My father's inheritance is my mortal enemy.

On the phone, Ning Zhi chuckled: "That's true... What could Young Master Zhou, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, possibly know?"

"Zhou Yanshao, I'll tell you what Li Bo wouldn't tell you today—Lin Yi'an was a girl, and she died long ago! Li Bo isn't a member of the Li family at all, and he's not Lin Yi'an! He was tricked by your father into going to the deep mountains and forests to replace Lin Yi'an under the guise of someone else's adoption!"

"In the eyes of your Zhou family, Li Bo is just a knife; if he's handy, use him well; if he's not, he wouldn't have survived this long!"

Zhou Yanshao's gaze was sinister, his chest filled with intense emotions, making it difficult for him to breathe. He took a breath, "What did you say...?"

"What? Now you're pretending not to understand?" Ning Zhi said coldly, "If you want to know, go back to the capital."

……

When Zhou Yanshao came out of the training ground, his face was more solemn than ever before. On his way back to the dormitory, he had to pass by the door. Zhou Yanshao was carrying his skis, which were very heavy and he could hardly lift them.

As he passed the security booth, a security guard came over and called him to a stop.

"Yan Shao... um... Shu Lang, the president of Zhihuai, is looking for you. He's been waiting at the door for a long time..."

Zhou Yanshao frowned and glanced towards the door.

Shu Lang stood in the wind and saw Zhou Yanshao in the distance. He called out, "Let's talk, Young Master Zhou."

Shu Lang and Zhou Yanshao sat down in the coffee shop near the entrance, and Shu Lang went straight to the point: "Young Master Zhou, is President Bo here with you?"

"..."

"I couldn't get through on the phone, and Ning Zhi came to Huai to find me..." Shu Lang sighed slightly, "I don't know why you're keeping President Bo locked up, but there are some things I should tell you."

"What?"

"Seven years ago, Mr. Bo asked me to do something—to send you a cake every July 8th. In these seven years, you have never accepted this cake."

Shu Lang sent cakes to Zhou Yanshao, but Zhou Yanshao never accepted them.

Athletes can't just eat out whenever they want, and he doesn't like birthday cakes either.

Zhou Yanshao's eyes were deep. In fact, he received many gifts every year on his birthday. Many powerful figures in the capital would send gifts all the way to Northern Europe to curry favor. He never paid attention to the cake that was never signed.

Shu Lang added, "Seven years ago, Mr. Bo didn't go to the Winter Olympics because of an accident."

Zhou Yanshao asked in a deep voice, "A car accident?"

Shu Lang lowered his head and smiled: "Is that how he explained it to you?"

Shu Lang knew that Li Bo could keep the truth hidden forever; no one knew how to lie better than Li Bo.

Shu Lang told Zhou Yanshao the truth: "It wasn't a car accident; it was much more serious than that."

"He was locked up, beaten, and tortured in an abandoned cold storage warehouse in Northern Europe for nearly a week. When he came out, he had broken ribs, facial injuries, and multiple wounds on his body that needed stitches. He hadn't eaten much for a long time and was barely clinging to life."

Even now, Shu Lang still can't imagine how Li Bo endured that week in the cold, dark warehouse.

Zhou Yanshao's breathing stopped.

Shu Lang continued, "This was part of President Bo's plan. He wanted to find out the cause of your mother's death back then, and he was willing to get involved himself. At the time, the only person who knew the truth was Master Fei. Master Fei tried to dissuade him, but President Bo insisted."

Seven years ago, Li Bo never imagined he would leave Northern Europe alive.

"After that, you probably didn't see Uncle Xiang again, right?"

Zhou Yanshao felt his head buzzing and couldn't squeeze out a single word.

"Actually, I shouldn't be telling you these things. After all, like President Bo, I'm just a pawn in Mr. Zhou Huiyuan's game to pave the way for you," Shu Lang said. "Moreover, this is a private matter between you and President Bo. But after thinking it over, I always feel that President Bo doesn't seem to have many friends. He's always alone, and no one will speak up for him, stand up for him, or defend him."

"Now, I am Shu Lang, but Shu Lang is Li Bo's friend."

"As a friend, I hope Li Bo is doing better; he deserves to be doing better."

Good people will be rewarded.

Zhou Yanshao has the right to know about all that Li Bo has done.

Zhou Yanshao sat in the coffee shop, looking out the window. It had started snowing outside. He remembered that during his first year in Northern Europe, it often snowed there, and he would always leave the base and sit in the coffee shop at the entrance for a long time.

He kept wondering if Li Bo would secretly come to see him.

He never came to see Li Bo once. It turned out that it wasn't that Li Bo didn't want to come to see him, but that he couldn't.

He was always blaming Li Bo for being heartless, for not replying to his messages, for not caring about his own life and death...

Zhou Yanshao now understands that during his difficult days, Li Bo's mere existence was a luxury.

Zhou Yanshao sighed, lowered his head, and said, "I understand."

Shu Lang sat with Zhou Yanshao in the coffee shop for a long time. It was getting dark when Shu Lang saw that Zhou Yanshao still hadn't left, so he left first, leaving Zhou Yanshao alone.

Zhou Yanshao sat for another hour before returning to the Nordic base.

The wind was cold along the way. He was shocked by his father's methods, surprised by Li Bo's background, and even more so by heartache and guilt. Zhou Yanshao felt guilty for all the harsh words he had said to Li Bo, guilty for being so ignorant back then, for his small act of kindness that had allowed Li Bo to stay in the capital.

Li Bo was originally going to leave...

On his way back, Zhou Yanshao bought food for Li Bo.

Li Bo was locked to the bed in the bedroom, wearing an eye mask. When he heard the door open, he slightly sat up and asked, "You're back?"

Zhou Yanshao remained silent, only looking at Li Bo, whom he had tormented beyond recognition, and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

Zhou Yanshao put down the food, opened the container, and fed Li Bo his dinner.

Zhou Yanshao didn't say a word, but his eyes never left Li Bo for even an inch.

Li Bo's back was thin and frail. Every time he held him in his arms, he was afraid of hurting him... Shouldn't someone like that be most afraid of pain? How could he have survived a week in the warehouse? In the end, he said nothing. If it weren't for meeting a doctor from the same hospital, if it weren't for Shu Lang, Zhou Yanshao might have secretly resented Li Bo for the rest of his life.

"Li Bo..." Zhou Yanshao called out to him in a hoarse voice.

"Um?"

Li Bo realized something was wrong and reached out to remove his blindfold, but Zhou Yanshao pressed down on his wrist, his knuckles trembling slightly. "Don't take it off."

Li Bo let go.

Tears welled up in Zhou Yanshao's eyes. He rarely cried, and he would never cry in front of Li Bo.

Zhou Yanshao reached out, "Let me hug you."

Zhou Yanshao felt ridiculous. He used to think that he was very good to Li Bo, and that Li Bo was heartless, blind, and had fallen for someone else. Now he realized that he was not good at all.

Li Bo would rather fall in love with someone else; at least that way, he wouldn't have to suffer so much.