Meanwhile, in the neighboring hospital ward, the assailant lay cuffed to his bed, his entire body wrapped in bandages, struggling even to speak. According to his confession, he was an unemployed drifter who had been offered a high price to sabotage Mu Wan’s violin strings and throw sulfuric acid at her during her performance.

Mu Jianhua was furious. He hadn’t expected Mu Wan to endure other grievances even before the sulfuric acid attack. Initially, when the police interrogated him about the mastermind, the man refused to talk. But Mu Jianhua, with Qin Qingquan detained nearby, managed to coax the truth out with one question.

“How much did Qin pay you?”

“Two hundred thousand…”

Having gotten his answer, Mu Jianhua wasted no more time on the thug and went straight to the room where Qin Qingquan was being held.

“What are you doing? Why have you brought me here?” Qin Qingquan demanded. “I want to file a complaint! This is illegal detention!”

Unbeknownst to him, the thug, Wang Xin, had already revealed the truth. Qin Qingquan assumed Wang Xin wouldn’t betray him, as the man needed the remainder of the payment to clear his gambling debts.

Mu Jianhua walked into the room, throwing a stack of documents onto the table. His tone was cold and resolute.

“You’re the brother of Qin Yao, who claimed my daughter’s championship was a fraud and slit her wrists in protest, aren’t you?”

Qin Qingquan’s eyes gleamed with malice, and he didn’t deny it. “So what if I am?”

Mu Jianhua continued, “So, you hired Wang Xin to sabotage my daughter’s competition and ordered him to throw sulfuric acid at her?”

Qin Qingquan sneered. “I don’t know what you’re talking—”

Bang! A fierce punch landed squarely on his face.

“I wouldn’t be saying this unless I had proof. Your sister lacked the skill and couldn’t handle losing, and her suicide caused my daughter to be vilified by public opinion. If my daughter hadn’t stopped me from intervening back then, do you think you and your sister would have walked away unscathed? I spared you once, and this is how you repay me?”

Mu Jianhua’s piercing glare bore down on Qin Qingquan. As a man who had seen real battlefields, his aura alone was suffocating. Qin Qingquan gulped nervously before retorting with a sneer.

“Stop pretending to be noble. You people with power and influence don’t care about others’ lives as long as you can polish your children’s reputations. My sister gave her all for that violin competition, but your unfair treatment drove her to despair and suicide. She had no choice but to protest! It was you who ruined her hand.”

Mu Jianhua, in his fifties and having lived a life of restraint since retiring, could no longer hold back his fury. “Your sister worked hard? My daughter started learning the violin at six years old. She practiced every single day, summer and winter, without pause. Why wouldn’t she win on merit?”

He rolled up his sleeves, ready to hit Qin Qingquan again, but a nearby officer quickly intervened.

“Commander, please don’t act rashly. This will reflect badly if word gets out.”

“Let the law deal with him,” another officer advised.

Mu Jianhua, too furious to care about decorum, barked back, “I don’t care about my reputation! This scum threw sulfuric acid at my daughter!”

“Calm down, sir. Don’t jeopardize your health.”

After much persuasion, Mu Jianhua finally left, but not without sternly instructing the officers to conduct a thorough investigation. One officer reassured him, “Sir, even without your orders, we’d pursue this case to the fullest extent. This was sulfuric acid—life-threatening and heinous.”

In S City, an international metropolis, such a vicious case would earn Qin Qingquan at least ten years in prison.

—

Even after being taken to the police station, Qin Qingquan insisted he had done nothing wrong. That evening, however, he received a package—a videotape sent from outside. With the officers’ help, he watched its contents.

It was footage of the Stern Violin Competition from his sister’s year—something he had sought for a long time but never found.

As he watched, silence consumed him. As a professional violinist himself, how could he not notice his sister’s mistakes during her performance? Mu Wan’s victory had been well-deserved.

At the end of the tape, a line of small text appeared:

“Wan wan didn’t know your sister’s injury couldn’t be treated. She had the recording destroyed to prevent your sister from struggling further in her career. She acted with kindness, but you didn’t deserve it.”

Qin Qingquan slumped to the ground, tears streaming down his face. How could things have turned out this way?

—

Kuang Ye’s hand injury alarmed his entire esports team, ST. The manager and coach rushed over with the team doctor to conduct a full examination. Only after confirming there was no serious damage did they breathe a sigh of relief.

Coach Yang An scolded him harshly. “You’re a professional player! Can’t you take care of your precious hands?”

Shen Lele intervened, “Coach, don’t be mad. Captain only did it to protect Sister Wan Wan. Otherwise, that acid would have hit her instead.”

Jiang Yu added, “Exactly! Wan wan-jie’s hands are just as precious.”

Yang An gave them both a smack on the head. “Is that what I meant? I’m saying he shouldn’t act so recklessly!”

Kuang Ye, knowing the coach’s anger came from concern, quickly soothed him. “I understand, Coach. I’ll be more careful in the future and protect these hands properly. I won’t even touch cold water or hold chopsticks—only the keyboard and mouse, okay?”

Yang An slapped him lightly again. “Stop joking around. If you mess up the Fall season competition because of this, just wait and see how the internet keyboard warriors tears you apart.”

Confidently, Kuang Ye replied, “Don’t worry, Coach. Who am I? HW’s ‘Ye Wild God,’ the man blessed by the Canyon Heroes. These hands are insured for millions. No way am I messing up.”

Zhang Qinan rolled his eyes at Kuang Ye’s boast. This brat was clearly bluffing since Coach Yang didn’t know the extent of his injury.

“Alright, enough. If he’s fine, everyone back to training.”

And with that, the team dispersed.

After everyone else had left the conference room, Zhang Qinan turned to Kuang Ye.

“With your hand like this, what about the upcoming matches? Can you still play?”

Kuang Ye unwrapped the bandage and examined his injury, which wasn’t too severe.

“Let the players from the second team step in for now. The team will have to find out about my situation eventually, so let’s use this to bridge the gap for now.”

Zhang Qinan’s expression darkened. “Have you already decided to retire this year?”

Kuang Ye didn’t answer directly. Instead, he asked, “How’s O Lan doing at the youth training camp?”

Zhang Qinan’s tone was a little sharp. “He’s doing well. It won’t be long before he replaces Wild God as the next star player.”

Kuang Ye, however, responded earnestly, lifting his eyes to meet Zhang Qinan’s.

“He’s talented but lacks systematic training. His timing and judgment still need work. The second team is a step behind the first team, though, so let’s see if we can develop him further.”

Then, with calm confidence, he added, “Don’t worry. Until ST finds a new jungler, I won’t be leaving.”

Gains always come with losses. Kuang Ye knew the life he now had was more than he had ever dared to dream of. One couldn’t have it all. And his hand… It was true. He couldn’t let Wan wan marry someone disabled, could he?

—

When Kuang Ye returned to the apartment, Mu Wan was cooking, the air filled with a rich, delicious aroma.

“Wan wan, what are you making? It smells amazing.”

He walked into the kitchen and saw a clay pot bubbling on the stove, the lid off, revealing a milky white broth inside.

Mu Wan replied, “Pig trotter soup. I followed a recipe. It’s good for your hand’s recovery.”

Kuang Ye was taken aback. *Is this the whole ‘eat what resembles the injury’ thing?*

But as he looked at the apron she was wearing, he frowned slightly and stepped forward to untie it.

“Wan wan, you don’t have to do this. I’ll hire a housekeeper to come cook starting tomorrow.”

Mu Wan, the pampered princess of the Mu family, didn’t need to lower herself to cook meals for him. She deserved nothing less than the best life he could imagine for her.

Mu Wan wasn’t particularly fond of cooking. In the past, Kuang Ye either did the cooking or brought food back from the team base. She had one condition:

“Make sure the housekeeper is good at Cantonese and Shanghai cuisine.”

Kuang Ye laughed. “Of course. I’ll follow all the little princess’s orders.”

Mu Wan rolled her eyes. “Why do I have another nickname now?”

Kuang Ye shamelessly replied, “What nickname? It’s a term of endearment.”

Mu Wan shot him a mock glare, then scooped up a spoonful of soup from the pot.

“Here, little prince, blow on it and taste the soup to see if it’s any good.”

Kuang Ye blew on the spoonful, took a sip, and then, looking as if he’d just tasted some fine wine, declared, “Sweet.”

Mu Wan was puzzled. “Sweet? Did I mix up sugar and salt?” No way I’d make such a rookie mistake, right?

As she reached to taste it herself, Kuang Ye suddenly leaned in and kissed the corner of her lips.

“Sis, I wasn’t talking about the soup. I meant you’re sweet.”

Mu Wan’s composed face instantly turned red as she scolded him in a small voice.

“Can’t you be serious for once?” How can he turn even tasting soup into flirting?

Kuang Ye, however, pretended not to hear her. With his unbandaged hand, he wrapped his arm around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder as he played the pity card.

“Jie~ My hand is hurt, and sleeping on the couch is so miserable. Can I apply for an upgrade to the bed?”