PROLOGUE.

In the wilderness, the setting sun casts a bloody red hue across the land.

After being struck full force by an off-road vehicle and having lost his ability to speak, a man lay on the ground, barely alive with blood streaming down his eyes. 

*Click*

Soon, the man, with his vision blurred, heard a dull clicking sound and saw some pairs of feet stepping out of the vehicle, making his eyes go wide.

He couldn't see their faces, but he was somehow able to tell who they were, making him clench his fist even though he couldn't move his body.

With much effort, gritting his teeth, he looked up, wanting to see the people in front of him, and the ones standing in front of him, as if waiting for that moment, remained still.

'Ah...' a sigh filled with unwillingness, helplessness, and defeat left the dying man's lips as, with his body blaring with pain, he looked up, only to see a group of women staring down at him with a cold face.

'Why did it turn out to be like this...?' He wondered, asking that question to himself again and again, but received no answer.

It was then that his gaze suddenly landed on the only man in the group, looking down at him with a smile gracing his lips—a smile that called for his demise.

'You! It was all you!'

The moment he saw the man, he realized what was happening, and things finally made sense to him. This white-haired man with cold blue eyes was the one responsible for all of this!

The man, on the other hand, as if understanding his struggle and pain, had a malicious gleam flash past his eyes, and he pulled one of the women closer to himself, making her soft body press against his as he purred while stroking her hair. "Thank you, my sweet Ranran~"

"Master~" The woman, who was looking at him with an expression as cold as ice, was surprised for a second before her face flushed, and she clung closer to the man, smiling joyously.

The man, however, still didn't feel satisfied, so he took out a gun under the others' curious and almost-dead guy's terrified eyes and questioned. "Who wants to finish off Ye Feng?"

"Me!" "Me!" "Me!" Every one of the girls clamored to volunteer, making the man look at them thoughtfully, wondering who he should choose until his eyes fell on one of them.

"…Xiaoxin, you do it," the man finally decided who it was going to be.

"Yes, Master!" A youthful, adorable girl responded cheerfully. She seemed happy to be chosen, and although it was her first time taking a life, she didn't hesitate. 

As soon as she got the gun, she fired three shots at the man on the ground.

Bang—bang—bang!

The white-haired man raised a brow at that. "Nice work, Xiaoxin. I thought you might hesitate, considering how close you were with him before," the man teased.

The girl, however, denied it immediately, her voice brimming with sweetness. "Master, Xiaoxin and he had nothing to do with each other!"

At that moment, another woman timidly spoke up, mustering her courage. "Master, Shuang'er wants to try too…"

The man glanced at her, then nodded. "Go ahead."

The woman's eyes lit up with excitement as she quickly grabbed the gun. "Got it!" She exclaimed, and without even thinking twice, she pointed at the man lying almost dead on the ground and...

Bang!

One after another, the other women took turns firing the handgun.

None of their shots were perfect, but they didn't need to be perfect; the guy, who was despairing about the situation a while ago, had died the moment he was first shot.

'I-I just wanted to live my life happily...' This was that guy's last thought, and with tears streaming down his cheeks, he had died with no one here caring about it.

The girls, however, didn't care; they just wanted to do more to impress the white-haired man, to let him know that they could do it for him, and this was not all; they could do anything for him!

The man had probably made their love for him twisted in a strange way.

The white-haired man, on the other hand, raised his head to the sky, looking at the setting sun with a sense of nostalgia. The evening was approaching, and the dim light of dusk, which should have been normal, didn't feel like usual today. Something was unusual about the darkness—it was too slow, too deliberate.

"This reset... it's taking longer than usual," the man muttered under his breath.

But just as he was about to turn back to the car, a hand grabbed him, making the man turn toward the woman holding his hand. "Luoluo?" he questioned, his eyes losing some of their usual color and getting a bit dull.

"Master…"For some reason, an intense feeling of unease surged within the girl. "You... you won't abandon us, will you?"

Her question carried a deep yearning for reassurance, and it was not just her. As the man looked at the women in the surroundings, he could see similar anxious expressions painting their faces as well.

"..."

The man, at her question, didn't reply for a second, wondering what he should answer, but soon he just shook his head.

"Let's go home," the man said lightly, pulling away to step into the car. What he would do was not fixed, as there can always be changes, so he preferred not saying anything regarding this matter, and the girls, sensing that, silently followed behind, entering the car.

Home. Yeah, they were going home.

But before they could reach their destination, the light of the world was extinguished completely.

All fell into silence and darkness. Only the man was left standing in the darkness, without having anything to do.

All he could do was sigh as he found this darkness somewhat warm after being to this place so many times, and after what felt like an eternity, a familiar sound echoed in his ears—

"Hello everyone! I'm Nanako, a trainee with two and a half days of practice. I love singing, dancing, rapping, and basketball. Nyaa!"

The upbeat animal appreciation anthem destined to rule the meme world began to play.

Listening to the familiar music, Fang Haoran, the white-haired man, sighed again. Shifting his gaze from his phone, he turned toward the door, as if expecting something, and just as he had anticipated—

"Fang Haoran! How can you sit here so calmly?!" A sharp feminine voice echoed in his ears, making him shake his head. "Right now, you'd better get up and go to the hospital to apologize to Ye Feng!"

Seeing the familiar figure and hearing the reprimanding words, Fang Haoran simply raised an eyebrow before returning his attention to the wrestling tutorial video he was watching.

"Miss Liu, are you finished?" He questioned without even looking at her, clearly showing his disinterest in whatever the woman was talking about.

She was the first female lead, Liu Quingshuang, his supposed-to-be fiance, yet standing here, yelling orders at him as if he were her dog.

"You—Fang Haoran! What's that supposed to mean?"

The woman, however, was stunned by this uncharacteristic indifference. But it was only for a moment before anger flared in her chest.

"Fang Haoran, can't you stop being unreasonable for once?! Ye Feng is just my student! Just because I tutored him, you had people beat him into the hospital?!" She frowned, her voice raised as she huffed, "Even if I'm your fiancée, you can't do this! Don't I even have this bit of freedom?!"

Her voice was sharp, laced with grievance and indignation.

How could she not feel like this was all injustice when Fang Haoran, her supposed-to-be fiance, was so clingy, demanding, and unreasonable?

Like, all she did was stay back in school for longer than usual to teach some things to a student who was finally turning a good leaf! What was so wrong about that?! Why did Fang Haoran have to beat that student up for just this?!

Was this how petty he was? If yes, then she didn't regret her past actions a bit.

She always thought that Fang Haoran, just like other second-generation rich bastards, was a snotty brat who wouldn't take a single word from someone, and he was just proving her right!

But Fang Haoran's expression remained calm as still water. He picked up the cup of tea placed on his desk, took a sip, and waited for her to finish. Finally, when she was done, he spoke, his tone cool and measured.

"Are you done? Then get out. Stop acting like a shrew—it only makes people think less of your family's upbringing."

His words echoed through the head of the already shocked Lin Quingshuang, making her pause again before her eyes went wide.

"A shrew?!" She was utterly infuriated now.

Fang Haoran, who had always fawned over her, always afraid of displeasing her, had just insulted her so casually?!

And over an incident that was clearly his fault!

What the fuck was he trying to show right now? Did he really think that he was in the right?! Did he think that beasting a student just because he was diligently studying was the right thing? Even if you did it just to satisfy your ego??

"Fang Haoran! If you don't apologize to Ye Feng within three days, we're calling off the engagement!"

Unable to take it anymore, she declared with a threatening look, glaring at Fang Haoran, making it clear that she wasn't playing anymore. Haoran finally turned to look at her, making her raise her nose a bit higher as she saw his lips move.

"Fine. Let's call it off."