Easy Target

Western suburbs, villa district.

Several people hauled a corpse out of the swimming pool.

The corpse was none other than Bai Yunsheng, the youngest young master of the Feng Household.

Three hours earlier...

One car after another gleamed beneath the dazzling light as they slowly drove through the golden iron gates.

Zhang Cheng looked outside. The moment the car stopped, he impatiently jumped out and ran inside.

The bejeweled woman behind him walked over at an unhurried pace and mildly scolded him, "Why are you running? Be careful."

Zhang Cheng turned around. "Tingfan's already sent me so many messages. He's probably getting impatient." With that, he hurried inside again.

The woman smiled and glanced behind her. The driver immediately took the gift from the trunk. As she linked arms with her husband beside her, she said, "Follow the young master and give him the gift."

As soon as Zhang Cheng entered, he politely greeted several elders, casually took the gift the driver handed over, and headed upstairs with the ease of someone familiar with the place. From far away, he could already hear Feng Tingfan throwing a fit.

"Didn't I tell you I didn't want these cufflinks?"

"Y-yes, Young Master. The pair of pearl cufflinks you mentioned last time, last time..." The servant lowered his head in fear. "You used them as ammunition for your slingshot and shot..." He did not dare finish the sentence, and his face turned even paler.

Feng Tingfan grew even angrier. "Today is my birthday! How am I supposed to match these red gemstone cufflinks with my white clothes?" He kicked the servant, who cried out and fell to his knees.

Feng Tingfan said, "Can't you fucking go look for them?"

The servant's eyes brimmed with tears, but he did not dare argue. He cowered there, too afraid to look up.

Zhang Cheng said, "Why get angry over a pair of cufflinks on such a great day? Didn't you say to just treat it as shooting a dog? No need to look for them. Let him see a bit of the world."

Hearing Zhang Cheng's voice, Feng Tingfan's expression improved somewhat. "Why are you only getting here now?"

Zhang Cheng casually turned and sprawled onto the sofa. "You know my mom. She can spend hours putting on makeup, and she wouldn't let me come first." He pulled out the birthday gift in his hand and tossed it over. Feng Tingfan caught it quickly. "What is it?"

Zhang Cheng said, "A car. It's parked in your underground garage."

Feng Tingfan shot it a disdainful glance. "You give me this every year. There's no thought put into it at all."

Zhang Cheng said, "Come on, I have the servants at home pick out whatever for my mom's gifts. At least I picked out your car myself. Be satisfied." As he spoke, he sat up straight, the corners of his lips curling slightly. Without caring that the servant was still kneeling nearby, he added, "By the way, where's that little brother of yours? I didn't see him anywhere on my way here."

Feng Tingfan smoothed his clothes. "Have the others arrived?"

Zhang Cheng said, "They should be here soon."

Feng Tingfan said, "I haven't seen him all day. Send some people to look for him later. Otherwise, there'll be nothing to play with tonight."

Zhang Cheng grinned even wider, his eyes brimming with excitement. "You got it."

Even Bai Yunsheng did not know how long he had been hiding. It was not until the noise outside grew livelier that he emerged from the filthy, dust-covered basement. His stomach had been empty all day, and he was so unsteady when he came out that he nearly collapsed onto the floor. Bai Yunsheng braced one hand against the wall, keeping one eye tightly shut. Only after the dizziness completely faded did he slowly open his eyes.

He had been hiding in another building, where the Feng Household stored its things. Like him, they were things no one wanted. He looked up at the brightly lit main house in the distance, then lowered his head to look at his clothes. They were truly too dirty. He hesitated over whether to go back and wash up. The birthday banquet had already begun, so Feng Tingfan probably would not trouble him again. With that thought, he felt considerably more at ease.

Feng Tingfan definitely would not ruin his own birthday party.

After passing through a long covered corridor, he reached the main house. The lively sounds poured into Bai Yunsheng's ears without obstruction, leaving him briefly lost. But he soon returned to normal. Unlike Feng Tingfan, who lived upstairs, his room was on the far eastern side of the first floor, together with the servants.

The lively sounds still echoed in Bai Yunsheng's ears as he carefully opened the door, afraid of stirring up unnecessary trouble. But in the next second, he froze where he stood. The sounds by his ears turned into the stuttering noise of a machine, eerie and distorted.

Feng Tingfan and several of his friends stood in the room, their faces full of disgust.

Bai Yunsheng almost instinctively turned to leave, but he was no faster than Zhang Cheng, who had been waiting for him. Zhang Cheng grabbed a fistful of his hair, and pain instantly swept through Bai Yunsheng's entire body, making him groan.

Zhang Cheng said, "Why are you running? It's your second brother's birthday. Why are you hiding?"

Laughter rose from all around him.

With Zhang Cheng gripping his hair, Bai Yunsheng staggered over to Feng Tingfan.

Feng Tingfan looked down at Bai Yunsheng, who stood with his head lowered and body trembling. "Where were you hiding?"

Bai Yunsheng did not dare remain silent. "I-in the old house." As soon as he finished speaking, someone spoke up. "Feng Tingfan, is your little brother a stutterer?" Then he mockingly repeated Bai Yunsheng's words.

Feng Tingfan said, "Why were you hiding from me?"

Bai Yunsheng did not know what Feng Tingfan intended to do and did not dare raise his head. "T-today is your birthday. I was afraid that seeing me would m-make you unhappy."

Hearing Bai Yunsheng's answer, Feng Tingfan looked rather pleased. "Is that so?"

Bai Yunsheng nodded repeatedly.

"Since you know it's my birthday, where's my gift?"

Bai Yunsheng's body stiffened. How could he have money to buy a gift? Even if he had bought one, Feng Tingfan would only throw it in the trash. Bai Yunsheng did not speak for a long time, and Feng Tingfan understood. He raised his brows, and Zhang Cheng caught the signal Feng Tingfan gave him. "You didn't bring a gift?"

Bai Yunsheng's face turned even paler. "N-no, I..." He repeated himself several times, yet still could not think of what to say next, or what he could say to avoid being bullied.

Zhang Cheng said, "You didn't even prepare a gift?"

Bai Yunsheng fell silent, biting his lip hard.

Zhang Cheng raised his foot, about to kick him, but Feng Tingfan stopped him. He stepped closer to Bai Yunsheng. Though they were the same height, Feng Tingfan somehow made Bai Yunsheng feel as though he could not breathe.

"Since you didn't prepare a gift, I want to ask you for something. All right? Consider it my birthday gift."

Bai Yunsheng did not know what Feng Tingfan wanted. Instinctively resistant and afraid, he looked around, calculating his chances of escaping.

Seeing that Bai Yunsheng still had not responded, Zhang Cheng lost patience and slapped him across the face. "Gone mute?" Bai Yunsheng's fair face immediately reddened. Zhang Cheng had hit him hard, and the taste of blood spread through Bai Yunsheng's mouth.

Feng Tingfan's tone carried a warning. "I'll ask one last time. All right?"

Bai Yunsheng timidly glanced at the people surrounding him and nodded shakily.

Feng Tingfan said, "Then give Falling Rain to me."