Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Have you heard? The real third young master of the Ye family, who was kidnapped eighteen years ago, has been found."

"Really? Why haven’t I heard anything about it?"

"It just happened a couple of days ago. Chairman Ye and the CEO went to pick him up in person. They’ll be back tonight."

"The real third young master of the Ye family has been found. What will happen to the current third young master?"

"Are you talking about Ye Mingzhao? When the third young master of the Ye family was abducted all those years ago, Chairman Ye was worried that Madam Ye would have a mental breakdown, so he adopted Ye Mingzhao from the orphanage. Now that the real master has returned, what can a usurper like him—oh, Third Young Master!"

Two employees, who had been drinking coffee and gossiping in the break room, turned pale with fright when they saw Ye Mingzhao standing in the doorway. They scrambled to put down their coffee cups, stammering nervously, "Th-th-third young master, what brings you here?"

"Shouldn't I be here?" Ye Mingzhao leaned against the doorframe, his voice lazy and slightly cynical, his handsome and delicate face full of teasing amusement. "...Should I leave?"

The twenty-year-old was still slender and youthful, but his height had reached 1.8 meters. He wore a pure white, custom-tailored three-piece suit, with a black bow tie neatly fastened around his neck, looking elegant like a sleek, well-groomed panther.

At this moment, this aristocratic young man tilted his head, smiling as he looked at the two sweating, awkwardly smiling middle-aged men.

The afternoon sunlight poured in from the skylight at the end of the corridor, casting halos around Ye Mingzhao. Standing in the light, his slender and tall figure appeared even more pure white.

However, this scene only made the two in the break room more trembling with fear.

"I-I have work to do, th-third young master, we’ll be on our way." The two middle-aged employees bowed to Ye Mingzhao and hurriedly ran off.

Watching their fleeing backs, the amusement in Ye Mingzhao's eyes froze bit by bit.

No one knew that Ye Mingzhao had just awakened as he stepped into the break room.

A flood of information rushed into his mind, revealing that the world he was in was actually a novel.

The real young master, Chu Hengyi, who had just been found by the Ye family, was the male protagonist of this novel. As for him, Ye Mingzhao, he was merely a greedy and detestable antagonist.

In the previous life, after Chu Hengyi returned to the Ye family, he was seen as a thorn in Ye Mingzhao's side. The adopted Ye Mingzhao feared that Chu Hengyi would take away everything that belonged to him. Relying on the trust of his adoptive parents and elder brother, Ye Mingzhao pretended to care for Chu Hengyi while secretly framing and slandering him until Chu Hengyi was estranged from his family and ultimately driven to suicide in despair.

Then, Chu Hengyi was reborn.

After his rebirth, the real young master no longer held unrealistic hopes for his family. His only goal was revenge. He would make everyone who had wronged him pay, bring the Ye family to ruin, and expose Ye Mingzhao as a fake young master.

In the end, the villainous Ye Mingzhao was thrown out of the Ye family, penniless and miserable. Meanwhile, Chu Hengyi rose to become a powerful tycoon on his own terms.

With a "crack," a delicate and beautiful coffee cup was forcefully crushed by a slender, pale hand with distinct knuckles. Drops of blood trickled from between the fingers, forming dark red splatters on the marble countertop.

Ye Mingzhao lowered his eyes, expressionless, and ruthlessly swept the remains of his once favorite coffee cup into the trash. He casually grabbed two paper towels to wipe the blood from the counter.

Then, after composing himself, Ye Mingzhao smiled at the mirror on the break room wall, revealing a flawless smile.

As he recalled the original story that had suddenly surfaced in his mind, Ye Mingzhao picked up his phone after returning to his office and dialed a number: "Have there been any developments in the investigation I asked for? I want all the information on Chu Hengyi, money is no issue..."

After hanging up, Ye Mingzhao pondered for a moment before making another call to the Ye family's lawyer.

Finally, Ye Mingzhao opened the safe and took out some property deeds, stock, and fund purchase contracts, placing them into a brown envelope.

As he left the office, Ye Mingzhao tapped on the assistant's desk and said, "I have some personal matters to take care of, so I’ll be leaving early today. If anyone is looking for me, have them call my personal number."

Word of the real third young master’s return had already spread through the company. The young assistant, feeling some sympathy for Ye Mingzhao, nodded and said, "I understand, Mr. Ye."

Ye Mingzhao, currently serving as Chairman Ye's personal assistant, smiled brilliantly at the young assistant. Her gaze faltered for a moment, lost in his dazzling smile.

After Ye Mingzhao left, the young assistant looked at the female secretary sitting next to her with a regretful expression and gossiped, "The real young master of the Ye family has returned. What will happen to Assistant Ye? It's such a shame. Assistant Ye is so excellent, only 20 years old and already a university graduate. He has such a high degree, a great personality, and looks even better than a celebrity. How come he's not the real young master of the Ye family?"

The female secretary disdainfully curled her lips. "Even if he's not the real young master of the Ye family, being an adopted son of the Ye family guarantees him a life of wealth and luxury. How much do you earn to be sympathizing with him? I think he's already living a pretty good life."

The young assistant was taken aback, blinked, and said, "I suppose you're right," she said, blinking in surprise.

At that moment, the young assistant felt as if a filter had shattered. She no longer pitied Ye Mingzhao and instead saw him as a beneficiary of privilege, someone who was rather detestable.

When Ye Mingzhao returned to the Ye family, Mrs. Ye was pacing anxiously in the living room. Seeing Ye Mingzhao come home, her expression clearly froze for a moment. "Zhaozhao, why are you back so early? Is something wrong at the company?"

"The company is fine. I was worried about you being home alone, so I thought I'd come back to keep you company." Ye Mingzhao gently squeezed the brown paper bag in his hand, his eyes lowered, his thick, curly lashes fluttering like butterfly wings.

Mrs. Ye hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and stepped forward to hold Ye Mingzhao's hand, leading him to sit down on the sofa. "I knew our Zhaozhao is always so thoughtful. I also believe that you and Ye Mingyi will get along just fine."

Feeling emotional, Mrs. Ye gently touched the back of Ye Mingzhao's head. She remembered the child she had brought back from the orphanage, who had been as frail as a kitten when he first arrived at the Ye family. Now, he had grown into a handsome and excellent young man.

She wondered what her biological son looked like now.

Mrs. Ye's expression became distant, her gaze falling on Ye Mingzhao's face, but her eyes were empty and vacant, clearly seeing someone else through him.

Ye Mingzhao held Mrs. Ye's hand in return and spoke gently, "Don't worry."

"It's not that I'm worried," Mrs. Ye hastily interjected, her words hesitant, "What do you think Ye Mingyi is like now? We received a call from the Public Security Bureau in South Province. They said a child's DNA matched the samples stored in the missing persons DNA database that your father and I provided. That child is also twenty years old and got into a fight at the police station... Why did he get into a fight? What has he been through all these years? Has he had a hard life?"

Mrs. Ye's emotions were complicated, and she didn't know what she was thinking. She felt panicked.

Ye Mingzhao handed the brown paper bag to Mrs. Ye and spoke gently, "I've hired a private investigator to look into Chu Hengyi."

Chu Hengyi, the third young master of the Ye family who had gone missing—Ye Mingyi.

At these words, Mrs. Ye was completely shocked. "What?"

Ye Mingzhao smiled at Mrs. Ye, his peach-blossom eyes giving off a deep, affectionate look. "I'm also curious about what he's been through all these years. Dad and elder brother flew to South Province on a private jet two days ago but still haven't been able to bring him back. I think something must have happened, so I hired a private investigator to look into Chu Hengyi and the Chu family who adopted him."

What Ye Mingzhao didn't say was that, according to the original plot, this private investigator would soon be won over by the reborn Chu Hengyi. From then on, not only did the investigator loyally serve Chu Hengyi, but he also, disregarding professional ethics, handed over all the evidence of Ye Mingzhao hiring the investigator to Chu Hengyi. This evidence became a crucial piece for Chu Hengyi to expose Ye Mingzhao's ulterior motives.

Mrs. Ye looked at Ye Mingzhao in shock, taking a long moment before she could find her voice again. "What you're doing is right. What have you found out so far?"

"The detailed information hasn't been compiled into a written report yet. All I know is that eighteen years ago, the Chu family took in a child and named him Chu Hengyi—based on the information provided by the authorities, this child should be Ye Mingyi. The Chu family wasn't well-off. After Chu Jianguo and his wife lost their jobs, they opened a steamed bun shop in a town in South Province. The Chu family had two children. Chu Hengyi dropped out of school after middle school and took on odd jobs to support his younger brother's education. To earn money, he even participated in underground boxing matches."

"I see." It was the first time Mrs. Ye had heard concrete news about her son. Hearing that Chu Hengyi hadn't even finished high school and had to work at a young age, she felt both heartache and sorrow, a mix of emotions swirling inside her.

Ye Mingzhao suddenly sighed, "I know that Mom and Dad have never given up looking for him all these years. If only the Chu family had reported finding the child back then, maybe things would have been different..."

Ye Mingzhao didn't finish his sentence before changing the subject, "Either way, the Chu family has done a lot for Chu Hengyi. I want to repay them."

Saying this, Ye Mingzhao opened the brown paper bag and took out the property deed and various stock and fund purchase contracts inside.

"What are you trying to do?" Mrs. Ye was both shocked and puzzled as she looked at Ye Mingzhao.

Ye Mingzhao said, "I plan to transfer the house in the city center to the Chu family."

Just as he was speaking, the sound of a car engine could be heard from outside. The gardener, who was trimming the lawn, called out excitedly, "The master and the eldest young master are back."

The sound of hurried footsteps approached, and the door was pushed open from outside.

Chairman Ye and Eldest Young Master Ye entered, accompanied by a young man who was nearly 1.9 meters tall, with a stern face, broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and an unhealed wound above his brow bone.

The man was wearing a black T-shirt on his upper body, which faintly outlined the muscular contours of his chest and abs. His exposed arms had veins bulging, and his fists clenched at his sides, the protruding knuckles radiating raw power. The fierce, primal energy that radiated from him left Ye Mingzhao momentarily stunned, suddenly realizing why the Chu Hengyi in the original story was always so easy to manipulate.

As Ye Mingzhao discreetly sized up Chu Hengyi, Chu Hengyi suddenly turned his head to look over, as if sensing his gaze.

Chu Hengyi's eyes were sharp and angular, and his pupils, a pale amber hue shared by the Ye family, glowed gold in the sunlight, resembling the vertical slit of a predator's eye. When those eyes locked onto Ye Mingzhao, filled with intense malice, Ye Mingzhao felt a wave of bloodlust wash over him.

The surroundings fell into a deathly silence. Everyone noticed Chu Hengyi's dissatisfaction and hostility.

Ye Mingzhao smiled slightly and took the lead in breaking the oppressive atmosphere: "Welcome home."

He said, "I am Ye Mingzhao."