In the novel, the original owner of this body had been abducted and sold at three, suffering all kinds of beatings, verbal abuse, and torment during that time.
After finally being rescued, he had hoped his parents would show him a little care.
But his parents, who put profit above all else, had long since given birth to his replacement, and when he returned, they could not hide the disgust and rejection in their eyes.
What they wanted was an outstanding heir with an unblemished past, not a filthy, stinking son.
The harder he tried to please his parents, the more easily he made mistakes.
And the consequence of making mistakes was not the gentle comfort his parents gave his younger brother, but harsh reprimands and so-called family discipline.
The rattan cane lashed his body again and again.
When the traffickers abused him at just over three, he had learned that crying and begging for mercy were useless. All he could do was grit his teeth and endure.
So his parents thought he was defiant and beat him even harder.
Through the repeated beatings and scoldings, he sometimes wondered whether he had really come home.
Were the people beating him his mom and dad?
Or were they those demons?
There was no answer, only disregard and beatings that vented their emotions.
He longed so desperately to return to the time before he turned three, when his parents doted on him and strangers liked him.
Yan Ningke was beautiful. As a child, he had been a sweet, soft little bundle of fair skin whom everyone adored.
He had thoroughly satisfied his parents' vanity.
So, after yet another beating, he had run out of the house, and a figure in the pouring rain had handed him a cheap plastic bag.
He had treasured it.
That was the only warmth he could hold on to.
Yan Ningke blinked his stinging eyes.
These clearly were not his experiences, yet he could empathize with these inexplicable feelings.
He pressed a hand over his chest.
"Don't be afraid. I'll help you take back everything you lost."
Yan Ningke suddenly found a goal.
A few brief lines in the book had summed up this person's entire life.
But only after living through it could he understand how unwilling they were to accept it.
Unwilling to vanish among the countless masses.
It was as though they had been a joke from the moment they were born.
Him, the original owner, Shao Ke.
They were all the same. They only wanted to ask why.
Or what gave anyone the right.
Outside the window, dark clouds gathered, and rain poured down.
Yan Ningke stood before the window, turmoil surging in his eyes.
At eight that evening, the door to an SVIP private room on the third floor of Muse Bar slowly opened.
A pair of firm, powerful long legs clad in black suit trousers strode in with steady, vigorous steps.
"Oh, Young Master Shao finally decided to come out of seclusion?"
The man sitting on the sofa with a wineglass had long silver hair, snow-white skin, a high nose bridge, and a trace of wicked abandon in his amber eyes.
Light and shadow traced his features, giving him an almost demonic allure.
Shao Ke could not be bothered with him. He walked straight to the sofa, picked up a glass, and casually clinked it against another man's.
"That little housekeeper of yours isn't taking good care of you?"
Si Yanzhuo teased him with a smile.
Shao Ke glanced at him. "Have you been taking lessons from Shao Yu?"
Si Yanzhuo paused, then burst out laughing.
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm still here, you know! Could you at least talk about me behind my back?"
The silver-haired man, Wen Shaoyu, tossed aside his microphone and slid over to them.
Si Yanzhuo raised his glass, laughter in his voice. "Young Master Shao is as merciless as ever."
Clink.
The three men, each distinctive in his own way, raised their glasses and drained them.
Wen Shaoyu loved gossip. "What little housekeeper? Since when did you two start keeping secrets from me?"
Si Yanzhuo glanced at the unruffled Shao Ke and said with a smile, "Shao Yang found A-Ke a little housekeeper to look after him every day, since he's disabled."
"Pfft!"
Wen Shaoyu could not hold back and spat out a mouthful of wine.
No matter how many times he heard someone call Shao Ke "disabled," he could never resist laughing.
The pitiful exiled son everyone else saw actually held the power of life and death over them.
To put it dramatically, if Shao Ke wanted a family bankrupt, they would never last the night.
After all, Shao Ke controlled a bank holding company and chaired the world's largest venture capital firm.
He had countless assets to his name, and his net worth was impossible to estimate.
Yet the utterly unremarkable Shao family kept making a fuss, as though afraid Shao Ke would not go after them.
"Just finish them off. They're like a bunch of opera performers. Annoying as hell."
Wen Shaoyu grumbled impatiently.
He had an explosive temper and a wicked streak. If he could not stand someone, he finished them off, never letting his anger linger overnight.
Shao Ke's expression remained indifferent. "Isn't it nice to have them clowning around for attention?"
Life was too uneventful. It needed a little entertainment to spice it up.
Si Yanzhuo and Wen Shaoyu exchanged a look, then laughed together. "A-Ke, are you so bored you're finding yourself some suffering?"
Suffering?
Thinking of the little kitten who had stirred up trouble at home and then run away, Shao Ke sneered repeatedly.
What did he think this place was? Somewhere he could come and go as he pleased?
He'd better not let me catch him!
Yan Ningke changed clothes, scanned a shared bike, and rode leisurely all the way to the bar entrance.
It was past eight, and the place buzzed with voices.
Outside were all kinds of luxury cars, groups of men and women, and two long rows of food stalls.
His mouth watered.
Having skipped dinner, he gazed at the steaming food, unable to quench his craving in the slightest.
It was all that culprit Yuan Qirui's fault!
Not only had he held up his work, he had also kept him from filling his stomach!
Once he got his money, he would eat until his mouth dripped with grease!
Honestly, even in his previous life, he had never freely indulged himself on a food street!
This time, he would take back everything he had lost!
Standing at the bar entrance, Yan Ningke took a deep breath, turned, and walked inside with determined steps.
Delicious food! Wait for me!
The rich kids Yuan Qirui hung around with were not from their families' main branches. They were all useless layabouts.
Their families sent them some pocket money every month to fund their fun. As long as they caused no major trouble, things were fine. If something serious happened, their families still had to clean up the mess.
But they would be exiled for good.
One plane ticket, and they might never return to the country for the rest of their lives.
They also spent lavishly, so they could only find lackeys to foot their bills.
Fringe figures like Yuan Qirui and the original owner became their ATMs.
The strong preyed on the weak.
High society had its own food chain too.
Following his memories, Yan Ningke found them at their usual booth on the first floor.
More than a dozen men and women danced wildly around the sofas.
"Oh, if it isn't Young Master Yan! You're finally here!"
The first to spot Yan Ningke was, of course, Yuan Qirui, who had been watching the entrance all along.
His eyes lit up the instant he saw him.
"Young Master Yan, what are we doing about you being late? The usual?"
The so-called usual was twelve shot glasses of straight foreign liquor.
Enough to leave someone unable to recognize his own father.
Yan Ningke dodged his hand, his expression composed. "I'm here to collect my money. I don't have time to put on a show with you."
"What?"
Yan Ningke opened his phone. "WeChat or Alipay?"
Yuan Qirui stared at him in disbelief.
"Neither works? How about a card?"
Yan Ningke pulled out a basic card reader.
He even had a small bag slung over him.
In short, whatever method they wanted to use to repay him, he could accommodate it.
Sincerity was his selling point.
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