Chapter 349: The Soft‑Waisted Educated Youth Is Spoiled Rotten by His Boyfriend 12

Mo Zhinan watched helplessly as the distance between them drew closer and closer, his breathing unconsciously slowing down considerably.

He instinctively tried to step back, but Jin Chen stopped him by gripping his waist.

Suddenly, Mo Zhinan felt a sore numbness at his waist, inexplicably losing strength, and could only lean into Jin Chen's embrace for support, staring up in shock; his clear gaze met Jin Chen's deeply meaningful eyes.

Jin Chen sensed something, his eyes glinting slightly; the fingers wrapped around the youth's waist twitched, his thumb lightly rubbing through the thin fabric, and sure enough, Mo Zhinan clutched his clothes and let out a faint gasp.

"Jin Chen……"

His tone was unusually urgent; he felt his reaction was truly strange, and he could see Jin Chen's mischievous intent, making him inexplicably embarrassed.

Jin Chen looked at the youth's appearance, a low chuckle escaping his throat, the corners of his mouth unrestrained.

He leaned forward slightly, and in an instant the distance between them shrunk to a hair's breadth, almost nose-to-nose.

Since his hand hadn't moved away, Mo Zhinan couldn't muster any strength, feeling the tingling numbness at his waist spread throughout his body.

Being stared at like that, his ears flushed crimson, and he could even feel Jin Chen's breath blowing onto his skin.

Just as they were close enough to brush lips, Jin Chen chuckled lightly, turned his body slightly, and placed his other hand on the youth's shoulder, embracing him in an utterly protective posture that highlighted their great size difference.

Mo Zhinan exhaled in relief, the heart that had been suspended since earlier finally settling down.

He leaned into Jin Chen's embrace, his eyelashes fluttering slightly, the corner of his clothes he had been gripping still not loosened, and he did not reject this hug.

"Good friends…… are they like this?"

Jin Chen answered with a smile: "We're not the same; we're better than just good friends."

That answer left Mo Zhinan bewildered, but he didn't press further, resting his chin on Jin Chen's shoulder, lost in thought.

【Villain Heartthrob Value detected: 5, total now 25!】

Only when Third Aunt's footsteps came from outside the courtyard did they end the embrace.

Mo Zhinan once again met Jin Chen's smiling gaze, his cheeks flushing again as he lowered his eyes in silence.

Third Aunt also walked in, unaware of the just‑past amorous atmosphere.

"The eggs you wanted—I picked them plump and big! They're guaranteed to be delicious!"

She beamed with joy, placing the carefully held eggs on the table and deliberately covering them with a thick layer of cotton wadding, fearing they might get bumped.

"Try this—it's the osmanthus glutinous rice cake made at my place! It's still warm."

Third Aunt then handed Jin Chen a bag of biscuits.

"Hey, thanks, Third Aunt." Jin Chen took it and immediately smelled a rich, sweet osmanthus aroma, saying, "Fragrant, Third Aunt's skills are superb—this osmanthus scent isn't burnt at all."

"As long as you like it, come visit my place more often—I'll make more for you!"

Third Aunt, pleased by the praise, smiled wider, creases forming at the corners of her eyes; moments later she remembered something and hurriedly spoke up.

"By the way, Ah‑Chen, the village chief said that in a few days he'll organize an outdoor movie for the village—tell your family to head over early to save a seat for your uncle; sitting in the back would be inconvenient for him."

"Watching a movie……"

Recalling the plot from the original story, Jin Chen's eyes flickered, his smile shifting slightly: "Alright, I got it, thanks, Aunt."

"Fine, then eat slowly; I'm heading home now—I still have plenty of chores."

Third Aunt exchanged a few pleasantries, then hurried home; it was high noon, and the drying grain needed to be turned over from time to time.

【Host, Zhang Zhishuai got beaten up and is now going to the village chief to seek justice.】

【Have those two run off?】

【They ran off, and they're actually smart—heading straight for town, so the village chief won't be able to find them anytime soon.】

0731 watched the monitor showing Zhang Zhishuai with a swollen face, glaring at the village chief with a hostile expression, and let out a surprised "huh."

【Friendly reminder: the task still has 50 minutes left.】

Jin Chen clicked his tongue, feeding the glutinous rice cake in his hand to Mo Zhinan to eat.

His gaze swept the room, finally resting on Mo Zhinan's backpack, which appeared to be frequently taken down and had not a speck of dust on it.

"Zhinan, is that backpack yours?"

Mo Zhinan had been silent because someone had arrived; only after they left did he relax, taking small bites of the food Jin Chen had passed over, and upon hearing the question he looked over.

"Yeah."

He swallowed the glutinous rice bite, then added softly, "This cabinet isn't safe; I'm worried the things inside might get lost, so I keep them in the pack."

Jin Chen asked gently, "May I know what's inside?"

Mo Zhinan thought carefully, pursed his lips and nodded obediently, "Sure."

He rose, tiptoed to take the backpack down from the cabinet, opened the zipper, and pulled out its contents.

A small bundle of red thread seemingly for embroidery, half a broken belt, a tiger‑head hat washed until it turned white, a family photo of three, and some assorted trinkets.

There were also a few cellophane candy wrappers, looking clean and newly placed inside.

Seeing Jin Chen's gaze fall on the wrappers, Mo Zhinan's ears tinged red; he gathered them up and stuffed them back into the backpack.

This pack is like his storage bag for beautiful memories; inside are the items he believes represent that wonderful time, and whenever he takes them out again, he can return to that memory, transcending time and space to relive the joy of then.

"These are all things left by my parents."

Mo Zhinan's voice remained soft, slightly hoarse, yet Jin Chen could hear the longing and sorrow within it.

"Since I was little, I've always resisted interacting with others, and they never forced me to."

As if a chestful of words had finally found an outlet, the many days and nights of solitary longing, now with a listener, Mo Zhinan leaned against Jin Chen and recounted his past story word by word.

"My father was a schoolteacher, my mother an embroideress; they loved me deeply, and everything was once beautiful, just like many happy families."

"But one day……" Mo Zhinan said, sighing and clutching the tiger‑head hat, "My mother suddenly suffered relentless abdominal pain; my father panicked and rushed her to the hospital overnight. The doctor said there were worms inside her that needed expelling, and prescribed a deworming medicine."

"Then…… they had her stay overnight in the hospital, saying she'd be fine by morning."

Jin Chen listened patiently the whole time, sensing that this incident might be the heart‑demon Mo Zhinan cannot overcome.

Mo Zhinan: "But that morning, when I and my father came out from the ward to see her, we found her bed soaked in blood… and she had already stopped breathing."

"At that point, the hospital panicked and switched doctors for a diagnosis……" he said, voice trembling, gripping Jin Chen's hand tighter, "They said my mother actually had an ectopic pregnancy, and that deworming drug forced her to bleed uncontrollably to death."

Jin Chen came to a halt, not expecting this outcome.