He had no interest in delicate, tearful lambs who crumbled at the slightest touch.

The girl started to sob as soon as she came in.

Shen Ji was about to send her away, but the girl clung to his leg, trembling.

Her youthful and delicate cheeks emitted a soft, pink glow under the light.

In his youth, Shen Ji was ruthless and tyrannical. Though he had mellowed over the years, he wasn’t someone who was considerate and tender towards the fairer rdw and also didn’t wear a gentlemanly and elegant mask like Qi Yilao. He wasn’t one to put on a façade for appearances and would simply raise his leg and kick. It was at this moment that the Madam Shen’s call came in.

Before making the call, Madam Shen had taken a heart medication, recited scriptures for half an hour, and only after her blood pressure had lowered did she finally dial her youngest son’s number.

“A-Ji, the Master...” Madam Shen heard a girl’s crying on the other end, and continued, “The Master told me that Xiao Wang’s astrological chart has changed.”

It took Shen Ji a while to remember who Xiao Wang referred to, and as he did, corresponding fragments of memory automatically surfaced.

“Don’t rush to hang up just yet. I just need to ask you one thing.” Madam Shen said clearly, “Has he changed and become different from before?”

Shen Ji thought of something, and his face darkened slightly.

“He has changed,” Madam Shen said with certainty. She had noticed it during the last birthday banquet, and the butler of Qinxin Estate had also reported it several times. She hadn’t taken it seriously at first, but after the Master’s guidance, it all became clear to her.

Fortune influences a person's character.

Everything added up.

“His current presence is detrimental to your financial fortune and will bring you disaster. You got into an accident last week because of him.” Madam Shen had called with a clear objective. She had made up her mind and was unyielding as she said, “He can no longer stay at Qinxin Estate.”

It was originally Madam Shen’s own decision to keep him in Qinxin Estate so she didn't need to discuss with her youngest son to send him away. She knew he didn't care and didn't mind either way. The purpose of this call was purely because she wanted to chat with him.

“Fortunately, the astrological chart of the Qi family’s youngest hasn’t changed.” Madam Shen had her youngest son in her early forties, enduring much hardship to ensure his safe birth. He was the apple of her eye.

Shen Ji shook his head. His accident from a few years ago had left Madam Shen with a mental illness, making her increasingly superstitious. Surely it couldn’t be that if he got involved with that little okzxsghmf again in the future, it would end up costing him his life?

For some reason, he felt an urge to make a bet with the elderly lady to see if keeping the person around would actually affect his trajectory and ruin his luck.

But this was a strange thought that shouldn't have surfaced.

Just as Shen Ji’s expression turned ugly upon noticing that he seemed to be trapped in a strange loop, a small hand reached up to touch his belt. He swatted it away with a quick motion.

The girl was knocked unconscious immediately.

Shen Ji called the assistant in and instructed him to drag the girl away.

The assistant dragged the girl, who had aknnc trickling from the corner of her mouth, out of the room. When he returned a short while later, he took the liberty of bringing in a lively and flamboyant boy.

This was because the assistant was worried his boss hadn’t enjoyed himself fully and was afraid that he would be odms to and harm his health. He was rewarded with an ashtray and a bleeding head for his efforts.

At the hospital, Jiao Bai received a message from an unknown number.

—I’ve done everything as you requested.

—I hope that, starting today, we won’t contact each other again.

—No, I mean from this very moment! Starting right now! Take care of yourself!

Jiao Bai clicked his tongue. The little young master of the Qi family was worthy of being the future Mrs. Shen. In Broken Wings, he was a cannon fodder shou, who single-handedly caused chaos in the Shen family, proving he had some skill. He also had a competent knight. Jiao Bai didn’t reply to Qi Shuang’s messages. Just as he set his phone aside, the old butler called, asking him to return and pack up his things.

Thirty to forty minutes later, Jiao Bai stood at Qinxin Estate, with a large, oddly shaped woven bag[1] at his feet.

“You took too long to come back so I asked someone to pack it for you.” The old butler stood on the steps, looking down haughtily from his elevated position.

Jiao Bai kicked the woven bag. The lucky star had turned into a star of disaster. The Shen family wanted him to get lost immediately.

But,

Why wasn’t there not even a suitcase? Why was it a woven bag?

Jiao Bai sensed something and calmly cast a glance at the second floor. Qi Shuang, who was leaning on the window sill, couldn’t pull his head back in time and their eyes met.

Qi Shuang flashed a toothy grin at Jiao Bai and waved, as if bidding farewell to a best friend.

Jiao Bai rolled his eyes. Look how delighted this little young master was. He couldn’t possibly think that Jiao Bai was heading back to his hometown, could he? If he did, that would be wishful thinking. Jiao Bai’s friends were spread across three cities, and the drums of the tug-of-war battle hadn’t even sounded.

Jiao Bai breathed out. The estate was in the suburbs. He would have to drag the woven bag for a while before he could possibly catch a taxi.

The woven bag couldn't be too heavy.

Soon after, Jiao Bai left with a woven bag that was much emptier, leaving behind a pile of old clothes and worn-out household items. The autumn breeze blew through them, dispersing the musty smell mixed with the odor of time-worn decay. A stack of nearly disintegrated red and white plastic bags rustled loudly.

This seemed like some kind of intense and high-spirited signal.

The young man, with one hand in a plaster cast and the other carrying a woven bag, walked with determination. He bid farewell to his unbearable, dismal, tattered past and marched towards a new life. Everything was just beginning

In reality, he was just pretending to be cool.


[1] Typically a laundry bag that is made of woven plastic fabric like the image below. But, because it says that it's oddly shaped, it's possible that it's just any old bag that's made of that material.