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image of unshakeable strength, to be the pillar and spiritual leader everyone could put their faith in.
The price being he could show no vulnerability, as if “poor health” and “weak body” were nothing more than descriptions of his appearance that had no real effect on his life.

Shi Jin thought back and found that in public, Lian Jun always appeared in perfect control of the situation and never showed any weakness.
He didn’t require a personal service in his daily life, was perfectly groomed and dressed, and managed everything with calm confidence.
He even seldom asked anyone to push his wheelchair, preferring to do it himself when he could.

He didn’t appear like an invalid at all.
Apart from using a wheelchair, he didn’t cause any inconvenience to others or make them take care of his special needs, as other patients tended to do.

“Let me help you.
If you want to exercise, call me over, I’ll massage and relax your muscles.
And I promise I won’t tell anybody that you’re walking on your own—my lips are sealed.” Shi Jin changed the words of comfort for an offer of help.
His tone of voice rose as he tried to convince Lian Jun to look forward to the future: “When you can walk without trouble, let’s surprise everyone! I want to scare Gua Two!”

Lian Jun heard his vibrant voice, filled with life and vigor, and opened his eyes to look at him.
The corners of his mouth rose up.
“Very well.” This person, in some matters, truly never let him down.

This “never letting him down” Shi Jin happily clapped his hands and stood, beaming with enthusiasm.
“Okay, we’re done with the front, now comes the main thing.
Come on, Jun-shao, turn over.” Then, he reached for the towel on Lian Jun’s waist.

The bathrobe was pure silk, very light and slippery; the towel was made of terry cloth and had strong friction.
Shi Jin’s a tad-too-vigorous move removed the towel and pulled the bathrobe with it.
As a result, the place that shouldn’t have been exposed was exposed.

“It’s black…” Shi Jin blinked, noticing a piece of material peeking out from under the bathrobe.
His line of sight involuntarily shifted towards a certain place.

Xiao Si let out a strange machine noise, then excitedly took control of Shi Jin’s body.
It reached out and patted Lian Jun’s thigh… very close to the center of his legs.

Lian Jun’s eyebrows jumped.
He sat up, pulled the towel out of Shi Jin’s hand, and threw it over the teenager’s head.

When the towel covered his face, Shi Jin finally snapped out of it and yanked his offending hand back.
He yelled in his mind, not daring to believe what just happened: “What are you doing, Xiao Si? Are you crazy?!” His voice changed in agitation.

Xiao Si was satisfied and didin’t intend to repent:

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The system’s fluttering tone of voice sent shudders down Shi Jin’s spine.
He pulled the towel off and turned to Lian Jun, who’d already straightened his bathrobe and now looked at him expressionlessly.
He let out an awkward laugh, explaining nervously, “I… My hand, my hand slipped a little.”

Lian Jun gave him a somewhat hard-to-describe look, then turned over and laid prone on the massage table.

Shi Jin breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly returned the towel to its proper place.

After that, Xiao Si didn’t cause any more mischief, and Lian Jun didn’t speak either.
The massage finished without a hitch.

Shi Jin washed his hands, sent Lian Jun to the bathroom to take another hot bath, and blew dry his hair.
Then, he gathered his tools, said goodnight, and skedaddled.

With Lian Jun left alone, the room was quiet.

He sat against the headboard and moved his legs—they really felt much more comfortable.
He glanced at the massage table by the French window.
Suddenly, he bowed his head and chuckled, then looked at the tranquil island nightscape behind the window.
His eyes gradually darkened.

“It was you who took the initiative… So, don’t blame me.”

Holidays were happy time… If you didn’t need to attend classes.

The third day on the island, the teachers Lian Jun arranged for Shi Jin finally arrived.

There were three altogether.
All were high-ranking teachers with long seniority—reportedly, they’d taught Lian Jun and the Guas—and held a prominent position in Annihilation.

“Asking me to teach high-school material…” The main teacher was a small, grey-haired old man with a bad temper.
He was unsatisfied with Shi Jin’s poor level of education, but strangely, when he saw the teenager, he didn’t mention it.
He only sized him up and said with emphasis, “You shouldn’t do this.
All the knowledge you learn is improving your mind and enhancing your strength.
You have to resolve yourself and work harder—don’t waste Jun-shao’s thoughtfulness.”

Shi Jin, an “aged” student who’d lived for two lifetimes, promptly nodded.

“Well, your attitude isn’t bad.” This teacher’s surname was Feng; everybody called him Mr.
Feng.
Seeing Shi Jin earnestly listening to his words, he gave a reluctant nod, barely satisfied.
He took out a schedule and said, “We’ll follow this class schedule: seven lessons every day from Monday to Friday, four in the morning and three in the afternoon, the weekend is free.
Is that all right? Since you have no objection, that’s settled.
Let’s start class.”

Shi Jin said nothing.
Well, actually, he wanted to say that the old man spoke too fast and didn’t give him any chance to interject, but when he saw the teacher acting so conscientiously, he kept his mouth shut and obediently opened the textbook.

Shi Jin was bitter.

The others were playing every day, enjoying all the island’s attractions, and sailing out to fish or go scuba-diving when they got bored.
He alone had to endure the miserable fate of being confined in the classroom and listening to lessons.

Oh, wait, there was only one even more miserable than he.
Lian Jun, the Annihilation’s boss, had to handle the official business and paperwork every day.
He didn’t even take breaks on the weekend.

One person did work in the large study, the other attended classes in one of the smaller ones.
It was like an affectionate couple overcoming hardships together—was what Xiao Si said.

Shi Jin tuned out his “golden finger’s” nonsense.
When he thought about the intensity of Lian Jun’s work, he couldn’t sit still.
So, every time he had a break between classes, he sneaked into the other man’s study to chat with him and make him relax for a few minutes.

Happy days always pass very quickly—in a blink, the weekend came.
Shi Jin didn’t have class.
He woke up early, put on a comfortable tank top and short pants, and knocked on Lian Jun’s door, smiling widely.
He was ready to take him outside to breathe the fresh air.

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Lian Jun opened the door almost instantly.
He eyed Shi Jin’s tank top, loose enough to reveal the collarbone and a bit of chest, but didn’t comment.
He gestured for the teenager to come inside, saying, “Information you wanted just arrived.
Come in.”

These words took Shi Jin by surprise.
The happy smile on his face vanished.
He nodded and followed the other man into the room.

They sat in the rattan chairs on the terrace.
Lian Jun offered Shi Jin a bottle of juice, then passed him a tablet.
“Everything’s here, read it by yourself.”

“Thank you,” Shi Jin said, then focused on the tablet.
He opened the only encrypted file in its memory.

The data was divided into six parts.
Shi Jin began reading the first.

It started with two photos—one of Shi Weichong, the other of a gorgeous, solemn-looking woman.
The dates of the pictures written in a corner.
Judging from them, the photo of the woman was taken a long time ago; now, she should be much older.

Shi Jin immediately realized she was Shi Weichong’s mother, Shi Xingrui’s first lover.

He examined her face closely, and his eyebrows furrowed.

Strangely enough, Shi Weichong’s mother didn’t resemble either Li Jiuzheng’s or the original ‘Shi Jin’s’ mothers.
They were completely different, both in appearance and temperament.
Shi Weichong’s mother was beautiful, but one look was enough to tell she wasn’t easy to get along with; the other two women were gentle and graceful.

He had vaguely guessed Shi Xingrui was looking for a woman with a particular appearance, but now it seemed this conjecture wasn’t correct.

Have I really guessed wrong?

Shi Jin shook his head and continued reading.

Shi Weichong’s mother, Xu Jie, was born in B City in a prosperous family.
Her father was a senior manager in a state-owned enterprise and her mother a university teacher—both very secure jobs.

Xu Jie had been an outstanding student.
She graduated from a first-class university then went to study in country Y for two years.
After returning home, she entered Ruixing and became Shi Xingrui’s assistant.

Shi Jin’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
He repeatedly confirmed he didn’t read wrong.

Shi Weichong’s mother was Shi Xingrui’s assistant? So Shi Xingrui put his hands on someone who worked for him? Really, this… wasn’t what he’d expected.

He digested this for a moment, then kept going.

Xu Jie worked as Shi Xingrui’s assistant for several years; in fact, she was a senior member who watched the company take off.
She didn’t quit until she got pregnant, which wasn’t planned, then married Shi Xingrui and started living with him.
A few months after Shi Weichong was born, she suddenly moved out and, at least on the surface, broke all contact with Shi Xingrui.

That was when Xu Jie’s father abruptly resigned from his government job, went into business, and set up a family company.
Xu Jie returned home with her son and became its vice-president.

After that, Xu Jie became a powerful businesswoman, focused entirely on running the company.
She dismissed anything having to do with romance and didn’t remarry, didn’t even date.
After Shi Weichong gained his footing and became independent, she stepped off the scene.
Now, she traveled around the world, enjoying her retirement.

Shi Jin enlarged her current picture—the years seemed to have mellowed out Xu Jie’s sharp temperament, leaving behind a gentle-looking woman.
He sighed.

If one forgot all the internal disputes and entanglements and looked at Shi Xingrui and Xu Jie’s story from an outsider’s point of view, then Xu Jie was a model of the assertive, self-assured woman.
She left her irresponsible scum of a husband and focused on living her life, not letting anything hold her back.
She made a successful career and was a good mother who raised her son well.

No wonder Shi Weichong had such business acumen.
With parents like that, if he had no talent, everyone would’ve suspected he was swapped at birth.