CH 90

Once again, Li Mingxuan had that weird dream.

In the dream, Shen Xi was swiftly sentenced to life imprisonment for premeditated murder attempt, and throughout the process, the entire Shen family chose to remain silent.

Li Mingxuan watched as Shen Xi was thrown into prison, watched as he begged Shen Dehan to help him file an appeal, watched Shen Dehan abandon him and watched the Shen family make a series of secret agreements with the Tian family. For his uncle, sacrificing a son he disliked for the friendship of the Tian family was too good a bargain.

Shen Xi’s life in prison unfolded in front of him, the hidden dangers, the countless malicious eyes, the Tian family’s ruthlessness and the Shen family’s indifference. He watched Shen Xi get hurt again and again, watched Shen Xi struggle to survive in prison, watched Shen Xi go from hope to despair. Li Mingxuan only felt as if his heart was cut by a dull knife.

He wanted to say that the dream was not real, that in his memory Shen Xi was abroad at that time and that everything he saw was false, but Fang Luowei’s appearance stunned him. If Shen Xi and his family appeared in his dream because they were close to him, then what was the reason for Fang Luowei’s appearance? He had never felt close to Fang Luowei.

The unfolding of the dream was not based on his personal preferences. He watched Fang Luowei provoke Wang Li just as he remembered, and without Shen Xi, without anyone to help him, Fang Luowei was finally caught by Wang Li and stabbed him to death with a knife during the conflict.

As Fang Luowei was imprisoned for murder, Li Mingxuan suddenly realised something and an idea faintly appeared in his mind. This idea was soon confirmed. Fang Luowei and Shen Xi were separated at first but it didn’t take long for the two to become friends. He watched the two get along tacitly, watched them support each other and trust each other. All of that made his heart ache for Shen Xi’s situation while inevitably bringing out a trace of sourness.

He thought he would always keep watching like that, but to his surprise, it all came to an abrupt end in the middle of the premeditated riot. The moment that knife stabbed Shen Xi, Li Mingxuan struggled desperately to wake up, as if waking up would stop it from happening. But it was as if his body was confined, he could do nothing but watch as Shen Xi fell heavily to the ground, blood spreading around his body.

“No!” With this exclamation, Li Mingxuan’s eyes snapped open and for a moment he could not tell where he was, was he in reality or in a dream?

The warmth around his body reminded him of where he was, “It’s that dream again!” Li Mingxuan murmured in fear, casually turning on the bedside lamp and slowly sitting up. In the warm light, there were no messy prison figures, no ashen-faced Shen Xi, no dazzling blood, just the familiar layout of the room.

After looking around to confirm that he was really in the guest room of Ye Han’s house, Li Mingxuan reached out and covered his heart, where the dull ache from losing Shen Xi in his dream was still present. Li Mingxuan took a deep breath, then quickly thought of something, got out of bed and haphazardly put on a coat over his pyjamas, picked up his car keys and pushed open the door.

“Mingxuan?” Ye Han’s sleepy voice came from the master bedroom, “What are you doing?”

Li Mingxuan stopped in his tracks, “Did I wake you up?”

Ye Han leaned lazily against the doorway, “Fortunately, I happened to wake up too. By the way, what are you going to do so late?”

Li Mingxuan in the living room was wearing a coat, clearly looking as if he was going out. Before Li Mingxuan could answer, Ye Han suddenly straightened with a surprised look, “You’re not trying to go find Shen Xi, are you?”

Li Mingxuan nodded frankly. Ye Han opened his mouth in surprise and looked at Li Mingxuan for a long time before whispering, “You’re really crazy!”

Hearing this, Li Mingxuan only gave a bitter smile and did not explain anything. Perhaps the heartache of losing Shen Xi in his dream was too strong, and he now had to see Shen Xi as soon as possible to confirm his safety, to confirm that he was still by his side. Not bothering to say anything more to Ye Han, Li Mingxuan hurriedly left his house under Ye Han’s crazy look.

Just ten minutes later, Li Mingxuan appeared at that familiar door.

Because he had come out in such a hurry, he had not brought the key with him. He didn’t have time to think about whether Shen Xi was asleep or not, so he rang the doorbell, just wanting to see Shen Xi as soon as possible.

Not long after, footsteps came, and Shen Xi’s voice was alert behind the door, “Who is it?”

The moment he heard the voice, Li Mingxuan’s heart that had been dull and aching miraculously eased up. Struggling to adjust his emotions, Li Mingxuan tried to keep his voice from trembling, “It’s me!”

“Cousin?” Shen Xi said hesitantly, subconsciously looking up at the clock hanging on the wall. 3 a.m., what was Li Mingxuan doing here?

Opening the door suspiciously, Shen Xi saw Li Mingxuan standing at the door. Perhaps he was in a hurry to go out because Shen Xi’s eyes couldn’t help but notice the hem of his pyjamas under his coat and even on his feet there were still cotton slippers.

Before the confusion in Shen Xi’s eyes dissipated, Li Mingxuan had already stepped forward and hugged him tightly.

Li Mingxuan’s coat still carried the chill of the winter night, and at first contact, Shen Xi subconsciously shivered and tried to break free from Li Mingxuan’s embrace. But unexpectedly Li Mingxuan hugged him very hard, as if he wanted to imprint him into his body. As Shen Xi struggled, Li Mingxuan also increased his strength, and while holding him, he pleaded in a low voice, “Xiao Xi, let me hold you, don’t leave me.”

Li Mingxuan’s voice was trembling and full of a vague fear. Shen Xi, who originally wanted to break free, felt his heart soften and relaxed his body, not struggling anymore. Li Mingxuan felt the familiar scent, and the feeling of having lost and regaining made him reluctant to let go of Shen Xi for a while. He carefully placed a kiss on Shen Xi’s head, his expression reverent, as if he was facing the most precious treasure in the world.

Shen Xi’s heart throbbed. He could feel that cherished attitude of Li Mingxuan; he wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, he swallowed his words.

“Xiao Xi!” What Fang Luowei saw when he walked out of the bedroom was this scene in front of him. The worry he had felt because Shen Xi had not moved since he opened the door was relieved, and instead a faint bitterness welled up in his heart. A few hours ago, he had just heard the news about Shen Xi and Li Mingxuan breaking up, but the secret hope he felt at the news was shattered by the scene in front of him before he had the chance to express it. Although he knew that it was not the right time for him to appear here, his “Xiao Xi” obviously alerted the two people at the door, and it was impossible to retreat silently.

Hearing that “Xiao Xi”, Li Mingxuan subconsciously looked up and then froze in his tracks. It was not that he suspected that Shen Xi and Fang Luowei had something going on, but he had just seen Fang Luowei in his dream, and when he suddenly met him in reality, he had a feeling that his dream world was confused with reality. However, his reaction obviously caused Fang Luowei to misunderstand something. Hiding the bitterness in his eyes, Fang Luowei said as naturally as possible, “Xiao Xi’s birthday is today, and we were a bit late celebrating, so we stayed here by the way.”

Only then did Li Mingxuan come back to his senses and notice several gorgeously wrapped gift boxes scattered around the living room, and there was even a half-eaten cake on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Li Mingxuan’s eyes turned soft and he was about to speak when he heard Shen Xi in his arms whisper, “Let go!”

Originally, after Fang Luowei appeared, Shen Xi wanted to break free from Li Mingxuan’s embrace, but Li Mingxuan hugged him too hard. Even when Fang Luowei spoke, Li Mingxuan had no intention of letting go, so Shen Xi had no choice but to whisper a reminder.

When Li Mingxuan heard this, he didn’t let go as Shen Xi thought, but let go of one arm, and the other reached over his shoulder, wrapping tightly around him, as he looked at Fang Luowei frankly, “Thank you for helping Xiao Xi celebrate his birthday.”

Shen Xi, who was still confined in Li Mingxuan’s arms, glared at him discontentedly and turned to Fang Luowei, “Luowei, you go in first and rest, I’ll just have a few words with my cousin.”

Fang Luowei nodded at Shen Xi with a faint smile and turned around to close the bedroom door tightly.

Once again, Shen Xi and Li Mingxuan were left in the living room. Shen Xi felt the strength of Li Mingxuan’s grip on him, gave up struggling and whispered, “It’s so late, what are you doing over here, Cousin?”

Li Mingxuan’s eyes focused firmly on Shen Xi, his expression serious, “I had a nightmare that I lost you, not a break-up, but a real loss. I watched you fall in front of me. No matter how much I shouted you couldn’t hear me. I watched the life drain from you little by little, and all I could do was stand helplessly to the side, unable to do anything but watch. When I woke up, I realised that no matter what you were with me for, Xiao Xi, even if you don’t like me at all, none of that matters now. I just want to be with you, I can’t bear that kind of loss. Xiao Xi, give me one more chance, let me stay with you.”

Shen Xi’s expression became hesitant; he could feel the seriousness in Li Mingxuan’s words, but he did not think the two of them were suitable to be together.

“I’ve sold the shares in my hands,” Shen Xi whispered.

“?” Li Mingxuan was a bit confused about what Shen Xi meant.

Shen Xi looked at Li Mingxuan and explained, “You know what I’ve done. I calculated my own father to cause him to lose his reputation. I calculated my elder brother and second brother to almost lose their brotherhood. I sold my shares in Shen Group, and Shen Group will change hands because of this. I hate the Shen family and soon there will no longer be a Shen family in Central Beijing. As you can imagine, when I first agreed to be with you, it was not because I liked you, but because I did not have good intentions. I am not the Shen Xi you imagined. Such a me, do you really think we are suitable to be together?”

Shen Xi stood in front of Li Mingxuan, saying it softly in a calm tone. Li Mingxuan looked at him and saw the Shen Xi in his dream. The same look, the same insistence, the same hatred for the Shen family, the two figures of Shen Xi completely overlapped. Li Mingxuan’s eyes were firm as he said with a solemn expression, “I know that what I saw before was not the real you, but do you dare to say that what you showed in front of me was all fake? Xiao Xi, I admit that what I fell in love with wasn’t the full you, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t you. Xiao Xi, give me a chance to get to know the real you. You know, compared to the heartache of losing you, what you are worried about is not important to me. The most important thing is that I want to be with you.”

Their eyes met. Shen Xi’s hesitation, Li Mingxuan’s determination… 

Do you want to be together?