When Lin Bai returned to school, he noticed everyone was looking at him with strange, mocking eyes. Their words were filled with sarcasm.

“Hey, did you guys see that? He still has the nerve to come to school!”
“Tch, what’s embarrassing about having thick skin? He’s probably proud of himself for becoming famous!”
“Such a disgrace to the school!”
“I can’t believe he’s actually like this. He used to act so high and mighty! It’s disgusting…”
“…”

The disdain in the eyes of the students who passed by Lin Bai made him snap. He stood there, his gaze filled with anger as he watched them walk away, his expression nearly faltering.

A surge of rage rose in his chest, and he couldn’t stop himself from cursing under his breath, “Shen Nanxing, it’s all your fault! You took everything that was supposed to be mine!”

When he returned to his dorm, he discovered that all his belongings had been packed up and taken away. Unable to control his emotions any longer, he yelled in frustration, “Who did this? Who gave you the right to touch my things?”

The other two students in the dorm were wearing headphones, completely ignoring his outburst. Only Xiao Ze looked at him with a conflicted expression, struggling to speak.

“Lin, the counselor said the school is advising you to withdraw, so they had us pack your things.”

Lin Bai’s face turned pale when he heard he was being expelled. The one thing he cared about most, the thing he had been most proud of, was getting into the prestigious Beijing University from a small, remote town. If he got expelled now, he would have nothing left.

“No, this can’t be happening! I’m the top student in our department, how can they expel me?”

Xiao Ze didn’t respond to his questions but pointed to two large woven bags beside the wardrobe.

“Your things are all here. You can check if anything is missing.”

Lin Bai was shaking with anger. He couldn’t understand why, after just a small incident, the entire school seemed to be against him. After barely escaping the police station, now he had to face the severe punishment of expulsion. This wasn’t fair! Why was everyone blaming him?

Filled with resentment, Lin Bai stormed into the office of the college leaders, loudly demanding that the school handle the situation fairly and not expel him.

In the end, it was still the counselor who had to take him out. The decision to expel him remained unchanged.

Dragging the two large bags, Lin Bai didn’t think twice. He hailed a car and went straight to find Fu Chengyu. He had no place to stay now, and Fu Chengyu was partly responsible for the situation, so it was only reasonable to ask him for a place to stay.

After ringing the doorbell for a while, Fu Chengyu finally opened the door. Upon seeing Lin Bai, the hatred in his eyes was unmistakable.

“What do you want? Haven’t you already caused enough trouble for me?”

At this point, Lin Bai didn’t pretend anymore. He snorted coldly, “Fu Chengyu, if it weren’t for your impatience and forcing me to act that night, things wouldn’t have turned out like this! Are you happy now? I’ve been expelled and have nowhere to stay, so I’m here looking for you!”

Fu Chengyu, disgusted by his words, spat, “Pah! This is not some refugee shelter!”

He gave Lin Bai a contemptuous look before trying to slam the door shut.

Lin Bai quickly blocked the door with his hand and used all his strength to push it open. “I’m staying here today. Whether you like it or not, I’m staying.”

After that, he stormed inside, dragging his things with him.

Fu Chengyu was so angry that he started kicking the door and cursing, “Bastard! Shameless!”

So, Lin Bai stayed in Fu Chengyu’s apartment, perfectly at ease. Fu Chengyu couldn’t get rid of him, and although both of them hated each other, they kept blaming each other for their past mistakes. Their arguments would escalate to shouting, and sometimes even physical fights. Neither of them was willing to back down.

During this time, Lin Bai began having nightmares again. This torment made him restless, and he desperately wanted Shen Nanxing to disappear. He had been dressing low-key lately, almost like a beggar on the streets, frequently lingering near Shen Nanxing’s home.

He had gone through many efforts just to obtain Shen Nanxing’s address. He discovered that Shen Nanxing had a very regular routine; around 2 p.m., a driver would take him to the concert hall, where he would stay for three hours.

After much effort, Lin Bai finally managed to sneak inside. He befriended one of the cleaning staff and found out that Shen Nanxing was preparing for the piano competition.

This gave him an idea for a brilliant plan. His heart was filled with hatred, and he no longer cared about the consequences. He was willing to do anything to make Shen Nanxing disappear.

After hearing the plan, Fu Chengyu hesitated, but Lin Bai immediately told him a cruel truth.

“Don’t you want to know who Shen Nanxing’s man is?”

“Come with me tonight and you’ll find out.”

Fu Chengyu, still skeptical, went along. When he saw the scene of Shen Nanxing and Fu Zhiyuan embracing, he was hit with a huge shock. He almost wanted to rush over and question the two of them, but if it hadn’t been for Lin Bai gripping him tightly, their plan would have been exposed before it even had a chance to be carried out.

Lin Bai enjoyed the look of pain on Fu Chengyu’s face, a smirk of triumph curling at the corners of his lips. “Now you believe what I said, right? Don’t you want to see your little uncle’s painful expression as he loses his true love? Don’t forget how Shen Nanxing treated you, how the Fu family treated you! Only by making them suffer will we be happy, Chengyu…”

It had to be said that every word Lin Bai said was like a knife to Fu Chengyu’s heart. The things he valued most had been ruined by the Fu family and Shen Nanxing.

Fu Chengyu, swayed by Lin Bai’s words, had a flash of cold malice in his eyes and agreed to the plan. No matter the consequences, he wanted these people to pay.

…

The piano competition was just one day away, and Shen Nanxing went out as usual. Sitting focused in front of the piano, he practiced his competition piece. After finishing a piece, his piano teacher, who had been listening raptly from below, stood up and praised him, “Nanxing, amazing, this is perfect.”

Shen Nanxing rubbed his sore arms and smiled in response, “It’s not that great, there will be so many top players tomorrow!”

The truth was, he had decided to enter the competition mainly because his sleep had been poor recently. Every time he fell asleep, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, but when he woke up, the pain would vanish. After a check-up at the hospital, the doctor found nothing wrong. The doctor suggested he take some time to rest and focus on something that could engage his mind. That’s when Shen Nanxing thought of playing the piano. He spent two to three hours in the practice room on the first day, and sure enough, his sleep improved.

Coincidentally, Shen Chuanqiong received a ticket to watch the piano competition and suggested Shen Nanxing sign up. Since there wasn’t much to do during the holiday, Shen Nanxing agreed to his suggestion. Now, he would practice the piano during the day, and in the evening, he would be “secretly” taken by Fu Zhiyuan for a date.