Chapter 14: Going Home is Just Your Excuse, Right?
Suffering the consequences of my own actions…
Liang Sheng had never thought this phrase would one day come out of Shen Xingyu’s mouth.
He stared hollowly at his husband’s back, filled with a quiet desolation.
Upon arriving at the mall, Su Nian immediately whined and acted spoiled, asking Shen Xingyu to buy him new clothes.
Shen Xingyu indulged him with a face full of gentleness.
The two walked ahead, talking and laughing, while Liang Sheng limped along behind them.
Since it was his first time appearing in such a luxurious and bustling mega-mall in so many years, he appeared somewhat cramped and uneasy. The seven-year cage had long locked away his once cheerful personality in the past.
His legs were injured, so he couldn’t walk fast, but his husband showed no intention of waiting for him at all.
Liang Sheng could only grit his teeth and keep walking.
Seeing Shen Xingyu bring Su Nian over, the manager of the clothing boutique immediately went out to welcome them warmly:
“Oh my, President Shen brought someone to buy clothes again? Please come in and take a look, our store just received many new arrivals!”
Liang Sheng froze for a moment.
What did she mean by ‘again’?
So it wasn’t Shen Xingyu’s first time here…
Looking at the manager’s demeanor, it seemed she had mistaken Su Nian for Madam Shen…
And Shen Xingyu showed no intention of clarifying it.
He felt terrible inside.
Over the years, he had been caring for his mother by her hospital bed and rarely attended various events with Shen Xingyu. Conversely, Su Nian was inseparable from him. No wonder others would think the other party was Madam Shen…
Liang Sheng stopped at the entrance of the store. He didn’t want to go in; he didn’t want to see their deep affection and sweetness.
The footsteps he had been distractedly listening to all along suddenly stopped. Shen Xingyu subconsciously turned his head and saw his little wife panting heavily. Frowning slightly, he ordered plainly:
“Come here.”
Liang Sheng raised his eyes and glanced at him. Seeing him constantly ordering him around with that high and mighty attitude, he suddenly felt unhappy. Puffing his cheeks, he turned his head away, pouted, and let out a snort.
Shen Xingyu’s frown deepened.
Was the other party resisting him?
He walked toward the door with a cold face.
“President Shen, what do you think of this one?”
Su Nian joyfully held up a piece of clothing and turned around, only to see the man dragging Liang Sheng in by the wrist. His face instantly darkened.
The manager couldn’t quite grasp the situation for a moment and could only continue smiling: “Madam Shen, the fitting rooms are over here.”
Su Nian tossed the clothes to her and said irritably, “I’ll keep looking.”
“Sit here, and don’t go anywhere.”
Shen Xingyu forcefully pushed Liang Sheng down onto the sofa.
“What exactly do you want? Please let me go! You can peacefully accompany your lover shopping, and I’ll turn a blind eye. I’m really tired right now, I just want to go home…”
Liang Sheng lowered his voice, his wet eyes gazing at the tall man in front of him.
Shen Xingyu was handsome and had a cold, stern aura. He was the type to make people fall in love at first sight. No matter how angry Liang Sheng was, facing this face, he could only compromise.
Shen Xingyu bent down slightly, bringing his face close to his. A devilish smirk suddenly curled on his thin lips.
“You…”
Liang Sheng’s cheeks quickly flushed with a layer of crimson. His gaze darted away, not daring to meet his eyes.
Shen Xingyu blew lightly on his forehead, fluttering the strands of hair falling over his brow. His eyes suddenly turned cold: “Going home is just your excuse, right? Are you that impatient to go find that wild man?”
“W-what nonsense are you spouting!”
Liang Sheng pushed against his chest angrily.
Seeing the two of them in such close contact, Su Nian was highly displeased. He hurried over, wrapped his arm around Shen Xingyu’s, and pleaded sweetly: “President Shen~ My aboulomania is acting up~ Help me pick something out~”
“Alright.”
Shen Xingyu’s indifferent attitude instantly turned doting again.
He shook off Liang Sheng’s hand and turned to leave with Su Nian.
Pushed back by the force, Liang Sheng fell against the sofa. The soft cushions made his upper body bounce slightly.
He sat up weakly, looking through his messy bangs at his husband picking out clothes for someone else. A sour envy surged from the bottom of his heart.
He couldn’t help but remember how sweet he and Shen Xingyu used to be, but now, that happiness had been easily replaced by the person before his eyes.
He envied that Su Nian could enjoy the man’s doting without any misgivings and be so intimate with him in broad daylight.
Su Nian’s natural ease in every gesture made it seem as if this relationship was perfectly justified, rather than that of a mistress.
Liang Sheng’s hands unconsciously gripped the hem of his shirt, his eyes full of desolation.
Married for so many years, his husband had never bought him a single piece of clothing. Everything he wore was cheap street stall clothes brought from the Liang family. Now, seeing his husband generously buying clothes for someone else was truly an eyesore.
After changing into his new clothes, Su Nian eagerly ran up to Shen Xingyu, full of anticipation:
“Does it look good? Does it look good?!”
The silky fabric shimmered with a soft luster under the lights, highlighting his tender, doll-like face, making it look rosy, fair, and exquisitely pretty.
“It looks good, Nian-nian looks good in everything.”
Shen Xingyu smiled and nodded, but his gaze never left Su Nian’s eyes. He liked the innocence in those eyes; when happy, they looked exactly like that person from twenty years ago.
The manager also chimed in with praise: “Madam Shen has such a wonderful figure, this outfit suits you perfectly!”
The manager’s words made Su Nian even more excited. He couldn’t help but admire himself in the mirror, spun around a few times in front of Shen Xingyu, and finally smiled and said: “Then I’ll take this one too!”
“Right away! I’ll wrap it up for you!”
“Oh my! Nian-nian, you came to buy clothes again?”
A loud female alto suddenly rang out in front of them.
Su Nian looked up in surprise and saw Mother Su walking over, full of smiles, arm-in-arm with his older sister Su Rao. Both of them had curly hair and wore gorgeous silk dresses, completely showcasing extravagance.
“Mom! Sis! What are you doing here?”
He ran over excitedly.
Shen Xingyu followed behind, but his gaze darted toward his little wife who was sitting silently on the sofa.
Liang Sheng’s eyelashes were wet, as if he had been crying, and the tip of his nose was red.
Seeing such a pitiful and delicate appearance crash into his heart, Shen Xingyu felt a sudden, inexplicable twinge in his chest.
Catching his gaze, Liang Sheng frantically wiped away the tear stains on his face, terrified of being seen.
On the other side, Mother Su let go of her daughter to hug her beloved youngest son upon seeing him: “Your sister and I came out for a stroll, I didn’t expect to run into you here. President Shen treats you so well, buying you clothes every other day. Seeing you living well puts my mind at ease!”
“Mom, set your mind at rest. Considering my work requirements, President Shen even let me move into the Shen household! Seeing that I lacked some things, President Shen immediately brought me out to shop.”
Su Nian looked at Shen Xingyu with eyes full of happiness.
Shen Xingyu absentmindedly withdrew his gaze from Liang Sheng and gave a perfunctory smile: “Nian-nian is my secretary, it’s only right that I take care of him.”
Seeing Shen Xingyu—that face she dreamed of—still made Su Rao lower her head shyly.
“Oh my! You’ve spent so much, President Shen! Thank you for taking care of our Nian-nian! It’s truly a blessing from his past life that our Nian-nian can follow a big boss like you!”
Mother Su excitedly grabbed Shen Xingyu’s hand. Her face was piled with smiles, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes bunching together, her gaze full of flattery.
Shen Xingyu frowned, looking darkly at the hand gripping him tightly.
Realizing something was wrong, Mother Su quickly let go and smiled apologetically in embarrassment.
Thanks to Su Nian, the Su family had benefited greatly, vaulting overnight from poverty to a middle-class lifestyle.
Su Rao was even able to get a job at the massive Shen corporation.
Shen Xingyu clapped his hands in disgust, brushing off nonexistent dust from his clothes, and said calmly: “Whatever clothes you like, just pick them out. I’ll pay the bill.”
Hearing this, Mother Su’s eyes lit up, and she kept spouting flattery: “Oh my goodness! You are too polite, President Shen! How could we possibly accept!”
Though she said she couldn’t accept, her hands were busy. Whenever she saw a piece of clothing she liked, without even trying it on, she yanked it off the rack and threw it to the manager.
Feeling that his mother’s uncultured behavior was somewhat embarrassing, Su Nian quickly stopped her: “Mom, that’s enough, you’ve taken too many!”
“Aiya, it’s not too much, not too much. How many outfits can one wear in a year! Mom needs to take a few more. Mom accepts the kind intentions of her future son-in-law!”
Whenever Mother Su got excited, she spoke without a filter.
Su Nian was startled by his mother’s words. Although he desperately wanted to become Madam Shen, Shen Xingyu disliked social climbers. Over the years, he had worked hard enough to have the confidence to stand beside the man.
He hastily and pitifully corrected her: “Mom, what nonsense are you saying! President Shen already has a family. His Madam is right over there! How could I possibly ruin someone else’s family…”
Mother Su’s smile froze, and she slapped her mouth. “Oh, my apologies! I almost forgot President Shen was married.”
However, with her son backing her, plus having inquired beforehand and learning that Madam Shen was completely unfavored, she became arrogant. Looking at Liang Sheng on the sofa, she covered her mouth and laughed: “If you hadn’t mentioned it, I truly didn’t even notice there was another person here!”
Liang Sheng immediately sensed an unprovoked malice.
He looked up and saw Mother Su standing haughtily in front of him, feeling a sudden loss for what to do.
No matter how Mother Su looked at this submissive Young Madam, he couldn’t compare to her own son. She directly reached out and tugged at Liang Sheng’s clothes, speaking in a sarcastic tone:
“You can’t be serious? What kind of Young Madam dresses so shabbily? You look like a begging street rat!”
“Mom! You can’t speak to the Young Madam like that!”
Su Nian scolded her playfully, but he was incredibly delighted inside. He pretended to be magnanimous and apologized to Liang Sheng: “Young Madam, please don’t take offense! My mom is uneducated and doesn’t know how to speak properly, don’t take it to heart.”
Liang Sheng looked at Shen Xingyu for help, hoping the other party would come over and defuse the situation for him.
But he didn’t. Shen Xingyu just sat on the sofa, legs crossed, leisurely watching him be pushed around by the Su family.
Even a passerby wouldn’t be this heartless, right?
Liang Sheng felt incredibly wronged.
Living under Shen Xingyu’s shadow, he existed in a state of inferiority and timidity. Right now, he had no idea how to face Mother Su’s malice. He could only swallow his anger and endure the bullying. The tiny spark of stubbornness he had finally managed to ignite earlier had been utterly shattered by his mother’s death.
“Alright, it’s getting late. I’ll send you back.”
He didn’t know how much time had passed before Shen Xingyu finally spoke up to put a stop to it.
The tears Liang Sheng had been forcefully holding back in his eyes finally fell silently onto the back of his hand.
The man walked by him coldly, his coat kicking up a gust of wind that stung his face.
Ever since he lost the Liang family as his backbone, he was terrified of being left here homeless. He quickly wiped his tears and hurried behind them.
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