If Yu Sui were to evaluate his own past himself, he would likely toss out a breezy, dismissive verdict: utterly devoid of any noteworthy highlights. Yet the reality of the matter was quite the opposite.
In his early childhood, Yu Sui lived with his mother in a small seaside town. She made a living by selling her body to fund an idle, indolent lifestyle, while his father relying on a handsome face would occasionally drop by for free services. At the very outset of her pregnancy, his mother hadn’t the faintest clue who Yu Sui’s biological father actually was. Perhaps wishing to settle into a stable existence, or perhaps driven simply by surging maternal and reproductive hormones, she ultimately refrained from aborting him.
Yet the moment the child was born, that meager, pitiful reserve of hormones vanished entirely. This dragging deadweight of a newborn shattered the comfortable ease of her prospective lifestyle. She turned volatile and quick-tempered, subjecting Yu Sui to a relentless cycle of verbal abuse and physical beatings.
During that period in Yu Sui’s universe, suffering was simply something one inexplicably had to endure. He discovered that neither pinning hopes on a change of heart nor collapsing into agonizing despair could alter a single thing, prompting him to simply abandon the effort of harboring emotions toward any matter whatsoever.
When Yu Sui reached the age of eight, he blossomed into an increasingly exquisite appearance bright eyes, white teeth, making it abundantly clear how striking his parents must have been in their youth. His father finally surfaced that year, projecting the very picture of a polished scoundrel. Handing a sum of cash over to his mother, the man made solemn, earnest guarantees that he would whisk Yu Sui away from this tiny town to afford him a proper education.
His mother couldn’t care less about any of that; her sole objective was dispatching him out of sight.
Yet this journey didn’t lead northward to a bustling metropolis, but rather across the vast, boundless expanse of the ocean to the opposite shore.
The man was a gambler, drowning in debts, relying on a fading handsome facade to work as a casino dealer to pay off what he owed. Unfortunately, he was far too old, no longer youthful, and entirely devoid of the reflex speed and agility required of a dealer; his ultimate destination was destined to be crushed into mud on the floor, ignored by all.
Only then did he recall that he possessed a child a child whose mother possessed peerless beauty, and who surely must have inherited at least a sliver of that striking physical template.
To his pleasant astonishment, Yu Sui proved far more flawless than he had ever imagined. Not only was he striking in appearance, but the calm composure and intelligence shining in his eyes whenever he looked at the man thrilled him beyond measure.
Having swallowed a glass of water handed to him by the man, Yu Sui drifted into a heavy, drugged slumber. When he finally regained consciousness, he found himself inside a private VIP box of a glittering, palatial hall. Lying across a chair, he blinked his eyes open in a hazy daze to witness his own father groveling in obsequious smiles while being trampled beneath the boot of another man.
Though a wave of nausea rose within him, he grasped his current predicament in a single instant. Closing his eyes in silence, he curled his body inward and began plotting how to escape.
Yu Sui was originally slated to be cultivated like an assembly-line dealer, generating maximum value for the gambling establishment. Dragged away into the back rooms, he had a subcutaneous tracking bomb implanted into the nape of his neck to prevent any attempts at flight, following which he was locked away alongside others for intensive, centralized training.
Yu Sui possessed exceptional talent; mastering the manipulation of a deck of cards through sleight-of-hand was the ultimate apex pursued jointly by gamblers and magicians alike. Within the span of a blink as a shuffled deck flashed past his eyes, Yu Sui could memorize the exact sequence of eight full decks of cards.
Yet he revealed none of it outwardly. He understood that his ultimate objective was escape. In the dead of night, he would routinely attempt to use a dining knife smuggled away from the tables to surgically excise that bomb from his skin before a mirror a task requiring exquisite manual dexterity and pinpoint precision. Yu Sui’s nape was perpetually drenched in fresh blood, forcing him to keep his hair grown long to conceal the wounds.
After three long years, he finally succeeded. On a silent night, he successfully slipped past the inner perimeters of the casino without triggering the threat of the bomb. On the day of his escape, completely drained of physical stamina, he ultimately had no choice but to sit down outside a storefront to rest, striving to keep from freezing to death in the bitter winter snow.
That day happened to be Christmas Eve. The streets blazed with lights, and every shop bore a Do Not Disturb sign as families gathered together to celebrate the holiday.
Just as his entire frame grew chilled to the bone, someone happened to unlock the door, peering out with surprise to ask: “Why are you sitting out here?”
Yu Sui pondered for a moment, his fingers brushing against the deck of cards he had smuggled out in his pocket.
Offering a smile, he replied, “I’m a street magician. Might I have the honor of presenting an interesting little magic trick for you all?”
Delighted, the family welcomed him inside and even prepared an exquisite holiday dinner for him.
Compared to the mechanical, emotionless dealing and sleight-of-hand required of a casino employee, Yu Sui vastly preferred allowing playing cards to dance freely between his fingertips, performing a breathtaking illusion. From that day onward, Yu Sui embraced the identity of a magician, journeying across various regions to apprentice under masters until he eventually rose to widespread renown.
To him, magic was an endlessly fascinating pursuit; a magician needed to master the audience’s emotions with absolute precision to achieve success. This demanded that Yu Sui project intensely vivid emotions upon the stage precisely one of the experiences he wished to explore.
One day, right as the thunderous applause following his stage curtain call came to an abrupt halt, a tiny round sphere materialized before him, stuttering slightly during its self-introduction:
“Res… Respected host Yu Sui, according to system records, your lifespan in this lifetime is slated to conclude by dawn today. However, you meet the eligibility criteria for the Time Administration; I am System 058. Would you be willing to join us? Once your service term is fulfilled, you will attain freedom and eternal life.”
“However, the hazard coefficient of our operations is exceedingly high. You may examine this employment contract for specific details…”
“Is that so?” Yu Sui remarked. “Sounds rather interesting.”
This marked the commencement of the tale.
Among the vast multitude of worlds Yu Sui traversed, the one that left the deepest impression upon him was unquestionably Yu Baihua. It struck him as rather peculiar; Yu Sui had encountered an enormous array of adversaries, some exceptionally shrewd and others formidably powerful, yet this somewhat pampered, willful young master Yu Baihua persistently crashed his way into his field of vision.
“Young Master, would you actually, never mind.”
Sighing softly, Yu Sui resorted to remote guidance.
“To the left… stir twice…” Leaning against the kitchenette counter, Yu Sui pressed a hand to his lips with a smile. “Young Master, that item you’re holding is a strainer. How on earth can you fail to distinguish a strainer from an egg whisk?”
This was an ordinary morning. Typically, Yu Sui would wake up in the guest bedroom of Yu Baihua’s villa and casually whip up breakfast for the two of them. Yet today, for reasons unknown, Yu Baihua came clattering down the stairs in a flurry, hurrying over with a beaming, eager grin to shower him with flattery, only to insist on busying himself in the kitchen and stubbornly banishing the domestic staff, vowing to personally cook a meal for Yu Sui.
Utterly exhausted after a futile morning of chaotic effort, Yu Baihua pulled back the bangs obstructing his vision, entirely forgetting that his hands were coated in flour; the moment he made contact, he discovered his entire head dusted in white frost. Yu Sui burst into a fit of laughter. Dipping his fingers in clean water, he flicked droplets onto Yu Baihua’s face, smilingly pulled the man close, and raised his fingers in a V-sign to snap a selfie.
“Delete it—” Unable to bear it a moment longer, Yu Baihua resolved he would never allow black history to linger in Yu Sui’s possession, only for Yu Sui to give a light flick of his wrist, causing the phone to vanish entirely. With an air of sly mischievousness, Yu Baihua wiggled his splayed fingers: “Guess where it is?”
Standing right where he was, Yu Baihua offered a smile his hands were already smeared with whipped cream.
“Yu Sui!” Lunging forward, he attempted to tackle and subdue Yu Sui from behind.
The final outcome of the battle left both of them bearing spotted cat-faces as they partitioned the kitchen into northern and southern spheres of control. While frantically listening to the audio tutorial on Sweet-Cat’s Gourmet Academy via his phone, Yu Baihua engaged in a frantic, chaotic struggle to distinguish between cane sugar, condensed milk, and skim milk. Staring with eyes reddened by frustration, his sharp, arrogant countenance was plastered with unadulterated defiance and aggrieved grievance.
Meanwhile, using a pair of wooden chopsticks, Yu Sui casually gathered his cascading long hair upward into a loose knot, leisurely heating milk in a small pan while whisking egg whites single-handedly until the foam formed a gorgeous, stiff peak. He radiated the undeniable aura of a reliable adult fully capable of supporting himself.
Time slipped away in that fashion. Tilting his head, Yu Sui watched Yu Baihua’s solemn expression beneath the sunlight, resembling someone undertaking a monumental, world-shaking endeavor, entirely unaware that the smile curving his own lips carried a profound tenderness.
Every single day shared alongside Yu Baihua somehow transformed into something ordinary yet tranquil.
The young master possessed a rather prickly temper; having spent extensive time in his company, Yu Sui had precisely mapped out his personality quirks, generally choosing to yield whenever smooth passage was feasible. Yet there were days when Yu Baihua took umbrage at Yu Sui conversing with a particular young woman, or inexplicably convinced himself Yu Sui wasn’t treating him with sufficient exclusivity; unwilling to constantly coddle him, the two of them inevitably drifted into squabbles.
Yu Baihua would invariably drop fierce threats declaring he would never bother with Yu Sui again, telling him to go wherever he pleased so long as he vanished from his sight. Yet the moment Yu Sui actually walked away, Yu Baihua would inevitably tail him in secret, watching him slip into a bar and remain inside for hours on end without emerging.
Burning with rage, Yu Baihua felt tempted to order someone to tear the establishment down to its foundations that very day. Yet simultaneously, he found himself despising his own weakness why was he agonizing over someone he merely kept around on a whim, genuinely contemplating a romantic relationship with the man? The most laughable part was that the pampered canary treated his sugar daddy with absolute indifference, even wandering off to stir up trouble outside?!
Suddenly reluctant to march inside and face Yu Sui, Yu Baihua squatted down upon the outdoor steps outside the bar to smoke. The plumes of smoke exhaled from the tip of his cigarette swirled thickly around him, obscuring his expression.
Not until his cigarette pack was nearly exhausted did Yu Baihua realize just how long he had been sitting there. Suddenly, the sound of heels striking pavement echoed clearly through the dim, narrow corridor flanking the bar’s back exit. Yu Baihua’s immediate reflex was to spin around and make his escape, only to lose his footing in his haste; amid his stagger, a hand shot out from the shadows to firmly catch him by the wrist.
It was Yu Sui. Before pulling away, he wordlessly reached out and extinguished the cigarette still smoldering between Yu Baihua’s fingertips.
Before Yu Baihua could open his mouth to launch into an interrogation, Yu Sui beat him to the punch: “You’ve been sitting out here for ages. Why didn’t you come inside to find me?”
“Find you for what, so I could watch you getting all cozy with other people?” Yu Baihua retorted spitefully.
Refusing to take the bait, Yu Sui countered instead: “Then why didn’t you leave?”
“I…” Momentarily robbed of speech, Yu Baihua squared his shoulders and blustered defensively: “Why should I leave? Yu Sui, let me tell you right now, don’t even dream of shaking me off for the rest of your life.”
“Don’t assume this settles the matter, I…”
The night air was intoxicating. Amidst the flickering glow of embers, Yu Sui lowered his gaze to take in the exposed curve of Yu Baihua’s smooth, slender nape, taking a slow, unhurried step forward.
“Yu Baihua,” Yu Sui interrupted him. “How about we play a little game of spoiling.”
Flicking open a fan of playing cards between his fingers, Yu Sui’s eyes danced with a trace of faint amusement, resembling a mischievous nine-tailed fox from a fairy tale.
“If you manage to draw the joker hidden right here, I’ll grant you a single request.”
Yu Baihua paused for a beat. “Yu Sui, as long as the cards are in your hands, aren’t you just going to make me draw whatever card you want?”
“Indeed,” Yu Sui curved his lips into a smile. “Which is precisely why it’s called a spoiling game.”
“I appreciate your answers, Yu Baihua. So, are you going to draw or not?”
“Draw, then.” Without an ounce of hesitation, Yu Baihua randomly drew a card, flipped it over, and stared: it was the Joker.
Stunned for a moment, Yu Baihua watched as Yu Sui tilted his head, his voice dripping with bewitching allure. “So, what is it you wish for me to do right now, Young Master?”
A brilliant blush bloomed across Yu Baihua’s face. Though it was merely a trivial little trick casually orchestrated by Yu Sui, he felt his very heart skip a beat.
Backing away two steps to lean against the wall, he didn’t dare meet Yu Sui’s gaze, his Adam’s apple bobbing twice before he managed to squeeze out a single sentence:
“Come back with me… and stop wandering off.”
Never anticipating that response, Yu Sui froze for a long moment before reaching out to gently tousle the crown of Yu Baihua’s head.
“Fool,” he murmured. “I first met you right here, don’t you remember? I was simply back to perform a show upon the owner’s invitation.”
Simultaneously, a realization bloomed within him: Yu Baihua’s spoiling game was, truth be told, executed remarkably well.