Author Archives: Thandar

【Is there a new outcome?】 At 10:12, the seventeen-year-old Lin Wu sent the message right on time.

【Zhao Fangli and Guo Chengchun have been arrested. No one was injured. After their capture, there were no further victims…】 After hanging up, the thirty-seven-year-old Lin Wu carefully edited the current outcome.

“Everything is perfect now.” On Xuhu Bridge in 2004, Lin Wu sat on the ground reading it, an unconscious smile forming at the corner of his lips.

An hour earlier, after confirming that Zhao Fangli had been arrested, they had left the scene.

“The weather’s pretty nice today. Want to walk around a bit more?” Lin Wu had originally planned to take a taxi, but Qin Weidong asked casually. He knew they should go their separate ways now, but walking side by side with Lin Wu like this, he found it hard to leave.

“Does your foot still hurt?” Lin Wu had been worried about his injury the whole time.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore. The doctor said it would be fine in three to five days anyway,” Qin Weidong replied immediately.

“Alright!” Lin Wu had already told Hao Shuqin before leaving that he might be back late, so it wasn’t a problem. They were now standing on a road near Li Jing’s house. Ahead was Xuhu Bridge, with quite a few people strolling on it.

“Want to sit on the bridge for a bit?” Lin Wu pointed toward it. Qin Weidong might be fine, but Lin Wu didn’t want him walking too long.

“Anywhere’s fine.” Qin Weidong didn’t mind.

Three minutes later, the two of them sat on the curb by the bridge. Behind them was a railing, and in front of them the road. The breeze was gentle that day, and sitting there, both of them felt at ease.

“What are you planning to do from now on? Will you keep sending messages?” Qin Weidong asked a practical question. They had met through the phone, and now that everything was resolved, it seemed like their connection might end.

“I want to take a look at today’s outcome first. If everything’s confirmed to be fine, maybe we can keep in touch for a few more days.” Lin Wu had already thought about it. He mainly wanted to know how Luo Xiaorong’s future would turn out. After speaking, he looked at Qin Weidong. “Is that okay?” The request felt a bit like pushing his luck.

“I’ve got nothing going on anyway. If you want to talk, we can talk.”

Qin Weidong couldn’t help the slight upward curve of his lips, then steadied himself and asked, “You seem pretty close with your mom?” Luo Xiaorong was different from most people. Visit HololoNovels dot com for the complete chapter. Being around her often made others feel burdened or emotionally overwhelmed, but Lin Wu seemed patient with her.

“It wasn’t very good when I was little,” Lin Wu said after a moment’s thought.

Luo Xiaorong had grown up in a mountainous rural area in the county. She had an intellectual disability from childhood. Besides her, there had been an older brother, but he drowned when she was twelve. Her grandparents were not well off, but they treated her very well.

When Luo Xiaorong was nineteen, her grandparents fell seriously ill. They wanted to arrange a marriage for her, so that someone would take care of her after they passed.

That year, she went through many matchmaking attempts. Given their poor circumstances, either the other side rejected her because of her intellectual disability, or her grandparents found the other party unreliable. In the end, through an introduction, they chose Lin Haiming.

At the time, Lin Haiming worked at a steel plant and owned a house in the city. More chapters on HololoNovels dot com. If there were drawbacks, it was that he was ten years older than Luo Xiaorong, disabled, not good-looking, and somewhat dull and withdrawn.

But Luo Xiaorong also had an intellectual disability. After the matchmaker’s efforts, the grandparents found that the two got along fairly well and considered letting things develop further.

“We don’t want a bride price. Our only request is that you register the marriage. After marriage, treat Xiaorong well. You can’t hit or scold her. If there are things she doesn’t understand, teach her patiently,” the elderly couple said.

“Alright,” Lin Haiming agreed.

Two months later, they registered their marriage. Lin Haiming was timid by nature, but he treated Luo Xiaorong well. Later, Lin Wu was born. After the grandparents passed away, the family of three lived a simple life together. From a young age, Lin Wu knew his family was different. After starting elementary school, his self-esteem grew strong. On one hand, he felt he should love his parents, but on the other, he felt ashamed of them.

Aside from getting back at people who bullied Lin Haiming and Luo Xiaorong, he would avoid them whenever he saw them outside.

“What happened later?” Qin Weidong became interested. Lin Wu didn’t seem ashamed of Luo Xiaorong now. It felt very natural.

“Later, when I was nine, I got sick with smallpox, and no matter what we tried, it wouldn’t get better…”

In fourth grade, he developed a severe case of smallpox. They went to many clinics, but none could cure it. Lin Haiming somehow heard that a temple in the county was effective. He took Lin Wu and Luo Xiaorong, transferring between three buses before finally reaching the place.

The temple was an ancient structure over two hundred years old. It had not yet been developed into a tourist site at that time. From the foot of the mountain to the temple was a long, winding stone path, about seven hundred meters in elevation, with roughly two thousand two hundred steps. Lin Wu had a high fever then, and Lin Haiming, being disabled, could not carry him up.

“Are we just going back like this?” Lin Haiming grew anxious. Then he looked at Luo Xiaorong. “Xiaorong, can you carry Wu-wu up to pray?”

Knowing Luo Xiaorong had trouble expressing herself, he bought paper and a pen from a nearby shop and wrote that their son was sick, his wife had an intellectual disability, and asked anyone who saw the note to help them go up to the temple.

After writing it, he put the note in Luo Xiaorong’s hand and repeatedly explained how to use it.

He thought she wouldn’t remember, but after hearing it twice, she actually carried Lin Wu on her back and started up the mountain.

“I was already pretty tall back then, but my mom still carried me up like that, holding that piece of paper tightly in her hand the whole time…” Lin Wu had been delirious with fever, but still somewhat conscious. In his hazy memory, what stayed with him most clearly was the setting sun, Luo Xiaorong’s back, and villagers tending cattle in the distance.

After being helped by kind strangers to pray at the temple, Luo Xiaorong carried him back down step by step. Near the bottom of the mountain, he saw Lin Haiming holding a flashlight, dragging his leg as he struggled upward. His disability was severe. Climbing the mountain was extremely difficult for him.

At that moment, looking at the two of them, all of Lin Wu’s grievances suddenly melted away. No matter how abnormal Luo Xiaorong and Lin Haiming might seem, they were his parents. Disabled or not, foolish or not, they loved him in their own way. That bond could never be severed.

Lin Wu’s thoughts seemed to drift back to that winding stone staircase. When he came back to himself, he found Qin Weidong looking at him.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Wu asked, slightly startled.

“Nothing. Just feels like you’ve had it tough,” Qin Weidong said, turning his head a bit awkwardly.

“I had food to eat and could go to school. That’s not really hardship.” Lin Wu smiled, then asked, “What about you? Any memorable moments from childhood?”

“Nothing particularly memorable. I think I was also nine. I stayed here for half a month, got bored, and went back. My mom passed away early, and my dad’s busy with business, but he treats me well.” Qin Weidong stretched his long legs as he spoke.

His family situation was simple. His mother died early, and he was raised by his grandparents. When he got a bit older, he came to Xuhu. His whole life story could fit on a single page.

“You’re pretty optimistic,” Lin Wu said sincerely. Qin Weidong’s optimism wasn’t forced. Ever since confirming he had no ill intent, Lin Wu had always felt he was a positive person.

“Haha, maybe it’s because my grandparents treated me well. My dad can’t always be around, but I know he loves me.” Qin Weidong felt that “optimistic” was a compliment, and he was genuinely happy.

At 10:12, the connection between the two timelines opened. They hadn’t done anything outside the plan today, but they weren’t sure if there had been any other changes. After sending the message, they both stared at the phone nervously.

【Zhao Fangli and Guo Chengchun have been arrested. No one was injured…】 Five minutes later, the reply came.

Phew—

The moment they saw the message, both of them let out a sigh of relief.

【How’s my mom?】 Over the next ten minutes, Lin Wu asked about Luo Xiaorong, and the other side replied carefully. He couldn’t help but feel a bit regretful that the time-crossing phone couldn’t send multimedia messages. Otherwise, he would have been able to see what Luo Xiaorong looked like twenty years later.

Ten minutes later, the connection between the timelines ended.

“Let’s go,” Qin Weidong said, glancing at the time. He wanted to stay a little longer, but Lin Wu had class tomorrow and needed to rest early.

“Mm.” Lin Wu stood up. They couldn’t stop cars on the bridge, so after a quick discussion, they decided to walk past the intersection ahead before hailing a taxi.

“Should we meet at the burger place again tomorrow?” Qin Weidong asked.

“Sure.” Now that the killer had been caught, Lin Wu, like Qin Weidong, didn’t really want to know more about the future. If you’re not reading this on hololonovels dot com, the chapter is not complete. That way, he could still look forward to his own life. After thinking about it, he felt that if nothing else came up, he might not need the time-crossing phone anymore.

They walked along the sidewalk, Lin Wu on the left and Qin Weidong on the right. It was already late at night. Aside from two workers repairing a billboard ahead, the street was very quiet.

“They’ve got a new item at the shop now, wasabi popcorn chicken. Let’s try it tomorrow. I think it might be a bit spicy,” Qin Weidong said as they walked, already planning tomorrow’s late-night snack.

“Mm.” Lin Wu listened attentively. Just as they were about to pass the billboard, a loose sheet of metal suddenly fell from above. It was part of a hanging sign attached to a utility pole. Seeing it, Lin Wu reacted instantly and shoved Qin Weidong aside. “Watch out!”

The metal plate came crashing down. Lin Wu felt a piercing pain in his shoulder blade.

“Oh no, why did it fall?!”

“Are you guys okay?”

The two advertising workers panicked. One of them hurried down from the pole. The fallen sheet was about sixty centimeters long and thirty centimeters wide, used mainly as a support. It wasn’t large, but it had fallen from a height of seven meters, its edges warped and rusted. Being struck by it hurt badly.

“How are you? Does it hurt?” Qin Weidong saw Lin Wu clutching his arm and became extremely anxious.

“I’m fine…” Lin Wu said, but when he raised his hand to look, it was covered in blood.

…

“The CT technician isn’t here. You’ll have to get imaging done tomorrow. But judging from the shape of the wound, there’s no fracture. It’s a pretty deep cut…” An hour later, Lin Wu and Qin Weidong arrived at the central hospital.

Lin Wu had taken off his outer jacket, pulling his undershirt down halfway, exposing his right back and shoulder blade. There was a ten-centimeter-long wound across his shoulder blade. It had just been treated, but blood still seeped out from time to time. There was fresh medication applied around it, and it looked very painful.

“Hiss—” Lin Wu sucked in a sharp breath as the doctor cleaned the wound with a cotton swab. It really did hurt.

Watching him, Qin Weidong felt as if needles were grinding through his heart. But now wasn’t the time to get emotional. He forced himself to stay calm and focused, turning to the doctor and asking directly, “Will there be any lasting effects? Does he need to be hospitalized? Will it affect his ability to lift or carry things later?”

“It’s not that serious. It won’t affect lifting or carrying. But there may be a scar after it heals. Over time, or with some laser treatment, it should be removable,” the doctor explained patiently.

“Does he need to stay in the hospital?” Qin Weidong asked after taking note.

“Either way is fine. I’d recommend hospitalization for observation. If not, he’ll need to come in twice a day for wound care.”

“Hospitalize him!” Qin Weidong decided immediately, then realized he had overstepped. He looked at Lin Wu, a trace of nervousness in his voice that he himself didn’t notice. “Let’s stay in the hospital, okay? You got hurt saving me. You don’t need to worry about the costs.”

“If I stay, how long would it be?” Lin Wu asked after thinking it over.

“Depends on recovery. Probably about seven to fifteen days,” the doctor said.

“Let’s stay,” Qin Weidong said, looking at him anxiously.

“Student, this was a mistake on our part at work. The company will cover your hospitalization and nutrition expenses. Someone will also contact you regarding compensation. We’re very sorry,” a middle-aged man said as he entered with one of the advertising workers.

The man was in charge of the advertising company. It was a large firm in Xuhu with a dedicated public relations department. Lin Wu’s case was considered a minor accident, and they wanted to resolve it quickly and efficiently.

“I’ll bring your backpack and practice books tomorrow,” Qin Weidong said, looking at Lin Wu expectantly.

“Alright.” After a moment’s thought, Lin Wu agreed.

Since Lin Wu was injured, Qin Weidong handled the hospital admission procedures.

He had wanted to arrange a VIP room. By coincidence, there were no double or four-person rooms available, so with a decisive wave, he booked a VIP room. The middle-aged man, being responsible for public relations, knew that a week in a VIP room would only cost a few hundred more. Combined with the lack of standard rooms, he chose to overlook it.

At one in the morning, Lin Wu called Hao Shuqin, asking her to take care of Luo Xiaorong, then moved into the hospital ward.

While Lin Wu was speaking with the nurse, Qin Weidong stepped into the hallway and called Zhao Hongyu—

“Brother Zhao, one of my classmates got hit by a billboard while saving me. It’s the same classmate from last time. It’s not too serious. Can you help coordinate with the advertising company and try to get more compensation? Yeah, thanks.” The manager from earlier had seemed approachable, but both he and Lin Wu were just high school students. They weren’t experienced in dealing with these kinds of social matters, so it was better to leave it to someone more professional.

After hanging up, Qin Weidong replayed what had just happened in his mind. It had all been too sudden. If Lin Wu hadn’t pushed him, or if he had moved just one step differently, the one injured would have been him, or the metal would have struck Lin Wu’s head.

Lin Wu had saved his life.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.

On the night of October 20, at Xuhu Hotel, Lin Wu drank a cup of coffee and waited for the eighteenth outcome.

“You’re here early today.”

“Left home earlier today.”

“Lin Wu, which school are you planning to apply to?”

“Not sure yet. You didn’t ride your bike today?”

“My bike broke. How did you know I didn’t ride?”

…

The eighteenth outcome was the same as the seventeenth. He saw himself greeting Li Jing, the two of them discussing a math problem together. At six in the evening, he went to ask the teacher for leave.

“This is a critical period in senior year. You need to focus your energy on studying.” After lecturing him, the teacher still agreed.

Following the eighteenth outcome, he changed clothes, tucked a screwdriver into his pocket for self-defense, and went to the fixed location of the crime. Full version on HololoNovels .com. After confirming the spot, he quickly left. In this outcome, he had already informed the police in advance. Whether they would deploy ahead of time or not was still unknown.

He watched cautiously from a distance. For now, he saw neither the attacker nor anyone suspicious.

As nine approached, he disguised himself as a passerby and walked by from above. He saw Li Jing below, wearing her school uniform and walking along the path. At 9:05, just as she was about to reach the corner, a dark figure suddenly lunged out from behind her.

“Move!” Before Lin Wu could warn her, two people sprang out from nearby, and then three more rushed in from other directions. The five moved with practiced precision.

The shadow froze for a moment, then ran toward the road. One of them tackled her to the ground. Besides the hammer, the attacker also had a knife. She stabbed quickly, wounding him, but the others swiftly subdued her.

“Captain Liu, are you okay?!” The others put handcuffs on the attacker while anxiously looking at Liu Qingtao.

“I’m fine…” Liu Qingtao touched his abdomen. He had been stabbed, but it wasn’t fatal.

Half a month later, the police released a notice. The suspect’s real name was Zhao Fangli, alias Zhao Fangfang. After an attempted murder in 1998, she had been on the run. In March 2004, she killed a local high school student in Xuhu. In October of the same year, she was arrested by police while committing another crime. With solid evidence and a full confession, she was formally prosecuted by the procuratorate. Given the severity of her crimes, she faced the possibility of a death sentence.

In July 2005, the death sentence was carried out.

Zhao Fangli was from Dashan County in Huyun Province. According to police investigation, her motive stemmed from her high school years, when she was often bullied by girls her age due to her tall, sturdy build and dull personality. Later, she suffered severe burns in a fire and dropped out of school.

In the years that followed, she developed deep insecurity about her body. Combined with the trauma from high school, she gradually grew to hate girls of high school age. She chose her victims at random, then stalked and followed them before killing them. If conditions allowed, she would also subject them to a certain degree of abuse, such as cutting wounds into their bodies.

She committed a total of three crimes: one death, one injury, and one victim who escaped. When the deceased high school girl was found, her body bore numerous knife wounds.

After the verdict was handed down, Zhao Fangli was executed that same month.

The event of Guo Chengchun being sentenced to life imprisonment for robbing a jewelry store remained unchanged. After both were apprehended, there were no further victims.

In the eighteenth outcome, aside from the criminal police captain being injured and Zhao Fangli being punished by law, nothing else changed.

Ten seconds later, Lin Wu finished refreshing the outcome. He opened his computer and searched for news about “Xuhu Liu Qingtao.” He knew the man because in previous outcomes he had interacted with him and knew he was upright and meticulous. As for why he knew about the mop…

It was because after giving his statement in the previous outcome, he had overheard Liu Qingtao in the hallway, flustered as he answered a phone call from his wife, who was asking him to buy a new mop.

In this outcome, Liu Qingtao received a first-class merit for the case, though the stab wound that year had been quite deep. Even though he recovered after half a year, it had hurt for that entire time.

[Stick to the previous plan?] A message came from the 2004 side.

[No major changes…] Lin Wu replied after thinking it over.

At 10:27, the connection between the two timelines ended.

…

“How did it go?” Qin Weidong asked nervously the moment it ended.

After noticing yesterday that he and Lin Wu had unconsciously ended up sitting together, he had felt something subtle shift. So today he deliberately chose a larger table, so he wouldn’t drift over again. Though craning his neck to read the messages was tiring.

“Tomorrow we need to remind Officer Liu to watch out for the knife.” After making sure no one was around, Lin Wu handed his phone to Qin Weidong and spoke in a low voice.

After they finalized the plan yesterday, he had written the anonymous letter, then fully disguised himself and secretly handed it to an elderly man with poor eyesight, giving him one hundred yuan to pass it along to the gate of the criminal investigation unit. He had specifically emphasized that it must be delivered to Liu Qingtao personally.

Everything that happened today was part of the setup, so he had been extremely cautious. The full chapter is up on HololoNovels dot com. He did not reveal the details of the case or the specifics of what would happen tomorrow to the police. This way, they could advance or retreat as needed.

If the method of involving the police worked, they would know the outcome tonight and could proceed as planned.

If it didn’t work, he would not send a second letter and would instead lie in wait himself, just like in the seventeenth outcome.

Now, the new outcome proved that their plan was workable.

“Still a bit nervous…” Half an hour later, the two of them dropped the letter into a remote mailbox without surveillance cameras. The idea of prophecy was too unbelievable. They also didn’t know whether getting too involved with the police might create unforeseen butterfly effects, so from the beginning they had planned not to reveal their identities.

The letter that morning had been passed along by someone else. By now, the police should already be on alert, so for the second letter they chose same-city mailing. They used express delivery. The mailbox would be opened at five every day, and given Xuhu’s local delivery speed, the letter would arrive around noon today.

The eighteenth outcome proved that the letter had already been delivered. Everything was now in motion, and they could no longer change it.

…

“Any suspicious individuals?” The next morning, Liu Qingtao sat in the criminal investigation unit’s surveillance room, carefully watching each monitor. He hadn’t slept at all the previous night and had come in at five this morning. After experiencing the five “predictions” yesterday, anyone normal would have been unable to sleep.

He kept wondering who the other party was, and how they had known those predictions in advance. The whole thing was too strange. After thinking it over again and again, he finally guessed that the person either knew fortune-telling or had received some kind of prophetic dream. Neither explanation sounded normal, but he had nothing else to go on.

Right now, the focus wasn’t the five predictions, but the line in the letter: 【I know the killer in a case. I will contact you tomorrow.】

There were still many unsolved cases in the unit, and he didn’t know which one the person meant. But “I will contact you tomorrow” meant the person would reach out today. So early that morning, he had already arranged for people to keep an eye on the scrap collector from yesterday. They had also asked about the sender’s appearance, but the scrap collector had poor eyesight and some mental issues. Aside from knowing the sender was male, they had no other clues.

Now two officers were monitoring the scrap collector. Liu Qingtao watched the surveillance feeds, planning to act immediately if he spotted anyone suspicious. He had been watching from a little after six until nine, but aside from two people who came to file reports about trivial family disputes, he had not seen anyone suspicious.

“It’s almost noon, and still no news…” Liu Qingtao had no other duties today. After lunch, he continued watching. At 1:10, Xiao Zhou rushed into the surveillance room, out of breath.

“Captain Liu!” Xiao Zhou called out.

“What is it?” Liu Qingtao looked up.

“You’ve got an express letter.” Xiao Zhou held up an envelope.

Early that morning, they had already notified all departments that any letters addressed to Captain Liu or anything suspicious must be delivered immediately. This letter had arrived ten minutes ago. As soon as the mailroom received it, they called him without delay. He went to retrieve it, leading to the current scene.

“Let me see!” Liu Qingtao stood up at once.

The letter was from yesterday’s anonymous sender. It said that tonight there would be a stalking murder case. The sender provided detailed information about the time, location, and sequence of events, and hoped the police would deploy in advance.

Aside from the case details, the sender also added at the end that the killer carried a knife and that a police officer might be injured because of it, suggesting that everyone wear stab-resistant vests or make other preparations.

“Captain Liu?” Xiao Zhou noticed Liu Qingtao’s serious expression and grew tense as well.

“Gather everyone for a meeting,” Liu Qingtao said decisively. If this had been a day earlier, he might have hesitated over such a letter. But after experiencing yesterday’s five predictions, he had to prepare as thoroughly as possible.

…

“Lin Wu!” At 6:20, just as Lin Wu stepped out of the school gate, he saw Qin Weidong waiting there. Today Qin Weidong wore a black hoodie and casual pants, looking very low-key.

“You don’t need to come. I can handle it alone.” After discussing things yesterday, Qin Weidong had insisted on joining, but his right foot was injured. Lin Wu was worried something might go wrong and wanted to go by himself.

“I’m not doing anything anyway. I definitely won’t hold you back.” Qin Weidong lifted his right foot slightly. He had changed into sneakers today. It hurt a bit when he walked, but it wasn’t serious.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lin Wu was still uneasy.

“I’m fine.” Qin Weidong was about to hop a couple of times.

“Don’t!” Lin Wu quickly stopped him. After thinking it over, he agreed to let Qin Weidong come along, as long as he prioritized his own safety.

The two of them followed the plan and went to the location of the incident. The place was quiet now, nothing unusual. They only glanced at it while passing by, pretending to be ordinary pedestrians.

At nine that evening, they passed by again in the same way. They saw Li Jing walking below in her school uniform. Just as she was about to reach a corner, Zhao Fangli appeared.

“Move!” Police officers who had been lying in wait suddenly emerged from all sides. Zhao Fangli was stunned. She panicked and ran toward the road. Liu Qingtao lunged at her. She pulled out the knife she had prepared and stabbed at him, only to find that it wouldn’t go in. At that moment, Liu Qingtao struck the knife from her hand, twisted her arms behind her back, and snapped handcuffs onto her wrists.

“Captain Liu!”

“Are you okay?”

The others quickly stepped in to help restrain her.

“I’m fine.” Liu Qingtao let out a breath, pulling open his jacket. Underneath was a black stab-resistant vest.

He looked at the knife on the ground. Without that vest, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

“Take her away!” Liu Qingtao ordered decisively.

…

At 10:12, Lin Wu refreshed the nineteenth outcome.

In the nineteenth outcome, Liu Qingtao was not injured, Zhao Fangli confessed and was sentenced to death, and Guo Chengchun received life imprisonment for the jewelry store robbery. Everything was the same as in the eighteenth outcome, but even more perfect.

The weather was clear and pleasant that day. Even at night, the sound of the wind outside felt gentle. Lin Wu opened his computer and searched for footage of Zhao Fangli’s trial.

【Defendant Zhao Fangli, upon trial, the court has determined that the facts of your crime of murder are established. The circumstances are particularly egregious, and the social harm is extremely severe. This constitutes statutory grounds for the application of the death penalty…】 In the video, Zhao Fangli fully confessed to her crimes.

Watching the video, Lin Wu recalled his fifteenth outcome. At that time, although the killer had worn a mask, he had always felt, perhaps mistakenly, that the person was male.

In fact, that feeling had already surfaced when he first determined that the killer was Zhao Fangli. So in the eighteenth outcome, through Li Jing’s connection as a victim, he met Zhao Fangli once. He then took out a photo of Luo Xiaorong and asked whether she would consider Luo Xiaorong a target.

“I don’t know. If I feel like killing, I kill.” Zhao Fangli glanced at the photo and spoke with complete calm.

Now it was October 21. The earliest date Luo Xiaorong would have been attacked was November 26. Lin Wu guessed that Zhao Fangli had not yet encountered her and therefore had not listed her as a target.

“If you did want to kill her, what reason would it be for?” Lin Wu thought for a moment and continued.

“If I want to kill, I kill. Do I need a reason to kill?” Zhao Fangli let out a small laugh, her mindset utterly casual.

Beep—beep—

In a daze, the phone rang.

It was a video call. When he saw the caller, he tapped to answer.

“Wu-wu—” Luo Xiaorong’s face appeared on the screen. She was wearing a white coat, with an orange headband clipped in her hair, looking very happy.

She was with Hao Shuqin and Wang Jiahui on top of a high-rise building, looking at the night view. The wind up there was strong. As soon as Luo Xiaorong saw Lin Wu, she smiled, gesturing to him a couple of times before Wang Jiahui took the phone.

“Brother Lin Wu, we’re on the hotel rooftop right now. The ocean is right in front of us. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Wang Jiahui switched the camera. On the screen was an endless stretch of dark sea. Lin Wu smiled. He almost said that it wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen the ocean before, but then he remembered that in the fourth outcome, they had often gone to the seaside.

Now, in the nineteenth outcome, their two families rarely went to the ocean at all.

“Beautiful!” Lin Wu said sincerely.

“Haha, I think so too!” After chatting a bit, Wang Jiahui handed the phone to Hao Shuqin. After a few words, Hao Shuqin passed it back to Luo Xiaorong. The two chatted for a while longer, then hung up.

Now both Wang Jiahui and Luo Xiaorong were alive. There were no other victims, and the killers had all received the punishment they deserved.

Height, raincoat, weapon, knife. Every detail matched. The new outcome had already taken shape.

Lin Wu rubbed his brow, feeling that he had been under too much mental strain these past days, and still hadn’t quite recovered.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.

October 21. Li Jing arrived at the classroom as usual.

“You’re here early today.” By the time she got there, Lin Wu was already in his seat.

“Left home earlier today,” Lin Wu said with a smile.

Li Jing sat down. Seeing there was still some time before class, she asked casually, “Lin Wu, which school are you planning to apply to later?” Lately she had been thinking a lot about the future and felt lost.

“Not sure yet. You didn’t ride your bike today?” Lin Wu asked offhandedly.

“My bike broke.” After saying that, Li Jing looked surprised. “How did you know I didn’t ride today?” It had only broken that morning when she left home.

“Just a guess.” After answering, Lin Wu thought silently that in truth, he had heard it from his future self.

“Oh.” Li Jing didn’t suspect anything and returned to the earlier topic. “You’ve been pretty steady in your recent exams. If you can bring up your English score, it feels like you could aim for Jianghe University.”

“Which school are you planning to apply to?” Lin Wu asked in return.

“Not sure yet. Maybe Jianghe University of Political Science and Law, or Jianghe University of Finance and Economics.”

It was Sunday. Normally they would be dismissed at 3:30, but with midterms approaching, the school had arranged extra classes this week, so they wouldn’t be done until 8:30 tonight. After chatting for a while, the two of them started studying.

In the previous outcome, the two would say “see you tomorrow” after 8:30 and go home separately. But today, Lin Wu didn’t wait until then. After six, he went to ask the teacher for leave.

“This is a critical period in senior year. You need to focus your energy on studying.” The teacher had a headache over Lin Wu’s frequent requests for leave, but since his grades were stable, after saying a few words he still approved it.

At eight that evening, Lin Wu arrived at the place where Li Jing would have her accident. He wasn’t carrying a backpack today, and after leaving school he had already changed into the black jacket he had prepared in advance. According to the information provided by his future self, the incident site was about three hundred meters from Li Jing’s bus stop, at a corner near a construction area. He quickly found the spot.

It was a man-made river under construction. Beside it ran a dirt path about two meters wide, and next to that was a construction slope about two meters high. At the top of the slope was a row of plane trees, and beyond that were the sidewalk and the road. According to his future self, the killer was extremely cautious and would stop at the slightest disturbance. Find the full version on HololoNovels dot com. So after confirming the location, Lin Wu left. When the time of the crime approached, he would disguise himself as a passerby and walk by from above, without letting anyone on the path notice him.

At nine o’clock, Lin Wu spotted Li Jing on the dirt path. He held his breath and kept watch on the surroundings for anything suspicious.

At 9:05, just as Li Jing was about to reach the corner, a shadow suddenly lunged out from behind her.

“Watch out!”

Lin Wu had been ready. The moment the shadow appeared, he ran down the slope.

“Ah!” Li Jing cried out as the attacker struck her.

At that moment, a car passed by, its headlights sweeping over the two of them.

“Someone help! There’s a murderer!” A brave passerby appeared and ran toward the attacker together with Lin Wu. The two of them lunged at him. The passerby shouted to Li Jing, “Come help hold him down! Hurry!”

Li Jing was stunned.

“Hit him with your backpack!” Lin Wu shouted at the right moment.

“Oh!” Li Jing swung her backpack hard at the attacker.

The sudden turn of events caught the attacker off guard, but he was strong and held a sharp hammer. He first swung the hammer at Lin Wu, then kicked the passerby, and hurriedly ran toward the main road.

Cars were coming and going on the road. In a panic, he ran into the middle of it, trying to climb over the barrier to get to the other side. At that moment, a white truck came from the distance. The driver was startled by the figure rushing out and slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. The truck struck him head-on.

From breaking free to the crash, it took no more than ten seconds. When Lin Wu and the other two reached him, the attacker was already lying in a pool of blood. Seven hours later, he was declared dead after failed resuscitation.

“This was a sudden accident. We checked the nearby surveillance, but this is a maintenance section with no cameras. However, based on the testimony of the victim and other witnesses, the accident occurred while the suspect was fleeing after committing the crime. Based on his methods, it may be related to the case of the murdered high school girl in March…” The police took statements from the three of them. Li Jing had a mild concussion and returned to school after a week in the hospital.

Half a month later, the police released the investigation results. The deceased’s real name was Zhao Fangli, alias Zhao Fangfang, born in 1973, a fugitive from Huyun Province. At her residence, police found items belonging to previous victims, such as hair ties and buttons, confirming her as the killer in the Xuhu homicide case. The motive was unknown, preliminarily judged to be a malicious act of retaliation against society.

Zhao Fangli had been an employee of the Daming construction team. She came to Xuhu in July 2001 and had since worked at construction sites, restaurants, and other places with high population turnover. She had been at the same construction site as Guo Chengchun.

After this incident, Guo Chengchun did not stalk Wang Jiahui on November 19 as he had in previous outcomes. However, two months later, due to lack of money, he robbed a jewelry store. While fleeing, he assaulted a police officer. With combined charges of robbery and assaulting police, he was ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment.

Guo Chengchun’s life path had deviated, but he still received the punishment he deserved.

…

Ten seconds later, the memories of the seventeenth outcome finished updating.

“Is it over?” Lin Wu felt a moment of daze. The whole process had gone too smoothly, so smoothly it felt almost unreal.

[Is there a new outcome?] At that moment, his seventeen-year-old self sent a message.

[Yes.] Lin Wu tapped on Hao Shuqin’s social media. In the post was a video of Hao Shuqin, Wang Jiahui, and Luo Xiaorong traveling together. In this outcome, after Guo Chengchun was caught, there were no further victims.

After graduating from high school, Lin Wu was successfully admitted to Jianghe University. Two years later, Wang Jiahui was admitted to a provincial dance academy. Luo Xiaorong continued working at the steel plant and later became a full-time employee. After retiring three years ago, she and Hao Shuqin opened a bun shop together. Though the shop wasn’t as large as in the fourth outcome, it had a loyal group of customers, and the atmosphere was very warm.

A week ago, while on leave, Wang Jiahui took Hao Shuqin and Luo Xiaorong to the seaside for a trip. Luo Xiaorong wasn’t very sharp, but she was very quiet when with familiar people. Full story at HololoNovels dot com. Lin Wu had helped plan the trip and agreed to it. Now the three of them were having a wonderful time.

“What kind of ending?” the seventeen-year-old Lin Wu asked nervously.

“Zhao Fangli got into a car accident. Guo Chengchun was arrested…” Lin Wu recounted the outcome.

“That’s great!” In a burger shop in 2004, Lin Wu and Qin Weidong had been sitting across from each other, but in their excitement, Qin Weidong unknowingly moved closer to Lin Wu. Both of them felt a sense of unreality.

“What about us now? Do we follow this outcome exactly?” After the excitement, the seventeen-year-old Lin Wu asked.

It was the 19th today. There were still three days before Li Jing’s incident. They knew the result, but if they did nothing, the outcome could still change.

“You call the police tomorrow and open up a line of outcomes where the police are brought in,” Lin Wu said after thinking it over.

Zhao Fangli’s car accident was certainly satisfying in one sense, but they still did not know why she killed. Her death had also left heavy shadows over the good Samaritan, Li Jing, and the truck driver. Especially the truck driver. After that incident, he never drove again.

There was another reason Lin Wu wanted to call the police. Back in 1998, Zhao Fangli had already attacked a high school girl. That girl was only injured, not killed. After that incident, Zhao Fangli fled to Xuhu. Without the intervention on the twenty-first, she would have gone on to commit many more murders. A person like that, with crimes too numerous to set down in writing, ought to be handed over to the judicial authorities for trial.

“Are you sure?” seventeen-year-old Lin Wu asked. The timelines in both time periods had now advanced to the nineteenth. If he called the police tomorrow, the result would no longer be changeable.

“Provide the tip anonymously,” Lin Wu said at last. He did not know whether this decision was the right one, but fortunately tomorrow he could still check one more outcome line. If something felt off, he could make one final adjustment.

…

Early the next morning, at the Xuhu Municipal Criminal Investigation Division, Xu Qingtao had just stepped into the office when he caught the rich, mouthwatering smell of jianbing guozi.

“Who brought in jianbing guozi? Smells great.” He set down his shoulder bag as he spoke.

“Me! I bought it this morning at the gate of my apartment complex.” A female intern was in the middle of eating one, and immediately raised her hand when she heard him.

“Smells good, but next time finish it outside or in the break room before you come in. Otherwise the smell lingers.” Xu Qingtao was the deputy captain of the criminal investigation unit. Even when he was smiling, he still sounded like someone who might start scolding you at any moment.

“I understand. Next time I’ll finish it before I come in,” the intern said nervously.

“Mm, let it go for today.” After casually saying a couple of words, Xu Qingtao went into his office. Xuhu was only a tiny backwater city, but it still had criminal cases of its own. With forensic techniques still limited at the time, they had to tease out each thread little by little before they could find any real leads.

He brewed himself a cup of Dahongpao tea and started on the day’s work.

At ten in the morning, there was a knock on the office door.

“Come in,” Xu Qingtao said, putting aside what he was doing.

“Just now someone left a letter at the entrance. It’s addressed to you by name. It says it contains a lead on a Xuhu case and must be read by you alone.” Officer Xiao Zhou stood there holding an envelope, looking completely baffled.

In 2004, the gatehouse was nowhere near as strict as it would be later. Someone had apparently handed the letter to a scrap collector, who then passed it to the gate guard. The words “case lead” were written on the envelope, but it did not say which case. Below that, it was heavily emphasized that Xu Qingtao himself had to open it.

The guard had already checked it. There were no dangerous items inside, but no one knew what the letter actually said.

“Let me see.” Xu Qingtao was intrigued now.

Xiao Zhou handed him the envelope. When he opened it, he found a plain sheet of letter paper inside. Written on it were the words:

[I know the killer in a certain case. To prove that what I’m saying is real, this afternoon at three o’clock, on Changning Road, a plane tree will be blown over by a strong wind. At 7:20 tonight, the anchor on Xinwen Lianbo will make a slip of the tongue while reading the news. At 9:30, your wife will break the mop while doing housework and ask you to buy a new one… Once all of this has been confirmed, I will contact you tomorrow.]

The handwriting on the page was twisted and crooked, clearly done on purpose. Five events were listed, from a tree being blown over to a quarrel between him and his wife. Xu Qingtao read it word by word, and when he finished, only one thought remained in his head: What on earth is this supposed to be?

Xu Qingtao was utterly bewildered. It felt like some kind of prank.

At 3:20, he was on his way to a municipal government meeting when he suddenly froze as they passed Changning Road.

There was a sign up now reading “No Entry,” and three workers were securing a plane tree. The tree had been transplanted from somewhere else, and its roots had not yet taken hold. In the afternoon gale, it had been blown over.

Looking at the plane tree and the crane beside it, Xu Qingtao’s scalp went numb. He told the driver to pull over, got out, and walked over.

“Did this tree fall on its own, or was it blown down by the wind?” Xu Qingtao asked dazedly.

“It blew over on its own. The wind just now was too strong. I was playing mahjong nearby when it suddenly came crashing down. Scared the hell out of me!” said a shop owner who had been watching the commotion, still visibly shaken.

“What time did it fall?” Xu Qingtao opened his mouth and asked.

“Let me think… three o’clock! The TV drama had just gone to commercials, so yes, it was three.”

Three o’clock, exactly the same as the time in the envelope.

At seven that evening, after returning home, Xu Qingtao turned on Xinwen Lianbo with tight nerves. At 7:20:

[This afternoon at the entrance to Jianghe Sports Center, a construction, construction worker…]

The anchor stumbled over the phrase “construction worker.”

Besides those two, the letter had also predicted two other things that would happen on television, and every one of them came true.

At 9:30, he saw his wife mopping the floor. When she tried to push the mop under the coffee table and couldn’t get it through, she shoved hard twice, and the mop snapped.

“Ugh, this mop is such terrible quality. I’ve been working overtime these past two days and don’t have time, so when you get off work tomorrow, go buy one at the sundries shop. I have a report to write in a bit, so you wash the dishes in the kitchen.” Looking at the broken mop, his wife was thoroughly annoyed and went on muttering one thing after another.

Xu Qingtao could no longer hear what she was saying. He felt only one thing: every piece of information in the anonymous letter had been correct.

These were all things that had not happened yet, things from the “future,” and the other person had gotten every one of them right.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.

Previous

“Future wife? What does that mean? Is he going to marry Su Yuexiang?”

The thought struck Shao Ye like a blow. Had the two of them just been inside the room discussing exactly that?

The moment that possibility formed, his heart felt like it had dropped into an icy pit, cold to the core.

Seeing the grievance written all over his face, Pei Fangyan asked, “Why do you look like that?”

Shao Ye pulled a long face, clearly unhappy. “Seventh Uncle, I don’t like Su Yuexiang.”

Not liking her was only natural. If he did, that would be the real problem.

“And?” Pei Fangyan prompted.

Shao Ye knew what he was about to ask might be a bit much, but the discomfort in his chest wouldn’t let him keep quiet. Gathering his courage, he said, “So… could you not marry her?”

Pei Fangyan let out a soft laugh. “When did I ever say I was going to marry her?”

“She didn’t agree?” Shao Ye asked. It should have been good news, yet somehow it only made him more annoyed. How could she not agree?

Pei Fangyan sighed lightly and beckoned. “Xiao Ye, come closer.”

Without any guard up, Shao Ye leaned forward, resting on his elbows over the table. Pei Fangyan still found it too far. “Closer.”

So Shao Ye lowered himself even more.

Pei Fangyan lifted his hand and tapped him on the head. “What exactly is going on in that little brain of yours all day?”

Shao Ye let out an “ah,” rubbing the spot that had just been tapped, blinking in confusion. Had he said something wrong? Why was his uncle hitting him again?

Pei Fangyan had thought he’d made things obvious enough. Who would have expected that even after they’d slept in the same bed, this boy still hadn’t figured it out?

So slow, he sighed inwardly. If someone tricked him someday, what then?

As the elder, it was only right for him to teach him properly.

“When you and Su Yuexiang were kidnapped, who did I save?” Pei Fangyan asked.

Shao Ye almost said it hadn’t really come down to a life-or-death choice between the two of them, but then he remembered that after he came back, his uncle hadn’t seemed to care about Su Yuexiang at all.

He really hadn’t… right? Translated on Hololo novels. After all, these past few days Shao Ye had been by his side the whole time and hadn’t heard him mention her once.

Oh. So that meant he chose to save him.

Why not just say that directly? Why say—

Shao Ye suddenly froze, staring at Pei Fangyan. “Seventh Uncle, what you just said…”

His lips parted, then closed again. It felt too embarrassing to say out loud.

But Pei Fangyan had no such hesitation. “What did I say?”

“…save your future wife,” Shao Ye muttered, his voice getting quieter and quieter, his face turning red like a fully ripened apple.

Pei Fangyan looked at his shy expression and thought at least he wasn’t completely hopeless.

He nodded. “Yes. Is there a problem?”

Shao Ye’s mind was in chaos. He’d only given his uncle two options, hadn’t he? And that “future wife” had to be one of those two options.

His uncle saved him, not Su Yuexiang… which meant he was his uncle’s future wife?

He almost blurted it out loud. What a wildly improper thought!

This was his uncle. How could he even think of becoming his own aunt?

If this got out, what would Steward Liu think of him? What would Doctor Zhou think? What would the three dogs in the kennel think?

Rationally, Shao Ye knew something about this was very wrong. Something had definitely gone off track.

But emotionally… why did it feel a little… nice?

Pei Fangyan watched the expressions flicker across his face in just a few seconds and asked, “Figured it out?”

Shao Ye immediately shook his head like a rattle drum, afraid his uncle might see through what he’d just been thinking.

For once, Pei Fangyan showed unusual patience. “What part don’t you understand? Tell me. I’ll explain.”

Shao Ye had a faint feeling that letting his uncle “explain” might not end well, but he still couldn’t help asking, “Seventh Uncle, when you said you’d save your future wife… you were joking, right?”

“No,” Pei Fangyan said.

Shao Ye’s hands clenched into fists on the table. After hearing that answer, he tightened them further, his palms starting to sweat. Looking at Pei Fangyan, he tried to stay calm. “Your future wife… is between, um… me and Su Yuexiang, right?”

Pei Fangyan raised a brow. “What does this ‘um’ mean?”

“Um… it means…” Shao Ye stumbled, unable to say “me” out loud. In the end, he awkwardly lifted a hand and pointed at himself.

Pei Fangyan nodded in understanding. “You mean Xiao Ye yourself.”

Shao Ye: “……”

Wasn’t it enough to just know it in his heart? Did he have to say it out loud? What if the answer wasn’t what he hoped? How embarrassing would that be?

Pei Fangyan picked up his teacup, took a small sip, then continued, “It’s between you two. Anything else you want to ask?”

What else could he ask? Ask if he was going to become his own aunt?

At the thought, Shao Ye’s already flushed face turned even redder.

“No,” he said.

Pei Fangyan asked again, “Are you sure?”

Shao Ye shook his head. He didn’t need his seventh uncle’s help with the rest, he’d just go back and sort it out on his own.

But Pei Fangyan clearly had no intention of letting him off so easily. Rubbing his temple, he said with a hint of troubled softness, “So after hearing my confession, this is all the reaction Xiao Ye has?”

“Con… confession?” If Pei Fangyan hadn’t said it outright, Shao Ye truly wouldn’t have realized.

He lifted his head and met Pei Fangyan’s smiling gaze. Instantly, he didn’t know where to put his hands or feet. His face felt so hot it seemed like it might start steaming, like even his hair might catch fire if it went on any longer.

“Yes,” Pei Fangyan said, thoroughly enjoying Shao Ye’s flustered state. So cute. How could he be this cute?

“H-how could I be Seventh Uncle’s wife?” Shao Ye stammered. If his dad found out about this, he’d probably drop dead on the spot.

“Why not?” Pei Fangyan asked. Setting aside the fact that they weren’t related by blood, even if they were, he wouldn’t care.

Shao Ye opened and closed his mouth. He could think of plenty of reasons, like the fact that they were both men, or that they were uncle and nephew, or that his father would definitely never agree. But right now, he didn’t want to say any of them.

“Xiao Ye doesn’t want to?” Pei Fangyan asked again.

Did he want to, or not?

If he didn’t, then why had he cared so much about Su Yuexiang? Why, when he thought his uncle liked her, had he still not wanted them to get married?

Was it really just because his uncle’s legs had been ruined for her sake, so he disliked her? Then if his uncle were with someone else, would he be able to accept it?

…He couldn’t.

He should have realized long ago that his possessiveness toward Pei Fangyan went far beyond what a normal junior should feel.

Faced with the question, Shao Ye found he simply couldn’t say “no.”

When Pei Fangyan didn’t hear an answer, he pressed a hand to his chest, his voice faintly weakened as he asked, “Does Xiao Ye want me to marry someone else then? Or to live alone for the rest of my life?”

“…No,” Shao Ye said quietly.

Of course he wanted Pei Fangyan to be happy.

“Then how about becoming Seventh Uncle’s wife?” Pei Fangyan asked.

Don’t call yourself Seventh Uncle at a time like this! Shao Ye screamed internally. Didn’t he think this was strange at all?

Not only did Pei Fangyan not find it strange, he found it rather thrilling. “Well? Yes or no? Xiao Ye, say something, alright?”

Couldn’t there be a third option? Like going back to think it over first? This was all too sudden.

Just then, Pei Fangyan suddenly covered his mouth and began coughing violently, several times in a row. Alarmed, Shao Ye hurried around the table to him and patted his back.

Pei Fangyan stopped him. Once the coughing subsided, he said, “Xiao Ye, don’t mind me. If you haven’t figured it out yet, go back and think it over alone. I won’t rush you. Whether you agree or not, I can accept it.”

Shao Ye really did feel like he needed to calm down. With his uncle right in front of him, his thinking kept getting muddled. But seeing him cough like that, he couldn’t bring himself to leave him alone.

Should he call Steward Liu to take care of him? No, no, Steward Liu wasn’t reliable enough for this.

While Shao Ye was still wondering who else might be suitable, Pei Fangyan spoke again. “Xiao Ye, I was too abrupt today. Thinking about it just now, I really shouldn’t have confessed to you. After all, I’m nine years older than you, and your uncle. In the future, whether facing your father or the rest of the Pei family, it would only be awkward.”

What did that mean? Was he going back on his word?

Pei Fangyan sighed heavily and said, “Xiao Ye, why don’t you just pretend Seventh Uncle never said anything?”

So he really was taking it back!

How could he do that!

“No,” Shao Ye refused, his face stiff.

“Why?” Pei Fangyan asked, his tone unmistakably surprised.

“Because I already agreed,” Shao Ye said.

“Agreed to what?” Pei Fangyan asked.

Enough already!

Did he really have to make him say it out loud?

Shao Ye took a deep breath, but lost his nerve halfway through. “I agreed to be, um… um… your wife.”

“Hm?” Pei Fangyan looked at him with innocent confusion. “I didn’t quite catch what Xiao Ye just said.”

“I said I agreed to be Seventh Uncle’s wife!” Shao Ye blurted it all out in one breath, so fast some of the words blurred together.

Pei Fangyan rubbed his ear, apologetic. “Seventh Uncle’s getting old. Seems I still didn’t hear it clearly.”

Shao Ye pressed his lips together tightly, absolutely refusing to say it a third time.

Pei Fangyan found it a bit of a pity, but didn’t tease him further. Instead, he said, “Come here. Lower your head. Let me kiss you.”

His face really changed fast, didn’t it? Just a moment ago he said he regretted it, and now he wanted to kiss him?

Though grumbling inwardly, Shao Ye still obediently lowered his head. Pei Fangyan’s cool hand rested at the back of his neck, pressing him down further before tilting his own head up to kiss his lips.

Pei Fangyan’s lips were thin, cooler than Shao Ye’s, but soft. Not surprising. After all, no one’s lips were hard.

Shao Ye’s lips were soft and plump, like jelly. After kissing him for a while, Pei Fangyan gently bit down on his lip.

Like jelly, but not actually jelly, so why did it feel like he was about to eat him?

Shao Ye’s mind ran wild with random thoughts. Wasn’t this moving a bit too fast? They had only just confirmed their relationship, and now they were already kissing?

He wanted to say something about it, but the moment he opened his mouth, Pei Fangyan’s tongue slipped inside, stirring freely.

For a moment, Shao Ye’s breathing stopped, overwhelmed by the sensation as Pei Fangyan moved inside his mouth.

His other hand slipped under Shao Ye’s shirt, resting against his back.

This was really too fast. Shao Ye felt like he couldn’t keep up at all. Just how long had his Seventh Uncle been holding back? His eyes couldn’t help but sneak a glance downward.

Wow—

After a long while, the kiss ended. Shao Ye felt his tongue go slightly numb as he sat on the desk, breathing lightly. Pei Fangyan’s hand slid down from his waist, undoing his belt.

Shao Ye looked down. His fingers were long and nimble, the kind that seemed perfect for playing the piano.

In a daze, at the peak of that blinding white moment, he almost thought he saw him sitting at a piano, playing with focus.

It’s only polite to reciprocate. Since he had already been taken advantage of, shouldn’t he return the favor?

Coming back to his senses, Shao Ye jumped down from the desk and crouched. He felt pretty confident, thinking his “skills” had improved a lot, though he figured what mattered more was what his Seventh Uncle thought.

Pei Fangyan clearly didn’t notice any improvement, but he wasn’t in a hurry. He even casually picked up a document midway and flipped through a couple of pages.

Looking up at the cover of the document in his hands, Shao Ye felt deeply insulted. Was he really that bad?

After a moment of thought, Shao Ye lowered his head.

Pei Fangyan’s movements froze, and he immediately put down the document. His gaze darkened, burning with intensity.

To be honest, with how clumsy Shao Ye was, letting him do this was a bit risky. But Pei Fangyan had always liked taking risks. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have driven his car into a tree himself.

Still, it was much better than using his own hands, Shao Ye thought proudly.

Afterward, he went to the bathroom to rinse his mouth, then came back and sat directly on the floor, satisfied as he admired the “results” of his work.

Pei Fangyan let him look, and then, right before Shao Ye’s shocked eyes, everything seemed to reset as if what just happened hadn’t mattered.

Pei Fangyan didn’t seem too concerned. “By the way, Xiao Ye, your birthday is coming up soon, right?”

“Is it?” Shao Ye hadn’t really paid attention. His birthday was at the end of August, and he had never liked celebrating it much. After all, once his birthday passed, school would start again, and he wouldn’t even receive gifts from classmates, while having given out so many himself.

He pulled out his phone and checked the date. It really was in two weeks.

Pei Fangyan lowered his head and asked, “What do you want for your birthday?”

Shao Ye lacked nothing. Pei Fangyan had even given him a secondary card. Just a few days ago, he spent five million to pay off a debt, only to realize that the remaining balance was still an absurdly long string of numbers. That five million was barely anything.

After thinking seriously for a moment, he scooted closer and lay on Pei Fangyan’s knees, asking, “Seventh Uncle, anything is okay?”

“Anything,” Pei Fangyan nodded, placing his hand on Shao Ye’s head. His hair was short, a little prickly to the touch.

Rubbing his hands together excitedly, Shao Ye said, “Seventh Uncle, then let’s go watch a football match together!”

Pei Fangyan: “……”

How had he still not let that go?

He raised his other hand and rubbed his temple. “Xiao Ye, I think my mindset has improved a lot recently. I don’t need that kind of match to motivate myself anymore.”

“Really?” Shao Ye thought so too. Translated on Hololo novels. Compared to when he first returned to the country and saw him in the hospital, he did seem much better now. “Then let’s watch a normal football match?”

Pei Fangyan fell silent for a moment, then said, “Forget it. Let’s just watch the disabled one. At least it’s more interesting.”

---

Author’s Note:

【Can Seventh Uncle fans stop clinging on? Let the female lead stand on her own】

Stop forcing pairings all the time. Our female lead really doesn’t want to be tied to a gay man.

: Lmao, never thought I’d see the day when Seventh Uncle and the female lead would be considered a forced pairing. Times really have changed

: What happened? Weren’t they supposed to be the official couple?

: Please, look at the popularity rankings. Who’s riding whose coattails here?

: And where do you think Seventh Uncle’s popularity came from? You know exactly why

: Where did it come from? Obviously from our hard work voting

: Your hard work? Do uncle-nephew fans even acknowledge that?

: Seventh Uncle had the highest popularity from the start, before uncle-nephew CP even existed

: Ha, and why was it high? Don’t act like you don’t know. Female lead fans helped boost that too

: Have some shame. Why don’t you say we helped your female lead too? And why call Seventh Uncle gay?

: They’ve already kissed, and he’s still not? Don’t tell me you’re going with the old “he’s not into men, he just happens to like someone who’s a man” excuse

: It’s only like this in No. 6’s stream. Obviously No. 6 is cheating

: Here we go again, the cheating theory never fails to show up

: Only in No. 6’s stream? Maybe open your eyes and check the others

: (⊙o⊙)

: What about the other streams? Seventh Uncle has always been devoted to the female lead

: Devoted? You fans really dare say that with a straight face. Devoted how? In Stream 2, when he couldn’t sleep and went to chat with dogs? Or in Stream 4, when he built a gym in the old residence?

: That just shows he likes animals and wants to exercise

: Really? Likes animals so much he asked a dog if it needed a father?

: What exactly is he training? What can he even train?

: And in Stream 1, he was sketching a vase, but ended up drawing a faceless muscular man, while the female lead was still kidnapped. So devoted, huh

: (⊙o⊙)

: Maybe he was drawing what the kidnapper looked like

: The kidnapper’s appearance?

: That’s some stubborn denial

: And in Stream 3, when he went out to eat with the female lead, right after she said she didn’t like sweets, he ordered mango pudding. Everyone knows who in Neverland likes mango pudding

: (⊙o⊙)

: This is great, keep going, make it louder!

: Wait, you solo fans have been hiding all this good stuff and not sharing it with us? That’s unfair. uncle-nephew CP fans always tag you the moment something happens. Did you see Seventh Uncle confessing to No. 6 today? What do you think?

: Especially that OP who said “wife” might mean the female lead, are you still here? Say something

: Get lost!

≽^•⩊•^≼

Next

Pei Fangyan lowered his gaze, looking at the opportunity Shao Ye had practically offered up to him. He stayed silent for quite a while.

This position really did make things more convenient for him—but simple punishment no longer seemed enough to satisfy him.

And if there was an advantage to take…

What else could he do?

Pei Fangyan reached out and placed his hand over him, his tone carrying a hint of regret as he said, “Did I hurt you just now?”

“No… it didn’t really hurt,” Shao Ye replied softly. He twisted his fingers uneasily. What exactly was his uncle doing now? Was he going to continue or not?

“Is that so?” Pei Fangyan asked.

Shao Ye was already far from calm, and with Pei Fangyan’s actions, he almost wished he could grow a tail just to hide himself.

Something was definitely not right.

At first, only that one spot had felt numb, but now his entire lower body seemed off. Shao Ye opened his mouth, trying several times before managing to speak. “S-Seventh Uncle?”

Pei Fangyan gave a quiet “mm” and asked calmly, “What is it?”

Just from his voice alone, no one would guess what his hand was doing.

“What are you doing?” Shao Ye asked. It didn’t feel very proper… or was that just his imagination?

“What’s wrong?” Pei Fangyan replied, as if what he was doing was perfectly normal.

“…It feels strange,” Shao Ye said quietly. Wouldn’t it be simpler to just hit him again?

“Strange?” Pei Fangyan asked with a faint smile. “What’s strange about it?”

Everything was strange! Couldn’t his uncle feel it?

Shao Ye felt this couldn’t go on. If he lost control later, the situation would be unimaginable. He tried shifting away, but couldn’t escape that hand. Taking a deep breath, he said in a low voice, “Seventh Uncle, I need to use the bathroom.”

“What for?” Pei Fangyan asked.

What else could someone do in the bathroom?!

After thinking for a moment, Shao Ye chose a more polite phrasing. “I need to… relieve myself.”

“Can you even do that like this?” Pei Fangyan asked.

Shao Ye didn’t immediately understand what he meant, but before he could ask, Pei Fangyan’s other hand answered for him.

His hand was warm—warmer than Shao Ye’s own.

His uncle must have a fever. His brain must be overheated too.

Shao Ye gripped the bedsheets tightly with both hands, Pei Fangyan’s earlier question echoing in his mind. He couldn’t anymore—he felt like he was going to die.

In a daze, Shao Ye suddenly recalled a scene of Pei Fangyan helping him in the bathroom before. He had thought it was just a dream, yet he couldn’t remember ever having such a dream. The memory felt vivid.

He pressed his lips tightly together, not daring to let out a sound, but a muffled groan still escaped from his throat. Then he heard Pei Fangyan ask again, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Say what? If he spoke, would his uncle stop what he was doing?

After a while, Pei Fangyan finally stopped. Shao Ye remained lying there, hearing the faint rustling behind him.

Pei Fangyan wiped his hands, then cleaned him up as well, even adding, “No need to thank me.”

Shao Ye: “……”

He hadn’t planned on thanking him at all! This was completely forced!

After a long moment, Shao Ye finally recovered. His sharp mind returned.

He got up and pulled his pants back on, glancing at Pei Fangyan sitting calmly in his wheelchair. He wanted to ask why he had done that, but the words circled his lips and refused to come out. In the end, he shoved the memory aside for later, deciding to deal with it once he was calmer.

With a flushed face, he looked around and said as casually as possible, “Seventh Uncle, I’ll go call the doctor now?”

Pei Fangyan leisurely picked up his phone from the cabinet. “No need. I’ll message him.”

Shao Ye nodded. So his uncle wasn’t angry anymore? He sneaked a glance at him. Pei Fangyan’s expression didn’t seem much different from before, yet somehow, Shao Ye felt his mood was quite good now.

Just as he was about to look away, his eyes fell on Pei Fangyan again, and his pupils shrank.

Again?!

Shouldn’t his uncle deal with that? What if Doctor Zhou saw later? Was he just being lazy again? When helping him earlier, he hadn’t seemed lazy at all.

So hard to understand.

Shao Ye had worried too much.

When Doctor Zhou arrived, he noticed nothing unusual. Not because Pei Fangyan had resolved anything in ten minutes, nor because Shao Ye had suddenly improved, but because Pei Fangyan was already in bed with a blanket covering him.

He lay there quietly, his face pale, dark circles under his eyes even more pronounced under the bright light, as if he hadn’t rested for days.

As soon as Doctor Zhou arrived, he took his temperature. He did indeed have a fever—and it was high: 39.5°C.

Shao Ye brought over a cup of hot water, a bit blaming himself. He should have noticed earlier that something was wrong with his uncle.

Doctor Zhou stood by the bed, mixing medicine as he muttered, “This morning Steward Liu told me you waited outside all night. I already knew your body wouldn’t handle that well. I had the meds prepared, but your condition is worse than I expected—some dosages need to be increased.”

Shao Ye exclaimed in surprise, “Seventh Uncle, you didn’t sleep at all last night? Why didn’t Steward Liu try to stop you?”

Doctor Zhou: “……”

At that moment, he really wanted to say something on Steward Liu’s behalf—out of a kind of shared misery—but unfortunately, he was the rabbit, and he’d already reincarnated.

Doctor Zhou spoke up righteously, “That’s because—”

Pei Fangyan cut him off. “It’s nothing. I couldn’t sleep, was thinking about something, so I went to sit in the courtyard. Didn’t expect to sit there that long.”

“Was it because of me?” Shao Ye crouched by the bed, looking up at him with blinking dark eyes like a little dog. “I’ll be more careful from now on. I won’t make you worry again, Seventh Uncle.”

Pei Fangyan smiled faintly and reached out, gently ruffling his hair.

After taking the medicine, he soon drifted into a drowsy sleep. When Steward Liu heard the news, he hurried over as well. Shao Ye glanced at Pei Fangyan, who was already asleep, and lowered his voice. “I can stay here and take care of him.”

Doctor Zhou looked at Steward Liu, who had already given up resisting, then said to Shao Ye, “Alright. Check his temperature again in two hours. If it goes down, no need to worry. If it doesn’t, call me.”

Shao Ye carefully memorized everything and even set a vibrating alarm so he wouldn’t forget. When the time came, he woke before the alarm and turned it off. Translated on Hololo novels. Nervously, he checked Pei Fangyan’s temperature—seeing it had finally gone down, he let out a sigh of relief.

After sleeping for a while, Pei Fangyan woke close to midnight. The room lights were off, with only a small lamp on the table casting a dim glow. Just as he was about to sit up, he noticed someone beside the bed—over six feet tall, curled up awkwardly, having fallen asleep there at some point.

Pei Fangyan reached out and nudged his shoulder. “Xiao Ye, wake up.”

Shao Ye was sleeping lightly and woke immediately. He lifted his head, yawning. “Seventh Uncle, you’re awake? How do you feel? Want some water?”

Pei Fangyan turned on the bedside lamp. “I’m fine. Why didn’t you go back?”

“I stayed to take care of you,” Shao Ye said, yawning again, a bit of moisture gathering at the corners of his eyes.

“You should go back. Don’t let it spread to you.”

Shao Ye lifted his chin proudly. “It’s fine. My body’s way better than Steward Liu’s.”

“Isn’t it uncomfortable sleeping like that?”

“It’s fine,” Shao Ye said. His shoulders and neck were a little sore, but nothing serious.

Pei Fangyan sighed. “If you’re not afraid of catching it from me, come up and sleep.”

Shao Ye thought about it and decided that worked. He stood up from the floor and was about to get on the bed when Pei Fangyan added, “Take your clothes off. It’s not comfortable to sleep in them.”

“It’s fine,” Shao Ye said. He’d just managed to fall asleep on the floor anyway.

“Take them off,” Pei Fangyan said, then coughed.

Shao Ye didn’t dare argue. Seeing him cough, he quickly poured a cup of hot water and placed it by the bedside, then took off his clothes and climbed into bed.

There was only one blanket, already covering Pei Fangyan. If Shao Ye had kept his clothes on, he wouldn’t have needed one.

Just as Shao Ye was wondering if he should at least grab his shirt to cover his stomach, Pei Fangyan lifted the blanket and pulled him in. His hand brushed against Shao Ye’s chest, and he remarked, “Xiao Ye’s body is nice and cool.”

“Are you still running a fever, Seventh Uncle?” Shao Ye asked.

He grabbed the thermometer gun from beside the pillow and checked again. There was still a slight fever, but much better than earlier.

Pei Fangyan gave a soft “mm,” his hand still resting there. “You’re cooler.”

Shao Ye lay flat. If letting him touch helped bring the fever down, then so be it.

The next morning, Pei Fangyan’s fever had subsided, though he still lacked energy and stayed in the bedroom to rest. Thinking about how much his uncle had spent to rescue him, Shao Ye felt deeply guilty. He didn’t even take his three dogs out, staying in the room and diligently massaging Pei Fangyan’s legs.

Su Yuexiang was still in the kidnappers’ hands. He Jiahuai’s family had money, but coming up with two hundred million in cash all at once was still difficult. He couldn’t understand what Pei Fangyan was thinking—the kidnappers were clearly targeting him, yet he had turned into a hands-off manager and dumped everything on him. Didn’t he feel any guilt at all? At this rate, he’d never win Yuexiang’s heart.

With no other choice, He Jiahuai informed Pei Jingnan and Xie Chen. The three of them pooled together the ransom and paid the kidnappers.

However, after receiving the money, the kidnappers didn’t release Su Yuexiang immediately. Fortunately, they had a backup plan. After three and a half days, they finally tracked her location. During the rescue, there was a small accident—Su Yuexiang fell and hit her head on a rock, bleeding heavily. They rushed her to the hospital, and after emergency treatment, she was finally out of danger.

Pei Fangyan paid no attention to any of this. Once he recovered, he began thinking about how to make Shao Ye realize his own feelings.

Not even sparing a thought for an old man’s health. He deserved another beating.

After being discharged, Su Yuexiang returned to the old residence. In the office, Pei Fangyan was reviewing a contract his subordinate had delivered that morning when she stood at the door and asked, “Can I speak to you alone?”

He was about to refuse, but then he seemed to think of something. Turning to Shao Ye, who was playing a game nearby, he said, “Xiao Ye, go pour me a glass of water.”

Ever since a servant had reported that Su Yuexiang wanted to see Pei Fangyan, Shao Ye hadn’t been focused on his game at all. His character had died three times in two minutes. Hearing this, he put down his phone, looked up, and asked, “Seventh Uncle, are you trying to send me away?”

“Caught me,” Pei Fangyan said with a smile, showing not the slightest bit of embarrassment.

Shao Ye: “……”

Wasn’t this insulting his intelligence a bit? There was a water dispenser right in the room, and yet he was being told to go out just to get water?

Pei Fangyan said, “Go out for a moment. Miss Su and I have something to talk about.”

What kind of conversation was it that he couldn’t hear?

Shao Ye pouted, got up reluctantly, and left. As he reached the door, he even shot Su Yuexiang a glare.

Su Yuexiang didn’t understand why, but didn’t take it to heart. Once Shao Ye left and only the two of them remained, she spoke, “I’ve remembered the past.”

“Then congratulations, Miss Su,” Pei Fangyan said with a smile. There was no other emotion visible on his face.

On her way here, Su Yuexiang had been upset about being strung along by Pei Fangyan for so long. But he had indeed said that his leg had nothing to do with her. It had all been her own wishful thinking.

“I don’t understand. Why did you do that?” she asked.

Back then, he could clearly have avoided it, yet he let the accident happen. She couldn’t see what benefit that brought him.

“Why?” Pei Fangyan rested his chin on one hand, a strange smile on his lips. “If I hadn’t done that, how would he have come?”

At that moment, back then, he had suddenly felt a strong intuition. If his leg hadn’t been ruined, the world would have remained endlessly dull.

After the accident, he returned to the old residence and waited there, year after year. Just when he was about to give up, he finally arrived.

Su Yuexiang couldn’t understand him at all. To her, the man before her now seemed like a complete madman.

Shao Ye pressed himself against the door, trying to listen in, but what kind of door was this? The soundproofing was so good, how was he supposed to eavesdrop?

“Shao Ye, what are you doing?” Steward Liu’s voice came from behind him.

“I’m eavesdropping,” Shao Ye replied without even turning around. Wasn’t it obvious?

Of course Steward Liu could tell, but how could Shao Ye say it so confidently?

“Who is the master meeting inside?” Steward Liu asked curiously. It was rare for the master to send Shao Ye out just to meet a guest.

“Su Yuexiang,” Shao Ye said through gritted teeth.

The moment she showed up, Seventh Uncle kicked him out. So annoying.

Was he really not as important as Su Yuexiang in Seventh Uncle’s heart?

No way, he couldn’t accept that. Shao Ye grew so anxious his forehead was practically sweating, worried that just a few more words inside might rekindle old feelings.

Steward Liu nodded. “Then it’s probably something private between them.”

“What private matters could she possibly have with my Seventh Uncle?” Shao Ye turned and asked unhappily.

How would Steward Liu know?

Shao Ye snorted. The door wasn’t locked anyway. Opening it just a crack shouldn’t be a problem, right? He grabbed the handle and was just about to push when the door opened from the inside.

Seeing such a large figure right outside startled Su Yuexiang, and she nearly tripped at the doorway.

Pei Fangyan looked over and asked, “Xiao Ye, what are you doing at the door? Didn’t I tell you to go out?”

His Seventh Uncle was actually scolding him because of Su Yuexiang! That made him even more upset. Besides, wasn’t he already outside?

Su Yuexiang didn’t say anything, seemingly unwilling to linger, and quickly left.

Shao Ye immediately shut the door, leaving Steward Liu outside. Translated on Hololo novels. He walked over, bent down, braced both hands on Pei Fangyan’s desk, narrowed his eyes, and carefully examined him before asking, “Seventh Uncle, what were you two talking about just now?”

The jealousy was overwhelming.

Pei Fangyan smiled. “Nothing much.”

Nothing, yet he wouldn’t let him listen? He didn’t believe that for a second.

“Seventh Uncle,” Shao Ye called.

“What is it?” Pei Fangyan looked up at him.

Shao Ye straightened his expression. “I want to ask you a question.”

It was rare to see Shao Ye so serious, so Pei Fangyan also put away his smile and said earnestly, “Go ahead.”

Shao Ye pressed his lips together, then asked solemnly, “If Su Yuexiang and I were both kidnapped, and you could only save one of us, who would you choose?”

Pei Fangyan froze for a moment, then couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Shao Ye: “?”

Was that question really that funny? Why was he laughing?!

“Seventh Uncle!” Shao Ye called out, looking at him with slightly aggrieved eyes. “Would you choose Su Yuexiang?”

Pei Fangyan suppressed his smile, met Shao Ye’s gaze, and slowly said, “I’d choose my future wife.”

---

Author’s Note:

【No. 6 asked Seventh Uncle: if he and the female lead were both kidnapped and only one could be saved, who would he choose? Seventh Uncle said he’d save his future wife】

What does he mean?

: Save his wife, obviously. What else could it mean?

: Who’s the wife? Hasn’t Seventh Uncle let go of the female lead?

: OP, I truly admire you. At this point, you can still ship the female lead with Seventh Uncle

: Strong teeth you’ve got there

: Today, Seventh Uncle even kicked No. 6 out for the female lead. Doesn’t that prove she’s more important to him?

: You really are capable of ignoring everything you don’t want to hear. If I had your ability when my boss talks to me, I’d be the happiest girl alive

: Compared to who he’d save, I’m more curious what that conversation with the female lead meant. OP, any ideas?

: OP doesn’t know anything, she didn’t even hear it

: Even though they didn’t say it outright, that expression on the female lead’s face didn’t look like she was seeing her savior. More like she got completely fooled

: Fooled by someone with a bad leg, no less

: That leg of Seventh Uncle’s… not even as good as a cripple’s

: Seventh Uncle: Get lost!

: That year, under the apricot blossoms and light rain, you said you ruined your leg for her. Turns out it was wrong from the very beginning, sob sob sob

: He never said that

: I can testify, he really never said that

: incoherent noises

: They didn’t say it outright, so it’s still possible his leg was ruined because of the female lead

: OP, is it fun lying to yourself like this?

: Since you still haven’t given up, I’ll kindly eliminate one wrong answer for you: Steward Liu

: Steward Liu: I withdraw. This withdrawal will last a lifetime

: Don’t withdraw yet. Even if he can’t enter the harem, he can still be the chief eunuch

: No. 6: Isn’t that my job? Was I working for nothing?!

: No. 6, you enter the harem

: As the empress?

: Not quite qualified yet. Seventh Uncle hasn’t conferred titles, so start as a consort

: Wild consort?

: Coffee consort

: Hahahahahahaha

: Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

: No. 6: The emperor dotes on me, only on me!

≽^•⩊•^≼

Shao Ye suspected he had misheard, but after hesitating, he still didn’t dare ask Pei Fangyan to repeat what he’d just said.

After thinking it over, he said, “Seventh Uncle, the doctor already checked me. I really don’t have any other injuries.”

Pei Fangyan turned his wheelchair and looked up at him.

Shao Ye stood straight, hands pressed along the seams of his pants, posture impeccable. If he lifted his chin a bit more, he could’ve gone straight to military training.

“Why did you follow Su Yuexiang to the cemetery yesterday?” Pei Fangyan asked.

Shao Ye let out an “ah,” suddenly remembering, and quickly explained, “Right, I forgot to tell you. Yesterday at noon I saw He Jiahuai secretly pass her a document. I suspected he was leaking company secrets, so I followed to investigate.”

He bared his neat white teeth, his face full of “praise me quickly” pride.

Pei Fangyan nodded, accepting the explanation. Then he said, “Alright. You can take off your pants now.”

“Wait… what?” Shao Ye immediately pulled a long face. He crouched down in front of Pei Fangyan, looking up at him. “Seventh Uncle, what exactly are you trying to do? Can you tell me first so I can mentally prepare?”

Pei Fangyan only said, “You’ll know in a moment.”

So what exactly is it?!

Shao Ye stood back up, gripping his waistband, still hesitating.

Pei Fangyan’s gaze fell on his hands. After a long moment, he said lightly, “So what I say doesn’t matter anymore?”

That line made Shao Ye’s scalp tighten. If he kept stalling, he felt like he’d be labeled “unfilial” on the spot. He quickly replied, “It matters.”

It’s just taking off pants, right? No big deal! Nothing to be embarrassed about!

He swiftly removed his outer casual trousers, leaving only his underwear. Then he couldn’t help asking, “All of it?”

Pei Fangyan gave a quiet “mm,” his gaze lingering on Shao Ye’s muscular, well-defined thighs.

Even though Shao Ye still found the request strange, he’d already come this far. One more piece of clothing didn’t matter. In a few quick motions, he stripped off the last of it and tossed it onto the pile.

He sneaked a glance at Pei Fangyan. The latter had lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

…Alright then.

Shao Ye sighed silently and turned, about to lie down on the bed as instructed. But just as his body touched the sheets, a sudden realization struck him. He turned back and asked, “Seventh Uncle… am I getting punished again?”

Wait. Why did he say “again”?

Pei Fangyan looked up at him, somewhat surprised, then asked, “So you know what you did wrong?”

So it really is a punishment?!

Even though Shao Ye had no idea what he’d done wrong, he nodded rapidly. “I do, Seventh Uncle.”

Pei Fangyan gave a small “mm.” “Then tell me. What exactly did you do wrong?”

More than one thing?!

Shao Ye froze. He thought hard, but couldn’t figure out what he’d done wrong at all.

Sure, he’d been captured by kidnappers while following Su Yuexiang yesterday—but he’d escaped through his own wit, saved his uncle three million, and even uncovered a secret involving He Jiahuai and Su Yuexiang. If anything, he deserved merit!

After thinking for a long time, he finally lowered his head in defeat. “I… don’t know.”

Pei Fangyan nodded. “Didn’t you just say you knew? Lying adds another charge.”

Shao Ye: “……”

How is that fair… if I’d known, I wouldn’t have said anything!

Pei Fangyan rolled his wheelchair to the bedside. Outside, the evening sky was painted with brilliant clouds. Sunlight streamed through the window, tracing a golden outline across the bed.

He looked at the smooth curve before him, imagining the feel of his hand against it. He didn’t act immediately, instead asking again, “Anything else you want to say? If not, I’ll start.”

His uncle was oddly considerate, still giving him a chance to defend himself.

After thinking it through, Shao Ye chose what he believed was his strongest argument. “Seventh Uncle, for the sake of the three million I saved you… could you not hit my butt?”

He wasn’t afraid of pain. He’d taken hits to the head yesterday and was fine. But getting spanked was just too humiliating. He was twenty-three—his own father had never done that to him.

“Three million?” Pei Fangyan repeated.

“Yes, yes!” Shao Ye nodded eagerly.

Pei Fangyan chuckled softly. As he rolled up his sleeves, he said slowly, “To find you yesterday, I mobilized Xu You and his team. Five million each as a bonus. Since the kidnappers contacted us from overseas, I also involved foreign forces—fifty million. Add in pulling surveillance, greasing connections, and all the follow-up handling… take a guess. How much did I spend in one night?”

Shao Ye: “……”

He couldn’t guess, but it sounded like a lot. Enough to ransom several of him.

He buried his face into the soft pillow. Looks like this beating is unavoidable… how did it cost so much?!

Seeing him fall silent, Pei Fangyan didn’t press further. He lightly tapped the edge of the bed and said, “Move closer. You’re too far. I can’t reach.”

Not only was he getting punished, he had to scoot himself into position too. Absolute psychological torture.

Grumbling inwardly, Shao Ye obediently shuffled closer to his uncle’s hand.

The bedroom was silent. Pei Fangyan hadn’t turned on the lights. In the dim glow of the setting sun, the last golden rays illuminated the smooth curve of Shao Ye’s skin.

He lay there waiting… and waiting… but no pain came.

He couldn’t help thinking: why hasn’t Seventh Uncle started yet? Did he change his mind?

After all, even if he got beaten now, the money wouldn’t come back.

But it was really a lot of money…

Smack!

A sharp crack broke the silence of the bedroom, snapping Shao Ye out of his tangled thoughts.

Pei Fangyan hadn’t held back. The strike came suddenly. Shao Ye had still been thinking his uncle might go easy on him, only to be hit hard. The shock almost made him spring off the bed, but he forced himself to suppress the instinct.

Pei Fangyan withdrew his hand. The spot he’d struck trembled slightly, like a tempting delicacy.

His tongue slowly traced along his teeth, as if he could already taste it. His voice was low and hoarse as he said, “That was for not listening yesterday. I told you to stay at the company, and you still ran off on your own.”

Shao Ye wanted to argue. He’d gone out before too, and his uncle hadn’t said anything then.

But instinct told him now was not the time. Better to shut up and play mute.

Smack!

Another strike. Shao Ye clutched the pillow tighter, his whole body tensing.

Behind him came Pei Fangyan’s deep voice. “That one’s for not thinking to protect yourself when you were in danger, and insisting on showing off instead.”

If he’d tried to leave after taking that hit from the kidnappers, with his abilities, he could’ve escaped.

But Shao Ye didn’t think he’d been reckless. If those kidnappers hadn’t pulled out a stun baton, they wouldn’t have stood a chance.

He really should get himself some insulated gear.

Smack!

“That one’s for trying to lie to me just now.”

That one, Shao Ye accepted. Still, he felt the punishment didn’t quite fit the crime.

Smack!

Another strike landed. Shao Ye hugged the pillow and waited, but after a long pause, no explanation came.

Was this one so bad it couldn’t even be said out loud? What had he even done?

“Seventh Uncle?” Shao Ye turned his head and blinked.

Pei Fangyan knew exactly what he was asking and didn’t bother hiding it. “I wasn’t done yet.”

Shao Ye: “……”

That counts as a reason?!

How can he say that so confidently?!

Smack, smack, smack! This time, several strikes in a row, though lighter than before.

Shao Ye shifted his legs uneasily. The feeling was strange. The initial pain had faded, replaced by a numbness that made him almost—

No. Don’t think about it.

After more than ten strikes, Pei Fangyan finally stopped. His narrow eyes narrowed in satisfaction as he admired his handiwork.

He reached out and lightly brushed over the reddened skin, feeling the faint tremor from Shao Ye’s body.

Pei Fangyan smiled slowly.

He had once arrogantly thought this was just a bird that had wandered into his dull life, something to tease and play with before losing interest. But without realizing it, that bird had already taken root in his heart. If he tried to pull it out now, it would tear out flesh and blood along with it.

Perhaps from the very beginning, it should have become part of him.

Shao Ye waited a long time, but no more strikes came. He guessed his uncle was finally done. But he’d developed an inconvenient reaction and didn’t dare get up, so he could only lie there obediently.

Pei Fangyan’s hand rested at the base of Shao Ye’s spine, his fingertip tracing slow circles. It only made things worse. If his uncle noticed, wouldn’t he get another round?

He turned his head to sneak a look at Pei Fangyan’s expression, but every time Pei Fangyan seemed about to look back, he quickly turned away. After several repetitions, it became impossible not to notice.

To Pei Fangyan, he looked like a small animal—knowing the outside was dangerous, yet unable to resist poking its head out to look.

Adorable.

He really should’ve just swallowed him whole today.

After lying there for a while, Shao Ye suddenly remembered something else he’d forgotten to mention. A little guiltily, he called out, “Seventh Uncle…”

“Speak.”

Shao Ye hesitated, then said awkwardly, “A friend of mine got scammed out of three million. Maybe more. I want to use the secondary card you gave me to pay him back.”

He’d just told his uncle he’d saved him three million, only to lose it again. This beating really wasn’t undeserved.

Pei Fangyan’s fingers slid slightly lower, idly rubbing over the smooth skin as he asked, “What happened?”

Shao Ye told him everything about that “friend” in full detail.

A month in exchange for three million? Getting scammed seemed deserved. Why pay it back?

Pei Fangyan thought for a moment, then asked, “That’s your… friend?”

Shao Ye considered seriously. “Uh… maybe not after I pay him back.”

Pei Fangyan gave him a pinch, barely suppressing certain less-than-harmonious thoughts, and said, “Since I gave you the card, how you use it is up to you.”

Shao Ye sucked in a breath from the pinch and quietly shifted his body farther away. Then he sincerely suggested, “Seventh Uncle, next time… can you not hit my butt?”

Pei Fangyan asked in return, “Then next time, can you behave?”

“I think I behave pretty well…” Shao Ye said.

Pei Fangyan: “So obedient that you followed someone all the way to a cemetery?”

“This kidnapping was completely an accident,” Shao Ye said, lacking confidence.

“So you still don’t think you did anything wrong, is that it?” Pei Fangyan’s tone turned dangerous, and the place his fingertips were about to touch seemed even more dangerous.

“I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong,” Shao Ye quickly admitted, knowing when to yield. “I really know I was wrong, Seventh Uncle.”

Pei Fangyan finally withdrew his hand. Shao Ye immediately scrambled up from the bed, using a pillow to cover himself as he hurriedly jumped down.

Pei Fangyan watched him but didn’t stop him. In a calm tone, he asked, “So, you’re planning to leave?”

Of course he wanted to leave. Shao Ye felt that if he didn’t go now, he might lose control and scare his Seventh Uncle.

But the tone his Seventh Uncle used didn’t sound very friendly. Shao Ye paused while bending down to pick up his pants, then turned around nervously and asked, “Seventh Uncle, you’re not going to hit me again, are you?”

Pei Fangyan replied, “Do I seem like someone who enjoys hitting people?”

Shao Ye felt that question was off. Whether he liked hitting people might be debatable, but he definitely seemed to like hitting him.

Shao Ye spoke based on facts. “But Seventh Uncle, you hit me quite a few extra times just now.”

“Did it hurt?” Pei Fangyan asked.

It didn’t hurt, but honestly, it might have been better if it had. Shao Ye glanced downward, feeling even more guilty, and muttered softly, “If I’d known I’d get hit when I came over, I would’ve…”

“Would’ve what?” Pei Fangyan asked.

Shao Ye couldn’t answer. Not come at all? That wasn’t realistic. If not today, then tomorrow. Maybe he should just get a chastity lock, at least then it wouldn’t be this awkward.

Shao Ye wailed internally. Was he some kind of masochist? Why could he react like this even after getting hit?!

Pei Fangyan didn’t get an answer and didn’t press further. He looked at Shao Ye’s posture as he bent over, reached out to turn on the light and adjust its brightness, then sat quietly in his wheelchair without saying a word.

After Shao Ye finished putting on his pants and turned around, he noticed that Pei Fangyan’s face looked even paler than it had that morning. He hurried over and placed his hand on Pei Fangyan’s forehead. “Seventh Uncle, your forehead is so hot. Do you have a fever?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. If you want to leave, go ahead,” Pei Fangyan brushed his hand away and rubbed his temple.

How could he leave now? Earlier in the day, Shao Ye had already thought something was off with him and suggested he get checked at the hospital, but he refused, saying rest would be enough. And now he had a fever.

“Seventh Uncle, wait here. I’ll go get a doctor,” Shao Ye said.

Pei Fangyan refused immediately. “No. Don’t.”

“Why? If you don’t see a doctor, what will you do?” Shao Ye frowned, clearly disagreeing.

“I’m fine,” Pei Fangyan said.

Why was his Seventh Uncle so stubborn! After observing him for a moment, Shao Ye asked suspiciously, “Seventh Uncle, are you angry?”

Pei Fangyan forced a stiff smile. “No. What would I be angry about? Don’t worry about me. Go do whatever you need to do.”

The more he said that, the more Shao Ye felt something was wrong. Was he really angry? Why? Because he hadn’t hit him enough just now?

That couldn’t be it…

But his Seventh Uncle did seem pretty happy while hitting him earlier.

Shao Ye felt like he had gone through an intense inner struggle, though in reality not even half a minute had passed. He took off the pants he had just put on, lay face down by the bed, and consciously got into position.

“Seventh Uncle, how about you hit me again?” he said.

After a pause, he added, “But after that, you have to call a doctor.”

---

Author’s Note:

【I still think there’s something shady about Neverland. Once is one thing, but the same plot happening again?】

Didn’t they say the female lead’s charm had already been maxed out? What exactly is No. 6, some kind of real succubus reincarnation?

: The chief eunuch, we’ve said it many times

: …

: Maybe it’s maxed at 10 points, but Seventh Uncle’s scale is out of 100

: If you trust the official side, you’re done for

: What do you mean? Do you know some inside info?

: No, but I’ve seen this kind of official game manipulation before. Not surprising. Just complain more and you’ll feel better

: Does complaining actually help?

: It helps your mood

: …

: But Seventh Uncle turned so smoothly though

: Is it possible he wasn’t that straight to begin with

: I also think there’s something shady. Why do those koi get so much screen time? Are our Rottweilers not worthy?

: Our Rottweilers are Seventh Uncle and No. 6’s legitimate children, the proper heirs!

: Are you looking for “Three Babies at Once: The Alluring Seventh Uncle, Go Easy on Me”

: Fragile Seventh Uncle, huh. I finally saw a clip in the middle, his little face was so pale, and then the next second it cut back to koi again

: Why don’t you tag that OP who deleted their thread earlier for this “fragile” scene

: That’s just brutal

: Why won’t you show it to me! Why won’t you show it! If you won’t show it, it’s all fake! All shady! Female lead–Seventh Uncle shippers, hurry up and report them!

: They’re still crying. Probably won’t think of reporting anytime soon

: They’re really crying? Let me see.jpg

: What’s there to cry about? Seventh Uncle wasn’t that sincere toward the female lead to begin with

: Crying over my misplaced feelings

: I don’t understand! Then what about the legs he lost for the female lead back then? What does that count for?!

: Maybe… it just means he was ruthless?

≽^•⩊•^≼

Dusk settled in, and the western sky looked like a blazing sea of fire.

Inside the conference room, after hours of discussion, both sides finally finalized every detail of the contract. Pei Fangyan rubbed his aching temple and glanced toward the door, wondering why Shao Ye hadn’t come.

At noon, Shao Ye had sent him a message saying he was going out to take care of something. Had he still not come back?

Pei Fangyan picked up his phone, about to call him, when the secretary walked in and said, “Boss.”

“What is it?” Pei Fangyan asked without looking up, opening his contacts.

The secretary said nervously, “Miss Su has been kidnapped.”

Pei Fangyan gave a brief “mm” and tapped the top name in his contacts.

“They also kidnapped… Shao Ye,” the secretary added.

Pei Fangyan suddenly looked up. His gaze shot toward the secretary like a sharp arrow, his voice icy and cold. “What did you say?”

The secretary felt a chill run down his scalp but repeated, “Shao Ye was also kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped?” Pei Fangyan frowned, his expression darkening.

“Yes. The kidnappers just called. They said to prepare a ransom of 203 million within three days and transfer it to an overseas account. No police, or they’ll kill the hostages.” The secretary had just received the news. From the kidnappers’ tone, it sounded like they mainly intended to use Su Yuexiang to demand the ransom, which was why he had mentioned her first.

By then, Pei Fangyan’s call had already gone through. Beep—beep—the sound rang for a long time with no answer, until the familiar automated message came on.

Pei Fangyan lowered his phone. A dark glint flashed in his eyes as he slowly curled his lips into a chilling smile.

The secretary felt his heart tremble. He had never seen the boss like this before. Carefully, he asked, “Boss… should we call the police?”

“Didn’t they say not to?” Pei Fangyan said in a low, cold voice that carried bone-deep chill. “Tell them to send a video every hour. If the hostages are harmed in the slightest, they won’t get a single cent.”

“Yes,” the secretary responded, then asked, “Boss, should we prepare the ransom now?”

“Prepare it first. Notify Xu You and the others immediately. Have them start looking.”

There had always been rumors in their circle that when Pei Fangyan was abroad, he had formed a mercenary team. No one had ever seen him use it, so over time the rumors faded. But those who had been close to him for years knew that at least eighty percent of it was true. Xu You was the captain of that team.

If the boss had mobilized them, then for those kidnappers, it might actually have been better if the police had been called.

“They must be found within three days. If not…” Pei Fangyan left the rest unsaid.

Hearing this, the secretary couldn’t help but shiver. It felt like the unspoken ending was: if they aren’t found, you’ll all be buried with them.

Within ten minutes, Xu You and his team arrived at the company building. They had already begun operations on the way, pulling surveillance footage from along the route and tracking the kidnappers’ location through the call.

Pei Fangyan watched a video the kidnappers had sent not long ago. In it, Shao Ye lay unconscious on an open patch of ground, his hands and feet bound with rope. Translated on Hololo novels. Only the rise and fall of his chest showed that he was still alive.

For the first time, Pei Fangyan truly hated that his legs could not move. His dark eyes were filled with a heavy, unyielding hostility.

If Shao Ye were gone…

Even the mere thought of it was unbearable. He pressed a hand to his chest. He had always believed there was nothing in this world worth fearing, not even death, which was only an instant.

But now, he had something to fear.

That fear spread silently from the depths of his heart, flowing through his blood to his limbs. His hands clenched into fists, veins bulging on the back of them. He couldn’t imagine what he would do if one day Shao Ye truly disappeared.

If Shao Ye had never appeared, the world would have remained tolerable.

But he had come.

…

The sky grew darker, night fully falling. Across the city streets, lights flowed like rivers.

Shao Ye was awakened by a burst of arguing. The back of his head still hurt, and the spot where he’d been shocked with the electric baton felt numb. He thought gloomily that next time he got into a fight, he’d better prepare an insulated suit.

A hood covered his head, leaving him in complete darkness. He couldn’t see anything, only hear the kidnappers arguing.

The leader was cursing loudly: “What were you idiots thinking?! What’s the point of grabbing him? Now we have to buy food for one more person! Look at his build, he can eat at least three boxed meals!”

One of his subordinates muttered in defense, “I’ve been secretly watching them for a long time. He’s always by Pei Fangyan’s side, so he must be important.”

The leader snapped, “The secretary and steward are always by his side too. Why didn’t you kidnap them instead?!”

The subordinate quickly added, “People at their company say Pei Fangyan plans to make him the heir of the Pei family.”

Shao Ye was stunned. His Seventh Uncle actually had that kind of plan? No wonder he had said before that he had more important work for him. That job really was important.

The leader grew even angrier, pointing and scolding: “What kind of brain do you have?! You believe whatever they say? Those capitalists are all scheming as hell! If he were really going to be the heir, the Pei family would’ve taken him out long ago. Why would it be our turn to act? You can’t even figure that out! No wonder you’ll always be someone’s lackey!”

Shao Ye was speechless. Being kidnapped was one thing, but did he really have to be insulted too?

The leader continued, “We only prepared a place big enough to hold one Su Yuexiang. Now what? Stuff him in there too? Don’t you know I have OCD?!”

One extra person would ruin the visual composition!

“Then… let him go?” the subordinate suggested.

“Let him go?!” the leader shouted. “He’s already here, why let him come for nothing? I’ve already added his price to the ransom two hundred and three million! For the next couple of days, just tie him up at the door!”

Two hundred and three million?

That’s a lot of money!

Shao Ye couldn’t help but cut in, “My Seventh Uncle doesn’t have that much money.”

Hearing that he was awake, the kidnapper leader turned his head and sneered. “Pei Fangyan doesn’t have money? Do you even believe that yourself?”

Shao Ye nodded seriously.

The leader snorted, turned back, and continued lecturing his underling. “See? I told you he can’t be the heir of the Pei family. With a brain like that, he’s only fit to push a wheelchair.”

Shao Ye: “……”

After arguing themselves tired, the kidnappers started eating. Although the leader had just said Shao Ye could eat three boxed meals by himself, in reality, he didn’t get even one.

Smelling the food made his stomach growl. He hadn’t even eaten lunch. If he’d known that getting kidnapped meant not even getting a boxed meal, he would’ve grabbed a couple of apples while fighting earlier.

Come to think of it, before he passed out, he vaguely remembered seeing a bottle of Maotai in front of a tombstone. Who knew if that was real or not.

After eating their fill, the kidnappers sat together and began discussing how they would spend the money. Shao Ye listened for a long time, then curiously asked, “Two hundred and three million… am I really worth that much?”

If his dad knew he was worth that much, he’d probably go crazy with joy.

The leader laughed at him. “You’re thinking too much. You’re only worth that three million.”

That three million was basically their “labor fee” for kidnapping Shao Ye. After all, dragging someone his size into the van wasn’t easy.

Three million… that sounded much more reasonable.

After fiddling around for a while, Shao Ye realized the ropes on him weren’t easy to undo. He asked again, “If I pay that money myself, can I leave?”

“You have three million on you?” the leader asked.

“No,” Shao Ye said.

“Then what the hell are you talking about!”

Shao Ye added, “Then give me a phone. I can borrow from some friends, maybe I can get it together.”

“Do you think I’m stupid? Your phone’s already been thrown away.” To avoid being tracked, they were contacting Pei Fangyan through an accomplice overseas.

Shao Ye thought for a moment and said, “Then go join some fitness group chats in the city. People there should know me. You can borrow from them.”

The kidnappers discussed it and felt it was worth a try, so they had their overseas accomplice handle it. Translated on Hololo novels. Soon, a reply came back: not only did Shao Ye’s friends call him a scammer and block him, they also reported him together and got his account banned.

Shao Ye: “……”

Very good. Strong anti-fraud awareness.

But couldn’t they wait until after sending the money to be cautious?!

A moment later, the accomplice’s voice came through the phone again: “Hey? One of your friends is pretty loyal. He said if you sleep with him for a month, he’ll lend you three million. Want to consider it?”

Shao Ye: “……”

Ah! Which one is this? He’s getting blocked when I get back!

---

In the quiet old residence, Xu You and his team worked through the entire night and were finally about to pinpoint the kidnappers’ location. Pei Fangyan hadn’t slept either. That morning, he received another video from the kidnappers. The background had changed, and more importantly, only Su Yuexiang appeared in the footage.

Where was Shao Ye? Where had he gone?

Dark clouds spread across the sky like fish scales, and a cold wind howled, as if a storm was about to come. Pei Fangyan sat in the main seat of the hall, expressionless, as though covered in a layer of frost.

“Sir! Sir!” Steward Liu ran in from outside.

Pei Fangyan asked, “Any news about the kidnappers?”

Steward Liu shook his head, smiling. “No, it’s Shao Ye. He’s back.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a fluffy head popped out from behind the doorframe. Shao Ye waved at Pei Fangyan and called, “Seventh Uncle!”

It was as if the heavy clouds instantly parted, a beam of light breaking through and falling on Shao Ye, draping him in a faint golden glow.

Pei Fangyan remained seated, unmoving, just staring at him. He listened to the wild, joyous pounding of his own heart, like parched land finally receiving long-awaited rain.

Shao Ye walked over to him. After running all night, his hair and clothes were in disarray, and his shirt was torn in several places, revealing the honey-colored skin beneath.

Pei Fangyan looked him over from head to toe. It had only been one night, yet it felt as long as a century.

The night before, sitting in the courtyard, every time Pei Fangyan closed his eyes, he imagined Shao Ye curled up in a corner, his large frame hunched, eyes red as he called for help. It felt as though his heart would shatter.

After a long moment, Pei Fangyan finally spoke, his voice slow and strained. “…How did you get back?”

Shao Ye sighed. It was a long story. After getting three million from some unknown gay friend of his, the kidnappers still refused to let him go and even planned to use his name to scam a bigger sum. He could tolerate that, but they wouldn’t even let him use the bathroom.

They tied him at the door with a half-meter rope. Shao Ye felt it was too short and said if they didn’t give him more length, he’d just relieve himself right there at the door and disgust them to death. Thinking about that scene, the kidnappers agreed it was indeed disgusting and extended the rope to two and a half meters.

Because Shao Ye had been relatively cooperative after being kidnapped, and with his hands and feet bound and a hood over his head, the kidnappers didn’t stay very vigilant. His hands were tied in front of him. Squatting on the ground, he carefully listened to determine his position, then, taking advantage of a moment when one of them turned his head to talk to a companion, he slipped the rope firmly around the man’s neck, tightened it hard, and threatened him to untie his restraints.

Once freed, Shao Ye, worried they might pull out the electric baton again, didn’t dare linger and immediately ran off. Fortunately, their main target this time had been Su Yuexiang. Seeing Shao Ye escape, they didn’t pursue him too aggressively and instead hurried to move Su Yuexiang elsewhere.

Pei Fangyan patiently listened as Shao Ye recounted that thrilling night. Only after he finished did Pei Fangyan speak: “Let’s go.”

Shao Ye was confused. “Seventh Uncle, where are we going?”

“To the hospital,” Pei Fangyan said. “You need a check-up first.”

Back at the cemetery, Shao Ye had been hit on the head twice, and who knew what else he had gone through at the kidnappers’ hands last night.

Shao Ye rubbed the back of his head. “No need, I feel fine.”

Pei Fangyan looked at him without speaking. His face was pale, and even the color in his lips was lighter than usual.

Shao Ye felt that his Seventh Uncle should probably go to the hospital too, so he agreed.

He hadn’t eaten all day, and his stomach had been growling on the way. But now that he had seen Pei Fangyan, he forgot all about it and started chatting away: “Seventh Uncle, did the kidnappers ask you for ransom?”

Pei Fangyan gave a quiet “mm.”

After getting into the car, Shao Ye said proudly, “I told them He Jiahuai has more money and to ask him for the ransom instead.”

At that moment, Xu You, having heard that Shao Ye was back, called to ask for instructions. “Boss, should we keep investigating?”

“Continue,” Pei Fangyan said coldly, “but wait until they go abroad before making a move.”

Xu You immediately understood, then asked, “Boss, what about Miss Su…?”

Pei Fangyan glanced at Shao Ye, who had just gotten into the car and was already about to fall asleep, and said without hesitation, “He Jiahuai has more money. Let him handle it.”

Xu You: “?”

At the hospital, the doctor quickly gave Shao Ye a full examination. He was in good health, and all his indicators were normal. The doctor even joked that he could go run three kilometers right then without any problem.

Shao Ye hurriedly waved his hands. “No way, I can’t run anymore. I already ran all night.”

Only after confirming that Shao Ye was truly fine did Pei Fangyan finally relax and take him back to the old residence.

At the residence, Steward Liu had already instructed the chef to prepare a full table of dishes. Considering that Shao Ye hadn’t eaten all day, the food was relatively light. Shao Ye took a shower before coming out to eat.

After finishing his meal and not seeing Pei Fangyan around, Shao Ye asked Steward Liu, “Where’s Seventh Uncle?”

“He should be upstairs in the bedroom,” Steward Liu replied.

Shao Ye turned and ran upstairs. Arriving outside Pei Fangyan’s bedroom, he knocked on the door. Hearing a response from inside, he gently pushed it open.

Inside, Pei Fangyan was sitting by the window, looking at the blooming roses on the balcony.

Shao Ye quietly walked up behind him when he suddenly heard Pei Fangyan ask, “Finished eating?”

Shao Ye nodded. “Yeah. Have you eaten, Seventh Uncle?”

Pei Fangyan ignored the question and said directly, “Good. Then take off your pants and lie face down on the bed.”

Shao Ye: “?”

---

Author’s note:

【I feel like in this kidnapping arc, Seventh Uncle’s performance really isn’t helping his case. One moment his head hurts, the next his chest hurts. When is he actually going to rescue the female lead?】

I know Seventh Uncle isn’t in good health, and being triggered by the female lead’s kidnapping must have affected him, so his performance can’t compare to He Jiahuai and the others. But I hope his fans and the Seventh Uncle x female lead shippers can be more rational and understanding. The more fragile he appears now, the more it shows how important the female lead is to him.

: ??????

: I don’t get it. This is shocking.

: Let me examine this carefully pulls out magnifying glass.jpg

: You “know”? You don’t know anything!

: OP, did you drink too much champagne yesterday and still haven’t sobered up?

: What’s wrong? I’m just speaking up for Seventh Uncle. Why such a big reaction?

: It’s not that my reaction is big, it’s just that I understand every word you wrote individually, but together they make no sense. Explain what you mean by “fragile.”

: He’s practically about to be hospitalized, isn’t that fragile?

: …

: This drama king is still acting in other livestreams? If I hadn’t watched No. 6’s stream, I might’ve believed it!

: What did he act? Seventh Uncle really is in poor health.

: Yeah yeah, female lead gets kidnapped, suddenly he’s weak. But when No. 6 gets kidnapped, he practically jumps out of his wheelchair with a sniper rifle and a squad of mercenaries to rescue him personally.

: What are you even talking about? I don’t understand.

: Female lead kidnapped: can’t gather money, can’t find people. No. 6 kidnapped: two hundred million! Pay it! Mercenaries! Go!

: Seventh Uncle: whoever dares break No. 6’s wings, I’ll destroy their entire world.

: Calm down up there, my toes are curling.

: Honestly, the whole mercenary setup feels so old-school.

: OP, haven’t you noticed your fellow fans are all silent today? Do you think they’re crying over his “fragility” or his overwhelming dominance?

: Cry! Everyone cry louder! I love hearing it!

: The “experts” are pretending to be dead again. Haven’t they learned their lesson?

: Hehe

: Stop it! It hurts! It really hurts! Why does it hurt this much? Seventh Uncle, how are you going to make this up to me? I always thought he truly loved the female lead, but that sincerity is flimsier than plastic.

: Without No. 6 as comparison, I could’ve kept lying to myself that Seventh Uncle did his best. Damn it, what “best”?!

: When it came to rescuing the female lead, he didn’t exactly give it his all… but he also basically did nothing.

: Where’s the OP? Why so quiet now? Done admiring Seventh Uncle’s “fragility”?

(This thread has been deleted by the original poster.)

≽^•⩊•^≼

Shao Ye made it sound easy, but now that he actually had to do it, he couldn’t help feeling a little nervous.

He rubbed his hands together, glanced down toward Pei Fangyan’s lap, and hesitated again. It wasn’t that he wanted to back out, he was just worried he might not do a good job.

“Seventh Uncle, wait a moment,” he said. “I’ll go wash my hands first.”

Pei Fangyan gave a quiet “mm,” and Shao Ye immediately ran into the bathroom. He pulled out his phone and quickly searched for simple techniques, but what showed up didn’t look much different from what he usually did himself.

He washed his hands thoroughly. The internet said it was best to use some lubricant. Since he couldn’t find any, he grabbed an unopened bottle of essential oil instead, rubbed it between his palms, and soon his hands felt slick. That should be close enough.

He didn’t keep Pei Fangyan waiting long. After finishing his preparations, he returned to the bedside, met his gaze, pressed his lips together, and said with a sense of ceremony, “Seventh Uncle, I’m starting now.”

Pei Fangyan only gave a slight nod.

Shao Ye looked down again and hesitated, unsure where to begin.

“Maybe forget it,” Pei Fangyan suddenly said. “It’s been fine like this all along.”

What? All along?!

No wonder he always kept a blanket over himself before. He absolutely couldn’t let this continue.

Shao Ye silently encouraged himself. Even if he wasn’t good at it, it had to be better than his uncle just enduring it.

He bent down and adjusted the clothing slightly. When he saw clearly, his mouth dropped open and he let out a soft, astonished “wow.”

Realizing that was inappropriate, he quickly shut his mouth. He had already suspected it would be… impressive—but this was more than expected.

Pei Fangyan watched him quietly.

Shao Ye licked his dry lips, then cautiously gathered his fingers.

He had no real technique at all. To be precise, he had zero technique, only sincerity. Translated on Hololo novels. All ten fingers carried a kind of raw, instinctive approach. While simplicity can sometimes be effective, too much simplicity could also be frustrating.

Shao Ye focused seriously on this new “task,” working diligently. With the oil, everything did feel smoother—and it even smelled nice.

He worked earnestly, not daring to slack off.

But…

A look of confusion gradually appeared on his face. He hadn’t been keeping track of time, but it had definitely been a while. Yet there was no progress at all. Was everything he was doing ineffective?

That didn’t seem right—he felt like he’d already burned quite a bit of energy.

“Seventh Uncle…” he called weakly.

Pei Fangyan raised his eyes, waiting.

Shao Ye pressed his lips together and lowered his voice. “There’s something I don’t know if I should say.”

Pei Fangyan, seeing his hesitant expression, had a feeling it wouldn’t be anything good. “Then don’t say it.”

“Oh.” Shao Ye lowered his head and kept going.

“Seventh Uncle…” After a while, he couldn’t hold it in. He looked up and finally said, “I heard that if this takes too long, it could be a problem. Maybe you should see a doctor sometime.”

Pei Fangyan: “……”

He knew it.

“Shao Ye,” he said, his tone carrying real exasperation this time.

Shao Ye slowed slightly and sincerely advised, “Seventh Uncle, don’t avoid medical treatment.”

He genuinely suspected that his uncle had suppressed things for too long and caused a problem.

Pei Fangyan almost wanted to drag him onto the bed and show him firsthand that there was no such issue. With skills this clumsy, he still had the nerve to blame others. No wonder he had been so helpless the other day.

But then again, what was the point of arguing with him? And his condition didn’t allow him to act on that thought anyway.

He swallowed his words and only said, “Forget it.”

“What do you mean, forget it?” Shao Ye asked, confused.

“You’ll understand later,” Pei Fangyan replied.

Shao Ye still didn’t get it.

In the end, Pei Fangyan couldn’t tolerate his slow, fumbling pace any longer. He reached out, took Shao Ye’s hand, and guided him.

Shao Ye looked down. Pei Fangyan’s fingers were pale and smooth like jade, a stark contrast to his own skin tone. The scene felt oddly familiar, as if he had seen it before. Lost in thought, his fingers accidentally blocked the motion.

Pei Fangyan glanced at him, not angry, not impatient—just faintly amused.

Shao Ye: “……”

He didn’t even know why he had done that. It just felt like someone had done it to him before, and without thinking, he had copied it.

“Seventh Uncle, I didn’t mean to,” he said miserably.

“I know,” Pei Fangyan replied with a faint smile.

Did he really know? The expression looked a little like he wanted to eat someone.

Under Pei Fangyan’s guidance, the whole thing was finally completed.

Shao Ye used a warm towel to clean up, completely forgetting the earlier awkwardness. Lifting his chin proudly, he asked, “Seventh Uncle, how was I?”

Pei Fangyan thought for a moment and said, “You have potential.”

What kind of evaluation was that? Good or bad?

“I’ll teach you something more useful later,” Pei Fangyan added.

Shao Ye showed an eagerness to learn in this area that was unlike his usual self. He said, “Why wait until later? Seventh Uncle, why not teach me today?”

“Not today,” Pei Fangyan replied. “It’s not time yet.”

Shao Ye still couldn’t quite understand what Pei Fangyan meant. Was it some kind of secret martial arts manual? Why make it sound so mysterious?

But since Pei Fangyan was unwilling, there was nothing he could do.

After accompanying Pei Fangyan for dinner, Shao Ye went out to walk his three little “underlings.” The evening breeze was slightly cool, rustling the leaves overhead along the way.

Ever since the car accident, most of Pei Fangyan’s daily work had been moved to the old residence. Only when something particularly troublesome came up would he go to the company headquarters in person.

When Shao Ye heard that Pei Fangyan was going to the company that day, he immediately ran over and asked to go along. Pei Fangyan nodded and let him get into the car with him.

Standing at the doorway, Steward Liu grumbled inwardly. Shao Ye, as a “steward,” sure meddled in a lot of things, now even following him to the company. Who knew which unlucky person would lose their job today?

The master was also quite strange, always unexpectedly indulgent toward this nephew.

The company headquarters was located in the bustling city center, quite a distance from the old residence. The drive alone took more than an hour.

After getting out of the car, Shao Ye pushed Pei Fangyan inside, with two secretaries following behind them.

The employees found it a bit odd. Why had the boss brought a bodyguard today? Could it be he was meeting some important figure?

Pei Fangyan indeed had a meeting with an important political figure and bringing Shao Ye along would be inconvenient, so he told him to go amuse himself outside for a while.

Shao Ye’s eyes lit up. “Seventh Uncle, can I go see what He Jiahuai and the others are doing right now?”

Hearing how Shao Ye addressed Pei Fangyan, one of the secretaries immediately understood. This must also be a junior from the boss’s family, though this one seemed particularly close to him.

Pei Fangyan directly instructed, “Take him over.”

“Yes, please follow me,” the secretary said respectfully.

Shao Ye followed the secretary to the third-floor office area and took a look around. Since Pei Fangyan had previously said to treat these members of the Pei family as ordinary employees, his cousins were all extremely busy, barely having time to stand still. There wasn’t much to see.

After thinking about it, Shao Ye ordered himself a milk tea and sat in the lounge area, watching with great interest for nearly an hour.

So this was what “other people’s children” were doing. He really should bring his own dad to see this someday, so he might scold him less in the future.

After finishing his milk tea, Shao Ye originally planned to just leave, but then he thought that since they were relatives who would see each other during holidays, he should show some concern. Pumping his fist, he cheered them on: “Everyone, keep up the good work! For the future of our Pei family, all this hardship is worth it. Let me know what you want for lunch, and I’ll go eat it on your behalf.”

Everyone: “……”

This guy is asking to be hit! They had noticed Shao Ye long ago, but they were too busy to pay him any attention. Besides, they considered themselves a level above him and didn’t want to lower themselves to talk to him.

Pei Fangyan’s words were indeed effective. These managers didn’t just treat them like ordinary employees, they practically worked them like beasts of burden. Each of them held back their frustration, thinking that when they eventually took control of the Pei family, they would make these people pay.

At first, seeing all their competitors at the same starting line, even the most outstanding He Jiahuai having to run errands, they had maintained a relatively healthy mindset despite the heavy workload. But now that Shao Ye had appeared, they were finally starting to crack.

Was being a steward really this carefree? If they had known, they would have chosen to be stewards too.

They worked from early morning to late night and only earned a 5,000 yuan monthly internship salary, not even enough for a single night out. Why did Shao Ye get to live so comfortably? Didn’t Seventh Uncle care?

When they inherited the Pei family in the future, the first thing they would do would be to cut off all financial support to Shao Ye’s branch of the family.

After visiting his brothers and sisters, Shao Ye was in a great mood and had a big appetite, eating three full bowls of rice at lunch. After eating and drinking his fill, he collapsed onto the sofa, yawning.

A secretary knocked and entered, seeing Shao Ye lying there without any restraint. Not only was the boss not angry, he even told the secretary to bring a blanket. It became clear that this young man held a very unusual place in the boss’s heart.

The company had run into a rather tricky problem this time. Pei Fangyan found it a waste of time to go back and forth, so he stayed at the company for the next few days, and Shao Ye stayed with him.

Shao Ye felt that he was already fully capable of taking over Steward Liu’s job and hoped the steward at the old residence would step down soon and make way for him.

During this time, Shao Ye was always by Pei Fangyan’s side. Sometimes he even got a seat in meetings. He couldn’t understand anything, but that didn’t stop him from observing Pei Fangyan’s expressions and acting accordingly. Even if his interpretations weren’t very accurate, they were still better than everyone else’s. Gradually, rumors began circulating in the company that Pei Fangyan had chosen Shao Ye as his successor.

However, anyone who knew even a little about the Pei family understood that this was impossible. Only outsiders who didn’t know the situation would take the rumors seriously, even starting to inquire about Shao Ye’s preferences and thinking of giving him gifts to build a connection.

How shallow. Putting everything else aside, just his surname alone made him unfit.

Even if He Jiahuai wanted to inherit the Pei family, he would first have to change his surname back.

Shao Ye didn’t understand much about all this. He only knew that the secretaries around his Seventh Uncle had been treating him better and better lately. Not bad, not bad. As expected of high-quality talent capable of working as his uncle’s secretaries, completely different from the fools in their Old Pei family.

…

Pei Fangyan went off to another meeting. A secretary said that this time the client was from overseas and rather difficult to deal with, so the meeting might last until evening.

Shao Ye waited outside the meeting room for a while. Bored out of his mind, he wandered off toward the office area on the third floor to find some entertainment. Speaking of which, this office space had been specially set aside for the young masters and ladies of the Pei family. The workstations were arranged in a very deliberate way, making it convenient for supervisors to keep watch. Anyone slacking off could be spotted at a glance and reported directly to Pei Fangyan.

Over the past couple of days, Shao Ye had even taken on a part-time role as a supervisor. Translated on Hololo novels. He felt that aside from the steward, he was actually quite suited for the job. He really enjoyed going to tattle to Seventh Uncle.

After getting out of the elevator, just as he was about to head toward the office at the end of the corridor, he suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from the stairwell nearby. He immediately changed direction and, without hesitation, hid by the door to eavesdrop.

“Did you really get it?” a woman’s voice asked.

Su Yuexiang!

The moment Shao Ye heard the voice, he recognized who it was. But wasn’t she supposed to be in the old residence? When had she come out?

Standing by the door, he squinted one eye and tried to peek inside. He saw He Jiahuai handing a document to Su Yuexiang, reminding her, “Be careful. Don’t let anyone find out about this.”

What was that? Could it be company secrets?

Su Yuexiang took the document and immediately went downstairs to leave. Shao Ye turned around, took the elevator to the first floor as well, and when he saw her exit through the main entrance, he sent Pei Fangyan a message and called a taxi to secretly follow her.

What Shao Ye didn’t expect was that Su Yuexiang’s final destination was a desolate, run-down cemetery in the suburbs. Before she could even enter, four or five masked men rushed out from the nearby woods and dragged her into a van.

Just as Shao Ye was about to rush forward to save her, his head suddenly throbbed. Someone had struck him from behind.

He covered the back of his head and turned around, only to get hit again.

That was too much! How could someone just hit his head like that? What if it caused damage? Shao Ye grabbed the attacker’s wrist and threw him hard to the ground with a shoulder throw.

The next moment, the masked men who had kidnapped Su Yuexiang rushed toward him, surrounding him completely. Shao Ye rolled up his sleeves, ready for a big fight.

However, the other side had no sense of fair play. Seeing that they couldn’t beat Shao Ye in a straight fight, they all pulled out weapons.

Shao Ye had already been a bit dizzy from the two hits to the back of his head. After getting shocked with a stun baton, he finally lost consciousness completely and fainted.

The masked men hastily dragged him into the van, then drove off with both him and Su Yuexiang.

---

Author’s Note:

【Alright, you shippers don’t have to argue anymore. Now the female lead and No. 6 have both been kidnapped. It’s time to decide who Seventh Uncle truly loves】

: Definitely the female lead. You can tell from this kidnapping. Seventh Uncle has been setting No. 6 up all along. Otherwise how could he get kidnapped?

: He got kidnapped because he meddled too much, okay?

: By the way, what exactly did He Jiahuai give the female lead? Did he really steal company secrets?

: It’s a paternity test report. Actually, Su Yuexiang is the real eldest daughter of the Chu family. She and Chu Jiao were switched at birth.

: I remember Chu Jiao has an engagement with He Jiahuai, right?

: Seriously? So this is a swapped-at-birth heiress plot?

: How many melodramatic CEO novels has the official site been reading?

: What do you people in No. 6’s stream even watch all day? You don’t pay attention to the main plot at all.

: We watch koi. Big, thick koi. I’ve already watched for two and a half hours.

: Another one’s gone crazy. Take them away.

: Let’s seriously discuss who Seventh Uncle will save. The female lead fans and their shippers are already celebrating. Why are the uncle-nephew fans silent? Afraid No. 6 will be abandoned?

: Can’t he just save both?

: The kidnappers might have been sent by Chu Jiao for Su Yuexiang, or maybe they want ransom from He Jiahuai. But why kidnap No. 6 too? They could’ve just left him there, he didn’t even see their faces.

: Maybe they ship uncle-nephew too.

: …

: That actually makes sense.

: Our uncle-nephew CP really appeals to all ages 🐱👏

: I told you, Seventh Uncle is setting No. 6 up, that’s why he got kidnapped!!! This is all part of Seventh Uncle’s plan.

: Seventh Uncle’s true love has always been the female lead! No. 6 is just a lackey. Does he even understand what deep love or restraint is?

: I’ll admit he doesn’t understand restraint. But come to think of it, does Seventh Uncle even have that?

: His legs were crippled for the female lead! Can you at least respect what he sacrificed for her?!

: He’ll definitely choose the female lead without hesitation. Isn’t that obvious?

: You uncle-nephew fans don’t actually think your ship is real, do you? It’s just koi. You know how the official works, anything below the neck gets censored immediately.

: Yeah, He Jiahuai forced a kiss with the female lead for over ten minutes and I didn’t see a single koi. But the moment it’s No. 6, koi show up. What, is No. 6 some kind of inspiration king?

: Keep being stubborn. Several experts have already analyzed that No. 6 is just being set up as a target by Seventh Uncle.

: Oh? Experts have spoken? Then No. 6 is definitely safe this time.

: Alright, alright, I’m off to enjoy a new fanfic about Seventh Uncle going crazy and forcing love on No. 6. No time to argue with you.

: Wait, what? Seventh Uncle can’t even stand up, and he can still do “forced love”???

≽^•⩊•^≼

Seeing Shao Ye put down his knife and fork, Pei Fangyan asked, “Finished eating?”

Shao Ye nodded. “Seventh Uncle, I’ll take you back to the residence to rest.”

“No need,” Pei Fangyan said. “Let’s go check on your father first.”

Shao Ye looked confused. “Why?”

His dad was clearly still in a bad mood—better to stay far away for now, or he’d get sprayed in the face with spit.

It wouldn’t matter if he got yelled at, but what if some of that ended up hitting Seventh Uncle?

“I’m worried your father might have fallen into the water along with his phone,” Pei Fangyan said.

“That seems unlikely,” Shao Ye replied skeptically. Dropping a phone into water was one thing, but falling in with it? Had his dad eaten something strange for lunch?

“That’s not necessarily true,” Pei Fangyan said with a faint smile. “Better to go take a look.”

Shao Ye wanted to say that even if his dad really had fallen in, it might already be too late by the time they got there.

But he was still his father. Hearing this, Shao Ye couldn’t help feeling a bit worried. And now his calls weren’t going through either—he couldn’t reach him. It did seem necessary to go check.

Pei Tiancheng, however, hadn’t fallen into the river. He had simply been startled out of his wits. After dropping his phone into the water, he had crouched by the bank trying to retrieve it for quite a while, only to later realize that even if he got it back, it would be useless.

He drove to the nearest service center, replaced his SIM card, and bought a new phone. He didn’t dare make another video call to Shao Ye—afraid he might see that “vixen” again and have nightmares for days.

After thinking it over, he decided to explain things to the girl first. If she told her big-mouthed father, the entire mahjong circle would know by tonight that his son was gay. How would he face anyone after that?

He sent her a message, explaining that the person she saw at the restaurant was Shao Ye’s Seventh Uncle, not his partner.

The girl replied quickly, asking if they were related by blood.

Pei Tiancheng very much wished they were—but reality said otherwise. He could only answer honestly: no.

Soon after, the girl replied with a “hehe” and a smiling emoji. Seeing this, Pei Tiancheng finally relaxed. She seemed to have a good temper—maybe there was still hope for her and his son.

He lost interest in fishing and drove home. But just as he stepped out of the garage, he saw his “good son” pushing Pei Fangyan’s wheelchair toward the house.

Pei Tiancheng froze mid-step. Pei Fangyan hadn’t visited their home in years—why had he come today? Was he here to cause trouble? He might as well have stayed out fishing!

He quietly tried to retreat back into the garage, but his son spotted him from afar and waved enthusiastically. “Dad, you’re back?”

Pei Tiancheng froze again. This was exactly why he needed a smarter partner for his son!

Reluctantly forcing a smile, he walked over quickly, shot Shao Ye a glare, then turned to Pei Fangyan.

Shao Ye was baffled. Why was he being glared at again?

Pei Tiancheng put on an overjoyed expression. “Little brother, what brings you here in person? If you needed anything, you could’ve just told me—I would’ve gone to the residence. Why trouble yourself to come all this way?”

“I was worried you might have fallen into the water, so I came to check,” Pei Fangyan said mildly.

Pei Tiancheng choked on his words. That was definitely sarcasm. It had to be.

He forced a laugh. “Why would I fall into the water?”

“Didn’t your phone fall in?” Pei Fangyan asked.

And whose fault was that?! Pei Tiancheng felt his smile slipping. Was Pei Fangyan here to send him off to join his drowned phone? What had he done to deserve this?

It must be Shao Ye causing trouble at the residence again, offending this petty man. Pei Tiancheng shot him another glare.

Shao Ye: “…”

He began to suspect something was wrong with his dad’s eyes.

Pei Fangyan continued, “But why did you suddenly arrange a blind date for Xiao Ye?”

What was wrong with a blind date? The third brother’s son already had two kids, and no one said anything about that.

And the second brother’s—he kept breaking up and getting back together with his girlfriend.

Wait… speaking of the second brother, wasn’t Pei Fangyan’s “white moonlight” his ex-girlfriend? Could it be some kind of strange preference that made him so concerned about his son’s dating life?

Of course, Pei Tiancheng only dared think these things—he would never say them aloud. Smiling, he replied, “It wasn’t sudden. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I just happened to find someone suitable recently, so I had him meet her.”

Pei Fangyan glanced back at Shao Ye and said, “He’s still young. Why the rush?”

“He’s not that young,” Pei Tiancheng said. “At his age, I was already close to divorcing his mother.”

Shao Ye wanted to complain. Even if that was true, did he have to sound so proud about it?

Pei Fangyan smiled. “Big brother, I’d like Xiao Ye to stay by my side for further training. When the time comes, I’ll find him a more suitable partner. What do you think?”

Pei Tiancheng didn’t quite trust that. Could he really be that kind-hearted? It felt more like a weasel paying respects to a chicken. But what could he possibly gain from this? Could it be that his son had some hidden talent he hadn’t noticed, but Pei Fangyan had?

He was reluctant to give up the girl from today’s blind date. She was highly educated and had a good personality. But he didn’t dare oppose Pei Fangyan—even when it concerned his own son’s marriage.

Back then, the fifth brother had resisted Pei Fangyan inheriting the family and went against him. Translated on Hololo novels. In the end, he landed himself in prison and still hadn’t come out. Pei Fangyan claimed it had nothing to do with him, but no one believed that—not even ghosts.

Pei Tiancheng had visited him last year. Remembering the way he had wept in prison, he simply didn’t have the courage to refuse.

So he forced a smile. “That sounds great, of course.”

But this concerned his son’s future happiness. As a father, he had to at least try. Carefully, he added, “Little brother, could you find Xiao Ye someone with a slightly higher level of education?”

Pei Fangyan nodded readily. “Is MIT good enough?”

“Enough, enough!” Pei Tiancheng nodded vigorously. Then he paused, remembering something, and asked, “Wait, little brother, weren’t you also a graduate of that university?”

“I was,” Pei Fangyan admitted openly.

Pei Tiancheng nodded in understanding. Since Pei Fangyan had that connection, his words suddenly seemed a bit more credible.

After meeting with Pei Tiancheng and neatly settling the matter, Pei Fangyan brought Shao Ye back to the old residence with him.

After they left, Pei Tiancheng sat alone on the living room sofa, unable to figure it out no matter how much he thought. Why would Pei Fangyan suddenly want to introduce a partner to his son? Could it be that his idiot son had somehow caught his eye? Impossible. There had to be a scheme behind this—definitely a scheme.

What exactly was Pei Fangyan trying to do?

Ah—Pei Tiancheng scratched the few remaining strands of hair on his head. Too hard to figure out.

After returning to the residence, Shao Ye immediately made sure Pei Fangyan had something to eat, then went to find the steward and, with great seriousness, criticized his work:

“Steward Liu, how could you let Seventh Uncle go out alone? Even if you’re busy, you should arrange for someone to accompany him.”

Steward Liu: “……”

What gave Shao Ye the impression that he had any authority over the master?

Shao Ye continued, “Next time Seventh Uncle goes out, remember to call me. I have time—I can go with him.”

Steward Liu: “……”

Ah, so that was the real point.

Maintaining his usual composure, Steward Liu replied, “You should discuss that with the master yourself. It depends on his approval.”

Half convinced, Shao Ye returned to the rest room. Pei Fangyan had already finished eating and was reclining on the bed, holding a freshly drafted contract while discussing details over the phone with a subordinate.

Shao Ye entered, saw he was working, and quietly sat on the sofa to wait. Only after Pei Fangyan hung up did he speak:

“Seventh Uncle, why are you working again? Didn’t you say you hadn’t rested well?”

Pei Fangyan set down his phone and turned to him. “If I don’t work, how will I give you spending money?”

“Then I’ll just spend less,” Shao Ye said. But even if he spent less, it wouldn’t make much difference. His eyes rolled, and he suggested, “Seventh Uncle, how about cutting off everyone else’s share from the Pei family?”

Pei Fangyan laughed. “Including your father’s?”

Shao Ye hesitated. That was his biological father after all… he needed to think—no, wait, wrong script. “Don’t cut it all. Leave the old man a little.”

Pei Fangyan chuckled softly. “It’s fine. I couldn’t sleep anyway—might as well stay busy.”

“Then I’ll give you a massage,” Shao Ye said, getting up and walking over.

Pei Fangyan gave a slight nod.

Standing by the bed, Shao Ye took a deep breath. He hadn’t given Pei Fangyan a massage for three full days, so he worked especially hard today. Before long, he was drenched in sweat. Used to it by now, he simply took off his shirt.

Pei Fangyan lifted his gaze slightly, his eyes sweeping unabashedly over Shao Ye’s chest again and again. He imagined the feeling of dragging his fingers across it—or biting down hard, leaving a deep mark that would remain whenever Shao Ye took off his clothes.

So slow, he thought helplessly. How could he still not have noticed after all this time? Did he really have to say it himself?

Pei Fangyan’s thoughts simmered quietly, but Shao Ye remained completely unaware—if anything, he was enthusiastically adding fuel to the fire.

“Seventh Uncle, who do you think gives better massages—me or Dr. Zhou?” Shao Ye asked eagerly.

“You,” Pei Fangyan answered without hesitation.

Shao Ye turned his head sharply, looking at him in surprise. “Seventh Uncle, can you feel it now?”

“No,” Pei Fangyan said. “You look better.”

He looked even better that day in the bathroom without clothes—but unfortunately, Shao Ye failed to grasp the deeper meaning behind his words.

He simply gave an “oh.” Being praised for his looks made him happy, but he would have preferred to win by skill.

He refocused and continued honing his technique.

Wait… Seventh Uncle wasn’t using a blanket today. Was the room temperature more comfortable?

Wait—wait—what is that?!

Shao Ye didn’t dare turn his head directly. Instead, he kept glancing sideways with his eyes.

Whoa—

Was it what he thought?

He pressed his lips together, wanting to pretend he hadn’t noticed—but it was too obvious. After a while, his gaze kept drifting back there on its own.

How could it be so…

He swallowed. As a nephew, witnessing something like this was honestly awkward. Translated on Hololo novels. But didn’t Seventh Uncle feel anything? It didn’t look like he felt nothing at all!

Shao Ye tried to keep his focus on his hands, but the image lingered in his mind. He couldn’t concentrate on the massage at all. Thinking about it made his hands feel weak.

In the end, he couldn’t hold back and called out, “Seventh Uncle…”

“Hm?” Pei Fangyan looked at him. “What is it?”

“That… over there…” Shao Ye couldn’t say it outright, so he tried to hint with his eyes.

Pei Fangyan understood immediately, but his reaction was calm. “No need to worry about it.”

Really no need? It looked like it definitely needed some attention!

Shao Ye knew it wasn’t appropriate for him to ask, but sometimes not asking was unbearable—just as uncomfortable as the problem itself. He couldn’t help asking, “Seventh Uncle, doesn’t it bother you?”

“It’s fine,” Pei Fangyan replied, picking up the remote and lowering the room temperature slightly.

To Shao Ye, this just looked like stubborn denial—clearly trying to solve the problem with physical cooling.

“Seventh Uncle, how about I go make you some tea?” Shao Ye suggested, hoping to give him some privacy to deal with it.

“No need,” Pei Fangyan said lightly. “Too much trouble. I’ll just leave it like this.”

He can’t even be bothered to move?!

Shao Ye couldn’t understand it. When his Seventh Uncle had nothing to do, he would still read contracts, yet now he was too lazy to move. What kind of terrifying level of self-restraint was this?!

Since his Seventh Uncle said not to worry about it, it would seem a bit strange if he kept pressing the matter.

But wouldn’t holding it in cause problems?

Shao Ye absentmindedly pressed his legs a couple of times, then finally gathered the courage and said, “Seventh Uncle, how about I help you?”

“How would you help?” Pei Fangyan asked, still looking rather uninterested.

Shao Ye paused, then said uncertainly, “…with my hands?”

Pei Fangyan refused outright. “No need. I’m your Seventh Uncle. What would it look like for you to do that?”

That made sense, but then again, he had already massaged his legs. Massaging a bit more somewhere else shouldn’t be a big deal, right?

Thinking this way, Shao Ye felt even more that it was his duty, especially since for something like this, who else in the old residence could help relieve Seventh Uncle’s burden? Translated on Hololo novels. He said to Pei Fangyan, “Seventh Uncle, don’t be embarrassed. I won’t tell anyone. This will stay between the two of us.”

Pei Fangyan: “……”

“No need,” he still refused. Picking up the remote, he added, “I’ll turn the temperature down. It’ll be fine in a bit. Put your clothes on.”

Shao Ye quickly reached out and snatched the remote from his hand, saying unhappily, “Seventh Uncle, don’t you know your health isn’t great? What if you catch a cold?”

Pei Fangyan let him take the remote and said, “I’ll be fine. I know my limits.”

What limits!

“Seventh Uncle, are you thinking about Su Yuexiang again?” Shao Ye narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing him.

Pei Fangyan didn’t know why he suddenly brought up Su Yuexiang. If Shao Ye hadn’t mentioned her, he would have almost forgotten there was such a person in the old residence.

“It has nothing to do with her,” Pei Fangyan said.

Shao Ye pressed on, “Then do you dislike me?”

“No.”

Shao Ye stared at him without speaking, his expression clearly saying: you do.

Pei Fangyan sighed, as if pushed into a corner.

“Fine, go ahead,” he finally said helplessly with a sigh.

Author’s Note:

---

【Who do you think will end up with the most inheritance in this instance? I finally saved up 5,000 points and don’t know who to bet on】

: Bet on No. 6. Our No. 6 has been clever since he was young.

: Yeah, so clever he gave football tickets to a disabled man.

: What’s wrong with football tickets! What’s wrong with football tickets! Seventh Uncle loves them!

: Listen to me, bet on No. 3. I think No. 3’s scheming can rival He Jiahuai’s.

: What if No. 3 loses?

: Then pretend I didn’t say anything.

: …

: Aren’t you considering No. 1? He’s already gotten several patents.

: This is about choosing an heir, not an inventor.

: But the title is asking which volunteer gets the most inheritance, right? It must be someone other than the heir, otherwise how could they beat the NPCs?

: Definitely our No. 6. The spouse is the first in line to inherit!

: If Seventh Uncle wanted No. 6 dead, he could just hand the Pei family over to him.

: Honestly, I think Seventh Uncle is quite healthy. Feels like he could live for decades. No need to make a will at all. I even have screenshots as proof.

: Show us the screenshots.

: Please enjoy: No. 6 swallowing.gif

: ???

: Did you upload the wrong image?

: No, this is the proof.

: What did he see to react like that?

: No idea. The next shot just cut to koi.

: Oh, then I think I know.

: He must have seen the koi were too fat, right! Definitely!

: Looks like Seventh Uncle’s body is indeed quite… solid and big.

: …please talk normally, stop making it weird

: By “hype to kill,” do you mean lifting him onto the bed and then killing him?

: Yeah, I don’t really get it either. Can you explain?

: At this point, what is there left to explain?

: Explain how exactly he’d “kill” him on the bed

: How else? If it were the president, you could at least argue whether it’s from above or below. With Seventh Uncle, is there even room for debate?

: Seventh Uncle: Do you have any manners?

≽^•⩊•^≼

Steward Liu asked for instructions, “Sir, should we send someone to visit him?”

“No need. I’ll go personally when I have time,” Pei Fangyan replied. He turned his wheelchair and continued deeper into the residence.

On the way, he asked again, “Do you think my elder brother has been a bit too idle lately?”

Steward Liu had no idea what was on his mind and didn’t dare respond.

But Pei Fangyan didn’t seem to need an answer. He murmured to himself, “Maybe I should send him to Africa. The company does have some business there recently.”

Africa? Mauritania, or Madagascar? Neither was exactly nearby. Steward Liu wondered what Pei Tiancheng had done to anger his master. Was he implicated because of Shao Ye? But everything had seemed fine when the master left.

The more he thought about it, the less he understood. His master was becoming increasingly difficult to read.

Just as they were about to enter, Pei Fangyan suddenly added, “Have someone find out where Shao Ye is going on blind dates—and which family the girl is from. As his uncle, I should at least help screen her, so he doesn’t get deceived.”

That didn’t sound like helping at all, Steward Liu thought to himself. Still, as a competent steward, he stuck to his principle of speaking little and doing more, and quickly passed on the instructions.

The girl meeting Shao Ye today was a PhD graduate from a top domestic university. She had a neat short haircut, light makeup, and an air of confidence that bordered on assertive.

She was the daughter of one of Pei Tiancheng’s mahjong friends. Having seen Shao Ye’s photos, she had been quite interested. After all, his looks, physique, and family background were all impressive. Though he had graduated from a questionable overseas university and might not be as intellectually sharp as her academic peers, perfection was rare.

Unfortunately, the two had little in common. When she talked about her academic work and professional challenges, Shao Ye mostly felt lost, unsure how to respond. He could only sigh inwardly—if she had asked how he built his fiery, well-defined biceps, he might have had something to say.

Her interests were experiments, publishing papers, and managing finances. His were working out, working out, and more working out.

Sensing that he couldn’t keep up, she changed the topic and brought up stock market trends, since he had studied finance. Looking at his still-clear, slightly blank expression, she couldn’t help thinking that his overseas university must have been very questionable indeed.

Soon, a waiter in a tailcoat served their dishes. The girl was debating whether to bring up biceps just to keep the conversation going when Shao Ye—who had been on the verge of dozing off—suddenly lit up.

Startled by the sudden change, she thought perhaps a stunning beauty had appeared. She followed his gaze and instead saw a man in a wheelchair approaching them.

The man was strikingly handsome, clearly well put together. His medium-length hair was neatly styled, and he wore a smog-gray casual suit. Translated on Hololo novels. The gemstone cufflinks gleamed brilliantly under the restaurant lights.

Looking back at Shao Ye, she saw him jump to his feet and practically jog over, asking, “Seventh Uncle, when did you get back?”

Seventh Uncle? The girl didn’t know much about Shao Ye’s family, only that they were wealthy. But this man didn’t look that much older than Shao Ye, and they didn’t resemble each other at all. Was he really his uncle?

Pei Fangyan gave a small nod. “Just got back yesterday. I heard you were here, and since it was on the way, I came to take a look.”

Then he glanced at the girl and said apologetically, “I didn’t interrupt you, did I?”

Actually, you did—but before she could answer, Shao Ye cut in, “Not at all! Seventh Uncle, have you eaten? What would you like? I’ll order for you.”

“No need. I don’t have much appetite,” Pei Fangyan said. He lowered his head and coughed lightly into his fist, his already pale complexion appearing even weaker.

“Seventh Uncle, are you sick?” Shao Ye asked with concern.

“No, just got back in a bit of a rush yesterday. Didn’t rest well last night—my head aches a little today.”

“Then why didn’t you stay home and rest!” Shao Ye exclaimed.

His Seventh Uncle’s health wasn’t great to begin with—he should be taking care of himself. What was Steward Liu even doing? Completely neglectful! He should be reassigned!

“I just wanted to see you,” Pei Fangyan said.

The girl was stunned. Didn’t he just say he happened to pass by?

She glanced at Shao Ye again. He didn’t seem to notice anything strange about that statement—but his face was actually a little flushed. “If you wanted to see me, you could’ve called,” he said.

Then he realized they hadn’t even exchanged contact information. But Steward Liu must have it, right? Without hesitation, he threw the steward under the bus. “Steward Liu really doesn’t know how to take care of you.”

It had to be him.

What kind of “uncle” was this exactly?

Tilting her head, the girl’s mind filled with questions. Looking between the two of them, a new theory suddenly formed in her mind. If it were true, everything made sense.

After all, what kind of uncle would interrupt his nephew’s blind date like this—and not just briefly, but seemingly intending to fully insert himself into the situation? He might as well have said, “I’m not here to break you up—I’m here to join you.” How bold.

Heh.

Shao Ye, completely carried away by excitement, had entirely forgotten why he was there in the first place. His attention was wholly fixed on Pei Fangyan. Picking up the menu, he said, “Seventh Uncle, I’ll order you a soup. Have a little first.”

Pei Fangyan nodded. He still looked listless—no appetite for food, yet plenty of energy to disrupt someone else’s date.

Watching their interaction, the girl quietly took out her phone and began venting to her best friend.

Soon, the waiter brought over the mushroom soup. Shao Ye reminded him, “It’s hot—be careful.”

Pei Fangyan hummed but didn’t move, still not seeming interested in eating. Shao Ye then recommended his dessert. “Seventh Uncle, want to try this mango pudding? It’s pretty good.”

“Mango pudding?” Pei Fangyan glanced at it. “No need. You eat it. I know you like it.”

The girl: “…”

So what if he knew? And he had to say it out loud too—what was he showing off for!

Shao Ye could barely get a word out in front of her earlier, and now he was chatting and laughing so easily.

The girl took a deep breath. Watching the two of them talk about desserts on the menu as if no one else existed, she really wanted to ask—had they forgotten there was still another person here? Was her presence really that negligible?

After struggling for a while, she decided not to humiliate herself further. Instead of sitting here as a third wheel, she might as well go back to the lab and run a few more experiments.

Picking up her bag, she stood and said, “You two carry on. I have something to do.”

Only then did Shao Ye seem to remember he had actually come out today for a blind date. But he didn’t try to keep her. He waved and said, “…Then goodbye?”

“Let’s not meet again,” the girl replied with a stiff smile. She turned and walked off quickly, but after a few steps, she suddenly came back and said to Shao Ye, “Don’t go on blind dates with girls anymore.”

Shao Ye: “?”

After she left, Shao Ye turned to Pei Fangyan and asked, “Was she angry?”

Pei Fangyan stirred the soup slowly with a spoon. Hearing the question, he smiled faintly. “Maybe she just had something urgent to deal with.”

“Oh,” Shao Ye said. Then he heard Pei Fangyan add, “When I got back and didn’t see you at the residence, I thought you were angry.”

“Angry about what?” Shao Ye asked, confused.

Pei Fangyan explained, “That day was sudden. I left in the early morning. You were still asleep, so I didn’t wake you.”

Oh, that… At the time, he had been a little upset—mostly jealous of Steward Liu. Translated on Hololo novels. But that had been days ago. He had already forgotten about it. Shao Ye said, “Next time, you have to wake me. Steward Liu is getting old—his legs aren’t good, he can’t go on business trips with you. But I can.”

Seeing him pat his chest so confidently, Pei Fangyan nodded with a smile. “Got it.”

He took a sip of the mushroom soup, set the spoon down, and asked, “Was that girl your friend?”

“No, my dad arranged the blind date,” Shao Ye said helplessly.

In truth, as soon as he returned to the country, his father had tried to set him up on blind dates, saying he had already picked several potential marriage candidates for alliances. He wanted Shao Ye to meet them and see how things went.

What “see how things go”? In Shao Ye’s opinion, his father was just being overly anxious. He was only twenty-three, fresh out of college. He had no interest in girls—and no interest in guys either. He simply had no plans for romance or marriage.

At his age, he believed he should be focusing on working hard by his Seventh Uncle’s side and building his career. As for relationships, when the time came, they would come naturally.

But his father didn’t think that way. At first, he wanted to match him with a wealthy heiress to form a powerful alliance and expand his small company. But after actually spending time with his son, he gave up on the idea of marrying into wealth. Instead, he preferred finding a highly educated and capable daughter-in-law to take over the family business in the future.

After finally finding a PhD graduate from a top university, he seized the chance while Pei Fangyan was away and tricked Shao Ye into coming home by pretending to be seriously ill.

Shao Ye had no intention of going on a blind date and wasn’t good at interacting with girls. The moment he realized his father wasn’t actually sick, he wanted to go back to the residence. But his father threatened him—if he didn’t come today, his allowance for the next month would be cut off.

The date went pretty much as he had expected the night before. He didn’t know how to start a conversation, and most of what the girl said went over his head. There was simply no way to keep the conversation going.

Still, running into his Seventh Uncle here made the whole trip worthwhile.

After hearing the full story, Pei Fangyan said, “When you get back, give your account number to Steward Liu and have him transfer you some money.”

“Seventh Uncle, you’re the best,” Shao Ye beamed instantly, then, without the slightest restraint, asked, “How much can Steward Liu transfer me?”

“How much do you want?” Pei Fangyan asked with a faint smile.

“My dad gives me twenty thousand a month,” Shao Ye said.

Pei Fangyan nodded. “Alright. I’ll give you a supplementary card.”

He was even getting his Seventh Uncle’s secondary card—this really meant that important work was coming his way. Shao Ye felt his future was bright. His appetite improved instantly, and he focused on eating his pudding. After a couple of bites, he remembered something and said, “Oh right, Third Uncle’s son—his car exploded and he’s in the hospital. Do you know about that?”

Pei Fangyan nodded. “I just heard as well.”

“How does a car just explode like that? What brand was it?” Shao Ye asked, puzzled.

“I’m not sure,” Pei Fangyan said.

Shao Ye said with a hint of schadenfreude, “Guess the heavens just didn’t like him.”

“Perhaps,” Pei Fangyan replied with a smile.

Just as Shao Ye finished his pudding, his phone rang. He glanced down and said, “It’s my dad.”

“Answer it,” Pei Fangyan said.

Shao Ye picked up. Soon, Pei Tiancheng’s face appeared on the screen. He was wearing a straw hat, apparently fishing somewhere. His face was flushed with anger.

“Shao Ye! I think you’re asking for it—playing around with men now? No allowance for you next month or the month after!”

“What do you mean ‘playing around with men’? I came on a blind date—why wouldn’t I get my allowance?” Shao Ye was completely confused. He had obediently come to the date—what more did his dad want?

Across the table, Pei Fangyan raised an eyebrow slightly at the words “playing with men” and took another sip of his soup.

Pei Tiancheng snapped, “The girl said you’re gay—getting all lovey-dovey with a man in public!”

In reality, the girl had been polite. She hadn’t said it that bluntly—just that their orientations weren’t compatible and that Shao Ye likely already had someone he liked. Translated on Hololo novels. She even advised Pei Tiancheng to be more open-minded and stop forcing his son into blind dates with women.

But Pei Tiancheng had been so angry that his head buzzed. He even let a fish slip off his hook, which made him even angrier. In his mind, he had already imagined some seductive man clinging to his son—a horrifying scene.

“Just tell me—did it happen or not? Are you still with that man right now?” he demanded.

“I am with a man, but—” Shao Ye tried to explain.

Pei Tiancheng cut him off and continued, “But what ‘but’? Where did you meet this vixen? If you’ve got the ability, why don’t you bring him in front of me so I can take a look!”

Pei Fangyan reached out his hand toward Shao Ye. Shao Ye hesitated for a moment, then handed over his phone. On the other end, Pei Tiancheng was still loudly demanding to see what this “vixen” looked like.

Hearing him repeat “vixen” over and over, Pei Fangyan calmly turned the camera toward himself and, with a smile, asked, “Big Brother, what do you need with me, this ‘vixen’?”

The cursing on the other end abruptly stopped. Shao Ye looked up and asked in confusion, “Why did it go silent?”

“Your dad’s phone probably fell into the water,” Pei Fangyan said with a smile.

Shao Ye let out an “ah.” “He’s so careless.”

---

Author’s Note:

【Please, let the female lead choose Seventh Uncle. He’s really too pitiful. He’s given so much for her. Can’t he get even a bit of her sincerity in return?】

(No mentions of No. 6 allowed in this thread)

: Why is No. 6 banned? Feeling guilty?

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: I don’t know if he can win the female lead’s sincerity, but No. 6’s sincerity definitely can

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: Pitiful? I didn’t think he looked pitiful at all when he tricked No. 6 into taking off his clothes

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: Honestly, the koi working overtime and me only getting to watch koi are the pitiful ones

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: What the hell were those comments above? Why were they all deleted so thoroughly?

: I’m the OP. This thread only allows shipping the official couple, no other ships allowed.

: But we are shipping the official couple here. You should’ve said so earlier, I would’ve come sooner! Hi OP, where do we start? From giving Seventh Uncle football tickets?

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: Seriously speaking, Seventh Uncle is way too passive in front of the female lead. If she posted everything he’s done for her and asked the forum whether he secretly likes her, people would probably call her delusional.

: Yeah, if he just handed her a secondary card, she’d understand immediately

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: Wait, I just mentioned giving her a card and that got deleted too?!

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: (*￣︶￣)

: Maybe Seventh Uncle is insecure because of his disability, so he doesn’t react much even when romantic rivals provoke him, and is even willing to hand over the Pei family just so the female lead can be happy

: Blind date partner: I don’t think I provoked anyone though

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: (*￣︶￣)

: Insecure? I think he’s quite confident! He even dared to admit in front of Pei Tiancheng that he’s a “vixen”

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: (*￣︶￣)

: What did he drink today, mushroom soup? I think it was Biluochun tea, how does every sentence sound more “tea-like” than the last

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: (*￣︶￣)

: Seventh Uncle really loves her so much. What did he do wrong? He just hid his deep feelings and didn’t want to burden her

: (*￣︶￣)

: He probably won’t open his heart unless the female lead confesses first

: Only then open his heart? He’s opened his pants who knows how many times with No. 6

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: (*￣︶￣)

: If the female lead doesn’t choose Seventh Uncle, he’ll probably quietly withdraw and live out his life alone

: (*￣︶￣)

: What do you all mean by that?!

: Nothing, are emoticons not allowed either?

: What an astonishing thread, not a single sentence mentions it directly, yet every sentence is about it

: I checked through the forum. There’s no timeline, just crooked lines on every page that read “amnesia melodrama.” I couldn’t sleep, so I read carefully all night, and only then did I see the truth between the lines. The entire forum is filled with just two words: “Seventh Uncle ** is real”!

: …though to be fair, that’s seven words

≽^•⩊•^≼

Thandar: Please give this novel a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on novel updates if you enjoy it so far. It’ll motivate this translator to release new chapters faster 🥲😘