Chapter 329: Chapter 326: "Shen Chen! Do You Think It’s Appropriate for You to Ask This Question?

Shen Chen, who had a mysterious connection to Fei Qiao, walked in.

Xu Su tore her eyes away from the TV, her gaze bright and fixed on him. She kept staring even as he walked closer.

Her intense stare made Shen Chen pause. He glanced down at himself before asking, "What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?"

"No..." Xu Su didn’t move from her spot on the sofa, simply pointing a finger at the television. "I was just binge-watching Fei Qiao’s show, and then you walked in. It made me a little curious..."

"Curious about what?" Shen Chen asked, puzzled.

"I remember you telling me your family is involved in a lot of industries. Do you happen to have an entertainment company?"

Xu Su had a gossipy look on her face as she smiled and asked, "Is Fei Qiao an artist at your company? Did you use the ’casting couch’ on her? You know, just like in the gossip columns—you provide the resources and act as her big-shot sugar daddy..."

"She’s an artist at Shen Entertainment, that’s true, but she reports to Jiang Peng. What does that have to do with me?"

Shen Chen honestly couldn’t follow her train of thought. He took a few steps forward, sat down beside her, and looked down at her. "Xu Su, can you please stop assuming the worst of me? I don’t think I’ve done anything heinous to you, have I? Can’t you think something good about me for a change?"

She either looked at him like he was something filthy or wildly accused him of sleeping with his employees and soliciting prostitutes.

Shen Chen was so exasperated he almost had to laugh. He explained seriously, "Xu Su, I’ll admit I wasn’t exactly a saint before, but I’m not as classless as you seem to think."

"Oh..." Xu Su nodded, believing him. After all, he had no reason to lie. It was just...

It suddenly hit her, and her eyes widened. "You’re saying you’ve never touched Fei Qiao?"

’This doesn’t match my memories from my past life!’

’Didn’t Shi Lin say...’

"Why on earth would I have to touch Fei Qiao?" Shen Chen didn’t understand why she was so shocked. He rubbed his temples. "It’s not just Fei Qiao. Any other Li Qiao or Liu Qiao, I haven’t touched them either!"

"Xu Su, why don’t you tell me seriously, just what kind of person do you think I am?" Shen Chen’s face darkened. "Does every woman have to have something to do with me?"

"..." Xu Su fell silent.

’Shi Lin wouldn’t lie. Could it be that his thing with Fei Qiao happened later on?’

’Or did something happen that made this life different from my past one? He didn’t take a liking to Fei Qiao, so Jiang Peng got lucky and snatched her up?’

Xu Su pressed her lips together and remained silent for a long time. Shen Chen turned to look at her, his heart aching with a bittersweet pain. He was almost tempted to tell her that ever since he’d met her, he’d practically been living like a monk...

To be honest, at the beginning, he hadn’t been so noble as to stay chaste for someone else’s girlfriend. It was mainly that he couldn’t help himself; he had started doing it before he even realized it.

By the time he noticed, it was already too late.

But Xu Su was oblivious to the love Shen Chen found so hard to confess. Right now, she was just trying to figure out what could have possibly changed things in this lifetime.

’Could it be that he played around too much and his body can’t keep up anymore?’

’Is he suffering from that middle-aged man problem where the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak?’

’No way!’

The look in Xu Su’s eyes changed instantly. Her gaze met Shen Chen’s, but she seemed hesitant to speak...

’She genuinely thought of Shen Chen as a brother, so shouldn’t she be a little concerned for him? But this was the kind of thing men seemed very sensitive about others knowing.’

Shen Chen noticed her hesitation and asked directly, "What do you want to say?"

"..." Xu Su shook her head firmly. "Nothing."

’Forget it. This really wasn’t a topic she should be discussing with him.’

That simple shake of her head made Shen Chen’s expression change drastically. He suddenly leaned over, grabbed Xu Su’s chin to lift her face, and brushed her long hair away from her neck with his other hand. His eyes were glued to the spot her hair had been covering.

"This is how he treats you?" Shen Chen’s fingers trembled slightly as he brushed them over several reddish-purple marks. His face was grim, and he couldn’t stop himself from gritting his teeth. "Are you an idiot? Why did you leave with him last night?"

Xu Su was lying on the sofa, so when he leaned over her like that, the proximity between them seemed incredibly intimate. Fortunately, neither of them was in the mood for such thoughts right now.

Especially Shen Chen. He wished he could give her a thorough examination, inside and out.

Just the marks on her exposed neck were horrifying to look at; he didn’t dare imagine what lay beneath her clothes.

He reached for the hem of Xu Su’s shirt and started to lift it, but he only got halfway before she stopped him dead.

Xu Su jumped, clutching the hem of her shirt tightly and staring at him with wide eyes. "Shen Chen! What are you doing?"

’What is wrong with him, suddenly going crazy like this!’

Shen Chen froze for a moment, then let go of her shirt. He tried to pull her up. "If you won’t let me see, then come with me to the hospital."

’What would we do at the hospital!’

Xu Su irritably straightened her clothes and shook his hand off. "Seriously, what is your problem all of a sudden?"

Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly realized what he meant. She touched her neck, and her face instantly turned red.

She silently cursed Zhou Mochen in her head.

’Just how hard did he kiss me? He left marks that made even a seasoned playboy like Shen Chen think I was being abused!’

"Um..." Xu Su stammered for a moment, truly embarrassed and not sure how to explain.

At the same time, she felt a little touched. She hadn’t expected Shen Chen to be so loyal to her.

’He was this frantic because he thought Zhou Mochen was abusing me.’

"Don’t tell me this is just another one of your ’couple’s kinks’?" After his initial burst of anger, Shen Chen finally noticed she didn’t look resentful at all. It was obvious she had been willing.

He stared at her with a fierce gaze. "Xu Su, do you have so little regard for your own body that you just let him do whatever he wants?"

It was the first time Xu Su had ever seen him look like this. She shrank back from his glare and explained in a small voice, "...It’s not what you think."

’This is so awkward. Why do I have to explain my bedroom affairs to Shen Chen!’

"It just looks scary. He didn’t actually use much force," Xu Su said lamely. She held up her wrist to show him the finger marks there. "My skin is just like this. If you squeeze even a little, it leaves a red mark. It’s really not what you’re thinking."

Towards the end, Xu Su couldn’t continue. She blushed and glared at him. "Haven’t you been wining and dining your way through life? Why are you acting so inexperienced!"

She refused to believe that a seasoned playboy like him had never seen something like this before.

Of course Shen Chen had seen it before. He’d seen it plenty of times...

Marks like these didn’t appear during normal lovemaking. They only showed up when someone with certain perversions tormented a woman with vicious force...

That was why he had panicked like that.

He had been terrified...

Shen Chen closed his eyes for a moment, then reached out and took Xu Su’s hand, looking down at the direction of the finger marks on her wrist...

With his vast experience, a single glance was all it took for him to mentally simulate how that hand had been forcefully gripped...

Xu Su, a little embarrassed, pulled her hand back. "Sit farther away. It’s hot."

’What would people think, the two of them being so close? Even if she saw him as a brother, he was still a brother of the opposite sex.’

Shen Chen paused slightly, released her hand, and let his gaze travel from her arm back to her neck. His eyes held a deep meaning as he asked, "Your first time?"

"..." Xu Su’s pupils dilated. "Shen Chen! Do you really think that’s an appropriate question to ask?"