Shi Jin stayed outside for a good half hour to calm down before stepping back into the visiting room. Number Two was worried about him and decided to accompany him inside, dragging a chair to sit by the door.

Xu Chuan had also calmed down by now. When he saw Shi Jin enter, he glanced at him and then at Number Two behind him. He said, "I have to admit, you're really lucky. Before, Shi Xingrui protected you and no one dared to touch you. And now that he's dead, there's still Lian Jun protecting you, and still no one dares to touch you."

"You summed it up nicely. Whether it's you or Xu Jie, anyone who wanted to harm me is no longer considered a person," Shi Jin retorted directly.

Xu Chuan was taken aback by the retort, but then suddenly burst out laughing, the laughter growing louder and louder. "You're really interesting. Shi Xingrui wanted to raise a second Jinwen, but ended up with someone with a personality nothing like Jinwen's, and even less like Shi Xingrui's unpredictable nature. It's karma, truly karma."

"Well, the heavens didn't let you see Mr. Jian for the last time, and even arranged for you to indirectly cause the death of Mr. Jian's sister. You don't even have the face to meet Mr. Jian in death. I suppose that's your karma," Shi Jin replied expressionlessly.

Xu Chuan's smile froze as he looked at Shi Jin's cold demeanor. His eyes widened slowly, and suddenly he struggled to get up again, wanting to pounce on Shi Jin. Without saying a word, Number Two pushed Xu Chuan back into his chair with force. He grabbed his hair and pulled him close, his eyes filled with malice as he spoke coldly, "You sick pervert, don't you dare look at Shi Jin with those filthy eyes. Otherwise, I'll make you wish you were dead."

There's a distinct difference in the way people threaten others, depending on whether they've spilled blood or not. Xu Chuan trembled at the sight of Number Two's murderous gaze, and his feverish mind tried to calm down. He leaned back slightly, lacking confidence as he said, "Let go of me."

Number Two didn't release his grip, but instead turned to Shi Jin.

"I'm fine," Shi Jin signaled for Number Two to let go of Xu Chuan and looked at him, asking, "It's been so many years, why does Xu Jie still want to kill me? And why do you hate Xu Jie and her family so much, yet still help her?"

At this point, Xu Chuan had nothing left to hide. He leaned back in his chair and said, "Why? It's because in Shi Xingrui's eyes, you are special, and Xu Jie hates your uniqueness. After Yun Jin died, Shi Xingrui was depressed for a while, but he probably got used to losing, so he quickly recovered and shifted his focus to you."

Shi Jin furrowed his brows, realizing that Xu Chuan had misunderstood. It wasn't because Shi Xingrui had gotten used to losing that he quickly recovered, but rather because he had received a perfect replica with the original owner and became less concerned about Yun Jin's life and death.

Xu Chuan continued his story, "Xu Jie thought that with Yun Jin's death, she would have a chance again. But she found out that after Yun Jin's death, Shi Xingrui completely gave up on love and focused on raising you. He even publicly declared that he would never find a stepmother for you. From that moment on, Xu Jie wanted to kill you. You and your mother ruined her chance of returning to Shi Xingrui's side. She dreams of eating your flesh and drinking your blood."

Shi Jin remained silent, facing his malice with a cold gaze.

Xu Chuan found it a bit boring that he wasn't affected emotionally, so he lowered his gaze and said, "Xu Jie wanted to kill you, but you were too well-protected by Shi Xingrui. She never had a chance to lay a hand on you. And since Yun Jin's death, Shi Xingrui has shown a cruel indifference and disregard towards everyone. Xu Jie is afraid. She knows that if she angers Shi Xingrui, both she and Shi Weichong will be abandoned without hesitation. They will never have a chance to get close to him again. So she contacted me again."

"What did you do?" Shi Jin asked.

"I told Shi Xingrui that Jinwen had hoped to have many siblings, so that after his death, there would be others to take care of his adoptive father," Xu Chuan's eyes were a bit distant, but quickly became clear again. "I also said that blood relationship is the strongest bond. Jinwen's upbringing was already so lonely, and you look so much like him, so you must receive a lot of love."

Shi Jin furrowed his brow, not expecting that even the establishment of the brothers' agreement back then had Xu Chuan's shadow behind it.

"Shi Xingrui wavered and decided to take in the children including Shi Weichong again, investing a lot of resources to train them. Xu Jie took the opportunity to try and rally other mothers against you, but they weren't fools.

"The mother of Fei Yujing and the mother of Rong Zhouzhong, one only wants what is best for her child and the other only wants what is best for herself. Although they allowed their children to approach you, they did not want to be tools for Xu Jie to harm you.

"The attitude of Xiang Aoting's mother is unclear, and Xu Jie cannot influence her. As for the mother of Li Jiuzheng, she is just a pitiful woman driven insane by Shi Xingrui and cannot make a difference.

No one wanted to work with Xu Jie. Everyone was just using this opportunity to benefit themselves. Xu Jie was very angry, but there was nothing she could do. So the situation remained deadlocked until Shi Xingrui's death."

Xu Chuan looked up and turned to Shi Jin, "As for me helping Xu Jie... I have to admit, Xu Jie gave birth to a great son. Among Shi Xingrui's sons, only one, Fei Yujing, can compete with Shi Weichong in terms of strength. Unfortunately, Fei Yujing has no interest in inheriting Shi Xingrui's position, so no matter how you calculate it, Shi Weichong will ultimately take over. My parents are dead, Shi Xingrui is dead, and it's impossible to suppress Xu Jie and Shi Weichong anymore.

"Everything is meaningless... but you're still alive, how can that be? Do you know why Shi Xingrui was so confident in letting me announce the will? Because he thought I would be like him, and because you look like Jinwen, I would fight to protect yourself with all your might. But a fake is still a fake. Shi Xingrui wanted to elevate you, but I won't follow his wishes. How revolting is this face of yours...How could I push you into the limelight and let everyone see that fat face!"

Shi Jin sneered and taunted, "So in the end, it's because you're not satisfied and not strong enough. You helped Xu Jie only because at that time, you could only do such a cowardly thing of shifting blame onto the innocent! Before, you refused to even utter Xu Jie's name. Was it because you secretly hoped she would kill me, this impostor? Xu Chuan, oh Xu Chuan, you deserve to lose to Xu Jie. She has eaten away at your mind, and do your parents know that you are so spineless and lacking in ambition?"

Xu Chuan's face turned cold, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Don't you dare mention them!"

"Why can't I mention them? It's because you understand it yourself. Whether it's you or your parents, you can never beat Xu Jie and her parents in this lifetime. Xu Chuan, you lost, completely and utterly."

"No! I didn't! I beat Shi Xingrui, at least I beat him!" Xu Chuan struggled again.

"But in Mr. Jian's heart, your status will never compare to his." Shi Jin looked coldly at Xu Chuan, who was going crazy on the other side. He stood up uninterestingly, collected all the photos on the table, turned around and walked towards the door of the visiting room.

Everything that needed to be known was already known. There was no need to continue this conversation.

Xu Chuan saw him about to leave, but became even more excited, struggling harder and shouting, "The photos! You promised to give me Jinwen's photos! Shi Jin! Shi Jin, you can't leave, give me the photos!"

Shi Jin stopped and took out a photo from his pocket, turned around and looked at Xu Chuan, asking, "Did you tell Xu Jie about Jinwen?"

Xu Chuan's gaze was fixed on his hand, as if he had grasped the last straw of salvation. Shaking his head, he said, "No, Xu Jie, that woman, is not worthy of knowing about Jinwen. To ensure that Jinwen is not disturbed by anyone unnecessarily, Shi Xingrui erased all traces of his contact with Jinwen. I also keep my mouth shut about these things. No one knows, no one knows... Give me the photo!"

In other words, Xu Jie only knew that Shi Xingrui had an irreplaceable white moonlight in his heart, but she didn't know that the white moonlight was Jinwen? No wonder Xu Jie put all her jealousy and hatred on the original owner and the original owner's mother, and didn't bother Jinwen's foster father.

This was probably the only good thing that Shi Xingrui and Xu Chuan had done. With a slightly improved expression, Shi Jin put the photo back into his pocket and ignored Xu Chuan's completely insane shouting. He walked out of the visiting room, leaving all the darkness behind.

......

After leaving the prison, Shi Jin looked at the brilliant sunshine outside and was slightly stunned. Then he looked at Number Two and said, "I want to go back. I want to see Lian Jun."

Number Two frowned at his lost expression, took out his phone and made a call to the hotel. He asked them to pack everyone's luggage and send it to the airport. Then he opened the car door and said, "Get in, we're going to the airport."

Shi Jin gratefully glanced at him and got into the car. On the way back to B city, Shi Jin's thoughts were in disarray. The names of Xu Jie, Xu Chuan, and Shi Xingrui kept swirling in his mind, making it impossible for him to calm down.

Jian Jinwen was dead, Yun Jin was dead, and the original owner...the original owner should also be dead, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to be reborn.

The most innocent people in the plot, all dead, killed by a group of perverts.

"Why is it so difficult to eliminate this hatred that comes from unsatisfied desires?" he muttered to himself, still unable to understand the origins of the malice and hostility of Xu Jie and Xu Chuan.

Number Two heard his words and turned to him, saying, "Young Master Jun once said, don't try to understand the thoughts of enemies and villains, you just need to know what they have done, and then repay them a thousand times over."

Shi Jin was taken aback and took out his phone. He scrolled through the photos he had taken of Lian Jun at the cinema, where he was holding popcorn and smiling helplessly yet relaxed at the camera. It made Shi Jin feel a little better.

There are still people in this world who remain rational and have a heart towards the light, even when they are in the darkness.

He missed Lian Jun so much and wanted to go back.

Time suddenly became unbearable. The group had their lunch on the plane, but Shi Jin couldn't eat and only took a few bites before putting down his chopsticks.

As soon as the plane landed, he was the first to rush out. Number Two quickly caught up and reluctantly took out his phone to make a call while chasing after him. At the exit, Number Two caught Shi Jin and held him down, not letting him run around. Then he dragged him to the airport entrance and gestured towards a low-key business car parked nearby, saying, "Young Master Jun knows our flight is coming back and specially came to pick us up. Let's go."

The car window rolled down at the right moment, revealing the figure of Lian Jun. When Shi Jin saw Lian Jun, his restless heart suddenly calmed down.

He quickly walked over, opened the car door, climbed in, rolled up the window, and then hugged Lian Jun, satisfied, saying, "Give me ten minutes. After ten minutes, I'll be a hero again."

After hearing about the conversation between Xu Chuan and Shi Jin from Number Two, Lian Jun knew that Shi Jin must be feeling upset. He hugged him and comfortingly patted his back, saying, "If you're tired, you can rest for a while. I'm here for you."

Shi Jin nodded and took a deep breath, enjoying the faint scent of shower gel on Lian Jun's body as he relaxed against him.

......

By the time they arrived at the club, Shi Jin had already perked up. He pushed Lian Jun inside while dramatically whining, "The airplane food was so terrible, I hardly ate anything. I'm starving!"

Lian Jun smiled and turned to him, saying, "The kitchen has prepared a new lunch for you guys. Want me to join you?"

Shi Jin happily agreed and, after pushing him into the elevator, leaned down to give him a kiss, saying, "Sure, you can have soup with me."

Lian Jun reached out and gently squeezed his hand.

After lunch, the two of them took a nap. Shi Jin had something on his mind and couldn't sleep well. Seeing this, Lian Jun decided to wake him up and play a few rounds of mahjong with him.

Knowing that Lian Jun was busy, Shi Jin stopped playing after a few rounds and used the excuse of wanting to finish watching a movie he hadn't finished before. He sent Lian Jun to the study to continue working on documents while he lay on the sofa, plugged in his earphones, and watched the movie.

Once Lian Jun was sure that Shi Jin had settled down, he picked up a document and started reading.

While Shi Jin watched the movie, he was actually talking to Xiao Si in his mind. "Xu Jie is definitely the cause of death, and she accounts for a large proportion of the death progress bar," he said with certainty.

Xiao Si was a little worried about him and asked, "Jin Jin, are you okay?"

"Pretty good," Shi Jin tilted his head and glanced at Lian Jun, who was focused on reading documents behind the desk. "Although Lian Jun's progress bar is still stuck at 500, the treatment has already begun. The decrease in the progress bar is just a matter of time. My progress bar has risen to 850, but as long as we deal with Xu Jie, it should drop a lot, or maybe even disappear completely. Everything is developing in a positive direction, so there's nothing to worry about."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Si felt a little sad, knowing that Shi Jin didn't want to hear any useless words of comfort. So, it followed his words and asked, "Then, Jin Jin, how do you plan to deal with Xu Jie? She's been hiding behind the scenes, and she's even propped up by Shi Weichong..."

When Shi Jin heard Shi Weichong's name, he furrowed his brows and replied, "Let's first see if we can gather evidence of Xu Jie's involvement in harming the original's mother, and make Xu Chuan recant his testimony to expose Xu Jie. But I doubt Xu Chuan has any evidence that can bite Xu Jie, otherwise he wouldn't be so passive. As for Shi Weichong... he has the right to know the truth. If he chooses to help his mother after knowing the truth, then I can only break ties with him."

"Jin Jin..." Xiao Si called out.

"I'm fine." Shi Jin shook his head and looked at the death progress bar in his mind, a rare coldness appearing in his eyes. "If we really can't find evidence of Xu Jie's behind-the-scenes actions, then I'll force her to make a move on me again and catch her in the act. In any case, she can't continue to hide behind the scenes and cause trouble!"

Xiao Si had never seen him with such an expression before, and knew that he was truly angry this time. Quickly, Xiao Si said, "Don't be afraid, I'll help you!"

......

After Shi Jin left M Province, Number Two arranged for others to interrogate Xu Chuan remotely again, hoping to extract more useful information. However, Xu Chuan refused to cooperate and only demanded to see Shi Jin. Given Xu Chuan's unstable emotions and occasional signs of madness, the prison simply isolated him.

Upon learning of this, Shi Jin considered for a moment and then made a call to the prison to chat with Xu Chuan. After the conversation, Shi Jin confirmed that Xu Chuan did not have any evidence to incriminate Xu Jie, but he did have a way to contact her.

"I will never give you the photo," said Shi Jin cruelly at the end of the call, before adding, "I need you to do something for me."

Xu Chuan was so angry that he wanted to hang up the phone, but he couldn't bear to give up his last hope and said, "If you give me the photo, I'll help you."

"If you don't help me, I'll tell Jian Chenghua everything you've done," Shi Jin threatened.

Xu Chuan's breathing became heavy, clearly enraged. "Shi Jin, don't think I'm really afraid of what you're saying!"

"If you're not afraid, then hang up the phone," Shi Jin replied, putting the call on speakerphone and setting his phone aside to play mahjong on his tablet.

After more than ten minutes, Xu Chuan's voice rang out again, compromising, "What do you want me to do for you?"

Shi Jin picked up his phone again and said, "I need the list of people who helped Xu Jie harm my mother. And you need to contact Xu Jie and tell her that I came to see you."

Xu Chuan's voice became serious as he asked, "What do you want to do?"

"I want to do what you want to see the most. I want Xu Jie to come and kill me," Shi Jin replied. He noticed that Lian Jun, who was behind the desk, frowned and looked over. His expression stiffened, and he quickly raised his hand to slap himself in the mouth, as if he had said something wrong and was begging for forgiveness.

Lian Jun's furrowed brow relaxed slightly, and he gave Shi Jin a warning glance before lowering his head again. Shi Jin breathed a sigh of relief and refocused on the conversation.

After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, Xu Chuan's tone surprisingly calmed down and he said, "Interesting, I think I know what you want to do. Okay, I'll help you. Consider it the last thing I do for Jinwen." He then hung up the phone on his own accord.

Shi Jin put down his phone and fell silent for a moment before asking Lian Jun, "Does this count as soliciting a crime?"

Lian Jun knew what he was planning and looked up at him. He put down his files, took hold of the hand that was holding the phone, kissed the back of it, and said, "No, even if you don't use Xu Chuan to provoke Xu Jie, she will eventually come after you. I've had people keeping an eye on her movements and found out that she's been secretly contacting criminal organisations both domestically and abroad."

Another violent organization.

Shi Jin frowned and asked, "Is she trying to hire someone to kidnap me again?"

"Maybe, but she's likely to return empty-handed this time. There are hardly any organizations in China that dare to ignore Annihilation, who are willing to use force against you. There are organizations abroad that can compete with the Annihilation, but she probably can't afford their price," Lian Jun replied, squeezing his hand and asking, "Are you afraid?"

Shi Jin laughed and replied, "No, I'm not afraid. I feel inflated because my boyfriend is so powerful. Even if Xu Jie brought a group of immortals, she wouldn't be able to hurt me." Besides, with the progress bar radar, he could detect danger approaching and there was nothing to fear.

Lian Jun kissed the back of his hand again, then turned and walked back to the desk. He glanced at Shi Jin, who had already slumped back onto the sofa, took out his phone, and sent a text message to Lu Shan.

That night, Shi Jin's death progress bar increased again, reaching 900. Shi Jin paused while brushing his teeth, guessing that Xu Chuan had contacted Xu Jie. He spat out the foam, rinsed his mouth and washed his face before jumping onto the bed and quickly undoing Lian Jun's sleeping robe belt.

Lian Jun was sitting at the bedside reading documents. Seeing Shi Jin's actions, he smirked, put the documents on the bedside table, turned off the lamp, and pushed Shi Jin back onto the bed.

Shi Jin took the opportunity to hug him, drooling over his chest and saying, "Exercise really works, look at these thin little muscles..."

Lian Jun was amused by his intentionally lewd behavior, so he held Shi Jin's face, lowered his head, and silenced his voice with a kiss.

......

When he woke up, Shi Jinfa noticed that his progress bar had increased again, reaching 920. He remained calm and even sent a cheerful text message to the five brothers in the Shi family, inviting them to a meal together.

Shi Weichong was the first to respond, saying he was available anytime and even asked Shi Jin what he wanted to eat, offering to make a reservation in advance.

Fei Yujing had already returned to L country and was extremely busy, only replying to the message after 10 pm that night. He regretfully stated that he wouldn't be able to return within the next month. However, the next day at noon, he sent Shi Jin a table full of delicious seafood takeout as compensation.

Rong Zhouzhong also responded quickly, saying he was available to meet but only in half a month because he had an important announcement to prepare for. Xiang Aoting's reply was brief, stating that he had a task at hand and would only be available in about a week.

Surprisingly, Li Jiuzheng also replied with just one word: "good." Shi Jin gathered the information and with a grand gesture, set the dinner for a week later, abandoning Fei Yujing and Rong Zhouzhong.

Fei Yujing didn't mind as he was busy. Rong Zhouzhong, on the other hand, was furious. He teamed up with a few other brothers in the small group and found out that he was the only one ostracised by Shi Jin. He immediately sent countless messages to Shi Jin, cursing him out.

Shi Jin only replied with a "hahaha" which successfully made Rong Zhouzhong even angrier. Shi Jin then picked up his tablet and continued playing mahjong.

Seeing him upset, Lian Jun slid his wheelchair closer and touched his head. Shi Jin paused his game and looked up at him.

"Do you need me to accompany you?" Lian Jun asked.

Shi Jin shook his head and looked down at the mahjong tiles on the tablet. "I don't plan on telling them anything during this meal. I just want to provoke Xu Jie, so don't come. You won't eat well outside, taking care of your health is more important."

Lian Jun didn't insist and instead patted Shi Jin's head. "Then I'll have Number One and Number Two send you there together."

This time, Shi Jin didn't refuse and nodded, smiling at him.

......

The dinner hadn't started yet, but Shi Jin's acceptance letter had arrived first.

Number Two and the others gathered in the living room again to watch Shi Jin open the letter.

"Why do I suddenly feel like a father giving away his daughter in marriage?" Number Two exclaimed inappropriately.

Shi Jin gave him the middle finger and pulled out the letter to read it himself before handing it over to Lian Jun. Lian Jun took the notice and carefully read through its contents. He ran his fingers over the name written on it and a proud smile appeared on his face. "I'll have the kitchen prepare something delicious for you tonight," he said.

"I want to have grilled lamb chops," Shi Jin ordered without hesitation. He glanced at the other miscellaneous items in the notice bag and found nothing special, so he quickly gathered everything up and shooed away the onlookers like he was chasing ducks.

Number Two didn't want to leave and coldly snorted, "Isn't the military training at the police academy based on military standards, Number One?"

Number One gave him a slightly disdainful look but still cooperated, saying, "Shi Jin, your physical training has been neglected for too long. It's time to pick it up again."

When Shi Jin heard this, he felt a pang of guilt and nervously pinched his own slightly soft muscles. He remembered how Lian Jun had been steadily improving his physique and reluctantly nodded in agreement. It seemed like he had been living a bit too indulgently lately, while Lian Jun had been diligently working out every day. He had to step up his game and put in more effort too.