The past

After Lin Xingye returned to his room, Lin Xingmo gathered their parents and told them everything that had happened at the company that day, from beginning to end.

Looking utterly serious, Lin Xingmo asked, "Dad, tell me, should we send my brother to a psychiatric hospital, or should we send ourselves?"

Their father said nothing and gave Lin Xingmo a sharp rap on the head.

Their mother doted on her children more than anyone. Worry filled her face. "Oh, stop thinking about that. Whatever the case, if all of this is true, how did our Xingye come back?"

She was so distressed she nearly cried. "If that's what happened, how much must our Xingye have suffered, all on his own? If only we'd known, we wouldn't have forced him to learn the ropes at the company. This is all your fault!"

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she punched their father several times. "Wouldn't it have been enough for Xingye to live a happy life? Let outsiders say whatever they want. Look what you've done!"

Aunt Liu held her back. "Madam, don't work yourself up. Didn't the young master say something happened to you because of your heart condition? You have to be careful!"

That thought only made their mother's heart ache more. "Our poor Xingye! Who cares what that Li-whatever's name is? I'll go beat them to death today and avenge my son!"

Lin Xingmo and their father hurried to pull their agitated mother back, both looking helpless.

When they were little, his older brother had been kidnapped while trying to protect him and had nearly died. After waking up, he had lost his childhood memories. He hadn't even recognized their mother when he opened his eyes.

Chen Qin had cried for who knew how long. From then on, the Lin family had poured almost all their love into him.

Lin Xingmo had also sworn to protect his brother forever and spare him any pressure. He had worked hard to learn company management from their father, overcoming everyone's objections to firmly establish himself as CEO.

People outside the family all said he had stolen his brother's inheritance rights, imagining endless overt and covert struggles between them behind closed doors. Every time, he merely sneered. Mind the mess in your own family.

And so his brother had always lived carefree out in the world. He was the kindest and most cheerful member of the family, and also the most... innocent.

Lin Xingmo lowered his eyes. Had the family been too protective of his brother because of what had happened back then?

Lin Xingmo took his mother's hand, his gaze firm. "Mom, since my brother said he wants to get revenge on them himself, let's pretend we don't know anything. He's a grown man, too. He can stand on his own."

"Trust him."

Their mother's eyes were full of heartache, but seeing her husband nodding in agreement beside her and the determination in her son's eyes, she wiped away her tears. "All right. I trust my son."

Inside his room, Lin Xingye sat with his eyes lowered, lost in thought.

In his previous life, he had learned by chance that Li Hanwen had saved him, so he had already been deeply grateful to his savior. After that accident, he had fallen for him all the more. Once they were married, he had practically abandoned all dignity to beg for his affection.

Yet just two years into their marriage, Li Hanwen had cheated on him.

On the day he discovered it, he had gone home and had a huge argument with Li Hanwen. That was also the first time Li Hanwen had hit him.

It was as though a demon's true face had finally been unmasked, exposing the ugliest, most evil side of human nature.

Anger had overwhelmed them both. Li Hanwen shouted at him, "So what if I did it? What can you do to me? Haven't you already figured it out? I've transferred almost all your family's assets away. You still want to make a scene? Go on, then!"

Li Hanwen smiled smugly, his grin as hideous as a fiend from hell.

"Your family is nothing but a pile of muck now. Understand? What have you got left to fight me with? Be a good little housewife!" His voice dripped with mockery and contempt.

It was all too devastating. He couldn't help thinking back to a year earlier.

His younger brother had died, leaving the family grief-stricken, and his father had been hospitalized with a severe lung disease.

He himself had grown weak from repeated, unexplained bouts of illness and could only gradually hand over the company's affairs to Li Hanwen.

In the end, Li Hanwen had coaxed him into staying home to rest, and he had remained there ever since.

A chill gripped his heart. He didn't dare think too deeply about the truth behind it all, and a powerful wave of nausea rose inside him.

Trembling, he clutched his stomach, the last shred of hope he held for Li Hanwen in his eyes. "Was... was it you?"

His voice shook uncontrollably.

Li Hanwen calmly lit a cigarette, cast him an indifferent glance, and sneered. "Didn't you already guess?"

Tears spilled from his eyes almost instantly. For the first time, he screamed without caring how he looked. "Li Hanwen! Did you do all this just for money? Then what am I to you? What were these past two years?"

Their marriage had come about because of an accident, but he took relationships seriously. He had genuinely tried to like him, love him, and treat him well. He had once believed they felt the same way about each other.

As though he had heard some hilarious joke, the man stood there laughing wildly, laughing so hard he couldn't straighten up.

Only when Lin Xingye's face had turned ashen did he roughly grab his face. "Us? What kind of wife won't even let me f*** him? What a joke."

"Who wants to play innocent little boys with you?"

Lin Xingye had never expected that this was what he resented. He had firm principles about such things and yearned for romance. He had hoped it would happen naturally once their feelings were mutual.

But there had been no love in Li Hanwen's eyes when he looked at him, so naturally, he had never agreed.

A vicious smile curled across the man's face as he shoved him down with savage force, slamming him into the table.

"If I can't have you, no one else will."

If Xu Chen hadn't suddenly appeared, Li Hanwen might really have dared to beat him to death.

He stopped dwelling on the past and opened his phone to distract himself. Just then, he saw the screenshots Xu Chen had sent, showing the wealthy wives' group chats discussing what had happened that day.

Meanwhile, Li Hanwen had even put on an act by posting "A clear conscience needs no defense" on his Moments, condemning their company's employee for insulting a customer and treating him appallingly.

He hadn't dared mention being beaten, though. Perhaps he found it too embarrassing.

Lin Xingye's gaze darkened. He opened his chat with Xu Chen and sent another message.

[Chen Xiaoyan insulted a client. Fire her, and make sure you tell her why.]

At the same time, several messages popped up on his phone. They contained photos taken from various angles of Li Hanwen being intimate with different women. He saved them one by one and moved them into a folder.

He switched off his phone, leaving the room pitch-black. In the faint moonlight, his eyes were as alluring as a phantom in the night, gleaming with a strange light.

Li Hanwen, this is only the appetizer.

The private room was a lively swirl of colorful lights and drinks.

A man sat alone in a corner, drinking by himself as he listened to the others noisily recounting the latest amusing gossip.

"Have you heard? Li Hanwen got beaten up by the Lin family's young master!"

"Lin Xingye? Isn't he famous for being good-tempered? We all hang around killing time, but he won't touch anything risky. Who even knows what he does for fun?"

"He's like some kind of freak!"

"Maybe he's still suckling at his mommy's breast. Hahahahaha!"

The man who had been quietly enjoying the gossip nearby frowned. The more he heard, the more disgusted he became. They were even ruining his enjoyment of the gossip.

He got up and left. Only after a moment did the group slowly register what had happened.

"Wasn't that Bo Xi who just walked past?"