Chapter 116: Chapter 112: Not a Toy Chapter 116: Chapter 112: Not a Toy Sheng Xian couldn’t remember how many years it had been since he had felt as weak as he did today.

He had always considered himself impervious to attacks, believing that there was nothing that could knock him down anymore, not since long ago.

He had been through too many terrible things, so terrible that when he dreamed of them at midnight, he thought they belonged to a past life. It had not been easy for him to get this far. He believed that this was the pinnacle of his life, and it couldn’t get any better, but he never expected to meet her at the end of his twenty-eighth year.

She was different from the other girls who had liked him. She had never bought him breakfast, sent him texts to remind him to stay warm, or prepared gifts for him like the other girls did.

She could hardly take care of herself, and when they were together, it was mostly him taking care of her.

She was difficult, incredibly picky about everything she did, strict about which brands of water she drank, and wouldn’t touch her fish until someone else had picked out the bones.

She was so difficult to deal with.

If something displeased her, she didn’t care how many people were around; she’d say whatever she wanted.

And she had a whole parade of ex-boyfriends.

Sheng Xian remembered his first impression of her when he had met her a few months ago: a private life in shambles, changing men as frequently as her clothes, a wayward, uneducated girl who smoked, drank, and was far from virtuous.

But this troubled girl made him start doubting his deeply ingrained beliefs.

He was not inadequate; he was not as terrible as Sheng Tan and Chen He made him out to be.

He wasn’t disliked; it was just them who disliked him.

Even…

Lately, he had even boldly felt that he too deserved to be treated well.

He was quite alright, and liking him was not something shameful or disgusting.

He recalled how, a few days ago, Chen He had come to him for the sake of her beloved son.

— “Lu Jingyan is the person Yang Xu has her eyes on, you need to stay away from her.”

— “Sheng Xian, don’t make me regret giving birth to you.”

— “I absolutely won’t allow you to take what Yang Xu likes.”

It was this last statement that had irked him.

Chen He had said many unbearable things to him, but he had never lost his temper in front of her.

But that day, he had been furious.

As a child, he had lived with Chen He for two months. Yang Xu, resentful towards the sudden appearance of a new brother, deliberately broke toys and framed him, and intentionally snatched his things.

Chen He often used to say that to him: Sheng Xian, you must not take what Yang Xu likes.

Sheng Xian’s lips tightened, and he vaguely heard the coldness in his voice as he interrupted Chen He that day.

“It’s not a toy.”

“Lu Jingyan isn’t a toy that Yang Xu can pick up and throw away as she wishes. Instead of warning me, you should go back and warn your son to stay away from Lu Jingyan.”

The night was deepening.

The entire city had fallen into an unprecedented silence that evening.

Sheng Xian shifted his arm from his eyes. The long-held position had caused his arm to feel sore. He moved his other hand to rub it slowly and checked the time on his phone: 05:20.

More than five hours had passed since the new year began.

He thought that this year would definitely be a very good one.

…

Perhaps influenced by Sheng Xian, Lu Jingyan also had trouble sleeping that night.

She felt like a pitiful child, unloved by her father and mother, and burdened with an uncle only concerned with benefits.

Yet for some reason, she always felt that Sheng Xian was even more pitiable than she was.

Lu Jingyan didn’t know at what time she had fallen asleep; vaguely, she heard the sound of a door.

She was so exhausted that she couldn’t even open her eyes to decide if it was just her imagination.

Just before falling asleep, she heard a very soft laugh, “Do you like someone like Mu Chuci?”

Another laugh followed, colder than the last, and if listened to carefully, it seemed tinged with a slight annoyance, “Well, that’s fine then.”

Probably because she had stayed up too late, Lu Jingyan slept very deeply.

It was only just before waking that she had a dream.

In her dream, her younger self had escaped from the abandoned auto repair shop behind her school.

She was terrified of being caught and brought back, so she ran forward without looking back, tripping several times because she wasn’t watching the road.

When she realized where she was, she found herself in an unfamiliar place.

Afraid of exposing her disheveled appearance, she took off her dirty uniform, wore it inside out, zipped it up to the top, and covered her bruises completely.

She had lost her phone and schoolbag in that abandoned parking lot. She had no money and was very tired. She feared she wouldn’t be able to keep going and collapse, but most of all, she feared someone would see her in such a disgraceful state. As she searched for someone who could help, she accidentally bumped into a person while stepping backward.

She turned her head and saw a tall boy wearing a mask, looking at her with very indifferent eyes.

Her gut feeling told her that he was not somebody easy to approach.

In fact, he really wasn’t easy to approach. He looked at her for less than a second before coldly shifting his gaze and walking past her.

She felt terrible, sweating cold sweat from all the pain. She opened her mouth to say something as she watched his retreating figure, then in a moment of desperation, she grabbed his backpack.

He stopped, turned around, and his gaze fell on her fingers.

She pursed her lips, not letting go. She had never asked anyone for help before; born into such a privileged life, she always had everything she wanted. It took her a lot of effort to finally say, “Brother, could you please take me to the hospital?”