Just as Li Chuntao had expected, Mu Jianyu"s face turned from several hues of green to black when he witnessed the kiss between her and Shen Zichen. As soon as she left the scene, Mu Jianyu stepped forward and revealed himself to Shen Zichen. "Shen Zichen, I didn"t know you"d stoop this low to seduce my wife. You scoundrel," he hissed towards Shen Zichen who was nonchalantly looking over his shoulder when Mu Jianyu made an appearance.
"Heh, your wife? Are you sure about that, Mu Jianyu?" Shen Zichen challenged him, enjoying how Mu Jianyu"s irritation had soared to another level at his taunting. Was Mu Jianyu really easy to be fooled by Li Chuntao?
"What do you mean by that? Don"t forget, Ying is still my wife!" Mu Jianyu spat back as if the fact that Ying was still his would poke Shen Zichen"s pride like it used to; when Li Xiuying hadn"t forgotten about him.
Young Master Shen shook his head and chuckled. For someone who always prided their face, Mu Jianyu surely forgot about it this time.
"Then let"s see how long you"ll be able to keep her because I plan to steal her away from you this time, Mr. Mu. I won"t say "may the best man win" because I have no plans of losing to you for the second time."
The war horn had been blown and there was no turning back. Shen Zichen had decided to steal "Ying" from Mu Jianyu"s hands and he wouldn"t stop until he had her.
"I"ve beaten you once. Do you really think you"ll be able to win this time?" Mu Jianyu countered but Shen Zichen remained unperturbed by his claims.
He unconsciously licked his dry lips and a hint of strawberry flavor hit his taste buds. Shen Zichen realized that it must have come from Li Chuntao"s lipgloss and thought that it wasn"t a bad taste at all.
If it will keep her lips pink and soft like what he discovered earlier, he wouldn"t mind buying her a couple of more tubes for Li Chuntao to use. As he pursed his lips, he was reminded of how soft and plump her lips were against his. It was only a small taste but Shen Zichen found himself addicted to her lips.
Back to the matter at hand, Shen Zichen didn"t find Mu Jianyu worthy as a rival. There was no point in fighting for something he owns in the first place. He decided, for the peace of his mind, to ruin "Ying" and Mu Jianyu"s relations.h.i.+p so Li Chuntao wouldn"t have to stay with Mu Jianyu for too long.
The earlier Li Chuntao finds enough reasons to break Mu Jianyu, the better for Shen Zichen. He must be unreasonable thinking this way but he wouldn"t let Li Chuntao waste a whole year being with that shameless and traitorous man, living under the same roof with him.
"That"s easy for you to say but now that Ying has forgotten about you, it would be easy for me to conquer her heart this time. Mu Jianyu, I supposed you"re smart but to think that you"ll impregnate your mistress and lie right in your wife"s face, where are you getting all this courage to fool Ying again?"
This time, it was Shen Zichen who hit all of Mu Jianyu"s sore spots. His arrogance making Mu Jianyu"s veins throb in anger. He"d planned to make Ying fall in love with him so that once his affair had been uncovered, it would be easy for him to beg for her forgiveness.
He would come clean and confess his sins to her and he could only hope that she would forgive him so they could start anew.
However, it seemed that Shen Zichen wouldn"t make it easy for him as he confessed to Ying earlier. Knowing Ying, she must be shocked by his sudden confession but a small part of Mu Jianyu feared that she would reciprocate Shen Zichen"s feelings now that she"d forgotten about him as her husband.
Mu Jianyu suddenly felt that his relations.h.i.+p with "Ying" was being sabotaged not only by Lin Meirong but also by Shen Zichen. Now that Shen Zichen had confessed to his wife, he wouldn"t be surprised if Ying would feel at a loss now.
Seeing her being kissed by Shen Zichen, Mu Jianyu could feel the turmoil rising in his chest as he watched his wife in another man"s arms. Was this what Ying felt when she discovered his affair with Lin Meirong before?
The pain of seeing your other half with someone else… how was she able to endure it without saying anything? Why didn"t she confront him when she found out? Maybe he would have stopped his affair with Lin Meirong if she had said anything.
"Mu Jianyu, you don"t deserve her, so I will take her away from you. If you are brave enough, why don"t you confess your sins to Ying now and come clean? The longer you lie to her, the deeper you dig your own grave." Shen Zichen told him before leaving him alone in that desolate hallway to look after Li Chuntao.
Young Master Shen was facing another problem. How would he face Li Chuntao now after that maddening kiss he shared with her?
He wandered around, wondering where Li Chuntao had run to. He admitted he was the one who wronged her this time and he was willing to take responsibility for his actions, but how? Well, he wasn"t sure himself.
He didn"t dare to do anything like that when Ying was alive, but he wasn"t able to stop himself earlier when he kissed Chuntao. He stopped midway and touched his lips.
When he kissed her, his brain lit on fire and the warmth spread throughout his entire body. After that he was addicted, he couldn"t bear not to be with her and he could barely breathe now when she wasn"t around.
Shen Zichen needed her. Those kisses were his salvation and his torment. He would live for them and would die with the memory of them on his lips.
Was he even attracted to Li Chuntao? Why was he so riled up when he saw her with Mu Jianyu anyway? Was he jealous?
After fifteen minutes of wandering around, he finally found her at the other side of the mansion, half of her face covered by the dark shadow as she was bathed by the moonlight outside.
"Chuntao," He called out and Shen Zichen saw her s.h.i.+ver. She turned her face to see him and smiled. Her cold mask was back, forbidding him to see and read her expressions.
"Brother Zichen…"
He strode towards her and looked at her face intently, studying her face.
"I…" What should he say? Should he say sorry? But he didn"t feel any remorse or guilt for what he did earlier, although he couldn"t explain why. He realized then, he must think over this feeling he had for Li Chuntao, later.
"Did you come here to apologize?" Li Chuntao asked him. She was mentally prepared to hear him say sorry, that he didn"t mean the kiss to happen.
However, instead of answering her question, Shen Zichen invaded her s.p.a.ce again. He stared deep into her eyes and cupped her cheek that was slowly turning red. He smiled at her before slowly leaning towards her.
Li Chuntao"s hands were shaking slightly as she placed it against his chest. Her mind was repeating the same sentence over and over, "Don"t do this... don"t do this." But the sound of her heart was beating so loudly that she couldn"t concentrate. It felt like it was going to explode.
Finally, his lips touched hers for the second time. Sparks flew in every direction, and the world was slowly disappearing around them, along with all of their worries, troubles, and their problems.
Shen Zichen made her feel like none of that mattered. It was a small yet warm kiss. Li Chuntao honestly never knew a kiss so innocent could be so intimate and electrifying.
Her lips were moving in perfect sync, his hands were feeling her waist. He pulled her closer, the kiss deeper, more pa.s.sionate. He felt her hands on the back of his neck, playing with the ends of his hair.
A smile grew on her face as it started to tickle, finally, they pulled apart.
This was Shen Zichen"s answer to her question and he didn"t regret doing it at all.