Western suburbs, villa district.
Several people hauled a body out of a swimming pool.
The body was none other than Bai Yunsheng, the youngest son of the Feng Household in the villa district.
Three hours earlier...
One car after another gleamed in the dazzling light as they slowly drove through the golden iron gates.
Zhang Cheng gazed outside. The moment the car stopped, he eagerly jumped out and ran toward the house. The woman behind him, glittering with jewels, walked over at a leisurely pace and chided him without much severity. "Why are you running? Be careful."
Zhang Cheng turned around. "Tingfan's already sent me a bunch of messages. He's probably getting impatient." With that, he hurried inside again.
The woman smiled and glanced back. The driver immediately took a gift out of the trunk. Linking her arm through her husband's, she said, "Follow the young master and give him the gift."
As soon as Zhang Cheng entered, he politely greeted a few elders and took the gift the driver brought him, then headed upstairs with casual familiarity. Even from a distance, he could hear Feng Tingfan losing his temper.
"Didn't I tell you I didn't want these cufflinks?"
"I-I'm sorry, young master. The pearl cufflinks you asked for, last time... last time..." The servant lowered their head in fear. "You used them as slingshot ammunition to shoot..." They never said what he had shot, and their face grew a shade paler.
Hearing this only made Feng Tingfan angrier. "It's my birthday today! How am I supposed to wear these red gemstone cufflinks with white clothes?" He kicked the servant, who cried out and dropped straight to their knees.
Feng Tingfan snapped, "Can't you fucking go find them?"
Tears welled in the servant's eyes, but they dared not argue. They huddled in on themselves, too afraid to look up.
Zhang Cheng said, "Why get mad over a pair of cufflinks on a day like this? Didn't you say you'd just consider it shooting a dog, that there was no need to find them, and that he should get a taste of the world?"
Feng Tingfan's expression eased when he heard Zhang Cheng's voice. "What took you so long?"
Zhang Cheng turned and flopped onto the sofa, unbothered. "You know my mom. She can spend hours fussing over her makeup, and she wouldn't let me come ahead." He took out the birthday gift and tossed it over. Feng Tingfan caught it deftly. "What is it?"
Zhang Cheng said, "A car. It's parked in your underground garage."
Feng Tingfan gave it a disdainful glance. "You give me one every year. How unoriginal."
Zhang Cheng said, "Dude, when I get my mom a present, I just have one of our servants pick something at random. At least I picked your car myself. Be grateful." As he spoke, he sat up, the corners of his mouth curling higher. Without bothering to hide anything from the servant kneeling nearby, he asked, "Speaking of which, where's that little brother of yours? I didn't see him anywhere on my way in."
Feng Tingfan straightened his clothes. "Are the others here yet?"
Zhang Cheng said, "They should be here soon."
Feng Tingfan said, "I haven't seen him all day. I'll send a few people to look for him later, or we'll have nothing to play with tonight."
Zhang Cheng's grin widened at that, his eyes brimming with excitement. "You got it."
Bai Yunsheng had no idea how long he had been hiding. Only when the noise outside began to swell did he emerge from the filthy, dust-covered basement. He had gone hungry all day and was unsteady on his feet as he came out, nearly collapsing onto the floor. Bracing one hand against the wall, Bai Yunsheng kept one eye tightly shut. He only slowly opened it once the dizziness had completely passed.
He had hidden in another building, where the Feng Household kept things they no longer wanted-things like him. He looked up at the brightly lit main house nearby, then down at his clothes. They were terribly dirty. He hesitated over whether to go back, wash up, and change. The birthday banquet had already begun, so Feng Tingfan probably wouldn't bother him anymore. The thought put him a little more at ease despite himself.
Feng Tingfan definitely wouldn't ruin his own birthday party.
He crossed a long covered walkway and reached the main house. The sounds of celebration poured unobstructed into Bai Yunsheng's ears, leaving him momentarily adrift, but he soon regained his composure. Unlike Feng Tingfan, whose room was upstairs, he lived with the servants at the far eastern end of the ground floor.
The lively sounds still echoed in Bai Yunsheng's ears as he carefully opened the door, afraid of drawing any unnecessary trouble. But in the next instant, he froze. The sounds in his ears turned into the noise of a stuttering machine, strange and distorted.
Feng Tingfan and several of his friends stood in the room, their faces full of disgust.
Bai Yunsheng turned to leave almost instinctively, but he wasn't quick enough to escape Zhang Cheng, who had been lying in wait. A hand seized his hair, and pain swept through his whole body, forcing a whimper out of him.
Zhang Cheng said, "Why are you running? It's your second brother's birthday. What are you hiding for?"
Mocking laughter rose around him.
Zhang Cheng dragged Bai Yunsheng by the hair, making him stumble over to Feng Tingfan.
Feng Tingfan looked down at Bai Yunsheng, who stood trembling with his head lowered. "Where were you hiding?"
Bai Yunsheng dared not leave him unanswered. "In the o-old house." No sooner had he spoken than someone piped up, "Feng Tingfan, is your little brother a stutterer?" Then they repeated Bai Yunsheng's words in a nasty, mocking voice.
Feng Tingfan asked, "Why were you hiding from me?"
Bai Yunsheng had no idea what Feng Tingfan intended to do and never dared lift his head. "T-today is your birthday. I was afraid seeing me would m-make you unhappy."
That answer seemed to brighten Feng Tingfan's mood considerably. "Is that so?"
Bai Yunsheng nodded repeatedly.
"Since you knew it was my birthday, where's my present?"
Bai Yunsheng stiffened. He had no money to buy a gift, and even if he had bought one, Feng Tingfan would only have thrown it in the trash. When Bai Yunsheng remained silent, Feng Tingfan understood. He looked up and raised an eyebrow. Picking up on his signal, Zhang Cheng chimed in, "Don't tell me you didn't get him a present?"
Bai Yunsheng's face grew even paler. "No, I..." He repeated "I" several times, but still couldn't think of what to say next-or what he could say to keep them from tormenting him.
Zhang Cheng said, "You didn't even prepare a present, did you?"
Bai Yunsheng fell silent, biting down hard on his lip.
Zhang Cheng raised his foot to kick him, but Feng Tingfan stopped him. He moved a little closer to Bai Yunsheng. Though they were the same height, he somehow made Bai Yunsheng feel as if he couldn't breathe.
"Since you haven't prepared a present, I'd like to ask you for something. Is that okay? Consider it my birthday gift."
Bai Yunsheng didn't know what Feng Tingfan was going to do. Instinctively recoiling in fear, he glanced around, weighing his chances of escape.
When Bai Yunsheng still didn't respond, Zhang Cheng lost patience and slapped him across the face. "Are you mute?!" His pale cheek instantly flushed red. Zhang Cheng had struck hard, and the taste of blood spread through Bai Yunsheng's mouth.
Feng Tingfan's voice carried a warning. "I'll ask you one last time. Is that okay?"
Bai Yunsheng timidly glanced at the people surrounding him, then nodded, trembling.
Feng Tingfan said, "Then give me Falling Rain."
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