The morning in Zhiyuan's mansion was unusually peaceful. Zhiyuan was picking lazily at his breakfast, feeling a rare sense of calm. Across the table, Yichen was frowning over a stack of financial files work that was technically Zhiyuan's to review, but he'd gotten tired halfway through, and Yichen had silently taken over without a word of complaint.
Zhiyuan was just taking a slow sip of juice when the peace was violently shattered.
BANG!
The heavy front door was thrown open with such force it slammed against the wall. Standing in the doorway, her usually perfect composure in tatters, was Aunt Ruifen. Her face was flushed with anger, her eyes red-rimmed as if she'd been crying.
"Zhiyuan!" she cried out, her voice trembling with a mixture of fury and hurt. She stormed into the dining room. "Tell me! Have I ever, ever done something wrong to hurt you? Have I ever tried to do anything to upset you?"
Zhiyuan set his glass down slowly, utterly bewildered. "Auntie, what are you talking about? What's happened?"
Ruifen's accusing finger shot out, pointing directly at Yichen, who had risen to his feet, his body tense, his eyes a storm of cold hostility as he glared at her. "Ask him! Ask your precious bodyguard what he did! He kidnapped my assistant! He beat him! He tried to cut off his fingers!"
"I couldn't contact Guo Lian so i managed to track his location! He was only following my orders! I just told him to keep a distant eye on you, to make sure you were okay! Because I don't trust this… this stranger you've brought into our lives! And in return, they beat him! Without any reason, without any proof!"
Zhiyuan stared at his aunt's genuinely devastated and furious face, then at Yichen. His mind reeled. His aunt's grief over her close friend and longtime assistant looked real.
He clenched his jaw, a cold dread settling in his stomach. He turned to Yichen, his voice dangerously quiet. "Is this true?"
Yichen's gaze never left Ruifen. "It was clear he was a threat. He was aiming a rifle at you yesterday. She wants you dead. It's obvious."
"I asked you a question," Zhiyuan interrupted, his voice hardening into the tone he used in boardrooms to break defiant executives. "Is. It. True. Did you take her assistant and torture him?"
Yichen finally looked at Zhiyuan. He saw the doubt, the betrayal flickering in his eyes. He froze for a second, the truth caught in his throat. He had done it to protect him. But the method… "Yeah," he admitted, his voice flat. "I did. But what I did was right. He's dangerous. She's dangerous."
Zhiyuan looked back at his aunt, who was now weeping quietly into her handkerchief, the picture of a wronged, caring relative. He knew how close she was to Guo Lian. The loyalty between them was well-known.
A cold fury, born of confusion and a sense of being manipulated by everyone, took hold of Zhiyuan. He turned his icy stare back to Yichen.
"Get Guo Lian here. Right now."
Yichen's eyes widened. "Zhiyuan, you can't—"
"RIGHT NOW!"Zhiyuan shouted, slamming his hand on the table, making the dishes rattle. "Bring him here, in front of me, or you can consider yourself fired and charged with kidnapping. Do it."
The ultimatum hung in the air. Yichen saw the unyielding command in Zhiyuan's eyes. He had overstepped, and his principal was pulling rank. His jaw clenched so tight it ached. Without another word, he pulled out his phone, his movements stiff with anger and fear not for himself, but for what was about to happen.
He called his men, his voice a low growl. "Bring the package to the main house. Now. The principal wants to see him."
He hung up and stood there, a statue of tense defiance, as they waited for the arrival of the man who held the key to the truth a truth that might shatter Zhiyuan's remaining trust in everyone, including the person who had just been trying to save his life.
The wait was tense and silent. When the front door opened again, Yichen's two men entered, half-dragging, half-carrying Guo Lian between them. The man was a horrific sight. His face was swollen and bruised, his clothes torn and soaked with dark, drying blood. One of his hands was wrapped in a crude, blood-stained bandage. He could barely stand, his head lolling.
Zhiyuan's breath hitched. The sight of so much violence, so much blood, sent a wave of violent nausea through him. He quickly looked away, pressing a hand to his mouth, his face pale.
Aunt Ruifen let out a heart-wrenching scream. "Tiān a! Look! Look what he has done!" She rushed forward, pushing Yichen's men aside with surprising strength and throwing her arms around Guo Lian, supporting his weight. "Oh, my dear, what have they done to you? Let me take you to the hospital, you're bleeding so much!"
She turned her tear-streaked, furious face towards Zhiyuan. "Zhiyuan! I am only letting this go because of you, because I love you! But remember this he," she spat, glaring at Yichen, "is also a stranger! I don't trust him! Be careful! And do not let this ever happen again, because I will not let it slide a second time!"
With that, she helped the staggering, bleeding Guo Lian out of the mansion, leaving a trail of silence and the metallic smell of blood in her wake.
Zhiyuan stood perfectly still in the middle of the foyer, his arms wrapped tightly around himself, his eyes squeezed shut as if he could block out the image. The violence, the lack of any concrete proof… it was all too much.
Yichen stepped closer, his own heart aching at the pain radiating from Zhiyuan. He gently reached out, placing a hand on his trembling shoulder. "Zhiyuan, please, let me expl—"
"DO NOT TOUCH ME!"
Zhiyuan's eyes flew open, blazing with a fury born of betrayal and confusion. He violently shook off Yichen's hand. "Who are you to take decisions on your own? Did you have proof? NO! You don't!"
"Please, I did this only for your safety," Yichen pleaded, his voice low and desperate.
"STOP IT!" Zhiyuan yelled, his voice cracking. "Stop manipulating me! I'm tired! Tired of everyone! Tired of everything!" He took a ragged breath. "From the very start, you've been telling me she's the villain! But you never had any PROOF! Not one piece! All you have is your 'gut feeling'! Well, gut feelings can be wrong! Maybe… maybe you're the real villain! Maybe you're trying to turn me against my own family so you can take control of me!"
The accusation hung in the air, cruel and sharp. Yichen felt it like a physical blow. He stepped closer again, needing to make him understand. "Zhiyuan, that's not true, I would never—"
"Don't!" Zhiyuan backed away, holding up a hand. "Don't pretend like you're close to me! What do I even know about you, huh? Nothing!" His voice rose with each word. "I know nothing about your past! Nothing about that warehouse! Nothing about your gangster-looking men! NOTHING! You are a complete stranger who walked into my life and turned everything upside down!"
Yichen stood frozen, all his arguments dying in his throat. The pain in Zhiyuan's eyes was mirrored by the guilt and helplessness in his own. Everything Zhiyuan said was true from his perspective. He was a stranger. He did have a hidden, violent past. He had no proof to offer, only actions that looked monstrous.
He had no words left. He just stood there, looking at the man he loved more than anything, seeing the trust he'd worked so hard to build shatter into a thousand pieces, cut by his own ruthless methods and the masterful play of a true villain.
Zhiyuan turned on his heel, the weight of the morning crushing him. He couldn't look at Yichen anymore the man who was either his savior or his destroyer, and he no longer knew which.
He walked towards the door, his steps heavy.
Yichen automatically moved to follow,his protector's instinct overriding everything else.
"Stop."
Zhiyuan didn't turn around.His voice was quiet, exhausted, but final. "Please. I beg you. Don't follow me everywhere I go. I need to be alone. I need to clear my mind." He finally glanced back, his eyes pleading. "Please. Don't show yourself to me until I'm clear."
The request was a knife to Yichen's heart. To be told to stay away, to be invisible… it was the opposite of everything he was supposed to do. But the raw pain in Zhiyuan's eyes held him rooted to the spot.
He stood frozen in the grand foyer, watching as Zhiyuan walked out the door, got into his car alone, and drove away. The feeling of helplessness was suffocating.
At the Hospital:
In a private room, Aunt Ruifen sat stiffly in a chair beside Guo Lian's hospital bed. The kindly aunt facade was gone, replaced by a cold, seething fury that made the air in the room feel thin.
Guo Lian, bandaged and pale, tried to offer a weak smile. "Don't be so mad, Ma'am. I'm alright. It's just a few cuts."
"Alright?" Ruifen hissed, her voice low and venomous. "Look at you! Because of that little bastard and his rabid dog!" She stood up, pacing like a caged tiger. "I'll burn that company to the ground. I'll burn it with Zhiyuan inside it. I will kill everyone who laid a hand on you."
Guo Lian reached out with his uninjured hand, catching hers. His touch was gentle but firm. "You can't. You can't let everything go in vain. You've worked so hard, sacrificed so much to get this far." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "All you need is that one USB. Find it, destroy it. Then you can deal with Zhiyuan. The empire will be yours, cleanly."
Ruifen clenched her jaw, her eyes burning with impatient rage. She pulled her hand away. "No. Plans change. First, I'll kill Zhiyuan. Personally. Then I'll burn the building. That way, there will be nothing left to find, nothing to worry about. A clean slate of ash."
"Ma'am, please, think—" Guo Lian tried to sit up, wincing in pain.
But Ruifen was already striding towards the door, her mind made up, consumed by a violent, vengeful fire. "Rest. I'll finish this."
Back at the Mansion:
In the quiet, sunlit living room, Yichen sat slumped on the large sofa, his head in his hands. The silence was deafening. Regret, thick and bitter, choked him.
"Stupid… so stupid…" he muttered to himself. In a burst of self-loathing, he brought his hand up and slapped his own face, the sharp sound echoing in the empty room. "You had one job! Protect him! Not scare him! Not become the monster he's afraid of!"
He was about to do it again when a small, warm hand caught his wrist.
Meilin stood beside him, her face etched with deep worry. "Yichen. Stop that. What good does hitting yourself do?"
"I messed up, Nainai," he groaned, his voice breaking. "I lost his trust. He thinks I'm the villain now. He told me to stay away."
Meilin sat down beside him, patting his back as she had when he was a boy. "You did what you thought was right to protect him. Your methods are… harsh. From his world. But your heart is in the right place." She sighed. "He is confused and hurt. He needs time. But the danger is still real. You cannot fall apart now. The real snake is still out there, and she is angry. You must be ready, even if he cannot see you. Be his shadow until he is ready to see the light again."
Yichen looked at her, his eyes haunted. She was right. Falling apart wasn't an option. Zhiyuan might have sent him away, but his duty hadn't changed. He would protect him, even from the shadows, even if he was hated for it. The war was far from over, and the most dangerous battle was yet to come.
It was evening. Zhiyuan left his office feeling worse than usual. His whole body felt heavy and achy. He got into his car and started driving back to the mansion.
As he drove, he kept checking his rearview mirror. There were motorbikes behind him. Two, maybe three. He tried to tell himself it was nothing, but his instincts screamed.
To be sure, he took a few sudden turns, circling around a big office building. The bikes followed. His heart sank. They were after him.
Panic set in. He pushed the gas pedal, weaving dangerously through the evening traffic, trying to lose them. He cut off cars, hearing angry honks.
Suddenly, from a side street, a large delivery truck shot out. Zhiyuan slammed on the brakes, but it was too late.
CRASH!
The truck smashed into the side of his car. The world spun violently. Metal screamed. His car flipped over, landing with a crunch on its roof.
For a moment, everything was silent and upside down. The seatbelt dug into his chest, holding him in place. He was dizzy, his head throbbing, and a sharp pain shot through his back. But he was alive.
With shaking hands, he fumbled for the seatbelt buckle. It clicked open, and he dropped painfully onto the car's roof. He crawled out through the shattered driver's side window.
People were starting to gather, shouting. But Zhiyuan saw the motorbikes skid to a stop nearby. The riders got off, coming for him.
He didn't wait. Ignoring the pain in his back, he stumbled away from the wreck and ran into a dark, narrow alley beside the road. His legs felt like jelly, trembling badly. He didn't understand why he felt so weak; the crash hadn't seemed that bad.
He hadn't gotten far into the alley before the bikers surrounded him. There were four of them, their faces hard.
One swung a fist. Zhiyuan ducked and slammed the man into the brick wall with a strength born of pure fear. But his body was betraying him. A violent tremor ran through him, making his movements clumsy.
Then, a masked man stepped forward. He didn't throw a punch. He drew his leg back and kicked Zhiyuan directly in the stomach with brutal force.
The air exploded from Zhiyuan's lungs. A pain, sharp and deep, unlike anything he'd ever felt, ripped through his core. It wasn't just the impact; it felt internal, wrong. He cried out, doubling over, and crumpled to the dirty ground.
His legs wouldn't work anymore. He lay there, gasping, shock widening his eyes. His ears were ringing, blocking out the city sounds. All he could feel was the sickening, throbbing agony in his stomach. He clutched it with both hands, curling into a ball as the masked man stood over him, ready to hit him again.
Zhiyuan couldn't fight back. He couldn't even scream. He could only lie there, helpless, wondering why one kick had hurt so much more than it ever should have.
The men were closing in, fists raised to hit Zhiyuan again as he lay helpless on the ground. Suddenly, a loud electronic police siren blared from the mouth of the alley!
WEE-OOO-WEE-OOO!
The bikers froze, looked at each other in panic, and without a second thought, they turned and ran, scrambling back to their bikes and speeding away.
The siren stopped. It wasn't the police. It was a middle-aged man who had been taking out the trash from his apartment. He had seen the attack and used a police siren app on his phone to scare them off.
The man hurried into the alley. "Hey! Are you alright?" he called out, rushing towards the figure on the ground.
Zhiyuan was on his side, clutching his stomach, breathing in ragged, painful gasps. Silent tears streamed down his dirty cheeks, but he made no sound. The pain was too overwhelming.
The man knelt beside him. "Let me help—" His words cut off as he got a closer look at Zhiyuan's face under the dim light. His eyes widened in shock. "Liang... Zhiyuan?"
He knew him. This wasn't a stranger. This was Dr. Shen, an old friend of Zhiyuan's father, Liang Wenhao. A retired obstetrician. The only doctor, besides Meilin, who knew the full truth about Wenhao's unique biology and the birth of his son.
Dr. Shen carefully tried to help Zhiyuan sit up. As he slid his hands under Zhiyuan's legs, he felt a warm, wet stickiness. He pulled his hand back and looked at it under the alley light.
His hand was coated in fresh, red blood.
A cold dread shot through Dr. Shen. His medical mind instantly assessed. The location of the pain, the kick to the abdomen, the bleeding... He gently checked, and his worst fear was confirmed. The blood was coming from between Zhiyuan's legs.
"Oh, heavens," Dr. Shen whispered, his face pale. He knew immediately what this likely meant.
"Stay with me," he said, his voice firm now, all professionalism. He carefully lifted Zhiyuan, who was barely conscious, and carried him to his own car parked nearby. He didn't go to a big public hospital. He drove straight to his own private, discreet clinic the same one where he had helped Liang Wenhao decades ago.
At the clinic, after urgent tests and examinations, Dr. Shen's fears were confirmed. Zhiyuan had suffered a traumatic miscarriage.
Zhiyuan was not just a man who could get pregnant. He was, like his father before him, what some would call an Omega a male capable of conception and carrying a child. And he had been pregnant, without even knowing it, likely for a few weeks. The violent kick had ended it.
Dr. Shen's hands trembled as he picked up the phone. He dialed the only other person who knew this secret.
"Meilin," he said, his voice grave. "It's Dr. Shen. You need to come to my clinic immediately. It's Zhiyuan. He's here. He's... he's been hurt badly. And... it's happened. Just like his father. He's lost the baby."
Meanwhile, across town, Yichen was a bundle of raw nerves. After being told to stay away, he couldn't just do nothing. He was sitting in a quiet restaurant across the street from the Liang Group building, watching the main exit Zhiyuan always used, waiting to at least see him leave safely, even from a distance.
But the usual black car never appeared from that garage. Time ticked by. Dread pooled in Yichen's stomach.
Then his phone rang. It was Meilin. Her voice was choked with tears and panic. "Yichen! He's at the hospital! Dr. Shen's clinic! I'll send you the location..It's bad! Come quickly!"
Yichen didn't ask questions. He didn't waste a second. He threw money on the table, ran to his motorcycle, and shot through the city streets like a bullet, his heart hammering a frantic rhythm of terror. The man he loved was hurt, and he hadn't been there to stop it.