Waaah, I'm being forced into loving my yandere wife's brain.

Lin Zhiyao's back tensed up. She subconsciously wanted to back away, but she was afraid that Shen Jin would notice something was wrong, so she could only suppress the fear that kept rising in her heart and stay rooted to the spot.

Lin Zhiyao couldn't see his expression clearly, nor did she know whether he believed her or not.

She could only try her best to remain calm, secretly praying that he wouldn't see through her. "Oh right... what's Dr. Shen doing here? I thought you'd be very busy..."

Shen Jin paused, not answering her question, but instead put his arm around her waist, "Yao Yao, don't go out lately. Come on, I'll take you back to your room."

Lin Zhiyao's feet seemed to be rooted to the spot, and she didn't move. "No... Dr. Shen, I want to go out for a walk. I've been inside for too long and I want to get some fresh air."

Shen Jin's hand, which was on her waist, suddenly tightened.

After a period of oppressive silence.

Shen Jin said, "Yao Yao, you're really bad at lying."

Lin Zhiyao instinctively wanted to back away.

But with Shen Jin holding her waist tightly, she had no way to retreat.

"Yaoyao, I've already forgiven you for being naughty once. Why do you still want to be a bad child?"

Shen Jin stretched out his long arm and pulled her tightly into his embrace. His slender fingers lifted Lin Zhiyao's fair chin, and he looked down into her unfocused but clearly terrified eyes. "Now, come back to the room with me, and I can pretend nothing happened."

"Yaoyao, I believe you will make a wise choice and won't let me down, right?"

Shen Jin lowered his voice, his fox-like eyes lowered as he looked at Lin Zhiyao. In the eerie atmosphere at this moment, even the daytime seemed to be filled with a sinister ghostly aura.

The magnetic voice that was usually pleasant to Lin Zhiyao's ears now sounded as cold and venomous as a snake.

Stunning, yet deadly.

Sure enough, he had heard everything.

Lin Zhiyao felt cold all over.

Frozen in place, he lifted her chin, her whole body trembling slightly.

Since you've already heard it, why pretend with her? Do you want her to think nothing happened, then drug her when she's off guard, lock her up, just like you did with Gu Yuanshao?

Lin Zhiyao couldn't see Shen Jin's expression clearly, but she guessed it must be icy cold.

Since the goal has already been achieved, why continue to pretend?

Or perhaps... Shen Jin has always had this expression, only his tone is gentle, making her mistakenly believe that his expression is also gentle. In fact, Shen Jin may be just like those who like to mock and tease her, watching her make a fool of herself with a mocking look.

The more Lin Zhiyao thought about it, the colder she felt all over. Her mind was spinning, and she couldn't even breathe steadily.

Lin Zhiyao had had enough.

She tilted her head back, her unfocused gaze drifting vaguely towards the blurry, dark outline.

"Gu Yuanshao is inside."

Lin Zhiyao decided to directly burst that false bubble.

Anyway, it's something that's both dreamy and fragile, so keeping it would just be an eyesore.

Shen Jin did not respond immediately.

After a moment, he seemed to chuckle, very softly, "Did you hear that?"

He said you're the one who truly cares about the family.

"Yes, he's right."

Shen Jin bent down.

Lin Zhiyao could feel the breath right in front of her, so close it could brush against her nose.

Shen Jin reached out and touched her face, which was damp and cold from sweat and tears, wiping away the tears from the corners of her red eyes.

Lin Zhiyao turned her head to try to dodge, but his palm was firmly pressed against her cheek like a magnet, and she couldn't escape.

"But I didn't lie either."

Shen Jin's voice was very close, low and slow, as if he were speaking to someone in a private conversation, "Everything I told you is true... Yao Yao, from the very first day I met you, from the very first moment, I never intended to lie to you. I wanted to be the closest person to you, and you wanted to be mine too, didn't you?"

Lin Zhiyao found it laughable. "But you lied to me, didn't you? You even pretended to be Gu Yuanshao, knowing full well that I hated him, yet you still did that on purpose... and then you pretended to appear just in time, because you thought I was vulnerable then, easy to get close to, so you could take advantage of my weakness?"

Shen Jin paused for a moment, then said, "Yaoyao, impersonating Gu Yuanshao was something I had to do, but I didn't hurt you. I protected you the whole way, didn't let anyone make things difficult for you at the banquet, and picked you up in time afterwards, didn't I?"

Lin Zhiyao had nothing to say.

Shen Jin's words weren't entirely wrong, but she instinctively felt that something was amiss.

This explanation was unacceptable to her.

Silence spread through the corridor.

In the distance, the sound of Gu Yuanshao banging on the door could be faintly heard, muffled, like raindrops falling on a drumhead, separated by a door and half a corridor.

Shen Jin gently squeezed her slightly cool fingertips, his fingertips lightly tracing the back of her hand.

"Yaoyao, we just promised each other yesterday that we would be each other's best friends. Best friends should support each other even more during times like this, shouldn't they?"

Upon hearing the words "good friend," Lin Zhiyao suddenly realized something.

Her voice was filled with sadness and pain.

"This so-called game of good friends... how long are you going to keep up this act with me...?"

Lin Zhiyao's almond-shaped eyes were filled with tears. She stared intently at Shen Jin, her whole body trembling. "Shen Jin, you clearly just wanted to use me. Now that I know, and you know I know, why are you still pretending? Do I really look that stupid? Knowing you're using me, how can I pretend nothing happened and let you continue to use me? Stop doing this! Aren't you tired? Even if you're not tired, I'm tired too. I don't like this fake relationship; it just makes me feel disgusted!"

As Lin Zhiyao finished speaking, she became agitated, letting out a heavy breath and her face turning slightly red with anger.

【】

Shen Jin's fox-like eyes darkened in the dimly lit corridor.

Like two bottomless, icy pools.

He wasn't angered by Lin Zhiyao's accusations; instead, he chuckled very lightly, with a strange, chilling quality.

"Disgusting?" Shen Jin repeated the word, his fingertips still pressed against her face, feeling her skin slightly flushed with anger. "Yao Yao, how could you use such a harsh word on me?"

Shen Jin tightened his arms around her waist, giving her no room to retreat.

Lin Zhiyao could feel him lean down again, this time even closer, his nose almost touching her forehead. His warm breath brushed against her trembling eyelashes, carrying the bitter scent of herbs and a faint aroma of soap.

"Yaoyao, tell me, do you hate Gu Yuanshao?"

Lin Zhiyao was taken aback by his question, then gritted her teeth, her tone full of disgust: "Of course I hate it."

"If I continue to approach you as Gu Yuanshao, would you be like this now—" Shen Jin's thumb gently caressed the corner of her reddened eyes, "Would you let me touch you, let me kiss you, let me stay in your room overnight?"

Lin Zhiyao froze.

She was speechless, because the answer was obvious.

If she had known that the person who took her to the banquet that night was Shen Jin instead of Gu Yuanshao, she probably wouldn't have even left the house.

Because Shen Jin could not threaten her.

What happened next was even less likely to happen. He wouldn't have had the chance to lift her skirt last night and let her melt into a pool of honey in his burning palms...

They couldn't have been closer than they are now in such a short time.

"So..." Shen Jin's cool lips pressed against her forehead, his voice low and husky, "I chose the identity you didn't dislike to approach you, Yao Yao, was that wrong?"

"Now you know everything, so you also know that I will definitely appear in public as Gu Yuanshao. After locking him up, the identity of Shen Jin is not so important anymore, but for you, I have kept this identity. Yao Yao, don't you understand my feelings for you?"

Shen Jin's logic was absurd yet self-consistent, leaving Lin Zhiyao unable to refute it for a moment.

She felt cold all over and wanted to push him away.

But his arm was firmly held in place, and he couldn't move at all.

"You locked Gu Yuanshao up, you impersonated him, you used me..."

Lin Zhiyao's voice trembled, but she still struggled to speak, "You said you weren't lying to me, but you've been lying to me from day one."

Although she couldn't argue with her, she knew that the exploitation and deception had happened regardless, and Shen Jin had countless opportunities to be honest with her, but Shen Jin didn't do so.

This will undoubtedly hurt her.

But Shen Jin didn't care.