After being reborn, I became the big boss's darling.

Shen Yanzhi knew from a young age that he was born into the powerful Shen family, but he was just an illegitimate son of his father who was not worthy of being mentioned in public. He could not even step into the Shen family.

All that money, power, and fame belonged to his brother, whom he had never met, and had nothing to do with him.

Although his father treated his mother and son quite well, regularly depositing money into their account each month and visiting them whenever he had free time, he knew that this was all his father could do.

He vowed that one day he would replace his brother and make everyone in the Shen family aware of his existence.

"Shen Ceyan, as long as you agree to my conditions and hand over the shares you hold, I will release her."

"Do you want power, or the woman you love?"

Shen Yanzhi held the dagger to Luo Fanshuang's neck, a hint of madness already showing in his eyes.

Shen Ceyan simply watched all of this coldly.

Luo Fanshuang trembled uncontrollably with fear. "Ayan, save me! He's going to kill me!"

Shen Yanzhi seemed to enjoy Luo Fanshuang's fear, and his smile deepened: "Shen Ceyan, oh, no, I should call you brother now."

"Brother, I advise you to make a choice sooner rather than later, otherwise my conditions may not be so simple."

"Let me go first!" Blood was already seeping from Luo Fanshuang's neck, and her lips were turning pale. "Ayan will definitely give you whatever you want, as long as you let me go, everything will be fine..."

"Shut up!" Shen Yanzhi suddenly shouted angrily. He frowned, seemingly very dissatisfied with Luo Fanshuang's sudden interruption: "Miss Luo, it's no use you saying this. Let him say it."

As Shen Yanzhi spoke, he pointed to the man opposite him.

Seeing that Shen Ceyan wouldn't budge, Shen Yanzhi's anger grew, but his smile widened: "Shen Ceyan, if you don't agree, are you waiting to collect her corpse?!"

Shen Ceyan's thin lips moved slightly, his voice flat and without any inflection: "Shen Yanzhi, what makes you think I would hand over the entire Shen family for her sake?"

Shen Yanzhi's smile froze as he finally sensed something was amiss.

"What do you mean?"

The most devastated person was Luo Fanshuang, who stared wide-eyed at Shen Ceyan in disbelief.

"Ayan, what are you saying? I'm Fanshuang! Your fiancée! How can you not save me?"

"She's the woman you love most. Are you sure you want her to fall into my hands today?"

A crack finally appeared in Shen Yanzhi's confident expression, and his seemingly calm voice began to tremble slightly: "To be honest, her life is of no use to me. Whether she lives or dies depends entirely on your choice."

Shen Ceyan suddenly chuckled, letting out a soft hum from his throat. The sound wasn't loud, but it struck Shen Yanzhi's heart with a heavy thud.

He was all too familiar with that kind of laughter.

When I was a child, my classmates would say that I was a child without a father and laugh at me, saying how pitiful I was.

They may have acted unintentionally, or perhaps they just thought it was funny, but it was these most ignorant and naive acts of malice that became a source of pain that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"Shen Ceyan, what the hell are you laughing at! I'm the one negotiating with you now! Believe me or not, I'll make sure she can never open her eyes again in the next second!"

Shen Yanzhi's emotions had been completely aroused, and he exuded a kind of madness.

"I'm laughing at your stupidity," Shen Ceyan said calmly. "Shen Yanzhi, you've bet on the wrong horse. Her life is meaningless to me. You're just as stupid as your father. Even if I hand over the Shen family business, can you hold onto it securely?"

His voice didn't have much variation, yet it inexplicably made people feel breathless, as if it was about to press them down hard into the ground.

"How could this be... how could this be..." Shen Yanzhi murmured, his hands trembling so much he could barely hold the dagger. "Isn't she the person you love most? Aren't you willing to give everything for her?!"

Suddenly, Shen Yanzhi looked up sharply, his eyes blazing with fury: "You tricked me! Shen Ceyan, you fucking tricked me!"

He understood; he understood everything.

"You don't care about Luo Fanshuang at all; she's just a shield for you! How dare you... how dare you!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, as if that would allow his anger to be unleashed.

Luo Fanshuang's face was ashen.

Shen Ceyan was like a superior looking at a struggling ant; everything Shen Yanzhi did posed no threat to him whatsoever.

"I told you long ago, you're just too stupid."

Shen Yanzhi suddenly laughed, a loud laugh that brought tears to his eyes. He opened his mouth, but all he heard was a salty taste.

"Yeah, I'm stupid, I'm so stupid. How could there be someone as stupid as me in the world? Hahaha... I should have just stabbed that Ji Nianci back then..."

"Shen Yanzhi!" Shen Ceyan's calm expression vanished, replaced by overwhelming rage: "You've said some things, and I'll make sure you don't leave this room today!"

Luo Fanshuang looked up at him.

With such a stark contrast, even if she were incredibly stupid, she should have understood.

Shen Yanzhi's laughter suddenly stopped, and a murderous aura appeared in his eyes: "In that case, let's die together."

"No...don't do this..." Luo Fanshuang suddenly grabbed Shen Yanzhi's sleeve: "As long as you let me go, I can give you anything, whatever you want, money, shares...anything, anything..."

By now, she knew that Shen Ceyan would never save her.

"Shut up! Who the hell cares about your stuff? I want the Shen family! The Shen family!" Shen Yanzhi roared at Luo Fanshuang, but then suddenly calmed down and grinned at Shen Ceyan.

"It's alright. Since my brother is unwilling to give it to me, then forget it. I'll fight with him again when we get to the underworld."

"Brother, you wait. Once I've dealt with her, I'll come after you."

Shen Yanzhi was in a state of frenzy. He looked at Luo Fanshuang with amusement, raising the knife in his hand and slowly bringing it closer.

Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to explode, and all the blood in her body felt like it was flowing backwards. Luo Fanshuang stared at the approaching knife and screamed in terror, "No...don't kill me...!"

Just as the knife was about to touch the skin of her neck—

"You think you can take me down?"

Shen Ceyan suddenly spoke.

Shen Yanzhi paused in his actions and looked up.

Like a drowning fish regaining air, Luo Fanshuang collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

"I might not be your match on my own, but who says I'm all alone?"

After they finished speaking, a series of footsteps came from behind them.

Shen Yanzhi's laughter suddenly exploded, the sharp ending sound like broken glass piercing the eardrums. His body trembled violently, curling up like a shrimp, and the madness overflowing from his throat echoed in the empty hall.

"Shen Ceyan, so what if I can't beat you? In the end, our fate is still the same..."

Shen Yanzhi stopped speaking abruptly when he saw who it was.