In the early morning hours of a January in the capital, the temperature could occasionally drop to minus ten degrees Celsius.

Like today. The frigid night wind slapped against Qi Xiuyi’s face, leeching the warmth from his cheeks and the backs of his hands in less than ten minutes.

He had left in such a hurry that he had only managed to throw on a long down jacket and a pair of thick fleece socks. He hadn’t bothered to change out of his pajamas or fleece slippers.

Now, with every gust of wind, his legs shivered uncontrollably.

The initial excitement of his successful escape was quickly blown away by the cold wind.

The streetlights stretched Qi Xiuyi’s shadow long across the quiet street.

He wrapped his down jacket tighter around himself and wandered aimlessly, unsure of his destination.

In the past, he would have saved himself the trouble and just called Yu Zhiqiu.

But now…

Qi Xiuyi was extremely frustrated, a heavy stone weighing on his chest.

A few cars still trickled by on the road.

Most of the shops along the street were dark and closed, with only a few barbecue joints and convenience stores open all night, looking deserted.

Qi Xiuyi found a 24-hour convenience store, chose a spot by the window to warm himself by the heater, and scrolled through his contacts, looking for someone to replace Yu Zhiqiu to hang out with.

Someone who wouldn’t rat him out to his family.

Someone he could have fun with.

Someone who could front him some money, which he could pay back later.

Someone who hadn’t acknowledged Qi Wendong at the party…

The fourth condition was a bit difficult to meet. Qi Xiuyi searched and searched but couldn’t find anyone. After a long, frustrating moment, he decided to choose from those who hadn’t attended the party.

Finally, Qi Xiuyi found a few people who met the criteria and started calling them one by one.

The first one rang for a long time with no answer.

The second one answered reluctantly, yawning, and mumbled when he heard about going out, “It’s the middle of the night… I have an exam tomorrow, A-Yi. You might not have to take it, but I do…” and refused.

The third one was answered just as the call was about to automatically disconnect. The person on the other end had a terrible case of morning temper. They answered the phone and, without waiting for him to say anything, unleashed a torrent of curses, ending with a short, powerful, and murderous “Fuck!” before angrily hanging up.

Qi Xiuyi: “…”

Dejectedly, Qi Xiuyi buried his face in his pajamas and rested his head on the table.

The night shift clerk, seeing his pitiful state, brought him a cup of hot water.

Qi Xiuyi’s eyes were vacant. He subconsciously took the hot water, cupping his hands around the warm mug, and even lowered his head to warm his face in the steam.

…Maybe he should just call Yu Zhiqiu?

Just make up with him for tonight?

…

Qi Xiuyi was wavering, but then he remembered the anger he had felt when he learned of his friend’s “betrayal” that day. He immediately bit down hard on the rim of the cup, the sourness making his teeth ache and causing him to suck in a sharp breath.

Damn it.

If they don’t want to come out, then they don’t have to. It’s not like I can’t have fun on my own!

Qi Xiuyi slammed the cup down on the table.

As if to prove a point, he wrapped his coat tightly around himself and strode out of the convenience store, heading towards a brightly lit skyscraper.

The building was tall and seemed close, but it was actually a ten-minute walk away.

By the time Qi Xiuyi reached it, his legs were numb from the cold.

The building was magnificent. Even at three in the morning, the parking lot was eighty percent full. At the entrance, a line of handsome male waiters and a line of graceful female waiters stood in two rows, warmly and attentively greeting every customer.

Qi Xiuyi had been here a few times before. It wasn’t very interesting and didn’t even make it into his top five favorite places.

He wasn’t interested in the various special services offered here.

Its biggest advantage was its proximity to his home. When Qi Xiuyi didn’t want to be followed by anyone, including his driver, he would come here for a small drink and play simple games like bowling and shooting.

Qi Xiuyi sniffled and started to walk in.

But before he could get close, a waiter stepped forward and stopped him with one hand.

“Excuse me, sir, we have a minimum spending requirement for entry. Please place your ‘order’ over here first,” the waiter said politely.

Qi Xiuyi was stunned.

“Minimum spending? Since when? I’ve been here so many times, how come I’ve never heard of this rule?”

The waiter said apologetically, “We’ve always had this rule, sir. Your previous expenses were automatically deducted from your membership card. However, your card balance was frozen a few days ago. During this period, if you wish to enter, you need to place an order and pay in advance.”

Qi Xiuyi finally understood.

Frozen.

Ha, who froze it? Do I even need to ask?

With his membership card frozen, did he have any money to pay?

His legs were frozen to the spot. A man and a woman, and another pair of men, walked past him with their arms linked, laughing as they were welcomed into the club.

And him?

He only felt a burning pain on his face.

Qi Xiuyi pressed his lips together tightly, turned, and fled the scene, refusing to stand there and be humiliated any longer.

He was once again on the deserted main road.

Cold, lost, and miserable in the dark night.

Where else could he go?

Find a hotel and get a room to sleep?

Qi Xiuyi glanced at his phone. His AliPay and WeChat were both unusable. The bank card he had spent five thousand yuan to get seemed to be empty as well.

Go to a friend’s house and crash for the night?

…

Don’t be ridiculous. He couldn’t even get anyone to come out and play with him, let alone stay over.

…Maybe he should just go home? At least get a night’s sleep?

The thought appeared in his mind for a moment before being immediately dismissed.

He hated Qi Wendong for stealing his life. He would never go back and bow his head to that guy!

In his misery, Qi Xiuyi wandered aimlessly through the streets.

It seemed that only the biting cold wind could make him feel a sense of reality.

He didn’t know where he was going.

Anyway…

As long as he didn’t go home, as long as he didn’t go back to Qi Wendong’s home, anywhere was fine!

Just then, the deep roar of engines approached rapidly from behind!

When Qi Xiuyi looked up in a daze, four or five bikers had circled him, trapping him completely.

The bike in front of him was painted in a particularly garish style. A large, sloppy “KING” was written on the fluorescent yellow and green body. The owner was likely the leader of this biker gang.

The leader took off his helmet, revealing the face of a stranger in his early twenties.

The man seemed to be confirming something, his cold gaze sweeping up and down Qi Xiuyi several times before he finally grinned.

“Qi. Xiu. Yi,” the leader said, enunciating each syllable of his name.

Qi Xiuyi had never experienced anything like this before. Coupled with his terrible mood, he was in no state to be polite. He frowned and asked, “Who are you?”

The leader sneered, “Ha, as expected of Young Master Qi. The great are truly forgetful… But I guess a small fry like me isn’t worthy of entering the noble eyes of Young Master Qi.”

Qi Xiuyi: “…?”

Qi Xiuyi subconsciously sensed something was wrong. He turned to look to his sides and realized that he had, at some point, wandered onto a deserted side road.

He clutched his phone, finally on alert. “What do you want? If you come any closer, I’ll call my bodyguards!”

He let out a low shout and took half a step back. An unceremonious force immediately came from behind him, pushing him forward and making him stumble.

The gang leader had, at some point, gotten off his bike and jumped to the ground. While Qi Xiuyi was trying to regain his balance, he snatched the phone from his hand.

Qi Xiuyi was furious. “You…!”

The leader laughed, casually tossing Qi Xiuyi’s phone in his hand. “What bodyguards? Haha, you think you, the deposed crown prince, can still call for them? Don’t make me laugh!”

The leader’s eyes narrowed into a cold sneer. “Back when you stole my girlfriend and trampled my pride in front of the whole school, you probably never imagined this day would come! Hmph, what goes around comes around. Today, I finally get to see Young Master Qi in his downfall!”

Qi Xiuyi: “.”

Qi Xiuyi’s angry gaze instantly turned blank. “Huh?”

He hesitated. “When did I ever have a girlfriend?”

The leader roared in anger, “First year of high school! Class 7! Lin Lili! If you hadn’t been bribing her with money every day back then, she would never have left me to follow you around like a puppy, writing you love letters!”

Qi Xiuyi hissed, “…Lin Lili? Who’s that? Do I know her? First year of high school? I thought I was busy with stone gambling all the time back then…”

The leader was furious. “Stop lying, how could you not remember her! Playing dumb with me is useless. I’ve waited six years for this day. I’m not letting you go tonight! Take him!”

The bikers behind him swiftly covered Qi Xiuyi’s mouth.

Qi Xiuyi’s eyes widened in terror, and he struggled violently.

“…Mmph… mmph!!”

But it was useless.

His strength was like a cat scratching in the grip of the biker, laughable.

In less than half a minute, the figures had completely melted into the shadows.

Only five motorcycles and one lookout remained, waiting leisurely.

…

Late at night, the Qi family home was brightly lit.

The two derelict maids were being thoroughly scolded, and the more fragile of the two even broke down in tears on the spot.

The butler and bodyguards were running around the house like their butts were on fire.

And the person who had first discovered Qi Xiuyi’s disappearance—the true young master of the Qi family—had already put on his coat and was sitting in the car, his lips pressed into a tight line.

There were two other people in the car: a driver and the personal bodyguard he had handpicked.

This was the bodyguard who had reacted the fastest to stop Qi Xiuyi’s sneak attack during the day.

A tall, strong man with tan skin, he now sat in the back of the car with him, carefully ducking his head and tucking in his legs, looking extremely uncomfortable.

The car was silent.

But in Lin Chen’s mind, the System’s voice hadn’t stopped for a second.

“Host, your decision to put a camera on Qi Xiuyi tonight was absolutely brilliant! He wanted to run away from home? Oh hehehe, with me, AC9999, here, where can he run? There’s no escape, prepare to die!”

“Reporting, Host, Qi Xiuyi has entered xxx…”

“Reporting, Host, Qi Xiuyi has been kicked out of xxx…”

“Reporting, Host… Oh no! Qi Xiuyi has been found by his enemy! …His phone has been stolen! …He’s been dragged into an alley! …Ahhh, Host, Qi Xiuyi is about to get beaten up!!”

Lin Chen swiped on his phone, circling an area based on the System’s location description.

“Here?” he asked.

The System fidgeted. “Host, my eyes are currently on Qi Xiuyi. I can’t see what’s on your end.”

Lin Chen was puzzled. “Humans have two eyes. Why do you only have one camera?”

The System pondered. “You… you’re right. I should report this issue to the main system!”

The System mumbled for a while, then suddenly realized that the Host had been sitting as still as a statue the whole time.

He sat there calmly and composedly, directing it and a group of Qi family members, as if he wasn’t worried at all about his thirty million.

The System was confused, then thoughtful, then shocked. “Wait, Host, was this whole thing tonight also part of your plan!”

Lin Chen was puzzled. “?”

The System: “The… the method to break a habit you mentioned this evening! You said I would know tonight. Are you referring to now?!”

Lin Chen was speechless. “.”

He circled the area, found an excuse to give the location to the driver, and then finally addressed the System. “Habit is a powerful force. To break it, you need to find an even more powerful force.”

The System immediately replied, “The hatred you mentioned last time, Host!”

Lin Chen continued:

“This force can be physical—but Qi Jingming would never accept that.”

“It can also be non-physical—sufficiently strong and sustained emotions, a memory that shatters one’s perception of life, a long-term, deep shift in attention…”

“Hatred is just one of the methods.”

“We only have one year. Time is short, the task is heavy. A multi-pronged approach is the only effective way.”

The System seemed to understand, but not completely. “Oh… oh! So tonight is about teaching him a lesson?”

Lin Chen was displeased. “What do you mean, ‘teach him a lesson’? Don’t make it sound so harsh.”

He added, “I’m not a psychic. I couldn’t have predicted that he would not only successfully run away from home, but also have such bad luck as to run into an old enemy whose girlfriend he stole, who happened to be out with his gang.”

The System was bewildered. “Then, Host…”

The butler arrived at the car, which finally started and sped towards the location Lin Chen had provided.

Lin Chen rested his elbow on the window, watching the night scenery fly by. After a moment of silence, he let out a soft sigh.

“Setting everything else aside, just look at his temper. After I provoked him like that this evening, is it possible he would do nothing?”

“He can’t take revenge on me to vent his anger, so that impulse must be directed elsewhere.”

“But no matter where it lands…”

Lin Chen chuckled and asked the System, “A young master like him, always protected in the clouds, suddenly loses everything and falls into the mud. You think he won’t take a hard fall? Do you believe that?”