The stage lights suddenly brightened again. Shi Niannian blinked, getting a clear view of the face just inches away. The young man’s face showed no expression, only his jaw was tightened, his dark, dense eyelashes hanging down.

Shi Niannian’s breath caught slightly.

Jiang Wang finally straightened up, looked at her for a while, then leaned back against the chair, a low laugh rippling from his throat.

Shi Niannian lowered her hand that had been covering her lips. There was a wet mark on her palm.

This person… bit her finger.

Making her fingertip still feel a bit numb.

“Here.” Jiang Wang extended his hand toward her.

“What?”

“Want to wipe it?”

“…”

Shi Niannian was speechless. She slowly wiped the wetness from her palm onto his sleeve.

Suddenly, the light beside them dimmed slightly, and a male voice sounded from above: “Jiang Wang.”

Shi Niannian was startled. She turned around and saw the formally dressed man who had been sitting in the first row earlier. Jiang Wang’s features resembled his.

The man glanced at Shi Niannian and said to Jiang Wang: “Come with me.”

The young man’s expression was indiscernible. Many people from the front rows were looking in their direction.

Shi Niannian very lightly tugged at the corner of his clothes. Jiang Wang lowered his eyes, curled his lips at her, and said softly: “It’s fine.”

He stood up, his tall figure blocking the light that had been falling on Shi Niannian’s face.

She took off Jiang Wang’s jacket to give it back to him, but he didn’t take it, just went with the man.

That man was Jiang Wang’s father, Shi Niannian knew this.

The man who had beaten Jiang Wang.

Shi Niannian didn’t understand why there would be such fathers in this world. Her parents weren’t particularly good to her either, but they weren’t like Jiang Wang’s father.

Jiang Wang… was very good.

She felt heartbroken for him.

She couldn’t focus on the stage performance anymore. Xu Ningqing and the others hadn’t returned yet. After hesitating for a while, Shi Niannian stood up, tilted the light sign to the ground, and followed in the direction Jiang Wang had left.

It was quite quiet outside the hall, with only the sound of the performance coming from inside. The night sky was serene and vast, like a sheet of paper dyed black with ink.

The wind was cold.

Shi Niannian tightened Jiang Wang’s jacket around herself.

She looked around but couldn’t find Jiang Wang. There were only a few people in performance costumes going in and out of the hall. Suddenly, the phone in her pocket rang.

She paused. Since she had to give a speech on stage, she hadn’t brought her phone. It was Jiang Wang’s phone in his jacket pocket. The caller ID showed “Xu Ningqing.”

Shi Niannian hesitated, looked around again, and then answered: “Hello?”

“Where are you?” It was Jiang Wang’s voice.

“…Outside.”

“At the hall entrance?”

“Yes.”

“Wait for me a bit,” he said.

Then the call was disconnected. Shi Niannian zipped up the jacket, raising the collar to block the cold wind, tucking her chin inside.

She waited quietly for a moment, then heard footsteps behind her, hurried steps. She turned her head.

Jiang Wang had just turned the corner and come out of the door when he saw her. Her black hair was blown by the wind against her fair neck, a stark contrast of black and white. She was bundled up, only showing a pair of clear, dark eyes.

His heart beat faster a couple of times as he walked up to her.

“Why did you come out?” he asked.

“To get… some air.”

Shi Niannian tilted her head up, staring at him. She didn’t know how to hide her feelings, looking at him with focus and care, her slender, fragile neck forming a beautiful arc.

Jiang Wang lowered his eyes: “What are you looking at?”

She suddenly shifted her gaze away: “Nothing.”

He smiled nonchalantly: “Checking if he hit me?”

“Ah.” She admitted, nodding slightly. “Did he?”

“No,” he said.

Shi Niannian didn’t quite believe him. The light was dim here, making it hard to see clearly. She was also a head shorter than Jiang Wang, so even looking up, she could only see his chin.

Jiang Wang reached out his hand and touched her chin: “Don’t believe me?”

She didn’t speak, just stood on her tiptoes.

Jiang Wang suddenly bent down, getting closer to her.

Because of this movement, Shi Niannian suddenly held her breath, her eyelashes fluttering rapidly.

The young man’s hot breath and the faint smell of alcohol from his body enveloped her completely, almost melting her. Under the street light, she could see every detail of his suddenly approaching face.

He looked at her complacently, raising an eyebrow at close range: “Can you see now? I wasn’t hit.”

Shi Niannian suddenly slapped her hand against his forehead with a “pah” sound, pushing his head away a bit. She awkwardly looked to the side. Some passing students had noticed their actions and were giggling.

The little girl had become instantly flustered and acted out, her hair all messed up. Jiang Wang casually fixed his hair a couple of times, not at all bothered: “Let’s go sit over there for a while.”

The two walked one after another to the other side. Behind them was the bright and noisy hall, while the path was dimly lit by street lamps, faithfully standing in the night.

The sports field was surrounded by stands on three sides. Jiang Wang walked up the steps to the top row. Shi Niannian followed slowly behind him.

After Jiang Wang sat down, he patted the space beside him twice, indicating for her to sit as well.

Shi Niannian sat down and handed him his phone.

“Where is he?” she asked.

“Hm?” Jiang Wang leaned back on his hands. “He went back. After all, he’s a board member.”

She was still concerned: “Are you… Okay?”

“Worried about me?”

“Yes.” She responded obediently.

Jiang Wang slowly pushed his tongue against his back teeth, tilting his head to look at her. Though his voice carried a hint of amusement, no emotion could be discerned: “Shi Niannian.”

He called her name and asked.

“I feel like you know a lot of the school bully’s secrets now.”

Who even refers to themselves as a school bully…

Shi Niannian pursed her lips.

She spoke slowly: “I know a little.”

“About what?”

About the man, Jiang Ling once told her, You almost stabbed him to death with a knife.

About who that man we met on the road before really was.

About the “two lives” her aunt mentioned, and who the other person was.

There were many things about Jiang Wang that she didn’t understand, and whether true or false, these things made people wary of him. Many people were afraid of him, not just because of the title “school bully,” but because he had genuinely done some things.

But Shi Niannian wasn’t afraid of him.

She was afraid of quite a few people, like when she feared Cheng Qi and the others who gave her trouble every day, but Jiang Wang was an exception. It seemed like she had never been afraid of him from the beginning.

“Just lots of things,” she counted on her fingers. “Isn’t there… a lot at school?”

“Hasn’t Xu Ningqing told you anything?”

She shook her head: “No.”

“I thought he would warn you about what kind of person I am.” He curved his lips. “This guy is going to great lengths, so I’ll call him brother-in-law in the future.”

Shi Niannian took a moment to realize what he meant by “brother-in-law,” and her face immediately reddened: “What are you talking about?”

Jiang Wang let out a long breath: “Do you want to hear the complete story?”

“Ah.” She was surprised. “I want to, but… if you don’t want to tell…”

“I want to,” he said concisely, rubbing her ear, his arm going around her shoulder. “If I don’t tell you everything beforehand, I’m afraid you’ll be scared and regret it later.”

Jiang Wang was born into what many would consider a silver-spoon family. They were well-off, his father was cultured and refined, his mother gentle and beautiful, and little Jiang Wang was also very good-looking.

Everyone had high hopes for his future.

But Jiang Wang didn’t grow up the way any of them expected.

He learned to fight at a very young age. Even in kindergarten, his parents were called in because of such issues.

Jiang Chen was unwilling to come to these meetings; it was always his mother who came.

His mother was indeed a very gentle woman. She wouldn’t scold Jiang Wang and even understood why he behaved this way.

Each time, she would hold his hand, crouch in front of him, and ask softly: “Will Awang tell mommy why he fought?”

Children of that age fight and argue for simple reasons.

She would say, “Fighting is wrong. Our Awang shouldn’t behave like this anymore. If friends or classmates do something wrong, you should talk to them properly.”

Little Jiang Wang would respond with a cold face: “Dad hits people too.”

The smile on the woman’s face would freeze.

Even as a young child, he knew what kind of person Jiang Chen was.

Not the cultured and refined image known to the outside world. He had severe violent tendencies, and the slightest thing not going his way could make him explode.

His mother had just graduated from university when she married him. She came from an ordinary family. A girl who had never experienced the real world couldn’t resist the romantic pursuit of such a successful man. They quickly established a relationship and got married.

Only afterward did she realize how many people Jiang Chen had deceived with his facade.

When Jiang Wang was young, he witnessed many instances of Jiang Chen beating his mother. Sometimes Jiang Chen would beat him too, and his mother would shield him in her arms.

Shi Niannian frowned as she listened, her heart tightening. Domestic violence was something far removed from her experience.

Her family was distant, without intimate, passionate emotions, but also violent, dramatic conflicts, which is why her temperament was also so mild.

And Jiang Wang’s temperament was probably inseparable from his family background.

The night was quiet, the wind cold. Jiang Wang had rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, a stretch of cold, pale forearm resting on his knee.

“I’ve hated him since I was young, but no one knew what kind of person Jiang Chen was. They just said I wasn’t like him or my mom, that I had gone down the ‘wrong’ path.” His voice was faint, like wind drifting from afar. “So when I went to prison later, people weren’t really surprised.”

“Why… did you go to prison?” Shi Niannian asked.

“The rumor you heard is true. I stabbed a dagger into that man’s abdomen. He was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment and almost didn’t make it.”

Shi Niannian asked again, in a low voice: “Why?”

“Hm?”

“Why did you, did you use a knife like that?”

“You’ve met that person—the man we encountered on the road after Xu Fei’s birthday,” Jiang Wang pressed the base of his palm to his face, his voice weary. “He was the man my mother had an affair with later.”

Shi Niannian didn’t know what to say or how to respond.

“But he only wanted to get money from my mother. He never thought about rescuing her from Jiang Chen’s domestic violence. Gao Sheng… his name was Gao Sheng. He was quite a bastard. That day, I saw him coming out of a hotel with a very young woman, and I couldn’t control myself.”

“What about your mother…?”

Jiang Wang was silent for a moment before speaking with difficulty.

His mother had died not long before that.

Jiang Wang’s mother was a sheltered woman who had never experienced the real world. Years of torment from Jiang Chen had made her timid and insecure. Gao Sheng was a man she had met by chance, who seemed gentle and caring to her, and gradually feelings developed.

She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she didn’t dare mention divorce to Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen would never agree to it. He wouldn’t allow such a blemish in his life.

But what she feared most wasn’t Jiang Chen discovering her affair, but her beloved son finding out.

She didn’t want Jiang Wang to know that his mother was such a woman.

But Jiang Wang found out anyway.

He was returning home one night when he saw his mother with Gao Sheng by the river.

Jiang Wang didn’t care about such matters. Although he was shocked when he first saw them, he truly didn’t mind. He had always detested Jiang Chen and hoped his mother would divorce him soon.

But his mother wasn’t like that. No one expected her reaction would be so extreme.

It’s said that when a person is in a state of extreme shock or fear, they can completely lose control of their body.

His mother fell into the river.

“I couldn’t save her,” he closed his eyes briefly.

“What…”

“When Jiang Chen arrived, Gao Sheng had long disappeared. I didn’t tell him the reason. He thought I was responsible.”

Shi Niannian bit her lip.

What Jiang Wang had just told her was too dramatic and unbelievable, but she finally understood who the other life her aunt had mentioned referred to.

She felt cold: “What did he… do to you?”

Jiang Wang pointed to his ear, downplaying: “This was from his beating.”

Shi Niannian’s eyes widened, feeling one shock after another: “How could he… Doesn’t he have to take responsibility?”

“The medical examination provided evidence, but there was no proof that he did it,” Jiang Wang closed his eyes briefly. “During that time, I was in a daze—the funeral, hospital examinations. Later, when I saw Gao Sheng again, I couldn’t control myself.”

“Jiang Wang…”

“Are you scared?”

She shook her head.

“You’re quite brave,” Jiang Wang pinched her face, smiling indifferently.

“What about you?” Shi Niannian placed her hand on his wrist, her five fingers closing tightly around it. “Are you afraid?”

Perhaps it was because the night was too quiet, or perhaps because he had finally exposed all his hidden secrets for the first time, revealing some softness that had never been shown before.

“Yes,” Jiang Wang said.

Shi Niannian stood up, stood in front of Jiang Wang, and gently, awkwardly embraced his neck.

After a moment’s pause, Jiang Wang hugged her waist, resting his cheek against her abdomen.

Of course, he was afraid.

The cold river water, the deaf ear, the ugly prison.

He was only 17 or 18 years old at that time.

Shi Niannian gently stroked the hair at the back of his neck: “Jiang Wang, raise… your head a bit.”

“Mm.” He lifted his head.

Shi Niannian quickly bent down, her hair brushing against his face.

Her lips collided with Jiang Wang’s, fleeting.

The lazy expression on Jiang Wang’s face instantly disappeared as he straightened his back. In that moment, he tightened his fingers, a tiny electric current rising his spine, causing his whole body to feel a rush.

Shi Niannian stood in front of him, licked her lips, her face burning. Seeing no reaction from Jiang Wang, she became flustered and tried to escape. She had just moved a step when Jiang Wang grabbed her arm.

“What does this mean?” His voice trembled slightly.

“…”

Jiang Wang quickly calmed down, laughed hoarsely, and pulled her back in front of him, looking up and asking softly: “You like me?”

“…” She was shy, raising her hand to cover his mouth.

“Nod,” he said.

Shi Niannian paused for two seconds, then nodded very lightly.

His fingertips applied a bit of pressure as he pulled Shi Niannian’s neck, his palm pressing against it, pulling her down and leaning in to kiss her lips.

Shi Niannian’s eyes widened. Unable to back away with his hand pressing her waist, she whimpered twice, but Jiang Wang silenced her completely.

It was a rough, wet kiss. She uncontrollably trembled. Jiang Wang cupped her face, his thumb brushing over her lips, leaving a moist trace.

He had yearned for too long.

Rationality simply didn’t exist.

Shi Niannian’s arms pressed against his chest, but her strength was nothing compared to his. Her whole body was tense, shoulder blades jutting out. Jiang Wang’s hand on her back caressed along her spine.

The stands around the sports field were quiet and dim. The hall nearby seemed to be hosting a comedy skit, with laughter occasionally erupting, reminding the two how exaggerated and inappropriate their actions were.

After who knows how long, Jiang Wang finally released her.

Shi Niannian was breathing lightly, watching him leisurely lick his wet lips, his eyes dark, yet with a satisfied look.

His voice was hoarse: “Your lips are so soft.”

Shi Niannian pinched him in annoyance and turned to leave.

Jiang Wang followed closely behind her down the steps.

Addiction is a terrible thing.

Just as they reached the bottom step, Jiang Wang pressed her against the wall again and bent down to kiss her.

“Shi Niannian,” he spoke hoarsely between breaths. “I like you.”

He listened to the little girl’s flustered and chaotic breathing. Her full, soft lips were wet, contrasting with her fair skin, looking both innocent and seductive.

Shi Niannian trembled uncontrollably, feeling a bit lost as she was kissed, experiencing strange sensations—uncomfortable and unfamiliar, wanting to push his body away yet feeling empty.

Jiang Wang’s fingertips wiped away the moisture from her lower lip. She instinctively pressed her lips together, accidentally biting his finger.

He laughed indistinctly, bending down, resting his chin on her shoulder, and pulling her into his embrace.

“From now on, I’ll listen to everything you say.”