Chapter 47 Falling Off a Cliff.

Chapter 47: Plunging Off the Cliff.

Yu Xin followed Yu Ning, both silent as they walked into the forest.

He knew Yu Ning calling him out alone wouldn't be for anything good, but what did it matter? He wasn't afraid of Yu Ning, and besides, there were things he genuinely wanted to know.

Along the way, branches and vines occasionally snagged their path. Yu Ning was clearly unaccustomed to it—he'd been scratched by stray branches countless times. Yet, for once, he seemed to have shed his young master's delicate airs, not uttering a sound even when scraped, focused solely on leading Yu Xin deeper into the woods.

"Is this far enough?" Yu Xin stopped. They could no longer hear the camp, ensuring their privacy.

He just wanted to finish talking quickly and return to camp, not waste time on someone like Yu Ning.

"No, not yet. Surely you don't want anyone overhearing our conversation, would you?" Yu Ning kept walking. Yu Xin, impatient, had no choice but to follow him deeper in.

As they walked, the foliage suddenly opened up to a clearing. Yu Ning stopped and turned. "Right here."

They seemed to have reached the edge of the forest. Before them was an abruptly open sky, with no path ahead—instead, a hillside. The slope wasn't too high, but a careless fall would still result in injury.

"Whatever you have to say, say it quickly." Yu Xin urged, refusing to spare even a shred of patience for Yu Ning.

Yu Ning paused briefly. When he spoke again, Yu Xin keenly detected a subtle shift in his tone. "Yu Xin, you must really hate me too, right?"

His voice hadn't changed, but his tone was sharper, completely lacking its usual clear, pleasant quality. The angelic persona Yu Ning always maintained seemed to crack, exposing a glimpse of the true personality hidden deep within.

"Beating me so many times on this show, watching me get humiliated and mocked by others—you must be really pleased with yourself, right?"

Yu Ning’s voice grew even sharper. He was still smiling, but it was a smile anyone could tell wasn't born of happiness. Instead, it resembled a stiff, unremovable mask, appearing on his innocent face and looking utterly bizarre.

If the Yu parents, Yu Zhizhou, or Yu Ning’s fans were to see this, they would surely doubt whether this was still the pure, delicate Yu Ning they remembered.

Yu Xin, however, wasn't surprised. With no cameras and no one else around, Yu Ning had finally stopped pretending to be a little angel.

This was just as well. The way Yu Ning spoke softly, acting pure and innocent, made Yu Xin viscerally uncomfortable.

"If you called me out just to spout nonsense, then I don’t have time to waste playing games with you," Yu Xin said coldly.

"Don’t be like that," Yu Ning took a step closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "How long has it been since we last talked properly? The last time was before you left home. You were much more adorable back then—you believed everything I said without question, and with just a little provocation, you’d obediently do exactly as I wanted. Really… foolishly endearing."

"But now… you’re completely different, Yu Xin. Can you tell me what you went through after you left the Yu family?"

Why had he suddenly gained so many skills? Why was his personality so different from before? Why… did it seem like he was a completely different person?

Yu Ning stepped closer, now just inches away from Yu Xin, his eyes piercingly fixed on him, trying to detect any clues from his expression.

"Or could it be that you were just pretending all along while you were with the Yu family? Intentionally losing to me, intentionally presenting that foolish, weak, easily bullied facade—was it all to deceive me?"

Yu Ning slowly voiced his suspicions. From the moment he realized things were slipping out of his control, he had been continually pondering, recalling every detail from when Yu Xin was still with the Yu family. Of course, he’d never guess that Yu Xin’s inner self had been replaced by someone else, so the most plausible explanation was that Yu Xin had been acting all along, putting on a show for him and the Yu family.

If that were really the case, then Yu Xin’s acting was far too convincing. His scheming ran much deeper than Yu Ning had ever imagined.

He stared eagerly at Yu Xin, trying to find answers in his expression. Yu Xin met his gaze expressionlessly, his jet-black eyes like a cold, still pool of water, as if the person before him wasn't worth expending any emotion on.

As if deliberately stringing him along, Yu Xin slowly said, "Believe what you want. Anyway, I have nothing to do with the Yu family anymore. But you—don’t forget what you promised me when you called me out. Can you honor your promise now?"

Since Yu Ning was so different from the kind and innocent boy others described, Yu Xin had to suspect that the incident where the original host was framed for harming Yu Ning—leading to his expulsion from the Yu family and being vilified online—might have hidden complexities.

After all, Yu Ning’s malice toward him was barely concealed; he seemed restless unless he was crushing Yu Xin underfoot. Yu Xin didn’t believe that Yu Ning wouldn’t have schemed against the original host when he was defenseless.

"You mean that…" Yu Ning sank into recollection, his voice growing distant.

His mental state was clearly unstable now. Perhaps he had never been humiliated so publicly before, and his persona was starting to crumble. Already twisted and obsessive, such a major shock had left him somewhat deranged.

But if he wanted to know the truth about what happened back then, Yu Ning was his only source.

Yu Xin patiently waited for Yu Ning to finish his reminiscing.

"Right before you left home, you asked me why Mom and Dad’s attitude toward you changed so drastically." Yu Ning spoke slowly.

"I was truly curious." No matter how flawed the original host was, he was still a child the Yu family had raised for over a decade. Yu Xin also wanted to know why, after Yu Ning returned, the Yu family seemed so eager to cast him out.

"I have to say, that question is truly laughable, Yu Xin. Did you really not notice at all?"

"Notice what?"

"Didn’t you realize that no matter how hard you tried, you could never truly integrate into the Yu family? You always remained like an outsider. Want to know why?"

"Because you’ll always be a lowborn from a trash planet. Usurping my identity was useless—the blood flowing in your veins is inherently inferior and naturally unlikable. No matter how much you try to please others, it’s a wasted effort. And you, you’re like a freak, always standing out…" As Yu Ning spoke, he seemed to regain his confidence, his smile growing wider. "But I’m different. Even after living outside for over a decade, the moment I returned, everything that was mine remained mine. No one could take it away."

"How can a common raccoon compare to the crown prince? Someone as lowly and incompetent as you deserved to be abandoned by the Yu family, deserved to be hated by everyone. Occupying my place for over a decade was pointless—the moment I returned, didn’t you have to obediently step aside? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…"

"If you’re so remarkable, then why did you chase me onto this show in a frenzy the moment my reputation improved slightly? And how did you end up being overshadowed by me in every way, making such a spectacle of yourself?" Yu Xin deliberately targeted Yu Ning’s most sensitive spot.

Sure enough, Yu Ning was instantly provoked, shrieking, "What does that matter? After this show ends, I’ll still be the young master of the Yu family! You’re just an undocumented nobody hiding on the Imperial Capital Planet! Do you think I care?"

"Ah, you probably don’t know this," Yu Xin said deliberately, "but Big Brother met with me alone before. He promised me that if I apologized to Mom and Dad, I could return to the Yu family. At that time, I could continue being a young master of the Yu family…"

"Impossible!"

Hearing this, Yu Ning jolted his head up, extremely agitated, and cried out, "Don’t dream about it! Even if Big Brother thought about it, Dad would never let you return! He told me himself, he’s known for a long time that you—"

"Known what?" Yu Xin had a strong feeling that what followed was crucial.

But Yu Ning abruptly stopped speaking, belatedly realizing he had almost revealed something he shouldn’t.

"You were baiting me?" Yu Ning finally sensed something was off. Yu Xin had already publicly cut ties with the Yu family—why would he apologize to Mom and Dad and return as Big Brother suggested? Yu Xin was truly cunning; he’d almost fallen for it…

No, he absolutely couldn’t let Yu Xin find out about those things.

"He’s known for a long time that you’ve gone astray and turned corrupt—even going so far as to harm me. Of course he wouldn’t let you return." Yu Ning had regained his vigilance and wouldn’t be so easily tricked into revealing anything else.

Yu Xin knew that pressing further would likely be useless. Unwilling to waste another word on Yu Ning, he turned to leave. "Then there’s nothing more to say. You’d better remember your promise and stop bothering me."

"Wait, don’t go!" Seeing him about to leave without another word, Yu Ning grew anxious.

Yu Xin paid him no mind, walking back along the path without even turning his head.

"Stop right there! I promise, you’ll regret it if you leave!" Yu Ning’s shrill voice chased after him. "I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you everything!"

Yu Xin stopped, drawing on his last shred of patience to turn and look back at Yu Ning.

Seeing him halt, Yu Ning’s expression was indescribable. After a moment, he slowly revealed a somewhat eerie smile.

"Yu Xin, those people online like you so much—they’re even willing to trample me for your sake. It really pisses me off. What should I do?" He spoke as if troubled, slowly backing away as he did.

The spot where they had been standing was already near the hillside, with a fairly steep slope behind them. Yu Ning had retreated until he was close to the edge of the slope.

"...I just can’t stand to see you doing well. So, I’m going to make everyone despise you again, make you hit rock bottom once more. Yu Xin, what do you think?"

"What are you trying to do?"

As his final words fell, one more step back would send him tumbling down the cliff.

Yu Ning’s smile stretched to its limit, almost maniacal. Without hesitation, he took a step back, his foot meeting empty air. Like a broken marionette, he rolled down the cliff.

---

Author's Note:

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!