"Now that I think about it, you all must have gone crazy that night." The system sighed, "Especially you, host."

"Me?" Li Yuebai sat leisurely in his study, shaking a cup of hot tea: "I haven't done anything earth-shattering, have I...?"

"You saved Lin Xie."

"System, are you trying to mock me by saying that I have... that Stockholm syndrome?" Li Yuebai smiled and said, "I did say before that I didn't plan to care about his life or death, and I didn't plan to save him, but that was just an angry remark. When faced with a choice related to my fate, I can still clearly distinguish between what is important and what is not."

"Then do you feel...that your feelings towards him have changed in some way?"

"Feelings?" Li Yuebai froze for a moment.

Indeed, when Lin Xie's hot tears fell on my shoulders, at that moment, I did feel that Lin Xie was very pitiful, but it was only for a moment.

"Let's put aside the emotional issues for now and talk about your growth, host." The system carefully checked the data: "The system has calculated that on that night, in front of Lin Xie, you broke through the shackles of your own personality and inherent behavior for the first time."

"?" Li Yuebai frowned in confusion and put the teacup back on the desk: "System, I have been a teacher for a long time. This world is not a world of boys' comics. There is no such thing as sudden growth like the protagonist of a boys' comic. Most importantly, I didn't feel the so-called breakthrough you mentioned.

In the previous few worlds, Li Yuebai was forced to enter dangerous situations, kill bosses, and save some people. In comparison, this one can only be regarded as a leisure level.

"Are you really not aware of this?" the system whispered, "How did you treat the people around you in the previous levels? You were gentle, doting, caring, and indulgent..."

"..." Li Yuebai was embarrassed by what the system said. He felt his blood boiling and his face flushed. He could not help but scold: "I am willing to be spoiled. What's the problem?"

The reason for such a big reaction is that the system is right.

Murong Nan in the first world was too nice to me, and I couldn't afford to offend him.

The second world, Ye Qing - just kidding, that’s Ye Qing... of course I am willing to pamper Ye Qing.

The third world, Yu Tianji… I really can’t blame myself for this. No one can resist Yu Tianji’s shameless way of acting coquettishly, right?

…

"...You are right, system." Li Yuebai fell on the desk helplessly: "I am a hopeless saint. So, is the saint wrong?"

"So the system thinks that you have become stronger in this incarnation." The system said: "You were too harsh on Lin Xie... This is different from your previous self."

"I thought I was the one being tortured." Li Yuebai tried to recall everything that happened with Lin Xie in the basement, and was surprised to find that he did not feel the pain that a victim should have.

"From an emotional perspective, Lin Xie is the victim." The system threw out a twisted logic without any moral principles: "Throughout the entire process, his emotions were manipulated by you."

“…”

"That night, you even threatened him and forced him to obey your orders."

"Don't talk like I'm the boss..."

"In Lin Xie's eyes, you are cold, vicious, omniscient, and omnipotent..." The system said: "You are the embodiment of all nightmares. Lin Xie has never accepted such a setback. You... have become a role he has never thought of before."

"That can only be explained as fate playing a series of jokes on us." Li Yuebai smiled and drank the hot tea in the cup.

After Lin Tianyu passed away, everything that happened next went smoothly beyond imagination.

Lin Xie took over the entire Lin Group. Lin Dong and others chose to protect themselves and gave up the fight. They handed over all their shares and fled the country.

Li Yuebai resigned from the position of attorney for the Lin Group and quietly retreated to his own small study.

Half a month passed and Lin Xie never appeared in front of him again.

Li Yuebai still remembered his mission clearly and did not feel anxious.

Love cannot be forced. What Lin Xie needs now is not love, but rest and thinking.

He had almost endless time to wait for Lin Xie to slowly fall in love with him.

When I put down the teacup, there was a sound of knocking on the glass above the floor-to-ceiling window.

Li Yuebai stretched, stood up, walked to the window and opened the curtains.

He saw Lin Xie standing quietly on the other side of the glass, his figure as tall as a dead tree in the snow, his pair of jet-black eyes still bottomless.

"Bulletproof glass?" Lin Xie asked softly with his mouth.

"Guess." Li Yuebai smiled.

Lin Xie lowered his eyes and thought for a second, then he took out his pistol again, pointed the muzzle at Li Yuebai, and prepared to pull the trigger——

"Hey, spare me." Li Yuebai smiled: "I don't want to buy another piece like this, it's very expensive."

Having said this, he placed his hand on the control button and pressed it.

The French window slowly opened.

"Host, he comes with lethal weapons and is very dangerous. The system thinks it is better for you not to meet him..." the system reminded mechanically.

"It'll be fine." Li Yuebai said, "Besides, I've wanted to explain it to him for a long time. I can't bear it any longer."

Lin Xie rushed over along with the cold air outside the window, and hugged Li Yuebai regardless of anything.

"Hmm? What does this mean?" Li Yuebai smiled and patted Lin Xie on the back: "Why did you come to me? Have you dealt with the Lin's affairs?"

"Compared to you, those are just a piece of cake." Lin Xie snorted: "Close the window, it's cold."

The window closed again, the curtains were drawn, and the study was suddenly plunged into darkness.

There was no one around, and the two of them seemed to be isolated from the whole world.

"Sometimes I really don't know whether I should hate you or... hate you more." Lin Xie lowered his head, leaned close to Li Yuebai's ear, and lowered his voice.

"It's useless." Li Yuebai smiled and rubbed his hair: "Master Lin, count it yourself, how many times have you said you would kill me, but in the end you still lied on my shoulder obediently..."

"That's because you saved me!" Lin Xie bit Li Yuebai's ear angrily, grinding the soft flesh repeatedly with his sharp canine teeth: "You... I really want to..."

"Host, Lin Xie's feelings towards you are wavering between extreme love and extreme hatred." The system said: "Due to the dramatic ups and downs and uncertainty, it is temporarily impossible to determine whether your mission is successful."

"What's the hurry?" Li Yuebai sneered.

"I've been having dreams a lot these days." Lin Xie's voice was a little hoarse again: "In my dreams, I've returned to your office countless times, facing your cold eyes... I... I still hate you to the core in my dreams."

"There is only one way to solve this problem." Li Yuebai gently pushed Lin Xie away: "Go back there and take a look."

An hour later, the two arrived at the old office building.

The office building had long been abandoned, with broken tables and chairs, cobwebs, broken glass, and documents scattered everywhere.

The office that once belonged to Wang Hanzhi is now locked, and the lock has long been rusted.

Lin Xie opened the door easily and walked in without much effort.

"You said it was a cold winter night and you were only 8 years old." Li Yuebai lowered his eyes and stepped into the dusty office: "I was standing here at the time, right?"

Lin Xie stood where he had just entered the door, his expression growing colder and colder.

Coming to the place in my memory makes the memory more real.

"Your mother brought you to me for help." Li Yuebai said, "But I rejected her coldly. From then on... you never forgave me again."

"Yes." Lin Xie's lips curled up into a bitter smile.

"But what does this have to do with me?" Li Yuebai looked at him with no expression on his face: "I'm just an outsider... Why should I be responsible for your father's mistakes?"

"I always thought you were my father's accomplice."

"I..." Li Yuebai laughed in anger, waved his hand, and slammed the folder on the table down: "What does it have to do with me?"

The folder fell to the ground with a dull shattering sound and dust rose up.

This sound sounds good.

"Little friend," Li Yuebai sighed, "At that time, you couldn't distinguish between good and evil, and couldn't understand this world... This misunderstanding has continued to this day."

"Misunderstanding?" Lin Xie's eyes flashed with a strange light: "Your refusal is real, there is no misunderstanding."

"Yes." Li Yuebai approached him: "Why don't you let me tell you something closer to the truth."

Lin Xie's expression changed from surprise to panic.

"At that time, I rejected her request for help because she wanted to win the lawsuit for remarriage." Li Yuebai said word by word: "Your mother's only request was to return to the man who hurt her."

“…”

"She is young and healthy... her future holds infinite possibilities, and she can embrace a richer and more colorful world." Li Yuebai's voice was filled with anger: "But she only wants to take you back to the Lin Group and resume her status as the mistress, forcing you... forcing you to live this kind of life."

"Is my current life so unbearable in your eyes?" Lin Xie narrowed his eyes and put his arms around Li Yuebai's shoulders again.

"When I first saw you, I had only one thought - he was still so young, he shouldn't belong to the Lin family." Li Yuebai smiled bitterly, "But now... forget it, they are all dead, and you are still alive. You have adapted very well, I have nothing to say."

Lin Xie was shocked, and his hands, which were originally holding Li Yuebai's shoulders, loosened.

"Wang Hanzhi, who do you think you are? A savior?" Lin Xie couldn't help laughing. "Are you trying to tell me that she is the foolish and cowardly one who brought about her own destruction, and that you are the one who really wants to save me... the savior? You... take yourself too seriously!"

"As you can see, I am so stubborn, so arrogant, and so self-willed. It's not like what you have misunderstood for many years - to please your father." Li Yuebai looked at Lin Xie: "If you don't want to believe it, I once wrote a letter to your mother, and the letter clearly stated all my true thoughts..."

That letter was the "evidence" that Li Yuebai asked someone to repair.

However, by now, it seems that such evidence is no longer meaningful.

Lin Xie gritted his teeth, suddenly hugged Li Yuebai and burst into tears.

The dark childhood, the teenage years full of traps, the present that seems high-spirited but is actually full of strife and infighting...all the pain has found a vent.

Li Yuebai let him cry, and vaguely remembered in his heart that Lin Xie was really only eighteen years old...

I am an adult legally, but… the students in my class are also this age. In my eyes, they are all children and should not bear so much pressure…

The familiar feeling of heartache came back again.

"Congratulations, host, mission accomplished." The system's voice sounded faintly.