Translated by: Syeki
Edited by: Vanilla Muse
Chapter 43
It seems like Lin Jing had slipped something into Mu Jinchu"s drink to get him high, probably aiming to embarra.s.s him at the party, but had miscalculated the amount. Panicked and disoriented, Mu Jinchu had rushed to leave, but ended up causing a car accident instead.
Even while trying to shoulder the blame, he had to rely a lot on guesswork. Su Shi had entirely given up on this hopeless teammate. Fixing his gaze firmly on Lin Feng, he said: "Brother, no one is implicating me. I know you mean well."
Lin Feng stared at him, his chest suddenly burning with pain.
This reasoning was so full of loopholes, but he couldn"t bear to continue forcing this gentle and sensitive child.
"Jinchu, you have to know, I am your brother."
Lin Feng walked over to him and pulled the young man still standing at the doorway into his arms.
All his efforts to keep the youth warm had gone to waste, his body was cold to the touch again. His chest ached as Su Shi lay quietly in his hold, his soft, short hair gently brushing at Lin Feng"s neck.
"I care for you. Even if you misbehave or act foolishly, even if you don"t try to cover up for Lin Jing, I will still care for you."
The body in his arms shifted, and his gaze was met with a pair of dark eyes full of incredulity, lost and bewildered.
Like a hurt little animal which was obviously terrified, but still approaching him so cautiously on soft paws with the claws sheathed.
Lin Feng couldn"t help squeezing his palms. He led Su Shi over to the sofa to sit, and even brought a blanket to drape over his legs.
"Brother, I—"
His confidence momentarily shaken from the blow, Su Shi grabbed at Lin Feng"s sleeves. Lin Feng held his hand and patted his head: "Don"t be afraid, I won"t force you."
Having said that, he went to the table and brought out the laptop before returning to sit with Su Shi on the sofa.
"Xiao Jing, you come here too."
Presumably out of consideration for Mu Jinchu, his tone was a great deal less severe, but there was no warmth in his voice.
Like a drowning man grasping at a lifeline*, Lin Feng scrambled up and hurried over.
[*Syeki: 如逢大赦 (Rú féng dàshè) – like one granted amnesty]
"Let"s take a look together at what is being said on the Internet. After reading it all, you can tell me again who crashed the car."
Lin Feng"s tone remained steady. He could feel the body of the youth next to him tense up, but forced himself to hold still as he brought up the Weibo page.
Right now, if he were to attempt to exert some measure of control over the headlines, it would appear too deliberate. He wanted Mu Jinchu to be able to openly show his face in public with no fear of reprisal, and so had been looking for evidence and temporarily let things be.
The storm had not pa.s.sed. Given another night to fester, the situation was only likely to worsen.
He knew how much Mu Jinchu hated these things, but he had to show him the most cruel side of reality in hopes that it would change his mind.
The top search result was, #The inside story of Mu Jinchu"s drunk driving#.
"Brother, please don"t, I don"t want to see it—"
Su Shi suddenly tugged on Lin Feng"s arm, his tone was almost pleading.
He knew Lin Feng was now dead certain that Jinchu had not been the driver, but he lacked solid evidence still. All those fierce and condemning messages against him would be meaningless once the blame was shifted onto Lin Jing, and his mission would be ruined beyond hope of salvation.
"Just this once, Jinchu. As long as you can bear with it and still tell me that you"re fine, then I will not pursue this matter again."
Lin Feng shook his head at the child"s obstinate expression. He hardened his heart and clicked on the link.
The first hot result leapt out at them.
[ PleasecallmeLeiFengv: To the peanut gallery, let"s a.n.a.lyse all the points of suspicions of the press conference that were brought up by everyone these past two days. Case being: Not a fan nor a hater, People of the media.
First. Lin Jing said that Mu Jinchu crashed the car, Mu Jinchu hesitated for about five seconds, and then suddenly agreed.
Second. When the reporter asked further for specific details, Mu Jinchu was clearly at a loss, and then looked at Lin Jing, as if waiting for his signal.
Third. Lin Jing and Mu Jinchu"s stories were not aligned at the beginning. Then Mu Jinchu changed his story and repeated what Lin Jing had said. Then he apologised and the two of them stopped talking after that.
Fourth. Lin Jing was behaving weirdly, like he was hiding something.
This is as far as I"ve got. So who do you think crashed the car? ]
The replies it garnered has already exceeded ten thousand. The mess was no longer considered a discussion, but the public opinion was also no longer a one-sided view.
Scrolling down and down, the highest number of comments were actually focused on a photograph that was taken on the sly. The picture was blurry, but what was clearly seen was Mu Jinchu"s hand resting on Lin Jing"s head. Anyone could tell it was an act of giving comfort.
[ Pa.s.serbyofJusticeA: [image] The evidence is clear, so who was the driver? ]
[Syeki: 锤实 (Chuí shí) – lit real hammer. Referring to solid evidence such as pictures, videos, etc. 锤都这么实了(Chuí dōu zhème shíle) – lit the hammer is already so real.]
The author has something to say:
Su Shi: It was me!! Me ah!! へ(;"Д｀へ)
#Why are you people all like this! #