SILA 23

Lin Suian woke up.

Shi Yushen sat beside the bed with a cigarette between his fingers. In a low voice, he asked:

“What were you doing in the mountains? Didn’t I tell you to stay home obediently and wait for me?”

“I’m sorry.”

Lin Suian did not tell him the truth and only kept apologizing.

“Sorry for what?”

Shi Yushen pressed coldly, his eyes darkening as he stared at Lin Suian’s pale face.

Feeling uncomfortable under that gaze, Lin Suian painfully took a breath and slowly listed his mistakes.

“I shouldn’t have gone out alone while you were away on your business trip… and I shouldn’t have almost died and caused you so much trouble trying to save me.”

As if remembering something, Shi Yushen suddenly laughed lightly.

“So now that you’re awake, you don’t want to die anymore?”

Lin Suian’s face became awkward. The corners of his eyes were still slightly red from illness as he trembled and nodded.

“Mm.”

He did not know what else to say.

His body stiffened.

Shi Yushen stretched out his long fingers and opened Lin Suian’s palm flat.

Then, without warning, he pressed the burning cigarette in his other hand against Lin Suian’s palm.

The glowing red tip flickered brightly and dimly.

The burning pain instantly made Lin Suian frown hard, his small face twisting together.

A red burn mark slowly appeared on his skin, even carrying traces of blood.

Lin Suian’s eyes immediately turned red, but he did not dare cry out loud.

Shi Yushen tightly held his hand and lowered his lips onto the fresh scar.

“I left a scar on your palm. It belongs to me.”

“And you belong to me too.”

The numb feeling from his touch mixed with the lingering pain in a way Lin Suian could not describe.

He only felt that Shi Yushen had truly gone crazy.

Still, he raised his eyes slightly and answered obediently with his dark black eyes open wide.

“I understand.”

…

A few days later, it would be Shi Yushen’s birthday.

Not wanting to upset him, Lin Suian secretly found a part-time job to earn money and buy him a gift.

The place did not even officially have a business license.

But after begging the owner for a long time, he was finally hired as an hourly worker and waiter.

After school every day, he went there to work.

The shop was small and rundown, but it had many customers.

When the owner saw him arrive, she warmly greeted him.

“Xiao Lin, go change into your uniform first. Later, stand at the front desk and register today’s guest list for the girls.”

“Okay, Sister Wang.”

Lin Suian nodded and walked inside.

Several women were standing in front of mirrors, holding bras and comparing cup sizes while laughing and chatting happily.

The moment the door opened, they all turned to look at him teasingly.

“Oh? The little brother is here. So cute. Why are you blushing?”

“You’ve never dated before, have you? So innocent. We only said a few words and you already don’t dare look at us anymore.”

“Hahaha, now we look like bad women.”

“Alright, hurry and put the underwear away. Xiao Lin is still a student. Don’t corrupt him.”

The women pushed each other jokingly before finally putting everything away.

The woman from Room Six poked Lin Suian’s chin with her finger and spoke flirtatiously.

“Little brother, if you ever want to date someday, come find big sister, okay? I really like soft and cute boys like you.”

Lin Suian’s breathing became messy.

Not knowing how to respond, he quickly looked away.

The woman laughed even harder.

Resting the back of her hand beneath her bright red lips, she smiled teasingly.

“So cute. Alright, I won’t bully you anymore.”

Only then did Lin Suian finally glance back at her.

Like petting a puppy, she casually rubbed his hair and sincerely advised him:

“Don’t keep working in a place like this. Go back to school properly, get into college, and find a girl you truly like.”

Before Lin Suian could say anything, the women walked out in their high heels.

The room was filled with heavy perfume.

Lin Suian coughed lightly, but the redness around his ears still had not faded.

After changing into his work uniform, he carried trays of tea and snacks to different rooms.

The moment he opened one door, he saw an inappropriate scene.

A vulgar man had his hand stretched toward a woman’s thigh covered in black stockings.

The woman did not reject him.

Although she smiled politely, disgust was hidden deep in her eyes.

She continued charmingly massaging the man’s back.

Lin Suian walked over, placed down the tray, and slapped the man’s hand away.

For once, his voice lost its usual calmness.

“What are you doing? I’m calling the police.”

Hearing this, the woman from Room Six became nervous.

“Little brother, just leave after putting things down. Don’t interfere.”

The man glanced at him irritably.

“Why are you still standing here? Don’t you know what kind of place this is?”

“You’re just a kid with no money in your pockets trying to play hero.”

His mocking became harsher and harsher.

The woman hurriedly apologized to the customer while pushing Lin Suian outside.

Lin Suian asked her:

“Why are you letting him touch you?”

She sighed softly.

“My family owes a lot of debt. My dad is a gambler, my mom is sick, and my younger brother is still in school.”

“I have no choice. As the oldest, I need to support the family. This kind of work isn’t respectable, but at least it earns more money.”

The fists Lin Suian had clenched slowly loosened.

“I’m sorry for dirtying your eyes. If you continue working here later, just pretend you didn’t see anything.”

She smiled helplessly.

“I’m going back in now.”

Lin Suian silently watched her back.

His heart felt complicated.

What right did he have to judge her?

His own situation was not much better.

And so, Lin Suian continued secretly working there for an entire week without telling Shi Yushen.

But on the final day, after finally receiving his pay, something unexpected happened before he got off work.

The police raided the place.

Several uniformed officers suddenly rushed inside without warning.

Lin Suian had never seen such a scene before.

Before he could react, cold silver handcuffs were already locked around his wrists, and he was taken away together with the barely dressed women.

Even then, the woman from Room Six still defended him.

“This little brother didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t arrest him.”

Lin Suian’s face turned pale.

But the police answered coldly:

“Whether he did something wrong or not will be decided after questioning at the station.”

At the detention center, Lin Suian thought bitterly about how the money in his pocket had not even warmed up yet before the police confiscated it as illegal earnings.

After working an entire week—

He had earned nothing.

Lin Suian felt like his heart was bleeding.

The light completely disappeared from his eyes.

Late that night, after Shi Yushen learned he had been arrested, he personally went to the station to take him out.