Chapter 1: Death

After finishing a long day at work, Lin Xuan dragged his tired body out of the little shop.

As he passed the mirror at the shop’s entrance, he habitually paused to tidy up his appearance.

A slender, delicate wrist reached out—skin as pale as jade.

Reflected in the mirror was a clean, refined face, with exquisitely perfect features.

A striking beauty mark at the corner of his eye gave him a touch of charm.

His long, unkempt black hair flowed loosely down his back.

With his naturally delicate features and underdeveloped physique, many customers who came to the milk tea shop often mistook him for a girl.

Women found him adorable, like a doll they wanted to cuddle and cherish.

Men, on the other hand, saw him as a precocious girl—innocent on the outside, sultry underneath.

It wasn’t rare for a man to order a milk tea just to strike up a conversation with him.

He couldn’t be bothered to explain.

Technically speaking, no one should’ve dared to hire someone his age.

But from the very first day of his trial, his performance was exceptional, and it only got better from there.

There’s no such thing as unprovoked malice in this world—nor is there unprovoked kindness.

He knew exactly what his advantages were.

So when some bold customers “accidentally” brushed against his hand while taking their drinks, he had grown used to it, even regarded it as something normal.

After smiling brightly at customers all day, Lin Xuan felt like his face was about to freeze.

He reached up and pinched his cheeks.

The soft, plush sensation beneath his fingers helped ease the stiffness after a while.

After locking up the store, Lin Xuan slung his bag over his shoulder and headed out.

He remained silent the whole way, his steps light like a cat’s, making no sound at all.

He blended into the night so naturally, it was as if he were part of the scenery itself—completely at peace with the darkness.

His parents had named him “Xuan,” probably hoping he’d grow up to be lively and outgoing.

Unfortunately, he had always been quiet, with few friends. He’d dropped out of school early to start working.

For most people, the school years are the purest time in life.

The friends made back then are the truest friends one will ever have.

Whether or not that first part was true, Lin Xuan wasn’t sure—but he had long since confirmed the second part.

It was either about money or lust. Just thinking about it made his skin crawl.

The disgust rose so sharply he could feel goosebumps breaking out all over.

Time passed quickly when his mind wandered.

Before he knew it, Lin Xuan had reached the door of his house.

Dad’s probably drinking again, he thought.

No one ever came to open the door for him—he knew his father never left it unlocked at night.

So he pulled his small bag in front of him and began searching for his key inside.

As he fished for the key, he was already thinking about how to quietly clean the room and take out the trash without disturbing the man inside.

His father had once been the CEO of a real estate company.

Back in those boom years, he took advantage of the era—taking out loans to start developments, using the resulting cash flow to secure even more loans to build more properties.

Riding the wave of compound interest and skyrocketing expansion, he became a billionaire practically overnight.

But when the economic bubble burst, the funding chain snapped.

Salaries went unpaid.

Projects were left unfinished and eventually reported, investigated, and shut down.

Just like that, everything he had collapsed like a pricked bubble.

Ever since the bankruptcy, the man had sunk into self-destruction.

Lin Xuan’s mother ran off too—maybe she found someone else with money.

Either way, she vanished without a trace.

Lin Xuan never received another call from her.

He understood that dragging him along would only have been a burden, so he never tried to contact her again, choosing instead to quietly accept the situation.

He pulled the key out of his bag and inserted it into the lock—only to find that the key wouldn’t turn.

He stood there dazed for a second before it hit him.

Could it be… Dad actually left the door unlocked for him tonight?

A strange warmth welled up in his chest, and his nose suddenly stung.

Suppressing the flood of emotion, Lin Xuan took out the key and gently pushed the door open.

“Dad…” he called softly into the darkness of the room.

But reality is cruel.

The deeper your disappointment, the more painful that sliver of hope becomes—because in the end, it always turns to despair.

He flipped on the light.

His father wasn’t there.

Instead, there were two unfamiliar men.

“Fuck, that bastard really ran off. Where the hell did he go? Don’t tell me he actually got away?”

“Hmph. That son of a bitch. When I find him, I’m beating him half to death.”

The unfamiliar voices, the vicious tone—the chill shot through Lin Xuan’s body.

He instinctively stepped back, hand tightening on the door.

Who were they…

Then it hit him all at once.

Loan sharks.

His father was neck-deep in debt and couldn’t repay it.

People often came knocking to collect, and whenever that happened, Lin Xuan would hide in the bathroom, crouching silently in the corner until the shouting outside finally stopped before daring to come out.

Now, his father had run away—and the loan sharks had come to collect.

The moment he realized what was happening, Lin Xuan instinctively knew what he had to do, run.

But even though he reacted quickly, the truth was—he was already too late the moment he opened the door.

“Who’s that?!”

“Grab him!”

A weak boy who had never trained a day in his life versus two full-grown men—even if there had been a hundred-meter head start, it would’ve only been a matter of time before they caught up.

And there wasn’t even a hundred meters between them now.

Within five seconds, Lin Xuan was caught.

One of them grabbed his arm and flung him to the ground.

It hurt…

Pain burst from his knee, sharp and splitting.

Lin Xuan collapsed, unable to summon any strength to get up again.

“A girl?” one of the men said in surprise. “Wasn’t it supposed to be his son?”

“Who cares. But… heh, this little chick’s a real looker. That face, that figure—she could fetch a good price.” the other man laughed.

“Tch… she really is. Still, we’re just here to collect debt. Kidnapping’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Ha… you idiot. I’ve got connections. We sell him to that underground auction the rich pervs run. Those elite bastards know how to cover their tracks.”

“We’re really just handing him off like that?” the other man suddenly said, voice full of reluctance.

In the moonlight, Lin Xuan’s soft body and delicate face had a dangerous allure—enough to tempt a man into sin.

“Heheheh… I knew you only played the good guy act. You’ve got a filthy mind, too. No one wants this little thing anyway. Before we sell her off, let’s have some fun. As long as we don’t take the first time, it’ll be fine.”

As he spoke, the man’s hand ran through Lin Xuan’s hair.

Both of them pressed down on his shoulders, their breath foul and chilling.

A wave of nausea surged up.

Feeling those filthy hands on his body, Lin Xuan couldn’t take it anymore—he lifted his head.

In his hand, a cold glint flashed. It was the last thing he’d pulled from his bag.

“That’s… an Adam’s apple!” one of the men suddenly cried out in shock.

They probably never realized—those were the last words they’d ever speak.

Lin Xuan had a hobby, reading.

Unlike others his age, he read everything—even books on human anatomy.

He knew where the weak points were.

In his hand was a butterfly knife, always ready to be opened.

With the men’s guard down and their attention elsewhere, they paid for their mistake with their lives.

Even though it was his first time doing something like this, his movements were shockingly clean.

When he pulled the knife from the second man’s body, neither of them had even left behind any final words.

Sitting on the ground, Lin Xuan thought to himself—at least he’d learned something on his last day, he had a real knack for this kind of work.

Ignoring the pain in his knee, Lin Xuan couldn’t be bothered with the two corpses.

He went back into the room and pulled a bottle of water out from under his bed.

Or rather—a mixture of water and medicine.

Closing his eyes, all the grievances buried in Lin Xuan’s heart finally erupted like a fountain.

Even a hard and humble life—was he not worthy of that?

His mother had abandoned him.

His father had run away.

He’d almost been sold off, and only by killing someone had he managed to escape.

His life, which by all appearances had only just begun, was already over.

It was meaningless, pointless.

He couldn’t go back to work.

He might be arrested, maybe sent to juvenile detention.

Even if he got out in a few years, without a diploma, without any skills, he wouldn’t be able to find a job.

The stain on his record would strip away any chance at living like a normal person.

Even in his final moments, he calmly analyzed everything—and reached the only logical conclusion.

In the end, for someone like him, dying really was the right choice.

He twisted open the bottle cap.

The liquid flowed from his throat into his stomach, and Lin Xuan’s consciousness slowly began to sink.

There was no pain, only emptiness.

If there’s a next life…

That was his final thought.

Leaning against the bed, eyes closed, his soft black hair draped over his shoulders.

His face was calm, serene—like a sleeping goddess of the quiet night.