His fingertips landed on the surface of the skin. The touch was uneven; shockingly, it was a long and narrow scar.

Shen Ci quietly withdrew his hand. He waited until Xie Yu was fast asleep before tracing the scar all the way up his back. However, even though he reached almost his entire arm into Xie Yu's pajamas, he still couldn't feel the end of the scar.

It was a very long scar.

Shen Ci's fingertips trembled slightly. He silently turned on the small bedside lamp, then knelt on the bed, pinched the hem of Xie Yu's clothes, and lifted a corner of the pajamas.

In the warm yellow halo of the bedside lamp, he could clearly see Xie Yu's back.

The young master's back had beautifully contoured lines, and his skin exuded a light honey-colored luster like fine silk. But on top of this silk, there were many crisscrossing traces of scars.

There were whip marks, burn marks, and even knife wounds.

These scars had faded in color over the years and were stretched open by newly grown tender flesh, blurring into large patches of dark brown and reddish-pink. They lingered on his back, resembling stains and tears on silk.

Shen Ci stared at them intently, not saying a word for a long time.

How could Xie Yu have... these marks on his body?

Who was Xie Yu? He was the eldest young master of the Xie Family, a noble and pampered son. Normally, he ate black truffles and caviar, and wore Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe. How could a young master raised in such a pile of riches have such marks?

Shen Ci quietly rolled Xie Yu's pajamas further up, exposing a larger area of skin. He adjusted the angle of the light, then leaned down to carefully observe those scars.

Pharmacology has experiments targeting scar tissue, and Shen Ci had done related research. He could roughly tell the formation time of the scars; it should be over ten years ago.

Over ten years ago, Xie Yu was still a child.

The hotel bedside lamp was slightly dim, making the shadows of the scars blurry and unclear. Shen Ci frowned and leaned in closer.

The next second, his wrist was grabbed.

Shen Ci's fingertips twitched.

Xie Yu grabbed him and rolled over, lifting his eyelids, and said lazily: "What are you doing?"

He hadn't sobered up yet, speaking with a thick nasal tone.

Shen Ci paused: "Drinking water."

Xie Yu pulled his pajamas back down, finding it funny: "Drinking water? Why lift my clothes to drink water?"

Shen Ci: "I rubbed against it when I raised my hand."

Teaching Assistant Shen had a personality that was too aloof and was completely not the type to strip someone's clothes in the middle of the night. Xie Yu didn't suspect anything either. He lay flat on his back on the bed, making room for Shen Ci, and complained: "Drinking water in the middle of the night, go ahead."

Shen Ci slowly got out of bed, pretentiously poured some water and took two sips, then climbed back into bed. Xie Yu swept his long arm out, trapping him in his embrace like holding a large body pillow, rubbing his chin against the top of his head: "Go to sleep quickly, don't you still have classes tomorrow."

A dreamless night.

The next day, perhaps because they slept early yesterday, when Xie Yu woke up, Shen Ci surprisingly hadn't left yet and was sitting at the table flipping through documents.

Xie Yu sat halfway up, asking in surprise: "You're not going to your morning class."

In the past, every time he woke up, he wouldn't see Shen Ci anywhere.

Shen Ci closed the book: "I have nothing to do this morning... I brought breakfast, do you want to eat?"

He pushed over a tray with the breakfast provided by the hotel. All kinds of pastries were available, neatly arranged on snow-white plates. Xie Yu gave him a suspicious look, got up to change clothes, and thought to himself, 'Did Shen Ci take the wrong medicine?'

Being so polite to him so early in the morning.

Who knew that in the next second, Shen Ci would suddenly stand up. The mattress then dipped a bit as he sat down beside Xie Yu, reached out to take the clothes, pressed them onto Xie Yu's shoulder, and said: "Let me help you change."

Xie Yu: "......?"

The suspicion in his eyes grew even stronger. He looked Shen Ci up and down, his gaze filled with inquiry. Shen Ci calmly held the clothes and let him stare, but his eyes were lowered, not meeting his gaze.

Xie Yu: "Do you have a favor to ask of me?"

He propped up his chin: "Speak, what happened at the hospital? Tell me, beg me softly a few times, and if this Young Master is in a good mood, I'll consider helping you solve it."

Shen Ci shook his head and said it was nothing, but his gaze landed on his back. It was well wrapped in pajamas, making it impossible to see the marks under the fabric.

Shen Ci: "According to the requirements of the agreement, I should do these things."

Xie Yu thought to himself that there was indeed something fishy. Whether inside the novel or outside, when had they ever strictly followed the agreement? Young Master Xie acted entirely based on his mood, tormenting him however he pleased, and Shen Ci had always been as cold as ice, never giving the original owner a single good look. Yet now he was coming up to him so nicely, wanting to help him change clothes?

He unnaturally pulled his collar tightly together and got out of bed to wash up. The silk fabric draped down, completely covering his back: "I don't need it. Go do your experiments after you finish eating. Just stay at school today, I have something to do later."

Xie Yu really did have something to do. Xu Qingshan had already found a lawyer and finalized the donation plan for Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital, waiting for Xie Yu to sign.

The two had arranged to meet in the hotel's conference room. Xu Qingshan brought a thick stack of contracts, with the lawyer accompanying them. Xie Yu casually flipped through them, then put pen to paper and signed.

He signed briskly and neatly; his handwriting was like silver hooks and iron strokes, displaying a firm character.

Xu Qingshan froze, his face full of disapproval: "Are you not even going to read it? Xiao Yu, you're very easily deceived like this."

Xie Yu let out a laugh: "I trust you."

Many people in the novel world corresponded to reality, such as his dad and Xie Yuanshan. He felt a sense of familiarity the moment he saw this Xu Qingshan; he was exactly like his youngest uncle in the real world. The two usually didn't talk much, but whenever something happened, his youngest uncle would always unconditionally take his side.

After the thick stack of contracts was signed, the funds would be transferred to the hospital's account on the next working day. Xie Yu capped the pen with a click and casually asked the lawyer: "Are there any channels for selling luxury goods? I have some cars and watches I want to sell."

The lawyers at this law firm all served rich people, including no shortage of second-generation heirs from fallen families, so many of them sold cars and watches.

Opposite him, Xu Qingshan was stunned: "Selling luxury goods?"

Xie Yu smiled: "Saving some money for future use."

He got a business card for a second-hand luxury goods business from the law firm. After making contact, he went back to the hotel to inventory his finances.

The original owner had a home in Jiang City, but the original owner always stayed at the hotel long-term. He would only go back for a trip when Xie Yuanshan returned from a business trip and explicitly demanded that he go home. The luxury goods were all in the hotel wardrobe.

System floated beside him, watching him pack up various kinds of luxury watches, and was a bit curious: "Everything is fine, why are you disposing of these things?"

Xie Yu: "I won't be able to stay here for much longer."

In the novel, Shen Ci had already been hospitalized several times by now and needed to take antidepressants to sustain his life. The early plot was halfway done, and the remaining plot would progress at a rapid pace, finishing within two months.

Meanwhile, Xie Yuanshan had given a six-month investment period. In the novel, the original owner squandered it all within three months. Xie Yuanshan was furious and directly packed him up and sent him abroad.

Xie Yu, however, did not squander it. He fully upgraded the software and hardware of the psychiatric hospital, instructed Xu Qingshan to replace all the mattresses in the wards, and was just waiting to be locked in by Shen Ci so he could comfortably lie there and retire.

The whereabouts of this money were not hard to track down; Xie Yuanshan would find out within a month at the latest. At the same time, he would also discover that Xie Yu had early on signed a foolproof agreement, and the money transferred to the hospital's account could not be recovered. By then, Xie Yuanshan would only be angrier than in the novel, and would throw his son out of the country even faster.

Xie Yu calculated with System: "Once I go abroad, Xie Yuanshan will definitely torment me and control my living expenses, forcing me to come back to apologize and beg for mercy. But apologizing is impossible. I wouldn't apologize to him even if I starved to death. Besides, I still want to go traveling."

System was dumbfounded: "Traveling?"

Xie Yu laughed: "Since I've become a rich second-generation heir, and I'm rare to have so much money on hand, why not go see the auroras, penguins, and polar bears? I can also go for a stroll around the moai on Easter Island..."

He said melancholically: "Once I return to my own world, I won't have so much funding and free time anymore."

System looked at him, hesitating to speak, then trying to stop before speaking again, and finally said tactfully: "It's not entirely impossible."

——Doing a mission really turned into a vacation for him.

Once he went abroad, Xie Yu would completely become a background character in this book. With no plotline whatsoever, this period of time was completely blank and could be freely managed. The original owner was impoverished and destitute due to Xie Yuanshan's control, barely scraping by. However, Xie Yu could prepare in advance and save up a fund first.

Xie Yu imagined this kind of life, feeling quite delighted. He flipped through the original owner's luxury goods to estimate their value; the amount quickly broke past two million and was heading towards five million. As a result, while he was flipping through them, a kraft paper bag suddenly fell out from a pile of luxurious gift boxes with gold-stamped logos, its opening properly sealed with glue.

Xie Yu paused and picked up the bag.

The paper bag was tiny and plain-looking; one could buy forty of them for 10 yuan at a stationery store. Yet, it was carefully kept among a pile of luxury goods, not even having a folded corner.

System leaned over: "What is this, why is it here?"

Xie Yu squeezed it but didn't tear it open. He just put it back and said, "This thing is not for sale, leave it be."

System was amazed: "You didn't even tear it open, and you're not selling it?" It circled around Xie Yu suspiciously, "Do you know what's inside?"

Because of the mapping relationship between reality and the novel, Xie Yu knew many background details that System didn't.

Xie Yu obviously had no intention of saying more. He put away the kraft paper bag properly and said: "Help me call the second-hand dealer."

System snorted and obediently dialed the number. The phone screen lit up silently, and the number was automatically entered.

Before it finished entering, a piercing ringtone rang out. Xie Yu flipped it open to take a look; it was Zhou Yang.

He pressed to answer. Zhou Yang's voice came through, and his surroundings were a chaotic mess of noise, making it hard to hear clearly.

Zhou Yang said: "Young Master Xie, I need to tell you something. He Zhiyuan beat someone up last night, he beat Lin Yin so bad she ended up in the hospital."

Xie Yu paused and asked: "He beat someone up, what does that have to do with me? Didn't he settle it with money?"

Zhou Yang let out a sigh: "Beating someone up isn't the problem, the problem is that he beat someone up on the street, and it was even recorded and posted online. Now a case has been opened for investigation. He Zhiyuan doesn't want to leave a criminal record, so he offered a price wanting to settle privately, but Lin Yin isn't satisfied with the price and refuses to relent. Old He just thought of finding someone they know to persuade her, to see if an agreement can be reached."

Xie Yu sneered: "If she isn't satisfied, then add more money. Is the He Family lacking this bit of money?"

Zhou Yang: "He doesn't want to tell his family, otherwise he'll be scolded by the old man, and his credit cards will be frozen. So he wants to settle it himself. Sigh, you also know that playboy personality of his, he doesn't have much money in his account. Anyway, there aren't many people who know both He Zhiyuan and Lin Yin at the same time, just you, me, and Shen Ci. My persuasion didn't work, so bring Shen Ci along to persuade her and see if it works."

Xie Yu replied perfunctorily: "Okay, okay, fine, fine, fine."

He cursed 'serves him right' in his heart. He had long found He Zhiyuan an eyesore, but the original owner's persona was a rich second-generation heir who valued loyalty to his bros. Since Zhou Yang had asked, he really had to go.

Xie Yu sent Shen Ci a message, telling him to hurry over, and then drove straight to the hospital.

Lin Yin's ward was on the third floor VIP section. Xie Yu went up to the third floor, and from far away down the corridor, he saw Zhou Yang sitting at the ward's door spacing out.

Xie Yu asked: "Where's He Zhiyuan?"

Zhou Yang: "In the police station."

Xie Yu: "..."

He said: "Lin Yin is inside, right? I'll go persuade Lin Yin."

Xie Yu pushed open the door, making up his mind to just say a few perfunctory words, sit around to drag out the time, and then tell He Zhiyuan, "I can't persuade her, I can't move her, just hurry up and prepare the money." As a result, his front foot had just stepped in when Shen Ci arrived.

Teaching Assistant Shen hurried over from the school. His pace was extremely fast, his forehead covered in sweat. He hadn't even taken off his lab coat for experiments, and the hem of his clothes fluttered up and down with his steps, giving off quite an aloof and ascetic vibe.

Seeing Zhou Yang guarding the door, his figure stiffened, and his tone was taut, revealing an indescribable tension: "Who was hospitalized?"

Xie Yu had given him the ward number but hadn't told him what happened.

Zhou Yang blanked out: "Lin Yin is hospitalized... Teaching Assistant Shen, did you run over here?"

Shen Ci's lab coat was blown into a messy flutter, and the hair at his temples was also slightly disheveled. His straight and handsome brows furrowed, and his face showed a hint of hidden worry. Sweat reflected the incandescent light, giving off a glass-like luster.

Zhou Yang's gaze was bizarre: "No, Teaching Assistant Shen, even if Xie Yu was hospitalized, why were you running?"

Shen Ci's steps stiffened.