Pretend to be crazy

Shen Yan’s mind went blank for a moment before quickly resuming its functions.

He leaned weakly against the door panel and reached back to open the door, unsurprisingly finding it locked.

“Mom, do you want to leave?”

Falson was the first to lose his composure. He had injuries on his face and, with a grim expression, stepped forward, trapping him in the entryway.

Shen Yan wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but Falson seemed to have grown taller. Now, the top of his head was above his nose.

Shen Yan chuckled lightly. As Falson reached for his wrist, he deftly dodged and let his gaze pass over Falson’s head, landing on Warren, who stood not far away with an unreadable expression.

The solution to this situation wasn’t difficult.

Warren was the strongest one in the room. If he could deceive him first, the other two—no matter what trouble they wanted to stir—wouldn’t be able to accomplish much.

Warren met his gaze, then looked away a few seconds later, his expression turning even colder. He had no intention of helping him out of this predicament.

Blaze also remained still, seated on the sofa, lowering his gaze to continue tinkering with the circuits inside Little Blaze’s body. It was unclear what he was installing.

As Shen Yan’s gaze lingered, Falson suddenly covered his eyes with his hand, sounding both aggrieved and dissatisfied. “I’m right here in front of you, yet you won’t even look at me. Do you hate me, Mom?”

Shen Yan answered matter-of-factly, “Yeah. Just thinking about finally getting rid of you makes me smile in my sleep.”

Blaze’s lips twitched in a quick smirk, letting out a small, almost imperceptible scoff.

The room was so quiet that any sound seemed amplified.

Falson immediately turned his head and roared at him, “What are you laughing at?! Aren’t you just as unwanted?! You loser! Failure! Golden dog shit!”

Blaze replied indifferently, “At least I’ve kissed him, and he’s kissed me too. What about you?”

“Me?” Falson trembled with rage and immediately turned back to stare intently at Shen Yan, his voice desperate. “Mom, kiss me too, okay? Why won’t you kiss me? Am I not good enough?”

“I’m very obedient. I won’t kill you. Can I get a kiss?”

“Mom, you don’t know how much I miss you. You don’t know how much effort I put in just to see you. Can’t I get a little reward?”

From the moment Falson saw Shen Yan, his mental state had been unstable, like a bomb seconds away from detonation.

Shen Yan stuffed his hands into his pockets and mercilessly responded, “No.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, all traces of pleading disappeared from Falson’s face. He stared at him with a dark, sinister gaze, showing no intention of letting him leave.

Shen Yan watched him change expressions with interest and smiled. “Not happy? Are you going to kill me out of anger and replace me with another mom?”

He took Falson’s hand and placed it around his own neck, his expression and movements relaxed, making it impossible to tell if he was fearless or had simply given up.

Blaze and Warren both looked over at the same time.

Shen Yan gazed gently at Falson, as if looking at a disobedient puppy or kitten. “If you don’t do it now, you won’t get another chance.”

Falson stared at his face and, almost involuntarily, tightened his grip. Shen Yan didn’t struggle—he simply closed his eyes in silence.

Air struggled to pass through his throat, and all four people in the room could hear his increasingly labored breathing.

Staying upright in this situation was too much effort, so Shen Yan leaned against the door and slowly slid down. Throughout the process, whenever Falson showed signs of loosening his grip, Shen Yan immediately pressed his hand back in place, maintaining the same tolerant, expectant gaze.

He was tempting Falson to kill him.

Falson was thrilled. His face flushed with excitement as he observed every inch of Shen Yan’s pained expression, feeling the pulse beneath his palm. Images flashed through his mind—Shen Yan dying at his hands, frozen in time.

Mom would never say harsh words again.

Mom would never leave him.

Mom would always belong to him.

Which type of preservative should he buy?

As his thoughts spiraled, Falson became truly intent on killing Shen Yan. The awareness of Shen Yan’s life slipping away made him more exhilarated than ever.

Until he was suddenly lifted and casually thrown aside. Only then did he snap out of the atmosphere Shen Yan had deliberately created. Stiff and filled with belated fear, he turned to look at him.

Warren stood not far away, looking down at him from above.

Falson scrambled to Shen Yan’s side, frantically trying to wipe away the tears on his face, but Shen Yan raised a hand to block him.

“Mom…” Falson looked as if he had been struck by lightning. He whimpered as he scooted closer, pressing his head against the side of his neck. Holding onto his arm, he pleaded with remorse, “It’s my fault, Mom. Please forgive me. I’m sorry.”

Shen Yan didn’t push him away. He kept his head down, slowly regulating his breathing.

He was too weak. So weak that he didn’t even have the strength to push Falson away. All he could do was endure it in silence, his brows furrowed in nothing but disgust and irritation.

And Warren saw everything.

After a few more seconds, Shen Yan’s hoarse voice broke the silence. “You don’t have to care about me.”

Warren: “You scammed me, and I haven’t settled that score yet.”

Shen Yan curled his lips into a self-mocking smile. “You don’t believe me… you’re always like this.”

That baseless accusation left Warren with an indescribable feeling.

Even at death’s door, he was still being a stubborn liar.

Maybe he really didn’t need to care about him.

That’s what he thought. But his body acted on its own—forcefully prying Shen Yan and Falson apart before carrying Shen Yan into the bedroom.

When the bedroom door closed, Blaze’s hand trembled, and the tiny electronic component he was handling was misplaced.

From start to finish, Shen Yan hadn’t looked at him.

He hadn’t called his name.

Even when he was about to be strangled to death, he never thought of asking him for help.

A dull pain throbbed in his chest. He pressed his lips together, recalling the times Shen Yan had comforted him when he woke from nightmares—

“Blaze, breathe. In—out—”

“Feeling better?”

“Drink some water. I’m right here. I’ll stay with you.”

He forced himself to forget.

But the harder he tried, the clearer those memories became.

It was precisely because of these precious moments that Shen Yan’s indifference now was unbearable.

Tossing the electronic component aside, his face turned icy as he strode toward the bedroom door and pounded on it.

On the other side of the door, Shen Yan was holding onto Warren, standing on tiptoe to kiss his chin.

Warren frowned deeply. For some reason, he found himself unable to push him away. He could only let him cling to him, keeping his face cold as he tilted his head back to avoid a kiss on the lips.

Shen Yan didn’t seem too eager to kiss him on the lips anyway. He pecked him a few times, all the while studying his expression. When he felt the timing was right, he shifted his emotions again, looking up at him with reddened eyes.

“Why aren’t you pushing me away? A liar is kissing you like this, and you’re just taking it?”

Warren sneered at his flawless act. “Ruan Zhixian already told me—you never even went to military school. Your talent for making up stories is even better than your acting.”

Shen Yan blinked a few times, then took Warren’s fingers and gently shook them. When he didn’t react, he slowly intertwined their fingers.

“I see… But, hubby, aren’t you enjoying it too?”

He pressed the back of Warren’s hand against his own face and smiled.

“Besides me, who else could you possibly love?”