Chapter 16
The bedroom fell into a heavy, suffocatingly quiet stillness, broken only by the sound of their ragged breathing. Lin Mian’s fingers trembled slightly against the buttons of Lu Chen’s shirt, but his gaze remained fierce, locked onto the dark, swirling storm in the older man’s eyes.
Lu Chen froze. For a fraction of a second, the legendary, untouchable CEO looked entirely paralyzed by the sheer vulnerability of the boy in his arms. The request-*stay here, hold me*-was everything Lu Chen had ever secretly craved in the deepest, darkest corners of his soul. For years, he had accepted being the ignored shadow, the reliable friend who asked for nothing.
But now, the sparrow was willingly plucking its own feathers just to nest in his chest.
“Xiao Mian,” Lu Chen groaned, his voice dropping into a dangerous, gravelly register that made Lin Mian’s core shudder. He caught Lin Mian’s wandering hands, pinning them gently but firmly against the silk sheets on either side of his head, leaning down until their lips were almost touching.
“Do you have any idea what you are asking for? If I stay… I won’t just hold you. I won’t let you regret this tomorrow.”
“I won’t regret it,” Lin Mian whispered defiantly, his wide, tear-bright eyes staring straight into Lu Chen’s soul. “I died once to my own stupidity, Lu Chen. I know what it feels like to lose everything. The only thing I regret is not looking at you sooner.”
That was the final thread holding Lu Chen’s sanity together, and it snapped.
With a low, feral sound, Lu Chen brought his lips down onto Lin Mian’s. This wasn’t the gentle, comforting kiss from the Maybach. This was a claiming-savage, desperate, and overflowing with years of suppressed, burning passion. Lu Chen’s tongue parted Lin Mian’s lips effortlessly, exploring every inch of his warmth, drinking in his soft, breathless whimpers like a man dying of thirst in a desert.
Lin Mian’s pinned hands were released, and he immediately threw his arms around Lu Chen’s broad neck, pulling him down, wanting to dissolve into the sheer weight and heat of the older man’s body. The scent of sandalwood and rain enveloped him completely, chasing away the ghost of Shao Ting’s suffocating presence.
Lu Chen’s large hands slid down from Lin Mian’s neck, tracing the delicate line of his collarbone, before slipping beneath the midnight-blue velvet suit jacket. He shed the jacket from Lin Mian’s shoulders with practiced efficiency, his palms scorching hot against the thin silk of Lin Mian’s dress shirt. Every touch was an unspoken vow: *You are safe. You are mine. I will tear the world apart before I let anyone hurt you.*
When Lu Chen finally broke the kiss to trail his lips down to the sensitive skin of Lin Mian’s throat, biting gently right over his pulsing vein, Lin Mian arched his back, a soft, broken gasp escaping his lips.
“Lu Chen…” Lin Mian cried out softly, his fingers digging into the muscles of Lu Chen’s back.
“I’m here, Xiao Mian. I’ve always been here,” Lu Chen murmured against his skin, his arms wrapping securely around Lin Mian’s waist, pulling him so close that not even a breath of air could pass between them.
That night, inside the impenetrable steel-and-glass fortress of the Lu estate, the spoiled sparrow found its true sanctuary. There were no neon lights, no flashing car horns, and no vipers waiting in the dark-only the fierce, unyielding devotion of a wolf who had finally claimed his mate.
The next morning, the sun rose over Shanghai, painting the skyline in sharp shades of gold and grey.
Lin Mian woke up to the comforting warmth of a large arm draped securely over his waist. He blinked his eyes open, finding himself nestled deeply against Lu Chen’s bare chest. The morning light highlighted the faint, silver scars on Lu Chen’s shoulders-remnants of the grueling training he underwent to take over the Lu Corporation at such a young age.
Lin Mian smiled softly, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss right over Lu Chen’s heartbeat.
Instantly, the large arm tightened, and Lu Chen’s eyes fluttered open, dark and instantly alert. The moment he saw Lin Mian, the sharp, defensive instinct melted into a look of profound, lazy tenderness. He pulled Lin Mian up until their lips met in a slow, sweet morning kiss.
“Good morning,” Lu Chen mumbled, his voice deep and raspy with sleep. He ran a hand down Lin Mian’s spine, making the younger boy shiver. “Are you sore?”
Lin Mian’s face flushed a brilliant pink, and he buried his face in Lu Chen’s neck. “Shut up and help me get up. We have a war to fight today.”
Lu Chen let out a low chuckle, but his eyes turned sharp as his mind shifted back to reality. He reached for his phone on the nightstand, which had been buzzing silently with notifications for the past hour.
He unlocked the screen, and a dark, victorious smirk spread across his handsome face. He turned the screen toward Lin Mian.
“The first strike has landed,” Lu Chen announced calmly.
Lin Mian sat up, pulling the silk sheet over his chest, and read the financial news headlines flashing across the screen:
> [BREAKING: SHONG HONG KONG MARITIME LOGISTICS HALTED AT SHANGHAI PORTS DUE TO SUDDEN EMERGENCY CUSTOMS AUDIT]>
> [SHAO ENTERPRISES SHARES DROP 6.8% IN EARLY TRADING AS GLOBAL SHIPPING VESSELS STANDSTRUCK]>
Lin Mian’s eyes widened, a brilliant, cold laugh bubbling up from his throat. “You actually did it. You froze his ships.”
“I told you, Xiao Mian. He wants to play in Shanghai? He has to pay the entry fee,” Lu Chen said, standing up from the bed, his tall, muscular physique completely unbothered by his lack of clothing as he walked toward the wardrobe. “My legal team in Hong Kong has also filed a formal inquiry into Shao Enterprises’ recent domestic investments, citing suspected corporate espionage tied to the Guangshi Real Estate case. By noon, Shao Ting will be too busy dealing with regulatory boards to even think about sending you a text message.”
Lin Mian watched Lu Chen dress, a sense of empowerment flooding his chest. In his past life, Shao Ting was an unstoppable villain because the Lin family fought blindly and alone. But now, they had the upper hand. They had stripped Shao Ting of his element of surprise.
Suddenly, Lin Mian’s own phone rang from his suit jacket on the floor.
He slipped out of bed, wrapping a silk robe around himself, and picked up the device. The caller ID wasn’t Shao Ting. It was his older brother, Lin Heng.
“Xiao Mian!” Lin Heng’s voice sounded incredibly tense, but there was an underlying layer of anger. “Are you still at Lu Chen’s? You need to check the local Shanghai business forums right now. Someone leaked a thread online.”
Lin Mian’s brow furrowed. “What kind of thread, Ge?”
“A smear campaign,” Lin Heng hissed through the line. “Someone is publishing old photos of you from six months ago-back when you were drinking at the clubs, picking fights, and acting reckless. The captions are claiming that your ‘brilliant strategy’ at the bidding presentation yesterday was a fluke, and that the Lin Group is using a fraudulent, unstable socialite as their new marketing head to artificially inflate stock values. Dad is furious. The board of directors is already calling an emergency meeting.”
Lin Mian stared at the phone, his expression turning cold and clinical. He didn’t panic. In fact, he felt a sense of grim satisfaction.
*Shao Ting,* Lin Mian thought, his eyes narrowing. *Your ships are sinking, so you’re trying to use my past mistakes to drag me down with you.*
Lu Chen walked over, having heard the conversation, his face instantly carving into stone. “I’ll have my cyber-security team wipe the internet within ten minutes. Whoever posted those photos will be-“
“No, Lu Chen. Don’t wipe it,” Lin Mian interrupted, reaching out to place a hand on Lu Chen’s chest, stopping him.
Lu Chen frowned, confused. “Xiao Mian, they are attacking your reputation.”
“Let them attack,” Lin Mian said, a dangerous, brilliant smile breaking across his pale face. He looked at his own reflection in the full-length mirror-no longer the fragile, angry boy, but a man who had conquered death itself. “Wiping the thread makes us look guilty and defensive. Shao Ting thinks my past is my weakest link. He thinks I’m still that easily triggered brat who runs away when people insult him.”
Lin Mian looked up at Lu Chen, his eyes flashing with a ruthless, intoxicating confidence. “We’re going to use this emergency board meeting. I am going to face the directors myself. It’s time to show Shanghai exactly what happens when you try to cage a sparrow that has already learned how to hunt.”
To be continue
