“Get out of my world…”
Winter in Haishi was always especially cold.
Outside, rain mixed with icy snow pellets battered against the windows, creating an irritating noise. In the large and lonely apartment, only the bedroom on the left emitted a faint glow.
A thin young man sat quietly in a wheelchair. The orange light from the desk lamp cast a sickly pallor over his face.
His right hand tightly gripped his phone, his whole body frozen like a stiff puppet as mocking voices from the video on the screen poured into his ears—
“Jing Shun is just a cripple who’ll spend his whole life in a wheelchair. And he’s a man—how could I possibly like him?”
“Just seeing those limp, powerless legs of his makes me sick enough to vomit. I’ve never even touched him. How could I possibly feel interested?”
“To tell you the truth, these past few years I’ve loved hiding behind surveillance cameras and watching him accidentally fall, dragging his legs while crawling miserably on the ground. It’s hilarious.”
“……”
The humiliating ridicule in the video continued.
And the man surrounded by glamorous men and women, speaking without restraint, was none other than Chi Sheng—Jing Shun’s friend of fifteen years and nominal lover.
Five years ago, Jing Shun’s flourishing acting career had been destroyed by a wire stunt accident on set. The fall damaged his lumbar nerves and left both legs paralyzed. No matter how many treatments he tried, he could never escape the wheelchair.
At the lowest point of his life, Chi Sheng—the young master of a prestigious family—had launched an overwhelming pursuit of him. He had even publicly confessed to him in front of everyone, promising to take care of him for the rest of his life.
At the time, Jing Shun had been suffering both physically and emotionally. It felt like a beam of light suddenly shining into an abyss, and in his shock and gratitude, he agreed.
The news shook the entire upper-class circle of Haishi.
Everyone thought childhood friends had become true lovers, but five years later, it had become a complete joke—
What true love? What unwavering devotion?
Jing Shun had merely been a crippled canary raised by the wealthy Young Master Chi, something to toy with out of boredom.
“……”
The lengthy video continued.
Probably unaware that someone across the room was secretly filming him, Chi Sheng had completely dropped his usual disguise.
He lounged with internet celebrities and young stars in revealing clothing draped around him, occasionally lowering his head to steal kisses while the surrounding crowd cheered and egged him on.
Bathed in the hazy lighting of the private room, Chi Sheng’s arrogant and debauched expression looked both unfamiliar and revolting.
The emotional disgust churned his stomach violently. Jing Shun could no longer hold it back and hurriedly maneuvered his wheelchair toward the bathroom, vomiting uncontrollably.
The layout of the bedroom and bathroom had been specially modified years ago to accommodate wheelchair access.
Ignoring the freezing water in the dead of winter, Jing Shun trembled as he turned on the faucet, rinsing his mouth and washing his face. Panting, he raised his head and stared at the pale, sickly face reflected in the mirror—
Over the past five years, his injured spine and paralyzed legs had only worsened. The resulting complications damaged his health and gradually ruined his sleep and appetite.
His cheeks had grown gaunt, devoid of any flesh.
His once beautiful and refined features were now shrouded in a gloomy grayness. Even so, beneath those despairing eyes still burned unwillingness and resistance.
No matter how miserable he became, he refused to become entertainment for others to humiliate at will!
Jing Shun grabbed a tissue nearby and slowly wiped the remaining droplets from his face. The corners of his slightly upturned eyes glistened with moisture, reddened faintly, carrying a coldness and distance formed over the years.
Thinking back to the contents of the video, he let out a soft scoff.
If that’s the case, then ending things is for the best.
The rain had completely turned to snow, falling heavier and heavier.
At some point, the heating in the apartment had stopped working. With freezing hands, Jing Shun packed the few belongings he owned when the silent front door suddenly emitted an electronic unlocking sound.
—Beep. Unlock successful.
Hearing the mechanical voice, veins faintly bulged on the back of Jing Shun’s hand gripping the luggage bag.
Within three seconds, Chi Sheng pushed the door open and walked in.
Their eyes met across the room, and the anxious expression Chi Sheng had prepared stiffened for a brief moment.
Quickly recovering, he strode forward under Jing Shun’s silent gaze and bent down. “A-Jing, what are you doing? Why are you packing all of a sudden?”
Jing Shun immediately rolled his wheelchair backward, leaving Chi Sheng frozen awkwardly in place.
“……”
“I didn’t expect you to come this late.”
His tone was calm, not surprised, merely stating a fact.
Although they had become what outsiders called a “couple” after that grand confession, they had never lived together.
At the beginning of their relationship, Chi Sheng came to see him every day. Then it became every few days. Later, once every ten days or half a month.
Over the next three years, Chi Sheng used work as an excuse and saw him less and less. Even their text messages dwindled.
Even when Jing Shun took the initiative to find him despite his mobility issues, Chi Sheng always found excuses to avoid him. Over time, they no longer resembled lovers of many years, not even as close as they had been before the confession.
Jing Shun knew their relationship had problems and had expected they might separate someday. But all his energy had been spent trying to treat his legs, leaving him no room to maintain a relationship born out of gratitude and emotion.
As time passed, he could never find the right opportunity to talk about it. One delay after another eventually turned him into the laughingstock of the wealthy elite.
Seeing the change in his expression, Chi Sheng hurriedly tried to explain.
“A-Jing, y-you saw the video? Listen to me—”
Now that he was closer, the smell of alcohol on his suit became overwhelming. Who knew what drinking party he had just come from?
It would have been better not to mention it at all. The moment Jing Shun thought of what Chi Sheng had done in the video, his empty stomach churned again. He clenched his teeth tightly to stop himself from losing composure.
Disgusting.
Absolutely disgusting.
Suppressing the discomfort raging through his body, Jing Shun coldly interrupted, “Chi Sheng, stop acting.”
“……”
Chi Sheng’s expression froze.
“I don’t know how immature, vulgar, and twisted you have to be to make a joke out of my injuries and feelings. I also don’t know what exactly you’ve been pretending for all these years. But none of that matters anymore.”
Jing Shun lifted his gaze steadily. The redness at the corners of his eyes, caused by discomfort, only made him appear more striking.
For a brief moment, Chi Sheng seemed to see the Jing Shun from years ago—
Beautiful. Dazzling. Like a little sun that effortlessly drew everyone’s attention.
“Chi Sheng, whatever kind of relationship we had before, it officially ends now.”
After saying those words, Jing Shun felt none of the pain or hesitation he had imagined. Instead, he felt relieved.
Chi Sheng never loved him. But when had he ever truly loved Chi Sheng?
Back then, he had simply been too shaken by the accident and foolishly agreed to a relationship that should never have begun. Now he was only suffering the consequences.
Over the years, Jing Shun had already learned to live with loneliness and the dual torment of physical and emotional pain. He had learned to survive on his own.
Whether some people existed in his life anymore no longer mattered.
“A-Jing! It’s not what you think! I really love you—I love you more than anyone!”
Chi Sheng stepped forward, trying to forcefully hug him. “I drank too much last night. I was confused. Those people—”
Jing Shun slapped his hand away and laughed bitterly.
“So they wrote a script for you and forced Young Master Chi to recite every single line and film that video?”
“Chi Sheng, you make me sick.”
Chi Sheng’s breathing grew heavy. “W-what did you say?!”
“I said, from now on, get the hell out of my world.”
Jing Shun no longer wanted to waste time listening to his fake excuses. He turned his wheelchair to leave with his luggage.
What he didn’t know was that the moment his back was turned, the false anxiety in Chi Sheng’s eyes vanished, replaced by genuine anger.
“Jing Shun, who the hell do you think you are?”
Chi Sheng strode forward, grabbed the wheelchair handles, and yanked hard backward.
Caught off guard, Jing Shun instantly lost his balance.
In the blink of an eye, both he and the wheelchair crashed heavily onto the floor.
—BANG!
The overturned wheelchair slammed against his waist and abdomen, sending a sharp, abnormal pain through his internal organs. The little color remaining in Jing Shun’s face vanished as he trembled and looked at the culprit.
“……”
Chi Sheng froze briefly, but after being rejected again and again, his anger surged without a trace of guilt.
“Aren’t you so capable? Why are you staring at me like that? If you’ve got the ability, get up and question me!”
“Oh right—I forgot. You can’t even stand anymore.”
“……”
Jing Shun felt as though all the blood in his body had frozen. His heart spasmed painfully.
“So… you’re finally done pretending?”
Chi Sheng looked down at him like he was worthless trash, with no intention of helping him.
“I originally thought that if you ignored the video, I could still force myself to stay with you a little longer. But you just had to make a scene and break things off?”
“In all of Haishi, who else besides me would want a cripple like you?”
Nearly five years.
He was tired of pretending!
Since Jing Shun insisted on tearing away the facade, then he wouldn’t hold back anymore!
“All these years, you only managed to keep a shred of dignity because of my status and position. Instead of being grateful, what right do you have to show attitude in front of me now?”
Chi Sheng pulled out his phone and began recording the fallen Jing Shun.
The gentle mask he once wore was completely gone.
“To tell you the truth, I only agreed in the first place for revenge…”
As if recalling something, hatred twisted across his face.
“You may be truly crippled, but I’m not blind. Why would I stay devoted to someone like you?”
After saying that, Chi Sheng pocketed his phone and stormed out with the smell of alcohol still clinging to him.
—BANG!
The door slammed shut thunderously.
Jing Shun remained trapped beneath the wheelchair, his heartbeat chaotic. His breathing grew more and more difficult, his chest tightening with suffocating pressure.
His survival instinct exploded at the edge of death.
Using his thin hands, Jing Shun desperately crawled across the carpet until he barely managed to reach the phone that had been thrown aside. He opened the pinned WeChat contact and frantically pressed the video call button.
—Buzz… buzz…
The wait for the call to connect felt unbearably long.
Jing Shun could clearly feel his life slipping away. His bloodshot vision gradually blurred and lost focus.
At the moment his consciousness faded, he vaguely heard a shocked and anxious voice from the other end of the phone—
“Jing Shun?!”
“Mr. Jing? Mr. Jing, are you alright?”
Jing Shun felt someone shaking his shoulder. The force wasn’t strong, but the concern was obvious.
Confused, he opened his eyes.
The pain that had filled his body only moments ago had completely disappeared, replaced instead by a long-lost sense of vitality.
“……”
The crystal lamps in the hallway shone brightly, painfully dazzling to his eyes.
After taking some time to adjust, Jing Shun cautiously looked around the corridor.
“W-where am I?”
The person crouching before him wore a hotel waiter’s uniform and looked somewhat familiar.
Seeing him finally respond, the waiter explained honestly despite his confusion.
“Mr. Jing, this is the Baolaili Hotel in Haishi. You were invited to attend the Chi family banquet tonight. I’m the attendant Young Master Chi assigned to receive you.”
As he spoke, his eyes unconsciously drifted toward Jing Shun’s wheelchair.
He had heard that Mr. Jing suffered an accident over two months ago that left his legs impaired. Earlier, while escorting him to the banquet hall, Jing Shun had slipped on the slope by the stairs and fallen from the wheelchair.
Fortunately, he seemed unharmed now.
In just a few short sentences, Jing Shun understood his situation.
He lowered his gaze toward the blanket covering his knees.
Beneath it, his legs were not numb, lifeless, or withered.
They still carried sensation.
Jing Shun gripped the blanket tightly in disbelief as his mind rapidly processed the impossible truth—
He had been reborn five years into the past?
If that were true, did it mean he could begin treatment again? Did he still have a chance to stand up?
Seeing the redness in his eyes, the waiter hesitated even more.
“Mr. Jing, are you alright? Should I take you to the lounge first and call a doctor?”
The higher-ups had specifically instructed them: tonight’s banquet included a confession surprise specially prepared by Young Master Chi for Mr. Jing. Because of his injured legs, nothing could go wrong!
The waiter’s words snapped Jing Shun out of his thoughts.
He searched through his memories—
Back then, Chi Sheng had publicly confessed to him at this exact banquet.
The images before his death still lingered vividly in his mind, casting a faint shadow over his eyes.
“Mr. Jing? Shall I take you to the lounge?”
“No.”
Jing Shun straightened his back and slowly smoothed the wrinkles from the blanket covering his legs.
“Please take me directly to the banquet hall.”
He wanted to see whether Chi Sheng would still put on that nauseating act of deep affection tonight.
Since heaven had given him another chance, he would expose Chi Sheng’s hypocritical true face in front of everyone.