Chapter 6 The Secret Lover

Among us kids, he really carried a sense of superiority that felt like a chasm.I couldn't hold back and walked over to him with my wine glass in hand.

As I approached the booth, I happened to see two girls lingering at the entrance. The security guard was explaining something to them, but the music was too loud for me to hear.I sidestepped between them and walked straight to Shen Jibai, plopping down beside him.

The two girls were dumbfounded, looking as if they'd just been caught by the legitimate partner. They left awkwardly.

Shen Jibai, oh Shen Jibai. Even though there's no spark between us, and I don't even like you, this man who has always been within my easy reach since childhood—so much so that I've grown used to it—seems, in the eyes of outsiders, to require all sorts of schemes to create a connection.

I lazily curled up on the velvet sofa, stealing a glance at his near-perfect side profile: deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge, and smooth jawline. His aura was completely different from when I first met him, yet that detached aloofness remained.

Such a restrained and handsome face. I can't help but wonder which little b*tch will get lucky with him in the future.

"Why do you bring bodyguards when you go out to party?" I raised an eyebrow in dissatisfaction. "Are you afraid those girls might eat you alive?"

Shen Jibai replied nonchalantly, "Just trying to avoid trouble."

I pushed further, "You're not young anymore and still single. Could it be that you have some shady secret lover out there?"

He countered, "Oh? What kind of lover would be considered shady? Tell me."

I smirked slyly, "For example... if you liked men!"

He stretched out his arm and patted my head. "What kind of nonsense is swirling in your little head at your age?"

Boring.

I pointed in the direction where the two girls had just left. "If you're straight, why do you look at pretty girls like they're your enemies?"

Shen Jibai chuckled lowly. "If I had a secret lover, would you mind?"

I widened my eyes. "Me? Me?! Why the hell would I care? I don't have any feelings for you! You could have ten lovers, and I wouldn't bat an eye!"

Shen Jibai raised an eyebrow. "Exactly. So what do those pretty girls have to do with me?"

I was speechless. He managed to steer the conversation back to his point again.

I had intended to dig up some juicy gossip about Shen Jibai, but I didn't succeed. Instead, the next moment, someone else started gossiping about me.

Behind the sofa came the voices of a few men, clearly drunk.

"Hey, Jingzhan, we all feel bad for you. Look at Jiang Li's legs and chest—we've seen them today. How did you ever let her go back then?"

Jingzhan, Ye Jingzhan—such a familiar name. He was my boyfriend during my time studying abroad.

The speaker was one of his friends, slurring his words due to too much alcohol.

"Ah, it's all in the past, all in the past..." It was indeed Ye Jingzhan's voice. Back then, he often called me late into the night with this same drunken tone.

This was the 80th time tonight that I cursed Shen Jin in my heart. Shen Jin, oh Shen Jin, you really don't treat me as a person, do you? Inviting even my ex-boyfriend to this welcome party?!

Then came a round of sleazy laughter from behind. "Jingzhan, I heard Jiang Li trained in dance since she was a kid. She's practically a professional. That flexibility must be..."

"Tsk... In practice, it's nothing special... You get bored after a while..." Ye Jingzhan replied, proud yet evasive.

I couldn't see their faces because I was sitting with my back to them in the booth. Of course, they also didn't know that the person sitting inside was me.

And Shen Jibai...

Every word they said was as clear to him as it was to me.

He should know that this wasn't true.

Because I have severe psychological issues.

It could even be called a mental illness.

Every time I have physical contact with the opposite s*x, there's an instant when I feel utterly disgusted and repulsed, making it impossible to continue.

The doctor said that finding the cause might require tracing back to some past experiences, but coincidentally, I had a car accident when I was 14. When I woke up, my mind was blank, and it's been that way ever since.

So my memories only start from when I moved with my dad to the house next to the Shen family mansion.

This isn't a secret. Many people know about it.

Like the entire Shen family, my friends, and Ye Jingzhan.

As for everything before I was 14, I only know what my dad told me. Like countless children from wealthy families, I lived a life where I could have anything I wanted. Everything went smoothly, and I grew up safely, albeit with poor academic performance. Overall, nothing particularly special.

I trust my dad. Even though he was too busy to be around much during my upbringing, it wasn't easy for him to raise me on his own. After all, my mom passed away from excessive bleeding right after I was born.

I remember once when he came home drunk, he insisted I keep him company for a chat. Slurring his words and patting my shoulder, he said, "Li Li, even though you don't have a mom, you have a dad! Your dad will work hard to earn lots and lots of money to make it up to you, so you can live better than any kid with a mom! All you need to do is be happy. If your grades are bad, it doesn't matter! Even if you're useless, your dad will make sure you live a carefree life!"

I have to admit, my dad knew me well. Those three words—"if you're useless"—have indeed come true.

Back when I was studying abroad, partying and having fun, I met Ye Jingzhan. His father was a renowned entrepreneur in China, so we were well-matched in status.

Ye Jingzhan and I were about the same age. Meeting a fellow countryman in a foreign land felt especially comforting.

One night after a party, he confessed that he liked me. I rejected him.

Later, the guy pursued me for over a year. At the time, I was being mocked by a group of foreign b*tches for being "sexually frigid." In a fit of anger, I decided to give him a chance.