[It’s all in the past. I won’t blame you.]

[🌸😊 My Gege is so forgiving. Back then, I wanted to play this video at your engagement party to embarrass you. But when Wan wan said she wanted to go ahead with the engagement, I immediately pulled it back. Luckily, Wan wan changed her mind at the last moment, or I’d have been in deep trouble. Many thanks to Wan wan for saving my life.]

Kuang Ye narrowed his eyes as he read the message. He quickly pieced together the sequence of events.

It seemed Xingran had initially planned to use the video at the engagement party, hoping to disrupt the event so Wan wan could escape the marriage.

[How many people did you tell about playing the video?]

[Just Wan wan and a few close girlfriends. One of them has an older brother who’s tight with Kuang Shuyu. We haven’t kept in touch since we cut ties with him.]

At the time, Mu Wan had been Kuang Shuyu’s fiancée, and Xingran hadn’t seen through Kuang Shuyu’s facade yet, so their social circles were closely intertwined.

A thoughtful glint flashed in Kuang Ye’s eyes.

So Kuang Shuyu had known early on that Xingran was planning to disrupt the engagement?

[How did you find this video?]

[Kuang Shuyu introduced me to a forum. He said it was full of gossip about different circles. I thought it might have something about the e-sports scene, so I searched your name. That’s when I found it. The poster claimed to be your anti-fan.]

Kuang Ye: … If this was a coincidence, he’d eat his own cooking tonight.

A plan formed in his mind. He asked Xingran another question.

[Do you have his or his people’s phone numbers?]

[I have his and his assistant’s numbers.]

[Send them to me.]

Kuang Ye opened his laptop. He traced the upload path of the video and found the account of the person who posted it. A glint of triumph flashed in his eyes.

The account was still active.

He copied the username and went to the forum’s login page. After some quick typing, he gained access to the account’s backend and found the registered phone number.

Sure enough, it belonged to Kuang Shuyu’s assistant.

“Leaving loose ends and using someone close to you to register an account? Could he be any dumber?” Kuang Ye sighed, reclining on the couch.

Knowing Kuang Shuyu was behind this didn’t change much. After all, Kuang Shuyu was already a pariah, despised by everyone.

With a few clicks, Kuang Ye opened his email and contacted the legal firm working with ST.

[Is the estrangement^[1]Parental estrangement is when a family member, such as an adult child, intentionally distances themselves from a parent due to a negative relationship. This can involve emotional and physical … Continue reading paperwork ready?]

Since it was during working hours, the reply came quickly.

[In our country, there are no laws allowing parents and children to legally sever their relationship. However, your case is unique. After you moved your household registration from Kuang Daqiang’s record to your residence in S City, the official records of your biological parents list only two children: Kuang Xingran and Kuang Shuyu. In a sense, aside from a DNA test, there is no legal evidence linking you to the Kuang family. Our team plans to draft an estrangement agreement and publish a public declaration to establish a factual estrangement. Given they haven’t fulfilled their parental duties, this will help minimize your liability for any of their future legal troubles.]

Kuang Ye reviewed the proposal and approved it.

[Let’s proceed.]

Considering how much his biological parents disliked him, they probably wouldn’t hesitate to sign the estrangement agreement. He just needed to find time to visit the Kuang family patriarch.

—

Suddenly, the pot on the stove began to boil over. Kuang Ye rushed over to turn down the heat, cleaning the messy stovetop with a damp cloth.

As he worked, he felt like he was forgetting something important, but he couldn’t recall what it was.

Oh, right. Wan wan had asked him to buy a new keyboard. He’d get one from an online marketplace later.

Lost in thought, his movements suddenly froze.

He looked upstairs with a mixture of shock and confusion.

Based on the information Xingran had just shared, Wan wan hadn’t liked him at all up until the day of their engagement. She had even planned with her friends to escape the engagement without angering her family. On the day itself, she had gone to a bar.

Yet, everything changed so suddenly.

She not only attended the engagement ceremony but also brought him flowers, stood up for him, and initiated contact.

Kuang Ye no longer doubted Wan wan’s love for him. Nor was he foolish enough to think she had done all this for Kuang Shuyu.

It was simply baffling.

Such a dramatic shift in attitude happened in an instant—completely out of the ordinary.

He was certain Wan wan was hiding something.

‘Kuang Ye, don’t die… Please don’t die…’

Her fever-induced murmurs from that time flashed through his mind.

His grip on the dishcloth tightened unconsciously.

Was wan wan having a nightmare, or… had he really died once?

Kuang Ye felt a wave of confusion. He tapped his temple, then turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face.

Could all of this be a delusion? A dream his broken mind had created, filled with flaws?

He recalled the day Wan wan woke up in the hospital. Her panic in the dark had been palpable.

Walking to the coffee table, he picked up his phone and called Kuang Xingran.

“Hello? Gege, what’s up?”

“Xingran, you grew up with Wan wan. I need to ask—was she afraid of the dark before?”