Shi Weichong continued, âI used these past few days to investigate Lian Jun and found out that not only his hands arenât clean, but he also made a lot of enemies. Itâs dangerous for you to follow him.â
Shi Jin immediately became alarmed. âSomebody wants to harm Jun-shao? Who?â
Hearing this, Shi Weichong swallowed back the rest of his words. He loosened his tie irritably, took a sip of the tea and mulled things over for a moment. Then, apparently deciding to cut his losses, he changed the subject: âXiao Jin, do you think weâve found you just by coincidence?â
Shi Jin blurted out in surprise, âYou havenât?â
âOf course not. When Zhouzhong saw the dance video, he began to suspect it was you, but youâve changed too much and he thought he might be mistaken, so he contacted Aoting. As you know, because of his job, heâs much better in recognizing people than your average person.â
Shi Jin was taken aback, then broke out in cold sweatâhow couldâve he forgotten that trained soldiers didnât identify people solely by their outer appearance? He himself was able to see through Gua Oneâs disguise, so naturally, Xiang Aoting could recognize Shi Jin despite his weight loss, not to mention some of the videos captured his whole face clearly.
Xiao Si stuttered,
This was exactly what Shi Jin wanted to know right now!
Seeing Shi Jinâs shocked expression, Shi Weichong sighed again and continued, âAfter we were more or less sure the person in the video was you, Aoting and I began to investigate further and found out youâve visited the shopping mall where we met a few days ago. Not long after, Zhouzhong received a message from the government, saying youâre an undercover agent and he shouldnât publicize your video like that.
We were confusedâdid we really have the wrong person? But we were also afraid to miss you if this wasnât a mistake, so we let Aoting contact the officials while taking turns watching the shopping mall.
The day we finally found you was your birthday. I thought you might go to the mall to buy something again, or to celebrate, so I asked Zhouzhong and Aoting to come with me, and fortunately, we really met you.â
Shi Jin was stupefied as he listened to this. He frantically tried to remember the changes in his progress bar during that time, and the more he thought about it, the more bewildered he felt. âXiao Si, why do I feel itâs strange?â He asked in his mind.
Xiao Si was confused.
âThe way my progress bar is rising⊠Uh, I donât have time to explain right now.â Shi Jin frowned and glanced at Shi Weichong sitting opposite him, looking exactly like a loving elder brother. Shi Jinâs entire prejudice came from knowing the plot, but if he put it aside and relied only on his present impression, Shi Weichong really seemed to be sincere.
However, the progress bar wouldnât lie and right now, it was stuck at 900 and not budging. If Shi Weichong truly loved his younger brother as much as he showed, why hadnât the progress bar gone down at all?
âBig Brother.â Shi Jinâs palms were sweating. He felt that either he had been deceived by the plot or Shi Weichong was trying to make him fall into the trap right now, or maybe both. He asked, âWhy do you want me to go home so much? Arenât you afraid that I will secretly join hands with Dadâs henchmen and cause trouble for you?â
Shi Weichong looked at him as he would at someone soft in the head: âXiao Jin, you should stop watching those rich family dramas on TV, they will affect your IQ.â
Shi Jin: ââŠâ
Shi Weichong said sincerely, âXiao Jin, Iâm trying to convince you so much because itâs not safe for you to stay with Lian Jun, and he isnât good to you. Youâre still so young, but he made you get close to this scum Xu Huai like that⊠If we hadnât found you, what would you be sent to do next time? Seduce someone and sleep with him?â
Shi Jin, somewhat desperate, said in his mind, âXiao Si, what should I do, I think Iâm starting to believe him⊠Does he really want to harm me?â
Judging from Xiao Siâs tone, it also was wavering.
âXiao Jin,â Shi Weichongâs voice was getting more and more earnest, âAt your age, you should still be going to school, not be involved with the underworld. I know that fatherâs death hit you hard and made you have many doubts in your heart, probably even resent me. I can understand this, but I really donât want to watch you jump into the fire pit, so come home with me, okay?â
Shi Jin felt that if it hadnât been for the progress bar, he probably would have been touched by Shi Weichongâs brotherly love. Unfortunately, there was no âifâ.
âBig Brother, Iâm sorry.â Shi Jinâs expression was awkward, but his tone was firm. âJun-shao is not a criminal, and I feel safe staying with him. Still, thank you for worrying about me, it makes me happy.â If itâs true.
The conversation hit a dead end once again.
Shi Weichong looked at Shi Jin in total silence, as if he had no idea what to say to him.
Being watched like that made Shi Jin uncomfortable, and he suddenly felt he was overdoing it. He stood up and forced a smile, the corners of his mouth barely moving, then said, âI have training in a few minutes, so⊠Excuse me.â After that, he left the reception room without looking back, rushed to his room, turned on the bathroom faucet, and stuck his head under it.
Swoosh. It was winter, and even though the room was heated, Shi Jin shivered when the icy water hit his head. Feeling the cold, he forced himself to calm down.
âXiao Si, the plot must have some loopholes. We need to be more thorough and think about other possibilities.â Shi Jin turned off the tap. He glanced at the nearly frozen fool reflected in the mirror, then wiped the water from his face with his hand, grabbed a towel, and left the bathroom.
Xiao Si had already begun to have doubts because of Shi Weichongâs actions. It immediately asked,
âWe have to consider that maybe in reality the five brothers do not want to kill their youngest brother as much as the novel said.â Shi Jin sat on the sofa with the towel on his head, pulled out a tissue and blew his runny nose. âFrom what I know about Shi Weichong, I feel that if he really wanted to kill me, he wouldnât have personally stayed outside the clubhouse in order to meet me, and said so many unnecessary things. I think that perhaps he was actually moved by my giving up the inheritance and suicide attempt, and started to care about me.â
Xiao Si was hesitant.
âMaybe, maybe not. I just donât want to let ourselves to be too limited in our thinking because of the original plot and ignore the true lethal factors.â Shi Jin threw away the wet tissue, pondered quietly for a moment, then said, âXiao Si, let me see the original book again, I need to confirm something.â
Shi Jin spent three days examining the novel, which was rather short, word by word. He finally determined one thing, though it made him quite vexedâin the story, there was no clear and direct evidence the original âShi Jinâ had been killed by his five brothers; even the original âShi Jinâ had no real proof.
âShi Jinâsâ process of death was really long and painful. He had been abducted soon after Shi Qingruiâs death, and although he was rescued, his face became disfigured and he lost two fingers.
After that, his ownership of Ruixing was taken away by the five brothers and he was âimprisonedâ in Li Jiuzhengâs private hospital, not being able to leave at all. By that time, the original âShi Jinâ had already firmly believed that it was his brothers who harmed him. As for the reasonâhis brothers did not love him as much as before, his brothers robbed him of his legacy, his brothers mocked him, his brothers were all hypocrites and liars!
Shi Jin: ââŠâ Kid, while your brothers were indeed hypocrites and liars, isnât your way of determining who had killed you a little too rash and subjectiveâŠ
The âimprisonmentâ lasted for half a year. Six months was enough time for âShi Jinâsâ injuries to heal almost completely, so Shi Weichong brought him home again and sent him back to school, but because of the scars on his face, âShi Jinâ suffered severe discrimination there. He felt very miserable and thought Shi Weichong made him go back to school to humiliate him!
The flames of hatred in the original âShi Jinâsâ heart burned higher. Unable to bear it, he contacted Shi Xingruiâs trusted subordinates and tried to hinder Shi Weichong, who had just taken over the Ruixing Corporation at that time. And yet, he didnât even manage to truly begin doing this when inexplicably, he got into a car accident and was critically injured.
It took him one year to die. âShi Jinâ had become confined to the hospital bed, suffering and unable to move. He could neither eat normally nor speak properly. Full of misery, the only thing he could do was listen to the doctors and nurses discussing his come-down in the world and his current pitiful state. Finally, full of hatred for his brothers, he died of organ failure.
The book was written from the perspective of the protagonist, so it was easy for the readers to identify with the original âShi Jinâ and unconsciously follow his way of thinking. When Shi Jin read it for the first time, the story made him choke from the righteous anger and hate the five brothers so much his teeth itched from wanting to bite them to death. Now that he went over it again while leaving aside those subjective emotions, the plot was unclear in too many places.
Whether it was the kidnapping or car accident which directly lead to the death of the original âShi Jinâ, there was no evidence his brothers were involved, although itâs true they had the motive and were the most suspicious.
âWe were too caught up in the plot,â Shi Jin concluded at last, letting out a long sigh.
The plot provider Xiao Si silently reduced its sense of existence.
âThe five brothers mightâve disliked the original âShi Jinâ and hoped that heâd disappear, but they wouldnât necessarily do anything. Itâs like when someone thinks he wants some bastard to die, but he doesnât really try to kill him.â After saying this, Shi Jin took one last look at the sheet of paper where heâd written down the results of his analysis, then soaked it in water and tore it to shreds to destroy all the possible traces. He picked up the cucumber pillow sitting beside him, which looked the worse for wear after all it was through, and said, âWell then, we should verify whether this conclusion is correct.â
Xiao Si immediately recovered.
âIâm going to find Rong Zhouzhong, who has the worst temper out of all my brothers, and quarrel with him!â Shi Jinâs expression was earnest and full of confidence.
Xiao Si:
An hour later, Gua Two drove Shi Jin, who had no driverâs license, to the gate of a villa district in B City.
âAre you sure heâs at home?â Gua Two asked, holding a cigarette in his mouth.
Shi Jin nodded. âYeah, I checked with his fans.â
Gua Two went slack-jawed, almost dropping his smoke. âThe fans even know whether their idol is at home?â He asked, horrified.
âNormal fans wouldnât, but thereâs one kind, most hated by the stars, that wouldâthe stalker fans,â answered Shi Jin, unfastening his seat belt. âThanks, you can go back now. Drive carefully.â
Gua Two was a little uneasy. âYou really donât need me to go with you?â
Shi Jin was always ready to follow well-intentioned advice: âI guess Iâll take you up on your offer then.â
Gua Two: ââŠâ
Translatorâs Notes:
ââŠdeceived by the plotâ â the word used here is ć, âpitâ. You mightâve read about âbeing pittedâ or âdigging pitsâ, and what it means is being deceived, framed, cheated, set up, screwed over, etc., or doing this. Imagine maliciously digging a trap for someone to fall into.