Chapter 143: Liu Mi: Stinky Linlin, Stinky Husband...
Liu Mi frowned slightly, her charming fox-like eyes narrowing as she looked suspiciously at Shen Anyu and Jiang Linlin. Her gaze drifted to their clasped hands—a handshake that had lasted a few seconds too long, filled with a tension thick enough to cut with a knife.
"N-Nothing… I… I was just… admiring Mr. Shen's watch. It's very beautiful."
Jiang Linlin stuttered, panic flashing in her eyes. She quickly pulled her hand back as if she had been electrocuted. Her face flushed a deep crimson, and she lowered her head, staring at her white sneakers, not even daring to look Liu Mi in the eye. Her heart was pounding against her ribs like a trapped bird.
Liu Mi grew even more suspicious. Her woman's intuition—a radar honed by navigating high society and endless gossip—told her that something seemed abnormal. The air between her best friend Jiang Linlin and her boyfriend Shen Anyu was charged with a strange, magnetic electricity.
"Really?" Liu Mi tilted her head, her gaze sharp.
But then, she shook her head slightly, thinking she was overthinking it.
It wasn't that she trusted Shen Anyu blindly. Oh no. She knew exactly what kind of man he was. He was a billionaire playboy, the crown prince of Modu. He had all sorts of romantic scandals attached to his name like medals of honor. Rumors linked him to Qin Ningbing, the beautiful Iceberg CEO of Magic City Renxin Hall Pharmaceutical Company, and Situ Yueying, the seductive owner of the famous Dream Bar.
She didn't think Shen Anyu was a "good man" who wouldn't stray. In her world, powerful men always strayed. It was a rule of nature, like gravity.
However, Liu Mi trusted her best friend Jiang Linlin's character implicitly!
Jiang Linlin came from a poor background, with no parents, and depended entirely on her elderly Grandma Zhong, who had adopted her. She was pure, hardworking, and fiercely principled.
Liu Mi remembered how, when Grandma Zhong became seriously ill last year, Jiang Linlin had to work several part-time jobs while maintaining her scholarship grades. Liu Mi had introduced her to a clean live-streaming job to help out.
Given Jiang Linlin's ethereal beauty—that rare "first love" face—many wealthy men on the platform wanted to support her. Some even offered a monthly allowance of 100,000 yuan just to have dinner with her!
But Jiang Linlin refused them all without hesitation. She would rather eat plain buns than sell her dignity.
"Linlin is too proud and too innocent," Liu Mi reasoned internally. "She couldn't be the kind of bad woman who covets her best friend's boyfriend. Besides, she doesn't even know Shen Anyu's true identity yet. To her, he's just my handsome boyfriend."
Having convinced herself, Liu Mi smiled, dismissing the thought.
But at this moment, Jiang Linlin looked at Shen Anyu with resentful eyes hidden behind her bangs.
'Why?' she cried in her heart. 'I was the one who met him first! I was the one who saved him (in her mind)! I was the one who gave my body to him first!'
But now that Liu Mi had made their relationship public, declaring her sovereignty, Linlin was the one who had to hide in the shadows. She couldn't reveal her relationship with Shen Anyu. She had become the "Other Woman" in her own love story.
This made Jiang Linlin feel extremely wronged! It was suffocating.
Seeing Jiang Linlin's wronged expression—her biting her lip, her eyes misty—Shen Anyu almost laughed out loud. He found her suffering adorable. It was the perfect seasoning for this drama.
He decided to turn up the heat.
He suddenly turned to Liu Mi, his expression shifting to one of doting concern. He reached out and gently touched the corner of her eye.
"Mi Mi, your makeup is a bit smudged here. Did you rush too much?"
"Ah! Really?"
Liu Mi exclaimed, immediately flustered. She covered her face with her hands, horrified. "Oh no! I'll go fix it right away! Don't look!"
She grabbed her makeup bag and hurried to the en-suite restroom to reapply her eyeliner. She didn't want Shen Anyu to see her with even a single flaw.
Even though Liu Mi was still stunningly beautiful and charming without makeup, she was a perfectionist when it came to Shen Anyu. She wanted to present her absolute best side to the man she loved—to be the perfect trophy girlfriend.
When she had spent the night with Shen Anyu before, Liu Mi even secretly went to the restroom in the middle of the night to touch up her lip gloss and brush her hair, just so she would look like a sleeping beauty when he woke up.
Click.
The bathroom door closed. The sound of running water began.
The dormitory suddenly fell silent. The atmosphere shifted instantly from awkward to dangerous.
After sending Liu Mi away, the gentle smile on Shen Anyu's face vanished, replaced by a predatory smirk. He leisurely walked over to Jiang Linlin, who was still standing frozen by her desk.
He pulled out the chair next to her and sat down, crossing his legs elegantly.
"Linlin..."
Jiang Linlin was so startled that she instinctively moved away, pressing her back against the wardrobe.
"Don't... don't come over!" she whispered frantically.
"Linlin, I'm not that scary, am I? Last night, you weren't scared of me at all."
Shen Anyu looked at Jiang Linlin with a half-smile, his tone teasing.
Jiang Linlin pursed her lips, her beautiful eyes looking at Shen Anyu with a complex expression of love and betrayal. She lowered her voice to a desperate whisper, glancing at the bathroom door.
"Brother Shen... you... why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me Mi Mi was your girlfriend?"
"I don't want to hurt Mi Mi. She is my best friend! She saved me when I was bullied! I can't do this to her."
She took a deep breath, her voice trembling.
"Can I... can I withdraw? Let's end this. Please."
Shen Anyu didn't answer immediately. He reached out and captured Jiang Linlin's slender, fair hand. He played with her fingers, tracing the lines of her palm with his thumb, sending shivers down her spine.
He looked at her with feigned affection and deep sadness. He said softly, his voice dripping with honeyed poison:
"Withdraw? Linlin, my silly girl... do you think feelings are a faucet you can just turn off?"
"You gave me everything most precious to you. Your first kiss, your first night, your heart... Can you really bear to withdraw? Can you really forget me?"
"Brother Shen... I... I can't bear it! But I can't hurt Mi Mi!"
Jiang Linlin's delicate body trembled slightly. Tears finally spilled over, rolling down her pale cheeks like pearls.
How could she bear to leave Shen Anyu? A maiden's tender feelings are the most touching and the most fragile. All her affections were tied to Shen Anyu. He was her hero, her savior, her first love. She was even willing to die for him.
But she was also the kindest soul. Loyalty to her friend was her bedrock. How could she bear to hurt her best friend Liu Mi, who trusted her so much?
She felt torn in half. She could only choose to hurt herself!
At this moment, Jiang Linlin fell silent in response to Shen Anyu's question, letting him play with her small hand, her resistance melting under his touch.
Shen Anyu chuckled inwardly. 'Checkmate.'
His gaze was full of tenderness as he looked at Jiang Linlin. He stood up and stepped into her personal space, trapping her against the wardrobe.
He said gently, his breath fanning her ear:
"You worry about hurting her... but can you bear to hurt me?"
"If you leave me, I'll be heartbroken! Do you want to see me suffer?"
With that, Shen Anyu put on a pained and reluctant expression—an Oscar-worthy performance. He deeply embraced Jiang Linlin, burying his face in her shoulder.
Before she could push him away, he passionately kissed her long, swan-like neck, right on her sensitive spot!
"Ah..."
Jiang Linlin gasped softly, her legs going weak. She seemed to feel the "pain" in Shen Anyu's heart as well. Guilt washed over her.
She immediately clutched Shen Anyu's large hand, holding onto him for support. She said anxiously, her resolve crumbling:
"I can't bear it! I don't want you to be sad! But, but…"
"Linlin, but what?"
Just then, Liu Mi's voice came from the restroom. The water had stopped running.
"Who are you talking to?"
Jiang Linlin recoiled as if electrocuted. She pushed Shen Anyu away with surprising strength, quickly withdrawing her small hand. She smoothed her clothes frantically, trembling like a quail caught in a storm.
"N-no one! Just talking to myself!"
Shen Anyu's lips curved upwards. He didn't seem flustered at all. He raised his voice slightly, ensuring it carried through the door:
"No 'buts'! It's almost noon. Mi Mi, are you ready? I'm starving."
"Hubby, I'll be ready very soon! Just applying lipstick! Wait for me~"
Liu Mi's coquettish voice came from the restroom, sounding cheerful and oblivious.
Jiang Linlin breathed a huge sigh of relief, slumping against the wardrobe. It seemed Liu Mi hadn't heard the incriminating parts. Otherwise, she wouldn't be speaking so naturally.
"Thank god..."
However, Jiang Linlin didn't notice the playful, knowing glint in Shen Anyu's eyes.
He tapped his temple lightly.
From the feed of the [Nanometer Monitoring Robot] he had deployed earlier, Shen Anyu saw a different scene inside the restroom.
Liu Mi wasn't applying lipstick.
She was standing by the door, her ear pressed against the wood. Her face was devoid of her usual smile.
She had clearly heard the entire conversation between Shen Anyu and Jiang Linlin just now. The walls were not that thick.
"Stupid Linlin... Stupid, naive Linlin!"
Liu Mi ground her silver teeth, her charming and delicate face filled with intense anger. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her makeup bag.
"How dare she have something going on with my husband! Behind my back!"
But then, her expression shifted. The anger turned into helplessness, and then... acceptance.
"No... Linlin isn't that kind of girl. She's too cowardly."
"It must be my rotten husband's doing. He seduced her! He used his tricks on her! Linlin can't be a bad woman; he's the one who corrupted her!"
It must be said that Liu Mi had guessed the truth directly. She knew Shen Anyu too well.
Liu Mi was initially furious when she realized her best friend Jiang Linlin had been poached. Betrayal stung. But then she thought about it logically.
She deduced from Jiang Linlin's terrified, guilty reaction that Linlin didn't want to hurt her. Linlin was the victim here.
"And Shen Anyu..."
She was always known as a "Little Vixen" for a reason. She was naturally intelligent, quick-witted, and pragmatic.
"He is the Young Master of the Shen Family. A man like him... monogamy is a fairy tale."
She was already used to the idea of Shen Anyu's philandering. It was common for big figures in high society to have many partners. Even Liu Mi's father, Liu Shiming, the director of Shanghai First People's Hospital, had a mistress and an illegitimate child outside. Liu Mi had known this since she was twelve.
Although Liu Mi was a little upset about sharing, she knew she couldn't change Shen Anyu. If she made a scene, she might lose him entirely.
Life was like that; if you couldn't resist the storm, then learn to dance in the rain.
"In Liu Mi's heart, my biggest goal is to become Shen Anyu's official wife. To become the Young Mistress of the Yanxia Shen Family. That position is the only thing that matters."
"I can't manage the other women. But Linlin..."
Just then, a thought flashed in Liu Mi's mind. A wicked, brilliant idea.
"Linlin is my best friend. She is easy to control. She listens to me."
"If Shen Anyu is going to have other women anyway... isn't it better if it's Linlin? At least I know her. At least we can form an alliance."
"With Linlin's help... maybe I can make my rotten husband even happier. A battle of best friends serving one king... he would love that."
"Heh heh... stupid Linlin. You want to hide it? Fine. Let's see how I'll tease you…"
Liu Mi's charming and delicate face held a hint of mischief and calculation. She applied a bold shade of red lipstick, checking her reflection. She looked like a queen preparing for war.
"But I can't let stupid Linlin get too smug. I'll give her a good teasing first! Let her sweat a bit!"
Thinking these thoughts, Liu Mi finished her makeup. She put on her brightest smile, unlocked the door, and walked out.
"I'm ready!"
Her beautiful eyes deeply observed the bowed-head Jiang Linlin, her smile playful and sharp.
But Liu Mi didn't notice that Shen Anyu's gaze towards her was equally playful.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Liu Mi thought she was the oriole controlling Linlin.
But Shen Anyu was the hunter holding the slingshot. He was the fisherman who would ultimately benefit from this internal conflict!
He watched the two beautiful girls—one guilty, one scheming—and felt a surge of anticipation.
"This lunch is going to be delicious."
He was somewhat looking forward to what would happen next...
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