Chapter 20
971 Words
With a loud thud, Xu Mei’s phone slipped from her hand and slammed onto the floor.
She quickly bent down to pick it up. Fortunately, the phone was sturdy. Although the screen now had two cracks, it was still working—the call hadn’t even disconnected.
“Xu Mei? Are you okay?” Chu Yeran’s voice came through the receiver, clearly alarmed by the noise.
“I’m fine.” Xu Mei gripped her phone tightly and strode out of the dorm. “Where are you? Let’s talk in person.”
Bei Qiyan paused in surprise as Xu Mei passed her with a dark expression, but Xu Mei didn’t even notice her. Seeing the elevator packed, she ran down the stairs instead, heading straight for the basketball court where Chu Yeran had said he'd be.
“What’s going on?” Xu Mei gasped as she reached them, nearly out of breath.
Chu Yeran and Meng Tao had also just arrived, panting. “This isn’t something others can know,” Chu Yeran said between breaths. “Let’s find somewhere more private.”
They moved to a secluded corner. Once sure no one was around, Chu Yeran turned to Xu Mei. “When was the last time you saw Xiaoyang?”
“Last night,” Xu Mei replied.
“What was his condition?” Meng Tao asked immediately.
Xu Mei told them everything that had happened the night before. “Did something happen to him? I should’ve asked more.”
“It’s not your fault,” Chu Yeran said gently. “Even if you’d asked, he probably wouldn’t have told you.”
Xu Mei grew more anxious. “Then what did happen?”
At this point, Chu Yeran knew he couldn’t hide it from her any longer. After organizing his thoughts, he asked, “Do you know where Xiaoyang got that villa?”
“I don’t,” Xu Mei said, then recalled something. “But I heard a security guard say it used to belong to someone with the last name Jin.”
Chu Yeran sighed. “Xiaoyang’s advisor… his last name was Jin.”
“His advisor?” Xu Mei froze mid-sentence.
Even without much experience, she knew one thing—no professor would casually gift a student a villa.
【Fu Shuyang? He’s a monster! Jin Mu was once his mentor. And what did Fu Shuyang do? He betrayed him. Threw a sack over Jin Mu, beat him until he was half-dead, and only then called for help. Jin Mu ended up crippled—his hands and legs never recovered. He even lost the company he founded. But that wasn’t enough for Fu Shuyang. He had someone seduce Jin Mu’s daughter and dumped her after. The girl couldn’t take the blow, attempted suicide by overdose, and ended up in a vegetative state. Jin Mu treated him like a son, and this is how he repaid him—utterly destroying his life. That kind of bastard deserves nothing but death. I will wipe out this cancer!】
Those were Han Shu’s words to Xu Lang.
Fu Shuyang had once captured Xu Lang. But instead of using her as leverage against Han Shu, he let her go. Xu Lang thought maybe he wasn’t so bad after all and defended him, which led to Han Shu’s furious outburst.
From that moment on, Xu Lang truly despised Fu Shuyang.
Throughout the novel, Xu Lang always played the role of the kind-hearted saint—trying to save even the worst people. But Fu Shuyang was the only one she sincerely wished dead.
Han Shu’s story might not have been entirely accurate, but the feud between Fu Shuyang and Jin Mu was very real.
“Is it Jin Mu?” Xu Mei asked.
Chu Yeran looked startled. “You know him?”
Xu Mei shook her head. “Just heard the name before. But why would he give a villa to Brother Fu?”
Chu Yeran assumed she had heard it from Fu Shuyang and didn’t press. He rubbed his temples in frustration. “Xiaoyang was an orphan. He had a rough childhood, grew up withdrawn. But he’s gifted—he learns anything quickly. Jin Mu wasn’t even from our department. Back in undergrad, Xiaoyang took one of his public electives—Esports Strategy Design. He only signed up for fun. But Jin Mu took notice.”
Seeing his potential, Jin Mu used his position as a teacher to get close to Fu Shuyang, even taking him along on some easy side jobs that paid well.
As an orphan, Fu Shuyang was always tight on money. Though he was capable enough to support himself through part-time work, the feeling of having someone look out for him was… different.
When someone showed him genuine kindness, he never forgot.
Over time, they grew close. Jin Mu gradually brought Fu Shuyang into his personal research.
Jin Mu was a pioneer in the field of esports design. Fu Shuyang had always been interested, so it made sense for him to pursue graduate studies under Jin Mu later on.
But Jin Mu’s real goal had always been to pull Fu Shuyang under his wing—he was preparing to launch a game company.
No one expected Fu Shuyang’s capabilities to far exceed Jin Mu’s expectations.
Once Fu Shuyang learned about Jin Mu’s plans, he started helping him develop new games.
From programming to concept creation and operations, Fu Shuyang was involved in every aspect. He built out the entire game world—his ideas stunned Jin Mu.
Jin Mu was convinced this game would be a smash hit, and that’s when the dark thoughts began creeping in.
Fu Shuyang, completely trusting, had left all his design drafts at the studio. Every idea, every detail, he’d shared it all with Jin Mu...
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