Three-in-One Chapter

"If we suspect someone is lying,

we should pretend to believe him,

because he will grow ever bolder and more confident,

and lie with greater daring,

until at last he removes his own mask..."

The old apartment building looked desolate and run-down in the rainy night. Downstairs, a female student sat propped against her headboard, softly reading from Schopenhauer's essays. Near nine, sleepiness finally overcame her, and she turned out the light.

The warm yellow window went dark, like a human heart slowly guttering out.

"Whoosh!"

Lu Yan was lying on the sofa in his rented room when he suddenly jolted upright as though electrocuted. Clutching his heart, he gasped for breath. A fine sheen of cold sweat covered his forehead, and his face was white as paper.

The piercing agony of a blade through his heart still lingered. He could not stop himself from curling up, and only after a long while did he finally calm down.

A black heart silently appeared in midair. The crackle of electricity made one think of an old television flickering with static, something that should have been discarded by the times long ago:

[Host No. 503, the third run is about to begin. This is your last chance.]

The System abruptly drifted closer to Lu Yan. Its voice was low, more oppressive than ever.

[If you lose the game, the system takes control of your soul.]

Lu Yan said nothing. He stared coldly at the black heart. After a long moment, he said evenly, "I'll survive."

He would survive.

Two deaths in a row had stirred the anger in Lu Yan's heart. Call it competitiveness, call it vengeance, but he was going to win this round no matter what.

[Is that so?]

The black heart suddenly flew away, its tone almost pitying.

[Then, good luck.]

The instant the System finished speaking, the clock hand on the wall pointed exactly to nine. Rain poured down outside, and a clamor surged in from every direction, nearly bringing down the old building swaying in the storm.

Lu Yan rose and went to the window. Peering down from behind the curtain, he found exactly what he expected: a familiar figure in black standing at the street corner. It was Yu Zechuan.

In the first round, Jiang Boyun's arrival had provoked Yu Zechuan into coming upstairs to kill him.

In the second, Lu Yan had invited him upstairs himself.

Lu Yan still did not know what time Yu Zechuan had originally planned to kill him. Or perhaps Yu Zechuan had never decided how to kill him at all; freshly released from prison and in a foul mood, he had simply picked Lu Yan, who was about to go on a date with Jiang Boyun, as his target.

Lu Yan rapidly reviewed the first two rounds and realized he had been riddled with openings. He had made the wrong move from the very beginning. Especially when Yu Zechuan had raised his knife to kill him and he had blurted out, "I've had a crush on you for a long time." Only an idiot would believe that.

Everyone at the company knew Yu Zechuan was notoriously difficult to deal with. He looked refined and gentle on the surface, but his temperament was mercurial and unpredictable. Once his temper flared, no one could hold him back. Anyone who knew Yu Zechuan avoided him whenever possible. Who would be foolish enough to like him?

There were even rumors that Yu Zechuan had developed severe bipolar disorder after his birth mother died, and that he had never stopped taking medication all these years. During episodes, he would lock himself in a room and slam his head against the wall or choke himself with both hands. Once, a former secretary accidentally caught him having an episode in his office, went pale with fright, and was fired on the spot.

For all these years, only Jiang Boyun had been able to tolerate his temper.

Jiang Boyun, a poor student from the bottom of society who had wanted desperately to make something of himself, had endured Yu Zechuan for five years by clinging to his hunger for power and status. In the end, he got everything he wanted.

In short, before prison, Yu Zechuan had been an unstable, thoroughly unlikable madman. The excuse of a secret crush was far too fake, and far too stupid.

But it did not matter. This round, Lu Yan had enough time to make a new plan.

Words Yu Zechuan had spoken before Lu Yan died in the last round echoed in his mind:

"If Xue Jin hadn't found evidence of your involvement in the old accounting records on Jiang Boyun's computer a few days ago, I might really have let you go."

What did that mean?

A few days before his death, Xue Jin had found evidence on Jiang Boyun's computer that was detrimental to him? And that evidence was what made Yu Zechuan finally decide to kill him?

Lu Yan's mind was a mess. Left with no choice, he found paper and a pen in the drawer and began frowningly sorting through the crucial clues.

Reasons Yu Zechuan wanted to kill him:

1. He was Jiang Boyun's kept lover.

2. He had helped Jiang Boyun falsify the accounts and frame Yu Zechuan, sending him to prison. (Only learned a few days before month's end; evidence came from Xue Jin.)

Lu Yan circled the second reason, then drew a heavy X through it and carefully wrote beneath it: Fatal cause of death. Must prevent it.

When he was done, Lu Yan blacked out the writing, tore the paper into pieces, and tossed them into the trash. Just then, the phone on the coffee table vibrated several times. A message from Jiang Boyun popped up:

[Yan, I'm almost downstairs. How are you? Does your stomach still hurt?]

[Looks like this place is about to be demolished, and it's too noisy. I have an apartment near the company. Move in there in a couple of days.]

Lu Yan stared at the phone that had been planted with a listening device, a frown creasing his brow. As if recalling something, he quietly rose and found the old phone the original host had used in the bedside table. He connected to the Wi-Fi, logged into WeChat, and sent Jiang Boyun a message from the old phone:

[Sorry, I only just saw your message. My aunt back home suddenly got sick. I need to go back to see her, and I'm already at the station.]

Jiang Boyun could not come. He absolutely could not come. That mouth of his, which deserved to be smashed to pieces, was a ticking time bomb.

While watching Yu Zechuan downstairs, Lu Yan waited tensely for Jiang Boyun's reply. Half a minute later, a message finally appeared on his phone:

Jiang Boyun: [All right, then I'll head back. Is there anything you need help with?]

The car had nearly turned onto the street. But after receiving Lu Yan's sudden message, it had no choice but to turn around and go home. As the steering wheel turned, whose fate had it unknowingly changed?

After thinking for a moment, Lu Yan typed: [Can you lend me three hundred thousand? I'll pay you back next month.]

Jiang Boyun was fairly generous with money. Given his current status, three hundred thousand was not even the price of one of his tailored suits. But Lu Yan used to gamble; no matter how much he was given, he would lose it all, and Jiang Boyun had grown impatient with him. Still, since a relative was sick, Jiang Boyun was willing to make a show of concern. Before long, Lu Yan's mobile banking notified him of a deposit. Jiang Boyun had transferred five hundred thousand directly.

Lu Yan replied with two words: [Thank you.]

Utterly "sincere."

With Jiang Boyun and the financial matter, two major dangers, resolved at once, Lu Yan let out a quiet breath. After confirming again and again that Yu Zechuan was still at the street corner, he took his keys and went downstairs. But instead of seeking him out as he had in his previous life, he went straight to the floor where the auntie from the neighborhood residents' committee lived and gently knocked on her door.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

"Auntie Zhang, are you asleep?"

With the way Lu Yan knocked, she would have woken up even if she had been asleep. Before long, a bleary-eyed middle-aged woman opened the door in a robe thrown over her clothes. She yawned. Her tightly permed curls, uncombed, looked like an exploded steel-wool pad. "Oh, it's Lu. What's the matter at this hour?"

Lu Yan looked apologetic. "It's like this, Auntie Zhang. I was just coming back from buying something when I noticed a strange man in black hanging around under our building. There are a lot of single women and elderly people nearby, and I'm a little worried, so I came to let you know..."

Some things did not need to be spelled out. Auntie Zhang worked for the residents' committee and was warmhearted and forceful by nature. Her face changed immediately. "Really?"

Lu Yan's tone was uncertain. "He should still be downstairs."

Auntie Zhang immediately pulled on her coat. "I'll get my old man and have him take a look. There've been thieves around lately. What if someone's casing the place? Lu, go home first. Whatever you do, don't come downstairs."

"Sorry to trouble you, Auntie Zhang," Lu Yan said.

With that, he turned and left. He went quietly back to his own apartment and shut the door so softly that no one would notice without listening closely.

Yu Zechuan might have too much killing intent, but he was clear about grudges and favors. He would never lay a hand on uninvolved women, children, or the elderly. Having the committee auntie drive him off was the best solution.

Lu Yan watched the scene downstairs from behind the curtain. Time passed bit by bit. Soon, he saw Auntie Zhang and Uncle Zhang come down, flashlights in hand, and approach Yu Zechuan.

"Hey, young man, where do you live? Why are you standing outside our building in the rain in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? What are you up to?"

Yu Zechuan leaned against the wall, still deciding whether to kill anyone, when a middle-aged couple with umbrellas walked up to him. There was a red armband around the man's right arm. They were probably some sort of neighborhood officials.

"..."

His silence was unsettling.

Auntie Zhang pointed the flashlight directly at his face beneath the shadow of his cap brim, only to meet a pair of cold, vicious eyes. A scar ran across his right cheek, making him look unmistakably dangerous.

Auntie Zhang jumped in fright. Her flashlight rolled to her feet with a clatter. More certain than ever that he was no good, she stumbled back, trembling. "Y-you... who are you? Let me tell you, the police station isn't far from here..."

Even Uncle Zhang's grip on the umbrella was unsteady. He quietly tugged his wife's sleeve and lowered his voice. "Maybe we should go back. Let's not get involved."

Their old bones were no match for him.

Just as Auntie Zhang panicked, Yu Zechuan, who had remained silent all along, suddenly moved. They cried out and ducked away, only to see him lift a hand, pull down his slipping cap brim, and turn into the curtain of rain.

"Splash..."

One foot shattered a puddle, where the weak glow of a streetlamp had been reflected. A moment later, the fragments gathered again.

From upstairs, Lu Yan watched Yu Zechuan disappear around the alley corner. Only then did he slowly draw the curtain closed.

Yu Zechuan would not make a move.

At least, not today.

He had caught the attention of the neighborhood committee auntie. He would never choose this moment to kill Lu Yan, or the police would easily grow suspicious.

Lu Yan had never smoked, but in the original host's coffee-table drawer he found half a pack of cheap cigarettes. Wordlessly, he pulled one out, put it between his lips, and lit it on the sofa. An unfamiliar tobacco flavor immediately filled his mouth.

Bitter. Spicy. Choking.

It took Lu Yan only seconds to get used to it. The nicotine gave his mind a brief respite. Eyes lowered, he aimlessly scrolled through his phone, considering his next move. Two short deaths had changed him beyond recognition. Like a sword returned to its sheath, all its sharpness was hidden away.

The path of a secret crush was certainly impossible. Yu Zechuan plainly would not believe that Jiang Boyun's kept lover had fallen in love with him. It was too abrupt, too absurd. Lu Yan had tested that answer with his death in the previous round.

The urgent task in this life was to find the "evidence" on Jiang Boyun's computer and destroy it before Xue Jin had a chance to hand it to Yu Zechuan.

But Lu Yan did not know what that evidence was, where Jiang Boyun had stored it, or whether destroying it would erase all backups. After he destroyed it, would Xue Jin and Yu Zechuan learn the truth through some other channel?

He did not even know Jiang Boyun's computer password.

Xue Jin, Jiang Boyun's right-hand man, had only barely found the evidence after lying in wait for so many years. Lu Yan did not think his position was any better.

Questions rose from the bottom of his heart one after another, all without answers, like the cloud-choked sky beyond the window.

What should he do?

What should he do?

Then, in a flash, a thought crossed Lu Yan's mind. These problems were not unsolvable, unless...

Unless he could stay by Yu Zechuan's side and keep track of his movements at all times.

The problem seemed to have returned to where it began.

Lu Yan sank into the sofa, closed his eyes, and exhaled a stream of smoke. It blurred his handsome face. A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes. Through the pale haze, he looked ahead, his gaze dark and black, before it vanished again into the indistinct lamplight.

Yu Zechuan, I lost in my previous life.

This life, why not see who wins?

...

By the time Yu Zechuan returned to his apartment, it was close to midnight.

He took off his wet coat and showered. When he came out, he changed into pajamas, but could not even be bothered to dry his hair. He simply closed his eyes and collapsed onto the sofa in the living room. Air-conditioning wrapped around him like he had fallen into a polar sea, cold waves pressing in from every side.

Today's plan to kill someone had failed.

Jiang Boyun was alive. So was his kept lover.

Yu Zechuan was extremely dissatisfied with that outcome. He buried his head in the crook of his arm, eyes shut, while his temples throbbed. The dull, heavy thunder outside seemed as if it would blow his brain apart.

His fingers threaded through his hair and clenched hard, trying to suppress the violent agitation within him. It did no good.

Just as Yu Zechuan's breathing grew heavy and his mind began to blur, the phone on the table suddenly rang, pulling him back from the brink of collapse.

"Bzzz..."

Yu Zechuan opened bloodshot eyes. The caller ID read Xue Jin. After a moment of silence, he answered. "Hello..."

His voice was hoarse, his restraint clearly at its limit.

There was some noise on Xue Jin's end, which cleared after a moment. "Zechuan, where are you? Why didn't you answer when I called just now?"

Yu Zechuan shut his eyes wearily, thick lashes casting shadows beneath them. "Didn't hear it."

Xue Jin paused. "Did you go looking for Jiang Boyun?"

Yu Zechuan asked flatly, without detectable emotion, "What if I did?"

Xue Jin was anxious. Lowering his voice, he rebuked him, "I told you not to rush into it. The company is still in Jiang Boyun's hands. Wouldn't killing him now be letting him off too easily?"

"Zechuan, listen to me. Don't act yet..."

Yu Zechuan cut him off. "I didn't kill him."

The voice on the other end stopped abruptly.

Yu Zechuan repeated, "I didn't kill him."

But sooner or later, he would.

"I'm tired. We'll talk tomorrow if there's anything."

He hung up and lay back down on the sofa. As though remembering something, he tapped at his phone and pulled up an identity file.

Name: Lu Yan

Gender: Male

...

The screen was covered with dense information, as though it had investigated Lu Yan's ancestors for eighteen generations. In the upper-right corner was a blurry photograph. Since it was an ID photo, he was neither handsome nor ugly in it, just like most people, with no distinguishing features.

This was Jiang Boyun's kept lover?

Yu Zechuan slowly rubbed the screen with his right hand. He pressed so hard that the edges of his fingertips turned bluish, unable to hide his killing intent.

Lu Yan had only guessed half right. Yu Zechuan wanted to kill him not only because he was Jiang Boyun's kept lover, but because Yu Zechuan was inherently awkward and obsessive, with a possessiveness unlike that of ordinary people.

No one could touch what belonged to him.

Even if it was something he did not want, something he hated.

Unfortunately, last night's timing had been wrong, and he had drawn the attention of that middle-aged couple. It would not be convenient to strike again for a while.

Yu Zechuan suppressed his disappointment and tucked the phone back under the cushion. Curled up on the sofa, he closed his eyes to sleep, his right hand gripping the folding knife hidden in his pocket as if it were the source of all security.

Yu Zechuan was a light sleeper and did not sleep well that night. The next morning, a loud clatter woke him. A man's rough shouting came from the hallway, irritating and chaotic.

Yu Zechuan sat up, rubbed his face, and went to the bathroom to wash up with a frown. The noise outside did not lessen. It only grew worse.

The cold water cleared his mind somewhat, but his anger shot up at once.

Yu Zechuan put on a mask and flung open his door. The hallway was crammed with furniture. Several movers were nearly fighting because a bedframe had gotten stuck at the corner, their booming voices like cannons.

"I told you to carry it upright! Now it's stuck, isn't it?"

"What the fuck are you talking about? How was I supposed to know the bed was this big? Turn it around, hurry up, don't waste time!"

Autumn brought endless rain. Damp weather made people especially sensitive, particularly someone whose temper was already bad like Yu Zechuan's. Five years in prison had not worn down his young master's arrogance. It had only deepened this abnormal state of mind.

Expressionless, he stood in the doorway and slapped the door twice. The heavy bangs were abrupt enough to make hearts tremble. All three movers looked over, and the air went stiflingly silent.

"You're disturbing me."

Yu Zechuan's voice was cold, carrying an invisible pressure.

"If I hear any of you above fifty decibels again, I'll report you to building management."

As he spoke, the elevator chimed and opened. A man in white casual clothes stepped out. He wore a black mask and was tall, with beautiful, deep-set eyes. Even without seeing his face, anyone could tell he was handsome.

Perhaps because his bearing was so distinctive, even faintly familiar, Yu Zechuan glanced at him before looking away. He turned back inside and slammed his door hard enough to shake the building.

"Bang!"

It was as though that sound had flipped a switch. The movers finally came to their senses. They cursed under their breath, but their voices unconsciously dropped several notches.

"Fuck, what's he so proud of? Think having money makes him special?"

This apartment building stood downtown. Rent was nearly thirty thousand a month, with commercial utility rates. It was absolutely not somewhere ordinary people could afford.

The man in white glanced at Yu Zechuan's unit number, stepped forward, and said to the movers, "Guys, it's the weekend. Everyone's probably still sleeping, so please keep it down. This is for your trouble. Have some tea later."

He took out his wallet and pulled out a stack of bills, handing them over one per person. His pale fingertips were clean and neat, pleasing to look at.

The movers immediately forgot their earlier displeasure. With broad smiles, they accepted the money. "Mr. Lu, what are you saying? It's our job. Go rest to the side. We'll definitely have everything moved in before noon."

Encouraged by the tip, they worked with great vigor. This time, though, they were exceedingly careful, and the noise was much quieter.

Behind his door, Yu Zechuan heard the faint conversation outside. His terrible mood improved at last. All his life, he kept encountering scum. To find a neighbor who was well-bred and considerate was, admittedly, a piece of good luck.

Little did he know, that neighbor was standing in the hallway, staring at his unit number for a long time, unreadable emotion in his ink-dark eyes.

The man lifted a hand and removed his mask, revealing a flawless face. It was Lu Yan.

The night before, Lu Yan had contacted his landlady to cancel his rental, then found an agent and rented the empty apartment next to Yu Zechuan's overnight. That morning, he had signed the contract without even viewing the apartment, under the agent's astonished gaze, and paid a considerable deposit.

Perhaps the agent thought he was an idiot.

Lu Yan smiled. Perhaps. Who knew?

The movers kept their word. Everything had been moved in before noon. The furniture was secondhand and had been bought on short notice, so it did not need time to air out. A little tidying was all it took to make it usable.

Lu Yan went out, returning only that evening with a collection of shopping bags: fruit, toiletries, towels, appliances, and even a potted flower.

After entering, he shut the door, opened one of the boxes, and carefully examined the listening device he had bought at a high price. Only after a series of tests did he say to himself, "The quality is good."

Using a small shovel, Lu Yan carefully dug up the pale-purple flossflowers, roots and soil included. He buried the listening device at the very bottom, covered it again with dirt, and restored the plant bit by bit. Only after making sure there was no visible sign of tampering did he go wash his hands in the bathroom.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Yu Zechuan had been sitting at his computer writing a proposal, thinking about how to lure Jiang Boyun in. Then someone unexpectedly knocked at his door. The sound was quiet and polite, stopping after three knocks.

Xue Jin could be ruled out first. Xue Jin did not have that kind of manners.

Then who was it?

Yu Zechuan pushed back his chair and rose, walking to the door with a frown. Remembering something, he took out a mask and put it on before opening the door a crack. "Who is it?"

A tall man stood outside. He looked familiar: the neighbor who had moved in that morning. He still wore a black mask, revealing only a pair of deep, affectionate eyes. In his left hand he held a bag of cut fruit in containers; in his right, a pot of purple flowers. His voice was gentle and courteous. "Hello. I'm the new neighbor next door."

Yu Zechuan's manner was cold. "What is it?"

He found the neighbor strange. He wore a mask to hide the scar on his face. Why was the other man wearing one?

Lu Yan explained with a smile, "This morning, when I was moving in, I accidentally disturbed you. I brought you some fruit by way of apology. I hope you don't mind."

Yu Zechuan refused outright. "No need."

He started to close the door, but the other man used his long leg to block the gap. "We're neighbors now. Even if not for the apology, it would be nice to be friends... Besides, I cut too much fruit to finish alone. If you don't take it, it will go bad. What a waste."

Friends?

Yu Zechuan found that novel. It was even a little amusing. He braced a hand on the doorframe and lowered his head without speaking. Then he abruptly reached up and pulled off his own mask. The scar on his right cheek lay exposed in the air, startling enough to draw a sharp breath.

Yu Zechuan stared straight at Lu Yan. His gaze was like that of a snake, clammy and cold. "Are you sure you want to be friends with me?"

His voice was light, but steeped in malice.

Yu Zechuan no longer cared about his ruined face. He only hated being watched through strange, appraising eyes, which was why he always wore a mask. But if taking it off spared him needless trouble, he did not mind letting people see the wound.

He waited for the handsome new neighbor's expression to change, for him to flee in panic and swear never to knock on a madman's door again.

That would be best.

But the handsome new neighbor merely showed an appropriate flicker of surprise, then returned to normal. "I may be living here a long time. We'll see each other every day. Let's be friends."

Yet neither of them had exchanged names from beginning to end.

In his daze, Yu Zechuan was forced to accept a bag of fruit filled with the man's evident sincerity, along with a pot of thriving purple flossflowers. The new neighbor even thoughtfully added, "This kind of flower is easy to care for. When it gets cold, you don't have to water it too often."

Actually, watering it would have been fine. The listening device was waterproof.

Yu Zechuan said nothing the entire time. He watched the man bid him goodbye politely, then carry the other bag of fruit to knock on the opposite neighbor's door. Only then did it occur to him that this item was not his alone.

Oh. Perhaps he had one extra flower compared with everyone else.

His mood instantly worsened again.

"Bang!"

Yu Zechuan shut the door hard. Returning inside, he tossed the bag of fruit straight into the kitchen sink. Peeled, cut fruit would slowly rot and turn sour if left uneaten for more than two days, but that was not something Yu Zechuan cared about.

He held the heavy flowerpot in his hands, considering what to do with it.

Yu Zechuan did not know how to grow flowers, and he did not like growing them. How could someone who was nearly rotten and spoiled himself keep anything else alive?

But perhaps because the flower was his alone, it did not suffer the same miserable fate as the fruit. After thinking it over, Yu Zechuan casually placed it before the floor-to-ceiling window, where the sunlight was best.

Unfortunately, it was the season when everything withered. The next few days brought uninterrupted rain and no sunlight at all.

Yu Zechuan's life had always been lifeless. Every day, at most, he sat before his computer and continued writing that false island development proposal, considering how to lure Jiang Boyun in. The rest of his time he spent sinking repeatedly into hatred, clutching a dagger at night and falling asleep in pain.

On the third day, the fruit had completely spoiled.

The fermented scent was faintly sour, even somewhat alcoholic, and slowly drifted out from the kitchen.

Yu Zechuan actually cleaned every day, but he had selectively ignored that bag of fruit. Not until he smelled its decay did he realize belatedly that he should throw it away.

At four in the afternoon, the quietest time of day, Yu Zechuan put on his cap and mask and went downstairs to take out the trash. He did not expect to encounter the new neighbor in the elevator lobby.

The other man had changed clothes: a clean shirt and a light knit vest, with a refined, bookish air. He still wore a mask, though, and an off-white Bluetooth earpiece hung from his right ear.

Their eyes met, and both froze for a moment.

Lu Yan had not appeared before Yu Zechuan during this time, both to stay alive and to monitor him from his apartment. He had not expected that on a rare trip downstairs to buy food, he would run into him at the elevator.

Lu Yan was the first to recover. He took off his earpiece, a smile in his ink-dark eyes. "What a coincidence. Taking out the trash?"

His gaze casually swept over the "trash" Yu Zechuan held. The bag looked familiar. It was the fruit he had given him that day. He was not surprised.

Yu Zechuan was too wary to eat anything a stranger sent him. Fortunately, the fruit was only an extra. The flowerpot containing the listening device was what mattered.

Without a trace of embarrassment, Yu Zechuan gave a neutral hum.

"Looks like you don't like fruit. I'll bring you something else next time."

Lu Yan's temper was very good, so good that he seemed like a white cloud, clean and soft, one that would not lose its temper no matter how it was kneaded. And that patience came from his bones. It was very different from the way Jiang Boyun endured humiliation and pasted on a smile for money.

Before prison, if Yu Zechuan had met someone like Lu Yan, he would most likely have fallen for him wildly as if he had spotted prey, perhaps even developing an inexplicable urge to possess him.

But after getting out of prison, even Yu Zechuan no longer understood what he liked.

The two entered the elevator together.

Yu Zechuan gave Lu Yan a long look. The narrow, enclosed elevator unconsciously drew them closer, and with it came curiosity.

Yu Zechuan suddenly wanted to know what Lu Yan looked like. He stared at the gold stainless-steel elevator doors, which clearly reflected the clothes of the man beside him. That man had eyes that could enchant people. "Why do you wear a mask?"

It sounded more like an interrogation than a question.

Lu Yan smiled faintly. "Don't you wear one too?"

Yu Zechuan thought he was asking a question he knew the answer to and sneered, "That's because I'm ugly. Are you ugly too?"

Lu Yan said softly, "No. You're not ugly."

Yu Zechuan froze. Just as he was about to say something, the elevator reached the first floor and chimed open. The tall man gave him a polite nod and walked away, his back growing more distant.

Like a light breeze, he left no trace behind.

Yu Zechuan frowned, inexplicably annoyed. Carrying the trash bag to the shopping area below the apartment building, he tossed it into a random bin. He was considering whether to buy something to take upstairs when a familiar figure caught the corner of his eye across the road, stopping him in his tracks.

Jiang Boyun was probably out for a meal today. He had clawed his way up from the bottom, and after making it, he became especially particular. He went everywhere with assistants and bodyguards, wore immaculate suits year-round, and carried himself with the satisfaction of a man in power. He stood out in a crowd at once.

At the sight of him, Yu Zechuan silently clenched his fingers. His cap brim cast a narrow shadow, and his eyes were dark enough to drip water. He stood motionless across the busy street, staring at Jiang Boyun. Slanting rain fell on him, but it could not extinguish the fire burning painfully in his chest.

It was not time yet.

It was not time yet.

Yu Zechuan repeated the words to himself until he finally restrained the surging desire to kill. Without a word, he turned and went upstairs. It felt as though a sharp blade were furiously twisting inside his mind, making him breathe hard and break out in cold sweat.

"Rumble..."

When Yu Zechuan returned to his apartment, thunder was crashing outside. Bolts of lightning tore through the sky as if they would rip open the heavens, their sound heavy and dull. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling window, wind and rain raged. Night spread like an overturned bottle of ink, quickly flooding outward from one corner.

"Hah..."

Yu Zechuan clutched his neck. He suddenly found it hard to breathe, and even staggered as he walked.

Supporting himself against the table, he made his way into the bedroom and fumbled a white pill bottle out of the bedside table. He threw two pills into his mouth at random, then collapsed onto the floor as his strength gave out.

Yu Zechuan was soaked through, as though he had been pulled from the water. He squeezed his own throat with both hands and curled up on the floor, his face bluish white and at times twisted with pain.

The light and shadow above him blurred. Staring at it too long made dizziness rise before his eyes, dragging him into nightmare memories.

At times, it was his mother, crazed, choking him and shaking him violently as she cursed without end. At times, it was his grandfather's death, the cold, rigid face in the morgue. In the end, only Jiang Boyun's smug face remained, along with the cold bars of prison.

"Don't come near me... Don't come near me..."

"Jiang Boyun... You deserve to die... You all deserve to die..."

Yu Zechuan did not know how to wake up or ease the pain. He could only slam his head against the floor again and again. His whole body shook, his pained groans swallowed by the torrential rain.

On the other side of the wall, Lu Yan sat on the sofa monitoring the sounds next door. Suddenly, he heard something unusual, as if things had clattered all over the floor, and frowned.

Lu Yan raised a hand to press his earpiece and listened again to be sure. At last, realizing something seemed to be wrong with Yu Zechuan, his expression changed. He pushed back his chair and rushed outside.

Lu Yan did not hold much against Yu Zechuan. In a sense, he even found him somewhat pitiful. But Lu Yan did not know whether he could save his own life, much less have the leisure to sympathize with someone else.

Standing at Yu Zechuan's door, however, he remembered how the man had blocked a knife for him in the rented room in the last round, then lay on the sofa sweating from the pain. After one moment of hesitation, he knocked.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Lu Yan knocked several times in a row, but no one came to open the door. He frowned and tapped rapidly on the keypad. With a soft beep, the door unlocked automatically.

Lu Yan had secretly memorized the code when Yu Zechuan kidnapped him in his previous life. He had not expected it to be useful one day. Pushing the door open, he found the apartment dimly lit. The coffee table in the living room was crooked, and things were scattered everywhere.

A familiar figure was curled in pain in a corner of the floor, and he looked to be in bad shape.

"Yu Zechuan!"

Lu Yan stepped over the mess on the floor and hurried to Yu Zechuan's side, immediately helping him up. Yu Zechuan's face was deathly pale, his fingertips icy cold.

Lu Yan's brow drew tight as he called to him in a low voice. "Yu Zechuan?"

"Rumble..."

Another dull peal of thunder rang out.

A pair of bloodshot eyes snapped open, their madness and hatred enough to make one's scalp prickle.

Yu Zechuan could no longer distinguish reality from dreams. His pupils were unfocused, his breathing heavy, as different faces flashed before him one by one: Jiang Boyun's, his grandfather's, his father's. Finally, they became the face of his long-dead mother.

The beautiful woman's expression was twisted as she strangled him. "Why did I give birth to you? You're a bastard! A bastard!"

"If I hadn't gotten pregnant with you, I wouldn't have had to marry into this family, and my life wouldn't have been ruined! You're a jinx! You deserve to die just like your father!"

Yu Zechuan's mother had been a commoner, but Yu Zechuan's father, a notorious womanizer at the time, had taken a fancy to her and used dishonorable means to force her into marriage. She hated him, and had no tenderness even for his child. Not long after giving birth, she lost her mind and beat or cursed Yu Zechuan every day.

But young Yu Zechuan did not understand any of that. He only knew that his father was never home, always pursuing women, while his mother was locked in a room he saw only a few times a year.

His grandfather forbade him from entering that room, but he could never stop himself from sneaking in. After being found by the woman countless times, he was beaten black and blue. Several times she nearly strangled him to death, yet he never learned.

When he was ten, the family held a birthday banquet. It was the last time Yu Zechuan went to see her. That day, the usually crazed woman was extraordinarily gentle. She called his name softly from behind the door, wished him a happy birthday, and said she would take him to the amusement park if he opened it.

If only he opened the door...

Then every image shattered in an instant. All the guests there that day could remember it: rain was pouring outside when a madwoman suddenly fled the locked room in the Yu family home and leapt from a window. She fell into the swimming pool and died, the back of her head striking the tiled edge with a heavy blow, blood spilling everywhere.

"Bang!"

Water exploded in a spray, but it was the deep red of blood.

Yu Zechuan, lying on the floor, suddenly began to gasp. He clutched his head in both hands, eyes red, and murmured, "I was wrong... Mom... I was wrong..."

No one knew what he was crying over. Lu Yan did not know either. He only felt that the Yu Zechuan before him was like a child who had made a mistake, aggrieved and helpless.

Broken words sounded in the air. His guilt was so intense that he seemed to want to die at once.

"You... you shouldn't have given birth to me... I shouldn't have let you out..."

"I got you killed..."

"I'm a murderer..."