When Shen Xi woke up, the sky was just getting lighter. The man next to him was still sleeping, his peaceful breath blowing on his face, and Shen Xi had a momentary lapse of concentration.

Perhaps it was because he had mentioned his childhood before going to sleep last night that after he fell asleep, his dreams were interspersed with fragments of his early years. Shen Xi knew he was dreaming, but he couldn’t wake up. In his dream, he once again experienced his mother jumping out of the window, his uncle’s car accident, his grandfather’s death, his father’s coldness and Shen Cheng’s bullying, but whenever he felt sad, there was always a warm shadow beside him, accompanying him and holding him.

In his dream, Shen Xi could not see the shadow clearly, but he always felt that he knew this man, was close to him and trusted him. He liked the fact that the shadow was with him, holding him and smiling at him. What made him even happier was that the shadow was his alone and only good to him and no one could take it away.

The moment he opened his eyes, Shen Xi felt in a daze that the dream and reality seemed to overlap, and someone next to him was holding him tightly, as warm and reassuring as in his dream. The corners of Shen Xi’s mouth couldn’t help but curl up. His consciousness soon returned as he felt the arms wrapped firmly around his waist. Shen Xi raised his head slightly and saw Li Mingxuan’s quiet sleeping face. With a twitch in his heart, he gently moved his body forward. The familiar scent permeated the room and Shen Xi leaned over in reassurance, unable to help but reach out and press his hand against Li Mingxuan’s heart.

At this moment he was suddenly a little jealous of the Shen Xi in the dream, not only because he had someone with him when he was sad, but more importantly because the Shen Xi in the dream trusted that person wholeheartedly, the trust he had never given to this man beside him.

Shen Xi let out a silent sigh. Li Mingxuan’s heartbeat was steady and strong, reaching Shen Xi’s hand through the thin pyjamas. Shen Xi instinctively probed along the neckline of the pyjamas, his palm tracing the warm skin and pressing against the beating heart.

Shen Xi unconsciously counted the frequency of the heartbeat and was about to pull his hand away when he suddenly felt a hot gaze fall on his body. Subconsciously, he looked up and met Li Mingxuan’s dark eyes. Shen Xi realized that his hand was still inside Li Mingxuan’s pyjamas.

Shen Xi quickly withdrew his hand and tried to speak, but the next moment Li Mingxuan’s kiss blocked Shen Xi’s lips.

This kiss was full of dominance and carried emotions that Shen Xi could not understand. Shen Xi passively opened his mouth, allowing the other party to explore his mouth wantonly.

As the kiss continued, Shen Xi felt a fire ignite inside his body. Hot palms pressed against his skin and moved along the curves of his body. The fire inside him burned even hotter, and Shen Xi groaned in impatience.

The soft groan seemed to be a signal, and the man beside him became even more reckless. The pyjamas were quickly stripped off, and even though the room was not cold, Shen Xi could not help but shiver at the first contact of his skin with the air. The next moment a hot body came down and Shen Xi was confined in the other man’s arms completely.

As hot kisses fell on his body, Shen Xi narrowed his eyes and saw Li Mingxuan reaching for the blue packet of lubricant on the bedside table. For some reason, the first thought that flashed through Shen Xi’s mind was not to stop it, but when did Li Mingxuan prepare it that he hadn’t even noticed.

The moment this thought flashed in his mind, there was cool liquid touching his behind. Shen Xi instinctively stiffened, looking up to meet Li Mingxuan’s patient expression. His heart couldn’t help but soften and he tried to relax his body.

As the fingers entered, Shen Xi frowned and endured the discomfort. Unlike the last time when he was under the influence of aphrodisiacs, this time Shen Xi’s consciousness was incomparably clear, and the strange sensation was amplified through his senses, leaving him with an indescribable feeling.

The fingers slowly withdrew, and Shen Xi couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. The next instant Li Mingxuan’s hot desire pushed inside, firmly squeezing in a little. Shen Xi grunted. Despite the previous expansion, the narrow tunnel was still unable to accommodate the enormous desire. As Shen Xi’s body stiffened once more, Li Mingxuan patiently stopped his movements and kissed Shen Xi gently.

With these soothing kisses, Shen Xi slowly adapted to Li Mingxuan’s entry. Following Li Mingxuan’s movements, Shen Xi let out a low moan.

He was burning. Their bodies entwined wantonly as Shen Xi clung to Li Mingxuan, his mind going blank. As Li Minxuan pounded faster and faster, Shen Xi knew only to call out his name over and over again. As the unrelenting pleasure poured out of his body, Shen Xi gasped for breath and collapsed helplessly on the bed. As Shen Xi climaxed, Li Mingxuan slammed into him a few more times, then held him in a tight embrace as his violent gasps slowly calmed down.

After his gasps subsided, Li Mingxuan lay on his side next to Shen Xi, one hand circling him and the other rubbing his naked back.

Shen Xi closed his eyes and let Li Mingxuan’s movements take over.

“If you’re too tired, Xiao Xi shouldn’t go to the hospital today.” Li Mingxuan said in a seemingly casual manner.

Shen Xi snapped his eyes open and looked up at Li Mingxuan.

Li Mingxuan’s eyes were full of tolerance as he lowered his head and touched Shen Xi’s forehead, speaking in a deliberate manner.

“There are all kinds of parents in this world, some are strict and some are tolerant, some treat all children equally, while some are inevitably partial to one of them. We don’t get to choose our parents’ attitudes, but we do get to choose our own. I know that many times, many things seen in the eyes of an outsider are not the same as what you personally feel. Even though I love you, I can’t empathise with all your feelings, so I have no right to question your thoughts. But I will respect them whether I agree with them or not.”

There was no ridiculous theory of blood ties, no pretentious bitter persuasion. Although Li Mingxuan might not understand how he really felt, as Li Mingxuan said, he respected Shen Xi’s thoughts. Because he knew that Shen Xi hated Shen Dehan, he would not persuade Shen Xi to go to the hospital, but instead found an excuse so that Shen Xi would not have to force himself.

Shen Xi’s emotions at this moment were indescribably complicated. He knew that Li Mingxuan had a good relationship with Shen Dehan. It was because of this that Li Mingxuan’s words made Shen Xi so overwhelmed.

Strange emotions surged from the bottom of his heart, and Shen Xi buried his head in Li Mingxuan’s arms as if fleeing.

Li Mingxuan patted Shen Xi’s back and listened to Shen Xi’s voice whispering, “Thank you, Cousin.”

The two stayed in bed all morning, unaware that Tian Wenyao and Shen Rong’s affair had once again set off the gossip circuit in Zhongjing. Although Fang Jiaying had no intention of spreading the video, the number of people who showed up at the Fang’s house last night was really too many. With so many people talking, it was just one night but Tian Wenyao and Shen Rong’s affair had already spread throughout the upper class circles of Zhongjing.

Some were shocked, some sneered, some waited for a good show, and of course some were full of malice and revealed the matter to the reporters. Although the reporters could not get hold of the latest video, the one from five years ago was rehashed again, and the reputation of the Tian and Shen families hit rock bottom overnight.

Shen Ji sat in front of the hospital bed flipping through pages and pages of online news, his face extremely ugly.

Shen Dehan was still asleep when a nurse brought in today’s newspapers. Shen Ji frowned and instructed the bodyguard to sort through the newspapers and pick out all the articles related to the incident.

The door was gently pushed open and a bodyguard came in and reported to Shen Ji in a low voice, “Shen Rong Shao just called and said he wanted to come visit Mr. Shen.”

Shen Ji sneered, “He still has the face to come.”

The bodyguard was silent, and Shen Ji did not hesitate to order, “All his calls are not to be received by father, and if he comes to the hospital, stop him from meeting with father. And that woman too.”

The bodyguard nodded, and Shen Ji only felt anger building up in his heart. If it wasn’t for Shen Rong, how could the Shen family be so humiliated this time? The Shen family’s century-old reputation had been destroyed at his hands overnight.

Shen Ji was thinking about something alone with a cold face when Shen Dehan’s slightly weak voice sounded behind him, “Ah Ji.”

“Father!” Shen Ji turned around joyfully and stood in front of the hospital bed, “Father, how are you feeling?”

Shen Dehan woke up after a good night’s sleep and felt much better, asking the question he was most concerned about, “I’m fine, Ah Ji, what is the news outside?”

Shen Ji’s expression remained unchanged, “The Tian family has kept this matter well under wraps, there are no reports from outside.”

Shen Dehan breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s good, the Shen family is now in the midst of many events, this matter must not involve the Shen family again.”

Shen Ji nodded gently.

Shen Dehan gave Shen Ji a relieved look and casually asked, “Where is Ah Cheng?”

“Ah Cheng is at the company.”

Shen Dehan thought for a moment, “You should give Ah Cheng a call and tell him to go to Wang Changlin for anything he doesn’t understand during this period of time. If Changlin looks after Ah Cheng, I can rest assured.”

Shen Ji knew that Shen Dehan always trusted Wang Changlin, so he immediately nodded.

Shen Cheng, who received Shen Ji’s call, was looking at a pile of documents on the table with a headache. When he heard that he was asked to find Wang Changlin, Shen Cheng didn’t even think about hanging up the phone and directly ordering Lu Gesen to go instead of him.

Lu Gesen nodded with a serious expression, but Shen Cheng did not notice that Lu Gesen’s eyes softened when Wang Changlin was mentioned.

After parting with Shen Cheng, Lu Gesen walked towards Wang Changlin’s office calmly.

When he heard the man inside shout “Come in”, Lu Gesen’s ever-serious expression softened. As the office door was pushed open, Lu Gesen unconsciously smiled at the middle-aged man inside.

“Foster Father!”

Hearing the joy in Lu Gesen’s words, Wang Changlin shook his head with a smile, “It’s not like you can’t see me on a regular basis.”

Lu Gesen was in a good mood, “That’s different, this is the first time since I entered Shen Group that I have called you Foster Father in a proper manner.”

Wang Changlin smiled and gestured for Lu Gesen to sit down and talk, “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with Shen Cheng?”

When it came to business, Lu Gesen became serious, “Shen Dehan instructed Shen Cheng to come to see you during this period of time, so Shen Cheng sent me to come here first.”

Wang Changlin pondered, “It seems that Shen Dehan is quite angry this time.”

Lu Gesen said in disdain, “What good can a mistress’s son be?”

Wang Changlin’s eyes flashed, “All right, I know you feel sorry for Shen Xi, but it’s also true that Shen Xi was not competitive in the past. It’s just as well that both Shen Dehan and Shen Ji are away from the company now, so it’s time for your next plan to be carried out.”

Hearing Wang Changlin’s words, Lu Gesen nodded, his expression solemn.

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