The wind blew the notebook open, revealing the patterns and words on it. Shi Youxi's mind went blank as if struck by lightning, his pupils constricted, and he picked it up in disbelief.

The notebook was about the size of a palm, filled with sketches of various jewelry pieces, with a few words scattered on it.

This is a design sketch that Mu Yiran used to pass the time when Shi Youxi was leaving school.

Finally found it…

My sister's things, traces left by my sister!

"Young Master, what's wrong?" The man with the tattooed arm saw the boy holding the small notebook as if it were a treasure, flipping through the pages at a glance.

Is it some kind of secret manual or a comic book? Has the young master finally emerged from the shadows and started living a normal life?

The tattooed arm was a sign of his relief, having watched Shi Youxi get injured and repeatedly court death until now, and seeing that the boy was moving forward. Just as he was about to make a move, he heard footsteps behind him.

"Sir, the young master has arrived—"

Shi Yan walked past him, straight up to the stunned boy, and snatched the notebook away.

"Give it back to me! That belongs to my sister, it's my sister's stuff!"

Shi Youxi struggled to take it back, but his height was no match for Shi Yan's 187cm.

"Father! Father, give it back to me!" It belonged to his sister; it was evidence of her existence, and he could even use it to find her.

Shi Yan's cold gaze swept across the notebook a few times before moving to the boy's face. "Your sister's things?"

Just as the man with the tattooed arm was about to explain to Shi Yan, he chuckled and said, "Shi Youxi, didn't I tell you not to do these meaningless things anymore?"

Shi Youxi bit his lip, summoning all his courage to confront Shi Yan: "This is meaningful! My sister exists! This proves that I can use it—"

What's the point of using it?

Shi Yan waved the notebook around and scoffed, "Use this to find your so-called sister?"

"If you could find it, you would have found it a year ago. How can you find a blank person with just a few design drawings and some handwriting?"

Unable to reach the book, Shi Youxi could only stubbornly clutch at Shi Yan's hem, pleading, "I can find it... Father, I can find it, give it back to me..."

Tears welled up in the boy's eyes. His helpless yet stubborn appearance did not soften Shi Yan's heart; instead, it only made her more annoyed.

Shi Yan stared coldly at the boy's face.

Isn't that ridiculous?

His and Sheng Sheng's child actually looks like Cheng Mo.

Every time Shi Yan looked at Shi Youxi, he wondered if Bai Shengsheng was thinking of Cheng Mo in every moment she was with him.

He gained Bai Shengsheng because of Shi Youxi's birth, but because of Shi Youxi, Bai Shengsheng always missed Cheng Mo.

"What are you relying on to find this, Shi Youxi? Everything you have now is given to you by me, and I can take it back at any time."

Shi Yan took out a lighter from his pocket. His eyes were deep, and his words, spoken in a detached tone, made Shi Youxi feel as if he had instantly fallen into hell.

Just like he said on the phone a few months ago, Shi Yan said, word by word, "Do you know, all of this is because of you."

"If you detect abnormalities in advance, if you handle the people around you well."

"Your sister won't disappear, and your mother won't have the chance to meet Cheng Mo!"

"It's all because you didn't please your mother! That's why she wants to abandon us."

"It's all because of you that all of this happened."

A spark ignited the thin sheet of paper, which Shi Yan casually tossed aside and dropped on the ground.

Shi Youxi turned to pounce, but Shi Yan grabbed his collar and held him firmly in place, his ten fingers frantically scratching in mid-air.

"don't want!"

"Father! Father, please... please." Shi Youxi's voice was choked with sobs.

He has nothing left but this.

The tattooed man withdrew his hand from trying to extinguish the fire, looking at the boy with red, swollen eyes with a pang of heartache.

On the white paper, the words "Little Pretty Jewelry Box" were swallowed by the flames, leaving nothing but emptiness; nothing could be preserved.

Shi Yan tucked the boy into the arms of the tattooed man behind her.

"Remember your identity. You are the son of Shi Yan and Bai Shengsheng. It was destined from birth that you would live in place of your mother."

"Stay close to your mother, please your mother, only if she lives can you live."

"..."

"Do what you're supposed to do, or I'll take back everything you have now, Shi Youxi. Compared to others, you're already very happy."

Shi Yan walked into the room and said to the tattooed man behind him, "Get him ready and take him to Sheng Sheng's room."

"Yes, sir." The man with the tattooed arm hurriedly wrapped his arms around the boy, his hands and feet trembling. The usually rough and unruly man had no idea how to coax a child.

"...Young Master, don't be sad. The teacher was just a bit harsh with his words, but it wasn't directed at you. He's always been harsh..."

The boy stared wide-eyed at the ashes being blown away by the wind, muttering, "...There's nothing left."

That's so strange.

He seemed to have never possessed anything, yet he was constantly losing.

The tattooed man smoothed his hair, which was now even more disheveled, and then gently patted the boy's back to comfort him: "It'll be alright, it'll be alright, it's just a breakup."

"Once the young master goes back to school, he can find as many older sisters as he wants!"

A 25-year-old virgin with tattooed arms, who has never been in a relationship, yet speaks eloquently about it.

The female nurse came out to remind Bai Shengsheng that she was already restless and that Shi Youxi should go in quickly.

Hearing this, the tattooed man sighed silently. Seeing the boy's distraught appearance, he couldn't bear it and put his arm around the boy's shoulder. "I'll take the young master there."

Shi Youxi let him push him forward until they arrived at a door. "Young Master, we've arrived."

Shi Youxi looked up in surprise, staring at the tightly closed solid wood door in front of him, with bodyguards from the Shi family covering both sides of the door.

How long has it been?

The memory of walking down the oppressive corridor like this, putting on Cheng Mo's mask to see Bai Shengsheng, overlaps with this moment.

The door opened, and the woman inside turned around at the sound, revealing a white dress and a thin, bony body.

Bai Shengsheng seemed to come alive instantly. She rushed towards the boy, "Cheng Mo! Cheng Mo, you've finally come to see me."

Shi Youxi: "..."

Perhaps his father was right; this was the life he was meant to live, and that's how he had always lived.

Nothing has changed; the four months my sister was there felt like a fleeting dream.

It's time to wake up, it's time to wake up...

Shi Youxi was held tightly in the woman's arms, and heard that gentle voice say, "Cheng Mo, I've been looking for you for so long, I couldn't find you no matter how hard I looked, I thought... I would never see you again."

Bai Shengsheng cupped his face in her hands, gazing at him with fascination, her hands stroking him repeatedly. Unable to control her strength, she scratched Shi Youxi's face until it was covered in red marks.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness, your face is alright, phew, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, there's no fire, there's no fire, Amo isn't injured."

Shi Youxi stared blankly at Bai Shengsheng, who was breathing on his cheek, and his fingers suddenly twitched.

He said dryly, "Um...it doesn't hurt."

"I'm sorry, Cheng Mo. I dragged you down last time. Are you going to leave me again? Don't go, don't go! Cheng Mo, when will you take me away? Let's go, let's be together, let's stay together forever."

Shi Youxi: "Okay, let's stay together forever."

No matter what Bai Shengsheng said, Shi Youxi mechanically repeated what she said, as if answering Bai Shengsheng, or as if talking to himself.

Bai Shengsheng lingered in her lover's arms for a long time. This was the brightest smile she had had in nearly a year. Looking at Shi Youxi, whose lips were being pulled and who was beaming with joy, she said, "Cheng Mo, I've missed you every single day since you left. I miss you so much. What about you? Do you miss me?"

"..."

Bai Shengsheng's sharp nails were digging into Shi Youxi's lips, and after hearing those words, his dull and lifeless phoenix eyes refocused.

The boy looked ahead through Bai Shengsheng's figure, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled and said, "I...I really, really want to."

I miss you so much it's tearing my heart out.