It was Mu Jianyu who first broke from the trance and uttered the man"s name with disgust. What the h.e.l.l was he doing here? "Shen Zichen," he said with irritation.
It only then did Li Chuntao realize that she wasn"t seeing things. Shen Zichen, her lover whom she hadn"t seen and talked to for two full weeks was standing right outside Mu Jianyu"s door.
"Brother Zichen…"
Seeing him tonight made her heart skip a beat. She hadn"t realized how much she"d been missing him until he showed up in front of her, and as usual, unannounced.
Li Chuntao knew that he didn"t like this idea of hers, but it was too late for her to stop her plans. For the last few days, she"d been mulling on how she should talk to him. She"d been used to being with him and it felt like she hadn"t heard from him in forever.
"Yow!" Shen Zichen said in a greeting and lifted his right hand while his other hand was buried in his pocket. He was wearing a navy blue dress s.h.i.+rt and caramel-colored pants, paired with flat black shoes.
Li Chuntao raised a brow at him.
"Yow, your face. What the h.e.l.l are you doing here? What are you up to?" She tried to convey her thoughts through her stare but Mu Jianyu beat her to it.
"What are you doing here?" He didn"t like to see Shen Zichen near his wife. Any other husband surely wouldn"t want another man hanging out with their wife, especially when the said man had confessed his feeling to the said wife.
"Ah, I"m here to check the apartment I just purchased. I"ll be your new neighbor from now on." Shen Zichen said nonchalantly which surprised Mu Jianyu and Li Chuntao at the same time.
Li Chuntao initially thought that he was brooding over her decision to move in with Mu Jianyu, but she should have known that this man would go the extra mile when he decided on something.
"Oh," they said in unison. Neither of them knows how to react to the fact that Shen Zichen would be living next door to them.
Li Chuntao invited Shen Zichen inside Mu Jianyu"s apartment, much to his displeasure. He didn"t understand why both of them were acting as if Shen Zichen"s confession never happened.
As soon as Shen Zichen stepped inside, his eyes scanned the entire area because he"d only been here once while Li Xiuying was still alive.
"Ying, how are you adapting to this house? No problem so far?" He asked Li Chuntao who was busy pouring him a cup of tea as Mu Jianyu sat across them.
"Brother Zichen is worrying too much. I"m doing quite good here. Jianyu has been treating me well all this time," she said flatly, ignoring the way Shen Zichen"s eyes sharpened at her.
"That"s good. At least Aunt Yue wouldn"t need to worry now,"
"My Aunt Yue?" Li Chuntao placed the kettle down and sat down beside Mu Jianyu, much to Shen Zichen"s irritation. She should be sitting beside him, not that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!
"Yeah. She"d been calling me for days to pay you a visit since she couldn"t with her hectic schedule."
"Ah, yes. She called me the other night and kept reminding Yu Lou never to forget my meals on time." Li Chuntao nodded and took a side glance at her brother-in-law.
It was clear that the Li family still couldn"t accept Mu Jianyu into their family. Why would they approve of him after all the things he"d done to Li Xiuying.
Mu Jianyu was still troubled over this. There was no a.s.surance that even if he regained Li Xiuying"s heart the Li family wouldn"t come after him. He was actually surprised that they allowed Ying to move in with him without causing any problem.
—-
Li Chuntao was the one to see Shen Zichen out. As soon as they were out of everyone"s sight, Shen Zichen s.n.a.t.c.hed Li Chuntao"s hand and tightly gripped it with his hand.
She looked up to him this time with amus.e.m.e.nt in her eyes. It seemed that she wasn"t the only one missing each other"s company.
"To think that you decided to move in next door to stalk me? I should commend you, Brother Zichen,"
"There"s nothing wrong with stalking my wife," he retorted nonchalantly.
The blush that spread on Li Chuntao"s face was instantaneous that Shen Zichen had a hard time stopping himself from chuckling.
"Wife? Don"t spout such nonsense, Shen Zichen," she chided him. It was a good thing that the hallway to the elevator was dim-lit so no one can see her blush.
Shen Zichen pulled her hand and she found herself pinned on the wall near the elevator. She held her breath as his face dangerously hovered hers. Her eyes fixated on his lips, itching to feel it against hers.
She"d been too long without him and having him around this time made Li Chuntao feel restless.
"Nonsense? Don"t tell me you want to become Mu Jianyu"s wife this time?" His voice was so low and dangerous as he looked down on her.
"Don"t be stupid. I"ll never wish to become his wife." She snorted and turned her head sideways, revealing her pale neck to his prying eyes.
His hand reached up and cupped the side of her face, forcing her to look up at him, face to face. What she saw was desire and longing in his eyes. Something she"d never seen from him before.
What changed? Was she really the reason he was acting like this right now? When he looked at her face, she always wondered whom he was seeing. Was it Ying whom he claimed to have loved before, or was it her, Li Chuntao, who only recently became his lover?
"You"re so cruel to me, Chuntao. Not even a single text or call for the past two weeks? What am I to you then? Am I not your lover? Are you not mine?" Shen Zichen questioned her.
His lips descended and gently kissed her forehead, her brow, down to her cheek, pausing for a moment to look at her pair of brown eyes that he could never tired of seeing before he melded their lips together.
Li Chuntao"s hands lifted up and held both sides of his face as she returned his kiss with the same intensity he had given her. She placed all the love and longing she"d been keeping deep inside her heart into her kiss. She admitted, only to herself, that she missed him terribly.
How can he doubt her when it has always been him? When no matter how many times she tried to bury these feelings she had for him, and no matter how many times she tried to forget, she always found herself thinking of him?
This aching emptiness inside of her, Li Chuntao thought that she was already used to it and when he declared that she would be his, her mind wanted to protest, but her heart cried out, refusing to be binded by the shackles anymore. She wanted him. She"d always loved him.
He might only be seeking her for s.e.xual pleasures and nothing else. They were having an affair, he said. Yes, they were having an affair while she was pretending to be Ying, the woman he loved, not her.
This was ridiculous, her mind said. This was insanity, her heart agreed.
When they both parted from each other, they were both gasping for breath.
"I"ll see you tomorrow morning." Shen Zichen gave her a peck on her lips before stepping into the elevator to leave.
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