Once Yao Yunxi fell ill, no one in the Yao family was left to talk to Yao Yuanzhou.
The only one who still treated him like a grandson was Second Granduncle.
From then on, Yao Yuanzhou split his time between caring for Yao Yunxi and accompanying Second Granduncle around the Yao family, naturally visiting the Red Buddha Society as well.
One day, unable to bear the weight of his suppressed feelings, Yao Yuanzhou slipped out alone at midnight to the Red Buddha Society’s shrine and poured out all his troubles.
In the quiet shrine, a man with a smiling face emerged, telling Yao Yuanzhou he could solve his woes, but only if Yao Yuanzhou helped him in return.
At first, Yao Yuanzhou didn’t catch on, but looking back, it was clear the man was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
He introduced himself as Zhikong, claiming he could heal Second Miss Yao Yunxi and even make her fall for Yao Yuanzhou.
Both offers were irresistible to Yao Yuanzhou at the time.
So he agreed without hesitation, only later learning that Zhikong, a deacon, wanted him to act as a mouthpiece to lure Second Granduncle into becoming a devout follower of the Red Buddha Society.
What followed was fairly straightforward.
With Yao Yuanzhou whispering in his ear, and Second Granduncle already feeling empty in his old age, craving a spiritual anchor, it didn’t take long for him to fall in line with Zhikong’s plan and join the Red Buddha Society.
In the years that followed, Yao Yuanzhou felt like a monkey being toyed with.
No matter how he pressed Zhikong to heal Yao Yunxi, the man always had an excuse to brush him off.
Eventually, once Zhikong got cozy with Second Granduncle, he discarded Yao Yuanzhou like a useless pawn.
That period was pure agony for Yao Yuanzhou, who spent his days by Yao Yunxi’s bedside.
Even when the Yao family brought in renowned doctors, Yao Yuanzhou held no hope.
After all, he knew the real culprit behind Yao Yunxi’s coma was Zhikong!
But with his reclusive nature and lack of standing or voice in the family, Yao Yuanzhou had no way to speak the truth.
The one person he could trust, Second Granduncle, was already brainwashed by Zhikong.
Otherwise, Second Granduncle wouldn’t have brought a Buddha statue home from the Red Buddha Society.
After much thought, Yao Yuanzhou turned to Uncle He for help.
But Uncle He’s lukewarm response at the time crushed what little hope he had left.
Desperate, he reached out to Zhikong again, proposing a deal.
Despite his youth, Yao Yuanzhou’s unique upbringing made him far more mature than his peers.
He’d long pegged Zhikong as a greedy opportunist, so he seized a chance to sneak into the family head’s study and steal a few prized antiques.
Yao Yuanzhou planned to use these valuable items as leverage in his negotiations with Zhikong.
Today was the day he’d arranged to meet Zhikong.
