CH 86

Perhaps the stimulation was too great this time. Shen Dehan was in a coma and the doctor clearly diagnosed: Shen Dehan’s originally improved health deteriorated sharply. Even if he woke up, he could only spend the rest of his life in a hospital bed.

When Shen Bixue arrived at the hospital in a hurry, she saw the lone figure of Shen Ji.

“Ah Ji, you’re alone? Where are Xiao Xi and Ah Cheng?”

“I left Ah Cheng at home, he had a drug addiction episode. I haven’t seen Shen Xi yet.” Faced with Shen Bixue’s question, Shen Ji replied in a low voice. He had received a call from his bodyguard as soon as Shen Dehan fainted and knew about the press conference. Like Li Mingxuan, he quickly realized that Shen Dehan was being set up, but who was behind it? Who was scheming against Shen Dehan so carefully? The fact that Chu Qianqian had been by Shen Dehan’s side for more than half a year, didn’t it mean that this was a long-planned scheme?

Shen Bixue did not know what was in Shen Ji’s mind, and seeing his distorted face, she thought he was worried about his father and said soothingly, “Don’t think too much, Big Brother will be fine.”

“I know, Aunt!” Shen Ji nodded.

Shen Bixue sighed. She didn’t expect this to happen. If she had known earlier, she would have been a bit more forceful trying to stop Shen Dehan, wouldn’t everything have been avoided then? As Shen Bixue sighed, she thought of Li Mingxuan, “Has Mingxuan not been here either?”

She called Li Mingxuan as soon as she received the news that Shen Dehan had fainted and asked him to come to the hospital as soon as possible. But it had been so long that she had time to rush over from home, why hadn’t Mingxuan arrived yet? After a concerned glance at Shen Dehan, who was still being resuscitated, Shen Bixue walked to the side of the corridor and pressed Li Mingxuan’s number.

The phone kept ringing for a long time before it was picked up, and Shen Bixue said anxiously, “Mingxuan, where are you now and why haven’t you arrived at the hospital yet? Do you know where Xiao Xi is? Something so big has happened…”

“Xiao Xi is sick.” Li Mingxuan interrupted his mother straight away. He knew what his mother meant, hoping that Shen Xi would show up at the hospital at a time like this to prevent reporters from writing some nonsense. He laughed bitterly at his mother’s thoughts in his heart, but he couldn’t help covering up for Shen Xi.

“Xiao Xi is sick?” Shen Bixue said in surprise.

“En!” Li Mingxuan confirmed, explaining in passing, “Mom, don’t worry, I’m at home with Xiao Xi now, I’ll go to the hospital sometime this afternoon.”

A beeping sound soon came out of the receiver. Li Mingxuan hung up the phone after explaining without waiting for Shen Bixue’s answer. Shen Bixue’s face revealed a trace of worry. They say no one knows the son like his mother; she obviously felt that Mingxuan’s emotions seemed to be wrong.

What his mother would think was not on Li Mingxuan’s mind at the moment. As he stood quietly at the door of Shen Xi’s apartment, Li Mingxuan’s face was distorted in pain. He knew that Shen Xi was inside, a wall away from him, but he didn’t have the courage to push the door open. Chu Qianqian’s incident was just the beginning. After Shen Xi’s frank admission, the suspicion that Li Mingxuan had suppressed a few days ago because of Lu Gesen immediately took root in his heart, swelling and growing. He could no longer pretend that he could not see it and deceive himself. He desperately needed to see Shen Xi, he needed an answer from him.

With such thoughts in his mind, he sped all the way back home. But when he actually stood at the door, he suddenly lost the courage to go in. If what happened to the Shen family for the past six months was all Shen Xi’s scheme, what should he do? If even being with him was part of Shen Xi’s calculations, what should he do?

These two thoughts tormented his heart beyond imagination. He tried several times to fumble for the key to open the door, but hesitated again.

As Li Mingxuan was struggling, the door of the apartment suddenly opened from the inside and Shen Xi stood there with a calm face.

“Cousin.” His voice was as usual, not a hint of strangeness could be heard in it.

Li Mingxuan’s eyes focused on Shen Xi’s face. He wanted to see something, but there was nothing but calmness.

The two of them stood quietly at the door. Shen Xi said tranquilly, “Won’t Cousin come in?”

After saying that, Shen Xi turned and walked back into the living room. Li Mingxuan’s eyes stayed glued to Shen Xi’s body as he silently followed him in. Shen Xi habitually nestled on the sofa and looked frankly at Li Mingxuan who was standing in front of him, “Does Cousin have something to ask me?”

Ever since he had admitted on the phone that Chu Qianqian had been his arrangement, he was prepared to face everything that would come. He had thought about whether to hide what he had done from Li Mingxuan, but on second thought he had decided to sell the shares in his hands, and sooner or later Li Mingxuan would know what he had done; not to mention that his pride made him not bother to hide it.

Shen Xi’s words were burning the boats. Li Mingxuan’s heart instantly sank to the bottom as he looked straight at Shen Xi with undisguised pain in his eyes.

Shen Xi met Li Mingxuan’s gaze. Perhaps it was because the pain in Li Mingxuan’s eyes was so deep that Shen Xi’s heart could not help but clench. Avoiding Li Mingxuan’s gaze somewhat embarrassedly, Shen Xi lowered his head and repeated the previous question, “Is there something Cousin wants to ask?”

Li Mingxuan looked at Shen Xi and said in a low voice, “Have you been scheming against the Shen family since you returned to China?”

“Yes.”

This “yes” hit Li Mingxuan so hard that he felt a strong bitterness spreading from his heart. Although he was already prepared for the worst on the way home, he still hoped that everything was his imagination. But Shen Xi’s admission dashed all his hopes.

Shen Xi did not look at Li Mingxuan. He was a bit afraid to look at his expression. He didn’t know if he was influenced by Li Mingxuan, but Shen Xi only felt as if his whole heart was gripped by some cruel hand and felt incomparably painful. Trying hard to adjust his emotions, Shen Xi lowered his head and told Li Mingxuan everything about the arrangements he had made since his return to China. Of course, he deliberately avoided mentioning Wang Changlin and Lu Gesen. For one thing, they were only cooperating and the actions of Wang Changlin and Lu Gesen had nothing to do with him, and for another, the matter of Shen Group was not yet finalised. Although he decided to confess to Li Mingxuan, he did not want Li Mingxuan to ruin his final plan.

Shen Xi’s voice sounded quietly in the living room, and the pain in Li Mingxuan’s eyes grew deeper and deeper as Shen Xi talked. He finally saw that Shen Xi’s resentment was not just against Shen Dehan alone, but against the entire Shen family. Li Mingxuan remembered in a trance that Shen Xi had mentioned before that he had no interest in the Shen family, but only then did he truly understand the deeper meaning behind these words. What Shen Xi wanted was not the Shen family, but the destruction of the Shen family.

Li Mingxuan stood there in silence as Shen Xi’s words alternated with his mother’s words in his mind. He remembered that a few days ago, his mother had looked at him earnestly hoping that he could persuade Shen Xi to forget the past. What did he think at the time? Li Mingxuan looked at Shen Xi in pain.

Shen Xi’s narration came to an end. So, there was a shadow of Shen Xi behind everything that had happened to the Shen family in the past six months. Li Mingxuan knew that Shen Xi would not lie to him, but he did not hear Lu Gesen’s name. He couldn’t tell what exactly he felt. He did not believe that Shen Xi had done all this without the assistance of Lu Gesen behind the scenes, but Shen Xi did not even mention Lu Gesen’s existence. Ye Han’s words flashed through his mind and he said bitterly, “What about Lu Gesen, what did he do?”

Lu Gesen’s name surprised Shen Xi for a moment; his eyebrows unconsciously furrowed. He wasn’t sure if Li Mingxuan knew Lu Gesen’s identity, but no matter what, he had no right to divulge Lu Gesen’s affairs without permission. Shen Xi’s silence was very obvious; he clearly did not intend to answer the question. His attitude was like a knife stabbing Li Mingxuan’s heart so hard that an extremely ugly smile appeared on Li Mingxuan’s face.

The living room was once again quiet as Shen Xi lowered his head and forced himself not to look at Li Mingxuan. Li Mingxuan stood quietly in front of Shen Xi and could not help but reach out and place his hand on Shen Xi’s head, rubbing his hair as intimately as he always did.

Li Mingxuan’s action took Shen Xi by surprise and he subconsciously looked up. Li Mingxuan’s heart moved; he could not help but lower his head and kiss Shen Xi. The kiss was so sudden that Shen Xi was stunned for a moment, but the touch on his lips soon brought him back to his senses. Li Mingxuan gently nibbled on Shen Xi’s lips, prying them open and pushing his tongue inside, greedily searching for Shen Xi’s scent and eagerly exploring every corner inside. Li Mingxuan’s movements were so intense that Shen Xi couldn’t help but fall into a trance, dazed and confused for what seemed like a long time. Then Li Mingxuan’s movements began to become gentle as he curled his tongue a little, entwining it with Shen Xi’s tongue.

Shen Xi could sense the feeling of being cherished by the other party contained in the kiss, but hidden in it, was an indescribable desperation. Shen Xi’s heart ebbed and flowed with the kiss. He hesitantly looked at Li Mingxuan, who slowly let go, looking at him closely and whispering, “Xiao Xi, have you ever liked me?”

This was the first time Li Mingxuan asked Shen Xi this question, and a trace of confusion flashed across Shen Xi’s face. Did he like him? He didn’t know. The feeling he had once known when he was young and liked someone had dissipated into the dazzling blood red on that night when he was eighteen. Since then, all he could think about was the words “to live”. What did it mean “to like”? In the hard struggle to survive in prison, in the never-ending battle for his life, he had long forgotten what it was like to like someone. When death came suddenly and he was reborn unexpectedly, his life was reduced to the word “revenge”. He had always thought he would live his life alone; he had never thought he would like anyone one day. But Li Mingxuan suddenly appeared in front of him, and he craved the warmth Li Mingxuan could give, and he got used to having him by his side little by little. He would look at Li Mingxuan and couldn’t help but smile, he would also feel sad when Li Mingxuan was sad. He admitted that Li Mingxuan was different to him. Was this liking?

Shen Xi’s bewilderment was seen by Li Mingxuan, and his silence was once again like a knife stabbing into Li Mingxuan’s heart, cutting countless wounds fiercely. The anticipation in his eyes faded a little. Li Mingxuan could not help but scorn himself. He had obviously guessed the reason why Shen Xi was with him, why did he still ask this question, refusing to give up?

Carefully reaching out to touch Shen Xi’s face, Li Mingxuan hid the bitterness in his eyes and said in a lost voice, “I see.” Without waiting for Shen Xi to say anything, he whispered, “I will move out soon, you don’t have to worry. Without me around, you have to remember to take care of yourself, eat on time and sleep on time, and take care to rest well.”

There was a deep despair in Li Mingxuan’s words, and the implication of him leaving was very obvious. Shen Xi looked at him deeply; the word “like” was stuck in his throat and he couldn’t say it.

Li Mingxuan smiled bitterly and got up, “I’ll leave first, I’ll find time to come back and move the things.”

Shen Xi suppressed the sadness in his heart, calmly looked at Li Mingxuan and nodded. As Li Mingxuan disappeared outside the door, Shen Xi looked at the door and said softly, “I like you, Cousin, I like you.”