"No! Shen Mo, don't!"
Sheng Yiyang sprawled on the ground, struggling to get up. But his body, drained by too much blood loss, refused to obey. He could only watch helplessly as Shen Mo drove a knife into Ling Chen, only for Ling Chen to plunge another blade straight into Shen Mo's heart.
Shen Mo collapsed into a pool of blood. The corners of his lips curved upward as he cast one last, infatuated glance at Sheng Yiyang, and slowly closed his eyes!
"Hahaha, Sheng Yiyang! To think you'd actually need an idiot to save you!"
Nearby, Ling Chen brandished a knife and burst into unbridled, maniacal laughter.
Sheng Yiyang crawled toward Shen Mo in agonizing slow motion. Grasping the lifeless hand, tears fell drop by drop as he kept screaming in his heart: *You idiot! You absolute idiot!*
Yet his grip only grew tighter and tighter. Looking at Shen Mo's blood-stained face, Sheng Yiyang let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh. *Sheng Yiyang, you're the one who was blind and idiotic all along!*
Sheng Yiyang's encounter with Shen Mo had been pure accident. That day, after a fierce argument with Ling Chen over a role, he had stormed off in a rage and happened to cross paths with Shen Mo being dragged toward a gambling den.
Those had been a pair of utterly lifeless eyes.
For reasons he could not explain, driven by some inexplicable impulse, Sheng Yiyang had bought Shen Mo from the man's captors and settled him at home.
In truth, he rarely went home, usually staying at his studio instead. Only when he occasionally realized Shen Mo was on the verge of starving himself to death in the apartment would he bring food back, watching him finish every last bite before leaving.
Over five years, the time they actually spent together was pitifully short. Sheng Yiyang's attention and energy had been entirely consumed by Ling Chen. Yet he never imagined that for the sake of status and power, Ling Chen would collude with the Kyoto Yue Family to frame him, plunging the Sheng Family into sudden bankruptcy, driving his mother to suicide, sending his father and brother to prison, and getting him thrown behind bars!
He had no idea how Shen Mo had managed to track him down. All he knew was that when that frail, slender body pushed open that heavy door, it felt as though he were finally seeing a ray of sunlight meant just for him.
***
Sheng Yiyang was jolted awake by a shrill phone alarm. Opening his eyes, he found Ji Rong—the loyal little sidekick who had stood by him until the very end, despite lacking any real clout—sleeping sprawled out nearby.
"Brother Sheng, don't forget, we've got that dinner arranged by Director Lin tonight." Fumbling for his phone, Ji Rong drowsily muted the alarm, and noticing Sheng Yiyang was already awake, piped up to remind him.
Having drunk far too much with his high school classmates the previous night, he had stumbled back to the studio in the middle of the night, collapsed onto the sofa, and slept straight through until now.
Sheng Yiyang pressed a hand against his temples, sorting through the memories flooding his mind alongside the image of the man who had fallen in a pool of blood.
He had returned to the age of 20, back before he had ever met Shen Mo.
Director Lin's dinner? Sheng Yiyang searched for his phone and checked the notifications on the screen.
This gathering was a pre-production dinner for the entire cast of *Formula of Playing the Qin*, the very drama that had triggered his fallout with Ling Chen in his past life.
Ling Chen had set his heart on playing the male lead in *Formula of Playing the Qin*, but the role had originally been promised to Sheng Yiyang, backed by an unalterable contract. When Sheng Yiyang explained this clearly, Ling Chen had taken it as a tactic of rejection, weeping aggrievedly and accusing him of insincerity. Feeling exasperated at the time, Sheng Yiyang had stormed off in anger—and run straight into Shen Mo.
"I'm not going. You're coming with me somewhere instead!"
Sheng Yiyang gave Ji Rong a kick to hurry him up, then bolted back to the lounge inside the studio. He changed into casual clothes and applied a touch of makeup to tone down his striking good looks. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Ling Chen's photograph resting on the cabinet. A flash of revulsion crossed his face, and he barked at Ji Rong, "Tomorrow, hire someone to give this entire studio a deep clean! Throw all those filthy things straight into the trash!"
This studio had been set up for Ling Chen after Sheng Yiyang won Best Actor, under the pretext that he would stand behind Ling Chen and safeguard his career!
The thought only deepened the nausea churning in his stomach, prompting Sheng Yiyang to snatch the photo up and toss it directly into the garbage bin.
Ji Rong stared in blank astonishment for a moment before suddenly blurting out, "Brother Sheng, have you finally seen the light? I've been telling you all along that Ling Chen is bad news. I've literally seen him getting cozy and entangled with that top-tier celebrity Yue Lejia—he's just stringing you along!"
Sheng Yiyang paused. Yue Lejia—of course, that was the very member of the Yue Family who had brought ruin upon the Sheng Family!
"Thanks!" Sheng Yiyang gave a wave, casting a grateful look at Ji Rong. In his past life, Ji Rong had indeed warned him often enough, but back then, he had acted as though under a spell, losing all common sense the moment Ling Chen cried or acted spoiled.
Remembering the address of Shen Mo's home, Sheng Yiyang drove straight toward the dilapidated residential quarter until the car could go no further.
"Are you kidding me! Brother Sheng, where on earth is this? How can a dump like this even exist in Shangdu?" Ji Rong's eyes widened in disbelief as he surveyed his surroundings: an unfinished real estate project with halted construction, crumbling residential blocks, bicycles lying toppled by the roadside, and rarely seen tricycles.
"This was originally supposed to be a commercial building, but negotiations fell through, so it ended up like this." Sheng Yiyang strode forward, his tall, slender frame and extraordinary bearing instantly drawing the gazes of everyone nearby.
"Who are they here to see, I wonder!"
"Judging by that look, probably here for that madman!"
"Must be behind on their debts again, I bet!"
"Poor kid, looks like he's about to get another beating!"
The idle gossip of the elderly neighbors drifted into Sheng Yiyang's ears, quickening his pace.
The neighborhood was small, and the buildings were low. Sheng Yiyang had just stopped in front of a stairwell when a torrent of angry shouting and cursing reached his ears!
"Damn it! Ji Rong, make sure you're recording!" Sheng Yiyang yelled, bolting up the stairs like a flash of lightning.
The front door on the left side of the second floor stood wide open. A gaunt man was mercilessly lashing a leather belt across the body of a teenage boy curled up on the floor. Whip after whip landed, drawing blood with every stroke, while the man bellowed abuse: "What use are you, you idiot! Your bitch of a mother ran off, and heaven only knows whose seed you even are!"
"My bloodline would never produce an idiot like you!"
"You useless moron, the only decent thing on you is that pretty face of yours—wonder how much you could fetch on the market!"
By the time Sheng Yiyang rushed in, the man was dragging the boy toward the doorway. Watching the scene unfold, Ji Rong's hand trembled as he held the camera rolling.
"You beast!" Sheng Yiyang slammed a fist into the man, gently pulling the boy into his arms. Feeling the violent tremors racking the youth's frame, his voice softened instantly. "Momo, don't be afraid. I'm taking you away, taking you home!"
"Who the hell do you think you are? He's my son!" Knocked to the floor, Shen Ping clutched one eye and howled loudly. His single functioning eyeball rolled, gleaming with greed. "If you want to take him, fine! Give me a million, and I'll sell him to you!"
Ji Rong frowned and glanced over at Sheng Yiyang; this was completely out of bounds—surely this was illegal! Before he could voice his objection, he heard Sheng Yiyang sneer, "Sell him? How can such a conscience-less thing even cross your lips? Are you even Shen Mo's father?"
"Bah! With that fox-like face of his, is he even my flesh and blood?" Glaring with venomous hatred at Shen Mo, Shen Ping made a move to grab the boy, only to shrink back under Sheng Yiyang's piercing glare. "A million, and you take him away! From now on, I have nothing to do with him!"
Sheng Yiyang had been waiting for precisely those words. "Where is Shen Mo's household registration booklet?"
"Not my flesh and blood, and you think I'd register him? Letting him live this long is already doing him a favor!" Clutching his eye, Shen Ping hoisted himself up, fixing Sheng Yiyang with a malicious look as he muttered under his breath, "Heaven knows what you even see in this idiot!"
Not wanting to waste another second in this place, Sheng Yiyang scooped Shen Mo up in his arms. Catching Ji Rong's eye, he watched as Ji Rong quickly wrote out a check for one million and handed it over.