In the alley at three in the morning, the silence was so profound it sent a chill down one’s spine.

“Uwaah—!”

The noble young master was forcefully pushed into a corner of the alley. His butt and back slammed against the cold floor and wall, the pain causing him to shut his eyes tightly.

Before he could recover from the pain, a foot mercilessly kicked him, landing hard on his body.

The biker gang leader had finally gotten the day he had been waiting for, the day Qi Xiuyi was “driven out” of the Qi family’s protective circle. The anger that had been accumulating for years could no longer be contained and was unleashed all at once.

“F*ck you for stealing my girlfriend! For seducing Lili! For looking down on me! For…”

Punches and kicks rained down on Qi Xiuyi’s shoulders and back like a storm.

When had Qi Xiuyi ever suffered such an indignity?

Forget being beaten, in all his life, he had never even been slapped by his own father!

“I’ll f*ck you… ugh!”

“I didn’t f*cking steal your girlfriend! I’ve never even heard of a name like Lin Lili… ugh ugh!”

“You better not let me find out who you are, or else when I get back, I’ll definitely make you… ugh ugh ugh!”

Qi Xiuyi curled up into a ball in the corner, in pain.

Every punch, every kick, brought tears to his eyes.

Seeing that he still had the strength to yell, the biker gang leader’s anger reached its peak. He raised his hand high and slapped him across the face!

Slap!

Qi Xiuyi’s voice was instantly cut off.

His eyes widened in disbelief. His head remained at the angle it had been slapped, unmoving.

“Definitely make me what? Ha, you still think you’re that omnipotent, all-powerful young master of the Qi family?”

The biker gang leader sneered, reached out, and ripped Qi Xiuyi’s down coat right off his body, throwing it aside viciously!

Then he grabbed Qi Xiuyi’s hair and slammed his head against the wall!

“Ngh-argh—!”

Qi Xiuyi instantly came to his senses. A terrified scream erupted from his throat, and his arms reflexively went up to block his face. He was slammed against the wall with a loud thud!

The metallic smell of blood spread.

Excruciating pain shot from his peripheral nerves, sounding alarms all the way to his brain, turning Qi Xiuyi’s entire mind blank.

…

His… hands?

Warm liquid quickly flowed down his wrists.

Qi Xiuyi’s body trembled uncontrollably. The overwhelming smell of blood instantly caused his brain to seize up, completely unable to function.

The biker gang leader was also startled by the blood. He subconsciously let go, and Qi Xiuyi fell back into the corner.

But the next moment, he came to his senses. His face darkened again, and he said through gritted teeth, “I’m telling you, Qi Xiuyi, no one can save you tonight. The suffering I’ve endured for six years, I’m going to make you taste every bit of it today!”

Qi Xiuyi’s hands trembled incessantly with pain.

He wanted to get up, to dodge, to escape.

But every time he tried, the circle of biker gang members surrounding him would laugh and shove him, kicking him back into his original corner, so that their leader could better vent his anger.

Without the cushioning of the down coat, every punch, every kick, landed solidly on Qi Xiuyi’s flesh and bone.

The cold wind arrived along with the pain. The stench of rotting garbage, mixed with the smell of rust, assaulted his nostrils.

Qi Xiuyi huddled in the corner, sobbing, whimpering, his body trembling uncontrollably.

He was filled with hatred, with unwillingness, with rage.

All sorts of emotions roared and rampaged in his chest!

But twenty years’ worth of pain from being beaten landed on his body. The heart-wrenching pain spread from his hands throughout his entire body, nurturing his sense of grievance and fear until they swelled and overwhelmed all other emotions.

He wanted to go home, he wanted to go home…

What running away from home, what pursuit of freedom…

No, no!!

He wasn’t running away anymore, he would never run away again!

He wanted to go home… he wanted to go home!!!

Just then, the rain of punches and kicks on his body suddenly stopped.

Following a few muffled “thuds,” screams, gasps, and pained groans erupted one after another behind Qi Xiuyi.

Qi Xiuyi’s body was still trembling.

But his eyes had already subconsciously opened.

He stared blankly at the corner and saw a sliver of moonlight leaking in from behind him.

The crisp sound of footsteps stopped behind him. A figure replaced the moonlight, standing beside him.

For a moment, Qi Xiuyi didn’t dare to turn his head to look.

The figure bent down, and a warm hand gently landed on his. It avoided the areas where blood was flowing, carefully landing on the still intact skin.

But even a touch like this made Qi Xiuyi tremble all over.

The other person reflexively pulled their hand back.

Soon, a rustling sound was heard.

A coat, already warmed by body heat, carrying the traditional scent of sandalwood, wrapped around him.

Qi Xiuyi recognized this scent—in the afternoon, when he was being held at the door, this was the sandalwood scent that had wafted from the other person as they walked straight past him into his room.

He also recognized this coat—at night, when he was in his room, filled with hatred, drawing and stabbing a voodoo doll, this was the outfit he had drawn.

His eyes stung. He lifted his head and called out the person’s name in an extremely hoarse voice.

“…Qi Wendong.”

“Yes. It’s me.”

The other person responded calmly, his tone no different from when he had mocked him that evening.

But after a night of all sorts of events, hearing this voice again, Qi Xiuyi only felt a warmth in his eyes and a tightness in his throat.

The biker gang leader had long been pinned to the ground by the Qi family’s bodyguards.

Hearing this, he cried out in disbelief:

“…Qi Wendong? The new young master of the Qi family? You… how are you here? Wasn’t he already kicked out of the Qi family by you? You… why are you interfering in our affairs!”

Qi Xiuyi’s breathing hitched, and he turned to look, his eyes filled with hatred.

But Qi Wendong turned back even faster.

Just as his gaze settled, he saw the other’s long boot stomp hard on the biker gang leader’s face, making him let out a wail as half his face was pressed flat against the ground.

Perhaps it was due to the perspective, but the young man’s figure seemed particularly tall and slender at this moment.

The young man, dressed in a form-fitting high-collared sweater, looked down, his entire aura extremely cold. He looked down disdainfully at the biker gang leader, the heel of his boot slowly grinding left and right on the other’s cheek, his tone flat:

“Oh? Who are you in the Qi family? Even I didn’t know I had kicked Xiuyi out of the house, yet you did?”

The biker gang leader lay prone on the ground, groaning painfully for a long time, unable to utter a single word.

The young man extended his hand to the side, and the butler bent down to hand him an ID card that had just been found on the biker gang leader.

The young man glanced at it and sneered, “Going out for a joyride and beating someone up, yet you dare to carry your ID card. Impressive.”

He paused, his voice suddenly turning cold. “Take him directly to the police station, then call the head of his family and tell him everything that happened tonight.”

His long boot lifted and he disgustedly wiped it on the ground twice.

A bodyguard received the order, stepped forward, grabbed the biker gang leader’s hair, and pulled his entire body up from the ground.

The biker gang leader gasped for breath painfully. It seemed a tooth had been knocked out, as blood frothed from his mouth with every breath.

But his expression was panicked, and he paid no attention to his missing tooth at all, stammering and pleading, “No, don’t… don’t tell my uncle! It was my fault, I was wrong, about tonight’s events, I…”

The young man’s brow furrowed. Annoyed by what he was hearing, he waved his hand without even lifting his head, directly having the bodyguard find something to stuff in his mouth.

Qi Xiuyi saw everything.

From beginning to end, Qi Wendong’s mocking and infuriating attitude was no different from how he had treated him that afternoon.

But this time, Qi Xiuyi didn’t feel any hatred.

He stared blankly at the young man standing in front of him. The cool moonlight stretched the other’s shadow long and straight, completely enveloping him.

He watched as Qi Wendong turned back and squatted down beside him. His arms, as slender as his own, wrapped around him over the coat. In a rare gentle voice, he said to him, “It’s okay now. Let’s go. Come home with me.”

Qi Xiuyi sniffled hard, holding back his sobs, and replied in a low voice, “Okay.”