With a muffled grunt, Lin Bai seemed to hear the sound of his ribs cracking. He clutched his chest in pain, panic in his voice as he gasped, “Shen Nanxing, you…!”

Shen Nanxing only felt a buzzing in his head. He gave a sarcastic retort, “What about me? Dare to hit me and try!”

Fu Chengyu, frustrated by Lin Bai’s incompetence, shoved him aside and shouted, “Shut up! You’re useless!” He walked forward, grabbed Shen Nanxing by the collar, and threatened him coldly, “You’d better behave, or I can’t guarantee that my hand holding the knife won’t shake!”

The cold, sharp blade slid across Shen Nanxing’s neck. Shen Nanxing stiffened, feeling a tingling sensation on his scalp.

“What do you want?” Shen Nanxing gritted his teeth, glaring at Fu Chengyu.

Fu Chengyu let out a cold laugh, tightening his grip on Shen Nanxing’s collar. In a fit of desperation, he shouted, “What else do I want? Of course, it’s your life! Shen Nanxing, how did you end up like this? Why are you with Fu Zhiyuan? Why?”

Shen Nanxing’s face and neck flushed red as Fu Chengyu strangled him. He breathed heavily, but the sight of Fu Chengyu, acting like a cornered dog, made him feel a strange sense of satisfaction.

He laughed sarcastically, a trace of contempt in his eyes. “Fu Chengyu, you’re pathetic. Even if you kill me today, so what? You’ll never measure up to even one of Fu Zhiyuan’s fingers!”

“You’re like a rat in a filthy gutter, disgusting and repulsive.”

“People like you don’t deserve happiness. You… don’t… deserve.”

As Fu Chengyu’s face turned even darker, Shen Nanxing felt a wave of relief. His heartbeat was accelerating, a clear sign that his illness was flaring up.

The tension between them was palpable, and it felt like Fu Chengyu would plunge the knife into Shen Nanxing’s chest at any moment. But Shen Nanxing wasn’t afraid. Instead, he locked eyes with Fu Chengyu, as if daring him to kill him right then and there.

How strange… In this moment, Shen Nanxing felt no fear. In fact, he almost welcomed whatever might happen next. Perhaps when he died, he would return to where he came from.

His breath grew more rapid, his eyelids heavy, and images of people flashed through his mind—his parents, Shen Chuanqiong, Xia Zimu, Zhou He, Fu Zhiyuan…

“Darling, come here…” Fu Zhiyuan’s voice echoed softly in his ears.

No, he couldn’t die here. Shen Nanxing bit down on his tongue, the pain snapping him back to his senses.

In that moment, Fu Chengyu’s cold and malicious voice pierced his ears, “Shen Nanxing, then go ahead and die!”

Fu Chengyu raised his hand high, the blade catching the light and reflecting a cold gleam on Shen Nanxing’s cheek. It seemed like the knife was about to fall when, in desperation, Shen Nanxing could no longer hold back. He threw his body backward, crashing onto the hard stone surface of the beach.

His head hit the stone, making him dizzy. Fu Chengyu hadn’t expected Shen Nanxing to have the strength to resist. His strike missed, and in his fury, he raised the knife again.

Shen Nanxing twisted his body, ducking to the side.

“Shiii”—the sound of fabric ripping echoed through the air as the knife missed its mark and scraped against the hard stone.

Fu Chengyu looked at Shen Nanxing, who remained unscathed, and couldn’t help but kick him, cursing, “Try dodging again!”

Shen Nanxing rolled his eyes. Not dodging would be idiotic!

At this moment, Lin Bai, who had been observing the situation, hurriedly approached with a panicked expression. “It seems Fu Zhiyuan and the others are coming.”

Fu Chengyu reluctantly sheathed the knife, muttering, “I’ll let you off for now, but there’s still a good show to come.”

After the police had pinpointed Fu Chengyu and the others’ location, Fu Zhiyuan, with his foot on the accelerator, sped toward the scene.

As soon as he arrived and saw the scene before him, his heart dropped with terror. Lin Bai was holding a knife to Shen Nanxing’s neck, while Fu Chengyu pressed down hard on his shoulders. Both of them wore vicious smiles, and even upon seeing Fu Zhiyuan, there was no hint of panic on their faces.

Lin Bai raised the knife, threatening, “Stop right there! Take another step, and I’ll disfigure his face!”

Fu Zhiyuan stood frozen in place, his eyes bloodshot, fury rising inside him. The precious person he held in his heart had never suffered like this before.

Fu Zhiyuan felt deeply guilty, blaming himself for not protecting Shen Nanxing properly.

Shen Nanxing gave him a slight shake of his head and mouthed, “I’m fine.” His reassurance only made Fu Zhiyuan feel even more heartbroken.

Fu Zhiyuan struggled to control his emotions, his voice hoarse as he asked, “What do you want? Money, stocks, or shares of the Fu Corporation?”

“As long as you don’t hurt him, you can take any of those!” Lin Bai said, growing more jealous as he saw Fu Zhiyuan so worried about Shen Nanxing’s safety. He waved the knife in his hand excitedly, “We don’t want anything. Who cares for your charity! I want Shen Nanxing’s life!”

A dark glint flickered in Fu Zhiyuan’s eyes. He turned to Fu Chengyu. “What about you? What do you want?”

Fu Chengyu couldn’t meet his sharp gaze and turned his head awkwardly. “Uncle, since you took Shen Nanxing from me, you should have expected this day to come. You deny me happiness, so you shouldn’t expect to have any either!”

Fu Zhiyuan nearly laughed at his shameless words. “Is this how you repay the Fu family? Fu Chengyu, you’re nothing but an ungrateful dog!”

Fu Chengyu’s face turned pale with fury at the insult. He glared at Fu Zhiyuan with hatred. “Do you think I wanted to stay in the Fu family? None of you ever treated me as family. You’ve always looked down on me from the bottom of your hearts, haven’t you? Well, now I’m going to make all of you regret it!”

His expression grew more insane as he stared at Shen Nanxing, eyes filled with murderous intent.

Fu Zhiyuan fell silent for a moment. “Let Xingbao go. Since you hate me so much, then let my life be traded for his.”

Fu Chengyu hesitated, seemingly weighing the trustworthiness of his words.

Fu Zhiyuan stepped forward and continued, “Aren’t you the one who hates the Fu family the most? If I die here today, shouldn’t you feel even more accomplished?”

“I’ve whipped you so many times. Don’t you want to get back at me?”

“The Fu family cut ties with you, don’t you want to trample the Fu heir underfoot?”

Each of his words made Fu Chengyu waver more. Compared to taking revenge on Shen Nanxing, avenging himself against Fu Zhiyuan would definitely feel more satisfying.

Fu Chengyu’s expression softened, but Lin Bai kept blocking him, clearly not wanting to let Shen Nanxing go. This was a rare opportunity.

However, Fu Chengyu didn’t care about that. He snatched the knife from Lin Bai’s hand, a mocking look in his eyes as he stared at Fu Zhiyuan. “You asked for this exchange yourself, so don’t blame me for being ruthless as your nephew.”

Fu Zhiyuan gave Shen Nanxing a reassuring glance and calmly walked toward Fu Chengyu.