harleyscars Chapter 422 - 421: "Look at me, you look at me.
Chapter 422 - 421: "Look at me, you look at me.
"..." Xu Su was speechless. She stared at him blankly, unable to even muster the words to call him shameless.
"Are you still crying?" Shen Chen’s eyes were clouded with desire. He was using every ounce of his self-control to restrain himself, and the sight of it made Xu Su’s blood run cold.
She was genuinely terrified of him.
"If you’re done crying, we can continue our talk."
Shen Chen carried her back to the bed. Ignoring her struggles, he forcefully lifted the hem of her skirt and openly stared at her reddened, bruised thighs. His expression was unreadable for a long moment before he finally let the fabric fall.
"What’s the deal with Si Xuan?"
Utterly terrified of him now, Xu Su explained everything from beginning to end.
Shen Chen listened quietly as she spoke about meeting someone online. He offered no opinion, simply leaning in to slowly kiss her tear-swollen eyes. Xu Su remained furious but didn’t dare to say a word, forcing herself to endure it.
She didn’t realize that her docile appearance was incredibly endearing. Her compliance only served to stoke the flames of Shen Chen’s lingering desire, making him burn for her all over again.
He stopped kissing her and gently stroked her long hair. "Since you know how I feel about you, have you ever thought about what it would take for you to be with me?"
Xu Su opened her mouth, but afraid he’d fly into another rage, she didn’t dare to speak.
"That scared?" Shen Chen chuckled, his voice low and hoarse. "Don’t hold back. I want to hear the truth."
Xu Su steeled herself and said bluntly, "The person I love is Zhou Mochen."
Shen Chen wasn’t surprised. He said calmly, "As I recall, it was one-sided on his part at the beginning too, wasn’t it? If he could win you over with time, then so can I. If he could steal you away from that little brat, then I can steal you away from him."
"..."
"You don’t believe me?" Shen Chen caressed her face. "Or do you just have no faith in me?"
"Zhou Mochen won’t let you get away with this," Xu Su said, grabbing his hand as it slid down from her face. "Shen Chen, you’ve been brothers for years. There’s no need to become bitter enemies over me."
"...You think I didn’t hesitate?" Shen Chen fell silent for a few seconds before giving a bitter laugh. "Xu Su, would you believe me if I told you I never planned on letting you know how I felt?"
Xu Su nodded stiffly.
After learning about Shen Chen’s feelings for her, Xu Su had thought back on it. She realized that before she came to Beijing, his behavior had been more or less normal. Everything changed after she arrived in the city.
"You see? Even someone like me, who doesn’t give a damn about anything, stooped to something as pathetic and cautious as nursing a secret crush. Who do you think I did that for?"
Shen Chen continued, "For your precious Zhou Mochen. For the sake of my brotherhood with him. I held back for a whole year. For a year, I couldn’t stop myself from treating you well, ever so carefully, all while terrified that you would find out, and terrified that *he* would find out."
"Are you wondering why I didn’t just keep holding back?"
Shen Chen pulled her into a tight embrace and said through gritted teeth, "Because I couldn’t take it anymore, Xu Su. Ever since you came to Beijing, I haven’t been able to stop myself from orbiting around you. Holding back has been agony. The physical frustration is bad enough, but the mental torment is even worse."
"Do you know what I was thinking that time I thought you were pregnant?"
"I wanted to kill someone!"
"Even though I knew you two were together, I just couldn’t accept it. I approached you with ulterior motives, all while being consumed by a crazy jealousy for him. You can’t possibly understand what that’s like."
"It was just too much to bear, so I stopped holding back. I thought, ’I have to at least tell her. What if she sees how miserable I am, how much I love her, and decides to take my feelings seriously?’"
And what he got in return was her disappearing completely.
And him? He thought he was prepared for the fallout, but after just one day of not being able to find her, he lost his mind completely.
If he hadn’t turned the world upside down looking for her, he might never have realized that he loved her far, far more than he ever imagined.
Hearing Shen Chen lay his heart bare like this only made Xu Su feel distressed and helpless.
It wasn’t that she lacked admirers, but she didn’t want or need any man’s affection besides Zhou Mochen’s. To Xu Su, whether it was Xi Zirong or Shen Chen, their feelings were nothing but a burden.
When it came to Xi Zirong, she at least felt a pang of guilt. After all, they had been in a real relationship, and she had been the one to end things so unceremoniously. Because of that, she was still affected by their past, unable to completely let him go...
’But Shen Chen? What is he to me?’
’I never led him on in any way. It was all him, a completely one-sided affair. If I have to take responsibility for these feelings, then I might as well be responsible for the eight hundred, if not a thousand, other crushes people had on me during my three years at Chang City No.1 High School.’
’And besides, today he even...’
Shen Chen gently took hold of her leg. His hands didn’t stop moving as he carefully slid off her underwear.
When he looked up again, he asked with false kindness, "Want me to turn off the lights?"
Xu Su hadn’t yet answered.