Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

He recalled the inexplicable beating three years ago, in which the group specifically kicked him in the groin and left him with the words, "Don't be ungrateful."

It turned out that it wasn't a robbery; someone had deliberately damaged his body so that he would never be able to have his own children, and could only cherish other people's daughters.

He remembered how every time Niu Niu was sick, he would stay up all night carrying her to the hospital. In sub-zero temperatures, he would take off his coat and wrap it around Niu Niu, shivering from the cold himself.

It turns out that the daughter he had doted on for three years was not his child at all.

He recalled how Yuan Qiao would instinctively dodge his advances and say, "You're tired, go to rest early," whenever she was close to him.

It turned out that she wasn't shy; she simply didn't have feelings for him. She belonged to Young Master Ming.

For the past three years, he has lived frugally, even foregoing the cost of a pack of good cigarettes, and used the money he saved to buy clothes for Yuan Qiao and snacks for Niu Niu.

It turns out that all that money eventually became living expenses for Ming Shao's wife and children.

Song Chao suddenly laughed.

The laughter was hoarse, like the rumbling of a broken bellows, with blood and froth gushing from his throat.

He laughed so hard his whole body trembled, his wounds reopened, and tears mixed with blood streamed down his face.

He laughed at himself for being foolish.

Laugh at your own stupidity.

He laughed at himself for living for twenty-seven years, for everything he had desperately tried to protect, only to find it was all a deception from beginning to end.

Liu Lei sat opposite him, watching him smile, his smile growing wider and wider.

He knew that the Song Dynasty's psychological defenses had collapsed.

"What, you've come to a decision now?"

Liu Lei leaned forward, his tone tinged with schadenfreude.

"Do you really think your wife is truly committed to living with you?"

"You think Niu Niu is your daughter?"

"To tell you the truth, the beating you received in the alley three years ago was arranged by Young Master Ming."

"He wants to ruin your body so that you can't have your own children, so that you can only treat his daughter as your treasure and do everything you can to raise his child."

"For the past three years, you've been working like a slave for Young Master Ming."

"The money you earn, the gifts you buy, the house you renovate—it all belongs to Young Master Ming."

"Even your wife is one of Young Master Ming's women."

Every word Liu Lei spoke was like a knife, stabbing deeply into Song Chao's heart.

The laughter from the Song Dynasty stopped.

He looked up, his eyes, swollen to slits, were bloodshot and looked as if they were about to bleed.

"Who is Young Master Ming?"

His voice was calm, eerily calm.

Liu Lei scoffed.

"You don't need to know who Young Master Ming is."

"Just know this: you can never beat him in this lifetime."

"He gives you a home, so you can have a home too."

"He wants you to take the blame now, so you have to obediently take the blame."

"If you know what's good for you, you'll obediently sign the confession and go to jail for three years. When you come out, Young Master Ming might even give you some money so you won't have to worry about food and drink for the rest of your life."

"If you don't know what's good for you, not only will you suffer, but Yuan Qiao and Niu Niu will also be in trouble because of you."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Niu Niu is Young Master Ming's daughter. If you dare to cause trouble, Young Master Ming has plenty of ways to make sure you never see them again."

Song Chao looked at Liu Lei's smug face and watched him utter those insulting words as he opened and closed his mouth.

The last vestige of warmth in his heart shattered completely.

The home he desperately wanted to protect was gone.

The daughter he had loved for three years was not his.

His wife, whom he had loved for three years, had been lying to him from the very beginning.

What's the point of him living?

For the past twenty-seven years, he has lived like a joke.

He was beaten, cheated, made a scapegoat, cheated on for three years, and raised someone else's child for three years.

In the end, even going to jail was just to clean up other people's messes.

A wave of overwhelming despair washed over him, engulfing him completely.

He leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, his breathing becoming faint.

The stark white light shone on his face, which was completely disfigured, yet remained expressionless.

Only tears kept welling up from under her swollen eyelids, streaming down her cheeks and hitting the cold handcuffs with a soft thud.

Seeing his expression, Liu Lei knew that the time was almost right.

He took out a confession from the folder, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Song Chao.

The confession was filled with dense writing, detailing how Song Chao had stolen and replaced the steel bars at the construction site, how he had accepted 30,000 yuan in bribes, and how he had taken full responsibility for the major safety accident.

Below is an empty space for signing, with ink pads placed next to it.

"Sign it."

Liu Lei handed the pen to Song Chao, his tone carrying a hint of charity.

"If you sign, you won't have to be beaten anymore."

"Yuan Qiao and Niu Niu can live a peaceful life. Young Master Ming will not mistreat them."

"After you go in, we will also talk to the detention center to make sure no one bullies you."

"If you behave well, you can get out in two and a half years. After that, you can find a job and live a good life."

Song Chao's gaze fell on the confession, the densely packed words looking like ants crawling all over it, making his eyes ache.

He remembered three years ago, when he knelt downstairs at Yuan Qiao's place, clutching the ring he had bought with six months' worth of savings, and told her that he would treat her well for the rest of his life.

He remembered the first time Niu Niu called him "Dad," he was so happy that he jumped around three times on the construction site and almost fell off the scaffolding.

He recalled how grateful he was when Zhang Jinshan gave him 30,000 yuan, thinking that Mr. Zhang was a good person.

He remembered Lao Zhou patting him on the shoulder and saying, "General Manager Zhang sent you a 500 yuan red envelope."

These people, one by one, conspired to crush his life and trample it underfoot.

The person he thought was his benefactor was actually his enemy who wanted to send him to prison.

The family he thought were his relatives were actually liars in cahoots with his enemies.

The happiness he imagined was a carefully crafted deception.

Song Chao slowly raised his hand and took the pen.

The pen is very light, but it feels as heavy as a thousand pounds when you hold it in your hand.

His hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't hold the pen several times.

A victorious smile appeared on Liu Lei's face.

He knew that as long as the truth was revealed, the Song Dynasty would definitely collapse and sign the treaty.

This kind of honest person lives their whole life for that false sense of family warmth.

Now that warmth has shattered, his spine has broken as well.

Song Chao held the pen and slowly moved it to the signature column of the confession.

He suddenly stopped when the pen tip was only one centimeter away from the paper.

He looked up at Liu Lei.

The emptiness and despair that had filled those swollen, slit-like eyes were gone.

Instead, there was an almost insane hatred.

Like a fire buried in ashes, it finally bursts into flames, threatening to burn the whole world to ashes.