The cabin of the plane was very quiet, and Lin Jianqing couldn’t figure out how Shen Huaixue had managed to bring him on board in the first place.
That said, this was still Lin Jianqing’s first time flying first class.
Lin Jianqing sat by the window, with a small hastily-packed duffel bag at his side. The bag was a bit bulging, stuffed with a few changes of clothes, a charger, earphones, and toiletries.
There wasn’t much inside, and it wasn’t neatly packed either. That was the result of a rushed preparation.
He’d just finished his exams in the afternoon, and now he was on an evening flight to the Capital City. The whole thing felt surreal.
Shen Huaixue sat beside him, much calmer than she’d been in the afternoon. Her black hair fell over her shoulders, and her face carried little expression. Her phone rested on her lap, the screen already dark.
Lin Jianqing glanced at her, then turned to look out the window.
The runway lights were bright, and ground vehicles moved slowly in the distance.
He was silent for a moment before finally asking, “Did you notify my family? I left in such a hurry that I didn’t get the chance to tell them.”
Shen Huaixue looked up at him.
“Don’t worry, I already informed them.”
Lin Jianqing’s fingers paused mid-motion.
Shen Huaixue picked up her phone, and the screen lit up briefly.
“Because this time, you might not be staying for just a few days.”
Lin Jianqing froze.
The cabin broadcast chimed in at that moment, reminding passengers to fasten their seatbelts.
He looked at Shen Huaixue, his voice gradually lowering.
“What do you mean?”
Shen Huaixue lowered her gaze.
“You might have to stay at the Shen Family for the entire summer break.”
Lin Jianqing was silent for a long time.
The plane hadn’t taken off yet, and the lights outside the window were bright, casting a faint white glow on the glass.
He turned his head to look at Shen Huaixue.
“The entire summer break?”
Shen Huaixue nodded. Lin Jianqing found it hard to believe, because just earlier at school, Shen Huaixue had said a few days. How did it suddenly turn into the whole summer once they got on the plane?
“It’s just a possibility, not a certainty.”
“Your ‘not a certainty’ doesn’t comfort me at all. Shen Huaixue, is there a single honest word that comes out of your mouth?” Lin Jianqing was already at a loss for words with her.
Yet Lin Jianqing failed to notice that Shen Huaixue’s increasingly brazen behavior had already worn down his bottom line considerably.
If Shen Huaixue were to make any more excessive demands, Lin Jianqing would probably say he didn’t want to on the surface, but his body would be extremely honest about going along with it.
Shen Huaixue didn’t smile. She set her phone aside, and her tone turned more serious than before.
“That’s my fault. I should have explained it to you in advance. But I’m only guessing. If it really does take up your whole summer, I’ll naturally compensate you once the break is over.”
For once, Shen Huaixue actually acted like a decent person, almost like she was trying to reassure him.
If she could, Shen Huaixue would have loved to reach out and pat Lin Jianqing’s head right now, like soothing a cat.
In truth, Shen Huaixue herself didn’t know how long this visit to the Shen Main House would last. She didn’t even know why her mother had specifically requested that she bring Lin Jianqing along.
‘Could it be that those people think my sexual orientation has changed?’
Staring at the sky outside, Shen Huaixue pondered internally.
But… rather than mending relations with the family, what Shen Huaixue truly wanted was to hide Lin Jianqing completely under her ‘wing.’
Because in her view, her relationship with Lin Jianqing was ultimately something that couldn’t see the light of day.
At the end of the day, Shen Huaixue still wasn’t willing to admit that she might actually be… falling for Lin Jianqing.
In other words, Lin Jianqing had already started to ‘straighten’ Shen Huaixue out, except she simply refused to acknowledge it.
“Whatever. Why don’t you tell me about your family’s taboos instead? Since it’s a big family, I’m guessing there are a lot of rules I wouldn’t know about.”
Lin Jianqing was still pretty nervous. Shen Huaixue suddenly announcing she’d take him to her family felt a bit abrupt.
‘Is this like being taken to meet the parents?’
‘Or is Shen Huaixue… whatever. I won’t think about it.’
In the span of a few brief seconds, Lin Jianqing experienced multiple rounds of mental turmoil.
He only felt that ever since he met Shen Huaixue, everything about him had become strange. Shen Huaixue was like a soft palm made of sticky slime, completely gripping him in her grasp.
The feeling was gentle and nameless, and likewise, it wasn’t something one would notice right away.
When it came to Shen Huaixue… Lin Jianqing only saw her as a very difficult Financial Backer to deal with. Still, he was grateful to her for helping relieve his financial pressure.
“There are no taboos. The Shen Family has existed in the Capital City since a long time ago, and we’re not just an ordinary business family. What you need to remember is to just stick close to me, and don’t wander off. After that… let me think…”
Lin Jianqing’s brows gradually furrowed as he listened, wondering what on earth this crazy woman was thinking.
“Oh, right. I forgot to remind you. This time when you come with me to the Capital City, your main job is to pretend to be my lover. Got it?”
Shen Huaixue suddenly added, as if she had no filter at all.
Those words nearly made Lin Jianqing choke on the water he was drinking.
“The hell?”
Actually, Lin Jianqing had already considered this possibility during his earlier mental turmoil, just as he’d thought before.
All the groundwork was there; this was just the final piece falling into place.
But hearing Shen Huaixue say it herself, Lin Jianqing almost couldn’t hold it together.
“Pretending to be lovers. Thanks to you, the whole family now believes my sexual orientation is normal. So I just went with the flow and played along with what they want to believe. Understand?”
Seeing that Lin Jianqing was about to say something, Shen Huaixue quickly explained.
Lin Jianqing actually wanted to ask, ‘So did I actually ‘straighten’ you out?’ But thinking about it, that would be like dancing on a grave, so he ultimately gave up.
Because he didn’t dare imagine what strange things Shen Huaixue might use to get back at him afterward.
“Fine. What about your mother, then?” Lin Jianqing quickly changed the subject.
“My mother… She’s probably the one who truly calls the shots in the Shen Family right now,” Shen Huaixue said. “But… when you meet her, don’t be too nervous. She probably won’t make things difficult for you.”
Lin Jianqing:
The Shen Family.
Lin Jianqing and Shen Huaixue chatted on and off about the Shen Family. From Lin Jianqing’s perspective, Shen Huaixue had basically been complaining the entire time.
The cabin broadcast sounded again, reminding passengers to turn off electronic devices as the plane prepared for takeoff.
Lin Jianqing leaned back into his seat, his fingers lightly gripping the seatbelt.
He’d originally thought that going to the Capital City would just be about dealing with Shen Huaixue’s family. Now it sounded like it was going to be far more troublesome than he’d imagined.
Especially the whole “pretending to be lovers” thing. No matter how he thought about it, it felt weird.
Shen Huaixue turned her face toward him, lowering her voice a little.
“Don’t be scared. I’ve already said it multiple times, with your identity, they most likely won’t give you any trouble at all.” Watching Lin Jianqing’s uneasy expression, Shen Huaixue found it rather endearing.
Right, no one in the entire Shen Family would make things difficult for Lin Jianqing.
Shen Huaixue naturally understood her mother. With Shen Mu’s personality, she was probably eager for Lin Jianqing to marry into the Shen Family right this instant.