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Half an hour later, Shen Duo and the men he brought smashed open the basement screening room's door. Rage had turned his eyes red and strained, and his clenched fists had not loosened for a moment.

The instant the door opened, he ignored the startled screams and the naked couples inside, heading straight for the wealthy businessman writhing on top of You Gui.

He no longer cared about business or whatever powerful faction the businessman represented. All he could see was You Gui lying unconscious, her clothes almost completely stripped off.

Shen Duo hauled the businessman up with one hand. His clenched fists finally found an outlet, and after a few punches and kicks, the man passed out.

Wei Zexuan followed close behind, a strange gleam of delight in his eyes. Watching Shen Duo lose control, he feared Shen Duo might actually beat the man to death and hurried forward to stop him. Instead, Shen Duo shoved him aside, wrapped You Gui tightly in his coat, and left without so much as looking at him.

Wei Zexuan stopped in his tracks. For a moment, he felt hurt, too. Besides, he had his own pride. He watched jealously as Shen Duo carried You Gui away and made no further attempt to stop him.

The businessman's assistant was a shrewd-looking man in glasses. He had come in with Wei Zexuan, but Shen Duo's fury had frightened him into keeping out of sight, leaving him to watch his boss get beaten half to death. Only after Shen Duo and his men left did he emerge to help the businessman up.

"Young President Wei, President Xue put aside his work and came to this birthday banquet because he considers you a friend. Is this how you treat your friends and business partners?"

Wei Zexuan did not even lift his eyelids. "I'll give President Xue an explanation when he wakes up," he said casually. "Who the hell are you to question me?"

The bespectacled man went pale at the rebuke. Having worked his way up far enough for his wealthy boss to bring him along to broaden his horizons, he was no fool. He immediately stopped talking and helped the arriving medical staff lift the businessman onto a stretcher, then followed them out, filled with worry.

In the servants' quarters, Shi Yuan had opened his book. At first, he could still take in a few words, but as evening approached without any news, he grew increasingly restless.

He comforted himself. "No news is good news. It means nothing happened to You Gui."

Steady footsteps sounded in the hallway. He recognized them; Wei Zelin must have returned.

"Brother Lin, today..."

Shi Yuan's anxious question trailed off. He took the rabbit-shaped box Wei Zelin handed him. The Furuijia logo was printed in its lower-left corner.

"Is this for me?" Shi Yuan asked hesitantly.

"Didn't you say you wanted some earlier? I saved you two desserts. Try them and see if you like them." After handing him the box, Wei Zelin went into the room to get a change of clothes.

The unexpected kindness made Shi Yuan forget the question he had been about to ask. He stood there in a daze for several minutes, only carefully opening the box when he heard water running in the bathroom. Two exquisite little cakes sat side by side inside, one green and one black. The green one had three tiny flowers on top, delicate and adorable.

A small fork was attached to the lid. Shi Yuan removed it and, still standing with the box in his hand, forked off a small piece and put it in his mouth. It was sweet without being cloying, with just the right amount of sugar.

Shi Yuan's family had been of modest means, but he was their only child, and his parents had never deprived him of anything growing up. He was not a picky eater, but he especially loved fruit and desserts. Whenever he went home during school breaks, the coffee table would be piled with fresh fruit his parents had bought him and warm little cakes his mother had just baked.

Ever since they had passed away, his life had been a frantic mess. After transmigrating into the novel, all he thought about was cautiously holding out until Wei Zelin brought down the Wei Family so he could get a divorce and emerge in one piece. He could not rely on the Shi Family, and in truth, he did not want to. He only acknowledged his own parents and had no desire to be someone else's son. The wealthy lifestyle he had previously encountered only in books had never belonged to him anyway.

Shi Yuan lived every day on eggshells, without the slightest sense of belonging in this world. So he focused on his exams, intent only on securing a stable job and making an honest living. Apart from that ice cream, he had not eaten a little dessert in a very, very long time. Today, he had only mentioned it as an offhand excuse, yet Wei Zelin had really remembered.

The fragrant cake tasted sweet in his mouth, but as it slipped down his throat, its sweetness turned bittersweet.

By the time Wei Zelin finished his shower and came out, Shi Yuan had sat back down and picked up his book.

Wei Zelin seemed to be in a good mood that day and spoke to Shi Yuan first. "You seem to have been working very hard lately."

"Yes. I want to take the exam for a Teacher Qualification Certificate."

"After what happened this time, I can tell my dad no longer considers me his son. I have to find a way to support myself in the future." He stated his plans calmly.

Wei Zelin's lips curved upward. Even setting aside whether someone with "Shi Yuan's" personality would give up fighting over the family fortune, would a typical heir from an elite family become a teacher to make his own way?

The kid was making less and less effort to hide himself in front of him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the little desk beside the bed. The box he had given Shi Yuan sat on it, its contents eaten clean. It was only a couple of desserts. He really was a kid.

Shi Yuan had naturally worked his plans for the certification exam into the conversation, but he did not dare analyze Wei Zelin's reaction. He had not forgotten the important matter and hurried to ask about You Gui.

"Brother Lin, did you see the text I sent you?"

"A text?" Wei Zelin took out his phone. The screen was black.

He pressed the power button and opened Shi Yuan's message. "Sorry, my phone was switched off the whole time. I didn't see your message."

Shi Yuan's heart sank. "Then..."

He swallowed the question he had wanted to ask and changed tack. "Did the banquet go smoothly, then? Wei Zexuan didn't give you any trouble, did he?"

Wei Zelin's gaze softened a little. "It was his birthday. How would he have had time to pay attention to me? But one of my coworkers..."

"A coworker? What happened to her?" Shi Yuan turned a page in his book, pretending to ask calmly.

Wei Zelin seemed reluctant to put it into words, and disgust crept across his face. "She's good-looking. A wealthy businessman at the banquet took a fancy to her, drugged her, and dragged her into the screening room."

"What?!" Shi Yuan's expression darkened, and the thick book in his hands crashed heavily to the floor.

He did not need to ask to know that Wei Zelin's coworker was You Gui.

The wealthy businessman, the basement screening room-it was exactly the same as in the original novel! Hadn't he repeatedly warned You Gui to be careful? Why had it still happened?

If he had managed to get into the venue today, could he really have changed anything? Or were the events in the novel predetermined, impossible to change simply because he wanted to?

Shi Yuan felt lost. In that instant, his thoughts turned more toward himself. Would he have to experience "Shi Yuan's" fate all over again?

Being raped, injected with drugs, and finally thrown into prison...

Shi Yuan shuddered. For someone like him, who had been a good kid for over twenty years, such an ending had been unimaginable.

Seeing his little face turn deathly pale, Wei Zelin assumed he was worried about You Gui. He showed nothing on his face, but inwardly, he was displeased. Even so, he decided to tell the kid something he would want to hear.

"Luckily, President Shen arrived. He seems to know that coworker of mine. If he hadn't brought his men over in time, You Gui really would have..."

From what he was saying, You Gui had not been assaulted.

Shi Yuan could hardly believe it. "You mean she wasn't...?" He could not bring himself to say those words.

Wei Zelin understood what he meant and explained, "No. That businessman hadn't even had time to take his trousers off."

Almost half an hour, and he still hadn't managed it. How useless, Wei Zelin thought scornfully.

Shi Yuan nearly wept with joy. This had been the most insurmountable obstacle in the entire tragic romance.

At this point in the original novel, because of what Wei Zexuan had done last time, things between Shen Duo and You Gui had been strained, and Shen Duo had not dared show himself in front of her. By the time he received the news and rushed over, You Gui had already been...

That incident had become a haunting trauma between You Gui and Shen Duo, and the beginning of their tormented romance. Could it be that his efforts over the past few days had not been wasted after all, that he had actually made a difference?

Shi Yuan's emotions swung wildly. He was not merely happy for You Gui. More importantly, this concerned whether his own fate could be changed.

Wei Zelin knew nothing of the countless thoughts racing through his mind, but he did know Shi Yuan was unusual. After a brief pause, he suddenly added, "By the way, I ran into Xue Ming at the banquet. He said he hadn't been able to get in touch with you lately and asked me for your contact details. I didn't give them to him."

"Xue Ming?" Shi Yuan frowned, looking as though he had forgotten the name, or perhaps was annoyed by this person's appearance.

"Brother Lin, no matter who asks you for my current contact details, don't give them out. Right now, I just want to focus on preparing for the exam."

Wei Zelin agreed with a smile, but inwardly he thought, He has a little sense, at least. Of course, he had made up the story about Xue Ming, but the little tricks this Shi Yuan had up his sleeve were still no match for him.

Two days later, Shi Yuan finally got in touch with You Gui. She was still in the hospital. The drug she had been given was so potent that even after having her stomach pumped, her limbs were still weak.

He did not know whether You Gui could eat normally yet, so he bought neither fruit nor nutritional supplements, stopping instead at a small flower shop by the roadside. The owner was a very patient, handsome man. As he introduced the bouquets in his shop, his low, husky voice left Shi Yuan's ears flushed red.

On the handsome owner's advice, he bought a few carnations and sunflowers, with violets added as accents. Wrapped in blue-green and white paper, the bouquet looked lovely.

After paying, Shi Yuan quietly opened his phone's scan function, but the payment notification arrived just then. He stared at the balance shown in the message in silence for a while, then quietly put his phone away.

A handsome man like that was not someone his impoverished self could afford to dream about.

"Come again!"

After stepping outside, Shi Yuan took a careful look at the flower shop's sign.

"Heart in Motion"-the heart followed its desires.

"Wei Zelin had seen enough of the farce between You Gui, Shen Duo, and Wei Zexuan. Yes, a farce. Lovers torn apart by life and death, a tormented romance, a tragic beauty wasting away from love so painful it pierced the heart-to him, it was as laughable as the tangled love and hatred in his mother's eyes when, on her deathbed, she looked through him and saw Wei Ming. He was waiting, waiting for Shen Duo to step into the trap he had laid for the sake of this ridiculous thing. Then he would make Wei Zexuan watch in agony as the Shen Duo he adored joined forces with the bastard he loathed most to bring down the Wei Corporation. That would give Wei Zelin far more satisfaction, body and soul, than simply toppling the Wei Corporation outright. Didn't they love their romance? Then he would let them see just what a gut-rotting poison that love really was."