"Don't leave me, don't... don't get on that car, sis—"
After a sudden change in tone, Ye Zhizhou woke up from the sticky and heavy memories, tears uncontrollably streaming down his cheeks. Were these overwhelming emotions something the original owner had always endured? He stared unfocused at Yun Ke, who was anxiously looking at him, feeling as though even breathing was painful.
Growing up in an orphanage, he experienced for the first time how happy a child could be with the love of parents. Yet, in an instant, he also understood the agony of watching loved ones die before your eyes... It was too painful, too painful to continue living.
Yun Ke, sensing his sadness and helplessness, couldn't contain his own overwhelming tenderness any longer. He gently kissed Ye Zhizhou's forehead and whispered softly, "Don't be afraid; it's all just a dream, it's all in the past. I'll be with you from now on."
Gradually regaining his composure, Ye Zhizhou couldn't help but reach out and tightly embrace Yun Ke. Yun Ke, do you know that you are the only family left for Du Yang in this world? Why don't you treat him better? Why...
Tears dropped onto his clothes, soaking through the fabric and chilling his skin.
Feeling his heartbreak and helplessness, Yun Ke's deep affection finally overflowed uncontrollably. He held Ye Zhizhou tightly and gently kissed the top of his head. Did little Yang also get trapped in painful memories of losing loved ones like this? He remembered that little Yang had said he didn't do well in his mid-term exams because he hadn't been resting well during that time, always dreaming of Du Yun...
"I'm sorry..." He closed his eyes, hugging him even tighter, his voice low and filled with guilt, with a hint of a promise, "Little Yang... I will always be there for you."
[The probability of Yun Ke falling in love with the female lead has decreased to 20%. Host, please keep trying.]
With eyes sore from crying, Ye Zhizhou finally pulled away slightly from Yun Ke's tight embrace, squinting at the screen that was almost poking him in the face. He sniffled and muttered in his heart, "Tongtian, I'm going to avenge Du Yang."
With his revenge plan silently set, Ye Zhizhou soon fell asleep again.
Yun Ke wiped his face with warm water and sat on the edge of the bed, watching him for a long time.
The next day, Ye Zhizhou came alone to the old Du family mansion in the Furong District, following the original owner's memories. He slowly climbed to the second floor, entered the master bedroom at the end of the hallway, opened the rightmost door of the closet, squatted down, and felt along the cabinet wall. Deep inside the wall, there was a small circular protrusion that was almost invisible if not examined closely. Once he found it, he gently pressed it, stepped back, and looked at the family photo hanging above the bed.
In the photo, Du Yang's parents were young and full of smiles, holding a baby Du Yang in his mother's arms. Du Yun, a young girl at that time, stood beside them, looking curiously at her little brother.
Such a happy family, all destroyed by the Wen family.
After a slight fingerprint recognition confirmation sound, the family photo slowly slid away, revealing a snowy white wall behind it. He approached and pressed a slightly yellowed spot on the wall with his fingers. Three seconds later, the fingerprint recognition confirmation sound rang again, and a section of the wall recessed, revealing a safe inside.
It was what was inside this safe that had caused the death of Du Yang's parents.
At the time of the accident, Du Yang was by their side. His mother died on the spot while protecting the child, and his father, with his last breath, told Du Yang the location of this safe. Unfortunately, the young Du Yang was too shocked at the time and subconsciously sealed away this gruesome memory. Later, when Du Yun took over the Du family business, the Wen family extended their claws toward Du Yun...
Dark memories surged again, and he closed his eyes tightly, taking a deep breath to clear the influence of the original owner's memories. He then entered the password on the safe.
The door of the safe popped open, revealing a folder and a small square box inside. He first took out the box, which contained several diamonds and a USB drive. Without further inspection, he placed the box in his pocket, opened the folder, spread the documents on the bed one by one, and tapped on the cosmetic mirror in his pocket, saying, "Tongtian, scan and back up these documents."
A beam of light appeared, scanning quickly over the documents.
[Scan and backup complete.]
He nodded, then neatly organized the documents, placed them back in the folder, and placed them in the safe.
Just as he finished arranging everything, he heard the sound of the doorknob being turned outside the locked door. Then came a soft knocking sound. "Little Yang, I heard from Wu Bo that you came here. I've prepared some snacks for you. Do you want to come out and eat, or..."
It was Bai Li.
Ye Zhizhou's tense nerves relaxed slightly, but his expression darkened. Snacks? Probably laced with something.
After checking the room to make sure everything was in order, he took out a photo album from the bedside table, walked over to the door, opened it, and nodded politely to the woman outside. He said calmly, "Oh, it's Lily sis. You don't need to bother with the snacks. I just came to pick up the photo album I left here last time. I'll be on my way."
"You are... Little Yang?" Bai Li's eyes widened in shock as she carefully examined him from head to toe. Her expression was stiff, and her voice seemed to be forced out of her throat, sounding strange and awkward. "Are you really Little Yang? Wu Bo told me you've lost weight, but you... How did you change... Have we met somewhere after you lost weight? You look like this..."
Ye Zhizhou had no intention of engaging with her. He bypassed her and walked straight outside.
Bai Li quickly regained her composure after her initial shock, but seeing him completely ignore her, her complexion grew even worse. She glanced at her watch, adjusted her expression, and took a few quick steps to catch up with him. She smiled and said, "Why the hurry? Take a break and have some food first. It's almost noon. How about staying for lunch? I haven't seen you in so long, and I've been missing you."
"No need," he frowned and shook off her hand. Having absorbed all of the original owner's memories, he now wanted nothing more than to see those who had harmed the original owner punished. He couldn't put on a friendly face.
The usually "gentle and considerate" female lead seemed to be possessed by something strange at this moment. She stuck to him like glue, continuously urging him to stay, and eventually even hugged his waist.
"What are you doing!" Ye Zhizhou finally exploded, forcefully tearing her away and looking at her with disgust. "Stay away from me."
Tears welled up in Bai Li's eyes as she moved away and stood near the staircase, her voice choked, "Little Yang, I know you dislike me, but I just wanted to offer you some snacks. Why are you scolding me? And... And..." She averted her gaze, looking embarrassed and indignant.
What was going on? What kind of act was the female lead pulling now?
Ye Zhizhou's vigilance quickly rose, and he discreetly glanced around, noticing a familiar spiritual wave approaching the main entrance of the Du family mansion—it was the psychic power he had left on Yun Ke.
"Little Yang, I've always treated you like a little brother. You can't..." Bai Li wiped her tears, grabbed the collar of her shirt, and glanced at her watch while keeping her voice pitiful, "Why are you treating me like this? I don't think I've ever done anything to hurt you..."
Just as the front door opened, Bai Li's tone became even softer and sadder, "I used to think you were just a child, so I didn't pay much attention to your excessive closeness. But I never thought... Little Yang..." She suddenly grabbed Ye Zhizhou's hand and pressed it against her body while screaming, "What are you doing, Little Yang? You can't! I've always treated you like a little brother. Let go of me!"
Ye Zhizhou watched her acting silently, and then he pulled her hand away from him, tightly gripping her wrist to prevent her from speaking further. He looked up at Yun Ke, who had appeared, and said, "Yun Ge, Miss Bai was trying to take advantage of me."
With that, he pushed the struggling female lead away from him, showing a look of disgust. "This old woman doesn't even spare minors. It's disgusting."
"Let's go," Yun Ke's dark face improved slightly after Ye Zhizhou pushed the female lead away and spoke coldly. He walked a few steps and pulled Ye Zhizhou to his side, unbuttoning his coat as he did so. "This clothing has been touched by something dirty. Don't wear it."
"Wait, let me take out what's in my pocket first."
The two of them talked as if they were alone, behaving intimately. Meanwhile, Bai Li, who had fallen to the ground, was bewildered. How could this be happening? She had carefully timed her arrival, not wanting Yun Ge to witness the current situation, and Yun Ge's reaction...
At the same time, Bai Li's expression grew even more strained. She looked down at her watch, arranged her expression quickly, and took a few quick steps to catch up with him. She smiled and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? Take a break and have something to eat. It's almost noon. How about staying for lunch? It's been so long since I've seen you, and I've been missing you."
"No need," he frowned, shaking off her hand. He couldn't hide his hatred for the people who had harmed the original owner, given that he had absorbed all of the original owner's memories.
Yun Ke took off his own coat and draped it over Ye Zhizhou, then turned to Bai Li and said coldly, "Miss Bai, you are fired."
"No, Yun Ge, you've misunderstood! Little Yang tried to assault me, he kept pestering me, and he even almost pushed me down the stairs, I..."
"I pushed you?" Ye Zhizhou sneered upon hearing this, as if he had heard the most absurd joke in the world. "Miss Bai, my phone has been recording the audio all along. Would you like to hear who was really pestering whom?"
Bai Li's face turned instantly pale.
"Next time, put more effort into your acting." Ye Zhizhou adjusted his oversized coat and bent down to get closer to the female lead. He sent a strand of his mental power into her brain and whispered softly, "Bai Li, how strong is the Wen family's influence?"
"You..." Bai Li widened her eyes in shock, her face gradually filled with panic.
Yun Ke was extremely displeased with their close proximity and furrowed his brow as he pulled Ye Zhizhou back, tidying his hair. "Don't get too close to her; I don't like it."
"I don't like it either," Ye Zhizhou shrugged, picked up the photo album that had fallen on the ground, gently brushed off the dust, and looked at him sideways. "I want to go somewhere. Will you accompany me?"
"Together." Yun Ke held his hand and, as they walked away, asked, "Are you hungry? Shall we have lunch first?"
"Sure."
After the two of them left together, Bai Li couldn't contain her shivering any longer. She hugged herself, took out her phone, and made a call. When it was answered, she said urgently, "Du Yang just came here, and he found out... What do we do? What do we do?"
Du Yang took Yun Ke to the cemetery.
Ye Zhizhou placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone and then squatted down, gently wiping the tombstone, remaining silent all along. Yun Ke accompanied him in silence, staying close.
They spent more than an hour there. Before leaving, Ye Zhizhou turned back and, as he looked at the three tombstones lined up side by side, he made a solemn promise in his heart. He would definitely avenge the Du family.
Yun Ke's gaze lingered on Du Yun's tombstone for a long time. Then, he turned to Du Yang, spoke gently, "Let's go. I'll accompany you to visit them again next time."
Du Yang nodded and followed him as they walked away.
Before going to sleep, Ye Zhizhou turned off the light after finishing playing the flute, covered himself with the blanket, closed his eyes, and activated the strand of mental power he had left in the female lead's brain. He fiercely plunged it into the storage of her memories.
Wasn't the female lead suffering from amnesia? He would help her remember.
As for whether this rough method would harm the female lead's brain, well, someone as "gentle and kind" as her might as well be a bit foolish.