Countless ghosts surged toward the orphanage, and terrified screams broke the deadly silence. He clearly recognized the voice as that of the director, whom he called “Mother.”
He ran toward the main gate like a madman, but no matter how he ran, he was always turning in place, just a few steps away from the gate. He was trapped outside by a ghost wall, forced to watch helplessly as ghosts engulfed the orphanage.
“No-!!!”
Gao Gusheng’s eyes were about to burst from their sockets. He didn’t understand why he could suddenly see the ghost shadows that were previously invisible to him. He couldn’t think of anything else-his mind was filled with only one thought:
[I attracted the ghosts. I’m the one who harmed everyone.]
He struggled and roared, but to no avail. Gao Shi could see the three flames of Gao Gusheng’s spirit suddenly flare up, then grow increasingly weaker, like fuel being consumed.
The ghosts tore at him, attempting to drag him into an endless hell.
However, at that moment, someone appeared before him and asked softly, “What’s wrong with you?”
Gao Gusheng raised his head with blurry eyes and saw a man.
The man was extremely handsome with a noble bearing. He wore a black custom-tailored suit-a luxury that Gao Gusheng couldn’t afford even if he worked for decades.
It made one feel inferior by comparison.
However, all of this paled in comparison to the golden light surrounding the man.
The golden light on his body was like some kind of weapon; ghosts scattered at its touch, and everywhere it reached became illuminated.
Gao Gusheng looked at him as if seeing a savior. He grabbed the man’s hand desperately and pleaded, “Can-can you help, the orphanage, go…”
He was incoherent and could only grip the man’s hand tightly.
A trace of darkness flashed in the man’s eyes, though his tone remained gentle. “Do you want me to donate to the orphanage?”
“No, no…” Gao Gusheng shook his head frantically, afraid his greed would drive the man away. He pointed at the orphanage gate, his voice trembling, “Could you just go in and walk around, take a look?”
Gao Gusheng knew his request was strange, but he had no other choice. He desperately emptied his pockets, offering all his money to the man. “Please…”
The man looked at the worn bills but didn’t take them. He simply said, “It’s just a walk around, after all.”
The man walked toward the orphanage with Gao Gusheng beside him. They easily entered through the gate. Wherever the man passed, the ghosts dispersed. By the time the man had completed his tour of the orphanage, the entire place had returned to its usual tranquility.
The director and the children woke from their nightmares, and the previous terror seemed like nothing more than a long bad dream.
After touring the orphanage, the man prepared to leave. Before leaving, he gave Gao Gusheng a business card that stated his identity.
Wanxing Entertainment CEO, Li Mochen.
Li Mochen said, “You have good qualities. Have you considered entering the entertainment industry?”
Gao Gusheng recalled the gazes of others, mixed with malice and desire, and couldn’t help feeling afraid. But this man had saved the orphanage. If entering the entertainment industry could repay him, then perhaps…
The man didn’t wait for Gao Gusheng to respond and said, “No need to answer me now. Think it over carefully. I respect your opinion and don’t want you to choose to join my company out of a sense of obligation to repay me.”
Li Mochen spoke so gently that Gao Gusheng couldn’t help but tear up.
This kind of respect, treating him as a normal person, was something he hadn’t experienced for a long time.
Li Mochen got into his car and looked down at him. “If you want to come, call me. If not, that’s fine too. I just appreciate talent when I see it.”
The car carried Li Mochen away, but Gao Gusheng stood in place, watching the direction the car had gone for a long time.
At that moment, he believed Li Mochen was his salvation.
Gao Gusheng seriously considered whether to enter the entertainment industry. In truth, following his own wishes, he didn’t want to.
From a young age, he had been surrounded by gazes full of malice and desire. He feared being surrounded by people and feared the stage. After being maliciously attacked by Wen Liang’s admirers, he became thoroughly afraid of interacting with people and even more reluctant to be exposed to public view.
Becoming a celebrity meant exposure and commentary were inevitable, and even some privacy would be dug up-just thinking about it was suffocating.
But Li Mochen had saved the orphanage, even if Li Mochen himself didn’t know it, and Gao Gusheng truly had no way to repay him.
Li Mochen and he were from completely different worlds. Besides joining Li Mochen’s company and entering the entertainment industry to help him make money, Gao Gusheng couldn’t think of any other way to repay him.
But before Gao Gusheng could decide, news came that the orphanage was to be acquired.
Gao Gusheng had never heard of the company acquiring the orphanage, but he recognized the leader who came to inspect the environment.
When he was very young, he had been adopted. The family that adopted him was actually an organization that sold children to wealthy foreigners with special preferences. The biggest “supplier” for this organization was the company where this leader had once worked.
That year, he was adopted by the organization and, after experiencing a dark year, finally escaped.
It happened to coincide with a crackdown, and the organization disappeared.
He thought the organization had been punished, but he never expected that the person in charge had changed his identity and reappeared before the public.
He couldn’t let the orphanage be acquired!
However, this orphanage was established by a small company. When the orphanage was founded, the small company was thriving and established the orphanage to give back to society. But in recent years, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Selling the orphanage would both rid them of a project that only cost money without bringing returns and provide a large sum to revive the company-why wouldn’t they sell?
Report to the police?
For something that happened ten years ago, he had no evidence.
Could he really have someone arrested based solely on his word?
What could he do?
At that time, the only solution Gao Gusheng could think of was to buy the orphanage himself.
He ran to many places and took a long leave to find people who had once left the orphanage, trying to raise money.
But most people couldn’t help much; they were also just struggling at the subsistence level.
Or perhaps send the orphanage children to other orphanages first?
But there were few orphanages in the small city where Gao Gusheng lived, and the other orphanages already had many children and strained resources, making it impossible to take in so many more children.
There was nowhere to turn for help.
Gao Gusheng thought of Li Mochen.
He dialed Li Mochen’s number, and the voice on the other end was magnetic and charming.
“Hello?”
…
Gao Gusheng entered Wanxing Entertainment and became a performer.
Li Mochen simply bought the orphanage, telling Gao Gusheng that the Li family had an annual donation quota, and it didn’t matter where it was spent.
Gao Gusheng understood that it did matter.
He kept his gratitude in his heart and practiced with all his might. With his appearance, he quickly rose to fame.
It seemed like everything had gotten better.
Until he inadvertently learned that the people who initially tried to acquire the orphanage were actually Li Mochen’s subordinates.
All of this was just a trap designed to make him willingly walk into it.
Gao Shi watched as Gao Gusheng stood before Li Mochen with reddened eyes, while Li Mochen completely tore off his facade of kindness, his smile contemptuous.
His actions were extremely domineering.
“What can you do? You’ve already signed the contract. If you breach it, you’ll need to pay 300 million in penalties.”
“And what about the orphanage? Do you want to watch it be acquired?”
He suddenly pulled Gao Gusheng onto his lap and gripped his chin. “Be good, don’t make me angry.”
Gao Shi didn’t know whether Li Mochen was angry, but he, watching everything from a god’s perspective, was nearly furious to death.
His temple throbbed, until he smelled a sandalwood fragrance and suddenly had a moment of inspiration, kicking Li Mochen.
Seeing Li Mochen kicked eight meters away by his foot, Gao Shi felt completely refreshed, but his anger wasn’t fully dissipated, so he followed with a punch.
It was thoroughly satisfying.
By the end, all Gao Shi could think was: Isn’t beating this bastard much more satisfying than hitting a punching bag?
The dream gradually faded to darkness, and Gao Shi moved his body, knowing he was about to wake up.
However, he didn’t regain consciousness but was instead drawn into another dream.
He was wearing elaborate ancient clothing and even had long hair. The room before him was magnificent, with some small objects that were unheard of and unseen even to his knowledge-one glance was enough to tell how expensive they were.
But before him was a pot of flowers.
The flowers grew in a peculiar way, actually transparent like crystal, yet soft like ordinary flowers.
Only at the stamen and near the roots was there a touch of red.
The stamen was crimson, while the stem was a very light watermelon red, quite beautiful.
He heard himself say, “How curious, when did you develop such leisure to start growing flowers?”
As he spoke, he gently brushed the flower’s leaves with his hand. “Spirit flowers, born once every 100,000 years, yet you managed to find one.”
He turned his head and saw a person wearing a black robe embroidered with large golden cloud patterns, sitting at a desk, reviewing something.
The gold and black were noble colors that few could carry off, but they suited this person perfectly, not only conveying nobility but also giving him an immortal aura.
He felt that “he” was in a good mood, leaning against the desk and playing with the ornament hanging from the person’s hair.
The person raised his head helplessly, and Gao Shi’s eyes met his.
It was Ying Bujie’s face.
##
YOOOOO I BET YOU THEY USED TO BE PAST LOVERS
THIS PAST LOVERS TROPE HITS MY WEAK SPOT SO MUCH