Su Jing pulled Shen Xingyi to the dining table and sat him down. Song Zhining brought bowls of noodles over, placing them in front of them and herself before taking a seat as well.  

She looked up, her beautiful eyes filled with hope and encouragement as she gazed at Shen Xingyi. “Brother Shen, even if not for yourself, then for Assistant Su, for this hard-won evidence, and for my friend who hasn’t arrived yet—please try one more time.”  

“We’ll stay by your side and get through this together.”  

“Once we overcome this, we’ll go to the hospital to see a doctor. We must believe that after the storm, there’s always a rainbow.”  

Shen Xingyi nodded blankly. At Su Jing’s urging, he began eating the noodles, his mind lingering on Song Zhining’s words.  

The warmth of the noodles and broth spread through him, like a gentle current flowing into his previously cold and stiff limbs.  

At that moment, a newfound strength emerged from the desolate, barren depths of Shen Xingyi’s heart. Truthfully, Shen Xingyi had never been greedy.  

Even if only two or three people trusted him, that was enough.  

For the sake of those who believed in him and fought for him, he had to pull himself together once more and face things bravely.  

Though eating was difficult—his stomach churning uncomfortably several times—Shen Xingyi persisted and finished over half the bowl of noodles.  

Song Zhining had intentionally served him less, worried that eating too much after two days without food might upset his stomach.  

After the meal, the three of them sat down to discuss their next steps.  

“We can’t release all the evidence online at once. Zheng Qimeng will definitely suppress it, and all our efforts will be wasted,” Su Jing mused.  

Shen Xingyi nodded and turned to Song Zhining. “Xiao Ning, do you have any suggestions?”  

After sharing the tomato and egg noodles, at Song Zhining’s request, Shen Xingyi’s address for her had shifted from the distant and formal “Miss Song” to the more familiar “Xiao Ning.”  

“Yeah, Sister Song, what do you think?” Su Jing chimed in. Song Zhining was three years older than Su Jing, so it was only right to call her “sister.”  

Two pairs of eyes fixed on her—especially Shen Xingyi’s. After eating, some color had returned to his originally pale face. Though still thin, his breathtaking beauty remained intact. Song Zhining, who had a bit of a weakness for good looks, felt her heart skip a beat but quickly steadied herself.  

“I remember that Brother Shen’s uncle and aunt were planning to appear on that talk show and wanted to invite you, right?” she said.  

“Perhaps you could attend, and then…”  

On her way to Beijing, Song Zhining had already been thinking about how to help Shen Xingyi, so she had a rough plan in mind.

As Song Zhining explained her plan, Shen Xingyi’s eyes lit up, and Su Jing clenched his fists, barely able to contain his excitement.  

“Good, let’s do it this way.” Shen Xingyi agreed with Song Zhining’s suggestion. “Later, I’ll tell my agent that I’m willing to appear on tomorrow’s talk show.”  

At the mention of the word “agent,” Su Jing’s expression darkened. “That woman has been pushing you to participate all along. Now that you’ve agreed, she’ll be thrilled.”  

Shen Xingyi’s agent, Sister He, was a middle-aged woman who had tricked the then 18-year-old Shen Xingyi into signing a ten-year predatory contract with Zhongsen Entertainment.  

From the start, Sister He had tried to take Shen Xingyi to shady cocktail parties, intending to introduce him to a wealthy female investor.  

But Shen Xingyi refused. To escape, he even injured the woman.  

After that, the company blacklisted him.  

Despite being shelved, Shen Xingyi kept searching for opportunities. Finally, his persistence paid off—after starring in a web drama, he skyrocketed to fame overnight.  

The company, recognizing his value, then assigned him an assistant and provided various resources. Su Jing had joined Shen Xingyi’s team during that time.  

Though the exploitative contract meant Shen Xingyi earned very little despite taking on numerous jobs, he was content.  

But then, Zhongsen Entertainment’s chairwoman, Zheng Qimeng, who had just returned from abroad, set her sights on him.  

To be fair, the fifty-something Zheng Qimeng was somewhat of an inspirational figure—she had built Zhongsen Entertainment from the ground up.  

However, her ruthless methods played no small part in her success.  

Divorced, she maintained ambiguous relationships with many of the company’s male artists.  

Whether those men were willing or not was unclear.  

But Shen Xingyi was unwilling.  

Zheng Qimeng, however, was utterly infatuated with him and even attempted to drug and assault him.  

Fortunately, the vigilant Shen Xingyi managed to escape.  

What followed was Zheng Qimeng’s retaliation. She personally released smear campaign after smear campaign, determined to turn the entire world against Shen Xingyi, leaving him with nowhere to go—until he finally broke down, begged, and knelt to apologize to her.  

Song Zhining thought to herself that Zheng Qimeng never got her way in the end—because Shen Xingyi would rather die than submit.  

“Actually, the biggest obstacle right now is Zheng Qimeng,” Song Zhining continued analyzing. “Even if we expose the truth online, she’ll still find a way to suppress it unless we take her down first.”  

“And to bring down Zheng Qimeng, it’s best done by someone with substantial influence.”  

As she spoke, Song Zhining glanced subtly at Su Jing.

She knew very well that behind Su Jing stood the Li Group—a corporate giant that could easily crush Zhongsen Entertainment without breaking a sweat.  

This was something Li Jing from five years later had hinted at when placing the commission, instructing Song Zhining to subtly guide the conversation toward him when the time came.  

Su Jing froze for a moment but didn’t miss Song Zhining’s cue.  

“I might be able to handle this,” he said, raising his head to meet Shen Xingyi’s gaze, his eyes shining with determination. “Brother Shen, I haven’t told you yet—my family has found me.”  

Under Shen Xingyi’s stunned expression, Su Jing explained how Li Heng had located him.  

“Though the paternity test results with Mom and Dad aren’t back yet, the sibling DNA test with my brother is already confirmed.”  

He didn’t mention that he was originally supposed to fly to Shanghai today to meet his parents.  

As eager as he was to see them, Su Jing didn’t regret following Song Zhining here to find Shen Xingyi.  

Witnessing Shen Xingyi holding a knife to self-harm, seeing the scars on his arms—Su Jing was profoundly grateful he had come today.  

If he had arrived even a day or two later, he dreaded to think what might have happened.  

“I can tell my brother cares about me. If I really am part of the Li family, I’m sure he’d help me take down Zheng Qimeng if I asked.”  

“Xiao Jing, congratulations on finally reuniting with your family.” Shen Xingyi was overjoyed that Su Jing had found his relatives, though he hesitated to involve the Li family. After all, Su Jing hadn’t officially been recognized by them yet—what if this request soured their impression of him?  

Just then, Su Jing’s phone buzzed. Opening WeChat, he saw a message from Li Heng: the paternity test results and a voice note.  

“Xiao Jing, do you see? You really are my brother—Mom and Dad’s biological son.”  

“Xiao Jing, if you’re facing any difficulties, just say the word. Mom, Dad, and I will help you however we can.”