Uncle He’s tone softened gradually, easing the fury bubbling in Yao Yuanzhou’s heart. Moments later, Yao Yuanzhou collapsed to his knees with a thud.
“Uncle He… I’m sorry, Uncle He, I… I got tricked! I deserve to die a thousand deaths!”
His emotions surged again, wild and unchecked, but Xu Fei was ready.
With a swift kick, he sent the fruit knife skittering to the corner, then struck like lightning, tapping two precise acupoints on Yao Yuanzhou’s body. Instantly, he was immobilised, unable to act no matter how he tried.
Seeing Yao Yuanzhou in this near-broken state, hair dishevelled, Uncle He’s heart ached.
After all, both Second Miss Yao Yunxi and Yao Yuanzhou were kids he’d watched grow up.
“It’s alright, Yuanzhou. With me and the young miss here, whatever’s happened, just tell us. No matter the trouble, we’ll help you through it!”
Under Uncle He’s patient coaxing, Yao Yuanzhou’s guard slowly dropped, and he began recounting the whole story.
It all started three years ago.
Though Yao Yuanzhou grew up in the Yao family, to outsiders, living in such a wealthy household must’ve seemed like an enviable dream.
But for him, it was torment.
Somehow, word had leaked out, and ever since he could remember, other kids his age started calling him an orphan, taunting that he was a picked-up stray with no parents.
The pressure weighed on him, twisting his personality into something solitary and withdrawn. Beyond eating and sleeping, he barely spoke to anyone.
That is, until Second Miss Yao Yunxi returned to the Yao family after living abroad and met him.
Yao Yuanzhou recalled it vividly, a memory he’d carry to his grave, their first meeting.
It was an afternoon, the sun shining bright, the estate alive with lush grass and chirping birds. Kids played and laughed across the sprawling grounds, but Yao Yuanzhou sat alone, shunned as always, no one willing to join him.
Then came young, mischievous Yao Yunxi, still a child herself. She swept in like a whirlwind, instantly becoming the centre of attention, a little queen among the kids. And then she spotted Yao Yuanzhou.
Unlike the others, she flashed him a radiant smile and boldly invited him to join them.
Despite the other kids’ obvious disdain, Yao Yunxi overruled their objections, insisting Yao Yuanzhou be part of the group.
From that day on, her sunlit smile etched itself deep into Yao Yuanzhou’s mind.
In the years that followed, with Yao Yunxi by his side as they grew up, his once-dark and narrow world brightened, his spirit lifting into something lively and open.
Those happy days lasted until they both turned fifteen.
At that age, Yao Yuanzhou was a teenager fumbling through youth, his heart quietly harbouring a crush on Yao Yunxi.
But as an adopted son, he never dared voice it.
Then one day, Yao Yunxi came to him, her face clouded with worry. When he asked, she dropped a bombshell.
Someone had proposed to her, and it seemed the Yao family head was keen to make it happen!
That day, the usual chatter and laughter between the two teens vanished, replaced by a heavy silence as they sat together.
As the Yao family pushed the matter further, Yao Yunxi’s stress took a toll, her health crumbling under a sudden heart condition until, at last, she collapsed.
