[Later, I tried hard to recall. In those days soaked in bitterness, I too had a period of kindness, but at that time, the Bodhisattva sat high on his divine altar and never lowered his gaze for me.]

Neither of the two brothers of the Zhuang Family was a pushover—this was a publicly acknowledged fact in their circle.

Setting Zhuang Yifan aside for a moment, he relied on his family's background to act tyrannically, a local despot in his own right. But thankfully, he was just a second-generation heir content to idle away his life, so there was a limit to the trouble he could cause. The one who was truly feared was the Zhuang Family's young master.

Despite being only twenty-five or twenty-six, he had cultivated a disposition where his joy and anger were not visible on his face. He looked as cold and detached as a Bodhisattva, but when it came to scheming against people, he was more ruthless than anyone. When Old Master Zhuang passed away, many business rivals saw his young age as an opportunity to get a piece of the pie. In the end, Zhuang Yihan forced them into either bankruptcy or suicide. It was clear he was someone who disregarded human life.

However, even such a man favored by the heavens would one day be troubled by love. Outsiders weren't clear on the specific details, but they had vaguely heard that Zhuang Yihan had fallen for a straight man. He had pursued him for many years to no avail. Today, his confession was rejected, and he was in a bad mood, so Zhuang Yifan, adhering to the principle that 'there are plenty of fish in the sea,' forcibly brought his older brother to the club to have some fun. But Zhuang Yihan was clearly uninterested in those messy male model games. After getting drunk, he went straight to the lounge inside to lie down.

Zhuang Yifan's childhood friend nudged him lightly with his elbow and asked worriedly in a low voice, "Hey, isn't this a bad idea? What if your brother gets angry when he wakes up?"

Everyone knew that man was famous for his clean living. The fact that he even showed up to drink at a place like this today was already a miracle. For Zhuang Yifan to find him a male model for the night—wasn't that just asking for trouble?

"Angry? What's there to be angry about?"

Zhuang Yifan raised an eyebrow, completely unconcerned.

"My brother is just blind, treating a broken stone in a latrine pit like a treasure. Anyone you grab from the club is a hundred times better than Jiang Xi. I'm helping him get his first taste; he'll be too busy thanking me to get angry. What is there to be angry about?"

Zhuang Yifan was raised by his older brother since childhood. As the saying goes, an elder brother is like a father. His feelings for Zhuang Yihan had reached a point of blind worship. Now, seeing his brother suffering a setback in love, he naturally had no good feelings for that so-called 'white moonlight'.

In Zhuang Yifan's view, his brother had simply been focused on work for too long and hadn't met many outstanding men since he was young, which was why he was so mesmerized by that Jiang Xi. If he picked a man whose body and looks were a hundred times better than Jiang Xi's for him at this moment, he refused to believe Zhuang Yihan wouldn't be moved.

Thinking this, Zhuang Yifan's gaze toward Chen Shu grew increasingly satisfied. "What are you standing there stunned for? Get in."

...

Destiny is such a strange thing. In his last life, Chen Shu had followed Duan Chengcai, trying every means to squeeze into the front row, and was thus chosen by Zhuang Yifan by a twist of fate. In this life, he didn't fight or compete, and was about to leave, yet he was still picked out.

Everyone else thought he had struck dumb luck. Even Duan Chengcai gave him a furtive push from behind, urging in a low voice, "Go on, don't just stand there like an idiot!"

Chen Shu stood quietly in place, showing neither joy nor resistance. He gazed at Zhuang Yifan with a complex expression, suddenly feeling as if he were being toyed with by fate—

'How interesting. Zhuang Yifan's gaze toward me had always been one of disdain and contempt. Since when had it ever been so kind?'

The other man would never imagine that in nine years, he would hate him so much he'd grind his teeth, wishing he would drown in the icy river.

"...Thank you, Second Young Master."

Chen Shu's lips twitched into a slight smile. He heard his own low voice echo in the private room. It sounded like a surrender to fate, but it was more like the curtain slowly rising on a magnificent drama of turning the tables against the odds. And at this moment, a vile Black Snake was lurking in the shadows, waiting with delight for the good show to begin.

Zhuang Yihan hated crowded and noisy places the most. Having drunk too much just now, he had used it as an excuse to rest in the suite. He was leaning on his side on the sofa, sleeping soundly with his eyes closed. His eyelashes cast a dark shadow beneath his eyes. Under the dim blue light from above, one could clearly see his high-bridged nose and his thin lips, which were habitually pursed. His features were handsome, but because his complexion was slightly pale, it gave off an indescribable sense of fatigue and indifference.

Zhuang Yihan was already dead drunk, but even as he lay down to rest, he didn't forget to fold his suit jacket neatly and place it to the side. This showed that he was a man of strict principles at his core. Keeping Chen Shu seemed to be the only transgression and failure of his past life.

Chen Shu looked down at Zhuang Yihan, his cool fingertips slowly reaching out as if to touch the other's face again, but in the end, they never landed.

The light was dim, his breathing long and steady. In a daze, Zhuang Yihan felt someone lift him horizontally from the sofa. The movement was gentle and tender, not causing the slightest discomfort. Instead, it felt inexplicably familiar and comforting.

Zhuang Yihan unconsciously furrowed his brow. He struggled to open his eyes to see who it was, but could only make out Chen Shu's well-defined profile under the light and shadow. The embrace didn't carry the heavy scent of cosmetics and alcohol from the bar; a sniff revealed the clean, refreshing fragrance of body wash. The shoulders were broad and steady, and through the thin clothes, their body heat almost seemed to merge, making his already muddled mind even more sluggish.

Zhuang Yihan knitted his slender brows, his voice low and hoarse, tinged with uncertainty, "Zhuang Yifan...?"

"Mm."

The man hummed an emotionless reply, his voice cool and detached. It was unclear whether it was an affirmation or not. Hearing this, Zhuang Yihan relaxed slightly and continued to drift off to sleep. He was always clear-headed and self-restrained, rarely touching alcohol, but today he had been forced to drink a lot by that group. Now, even lifting a finger was an effort. His vision was spinning; how could he have the energy to discern who the person before him was?

It was as if he was in an illusory, hazy dream. Countless musical notes surged around him, but they soon receded like a tide, replaced by the pitter-patter of rain. A cold wind blew against his face, and even his skin felt chilly.

Zhuang Yihan unconsciously shrank into the man's embrace.

Chen Shu fished the car keys from Zhuang Yihan's pocket, then opened the car door and settled him in the passenger seat, driving to a nearby star-rated hotel.

This person was a severe germaphobe.

In his last life, Chen Shu hadn't known the rules, and no one had taught him what to do. He had muddle-headedly helped the drunk Zhuang Yihan out. At that time, because he was short on cash, he could only find a shabby little inn for two hundred yuan a night. Looking back now, such a first encounter was terrible from the very beginning. How could the ending have been any better?

Chen Shu stared at the road ahead, his thoughts unknown. The windshield wipers swished back and forth but couldn't seem to wipe the window clean. The dim yellow light from the streetlamps scattered across the windshield, blurring into a smear with the trickling water. The mottled shadows fell on his cool features, betraying no joy or sorrow.

The roads at night weren't congested, and soon Chen Shu drove the car to the nearest five-star hotel. He found Zhuang Yihan's ID in his wallet and booked a two-thousand-yuan premium suite at the front desk. The four thousand yuan salary he had received from his part-time job last month was instantly cut in half, but he didn't even blink, taking the man straight upstairs.

In any case, he owed Zhuang Yihan more than enough from his last life. There was no need to be stingy with these two thousand yuan.

There was, after all, a difference between a high-end hotel and a cheap inn. The inside was brightly lit everywhere, with a faint scent of incense floating in the air. On the white bedsheets, rose petals were arranged in the shape of a heart. The semi-transparent glass design filled the entire room with a subtle, ambiguous atmosphere.

Chen Shu bent down and placed Zhuang Yihan on the bed. He casually pulled back the quilt, and the bright red rose petals rustled down like a silent rain, their fall to the ground more regrettable than raindrops.

Chen Shu didn't even spare them a glance. He leaned over to gently remove Zhuang Yihan's outer shirt, shoes, and socks. Then he took the other's suit jacket to have it ironed by the hotel staff, to be delivered the next morning. Only after all this was done did he get up and go out to the balcony to sit alone.

Outside, the wind and rain were raging. The hotel balcony was slightly affected, and the damp, cold night temperature gradually seeped through his skin, his clothes becoming damp.

But Chen Shu seemed not to feel the cold. He sat by the coffee table, fumbled in his pocket for a moment, and finally took out an unopened pack of cigarettes—a colorful foreign brand, seemingly a gift from Duan Chengcai. He had long forgotten the taste; in his memory, it was something like a faint fruity fragrance.

The flint wheel of the lighter scraped, and a cluster of blue flame leaped out. The long, thin cigarette was lit, and a wisp of smoke curled upwards, even more conspicuous in the night.

Chen Shu lowered his eyes and lightly flicked the ash. A thought occurred to him, and he got up again to completely close the glass balcony door, which had been left ajar, before returning to his seat.

It was two in the morning. The school dormitories were already closed. He could only sit here for another four hours and go back after daybreak.

At this time in his previous life, Chen Shu and Zhuang Yihan were having a one-night stand.

Those people had handed the drunk Zhuang Yihan over to Chen Shu and, in a highly suggestive manner, told him to serve him well. He had thus misunderstood their meaning. After all, most people who went to clubs were there for pleasure. Who would remain chaste and untouched?

However, when Chen Shu had taken Zhuang Yihan to the small inn for the night and woke up in the morning to the other's ice-cold, piercing gaze, he belatedly realized that Zhuang Yihan probably didn't want to have anything to do with someone like him.

Unfortunately, he had been young and reckless in his past life. No matter how clumsily he tried to explain, it all seemed exceptionally pale and feeble. Later, even though Zhuang Yihan kept him, they never had any intimate relations again in those nine years.

The Chen Shu of that time was still very naive, with no extravagant fantasies. He diligently stayed by Zhuang Yihan's side, only wanting to repay the man who was paying for his education. He thought he could use his actions to erase the mistake of that night. However, Zhuang Yihan's gaze toward him was always indifferent and calm, no different from how one would look at a rock by the roadside.

Like a god or Bodhisattva enshrined in a golden temple, the curling incense smoke never entered his eyes, and he never lowered his gaze for the pleading believers.

The cigarette burned down at some point, scalding his fingertip and making him flinch.

Chen Shu returned to his senses from the pain and slowly exhaled. He belatedly felt a chill, as if he had returned to the night he drowned in the river. He couldn't help but rub his arms, trying to warm himself up, but the scenes from his past life lingered in his mind like a curse, impossible to shake off.

It was his youthful ignorance, his first awakening of love. It was his adoration for Zhuang Yihan, a love that was hard to let go of, yet he couldn't get even a sliver of the man's attention. In the end, this profound sense of injustice bred dark jealousy, which became the inner demon of his life...

Zhuang Yihan!

Zhuang Yihan!

You should have drowned me by the river back then! Why did you let me go? Why did you walk away without a single look back?!

After that night, you should have punished me severely, made me understand that I had touched someone I shouldn't have and harbored delusions I shouldn't have! Why did you pay for my education? Why did you help treat my father's illness? Why were you so good to me?!

You should have made me hate you, not let me treat you as my only lifeline in those dark and sunless days, falling deeper and deeper with a heart full of love, only for you to calmly withdraw and leave me all alone!

Chen Shu began to tremble uncontrollably. His eyes were bloodshot as he lowered his head, panting heavily. Half of his pale, handsome face was shrouded in shadow. Under the cover of darkness, frenzy, hatred, adoration—these extreme emotions flashed through his eyes one by one, making him seem extraordinarily fragmented.

An illusory black shadow appeared behind Chen Shu at some unknown time, slowly transforming into the Black Snake from before. It rested its head on Chen Shu's shoulder, almost greedily absorbing the pain from this human, every single one of its scales radiating an air of delight.

[Truly delicious...]

The Black Snake couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh.

Chen Shu's breathing was heavy. He stared intently at the ground, where the silhouette of a black snake was reflected. "What are you referring to?"

[Hatred, pain.]

[You have a lot of this stuff on you.]

The Black Snake flickered its scarlet tongue, guiding him persuasively,

[But this isn't the most delicious thing in the world. It's far inferior to the pain of being abandoned by the one you love.]

For some reason, Chen Shu thought of himself. His rapid breathing gradually calmed. He gave a slight, self-deprecating smile and uttered two words, "Is that so..."

[Of course.]

[Last life it was you, but... this life, perhaps it will be him.]

The Black Snake chuckled and whispered this ambiguous sentence before its form slowly vanished into the air. All around was silent, as if no one had ever been there.

Hearing this, Chen Shu was stunned. But before he could comprehend the meaning behind the words, a dull thud of something heavy hitting the floor sounded from behind him, as if someone had fallen off the bed.

Zhuang Yihan woke up.