Chapter 12: Love History  

“I can actually stand up.”  

With that, Lu Huaichuan furrowed his brows and held his breath, gripping the armrests so tightly his knuckles turned white. His biceps trembled as, with a muffled grunt, he lifted his lower body off the wheelchair.  

However, the whole process looked more like he was using sheer upper-body strength to hoist himself up. So when his arms gave out, with a thud, Lu Huaichuan fell right back into the wheelchair.  

“Did you hurt yourself?” Shen Simo asked with concern.  

He rubbed his lower back awkwardly. “A little.”  

Embarrassed, Lu Huaichuan’s gaze darted around. He turned his head away, quickly picking up his sketchpad and brush, pretending nothing had happened as he dabbed at the canvas—though his strokes weren’t as crisp and confident as before.  

Watching his childish behavior, Shen Simo covered her mouth and giggled. “Lu Huaichuan, don’t you want to hear about my love history?”  

“I do.”  

She snatched the brush from his hand and set it aside, then placed her hands on his shoulders to turn him toward her. Clearing her throat theatrically, she began, “Ahem. When I was a freshman, I had an online dating relationship with a guy for a few months—about half a year. On the day we were supposed to meet in real life, he gave me two million and said, ‘Thank you for your company these past months. This is the breakup fee. I’m getting married, so I hope you won’t bother me anymore.’”  

Lu Huaichuan froze, blinking rapidly before lowering his head and shrinking into himself, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably. His lips curled so high they might’ve flown off his face. “That’s it?”  

“That’s it. He didn’t even get out of the car—just tossed a bank card through the window, then zoomed off.”  

“Where did you meet? On a social media app?”  

“An online game. I was the commander and carried him through a few instances. After we got familiar, I even helped him farm achievements, advanced skins, and high-difficulty quests.”  

The man laughed even harder, his eyes narrowing into slits as tears nearly spilled out. “That wasn’t a breakup fee—that was a salary.”  

Shen Simo didn’t understand why this was so funny to him. Sure, she’d been deceived emotionally and wasted her time, but at least she hadn’t given him her body.  

“Stop laughing…” Shen Simo pouted, giving Lu Huaichuan’s shoulder a light shove. “That’s my love history. What, did you want to hear something more dramatic?”  

“More dramatic? How much more dramatic?” Lu Huaichuan straightened up, resting his chin on his hand as he teased, “Don’t tell me—after he left, you pined for him, hoping he’d come back for you?”  

He hit the nail on the head.  

For a whole month after the “breakup,” Shen Simo had been in a daze, unable to understand why he’d given her money and told her not to bother him—when, in their relationship, she had been the one being courted all along.  

Then one day, Li Xue said something that struck her like lightning: *Is it possible you were the mistress?*  

She also pointed out that at least Shen Simo had gotten two million out of it—many mistresses ended up paying for the privilege. *Relax, having money is better than being used for free.*  

“Is that so wrong? It was my first love, after all.”  

“First love?” he asked.  

Lu Huaichuan’s smile remained, but a dangerous glint flickered deep within his dark eyes—hidden in some unseen corner of his being, as if ensuring his prey wouldn’t notice.

“Is your one-sided affection really love? If it doesn’t count as love, how can it be called a first love?” he continued.  

Shen Simo felt uneasy under his intense gaze. Lu HuaiChuan’s eyes held an indescribable magnetism, compelling her to inexplicably lean closer to him once again.  

She crouched beside his legs, resting her head against his thigh, and asked curiously, “Then what do you think love is?”  

Lu HuaiChuan mischievously dabbed a bit of paint from his palette onto Shen Simo’s high nose bridge, then flashed a satisfied smile before countering, “So curious about my opinion?”  

“Yes,” she replied softly, catching his wrist to stop him from going further. “If a relationship only counts when both sides are completely in love, then as long as you never fall for anyone…”  

“Do I seem that cold-hearted in your eyes?”  

In the quiet first-floor studio, aside from the hum of the ventilation fan, only their increasingly heavy and rapid breaths filled the room.  

Their intertwined gazes became the sole catalyst for the moment—as for the consequences…  

But Shen Simo could no longer refuse any condition he proposed. Or rather, she didn’t want to refuse. So she turned her eyes toward the window, slowly closed her eyelids, and lifted her chin.  

Just then, the tightly shut wooden door creaked open abruptly. Lu HuaiLin swaggered in. “Bro, is Duan Yu coming back today? Do you need me to stay and take care of you tonight? Uh… sorry, bad timing.”  

Shen Simo pretended to be composed, rubbing her eyes as she moved from the adjustable platform to the ladder, then nimbly hopped to the ground. “Young Master Lu, what nonsense are you thinking? I just got something in my eye and asked your brother to help me with it.”  

Now fully composed, Lu HuaiChuan picked up his brush with a cold expression and resumed painting.  

“Simo, when did you get here?”  

“This morning, around six-thirty. Why?”  

The blush on Shen Simo’s face hadn’t fully faded, making her look like a delicate flower bud on the verge of blooming—utterly endearing.  

Lu HuaiLin couldn’t even bring himself to look directly at her. Instead, he glanced around nervously, licking his lips before stammering, “N-no reason. I just thought I came pretty early myself.”  

The two sat on the sofa, awkwardly rubbing their hands. Meanwhile, Lu HuaiChuan kept “monitoring” them out of the corner of his eye.  

Under his brother’s glare, Lu HuaiLin fidgeted restlessly. Shen Simo, too, was flustered by the Arctic-level tension among the three of them, repeatedly smoothing her hair as she sat.  

“Young Master Lu, how are things with that small streamer? Have you managed to contact her?”  

“Nah,” Lu HuaiLin replied. “She’s taken a break these past couple of days—no streams. But I’ve already given up hope.”  

Lu HuaiChuan paused his brush. “Found someone else you like?”  

His head drooped as he shrugged helplessly. “No. They’ve been trying to set me up with someone lately. Even if I could meet Xiao Lu offline, there’s no future for us. Better not to see her at all. I’ll just quietly send gifts so she’ll at least remember me.”  

Another heavy silence followed.

Looking at Lu HuaiLin’s pitiful expression, Shen Simo’s heart softened again. She was torn about whether to come clean, but she was also afraid that after revealing the truth, Lu HuaiLin would hold a grudge against her, thinking she had played him for a fool. And then, Lu HuaiChuan might also start distancing himself from her.

“Brother, what do you want for lunch?” Lu HuaiLin walked over to the elevator platform and patted Lu HuaiChuan’s back. “Simo and I will go out and buy it.”

Lu HuaiChuan replied coldly, “I’m not hungry. You two go out and eat.”