Li Shen's amusement didn't last.
It cracked.
Sharp. Sudden.
"Unbelievable," he muttered, a humorless laugh escaping him as he ran a hand through his hair. The restraint he'd been wearing so easily—slipping.
His eyes snapped back to Cheng Mo, anger now burning clear.
"You really have no shame, do you?"
The words landed hard.
Cold.Accusing.
Cheng Mo didn't react immediately.
But I felt it—
the shift in him.
Dangerous this time.
Li Shen took another step forward, voice rising, edged with something rawer than sarcasm now.
"Doing this here? Like this?" His gaze flicked pointedly past us—toward the bed.
Toward the still figure lying there.
His lips curled. "Your mother is right there."
The air froze.
For a second, even I couldn't breathe.
Cheng Mo moved.
Not fast.Not loud.
But every bit of control he had was visible in the tightness of his shoulders, in the way his hand clenched at his side.
"Watch your words," he said quietly.
Too quietly.
Li Shen scoffed, though there was something unsteady beneath it now.
"Why?" he shot back. "Did I say something wrong?"
His eyes burned into Cheng Mo, searching for a reaction—pushing, pressing—
"You act like nothing matters. Like no one else exists."
A beat.
Then, sharper
"Or is that how desperate you've become?"
"Enough."
The word cut through everything.
Low.Final.
Cheng Mo stepped forward this time—fully placing himself between us.
Not subtle anymore.
A wall.
Li Shen stilled.
For the first time since he entered, there was hesitation.
But it didn't last.
His jaw tightened, gaze flickering once—just once—toward me.
And there it was again.
That ugly, restrained jealousy.
"…You think this makes you better?" he said, quieter now, but no less intense. "Standing there like you've already won?"
Cheng Mo didn't answer.
Didn't need to.
Because the silence between them—
said enough.
And Li Shen knew it.