Chapter 299/300: You Must Think I’m Disgusting

Shen Shichuan frowned, silent, waiting for Xia Yangyang’s response.

Xia Yangyang began, “The day Shen Manbing was held hostage, Ah Chen and I took her to the hospital. You arrived later, and we left. I returned later for a jacket I’d left in the corridor, and then I saw…”

Xia Yangyang paused, withholding the full story. She wouldn't have believed it herself, had she not witnessed it: Shen Shichuan kissing the sleeping Shen Manbing. His eyes were closed, but his lips distinctly pressed against hers, his expression pained and strained—unlike anything she'd ever seen. His fingers gripped the bedsheets, the bulging veins visible even from a distance. She understood then.

Shen Shichuan’s feelings for his sister were far from ordinary.

His pupils constricted, his complexion darkening. Xia Yangyang had seen everything. No wonder. He’d kept this secret for years, concealing it so well that even Manbing remained unaware. He’d planned to keep it forever, even if his heart ached. He couldn't imagine Manbing marrying, having children, and leaving his life. For years, observing Shen Manbing and Gu Qichen, he knew their relationship wasn't that of ordinary lovers. He knew Gu Qichen's feelings were only sibling love, though Gu Qichen himself didn't realize it. Still, Shen Shichuan suffered daily. But Shen Manbing was his sister, raised together since childhood, even without a blood tie. He didn't know when his feelings had become so "indecent," fearing his sister's disgust if she ever found out. He was disgusted with himself, too. He pretended indifference, yet secretly, he'd suffered intensely. Xia Yangyang's revelation felt like a release, an outlet for years of pent-up pain.

He sank into the sofa. “Yangyang, I know you must think I’m a pervert for falling in love with my sister.”

Xia Yangyang was silent, unsure what to say. But Shen Shichuan continued, his confession a dam bursting after years of repression.

“The first time I saw Manbing, she was four. My mother found her, faint from hunger, at the roadside. I thought, how could such a frail child exist? I was kind to her. But when I learned my parents wanted to adopt her, I was upset, even resentful. She didn’t know, calling me ‘brother,’ always cheerful and following me. She was only four; she didn't understand, but I couldn’t bear the thought of this girl, of unknown origin, sharing my parents' love.”

Shen Shichuan seemed lost in memory, his voice distant and low.