With a dull thud, the phone fell heavily from beside my ear onto the table.
"Boss, boss?"
Shen Sixian's fingers froze on the spot, and he couldn't come to his senses for several seconds.
"Boss, what's wrong?"
The assistant's voice was tinged with confusion and anxiety. He watched as Shen Sixian shifted from slight anger on the phone to utter shock, and he was filled with bewilderment.
Didn't the boss himself instruct him to keep an eye on the young master's live stream at all times?
His subordinates sensed something was wrong and told him, who then told Shen Sixian. But the call hadn't even lasted three minutes, so why was the boss acting like this?
Shen Sixian finally remembered the dropped phone and picked it up again. His assistant stared blankly at him, but could hear that Shen Sixian's voice was trembling slightly.
"Shuang... Shuangjian, please let Xie Jinghui answer the phone."
Mr. Xie?
The assistant pricked up his ears, and gradually a plan began to form in his mind.
On the other end of the phone, Shen Shuangjian, whose rationality was slowly returning, also looked up blankly. He looked at Xie Jinghui on the other end, and tears rolled down his cheeks as he blinked.
Recalling her earlier unease and turbulent reaction, Shen Shuangjian pursed her lips, unable to put down her phone for a moment.
" Shuangjian, Shuangjian! Give the phone to Xie Jinghui."
Even without using speakerphone, Xie Jinghui could still clearly hear Shen Sixian's voice as he tried very hard to suppress his anger in the quiet room.
Xie Jinghui somewhat helpless. He pressed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He could only accept the mess that Shen Shuangjian left him without hesitation after selling him off.
"Give it to me."
Xie Jinghui stroked Shen Shuangjian's long hair to comfort her and took the phone from Shen Shuangjian hand.
"Mr. Shen, you were looking for me?"
The moment Xie Jinghui's voice came from the other end of the phone, Shen Sixian couldn't help but narrow his eyes; he could no longer suppress his anger.
All notions of decorum, manners, and social etiquette were shattered by his uncontrollable low growls and curses.
" Xie Jinghui! Are you crazy?!"
Shen Sixian was truly losing control.
It wasn't just anger at Xie Jinghui for treating Shen Shuangjian so badly, but also remorse and rage at her own actions.
After all, Shen Sixian had always been confident and shrewd, categorizing Xie Jinghui as a rational businessman.
He actually thought Xie Jinghui him, so he let go and gave up his feelings for Shen Shuangjian.
But little did I expect that he harbored treacherous intentions, playing games with me for three months, waiting for this moment to get his revenge on Shen Shuangjian.
The pampered white peony, nurtured in its own home, is about to be plucked and broken by someone else the moment it leaves its own territory.
The usually arrogant and complacent CEO Shen was not only angry and remorseful, but also frustrated, powerless, and so angry that he wanted to tear Xie Jinghui pieces immediately.
"What do you take him for! Do you think I'm dead?!"
From the moment Shen Shuangjian answered the phone, Xie Jinghui Shen Sixian's anger, gently brushed her long hair through her fingers. Her shrewd and calculating nature meant that she didn't even need to organize her thoughts before the words came out.
"Mr. Shen, you've misunderstood."
Xie Jinghui lowered his eyes and carefully examined Shen Shuangjian, who had collapsed onto the soft, fluffy blanket, exhausted from her physiological fluctuations.
"I didn't do anything to Shuangjian. It was just a misunderstanding. If you don't believe me, I can show you the video."
Xie Jinghui wasn't lying; he was just downplaying the main points and only saying what Shen Sixian could accept.
"Didn't do anything? You call that not doing anything?!" Shen Sixian was almost laughing in anger. "Are you trying to fool me?!"
However, the next second, Xie Jinghui acted completely openly and actually called back a video call.
Looking at the call screen, Shen Sixian for a moment, then lightly touched the screen, and the image quickly came into his view through the phone.
The room on the other side of the screen was dark, with only the light from the floor-to-ceiling windows faintly revealing the figures and outlines of the people inside.
None of what Shen Sixian had imagined happened. In the video, Shen Shuangjian, who had just been sobbing intermittently into her phone, was now curled up and lying by the window.
He was dozing off, his clothes neatly arranged, his slender body nestled in the fluffy, long-haired blanket, without the unease and fear he had imagined.
"Mr. Shen, I've never thought of Shuangjian as anything in particular. You shouldn't have that worry. I think I know very well how much he means to you."
Flattery, lies, all forms of deception and evasion— Xie Jinghui excels at all of these with remarkable composure.
Only under Shen Shuangjian's watchful gaze could Xie Jinghui learn to be unavoidably blunt.
The ever-present, bone-deep inferiority complex, coupled with the chaos of unfulfilled desires, kept Xie Jinghui constantly watching Shen Shuangjian.
He would be filled with trepidation at the slightest expression from Shen Shuangjian, and would scrutinize Shen Shuangjian ever-changing attitude repeatedly.
This panic is constant and lingers.
"Mr. Shen, you saw it with your own eyes, didn't you?"
Xie Jinghui Shen Sixian were to think rationally and analyze the pros and cons...
Xie Jinghui had indeed done nothing. Shen Shuangjian that he was still quietly curled up on the carpet, showing no signs of being bullied.
Moreover, if Xie Jinghui really did something, or intended to do something, then Shen Shuangjian wouldn't have a chance to answer this phone call and complain to her.
These rational analytical skills were something Shen Sixian was born with.
However, there are many things in this world that cannot be judged by reason and weighing pros and cons.
Just like what happened to Shen Shuangjian, Shen Sixian rarely thinks rationally.
When Shen Shuangjian crying, he didn't want to trace the source of those tears, nor did he want to know what had made him cry.
Shen Sixian just wanted him to stop crying, regardless of right or wrong, without asking why; he just wanted the person or thing that made him cry to disappear completely.
Even if he merely frowned, Shen Sixian would only assume it was someone else's fault.
" Xie Jinghui, I don't care what you think, but Shuangjian is my brother, my only brother, my only family in this world, so I won't allow anyone to hurt him."
Shen Sixian's voice was cold and stern, carrying no hint of disdain. "So I warn you again, don't try to deceive him or hurt him."
He was clearly facing Shen Sixian's warnings, accountability, and even a blatant declaration of war.
But at this moment, Xie Jinghui felt no impatience or anger at being threatened.
He simply lowered his gentle eyes, his gaze half-hidden and tender in the moonlight and snow.
Xie Jinghui was very happy, and even felt a vague sense of relief.
It turns out that in this world, there is someone else who, like him, is deeply and intensely in love with Shen Shuangjian.