This world has never truly known fairness.
Some are born destined for hardship, while others are born into privilege.
The amount of water used to wash a golf course just once is more than a farmer in the countryside, who carries water for a living, could ever acquire in a lifetime.
Xu Yinsheng was born with wealth that many people could only dream of obtaining throughout their entire lives.
Just like his name – “Heavenly winds blow from the palace wall’s sound, bright as the midnight sheng of Mount Gou.”
His noble family background allowed him to reach a finish line upon birth that others might never reach in decades or a lifetime.
His father was a philanthropist who inherited the family business, easygoing, indifferent to fame and fortune, preferred being a hands-off manager, and was enthusiastic about angel investing.
His mother was a dancer from a family of dancers in Luansing City, who loved dancing from a young age, won numerous awards, and had a moderate reputation.
His parents were deeply in love. As an infant, Xu Yinsheng once saw his father holding his mother, smiling exceptionally brightly in the sunset.
It was the warmest scene he had ever witnessed, yet they had never held him that way.
On his fifth birthday, an unexpected encounter brought a boy named Zhao Yicheng into his life.
Xu Yinsheng didn’t know that this person would leave a profound and permanent mark on his or her life.
It was at Xu Yinsheng’s fifth birthday party, held at the Xu family’s seaside villa, with azure waters, golden sands, and free-soaring seagulls flying overhead.
Xu’s father invited all the powerful and wealthy businessmen from Binhai City to attend the banquet.
On the day of the party, the guests in the hall wore colourful and dazzling clothes.
They moved through the crowd, holding goblets of red wine, clinking glasses, and chatting merrily.
And the protagonist of our party discovered someone who piqued his curiosity: in a corner of the magnificent hall, a black-haired, black-eyed boy stood alone.
Xu Yinsheng wondered why he was standing there by himself.
Where were his parents?
He walked down the staircase to the first-floor hall.
The luxurious band played cheerful music, immersing the entire banquet in a lively atmosphere from the start.
No one noticed him.
No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that this banquet was less about his birthday and more about the powerful and wealthy strengthening their connections.
Xu Yinsheng weaved through the crowd, walking towards that boy.
Several gazes followed his steps, some calculating, some pondering, some understanding.
Zhao Yicheng assessed the boy, who seemed to be about his age.
He was wearing a gold-trimmed suit, a white top adorned with silver damask patterns, a bright red bow tie pinned to his chest, and sleeves like blooming white crabapples, layered around his delicate, fair little hands.
“Where are your daddy and mommy?” a soft, sweet voice sounded by his ear.
Xu Yinsheng smiled brightly at him, his rosy little face like a tiny red apple.
“Talking business,” Zhao Yicheng said indifferently.
His father was a workaholic who had recently taken over the family business.
It was only by marrying a well-known local pianist, his mother, that he gained the qualifications to ascend to the upper class.
This time, he was undoubtedly using the excuse of attending a birthday party to connect with various powerful figures.
And now, his father was one of those mingling and clinking glasses in the crowd.
“Mm,” the young boy version of Xu Yinsheng nodded, looking at the slightly taller boy in front of him with great curiosity.
The boy wore a black outfit.
The fabric and cut of the clothes appeared extremely simple, but paired with the boy’s fair skin and handsome face, that ordinary simplicity exuded a unique charm.
However, his aura was somewhat melancholic, and dressed in black, he seemed to be in a different world from the lively atmosphere around him, separated.
A tender, white little hand suddenly reached out to him. Xu Yinsheng smiled openly at him.
“I want to be friends with you.”
“Why?”
Zhao Yicheng, who inherited his workaholic father’s excellent genes, subconsciously wondered.
His father had taught him that there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world; all so-called favors of fate came with a hidden price.
“I want to play games, and they’re two-player, but my mommy and daddy don’t have time to play games with me,” Xu Yinsheng answered honestly, his eyes shining like stars.
“Why me?”
Xu Yinsheng thought for a moment, then suddenly stood on his tiptoes and sniffed at Zhao Yicheng.
Zhao Yicheng took a step back; Xu Yinsheng was so close that he could even smell the rich milky scent on him.
“You have a scent I like,” he said very seriously, with an innocent, harmless expression.
Zhao Yicheng looked at those eyes, like stars, trying to discern lies and costs from them.
He was about to speak when he suddenly saw his father in the crowd frantically gesturing to him.
He was silent for a moment.
“Okay.”
His palm met the tender, white little hand. It felt soft and pliable, as if boneless, stirring an inexplicable emotion deep within Zhao Yicheng.
Having found a friend to play games with, Xu Yinsheng let out a joyful “Wuhu!” and tightly embraced the other boy.
His comet-like eyes sparkled in the sunlight, captivating to behold.
“Best friend, my name is Xu Yinsheng. What’s yours?”
Feeling the soft touch and the genuine warmth in his arms, a smile touched Zhao Yicheng’s lips.
A ray of dawn sunlight shone deep into his heart, as if opening a door for him.
“Zhao Yicheng.”