154: Suffocating
Mental pollution, Chu Yilan thought to himself.
It had to be said that sometimes Young Master Feng could hit right where it hurt.
Sun Binghe was a known tough nut to crack; whether it was physical beatings or mental attacks, targeting him directly yielded little result. However, exposing one's own scars and polluting Sun Binghe's ears with tragic numbers was indeed effective in causing emotional fluctuations if the relationship was close enough.
Like right now.
Scoring no more than twenty points in math four times in a row—what a human tragedy, Sun Binghe thought.
Feng Yueshan was a bit smug: "There's something even more extreme, want to hear it?"
Sun Binghe immediately raised a hand to stop him, covering his eyes with the other as he leaned back against the sofa behind him, not wanting to speak for the time being.
Shen Lian, worried he might laugh out loud, took a big gulp of tea.
A moment later, Sun Binghe's voice was low and raspy: "Young Master Feng, could you please back away three meters? The air is quite suffocating."
Sun Binghe was already drunk, and with this added stimulation, his logic and consciousness were on the verge of collapsing.
And at a time like this, Assistant Sun wasn't very capable of listening to people.
Sun Binghe's body seemed to twitch slightly. This time, not only Shen Lian, but even Chu Yilan's expression changed slightly.
But Feng Yueshan was particularly obnoxious, leaning in to stare at Sun Binghe from below, his tone innocent yet cruel: "No way, Assistant Sun, are you crying?"
"No," Sun Binghe said muffledly. "I'm just wondering what breed of pig you were in your past life."
Feng Yueshan: "...Why are you resorting to personal attacks?"
When Sun Binghe lowered his hand, he wasn't crying, but his eyes were slightly red, and his pupils were dazed, stuck on those twenty points.
"No, do I even need to try that hard?" Feng Yueshan continued, "I'm the heir to Ding Tian International. I'll go abroad to get a fancy degree, then hire people like you to work for me. I'll never have to worry about food or clothes in this life."
Sun Binghe's words were cold and decisive: "You don't deserve it!"
Feng Yueshan: "..."
Sun Binghe took a long time to adjust. By the time his emotions stabilized, he had already maintained an absolutely safe distance from Feng Yueshan.
Then it was Feng Yueshan's turn to be disgusted. Sun Binghe's attitude made him feel like a piece of trash. Meanwhile, on the sofa next to them, Chen Mu had watched the whole thing.
Feng Yueshan pressed his hand to his brow. What was this? Mutual destruction?
But Chen Mu clearly didn't take it to heart. He never obsessed over grades; it was just that his fate was somewhat similar to Sun Binghe's. Without a powerful family for support, studying was the best way to change one's destiny within their power. Being quite smart, he always aimed for full marks.
And what Feng Yueshan just said was realistic and not wrong.
Shen Lian had a pretty happy afternoon. As dinner time approached, he rubbed his stomach and told Chu Yilan, "I'm hungry."
Chu Yilan asked Feng Yueshan and the others if they wanted to join. After getting a positive response, the group headed to a seafood restaurant.
Chen Mu felt from the bottom of his heart that he shouldn't be in these situations often. Real gaps couldn't be bridged just by having a calm mindset. When they came out, many rich second-generation kids had been weeded out; Ning Sixian let them do as they pleased, and those left for dinner were all close friends.
Chen Mu was preparing to say something when a hand draped over his shoulder.
Only the other's palm touched him; from his side to his entire back, there was space, conveying politeness and respect.
Chen Mu's feet stumbled as he was led along. Just then, the driver pulled up, and in the next second, he was pushed into the car by Feng Yueshan.
"Take my car. I can talk to you about the advertisement at the dinner table later," Feng Yueshan said professionally.
This statement left Chen Mu silent for a moment.
Outside, Shen Lian looked around: "Where's Chen Mu?"
Feng Yueshan's car slowly passed by. The window rolled down, and Young Master Feng leaned on one arm, saying lazily, "He's in my car. We'll head over first. Hurry up, I'm not paying for this meal."
Shen Lian felt like he had been caught off guard by Feng Yueshan several times today. He had just told himself he might be overthinking it, but then Feng Yueshan pulled this stunt.
Chu Yilan sent the location he had booked to everyone on the way. After Shen Lian arrived, he first asked the waiter for a bowl of seafood noodles.
He didn't think about it when he didn't see it, but after ten days on set, even with Braised Chicken with Rice to satisfy his cravings, his palate felt a bit bland.
Chu Yilan asked him, "Going back to the set tonight?"
Shen Lian shook his head while slurping noodles, his eyes full of hints.
Chu Yilan understood the sentiment and gently squeezed Shen Lian's hand under the table.
Ning Sixian was drinking tea when he suddenly spoke, "Right, I heard Jin Lei has been sentenced?"
"Sentenced," Chu Yilan replied. "He'll be eating prison food for the rest of his life."
More than that; Jin Lei had experienced all of Nie Sheng's methods. When he was finally sentenced for large-scale economic crimes, there was a look of relief on his face. He wanted to survive, but he didn't want to live a life worse than death in Chu Yilan's hands. After this period, half his life had already been tormented away.
But regarding that overseas account used for the joint remittance with Ming Lin, Jin Lei still wouldn't say a word.
He attempted to use this to manipulate Chu Yilan, even implying through his words, "As long as you let me go, you'll be very interested in the person behind me." But Chu Yilan didn't even ask; he just threw him away after the torture, never giving Jin Lei any chance for a quick end.
Whoever it is, Chu Yilan thought, I don't care.
Chen Mu sat next to Feng Yueshan. Feng Yueshan did chat with him a bit about the advertisement, but it was all clear content from the contract. Considering the boss had the right to ask and Feng Yueshan was drunk, Chen Mu was very patient, answering every question.
Feng Yueshan nodded as he listened. He picked up a Houhai langoustine to eat, but his hands were unsteady. After getting pricked twice, he suddenly got angry, frowned, and threw it back onto the plate with a noticeable clatter.
Chen Mu's voice stopped along with it.
Feng Yueshan felt annoyed with himself and turned to Chen Mu: "Go on, I'm just annoyed with peeling this."
Chen Mu hesitated for two seconds: "Do you want to eat it?"
Feng Yueshan was about to snap "No," but the words changed as they reached his lips: "Yeah, I do."
He looked like a noble young master waiting to be served. It seemed that in front of Chen Mu, his control over his emotions and actions was always lacking. Feng Yueshan worried Chen Mu would find him repulsive.
That wouldn't happen; their thinking wasn't even on the same level.
Feng Yueshan intended to show off, but Chen Mu's attitude was entirely that of someone dealing with a boss and financier.
Seeing that Feng Yueshan wasn't being picky, Chen Mu put on gloves and started peeling the shrimp for him.
Shen Lian remained calm, but he finally saw some signs. Could someone... be in a one-sided love?
By the time they finished the meal, it was already nine in the evening.
Chen Mu took a taxi back. Chu Yilan parted ways with Feng Yueshan and the others, first taking the completely wasted Sun Binghe to his place, and finally heading home with Shen Lian.
Chu Zhumi gave them a warm welcome. The once-stray cat was now plump and long, circling around Shen Lian's feet until it was heartlessly driven away by Chu Yilan at the master bedroom door.
The door closed with a "thud." Chu Zhumi grumbled a few times before running off.
Shen Lian proactively pinned Chu Yilan against the door. Without having to worry about someone pushing the door open halfway, he was extremely bold and uninhibited.
Master Chu's eyes were full of laughter as he opened his arms and let Shen Lian have his way.