482: Chapter 477 You can start talking now.

Every stroke of the application, every touch of refinement, felt like peeling away a layer belonging to 'Kevin Hossen'.

He applied makeup not because of any strange obsession.

But because it was the skill he relied on to survive.

His older brother, Andrew, was like a poisonous spider coiled at the center of a web, squeezing out every bit of his living space until it was suffocating.

Everyone around him could potentially be Andrew's eyes.

The last time he managed to escape that estate, it was entirely due to this makeup skill he had secretly learned from the drama club.

He hastily disguised himself as an inconspicuous gardening assistant, which allowed him to slip past the guards and escape that golden cage.

As he finished the makeup, when a completely unfamiliar, sallow-faced, timid-eyed ordinary boy appeared in the mirror,

A single scorching tear finally couldn't be held back and rolled down from the corner of his eye.

Plop.

It struck the back of his hand.

Immediately following, a second drop, then a third...

The tears slid down silently, like beads from a broken string.

He bit down hard on his lip, unwilling to let out even the slightest sound.

Why?

He truly didn't understand.

He had never thought about fighting for anything.

He just wanted to live quietly.

Why was even such a simple wish so difficult?

Why did living require him to transform himself into another appearance that even he found disgusting?

In the driver's seat, Shen Yan did not turn his head.

He merely watched everything through the rearview mirror.

Watching the boy transition from skilled disguise to a complete emotional breakdown.

He didn't offer a tissue.

Nor did he say a single word of comfort.

Only after the sound of sobbing inside the car subsided somewhat did he slowly speak, his voice devoid of any warmth.

"Now, you still have a chance to regret it."

"I can send you back to that cabin, or I can drop you off anywhere you want to go."

"Just consider that I never saw you."

That sentence was like an ice-quenched knife, precisely stabbing into Kevin's most vulnerable heart.

It was unclear whether Kevin had absorbed any of it.

Because the only response to Shen Yan was a repressed, even longer silence.

Outside the car window, the city lights were already visible in the distance.

That place was another, even larger, and far more dangerous jungle.

The sound of weeping inside the car seemed to be choked off by an invisible hand.

Dead silence.

It was longer and heavier than any silence before it.

So long that Shen Yan thought the boy had either collapsed or fallen asleep.

A hoarse voice, thick with nasal sound but exceptionally stubborn, came from the back seat.

"No."

"I don't regret it."

"I want freedom."

Kevin raised his head and looked through the rearview mirror at the blurred silhouette remaining.

In his blue eyes, washed clean by tears, a faint flame ignited—a flame that refused to be extinguished.

"If I had the chance..."

His voice paused, as if he had exhausted all his strength.

"I still want to ask my father face-to-face,"

"Why."

The boy did not finish his sentence.

Too many things were omitted after that 'why'.

Why, from childhood to adulthood, his father's gaze always passed over him to land on Andrew.

Why getting all A's on his report card was less valuable than one swing Andrew took on the polo field.

Why his proposed business plan was dismissed as childish, while Andrew's flawed proposal was adopted.

Why, when he hinted that his brother might be plotting against him, the response was his father's disappointed look and the words, 'The Hossen Family does not need cowards.'

Why.

Too many whys converged into a heavy question mark that could not be spoken aloud.

Shen Yan did not respond.

He neither pressed further nor offered comfort.

He just pressed the accelerator a little harder.

The vehicle finally stopped in front of the most luxurious hotel in Saint-Lodu.

The doorman pulled open the door and bowed respectfully.

Shen Yan got out first, walked around to the other side, and personally opened the door for Kevin.

Kevin walked down somewhat awkwardly.

His cheap plaid shirt and faded jeans were completely out of place among the elegantly dressed guests and the opulent surroundings.

He instinctively lowered his head, wanting to shrink into the shadows.

Just then, a hand, with undeniable force, rested on his shoulder.

It was Shen Yan.

Shen Yan's arm loosely encircled him, pulling him halfway into his embrace.

The gesture was intimate, yet carried a trace of forceful possessiveness.

Kevin's body stiffened.

He smelled a faint, crisp scent on Shen Yan, like cedar.

He instinctively wanted to struggle, but that arm tightened its hold.

"Walk with me."

Shen Yan's voice was low, audible only to the two of them.

Kevin looked up and saw Shen Yan's expressionless profile.

He instantly understood something.

So, he gave up struggling and, obediently, even somewhat deliberately, leaned his body toward Shen Yan.

He was well disguised.

His slightly reddened eyes and timid, dependent gaze made him look exactly like a young man being well-protected by an older partner while attending such an event for the first time.

The lobby manager hurried over, wearing a professional, perfectly measured smile.

His gaze lingered on them for less than half a second before settling on Shen Yan, revealing no hint of surprise.

"Mr. Shen, good evening. Your Celestial Suite is ready."

"Mm."

Shen Yan responded lightly, keeping his arm around Kevin as he walked straight toward the private elevator.

From the doorman, to the front desk, to the manager.

Everyone's gaze held an unspoken professional discretion.

They saw, but they also seemed to see nothing.

After all, in a place like Saint-Lodu, the eccentric tastes of wealthy businessmen were hardly news.

Compared to those oddballs who brought pets or partners in bizarre costumes, this Mr. Shen from the East was considered quite low-key and normal.

The elevator ascended smoothly.

The mirror-like metal doors reflected two figures.

One tall and stern.

One slender and leaning.

They appeared perfectly close.

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open silently on the top floor.

The thick wool carpet swallowed all sound of footsteps.

Card swiped, door opened.

Outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows was the night view of the entire Saint-Lodu, like a spread-out galaxy woven from diamonds and starlight.

Shen Yan released the arm around Kevin.

The ambiguous atmosphere between them vanished instantly without a trace.

He walked to the bar, took a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator, twisted it open, and handed it to Kevin.

Then, he poured himself half a glass of whiskey.

He didn't sit down, merely leaning against the bar, swirling the amber liquid in his glass while gazing out at the night view.

"Now, you can start talking."