As dawn approached, a sudden downpour hit, with thunder rumbling loudly. It perfectly masked the piercing screams that tore through the sky.

Inside an abandoned house near the coast, Luo Yunqing wiped the blood splattered on his face with an expressionless look. His voice was rough, like a saw being dragged back and forth near one’s ear, “Can you talk now? Or do you want to try again, see how sharp this knife is?”

The blood-stained knife was slammed heavily onto the wound that ran across the entire face.

Song Xuechen no longer had the arrogance he had when he was first captured. His lips were pale and trembling, “I’ll talk, I’ll talk! It was me… I pushed Pei Yanli down.”

He started crying, quickly trying to justify himself, “He was going to use those contracts to sue Ah Heng, and Ah Heng is his own nephew! I was just anxious and accidentally pushed… Ah ah ah!!!”

The knife cut another line in the opposite direction on his face.

The two wounds intersected, forming a big red cross.

“Accidentally? Accidentally pushed him off the 28th floor?” Luo Yunqing furiously grabbed his hair, shaking him back and forth.

His brain was almost about to shake out.

The pampered young master of the Song family, who had lived in luxury for over twenty years, had never suffered such pain. He screamed in agony, tears streaming down his face, but it didn’t earn him any sympathy from the other party.

Luo Yunqing continued to slash back and forth on that baby-like face.

One cut after another, deep enough to see the bone, his hands stained with blood, yet he didn’t stop.

If this continued, he would die!

Driven by a strong will to survive, Song Xuechen made a very unwise move, fiercely biting the bony wrist in front of him.

Luo Yunqing didn’t even flinch, not even blinking, just calmly knocked out two of his teeth with the knife handle.

“…Hahaha! Hahahaha!!!” Song Xuechen spat out the broken teeth and blood, falling to the ground in a mad laugh, “Luo Yunqing, what are you doing? Hmm? Avenging Pei Yanli?”

He propped up his bound upper body, snarling, “You’re just a lover he kept, what right do you have to avenge him!!!”

“Wrong.”

Luo Yunqing swayed the knife and squatted down.

A conspicuous silver chain hung around his neck.

On it were two gold rings, which clinked together with any slight movement.

These were found in his palm after Pei Yanli fell to his death.

During the autopsy, the forensic doctor had to exert great effort, nearly breaking all his fingers, to take them out.

Two rings, two initials, and a will that had long been established to transfer all his assets to his beloved Luo Yunqing.

How could he just be a lover?

Luo Yunqing repeated forcefully, word by word, “Not a lover.”

“You like him!” Song Xuechen shouted, eyes wide.

Shaking his head, mumbling that it was impossible, he suddenly went crazy, “If you liked him, why didn’t you marry him back then! If you had married him then, none of this would have happened! It’s all your fault, all your fault! You killed him, you did!!”

It was Luo Yunqing’s fault.

Yes, all his fault! If it weren’t for him…

The knife tip fell right above the eyeball, the pupil suddenly shrinking into a dot, Song Xuechen instantly silenced like a rooster with its throat cut.

The icy hand gripped his neck, rubbing back and forth over the strong pulse point, the unevenly trimmed nails slowly embedding into the skin.

“You’re right.” Luo Yunqing regretted the current outcome more than anyone, “If I had known it was him, if I had known… but it’s too late.”

Pei Yanli was dead.

Dead for five whole years.

And today marked the tenth anniversary of their meeting.

It was time to end it.

The face, unrecognizable, gradually turned a liver color. Song Xuechen made a couple of “ho ho” sounds, kicking his legs, “If you kill me, Ah Heng and big brother won’t let you go!”

Luo Yunqing: “I know.”

Ah Heng, Pei Hengzhi, Pei Yanli’s nephew, his childhood friend. Big brother Song Moyan, who had lived with him for so many years and loved him for so many years.

They all liked Song Xuechen.

If they knew Song Xuechen was tortured like this by him, even skinning him alive wouldn’t quench their hatred, so…

Luo Yunqing, who had been working since childhood, had strength in his hands despite being as thin as a sheet of paper, forcibly twisting his neck to the other side.

Coincidentally, at this moment, the sky cracked with a sound, accompanied by thunder, briefly lighting up the room, illuminating the two people tied not far away.

One was hanging upside down with shattered knees, the other tied to a chair, blood still gushing from the abdomen.

They were Song Xuechen’s good childhood friend and big brother.

“They definitely won’t let me go, so I’ll strike first.” Luo Yunqing whispered devilishly in his ear, “Killed my brother, sister, the director, and Pei Yanli. Why do you think I’d only torture you, one person?”

“Madman, Luo Yunqing, you madman!!”

Yes, he was mad.

No one could hold him back anymore.

“Don’t worry, you won’t die, dying would be too boring. I want you to live well.” With that face full of holes, that incomplete body, live a lifetime under the strange gazes of others.

Blood dripped onto his hand, Luo Yunqing disgustedly let go of the person.

He carefully wiped his hands clean, lit up his phone screen, the interface showing “110”, already in a call for seven minutes.

“That’s how it is, you’ve located the position, right? I won’t say more.” Without waiting for the dispatcher to speak, Luo Yunqing decisively hung up the call.

Then, he carefully picked up the purple sandalwood box on the table, and without looking back, walked into the storm.

Not far away was a cliff.

Luo Yunqing walked towards the edge, humming an out-of-tune melody amidst the lightning and thunder, eerily soothing, peaceful, clean, and pure.

This was the lullaby the director hummed to him when he was five, the year he entered the welfare institute, often having nightmares about his parents who died in a fire.

Later, whenever it was cloudy and rainy, Pei Yanli’s legs would hurt so much he couldn’t sleep, and while massaging him, he would hum a few lines from time to time.

Just like now—

Withered fingers tapped the wooden box, one after another.

“Pei Yanli… I’m coming to find you.”

“Wait for me.”

The sound of sirens wailed closer.

Luo Yunqing turned around, like a white butterfly with broken wings, holding the wooden box, he fell backward off the cliff.

…………

…………

The icy seawater flooded into his lungs.

Time seemed to have hit the pause button, the progress bar nearing its end suddenly started to rewind at double speed.

Like a film reel of memories, scene after scene, rewinding into the projector, pressing play again.

The sound of summer cicadas buzzed in his ears, an old fan hung overhead, working hard with a whooshing sound.

Luo Yunqing twitched his ears, slowly opened his eyes. How strange, he didn’t encounter the underworld, nor did he see Pei Yanli who had gone ahead, instead, he saw Song Moyan, whose lifeline he had destroyed.

Why was he here?

Didn’t make it through, also died?

It shouldn’t be, he stopped the bleeding, ensured the person could live.

Soon, Luo Yunqing realized something was wrong, the Song Moyan in front of him was too young, at most twenty-four or five, no fine lines at the corners of his eyes.

Wearing a well-tailored custom suit, hair slicked back, full of vigor, a luxury watch worth millions on his wrist, with a dark green dial inlaid with several small, exquisite diamonds.

He had worn it.

At eighteen, after learning his biological parents were wealthy, he shamelessly asked for it.

Only wore it once, then sold it.

Then installed air conditioning in every room of the welfare institute, including the big kitchen.

He remembered the second-hand store owner saying it was a limited edition worldwide.

A globally limited watch, Song Moyan, who looked as calm as if meeting for the first time… was he dreaming?

Even in death, could he dream?

“I know, you’ve suffered a lot over the years.”

Before he could figure it out, Song Moyan’s mouth opened and closed, “We investigated the incident back then, it was really just an accident, and it had nothing to do with Xiao Xue. He’s very guilty now, always feeling like he took your place, can’t eat or sleep at home…”

The voice seemed to come from a distant sky, through poor-quality soundproof glass.

He had heard it somewhere before.

To verify that absurd guess, Luo Yunqing pinched his right arm wrapped in bandages hard, tears of pain welled up in his eyes.

No mistake, he was reborn!

Back to eighteen, the summer after the college entrance exam.

That year, he acted bravely on the way to deliver food, saving Song’s mother from a knife-wielding thug, getting slashed three times in the process.

And thus, by accident, discovered he bore a striking resemblance to Song’s mother, who was known as the first beauty of Yanjing in her youth, and did a DNA test at the hospital.

The result was as expected.

He was the real child of a wealthy family, and the pampered young master who was scared to tears by the thug was a fake.

But even as a fake, he had been raised for eighteen years, and the feelings weren’t something he could easily compare to.

From the moment he knew the result, everyone surrounded the fake young master with comfort, and Luo Yunqing saw through it.

Later, he overheard at the hospital door that the Song family was going to marry into another wealthy family, and the other party was a cripple who had lost his leg in a car accident.

The eldest son, Song Moyan, was unanimously recognized as the heir by the Song family, obviously unsuitable for marriage, so the marriage naturally fell to the second son.

Originally, Song Xuechen was unwilling, and now with this incident, the Song mother, who cried and said he had suffered upon learning the truth, said without hesitation, “The old master Pei originally matched Yunqing’s eight characters.”

…Maybe he wasn’t used to the VIP ward, or the air conditioning was too low, he left within half a day.

He wasn’t that cheap, nor stupid, to make concessions for that so-called family affection when he knew they only wanted to use him.

In the end, he demanded five million to completely sever ties.

Song Xuechen remained the esteemed young master of the Song family, until his death, and as for the marriage, they wanted the second young master of the Song family, what did it have to do with Luo Yunqing?

But if he had known the marriage partner was Pei Yanli…

“Xiao Qing.”

A magnetic voice reached his ear, pulling Luo Yunqing from his memories, a chill running down his spine.

Xiao Qing, as if he were a white snake.

“You have every right to resent us now.” At this moment, Song Moyan was far less scheming than ten years later, his emotions all on his face, unconsciously rubbing his watch, his patience gradually wearing thin, “But you should at least give us a chance to make it up to you, right?”

Compensation?

Thinking of the previous life, where he deliberately intercepted a kidney source to vent his anger over Song Xuechen’s marriage, causing Xiao Yu, who had congenital kidney disease, to miss the best treatment time and die, Luo Yunqing quietly pinched his wound hard again.

His eyes instantly turned red, stammering, “Is it just brother? Why didn’t mom and dad come?”

Transparent tears hung on his eyelashes, innocent with a hint of grievance and disappointment.

The two people who should have appeared the most, neither came.

It was the same in the previous life, wanting to recognize him back for the marriage but not wanting to make a big deal out of it, after all, once publicly announced, the reputation damage would only be to the Song family and Song Xuechen.

How could his good big brother, who loved his brother the most, bear to let his precious brother be caught in a storm of public opinion?

The best way was to quietly take him back, then quietly send him to the Pei family.

How could that be?

If he were to leave, it would have to be grand and sensational!

…………

The thumb on the watch stopped abruptly, Song Moyan discreetly observed his little brother in front of him.

Thin eyelids drooped, occasionally sneaking a glance at him, like a little cat that had been accidentally abandoned by its owner, wandered for a long time, and was found again.

As soon as the DNA test results came out, Song Moyan immediately sent someone to investigate his past.

Just over five years old, his adoptive parents died in a fire, he was traumatized and became a stutterer, deceived by greedy relatives who squandered his inheritance, tossed around until he ended up in this Blue Sky Welfare Institute.

From the peeling walls that hadn’t been repaired for a long time, it was clear the welfare institute wasn’t in good condition, mostly housing abandoned children with serious illnesses.

Outside of school, Luo Yunqing had to work everywhere whenever he had time. The place he frequented the most was the hospital, with the most expenses on medical bills and surgeries, sometimes working nearly 20 hours a day.

Song Moyan couldn’t imagine if his Xiao Xue had lived in such an environment, what kind of life he would have had.

Although it was unfair to Luo Yunqing, it was fortunate they were switched.

Xiao Xue was really too delicate.

“Father had to attend a very important meeting at the company, and mother today… was supposed to come, and prepared many gifts for you, but when she was about to leave, Xiao Xue fell ill.” It sounded like an excuse, so Song Moyan added, “He’s always been in poor health.”

Poor health?

Ha!

When he was dating Pei Hengzhi and entangled with him, how come Song Xuechen wasn’t in poor health?

“So mother is a doctor.” Luo Yunqing’s head lowered more and more, his tone blatantly sour, “Since Xiao Xue is sick, take care of him first, I won’t be a bother.”

Saying that, he placed his injured right arm on the table.

How could Song Moyan not see through his little thoughts, this was because his mother didn’t come, he was jealous.

Really childish.

But it wasn’t a bad thing.

“How about this.” He thought for a moment, then said, “You take good care of your injuries first, in a couple of days, I’ll have mom come to pick you up personally, okay?”

Luo Yunqing raised his head, his eyes brightened, “Really!”

“Of course.”

While they were talking, Song Moyan’s phone rang.

He received a message, his lips subtly curved, urgently stating there was an emergency at the company, he had to leave quickly.

Luo Yunqing nodded understandingly, “Brother, go ahead, making money is important!”

His words successfully amused Song Moyan, who left a card with a limit of two hundred thousand before leaving.

He probably thought two hundred thousand was already a lot for him.

Luo Yunqing stood by the second-floor window, watching the phantom car drive away from the courtyard gate, pulled out a second-hand phone from his pocket.

The touchscreen wasn’t very responsive, he had to swipe for a long time before finally opening the phone book.

The contact list, from top to bottom, had 118 entries. Nearly 100 were bosses he had worked for over the years, scrolling down to Y, the first was Yang Kang (Tianxiang Entertainment Weekly Reporter).

He dialed the number, waiting for a long time.

“Hello?” A lazy tone came through the receiver, yawning, “Tianxiang Entertainment, Yang Kang, who is this?”

“Brother Yang, it’s me, Xiao Luo.”

Yang Kang closed his eyes for a moment, hearing this light youthful voice, he woke up with a start, then looked at the caller ID, “Oh, oh! Xiao Luo! Weren’t you delivering food? How come you have time to call your brother? What, you miss your brother?”

“Yeah.” Luo Yunqing chuckled mischievously, getting straight to the point, “Exclusive scoop, Brother Yang, do you want it?”

“Exclusive—” Yang Kang dragged out the word, lighting a cigarette, taking a puff and slowly exhaling, “That depends on what kind of scoop it is.”

“Beicheng Song family.”

“Song family? Oh! The one that made its fortune with chips.” Yang Kang held the cigarette in his hand, sat in front of the desktop computer, moving the mouse, “Their family… isn’t about to marry into the Pei family? Xiao Luo Luo, that’s not considered a scoop.”

“What if their young master is a fake?”

“Fake!” Yang Kang paused, remembering he had saved Song’s mother not long ago, gaining some interest, “We can’t say things without evidence, you say he’s fake… then who’s the real one?”

“Me.”

“What?”

“I said I, Luo Yunqing, am the real young master of the Song family.”