PBMM CH8

A faint scent of lavender filled the air. He Qing reached out despairingly toward the direction of Lin Chi’s voice. “A-Chi… it’s not… it’s not…”

He Qing would stutter whenever he got nervous. In the past, Lin Chi would patiently wait for him to finish speaking, but now, having stayed awake all night, his eyes were bloodshot. He looked down condescendingly at the disheveled teenager with his pale waist exposed, his tone full of disgust. “I’m going back to my room. Remember to wear a c*nd*m.”

The door was slammed shut. He Qing’s mind went completely blank. His hand was still suspended in mid-air, but no one was there to gently hold it anymore. In a single instant, his life plummeted from heaven to hell.

In the darkness, the man behind him gently patted his head. He Qing immediately shrieked hoarsely and scrambled away, as if dodging some terrifying beast. Unable to see, he tumbled off the edge of the bed. But when the man tried to get off the bed as well, he crawled to the corner of the wall, hugging his knees and curling himself into a tight ball.

Looking at the wretched, endlessly trembling teenager, Lin Cheng withdrew his hand. A thread of pain twisted in his heart; for the first time, he felt a pang of regret. He got out of bed as quietly as possible. He Qing’s mind was in total chaos right now, so he didn’t notice his footsteps. Therefore, when the scent of lavender suddenly appeared right in front of him, he broke down completely!

“Ah!! Ahh!!!” He flailed his hands wildly in front of him. The gauze was soaked with tears. His fair, tender skin already bore several purple and red bruises from his heavy fall and frantic crawling, but He Qing could no longer feel the pain.

Taking the heavy blows, although he had long guessed the teenager’s reaction, Lin Cheng’s heart still clouded with gloom.

Did he want to be with Lin Chi that badly? Was it really so hard to accept that it was him?

Expressionless, Lin Cheng took out the sedative he had prepared in advance and injected it. He quietly watched as the teenager’s arms fell limply to his sides. He pulled him into his embrace. His usually cold voice was now incredibly gentle. His deep, magnetic voice coaxed the teenager by his ear. “Alright… it’s okay now… it’s okay… I’ll always be with you… it’s okay…”

The gauze had already been loose, and now it slipped off completely. He Qing kept his tear-filled eyes wide open, staring hazily into the empty space ahead. Accompanied by the man’s voice, he slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

Lin Cheng held him, his large, distinctively-knuckled hand slowly and naturally patting the boy’s back. Only when he felt the body slowly go soft did he carefully scoop the person up and lay him on the bed. Looking at his brows that remained knitted even in sleep, the man picked up the gauze from the table and covered his eyes once more.

After tucking the teenager in, Lin Cheng leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on He Qing’s forehead. He smiled in satisfaction. “Good night.” My treasure.

Hearing the teenager’s sorrowful, despairing screams, Lin Chi became restless. He couldn’t help but start wondering if he had gotten something wrong. The anger that had initially surged upon seeing that scene was gradually replaced by calmness.

He originally planned to wait a little longer. If he heard He Qing scream again, he would barge in to check. But unexpectedly, the next room went quiet shortly after. Lin Chi sat blankly on the sofa, unsure if he should still go over.

A knock at the door rang out. Lin Chi felt as if he were about to be sentenced to death. He sat on the sofa without moving, but the knocking remained unhurried, maintaining a steady rhythm, knock after knock.

The door opened. The man he called Father stood outside. He walked in with a natural expression, looking completely unlike someone whose good time had just been interrupted by his son not long ago.

Lin Chi heard the man’s cold voice announce. “The Sun family intends to arrange a marriage alliance with the Lin family. I agreed.”

“You will get engaged first, and we will discuss the wedding date after you graduate from university.”

Lin Chi still hadn’t fully processed what had happened tonight, so how could he willingly agree to an engagement so easily? With a hoarse voice and red eyes, he looked at Lin Cheng. “Father, I don’t want to!”

“Alright.” To his surprise, Lin Cheng agreed immediately. He looked at Lin Chi, who rarely showed such weakness, with a gaze that seemed to pierce right through him. “Give up your inheritance rights, and I will train a new, obedient heir.”

Lin Chi froze.

He looked at the man who hadn’t shown a single emotional fluctuation since he walked in, realizing clearly for the first time just how massive the gap between them was. Lin Cheng knew exactly what he was thinking.

Giving up the right of inheritance was absolutely impossible for the ambitious Lin Chi.

Before the man walked out, he dropped the line “The engagement banquet will be held in seven days” and was about to leave. Lin Chi suddenly called out to him. Those similar eyes stared stubbornly at Lin Cheng. “What is going on with you and He Qing?”

Lin Cheng paused his steps. With his back to him, the corners of his lips hooked up, and his magnetic voice replied. “Once he wakes up, you can ask him yourself.”

He Qing woke up to the sound of the system. Even though it was an emotionless mechanical voice, it somehow managed to shout out a tone of sheer hopelessness.

[83, -20, 60, 30, -50, 0, 83…]

He Qing grew amused as he listened. [What are you rambling about!]

System: [Lin Chi’s favorability is going up and down, fluctuating wildly.] It was starting to worry that they wouldn’t complete the mission and wouldn’t get the points.

[What are you panicking for? The thrill is in the stimulation. Come, watch your young master perform something even more stimulating for you!]

The hands of the person lying on the bed moved slowly, and the man’s voice came from beside him almost immediately. “You’re awake?”

The teenager was confused at first, but after recalling everything that happened before he fell asleep, his entire body stiffened. By his ear came Lin Cheng’s slightly apologetic voice. “I’m sorry. I drank too much at a social engagement last night, and in the morning, I walked into the wrong room…”

He Qing lay stiff and motionless. He bit his lip, desperately refusing to make a sound, yet tears slid down his cheeks incessantly, making him look incredibly pitiful. Meanwhile, Lin Cheng continued speaking. “I am truly sorry. I didn’t expect something like this to happen. If you have any demands, just bring them up. If I can fulfill them, I absolutely won’t delay.”

The air fell silent. An unknown amount of time passed before Lin Cheng heard He Qing’s weak, tearful voice tremble out. “Why… was it lavender…”

If he hadn’t smelled the scent of lavender, he never would have mistaken the person!

Taking advantage of the fact that the teenager couldn’t see, Lin Cheng looked at him with gentle eyes, yet his tone carried guilt. “I washed up at a hotel last night before coming back. Perhaps their body wash was lavender-scented. I drank too much last night and didn’t notice.”

He Qing’s brain was already muddled. He couldn’t distinguish whether Lin Cheng was telling the truth or lying, but he knew one thing—A-Chi had definitely misunderstood. Right! A-Chi!!

Jolting awake abruptly, the teenager struggled to get out of bed. A hand reached out beside him to help, which he dodged in panic. Once he realized what he had done, he tried hard to conceal his fear. “Lin, Uncle Lin, I can do it myself.”

Lin Cheng’s voice was calm, but his gaze darkened. “Are you going to look for Lin Chi? He just finalized his marriage engagement last night and drank quite a bit. He probably hasn’t gotten up yet.”

He Qing froze, feeling his neck stiffen beyond his control. Like a wooden puppet, he inched his head toward Lin Cheng’s direction. “Marriage… engagement?”

“Yes.” The corners of Lin Cheng’s mouth curved up slightly. “He officially gets engaged in seven days. It’s clear that Lin Chi is very satisfied with this marriage arrangement; he drank quite a bit out of happiness.”

He Qing’s mind went completely blank. Only that pleasant, magnetic voice slid into his ear canals like the whisper of a demon. “As his classmate, A-Qing, you absolutely must attend when the time comes.”

Half an hour later, in the living room.

With white gauze covering his eyes, He Qing wore a calm expression as he said to Lin Chi, “A-Chi, let’s break up.”