On his first night in the new home, Jing Shun did not sleep well.
His dreams were wrapped in a thick layer of black fog. Without warning, he fell from high above on a wire stunt rig. The pain in his lumbar spine and both legs was so intense that cold sweat broke out all over his body.
Panicked, Jing Shun reached for his legs—but found only emptiness.
Gradually, many people appeared around him. Their faces were obscured by the dark fog, but their cutting words pierced straight into his heart—
“Isn’t that Jing Shun? His career was just recovering, and now his legs are gone? What a pity.”
“Being disabled like that, how is he supposed to stay in the entertainment industry?”
“If I ended up like him, I wouldn’t even want to live anymore.”
Mocking voices drilled into his ears like knives. Jing Shun could not endure it and desperately tried to crawl away, wanting to escape this suffocating space.
Finally, a faint light broke through the fog.
The chaotic film set in an instant turned into that familiar, cold home. Jing Shun was still collapsed on the ground, his entire body numb from the cold.
Footsteps approached. Chi Sheng, flanked by people on both sides, walked out from inside. He looked down at Jing Shun with contempt.
“Ah Jing, crawl. Crawl faster. I love seeing you struggle and refuse to give up—it’s so endearing.”
“Oh right, your legs actually had a chance to recover. I had the medical team deliberately delay your treatment. I just wanted to watch you slowly rot away…”
“Ah Jing, look—your parents don’t care about you anymore either. Besides me, who else would care? You’ll only rot here for the rest of your life! Completely rotten!”
—No!
—That’s not true!
Jing Shun suddenly opened his eyes. His heartbeat was so violent it felt like it might explode out of his chest. Alternating waves of heat and cold sweat soaked his body.
Buzz… buzz…
His phone on the bedside table vibrated.
Struggling, Jing Shun sat up. The moment he saw the caller ID, the dark emotions in his heart instantly swallowed his rationality.
It was Chi Sheng!
After the banquet ended, he had gone silent—and now he was calling again!
Thinking of the face in his nightmare, Jing Shun’s breathing became rapid and unsteady.
His trembling finger pressed to hang up the call. He blocked the number, then deleted every possible contact method tied to him.
Thud.
The phone slipped from his hand and hit the floor with a dull sound.
The tension in Jing Shun’s mind snapped. He covered his face with his hands, letting his ragged breathing run wild. Professor Song Chunhui’s words echoed in his ears—
His legs truly had a chance of recovery!
Could it be that in his previous life, Chi Sheng really was interfering behind the scenes and delaying his treatment?
But… why?
What did Chi Sheng mean by “revenge” when he spoke before his death?
Knock, knock.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
Butler Lin called from outside, “Young Master Jing? I heard some movement. Are you awake?”
“Yes.”
Jing Shun suppressed his turbulent emotions.
“I’m awake.”
“The items from your old home have been sent over. They’ll be brought in shortly. If you’re rested, you can come downstairs for breakfast.”
“Thank you, Uncle Lin. I’ll go down soon.”
Jing Shun pulled over the wheelchair beside him and carefully transferred himself onto it. With its assistance, he quickly washed up and went downstairs.
As soon as the elevator opened, the aroma of breakfast filled the air.
Chi Gui sat neatly at the head of the table. The butler stood beside him. On the side sat assistant Chen Yiming and another unfamiliar young man.
Hearing the movement, all four turned to look.
Butler Lin greeted first, “Young Master Jing, sit here. What would you like to eat?”
“Do you have congee? I don’t eat much for breakfast.”
In truth, it wasn’t that he ate little—he simply didn’t eat regularly at all.
“Lean pork congee okay?” Butler Lin asked while pouring him a glass of warm water.
Jing Shun nodded, holding the cup without moving, first glancing toward Chi Gui at the head seat.
The man was drinking coffee with his head slightly lowered. Calm, composed, and seemingly uninterested in acknowledging him.
“……”
After a brief hesitation, Jing Shun didn’t interrupt him. Instead, he turned to the two assistants.
Chen Yiming noticed his gaze and smiled.
“Good morning, Mr. Jing. Let me introduce you—this is Wei Di, another of sir’s executive assistants. We work together.”
Chi Gui had three more secretaries in the company, each responsible for different sectors.
Wei Di, a cool-looking man, nodded. “Good morning, Mr. Jing. Nice to meet you.”
Jing Shun politely responded, “Good morning.”
Just then, Chi Gui placed his coffee cup down on the table.
The sound wasn’t loud—but it carried presence.
“Who made the coffee this morning? The taste is off.”
That light, casual sentence immediately drew everyone’s attention.
Chen Yiming stood up at once. “Sir, should I make you another cup?”
“Forget it.” Chi Gui wasn’t focused on that. Instead, he looked at Jing Shun.
“Your complexion is very bad. What’s wrong?”
“……”
Still bad?
Jing Shun hadn’t expected that even after trying so hard to hide it, Chi Gui could see through him instantly.
Butler Lin returned just then with the congee.
“Is it a cold, Young Master Jing?”
Jing Shun shook his head.
“I’m fine. I just don’t adapt to new places well. I’ll rest a bit and it’ll be okay.”
Rather than a cold, it was more like psychological exhaustion.
This wasn’t the first time he had such nightmares. During the five years he was confined to a wheelchair, he had woken up countless times in terror, always alone in a dark, empty room afterward.
Later on, he would rather stay awake alone all night than fall back into those repeating nightmares.
Chi Sheng, his so-called “partner,” always made excuses and never came to stay with him.
For a long period, Jing Shun couldn’t face his own helplessness and weakness. He withdrew from social life and rejected friends’ concern.
Gradually, a shadowy, isolated temperament settled into his personality.
Someone once advised him to see a psychologist—to stop confining himself to a small world, and not remain trapped in that accident forever.
He understood his condition better than anyone, but he could never take that step toward saving himself. He felt he would eventually be swallowed by darkness.
Anyway, nothing about him could be cured. Either his broken body or his numbed heart—one of them would die first.
Buzz.
A phone vibrated again.
Wei Di picked it up, glanced at it twice, then leaned close to Chi Gui and reported something.
“……”
Jing Shun quietly watched while eating his congee.
Chi Gui lowered his eyes without speaking, but the surrounding pressure gradually intensified.
After the assistant finished reporting, Chi Gui gave a faint, almost amused reply:
“Celebrating under my nose?”
Wei Di lowered his voice.
“The Chi family’s main branch has been acting quite arrogantly lately. Sir, I think it’s time we put out the fire.”
Li Gui’s brow moved slightly, as if he had just remembered something. “Mr. Jing.”
He lifted his eyes and met Jing Shun’s gaze with perfect accuracy.
Caught staring, Jing Shun didn’t look away. “Mm?”
Li Gui went straight to the point. “The main branch is holding a private banquet tomorrow night. Come with me to take a look?”
“……”
Main branch?
The Li Sheng’s family?
Jing Shun’s heart tightened almost imperceptibly, and the lingering doubts in his mind resurfaced.
“What kind of banquet is it? Do I need to prepare anything in advance?”
“No need.”
Seeing the brief hesitation in him, Li Gui added deliberately, “Just stay by my side tomorrow night.”
Thinking of their contractual arrangement, Jing Shun didn’t refuse. “Alright.”
…
In the blink of an eye, it was the next evening.
Jing Shun had originally thought the main branch’s banquet would be held at a five-star hotel outside. Unexpectedly, it was actually taking place inside the Li residence.
It wasn’t until Chen Yiming led him to the southern villa where the main branch lived that Jing Shun suddenly remembered—he had been to this banquet in his previous life.
Back then, he and Li Sheng had only been “together” for a few days, and the other party had eagerly insisted on taking him to meet his parents.
Jing Shun had felt resistant. It all seemed too sudden and improper. But Li Sheng, taking advantage of his limited mobility, said it was just a casual outing—an “impromptu date”—and ended up bringing him here without warning.
So Jing Shun had no choice but to force himself to attend.
In his memory, this banquet seemed to be celebrating the main branch securing some business project, and many wealthy guests were present. It was not an appropriate occasion for “meeting the parents” at all.
Now that he thought about it, it was strange—
When Jing Shun, seated in a wheelchair, arrived, Li Ting’s attitude had always been cold. She clearly disliked him but was restraining herself, and yet she never showed any intention of breaking them apart.
Back then, Jing Shun had thought Li Sheng was mediating behind the scenes. Now that he knew Li Sheng’s true nature, he realized there must have been hidden truths he had never known.
“……”
Jing Shun subtly reached toward his coat pocket. The moment his fingertips touched something cold, a familiar voice sounded above him.
“What are you thinking about?”
Jing Shun paused and looked up a beat later—
Li Gui had just returned from outside. He wasn’t in formal attire but wore a black overcoat instead, understated and restrained. Only the silver eagle embroidery on both lapels stood out in subtle detail.
On his left thumb, he wore a jade ring. On its surface was also an eagle, its eyes inlaid with black diamonds—clearly exquisite and expensive craftsmanship.
Jing Shun withdrew his gaze and answered offhand, “Mr. Li, are we running late? The banquet seems to have already started.”
Li Gui glanced at his faintly reddened ears from the cold and frowned slightly.
He took a black scarf from Wei Di, which had just been removed earlier, and bent slightly to wrap it around Jing Shun’s neck.
His movements were proper and restrained, not touching his skin at all—but Jing Shun still inhaled softly in surprise.
“Mr. Li?”
A faint warmth spread across his slightly exposed neck—likely residual heat from the scarf, mixed with a familiar tea scent.
Li Gui met his damp, peach-blossom eyes. “I told you not to dress so formally. I didn’t bring you here to catch a cold.”
Jing Shun muttered defensively, “I am dressed warmly enough.”
Even so, he still pulled part of the scarf up to cover half his face, accepting the warmth. “Thank you~”
“……”
Li Gui paused for no apparent reason for two seconds, then straightened up and looked toward the brightly lit villa, answering his earlier question.
“Now that everyone’s here, the timing is just right. Let’s go in.”