An Yi’s hands were tied behind his back, leaning against the wall next to the bedroom door.

The drawers in the room were all pulled out, things scattered everywhere. The wardrobe door was wide open, and a figure with a small flashlight in its mouth was squatting in front of the open wardrobe door, entering a password.

A faint electronic sound rang out, and the small safe hidden in the cabinet clicked open.

The figure pulled out two bank cards, along with property deeds and a jewelry box.

As An Yi tried to free his wrists, he said to the figure, “You’re still on parole, there’s no need to do this.”

The figure stopped and turned to look at him.

The malice in his eyes was chilling, like a venomous snake.

An Yi forced himself to stay calm, “You can take the money and start over, I won’t call the police.”

At the words, the figure sneered lightly, pocketing the bank cards and patting the property deed in his hand. He got up and walked towards An Yi.

The strong light from the flashlight suddenly shone on his face, making An Yi’s eyes sting, and he turned his head away.

Xu Jin squatted in front of him, grabbing An Yi’s chin and forcing his face back, his rough fingers almost crushing his bones, causing An Yi to wince in pain.

“These years, you’ve been living quite well, huh,” Xu Jin looked at An Yi squarely, “You’ve redeemed this house, and cleared your debts, right?”

An Yi pursed his lips and remained silent.

Xu Jin suddenly used the property deed to slap An Yi’s face twice.

The force was not heavy, but it was extremely insulting.

“I’m quite curious, when did you start seducing Yan Chen? Your charm is quite something, just a little whisper in his ear, and that little idiot is willing to do anything for you!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” An Yi said, his face flushed from the slaps.

“Pretending to be dumb?!” Xu Jin spat bitterly, “”You’re just whoring yourself out to him!”

He threw the property deed onto An Yi’s head, revealing a butterfly knife in his hand, “You love sneaking around, why didn’t you say so earlier? If I knew you had that kind of relationship with Yan Chen, would we still be in this deadlock?”

The blade flicked out and folded back several times, then the back of the knife suddenly pressed against An Yi’s cheek.

The force seemed to want to split his face in half, and An Yi clenched his teeth in pain.

“Even if Yan’s tired of you, with a face like yours, there should be plenty of people outside willing to play with you. Lie down, let someone have their way with you for three to five years. That should settle our debts.”

Such vulgar and abusive language was unbearable to hear.

An Yi kept a stiff face and said, “Your words are useless, just take the money and go. I’ll pretend today never happened.”

“Just these two lousy cards to dismiss me?!” Xu Jin shone the flashlight on his own face. Wrinkles lined the corners of his eyes, and although his scalp was shaved to the point of almost revealing a green scalp, under the strong light, his white hair was still conspicuous. “I’ve been rotting in there for ten years! Now the family is scattered, the money is gone, and you think a simple ‘it didn’t happen’ will compensate me?”

“It’s your fault in the first place!” An Yi struggled against the ropes behind his back, trying to buy time. “If you had run your business legally and stayed out of trouble, you wouldn’t have ended up in prison. Haven’t you learned your lesson yet? Leave now while things haven’t escalated. The money in the cards is enough for you to live for a while. Go find a legitimate job…”

“Shut up! Who are you to tell me what to do?!” Xu Jin gestured with the butterfly knife, the blade reflecting a chilling light.

At that moment, the sound of glass breaking downstairs was followed by Qi Wenxing’s voice, “An Yi! An Yi, are you there, An Yi?”

Xu Jin’s heart skipped a beat. “They came pretty quickly.”

He grabbed An Yi’s arm and pressed the knife against his fair neck.

An Yi’s palm was wedged between the ropes, not completely freed yet. He quickly tried to stabilize Xu Jin’s emotions. “While the situation hasn’t escalated yet, you still have a chance to turn back.”

“Turn back? There’s no turning back for me! I’ve been pushed to a dead end long ago!” Xu Jin pulled An Yi in front of him, his right arm squeezing around An Yi’s neck, the tip of the knife against his artery, forcing him to stand up. “Yan Chen had people make my life hell in there, so when I come out, he should bleed a bit to make it fair.”

He lifted An Yi’s hair near his ear, his stubbled chin almost touching An Yi’s ear, his tone chilling and sticky like a snake’s tongue, sending shivers down one’s spine. “I know you are Yan’s precious little darling. How much are you worth in his eyes?”

An Yi recoiled in disgust, trying to keep his head away from him. “You’re mistaken.”

Xu Jin paid no heed, his greedy eyes surging with desire. “I think I can squeeze seven figures out of him.”

“You’re overestimating me,” An Yi bit down on his teeth, secretly exerting force as his wrist was almost strangled. “Yan Chen has so many lovers outside that I can’t even count them. I don’t mean anything to him.”

Qi Wenxing was still shouting An Yi’s name downstairs, but there was still no one coming up the stairs.

While Xu Jin was distracted, looking outside the bedroom, An Yi, with his peripheral vision, caught sight of a tall figure silently climbing over the balcony railing on the bedroom balcony, sending a shiver down his spine.

He locked eyes with Yan Chen, who gestured with a finger to his lips, indicating for him to remain silent.

An Yi looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

Yan Chen stepped into the darkness with one stride, gently placing his hand on the balcony sliding door.

To avoid alarming Xu Jin, An Yi pretended to be unsteady on his feet, pushing against Xu Jin to partially exit the bedroom doorway.

The balcony fell into his blind spot.

An Yi pleaded, “Let me go. If you want money, there are gentler ways to go about it. I’m tired of him too, planning to take some money and leave. I’ll ask him for ten million, and when I get it, I’ll split it with you. What do you think?”

The continued shouting from Qi Wenxing downstairs made Xu Jin uneasy. He kept his eyes fixed on the staircase, feeling that something was off. Annoyed, he ordered An Yi to shut up. “Say another word, and I’ll slaughter you right now.”

An Yi fell silent, staring fixedly into the bedroom, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst from his chest.

Breathing felt difficult to him.

A breeze lifted a corner of the bedroom balcony’s curtain. An Yi blinked lightly, and in the next second, the towering figure that flashed in the darkness seized all his attention.

By the time Xu Jin noticed someone in the room, it was already too late.

Yan Chen swiftly moved, cutting Xu Jin’s arm that was across An Yi’s neck with a sharp blade, while his other hand grabbed the butterfly knife Xu Jin held, preventing An Yi from being cut in the chaos.

An Yi gritted his teeth and struggled, finally breaking free from the ropes bound to his hand.

With a swift elbow strike backward, he slipped out of Xu Jin’s grasp.

Immediately after, Yan Chen raised his foot and kicked Xu Jin hard in the waist. Xu Jin cried out in pain, clutching his abdomen as he fell to the ground.

All of this happened in just a few seconds. But even in those few seconds, it was enough to make Yan Chen fearful.

He couldn’t bear to imagine what harm An Yi might have suffered if he hadn’t arrived, nor could he contemplate what he would do if he had accidentally harmed An Yi in the chaos.

He grabbed An Yi’s shoulder urgently and asked, “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine!” An Yi hugged him tightly, his heart still beating violently with unease.

“Quick, go inside and lock the door!”

Yan Chen tried to push An Yi into the bedroom, but at that moment, Xu Jin got up and rushed at them with the butterfly knife.

Having spent ten years in prison, Xu Jin’s temperament hadn’t been smoothed out; his hatred for Yan Chen had only grown stronger. He vowed to give Yan Chen a taste of his own medicine when he got out, and even a thought of a joint demise crossed his mind.

The explosiveness of a desperate villain was quite astonishing. The butterfly knife danced in his hand, almost leaving afterimages.

Yan Chen’s sleeve was cut, and a bloody trail appeared on the back of his hand immediately.

He winced in pain, his injured hand unable to muster much strength.

An Yi grabbed a porcelain bottle from the bedroom and smashed it at Xu Jin. Xu Jin’s head was split open, blood gushing from his forehead. He wiped it off with one hand, swinging the knife at An Yi.

An Yi was forced into a corner, with nowhere to hide. He instinctively raised his hand to block.

“An Yi!”

Yan Chen roared and charged forward. An Yi’s eyes widened suddenly, tears welling up in his crimson eyes.

Yan Chen’s tall figure was like a warm hill, safely enveloping him. But Yan Chen let out a painful groan, his forehead and neck veins bulging.

The blade of the butterfly knife had almost entirely pierced his side shoulder.

Seeing that he hadn’t hit a vital spot, Xu Jin pulled out the knife, preparing to stab again.

In the moment the blade was pulled out, the warm and wet blood felt like a brief rain, splashing on An Yi’s face.

“Yan Chen!”

An Yi couldn’t hear how much his voice trembled.

His heartbeat almost stopped at that moment.

Yan Chen gritted his teeth, lifted his foot, and kicked Xu Jin away. His wound was near his scapula, and pulling too hard caused excruciating pain. He took a deep breath, leaning against An Yi, his voice intermittent with pain, “I’m fine, don’t cry.”

Only then did An Yi realize tears were streaming down his face.

“You two damned f*ggots, causing me such misery, being stabbed is nothing compared to it!”

Xu Jin got up from the ground, his face covered in blood. With his twisted and grotesque expression, he looked like a demon.

An Yi hurriedly shielded Yan Chen behind him.

He picked up a piece of broken porcelain from the ground, holding it as a weapon.

In his tear-filled eyes, there flickered a resolute determination amidst the painful agony.

He absolutely, positively couldn’t afford to lose anyone else!

Yan Chen endured the pain and stood up, stepping forward to stand beside An Yi. He said to Xu Jin, “Whatever you’re planning, come at me.”

A hint of ferocity flashed in Xu Jin’s eyes. He snorted and was about to rush forward with the knife when he heard hurried footsteps behind him. Before he could turn around to look, a powerful force struck him in the back, and then several police officers twisted his arms and pinned him to the ground.

The blood-stained butterfly knife fell to the ground.

Xu Jin’s face pressed against the floor, contorted and twisted, cursing at An Yi and Yan Chen.

The room’s light was turned on, the blood on the floor glaringly visible.

An Yi turned around to see Yan Chen, his back arched in pain as he knelt down on one knee. An Yi quickly dropped the piece of porcelain and pulled him into his arms.

The right shoulder of Yan Chen’s clothes was soaked with blood.

“Yan Chen!” An Yi was breathless with fear, large hot tears streaming down his face. “Are you okay! Don’t scare me! Don’t leave me…”

His face pale, An Yi shouted for an ambulance at the door, while Qi Wenxing, in panic, couldn’t even hold his phone steady.

At that moment, a blood-stained hand reached up to An Yi’s tear-streaked face.

Yan Chen wiped away his tears with his thumb, but left more light red marks on An Yi’s face.

“I’m okay,” he reassured, “it’s just a shoulder ache, it only looks scary. Ge, when did you become such a crybaby…”

An Yi gripped his hand tightly, seeing the cuts on Yan Chen’s back and palm from the knife, and the blood-stained wedding ring on his knuckles, he cried even harder, unable to control himself. Trembling, he murmured, “Stop talking, save your strength… I’m begging you, please don’t be hurt! Why did you take that knife for me just now? I can handle a little injury…”

Yan Chen leaned against his chest, listening to his erratic heartbeat, feeling An Yi’s tears dripping onto his face, drop by drop, a strange sense of sweetness rising in his heart.

“Silly,” Yan Chen looked down at An Yi’s hand, “you need this hand to make ceramics, you can’t get hurt.”