The banquet had been ongoing for two hours and it wouldn"t be surprising if some guests took some time to wander around the place to find some peace. It was no wonder Young Master Shen had also ditched the party and escaped from the noisy ballroom that was starting to get on his nerves. Shen Zichen felt scatterbrained, unfocused. He attributed it to being tired and exhausted from his long hours of work but there was still a part of him that was irked whenever he looked at Li Chuntao being held by her brother-in-law. It felt wrong for him even though he was aware of Li Chuntao"s plans.
It wasn"t something he was used to feeling, as he was always confident and unperturbed. Perhaps he was just worried about Li Chuntao"s welfare that he couldn"t easily accept how she was willing to utilize everything to get even with Mu Jianyu and Lin Meirong.
Granted, he was the one who pushed her into this path and he was willing to play his part in her plan for revenge and Li Chuntao had reminded him once not to cross the line. Thinking about it, what the h.e.l.l did she mean by that?
"Shen Zichen, know your place. You better not forget who"s in front of you." She had told him.
Did she mean that to keep level headed and not fool himself that she was Ying and not Chuntao? That"s ridiculous. Unlike that stupid Mu Jianyu, he knew how to differentiate the Li twins. He was one of those people that Ying and Chuntao couldn"t fool whenever they played switch when they were younger.
Perhaps, Li Chuntao was worried that he would be caught up with his feelings for Ying. That"s probably it, Shen Zichen rationalized. There was no way he would act differently to Chuntao just because of his unrequited love for Ying.
Li Chuntao had told him she only needed a year to complete her revenge and both of them could resume their previous lives once everything was settled. He could continue his mundane routine life, while she"d go back and continue to accomplish her dream, which has sidetracked when Ying died.
Was it really that easy? He wondered.
He grimaced when he remembered how Mu Jianyu had held her hand and his display of affection on her.
"Disgusting," Shen Zichen muttered to himself before fis.h.i.+ng out a pack of cigarettes from his tux and lit one of them.
"Hi, baby boy. Are you lost?" A familiar feminine voice reached his ears making him turn to face her. What Shen Zichen saw was Li Chuntao leaning against the pillar near the balcony he was at, her mask of pretense nowhere in sight.
"Chuntao…"
Li Chuntao shook a finger to him and corrected him. A wide grin plastered on her beautiful face.
"Ah, ah… it"s Ying, Brother Zichen," she said using the same tune Li Xiuying used when she was being playful. "Don"t ruin the play tonight." She reminded him.
Shen Zichen"s frown deepened and continued to puff the smoke as he looked heavenward.
Tonight"s weather was better than previous days and there were only a couple of clouds stopping the moon from s.h.i.+ning brightly.
There were so many questions in his head but he didn"t know how to ask her. After this, Shen Zichen knew Li Chuntao would eventually move in with Mu Jianyu to further torture the man in his own home.
"Chuntao, are you sure you"ll be alright?"
Amongst his question, this was the one that he needed a.s.surance of. It was easy for him to check on her when she was staying with Su Ling and Hou Chen but if she moved in with Mu Jianyu, Shen Zichen knew that his mind wouldn"t stop wondering how she was faring.
Li Chuntao arched a single brow at him and joined him at the balcony. Resting her arms on the railing, she marveled at how the garden below them was still beautiful even at nighttime. The moon was mirrored on the calm water of the huge fountain at the center of the garden as it hung high up in the sky above the grounds, casting a wondrous image for her and Shen Zichen to enjoy.
"You think too much. Can"t you have some faith in me?"
Shen Zichen remained silent, so did Li Chuntao. Both were deep in their own thoughts, but that was alright since the two were accustomed to each other"s silence when it was needed. This was how it had always been between them.
"We should get back to the ballroom. Guests will begin to wonder if we are missing for too long," Li Chuntao broke the silence, before turning to leave.
Sighing heavily, Shen Zichen finished his stick and threw the puff into the nearest trash bin before allowing Li Chuntao to grab his hand, his fingers twining with hers as she led him back to the crowded ballroom.
His heart raced at the touch, eyes locked on their interlocked fingers, relief was.h.i.+ng over him as he thought that this was better than seeing her being held by another man.
However, before they could reach the hallway towards the ballroom, Li Chuntao"s halted her steps, turned, and pressed herself on the nearest wall pulling Shen Zichen with her. From any onlookers" view, it would look like Shen Zichen was cornering her by their current position.
Her hands now on his chest as if she was shoving him away but wasn"t.
Shen Zichen"s eyes widened, standing there, shocked as he looked down at the woman trapped by him. Even before he could utter his question, Li Chuntao beat him to it.
"He"s there, watching us…" she whispered.
Shen Zichen blinked and understood what she was up to.
At the end of the dim-lit hallway, Mu Jianyu stood frozen in his place, watching the two with wide eyes. A soft glow of yellow light coming from the ballroom had given Li Chuntao a chance to see who was watching them.
"Lie to me, Brother Zichen. Say you love me." Her warm breath tickling his exposed neck.
Now, it was Shen Zichen"s turn to be shocked by her demand. Wasn"t she being presumptuous to ask him something like this just to spite Mu Jianyu?
Anyway, since she had asked him, who was he not to listen to her demands? Shen Zichen couldn"t even remember when was the last time he said no to this woman.
They stared at each other, Shen ZIchen wasn"t sure what was going on in her mind, but she was waiting with a guarded expression on her face, far from acting. His right hand reached up and cupped the side of her face.
"I love you... I have always loved you." He said loud enough for the three of them to hear.
Shen Zichen saw her lips quivered and as he stared into her eyes, he found a complex emotion that was threatening to surface on her cold mask. It was as if she was struggling to keep her composure at the moment.
Seeing her in this state, Shen Zichen didn"t know what made him lean forward, and with their foreheads barely touching, his lips descended on hers, shocking not only Mu Jianyu, but also Li Chuntao by his sudden actions.