Chapter 20
The storm that had ravaged Shanghai for two days finally broke, leaving behind a sky of brilliant, unblemished blue and an atmosphere that felt crisp and entirely renewed.
The recovery period at the Lin estate was filled with a gentle, domestic quietness that the family hadn’t experienced in years. Because of his fractured collarbone and shoulder injury, Lu Chen had been strictly ordered by Master Lin and Madam Lin to stay at the Lin mansion until he was fully healed. They refused to let him go back to his empty house, treating him not just as a heroic neighbor, but as the savior of their youngest son.
On a sunny Thursday morning, the grand dining room was warm, filled with the rich aroma of fresh herbal chicken soup and steamed buns.
Lin Mian sat closely beside Lu Chen, meticulously shredding a piece of tender chicken meat into a small porcelain bowl. Lu Chen’s left arm was securely bound in a sleek black medical sling, making him look slightly less like a ruthless titan of industry and more like a fiercely spoiled husband.
“Here,” Lin Mian murmured softly, lifting a spoonful of the warm broth and blowing on it gently before holding it up to Lu Chen’s lips. “Drink this. Mom had the chef simmer it for four hours just for your bone recovery.”
Lu Chen’s dark eyes softened into a pool of deep, intoxicating affection. He leaned forward and drank from the spoon, his gaze never leaving Lin Mian’s face. “It’s perfect. But you don’t have to feed me every single bite, Xiao Mian. My right hand works completely fine.”
“Shut up and eat,” Lin Mian scolded playfully, a bright crimson blush creeping up his neck as he shoved another small piece of dumpling into Lu Chen’s mouth. “You took a crowbar to the shoulder for me. The least I can do is make sure you don’t starve.”
Sitting across the table, Lin Heng let out a loud, dramatic groan, tossing his silk napkin onto the table. “Dad, look at them. I come down for breakfast to check the morning stock reports, and instead, I’m being force-fed premium corporate romance. My teeth are going to rot from all this sweetness.”
Master Lin lowered his financial newspaper, a booming laugh echoing through the room. “Let them be, Heng-er! If it weren’t for Lu Chen, our family wouldn’t even be sitting here today.”
Master Lin’s expression turned remarkably warm and solemn as he looked at the two young men. He set his teacup down and looked directly into Lu Chen’s eyes. “Lu Chen… I’ve known your parents for decades, and I’ve watched you grow into a brilliant man. But what you did at that wharf… risking your own life to bring my boy back safely… the Lin family owes you a debt we can never truly repay.”
Lu Chen straightened his posture, his expression turning deeply respectful yet unyielding. He placed his right hand over Lin Mian’s fingers on the table, gripping them tightly.
“You owe me nothing, Uncle Lin,” Lu Chen said, his voice deep, steady, and full of an absolute, lifelong vow. “From the moment we were children, my life has belonged to Xiao Mian. Protecting him isn’t a debt or a duty. It is my only reality. I only ask for one thing…”
Lu Chen looked at Master Lin, his eyes flashing with a fierce sincerity. “…I ask for your permission to officially take care of him for the rest of our lives. I want to marry him.”
The dining room went completely still. Lin Mian’s breath hitched, his heart hammering violently against his ribs. Although they had shared intimate moments and confessed their feelings in the dark, hearing Lu Chen demand his hand so proudly and formally in front of his patriarch patriarch made his eyes sting with sudden, emotional tears.
Lin Heng smirked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. “Well, Dad? The wolf is finally asking to formally adopt our sparrow. What do you say?”
Master Lin stared at Lu Chen for a long, heavy moment. The stern, intimidating billionaire patriarch faded, replaced by a father who had watched his youngest son transform from a destructive, lonely boy into a brilliant, happy man-all because of the steady, unwavering love of the man sitting next to him.
Master Lin smiled, a genuine, tearful crinkle appearing at the corners of his eyes. He raised his glass of tea.
“If I said no, I think Lu Chen would buy out my entire company just to spite me,” Master Lin joked, making Lin Mian let out a wet, breathless laugh. Master Lin’s gaze softened beautifully. “Take him, Lu Chen. Keep him safe, keep him loved. You have my full blessing.”
Later that afternoon, Lin Mian received a formal digital document from the Shanghai High Court via his tablet.
The legal battle against Shao Enterprises had ended before it even truly began. With the cross-border evidence provided by Lu Chen’s international legal team and the undeniable eyewitness accounts of the SWAT officers at the wharf, Shao Ting had been denied bail. Due to the severity of international corporate espionage, smuggling, and aggravated kidnapping, he had been sentenced to life imprisonment in a maximum-security facility, with no possibility of parole. His family’s empire in Hong Kong was currently being liquidated to pay off billions in regulatory fines.
Lin Mian stared at the final verdict screen, a profound, suffocating weight finally lifting completely from his soul.
In his past life, this was the document that had sealed his family’s fate-the bankruptcy notices, the arrest warrants for his brother, the news of his father’s fatal heart attack. But in this life, the name on the convict registry was Shao Ting.
He had done it. He had truly rewritten the stars.
“Thinking about him?”
A large, warm hand slipped over his shoulder, and Lu Chen leaned down from behind the sofa, resting his chin gently against Lin Mian’s hair. The familiar, deep scent of sandalwood and rain enveloped Lin Mian, instantly grounding him into the beautiful present.
Lin Mian turned off the tablet and tilted his head back, offering Lu Chen a radiant, breathtaking smile that eclipsed the afternoon sun filtering through the sheer curtains.
“No,” Lin Mian whispered softly, reaching up to gently trace the sharp line of Lu Chen’s jaw. “I was just thinking about how beautiful tomorrow is going to be.”
Lu Chen smiled, a rare, incredibly tender expression that was reserved only for his sparrow. He leaned down, pressing a soft, lingering kiss against Lin Mian’s lips-a sweet, unhurried seal on a future that was entirely, beautifully theirs.
To be continue
