The real young master thought he was hated by everyone

Xue Ce found himself a bit unlucky lately.

To be precise, he believed his misfortune started on the day of the report.

Not only was he assigned a dorm room with some outsider eager to squeeze into S City, but also with that Xie Zhiyuan—the Xu family’s eldest son’s cousin—or possibly cousin. 

Or maybe some illegitimate child kept hidden away.

He wasn’t clear on the exact relationship, but every time he thought about the police who came that day to reprimand them, pressing down on his head while scolding him, especially when they scolded Lin Mo, he still felt waves of persistent, unending bad luck.

And then there was the cleaner his family hired.

It was clearly her responsibility to hand-wash his clothes and backpack, yet she didn’t even notice the big fountain pen tucked inside, throwing it away along with other scattered items as garbage without checking first, causing him a great deal of embarrassment.

Even though the incident didn’t affect his family’s business, and his father hadn’t heard a whisper of it or come to confront him, Xue Ce still felt unlucky.

Now, whenever he went out to eat, onlookers would point and whisper.

There were even shameless people trying to scam him, accusing him of hitting them and demanding compensation.

When a person is down on their luck, even drinking cold water makes your teeth ache—it was as if every time he went to the mall, a clueless passerby would step on his feet multiple times.

The only good news recently was that although he couldn’t hold his head up in front of his classmates, he managed to get a girlfriend from S City who remained loyal to him despite the rumors and gossip.

Through his girlfriend, he also met a bunch of good brothers who truly understood him.

Today, he had been specially invited to join those brothers for a drink.

Although he personally preferred staying at his villa or a winery in the suburbs, enjoying the scenery with a glass of fine wine, he had to give his friends some face since they had invited him so many times.

Besides, he had to admit that he felt completely relaxed around them.

Even though these brothers didn’t come from particularly notable backgrounds, they had sharp eyes. They knew exactly how much his casually exposed cufflinks or his sunglasses for sun protection were worth and appreciated his excellent taste.

**[Galloping_Ce]: I have a feeling that Xie Heng might really be an illegitimate child of the Xie family—the kind you can’t bring to light.**

He messaged his girlfriend in the car, becoming more convinced the more he thought about it.

**[Galloping_Ce]: That day, he even forced Old Wu—my old advisor to apologize, saying I falsely accused him, and yet, all this time, my family hasn’t had any trouble.**

It wasn’t that he was hoping for trouble at home, but in the days right after he managed to get himself transferred to a different hospital, Xue Ce had been on edge, fearing he’d get a call from home at any moment.

But it had been nearly half a month now, and from what he had managed to find out subtly, the connection between his family and the Xie family hadn’t broken. In fact, they had even established ties with another supposed bigwig from the southern region.

His dad’s mood had been so good recently that he was about to buy him the Rolex he’d had his eye on for a while.

**[Galloping_Ce]: …Do you think it’s possible that he’s just an illegitimate child who can be appeased with a little money?**

He was almost annoyed at himself for getting so muddled when he first saw Xie Duzhi’s account, completely thrown off by the “brother” title.

Wasn’t that just a label you could change at will? If he had his account, he’d also brazenly call him “brother.”

**[Galloping_Ce]: That would make sense of his unwillingness to talk about his family background.**

**[Galloping_Ce]: Tsk.**

Regardless of whether he was an illegitimate child or not, Xue Ce still felt that his roommate, Xie Heng, definitely had something wrong with his head.

It was Xie Heng who had intentionally tried to make things difficult, leading to his misunderstandings.

His girlfriend seemed busy and hadn’t checked her phone.

Much later, just as the driver informed him they were nearly at the bar, Xue Ce finally got a late reply.

She sent a cute hug emoji and reminded him not to drink too much.

His heart warmed, feeling she was truly considerate.

**[Galloping_Ce]: When the National Day holiday is over, I’ll get you a new bag. The one you’re using is a bit outdated. :)**

His girlfriend had previously given him an expensive tie, so it was only natural for him to gift her a bag.

After getting out of the car, he realized the driver had stopped at the entrance of a grimy, chaotic alley, and his face didn’t look too pleased.

He sent his location to the group chat, asking if there was a mistake, only to get confirmation that he was indeed at the right place.

“You probably don’t know this, but there’s a saying that the best hide in plain sight. This bar here is considered the most impressive in S City—ordinary people can’t even get in to spend money!”

“Since you’re a brother, we asked you to come and broaden your horizons.”

The leader sent two voice messages back-to-back, the background filled with noise—screams and heavy metal music.

Xue Ce’s hesitant heart was stirred by the word “threshold.”

These friends of his had never lied to him, and they did have access to some channels that weren’t exactly aboveboard.

**[Galloping_Ce]: I’m on my way, today’s bill is on me, don’t rush.**

He quickly replied, slipped his phone back into his pocket, and walked into the alley.

If he really could connect with the people above the leader, then the cost of a night’s drinks… even if it was tens of thousands, it wouldn’t matter much.

With that in mind, he wasn’t paying attention and suddenly tripped over something on the ground, stumbling forward.

Before he could regain his footing, a heavy boot landed on his tailbone with a force that felt like it might break his bones.

Stars danced in front of his eyes from the pain, and before he could react to what was happening, someone stomped on his wrist.

At the same time, something cold and heavy, accompanied by a whistling wind, smashed into his thigh.

“Ahhh!” He couldn’t control his expressions or words, his mind was filled with nothing but pain, and snot and tears flowed together.

He had never been this humiliated in his life.

He tried to struggle and get up, only to be kicked back down, his head slammed heavily against the ground.

There was the metallic taste of blood in his nose, mingling with the stench of rotting garbage; he felt as if mud had gotten into his mouth.

From the moment he was attacked, he had no idea who was doing this to him.

“I don’t really want to hear your voice.”

A voice spoke above his head, “You’re too stupid, do you understand what I mean…?”

Xue Ce felt his hand being crushed against the ground, as if they were trying to press it flat.

Fear, panic, confusion… a torrent of emotions clouded his mind.

A weak, instinctive cry of pain slipped out from between his teeth.

In the next second, his face was yanked up, and a pair of pliers with a cold, hard gleam forced their way into his mouth, brutally yanking out a molar.

“I thought I said I didn’t want to hear your voice?”

“If your teeth can’t teach you a lesson, then it’ll be your tongue. If that doesn’t work, then your vocal cords.”

Xue Ce was in so much pain that he couldn’t even open his eyes; all he could do was nod frantically while searching for the source of the voice through the narrow slit clouded with tears.

Through the watery haze, he saw a figure standing over him in white, but before he could make out any details, his head was shoved back down.

“By the way, you don’t deserve to look at me. I don’t like your gaze.”

The person said this.

Xue Ce’s phone, which had been in his pocket, was taken away, unlocked using his fingerprint, and a new password was set.

The alley was silent for what felt like a long time—so long that he almost thought the attackers had left.

He tried to get up; no matter what, he needed to find a way home, yes, he also had to call the police—there must be cameras nearby, he had already memorized the ringleader’s features!

Just as he was about to move—

The clear sound of a bone breaking reached his ears.

The sound had come from his other leg.

He completely lost the ability to think, forgetting even the previous threats.

He screamed without any dignity, feeling that only by doing so could the searing pain be alleviated, even if just for a moment.

“I still don’t understand why someone as worthless as you could catch his eye, why he’d take you so seriously, and even get angry over it?”

“—Even I.”

At this point, the voice suddenly paused.

Xue Ce heard a very soft, almost gentle laugh.

“…Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, there’s plenty of time, no need to rush.”

After that laugh, the tone turned gentle, but Xue Ce felt himself trembling even more.

He felt like he was facing a cold, slimy snake, staring down its prey.

“Pull out all his teeth, and break one of his arms.”

The snake hissed.

Before he completely lost consciousness, he heard a final warning, almost a threat.

“You’d better not let anyone know what happened today, and don’t even think about getting your account back.”

“Your family just caught hold of a new big ship, betting everything on it, right?”

“Let me give you a hint—my last name is…”