PBMM CH47

The youth, who had just lost his father, almost couldn’t believe his ears. He looked in disbelief at the refined young man, whose face still bore a gentle smile. “Linguan…”

Lu Linguan kept his hand on the girl’s shoulder, having absolutely no intention of removing it. Following the line of that slender hand, the red-eyed youth met a pair of panic-stricken eyes.

“A-Qing… it’s not what you think…” No matter how well she had planned it out beforehand, upon seeing He Qing’s despairing gaze, as if abandoned by everything, Mo Chuyu still panicked.

She was absolutely terrified of the youth looking at her with such a gaze. She practically broke free from under Lu Linguan’s hand in a panic, moving far away from him as if avoiding some flood or fierce beast.

But it was already useless.

He Qing stared blankly at her, his despairing eyes looking as if they would drip blood. His usual clear and arrogant voice was gone, as hoarse as if he hadn’t touched water for days. “When did it start…”

Mo Chuyu hurriedly waved her hands in a panic, stuttering an explanation. “A-Qing… I…”

“It’s been several months now…” Disregarding the girl’s resistance, Lu Linguan forcefully pulled her into his embrace. Looking at He Qing’s deathly pale face, the refined young man’s expression carried a hint of apology.

“Sorry, A-Qing. Actually, the one I’ve always liked is Chuyu. It’s just that she was afraid you would be sad and refused to agree, and even encouraged me to confess to you.” Saying this, Lu Linguan looked down slightly at the stiff-faced girl, his eyes full of tenderness. When he looked at He Qing, it turned back to apology.

“After getting together with you, I realized that Chuyu has always liked me too. After you and I got together, she also kept hoping we would break up amicably. So, A-Qing, let’s break up.”

The clumsy lies, falling upon the ears of the youth who had suffered consecutive blows, were like heavy stones smashing mercilessly onto his chest.

He was in a daze, the girl’s righteous and indignant voice echoing in his mind:

“Lu Linguan is lying to you! He doesn’t like you at all!”

“Hurry up and break up with him, he doesn’t like you at all!”

He had thought Chuyu was doing it for his own good, trying to protect him. So, was it actually to make him and Linguan break up?

Mo Chuyu abruptly widened her eyes. When did she ever have such a thought!

She looked anxiously at the youth, only to see him looking dazed, his eyes vacant. His usually rosy and healthy lips were dry and cracked as he murmured, “So… it was like this…”

Chuyu had always known about him liking Linguan. It was just that from the moment she found out, she had been opposing it, advising him countless times. He Qing had originally thought it was because she hated Linguan that she disapproved…

So, it was because she liked him?

Those words he used to think Chuyu said because she hated Linguan… turned out to be because she liked him…

Because she liked Linguan, Chuyu opposed them being together, which was why she kept advising him to break up.

Mo Chuyu didn’t know what the youth was thinking, but watching his expression gradually clear, she suddenly felt as if she was about to lose him. Her pupils shrank sharply. Without time to think it through, she viciously elbowed Lu Linguan, broke free from his grasp, and rushed in front of He Qing.

“A-Qing, it’s not what Lu Linguan said. Listen to me explain it to you!”

He Qing looked up blankly, meeting the anxious girl’s eyes.

Caught off guard by the hit, a trace of ruthlessness flashed under Lu Linguan’s glasses. He raised an eyebrow, his gentle smile remaining, and walked straight to the youth’s side. As if nothing had happened, he gently touched his head. “A-Qing, let’s listen to what Chuyu has to say.”

Mo Chuyu was stunned.

She discovered in despair that even at a stage like this, the youth’s gaze toward the refined young man was still full of trust and love.

Lu Linguan stood smiling behind He Qing, raising an eyebrow at the girl. “Chuyu, go ahead and say it.”

His hand rested lightly on the youth’s shoulder. Despite his gentle face, in Mo Chuyu’s eyes, it was full of threat.

If she told the truth, A-Qing would once again fall into Lu Linguan’s trap. Right now, with Uncle He in a coma and no one to protect A-Qing, he would definitely be devoured by the beast in human clothing before him, leaving not even bone scraps behind!

If she entered into a marriage alliance with Lu Linguan, she could absolutely make A-Qing give up. At worst, she could just back out of it later.

The pros and cons were right in front of her; how to choose required almost no thought at all. But looking at the refined young man standing behind He Qing, smiling the entire time, Mo Chuyu still felt unwilling. Being manipulated into making a choice like this was simply too stifling!

But no matter how stifling it was, she still had to sweep Lu Linguan out of the picture for A-Qing!

Under the youth’s pale face, the girl, almost grinding her teeth to dust, said word by word, “He’s right. We are together.”

“A-Qing, could you fulfill our wish, and break up with Lu… Linguan.”

He Qing stared blankly at the two. Right after losing his last relative, being kicked out of his house, homeless, and thinking he had absolutely nothing left, his lover of ten years and his best friend announced they were together.

The youth’s face was terrifyingly pale. Mo Chuyu’s expression gradually became uneasy. But thinking that once he broke free from Lu Linguan, A-Qing could rely on his shares and live worry-free from then on, she forcefully pushed down her urge to give up.

He Qing looked at Lu Linguan. His smile was still just as gentle, only this time, the gentleness was given to Mo Chuyu.

How can they act as if nothing happened?

They’re clearly together now, aren’t they?

Why can things change so quickly?

In just an instant, as if emotions that had been kept under a glass cover were completely released, sorrow and agony instantly invaded He Qing’s entire heart. The youth, with red eyes, looked at Mo Chuyu, trying hard to suppress the sob in his voice. “Could you leave, please? I want to talk to Linguan alone.”

“A-Qing…” Mo Chuyu bit her lip, looking at him worriedly, but the youth’s gaze had already landed on Lu Linguan.

She gritted her teeth, stepped forward, and leaned close to Lu Linguan’s ear. He also cooperatively lowered his head. The two of them, right in front of He Qing, began to whisper.

The man was handsome, the girl was beautiful. The way they leaned intimately together was truly very pleasing to the eye…

Looking at such a scene, the pale-faced youth clutched his chest.

It hurts, it hurts so much…

So it turns out, when you feel miserable, your heart really does ache…

He would never know that the two people he saw talking intimately were actually exchanging Mo Chuyu’s cold, disgusted, and hate-filled warning: “If you dare play any more tricks, I will immediately turn hostile, and don’t even think about getting any benefits!”

A doting smile hung on the refined young man’s lips, looking like a gentle, good man. He smiled and lowered his head. “Alright.”

Mo Chuyu left worriedly, leaving the two facing each other in silence.

“Linguan…” The youth spoke with a trembling voice, “When you said you liked me before, were you lying to me?”

“Of course it was true…” Lu Linguan, just as he always did, gently patted his head, his voice still gentle. “I truly, really liked you.”

As he spoke, his hand reached out naturally, intending to rest on the youth’s waist, but was dodged by him. Lu Linguan’s hand paused, and he looked up at him with an innocent face.

He was surprised to discover that the youth’s entire body was shaking.

As if placed in a world of ice and snow, even though he was wearing a lot, he still shivered from the cold. His fair and tender face was bundled up in his clothes. When those eyes looked at him, Lu Linguan froze.

The corners of the youth’s eyes were red, his long eyelashes already wet with tears, now sticking together and curling up slightly. These were a very beautiful pair of eyes, but the focal point of these eyes was that the hurt and stubbornness within them were terrifyingly bright.

Lu Linguan had always known He Qing’s eyes were beautiful. He didn’t expect that in such a situation, these eyes would still be so dark and bright, as if they could reflect the human heart.

His originally stone-stiff heart loosened.

He Qing’s entire body was trembling—not just his body, but even his bones felt terrifyingly cold. But he held on.

With tears in his eyes, He Qing, lips trembling, tried hard to squeeze out a fawning smile. “Linguan, you guys are tricking me, right…”

“Is this a prank… is it?”

Before Lu Linguan could answer, he started asking and answering himself again.

“No, no, Chuyu wouldn’t lie to me…”

“You guys are together? You like each other…”

“I only have you… I only have you left… don’t leave me behind…”

The youth’s breaking down appearance looked pitiful and fragile. Lu Linguan gently reached out his large, well-defined hand, brushing away the tears by his eyes. His magnetic voice whispered in his ear, “Does A-Qing like me? Do you want to be with me for a lifetime?”

He Qing looked up blankly. “I want to…”

Lu Linguan smiled at him. “You know why I got together with you before.”

“Even if Chuyu asked me to confess, I’m not the type of person to be swayed by others. We grew up together. You know what I want.”

He Qing’s dry lips trembled, his eyes full of agonized tears. “I don’t understand… what do you… want…”

He looked at the young man almost pleadingly, his eyes full of sorrow, frantically begging in his heart:

I beg you, Linguan, I only have you left…

I’ll give you whatever you want, as long as you stay…

I beg you…

The winter sunlight poured down, landing on half of Lu Linguan’s face. He intimately grasped the youth’s hands, smiling gently. “A-Qing, I want the shares Uncle He left behind.”

Gently stroking his cheek, the refined young man said softly, “Give them to me, okay?”