The loud clang of the cell gate echoed through the entire floor.
"Inmate 012, co out."
Lin Zhe, who was sitting on the floor in his prison uniform, looked up with hope.
Had his parents finally found a way to get him out?
His cellmate spat on the ground. "Rich people always get it easy."
Lin Zhe’s face twisted with disgust. Since he believed he wouldn’t be staying here any longer, he sneered at the speaker. "And filthy people like you are always unlucky. Enjoy your ti here—it’s where you belong."
His cellmate, enraged, lunged at him, but the guards quickly restrained the man with force.
Lin Zhe smirked and followed the prison guards, the proud look on his face returning. Despite losing this ti because of that fool Xingyu, he believed he could turn things around. First, he needed to recover the money that had been taken from him.
His gaze grew manic. This ti, once he was back on his feet, he would skip all the unnecessary steps and hire a hitman. He would eliminate that traitor Xingyu first, and then Lin Sanju.
Once the official heir was gone, the old man would have no choice but to reinstate him as the only capable leader left in the family.
The guard in front of him stopped at a room and opened the door. He motioned for Lin Zhe to enter.
Lin Zhe stepped inside, still smiling and plotting his next moves. But his smile froze the mont he saw an unexpected figure in the room.
"Why...why is he here? Where are my parents? Did my father send you?"
Fei Chuan blew out a puff of smoke from his cigar. "You really have lost your mind."
Lin Zhe frowned. He despised Fei Chuan. Ever since Fei Chuan had appeared and beco Lin Sanju’s powerful ally, everything had fallen apart. It was Fei Chuan’s intervention at the Royal Banquet that had solidified Lin Sanju’s position as heir. And now, his very presence here only spelled trouble.
"What are you doing here?" Lin Zhe demanded.
Fei Chuan took a step closer. Without warning, the two guards flanking Lin Zhe grabbed his arms and forced him to kneel.
Lin Zhe’s eyes widened in shock. "What are you doing?! Let go!"
Fei Chuan held the nearly finished cigar in his hand, its ember glowing faintly. Without a word, he pressed the burning tip onto Lin Zhe’s forehead.
"Ahhhhh!" Lin Zhe scread in agony. He thrashed, but the guards held him firmly in place. "Let go! Damn you!"
Fei Chuan discarded the cigar onto the floor, leaning down to examine the fresh burn mark on Lin Zhe’s forehead.
"I don’t plan to smoke since I still feel sick. But you made ." Fei Chuan exhaled a faint puff of smoke, his tone low and chilling. "Just be grateful I didn’t poke it in your eye. However..."
He gestured to Assistant Cheng, who stood silently by the door. Cheng Li stepped forward, carrying a pair of large pliers, and handed them to Fei Chuan.
Fei Chuan, in turn, extended the pliers to Lin Zhe.
"I’ll give you a choice," he said calmly. "Break your ten fingers, cut off your tongue, and spend your twenty years here quietly—or die slowly and painfully."
Lin Zhe was still reeling from the searing pain on his forehead, his rage battling against the fear rising within him. His gaze flickered to the pliers, then back to Fei Chuan’s cold, unwavering eyes. This wasn’t a bluff.
But Lin Zhe wasn’t ready to give up. Not yet. "I may have been banished from the Lin family, but my parents will avenge . You won’t get away with this."
"Your parents?" Fei Chuan chuckled, a low, dismissive sound. "They can’t even save themselves, let alone you. Because of you, they’re as good as holess."
Lin Zhe’s eyes widened in disbelief. "...What?" His voice cracked.
"You heard ." Fei Chuan stepped closer, his tone steady and rciless. "They’ve lost everything. Their assets, their reputation—gone. Thanks to you. Do you really think your heartless grandfather would let them off after you dragged the entire family into ruin with drugs?"
Lin Zhe froze, his mind racing. He couldn’t deny the possibility. He knew Old Master Lin’s ruthlessness firsthand. The old man didn’t tolerate betrayal or failure.
It hit him like a punch to the gut. Days had passed since his imprisonnt, and his parents hadn’t reached out. Not even once.
He swallowed hard, his thoughts spiraling. If his parents were truly out of the picture...what would beco of him?
Would he really have to spend the next twenty years rotting in this filthy prison?
Lin Zhe’s breathing grew uneven as his eyes darted back to Fei Chuan, who stared at him with cold detachnt.
Then, a thought struck him.
This man...why was he here? What did he want?
He was already at rock bottom, stripped of his power and connections. Why did he visit him and do all of this?
"...Why? Why are you doing this?" Lin Zhe’s voice trembled with a mix of fear and confusion. "Is this revenge for Lin Sanju?"
Fei Chuan leaned down until their faces were inches apart, his dark eyes boring into Lin Zhe’s.
"No." His voice was soft but deadly. "I’m here because you dared to touch what’s mine."
Lin Zhe blinked, stunned. "...W-what?"
Fei Chuan shook his head slowly, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "The only reason I’m giving you a choice is because the outco benefited in the end. But I can’t forgive you for dragging her into your sches."
Fei Chuan’s words hung in the air like a death sentence.
"I’ve hired an inquisitor," Fei Chuan continued, straightening to his full height. "He’s waiting just outside. His body count is high, and I hear his victims’ screams fill the room for two days and two nights. The choice is yours."
With that, Fei Chuan turned and walked toward the door.
Lin Zhe stared after him, his mind reeling.
’I can’t forgive you for dragging her into your sche...’
’....her.’
The word echoed in his head, unlocking a flood of mories.
Scenes began to replay in his mind—the monts where everything started to unravel.
It wasn’t Lin Sanju or even Fei Chuan’s intervention that had dood him. It was her.
The realization struck him like a hamr to the chest.
Lin Zhe’s face twisted with despair. Slowly, his trembling hands reached for the pliers.
That day, Lin Zhe broke his own fingers, severed his own tongue, and lived out his twenty-year sentence in silence.
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