Ji Ruiou rapidly swiped through his phone screen, his teeth gnawing at his thumbnail, clashing against the nail before pulling away. In the quiet room, unconscious “click-clack” sounds overflowed.
【Chasing Shadows hadn’t been finalized yet, right? They dragged out so many male actors to hype fans, but why did it suddenly become him without any warning?】
【I have a friend on the crew. They said the director loved Yu Xi’s audition so much he was about to lock it in, but the next day, the investor brought Ji Ruiou, and the lead role switched to him.】
【Is Chasing Shadows going to collapse before it even airs? The crew feels rotten through and through.】
【[Video][Video] Found audition clips. Everyone can compare—Yu Xi actually performed better than Ji Ruiou in the same audition.】
【But I heard they’re good friends. Good friends competing for the male lead? Does Yu Xi even see him as a friend?】
【So what if they’re good friends? It’s work. Fair competition based on skill—does the loser want to morally kidnap with the “good friend” label?】
【Good friends have to face reality too.】
Ji Ruiou read every comment, every single word, meticulously.
His heart pounded wildly, the back of his head chilled, his shoulders beginning to tremble involuntarily.
Why?
Why him?
“Little Ji.” Ruan Yan Shan’s voice exploded beside his ear. “Did you hear what I said to you?”
“What did you say?” Ji Ruiou snapped back to attention, looked up, and revealed an extremely obedient smile.
Ruan Yan Shan sat beside him, intimately ruffling his hair. “You’ll handle this for me, right?”
Ji Ruiou fell silent. The obedience in his eyes gradually faded, leaving only a dull, shadowy darkness.
“I don’t understand.” His voice sank lower as well.
He had heard Ruan Yan Shan’s words and knew what Ruan Yan Shan wanted him to do.
He just didn’t understand.
Why Ruan Yan Shan wanted to do this.
He also didn’t understand.
What benefit this held for him.
Ruan Yan Shan didn’t directly answer Ji Ruiou’s question. He simply grasped Ji Ruiou’s hand, his thumb rubbing the back of it. “We… destroy him.”
Destroy him.
Ji Ruiou’s gaze blanked for an instant, then a surge of ecstatic joy erupted from within.
Ruan Yan Shan placed a small box in Ji Ruiou’s hand. “This is a newly developed candy. Sales are booming.”
Ruan Yan Shan smiled faintly, his eyes brimming with irrepressible madness and excitement. “Just drop it in water, and he’s done for completely.”
“What… is this?” Ji Ruiou asked.
“Candy,” Ruan Yan Shan still called the contents of the box by that term.
Ruan Yan Shan stared deeply into Ji Ruiou’s eyes, the madness in them intensifying.
After following him for so long, how could Ji Ruiou not know what was inside?
Destroying a person was so simple.
Just dissolve the “candy” in water, call the police, test blood and urine, and wait for the results—everything ended there.
Whether he took it willingly or was framed, the moment Yu Xi drank the “candy” water, he’d be nailed to the pillar of shame as a junkie.
What could he do?
Could public opinion rehabilitate a junkie?
Impossible.
He’d forever be a lamb to the slaughter.
When a stubborn prey groveled before you—that was pure bliss.
Ruan Yan Shan awaited that moment.
He watched Ji Ruiou take the box, message Yu Xi, and his eyes narrowed with satisfaction.
“Good boy.”
–
【Ji Ruiou: Can we… meet for a meal?】
【Ji Ruiou: I was too impulsive before. I want to apologize to you.】
【Ji Ruiou: [Location]】
【Ji Ruiou: Will you come…?】
Yu Xi looked at the messages on his screen—the ones Ji Ruiou had sent last night.
As expected.
Footsteps approached then, followed by the sound of a chair being dragged.
“You’re here.” Ji Ruiou arrived, his face still bearing that once-innocent, enthusiastic smile. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No.” Yu Xi pocketed his phone and smiled naturally. “I just got here too.”
Ji Ruiou observed Yu Xi’s expression.
No anomalies.
He knew Yu Xi well—in front of him, Yu Xi never hid his emotions. If he was angry, he showed it. If Yu Xi still held a grudge from the other day, he wouldn’t have this warm expression now.
Ji Ruiou briefly relaxed.
“How have you been lately?” Ji Ruiou asked.
Yu Xi sighed, slipping his phone into his pocket. “Really busy. My body’s worn out—been to the hospital several times these past few days. You didn’t even visit. I was so sad…”
“I was wrong. I… didn’t know how to face you.” Ji Ruiou said sincerely. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that that day…”
“It’s fine.” Yu Xi said. “I was too pushy. Maybe you have your reasons.”
Ji Ruiou paused for a moment.
They’d argued before, had conflicts—this reconciliation played out just like before.
Ji Ruiou’s heart eased. He looked up. “Enough of that. I ordered your favorites!”
The server began serving dishes. The portions here were small, each plate exquisite, tasty, and low-calorie—perfect for two people watching their weight. This meal unfolded like every one they’d shared before: Yu Xi tossed out jokes Ji Ruiou found amusing, and Ji Ruiou always caught them perfectly, riffing back precisely. They talked recent work, daily life, checked on each other, even discussed that incident with Ruan Wen stirring trouble.
Ji Ruiou lowered his head, a bit aggrieved. “I never expected her to show up…”
“I-I didn’t know their history. I thought they were already…”
As Ji Ruiou spoke, he handed Yu Xi the freshly served drink, his voice tentative. “If you see her, could you apologize on my behalf…?”
The drink’s color was beautifully layered—orange juice blended with butterfly pea flower juice, clinking against ice to form stunning gradients that reflected jaggedly on his hand like a snowy mountain ridge.
Yu Xi stirred the drink with the straw. The blue butterfly pea fully dissolved into the orange, and Ji Ruiou’s breathing quickened slightly, tensely fixated on the straw. He watched Yu Xi lean down toward it, lips nearly touching—then Yu Xi suddenly looked up, his gaze utterly cold.
“Xiao Ou, what did you add to this?” Yu Xi asked.
Ji Ruiou froze, his back instantly chilling.
Before him, Yu Xi’s demeanor shifted abruptly. All prior warmth and friendliness vanished, replaced by sharp hostility surging unmasked toward him.
Ji Ruiou’s voice stiffened. “What are you talking about?”
Yu Xi pushed the drink back. The stirred liquid formed a faint purple hue. “The dishes on the table were watched during prep, and the server who brought them was arranged ahead—you had no chance there. Only this drink—no one watching, no eyes on it.”
These words churned through Ji Ruiou’s mind like the straw itself. He forced breaths to steady himself, forcing a laugh. “What dishes? What drink? What tampering? I really don’t know what you’re saying…”
Seeing Ji Ruiou’s expression confirmed it for Yu Xi: Ji Ruiou had tampered with the drink.
Whether it was the “candy” or something else didn’t matter anymore.
“You know I met Ruan Wen, right?” Yu Xi curled his lips in self-mockery. “I made sure you knew.”
“I had her come find you that day.”
“Xiao Ou, you knew everything.”
Yes, he knew.
But seeing it through channels versus Yu Xi admitting it himself—those were entirely different psychological blows.
Yu Xi stared at him, locking eyes relentlessly, filled with disappointment. Crushing disappointment and sorrow enveloped him wholly.
“You kept seeing my news everywhere. Even tiny, everyday things about me spark massive discussions.”
“You saw The Boundless rise in buzz because of me, overshadowing Chasing Shadows that you schemed so hard to join.”
“You picked Chasing Shadows, but discovered Ruan Yan Shan isn’t a good guy. Your Chasing Shadows got ruined by him—his scandals enough to collapse everything tied to him.”
“You picked wrong again.”
“You’re jealous of me.”
It all hit home. Ji Ruiou’s eyes grew terrified, pupils trembling faintly.
The jealousy he’d always hidden—the ugly, maddening jealousy driving him mad—was abruptly exposed, raw and bleeding, laid bare before him.
By his “best” friend’s hand.
“Don’t… don’t say it…”
Yu Xi had no intention of stopping.
Ji Ruiou didn’t want to hear it.
No one wanted to hear it.
No one wanted their deepest inner thoughts sliced open and dissected.
Ji Ruiou didn’t want to face himself.
But Yu Xi was heartbroken—truly heartbroken.
Why should only he suffer?
“Ruan Yan Shan was bound to target me.”
“But he knew I’d guard against him, so he’d make you do it.”
Ji Ruiou wanted to cover his ears. “Stop…”
“What did he tell you to do?”
“Add his new product to my drink? Then what? Report me? Trap me in endless self-proof? Force me to grovel for forgiveness?”
“Don’t… I didn’t…”
Yu Xi stared intently at Ji Ruiou, his dark pupils growing icier.
“You never saw me as a friend.”
Yu Xi said, “I saw your alt account.”
The final fig leaf torn away, Ji Ruiou’s mind blanked. Events deviated wildly from his expectations—he had no clue how to handle this.
He didn’t want to think. He let instinct take over.
Instinct screamed to shut Yu Xi up.
So he gripped the wine bottle behind him, stood, and raised his arm.
Yu Xi had never seen Ji Ruiou like this—daily facade ripped away, now furious, deranged.
He didn’t dodge.
He knew Ji Ruiou couldn’t touch him.
The next second, hands suddenly appeared from behind Ji Ruiou, seizing his neck, elbow slamming down to floor him.
The bottle shattered, purple-red wine spilling everywhere. Someone else rose nearby; Yi Chen shielded Yu Xi behind him as plainclothes officers pinned Ji Ruiou firmly to the ground.
The wine stained shirts and Ji Ruiou’s eyes blood-red.
He lifted his head, glaring furiously at Yu Xi.
At Yu Xi, shielded by Yi Chen.
He understood.
He got it all.
Everything was Yu Xi’s setup.
Yu Xi leveraged public opinion, guiding the masses step by step to uncover Ruan Yan Shan’s true face. Before Ruan Yan Shan realized the severity, Ruan Wen struck, turning the spear on Ji Ruiou.
He’d lured him into the trap.
The more Yu Xi appeared, the more Ruan Yan Shan would want to strike—possess or destroy him. That pervert’s mindset was easy to predict.
Then it was him—Ji Ruiou.
Yu Xi had seen his alt, knew his jealousy.
So he exploited it.
Once his jealousy ignited, he’d inevitably become Ruan Yan Shan’s blade. He’d act, obediently wielded by Ruan Yan Shan’s methods against Yu Xi.
Ruan Yan Shan dealt in illegal trades; he’d long been under watch, just lacking compliant evidence for investigation.
And he—Ji Ruiou—along with the “candy” he’d dissolved into the drink, was that breakthrough.
Handcuffs clicked shut, piercingly loud in his ears. The cold metal bit his wrists, and Ji Ruiou snapped awake.
Whatever the outcome, today—dragged out like this from the restaurant—everything was over for him.
His lead role, his stardom dreams, his stubbornness, his dignity—all gone.
He’d wanted to destroy Yu Xi.
But he’d woven his own cocoon.
It’s over, over, over…
Ji Ruiou struggled futilely against the seasoned plainclothes officers. Desperate, he looked to Yu Xi, pleading, “Help me, help me. You said you’d help me—you’re my eternal fallback…”
He lunged forward, wine-soaked hands reaching for Yu Xi’s shoe.
But just as his hand was about to touch it, Yu Xi took a step back. His gaze swept downward coldly, his expression indifferent.
“Ji Ruiou.”
“We’re no longer friends.”
