence's servants, they learned that Chu Mo was a girl Lin Cheng had met years ago in the Western Regions.

Back then, Chu Mo was a princess of a small kingdom in the Western Regions. She had once rescued Lin Cheng, who had been stranded in the desert for days, dehydrated and starving.

Later, her kingdom was conquered by a larger power from the Western Regions, for reasons unknown. With nowhere else to go, Chu Mo followed Lin Cheng back to the capital.

Over the years, the two had a relationship that was more than friends but not quite lovers.

In the original plot, Qin Li came to the capital for business and caught a strange illness. No doctor could cure him, but the female lead did.

While Qin Li was sick, the female lead took meticulous care of him, making him feel a care he'd never known before. In the process, Qin Li fell head over heels for her.

No need to rehash the whole two-guys-fighting-over-one-girl plot.

In short, Qin Li's jealousy brought out the darkness in him. To win the female lead, he did a lot of terrible things. Naturally, he went from second male lead to full-on villain.

In the end, Qin Li ended up in prison, and Lin Cheng, through his struggles with Chu Mo, finally realized his true feelings. The two eventually ended up together.

In the dark, Lin Huaiqing heard the faint rustle of clothes, and he guessed it was Qin Li returning.

He didn't even light a lamp, probably so he wouldn't wake him.

"You're back?"

"Yeah..." Qin Li sounded a bit down. Probably another day with no luck.

"Did you see Chu Mo when you got back? She's staying here now too."

At this point in the story, the female lead's only place in the capital had been taken over by the authorities, so she had no choice but to stay at the Lin residence for now.

It was also a major turning point for the male and female leads' relationship.

Qin Li thought back. Yeah, there had been some woman. She'd even said hi to him when he came in, but he was in a rush to get back and didn't even bother to respond.

"That woman? Yeah, I saw her."

"Did you talk to her? What'd you think of her?" Lin Huaiqing asked, not even sure what answer he wanted to hear.

"No. What about her? Lin Cheng's mistress?" Qin Li's answer made it clear he wasn't interested in her at all.

"Mistress? Nothing's even happened between them yet." Lin Huaiqing turned over to face Qin Li. "Don't go out tomorrow. Stay with me for a few days, alright?"

Even if Qin Li tore the whole capital apart, if it couldn't be cured, it couldn't be cured. This was his fate—how could anyone change it?

"Then I won't go tomorrow. What does the young master want to eat? I'll get up early and get it for you." Qin Li leaned in by his pillow, whispering right by his ear, making it tickle.

"I want osmanthus cakes and hot soy milk."

"Alright! Then the young master should get some sleep. You'll have your food first thing in the morning."

Lin Huaiqing closed his eyes, feeling Qin Li press a gentle kiss to his forehead. As drowsiness set in, he drifted off peacefully.

Maybe he was being too sensitive, but ever since Qin Li met Chu Mo, the two had been spending more and more time together.

Sometimes when Lin Huaiqing woke up, he'd see Qin Li and Chu Mo sitting on the stone bench outside, huddled together whispering like they were sharing secrets.

Lin Huaiqing had to call him a few times before Qin Li reluctantly got up and came back inside. Even when he talked to him, he seemed out of it.

For the past two weeks, Qin Li had stopped going out. He spent all day wandering the residence with Chu Mo—sometimes in the study, sometimes in the garden.

Their relationship had gotten to the point where even Lin Cheng, an outsider, couldn't take it anymore.

Lin Cheng finally had some free time and came home early, only to find Qin Li and Chu Mo digging in the garden like a couple of kids.

Qin Li was holding a little shovel, doing the heavy lifting, while Chu Mo told him where to dig and how deep. They were so into it, going back and forth, that they didn't even notice they were being watched.

Not far away, Lin Cheng sat alone in the pavilion, staring at them with a look of barely contained anger.

"Brother! Why are you sitting out here alone in the cold?" Lin Huaiqing smiled calmly and sat down beside Lin Cheng.

At that moment, the two of them were truly brothers in misery...

He knew exactly how his brother felt.

"Huaiqing, don't you think Fourth Brother's been acting weird lately?"

"Weird, yeah. But also not. 'A fair lady is a gentleman's pursuit'..." Lin Huaiqing was still smiling when he said it, but his expression had already gone stiff.

Even though he already knew the original plot, watching his lover get pulled away by the story, slowly shifting his attention to someone else, slowly draining the feelings he had for him—who wouldn't feel awful?

But he didn't want to stop it. After all, he didn't have much time left. If someone could take Qin Li's attention away, so he wouldn't be so heartbroken after he died, that'd be a good thing.

It was just too bad for his brother. When the girl was right there, he didn't appreciate her. Now that someone else was after her, he finally knew what it felt like to worry, huh?

Their thoughts happened to line up at that exact moment.

"Since you've noticed too, why aren't you angry? Aren't you two..."

Lin Huaiqing casually rubbed his eyes—a gust of wind had just blown sand into them.

Pushing down the bitterness in his heart, he said:

"Brother, don't say that! He and I are just good brothers. If my brother finds a girl he likes, I should be happy for him."

Lin Cheng just turned to look at him and didn't say anything else.

But deep down, they both already knew the truth.

Lately, Qin Li would go find Chu Mo whenever he had free time during the day. The two would head out together. When they came back, they'd be carrying something.

What was it? It looked dirty from the outside, wrapped in cloth. He couldn't really tell. Anyway, he didn't care.

But even so, Qin Li still came back before 7 PM every day, staying by his side, helping him bathe and change.

His attitude and the way he cared for him were exactly the same as before.

Lin Huaiqing saw it all, one thing after another, and he had to hand it to him. So this guy was managing both sides after all!

Qin Li had really figured out how to have it both ways.

As for what Qin Li did with Chu Mo during the day, he never said a word. Qin Li didn't bring it up, and he didn't ask. He just acted like he had no idea.

Honestly, unless you were blind, you could tell something was going on between them. Even the servants in their courtyard had picked up on it.

"Third Master! Fourth Master and Miss Chu are back! Fourth Master's carrying something in his arms—looks like he really treasures it!"