Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Dark clouds loomed overhead, and the day was overcast from dawn. Yuanting, with a shovel in hand, headed to the base of the wall, intending to dig up some soil for his flowerpot.

The bodyguard, arms crossed, leaned against the wall, looking down at Yuanting digging: "You aren't planning to dig a hole and escape, are you?"

"Are you calling me a dog?" Yuanting jabbed the shovel against the hard wall, "Go ahead, try digging one yourself."

The bodyguard pursed his lips and huffed, "Anyway, don't even think about escaping under my watch."

"Hah," Yuanting stood up and snorted at him disdainfully, "If I wanted to run, do you think you could stop me? I'm just giving you face." He walked past the bodyguard, proudly carrying a red bucket filled with soil.

Frustrated, the bodyguard ran off to complain to the butler.

The butler sighed, "If he really could, would he have been here for four years? If he could escape, he would have done so long ago. Grow up, do your job, and stop provoking him."

"Yeah, stop provoking me, or I'll beat you up." Yuanting walked over, opened the fridge, took out a Coke, waved his fist threateningly at the bodyguard, and left.

"Look at him, just look at him..." The bodyguard was so angry he almost jumped on the spot, but before he could react, he saw Yuanting, who had reached the door, suddenly run upstairs in terror, looking like a mouse that had seen a cat, even leaving behind his red bucket.

The next second, the door opened and a man entered.

"Young master, you're back." Both the butler and the bodyguard greeted him.

The man who entered was handsome, with striking features, but unfortunately, he was confined to a wheelchair.

The butler stepped forward to push the wheelchair.

The man was thin and pale, casting a gloomy glance up the stairs. The bodyguard immediately reported, "He had a bowl of wonton soup and a cup of black coffee for breakfast, two packets of chips and three red bean buns, dumplings for lunch, followed by milk tea and fried chicken. After lunch, he took a nap, watched some TV, and then went to the backyard to dig mud for planting... but I suspect he was trying to dig a hole at the wall... After digging, he took a Coke and went upstairs."

Yuanting, listening from the stairway, rolled his eyes and returned to his bedroom.

Although it was only four in the afternoon, the sky outside had already turned completely dark, indicating a stormy night ahead.

On the balcony were the starry sky flowers and mint seeds he had ordered online, meant to be planted, but the small bucket filled with soil was still downstairs. And with Cheng Nanyi's return, he didn't feel like going down.

"I'll do it tomorrow. Right now, time is what I have most."

After playing with his phone in bed for a while, Yuanting's eyelids grew heavy, and he turned over and closed his eyes.

In recent years, Yuanting's sleep had been poor, often lying awake all night. Yet today, strangely enough, despite having napped at noon, he felt extremely sleepy.

It wasn't until the sound of distant thunder that Yuanting startled awake, his room still pitch-dark. The balcony window was open, the howling wind and pouring rain creating a cacophony, barely overshadowing the sound of a wheelchair rolling, which Yuanting still caught.

He switched on the bedside lamp, revealing Cheng Nanyi's cold, brooding face at the bedside. Despite seeing it for years, Yuanting's heart still skipped a beat, "Damn, it's not a horror movie. Who are you trying to scare?"

Lying still, Yuanting watched as Cheng Nanyi, with his arms, heaved himself up and then turned to sit on the bed.

Yuanting, accustomed to his strength, nonchalantly shifted to the side.

Cheng Nanyi lay down on the other side, his breathing still a bit hurried from the effort.

Listening to his breathing, Yuanting slowly closed his eyes, brewing sleepiness. After four years of sharing a bed with Cheng Nanyi, he had grown accustomed to it.

"Thinking of leaving?" A somber voice, accompanied by a crack of thunder, sounded in his ear, as if it could strangle Yuanting's neck and twist his head off at any moment, startling him.

"Damn it," Yuanting clutched his chest, "You're scaring me to death."

Yuanting quietly shifted to the other side and said resignedly, "Don't you think your bodyguard is a bit off? You believe everything he says."

"So..." Cheng Nanyi scoffed, "Yuanting, are you telling me you've never thought of leaving?"

"If I say no, would you believe me?" Yuanting yawned, feeling unusually sleepy today. Usually, lying next to Cheng Nanyi, he'd only feel sleepy after the other fell asleep.

Cheng Nanyi gave a short, mocking laugh, clearly skeptical.

"Why don't you just kill me?"

"Do you really wish to die?"

Yuanting sighed deeply, earnestly responding, "If possible, I'd willingly give my life for yours."

"Will taking your life turn back time to when nothing had happened?" Cheng Nanyi sneered, "Don't worry, the day I die, I'll make sure to drag you to hell with me."

As thunder rumbled aptly, complementing Cheng Nanyi's sinister tone, Yuanting shivered, pulling the blanket over his head and praying, "Dear God, please, if I go to hell, don't let me be in the same level as Cheng Nanyi. Please, I beg you."

*

"Wake up, little Ting, wake up."

How could he be dreaming of a woman's voice?

Could it be he hadn't seen a woman for so long that he dreamed of their voice?

But this woman's voice sounded familiar, even nauseatingly so.

Yuanting's head ached terribly, and opening his eyes was a struggle. He wanted to keep sleeping, but the woman's incessant voice irked him into reluctantly opening his eyes.

"Alright, no more sleeping, we're almost there."

A young, pretty woman with immaculate makeup casually stroked Yuanting's head, helping him to sit up.

A faint perfume scent lingered around Yuanting, jolting him into full alertness. Instinctively, he reached out to push away, finally getting a clear view of the woman's face in front of him.

"Damn it," Yuanting cursed, utterly shocked.

The woman's brows furrowed instantly, and she lightly tapped on Yuanting's mouth, chiding, "Don't swear. How did your grandma teach you? Such a young age and not learning good manners."

Yuanting, holding his slightly aching mouth, was completely taken aback.

Why was he seeing his own mother?

Didn't she pass away three years ago?

And moreover...

Staring at his small arms and legs, Yuanting was baffled. Was he dreaming of his childhood?

But this dream felt too real.

"I'm telling you again, when we get to Uncle Cheng's house, be obedient, call him Daddy Cheng, and don’t cry or make a fuss."

"He has a little brother who doesn’t really like children. Don’t provoke him, understood?"

Yuanting, looking at the woman in front of him, felt a physiological urge to retch.

The woman frowned, even looking somewhat disdainful as she placed him on a nearby seat.

Sitting there, Yuanting took a while to realize that it might not be a dream; the sensation was too real.

Yuanting slowly turned to look out the window. The car drove into a familiar neighborhood, made several turns, and then a familiar three-story house appeared in front of him.

Yuanting blinked, confirming his age. This must be when he was seven, the day his mother remarried and moved into the Cheng family's house with him.

Yuanting grabbed his mother's arm and bit down hard.

Shu Zhilan winced in pain, slapping his head, "What are you doing?"

Looking at her angry face, Yuanting blinked, realizing he might have been reborn.

The car stopped in front of the villa, and the door opened to reveal the butler’s familiar face in front of Yuanting.

The butler, appearing to be in his forties, greeted Shu Zhilan and Yuanting with a smile, "Madam and young master, welcome."

Shu Zhilan nodded faintly at him, stepping out of the car and then turning to take Yuanting’s hand.

Yuanting swallowed hard, wondering if this was really not a dream.

Shu Zhilan walked a few steps but noticing her son hadn't moved, she turned back to warn him, "Ting, be obedient."

Yuanting gazed at the three-story house, his breath becoming labored. He had lived many years here, where all his beautiful childhood memories were made, but later, it became a prison under Cheng Nanyi.

"Yuanting," Shu Zhilan tugged his hand impatiently, "Hurry up."

Yuanting sighed. If only he could have been reborn before his mother married his stepfather, then he could have separated them. Unfortunately, it was too late; the marriage had already happened.

"Young master, the little young master has arrived."

Hearing the butler's voice, Yuanting's mind buzzed.

Young master?

"The young master, isn't that Cheng Nanyi?"

"Save me! Save me!! Save me!!!"

Yuanting suddenly hid behind Shu Zhilan.

It was unclear who was more frightening at this moment, Shu Zhilan or Cheng Nanyi.

The butler, observing Yuanting's bird-like fright, couldn't help but smile, "Don't be afraid, young master. Master Cheng is about your age. You can play together."

Hah!

Yuanting thought to himself, play what? A game of imprisonment?

He braced himself as if facing a great enemy.

Just like in his past life, today was the day he first met Cheng Nanyi.

As footsteps approached, Yuanting couldn’t help but poke his head out to look.

"Young master, this is young master Yuanting, he's three years younger than you, like a little brother," introduced the butler.

Yuanting's gaze fixed on the tall, straight legs, strong and intact.

The slender youth stood there, more graceful and refined than the green bamboo in the yard.

Nobody knew that in his past life, he had imprisoned Yuanting for four years.

Seeing the two not speaking, the butler said to Yuanting, "This is your brother, Nanyi brother." Harmonious homes foster all success, and as a butler, balancing the relationship between the two children was part of his job for a peaceful household atmosphere.

Yuanting glanced at him, and the butler encouraged him with a wink to take the first step.

The young master of the house had always been strictly raised, serious and taciturn without a trace of youthful spirit, while Yuanting seemed lively and energetic, perhaps even capable of brightening the young master's demeanor.

Yuanting looked up, his gaze rising to meet the distant expression on the youth’s face, his mind racing with rapid images.

The man in the wheelchair, filled with gloom and hatred; the man who tied him to the bed; the sinister figure asking, “Yuanting, do you want to escape?”...

Yuanting curled his lip and snorted disdainfully.

In his past life, he didn't dare to resist, but now... he was just a ten-year-old boy.

Yuanting pressed his lips firmly, gathering his strength.

Having a second chance at life, he thought he might as well start with a spit.

Just as he was about to spit towards Cheng Nanyi, Yuanting suddenly considered another possibility.

If he really spat on Cheng Nanyi, would that twisted man bully him?

His small frame stood no chance against Cheng Nanyi.

So, Yuanting hesitated…

And out of impulsive self-preservation, he refrained.

Cheng Nanyi witnessed the boy with big eyes and pretty curls about to spit out a mouthful of saliva, then abruptly suck it back in, and finally... swallow it.

Cheng Nanyi almost instinctively stepped back, his usually expressionless face unable to maintain composure... and cracked a smile.

Author's Note:

New story: "The Silly Moonlight Always Pushes Me to the Dark Side" and "After Rebirth, Forced to Bend by the Real Young Master" - Please add to your collection.

"The Silly Moonlight Always Pushes Me to the Dark Side"

After failing to secure his family's fortune, Zhao family's young master was abandoned in the wilderness, left to fend for himself.

On a night of pouring rain, Qiu Zhuo walked over with an umbrella, looking down at him from above.

The young master of the Zhao family, seeing the youth descending from the heavens, gripped the knife in his hand tightly.

The next second, Qiu Zhuo threw away his umbrella and dragged the Zhao family's young master away like a wild dog.

*

Qiu Zhuo transmigrated into a novel where the protagonist's family found and treated the injured Zhao family's young master. However, when the young master's arch-enemy arrived, they handed him over to save their own lives.

Later, the young master survived by a slim chance and, after becoming completely darkened, turned into the biggest villain in the book, killing the protagonist's family.

The Qiu family, being unfriendly neighbors to the protagonist's family, was just a minor background character. They ended up ruined due to bullying by the village tyrant.

After transmigrating, Qiu Zhuo realized he couldn't stand against the tyrant on his own and thus thought of the future major villain.

A villain?

What about a villain? As long as it saved his life, he was willing to serve the villain, make tea, and do menial tasks.

*

Lying in the wild, the Zhao family's young master witnessed a heavenly deity's descent.

The deity was a youthful boy with rosy lips and pearly teeth, who rescued him from dire straits.

Since then, the boy became an obsession in his heart, his untouchable reverse scale.

However, his moonlight was somewhat different, always asking him, "Are you in a good mood?"

"Do you feel like hitting someone today?"

"Do you have a desire to destroy the world?"

After he shook his head, his moonlight would beat his chest and stamp his feet, exclaiming, "When will you finally turn dark? I'm dying of impatience here."

"After Rebirth, Forced to Bend by the Real Young Master"

Yan Shuo and Cheng Xiao grew up together, the best of friends.

But when Yan Shuo was retrieved by his biological parents to become a wealthy young master, he turned his back on Cheng Xiao, severing their friendship and refusing to acknowledge him.

Cheng Xiao, undeterred, attempted to visit Yan Shuo twice, only to be turned away at the door.

Angered, Cheng Xiao accidentally fell down a mountain and was reborn in his eighteen-year-old self.

*

Having a second chance at life, Cheng Xiao vowed not to let Yan Shuo hurt him again and promptly broke off their friendship, out of sight, out of mind.

When Yan Shuo transformed into the true scion of a wealthy family, people mocked Cheng Xiao for missing out on clinging to Yan Shuo's powerful coattails.

Cheng Xiao, unable to let go of his resentment: "He never needed us poor friends anyway."

Some people, in an attempt to ingratiate themselves with Yan Shuo, went to teach Cheng Xiao a lesson, only to be kicked out one by one by Yan Shuo.

Cheng Xiao retorted irritably, "You don't need to worry about me."

Yan Shuo swiftly grabbed his arm and pinned him against the wall, narrowing his eyes, "Not let me worry? Then who should?"

When Yan Shuo leaned in for a kiss, Cheng Xiao was completely overwhelmed.

"Cheng Xiao, don’t even think about leaving me."

Cheng Xiao, terrified, protested, "I'm straight, I don't swing that way."

Yan Shuo’s cold fingers caressed Cheng Xiao’s face, murmuring ominously in his ear, "It doesn't matter, just remember that you're mine."