An Tianming wasn’t sure how it worked, but despite being invisible, inaudible, and untouchable, he found that when he concentrated, he could sometimes make contact with physical objects.
He had experimented with a small USB drive before—managing to nudge it just a tiny bit. But the shift was so insignificant that Bai Wei, who wasn’t the type to obsess over the precise placement of his things, hadn’t noticed a thing.
At the time, An Tianming had considered trying to play the piano. If he could press a key, create a sound, make noise, then maybe Bai Wei would finally realize that he was still here. But there was no piano in Bai Wei’s home.
Through his observations, An Tianming could tell that Bai Wei wasn’t living in hardship—he wasn’t rich, but he wasn’t struggling either. And yet, he had never bought a piano.
For someone who had loved playing piano since childhood, that was strange. An Tianming thought back to the year they had spent living together after their reunion.
At the time, he had bought Bai Wei a piano as a gift, thinking it would make him happy. But when Bai Wei saw it, his reaction had been… odd. He had smiled, but the expression felt wrong—as if it had been forced, completely devoid of any real joy.
Back then, An Tianming had assumed it was because they were still distant, that Bai Wei simply didn’t know how to naturally express gratitude toward him. Later, Bai Wei never once touched the piano.
At the time, An Tianming had been too caught up in figuring out how to break the truth to Bai Wei—who had lost his memory in the car accident—to dwell on it.
Now, however, he had been silently watching over Bai Wei for over a week. And still, not once had Bai Wei entered the music room to play.
It made An Tianming uneasy. Suspicious, even. But he didn’t have the energy to think too deeply about it. Because right now, there was another problem that was driving him insane: How was he supposed to calmly accept the fact that Bai Wei was with Li Lang?
He had gone over this question countless times, and every time, he reached the same answer—He would never be able to accept it.
There was no way he could ever remain calm, knowing that he had once had the chance to give Bai Wei a lifetime of happiness—only to have that future be given to someone else.
Bai Wei was his home.
Even in death, even after Bai Wei had killed him, he had still come back to him. So how could he ever let go of his jealousy toward Li Lang?
He couldn’t.
He never would. And yet, step by step, he continued moving forward with his plan—His plan to push Bai Wei and Li Lang together.
An Tianming’s plan was simple. No matter how much he despised Li Lang, at their core, they were alike. That’s why he understood him. They were both proud—so proud that even if they loved someone to the point of no return, they would still hold onto the last shred of rationality to protect their dignity. Li Lang couldn’t bring himself to throw everything aside and pursue Bai Wei recklessly, but at the same time, Bai Wei was the kind of person who could only be moved by someone willing to go all in.
Sometimes, it was easy to touch Bai Wei’s heart—perhaps just by picking off a stray hair stuck to his clothes, a seemingly trivial gesture. But if you weren’t giving your all, if you weren’t completely devoted, then even if you plucked the moon from the sky for him, it would be meaningless.
So, An Tianming had to push Li Lang into making up his mind. The best way to do that was to send him a message from Bai Wei’s phone, encouraging him to try harder—especially on a night when Bai Wei had been drinking. Though Bai Wei’s lifestyle was incredibly healthy now, and even when he drank, it was always in moderation, An Tianming knew he would have his chance sooner or later. He had all the time in the world, because he knew that no matter how long it took, Li Lang would never give up on Bai Wei—just like himself. What he needed to do was improve his ability to touch physical objects and wait for the right moment.
But before he could even train himself to concentrate better, an emergency struck—one that made him more desperate than ever to master this ability.
Right now, Bai Wei was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He wasn’t someone who lacked basic life skills. But accidents… accidents always happened.
That day, Bai Wei was trying to reach something in an upper cabinet in the kitchen. He used a chair to prop himself up, but just as he was about to grab the item, the chair suddenly tipped. Instinctively, Bai Wei reached out with his right hand to grab onto a nearby cupboard door. But he didn’t get a firm grip. His balance was off, and in the next moment, he fell straight down.
An Tianming could only watch as Bai Wei’s body passed right through his outstretched arms—arms that had tried to catch him—before his head struck the corner of the table. Bai Wei collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
Never before—not even when he had fallen off that cliff, grasping at empty air—had An Tianming felt so utterly powerless. And never before had he been this terrified.
“Xiao Wei?” Even though he knew Bai Wei couldn’t hear him, he called out instinctively. His hands reached out helplessly, trying to grab onto him. “Xiao Wei! Are you okay?! Wake up!”
—Why did he have to die? If he were still alive, he could have held Bai Wei in his arms right now, protecting him forever.
An Tianming had always known what to do. Maybe he wasn’t always right, maybe he made a lot of mistakes, but at least he always knew what action to take.
Except this time.
When the door burst open, An Tianming was momentarily too stunned to register what was happening. He watched as his former security director, Zheng Zhong, strode into the room and inspected the wound on the back of Bai Wei’s head. Then, the sound of an ambulance siren filled the air.
When the paramedics arrived, they quickly assessed Bai Wei’s condition. Once they finished their initial treatment, Zheng Zhong helped them lift Bai Wei onto the stretcher and into the ambulance.
It wasn’t until Bai Wei had finished his treatment and was transferred to a hospital room—looking peaceful as he slept—that An Tianming finally managed to pull himself out of the endless spiral of self-blame, the agony of being powerless to help him.
Only then did he start thinking about Zheng Zhong’s sudden appearance. No—of course, it wasn’t a coincidence. Why had Zheng Zhong forced the door open without a key? Clearly, he had been watching Bai Wei all along. And when he saw Bai Wei collapse and lose consciousness, he had no choice but to step in and save him.
—Was Zheng Zhong still suspecting Bai Wei had something to do with his death?
An Tianming regretted not leaving behind a suicide note.
If he had known that Bai Wei wished for nothing more than his death—then even if he wouldn’t have actively gone along with Bai Wei’s wishes, at the very least, he would have made sure Bai Wei was never suspected after he was gone.
“…Xiao Wei, I’m sorry.”
Sitting by Bai Wei’s bedside, An Tianming murmured unconsciously. Just like he had done during that year they lived together after reuniting, just like he had done every night since he started keeping watch over Bai Wei.
Repeating the same meaningless words, over and over again. Even though he knew they would never change anything.
Zheng Zhong, who had sent Bai Wei to the hospital, didn’t bother to hide his actions. The day after Bai Wei regained consciousness, Zheng Zhong visited the patient, who had to remain hospitalized for observation.
Bai Wei thanked him first, then, without needing to spell it out, acknowledged the surveillance on him. “I didn’t expect you to save me.”
Zheng Zhong’s expression was unreadable. He simply looked at Bai Wei with an indifferent gaze. “Maybe my methods are ruthless, but at least I’m not a murderer.” Then, he changed the subject. “If you really want to thank me, you can repay me by telling me the truth.”
An Tianming never expected Zheng Zhong to be this loyal. After his death, there wasn’t even an heir to take over, but his team would still continue running everything he had left behind. Logically, no one should have been so determined to dig into the truth of his death.
Faced with Zheng Zhong’s request, Bai Wei was clearly convinced. After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke. “That day, I was indeed at the edge of the cliff…”
“No! Xiao Wei!” An Tianming anxiously tried to stop him, but no one could hear his voice.
Bai Wei went on as if nothing had happened. “The truth is, I was the one who lured An Tianming to the cliff that day. But I didn’t intend to kill him. I just wanted to leave, so I planned to fake my death and escape…”
“…Xiao Wei—”
An Tianming suddenly fell silent. This was not the truth he had expected. The only thing that didn’t surprise him was that Bai Wei would rather put on an act and fake his own death just to escape from him. And yet, that was also the part that hurt him the most.
“I never thought An Tianming would come so close. In the end, he accidentally stepped on a loose rock… Originally, I wanted to pull him back.” Lying on the hospital bed, Bai Wei slowly extended his right hand. “With this hand. You were the one who carried it out, so I’m sure you understand why I couldn’t grab him.”
Zheng Zhong instinctively took a step back.
An Tianming, meanwhile, stood there in stunned confusion.
After taking a deep breath, Zheng Zhong spoke in a measured tone. “So, do you think President An got what he deserved?” A strange smile appeared on his face, but it carried a tragic, almost mocking pain. “You think he destroyed your right hand, and then ended up causing his own downfall?”
An Tianming had no idea what they were talking about. When had he ever hurt Bai Wei’s right hand? He had absolutely no clue about this, yet at the same time, he was utterly terrified of the answer.
Bai Wei’s eyes widened in shock. “No…” He tried to explain, but before he could finish, Zheng Zhong had already cut him off.
“But that wasn’t President An. That was my decision. At the time, I could see that you had a strong influence on him. To make sure you’d never go near him and mess with his head again, I deliberately scared you, making you believe he was heartless and that you’d be better off staying away from him.”
“—What the hell are you talking about?!”
An Tianming’s voice was shaking—though only he could hear it.
Zheng Zhong let out a bitter laugh and continued, “At the time, President An was in the car and ordered me to follow you in secret, to make sure you wouldn’t do anything irrational after taking such a blow. Then, I got out of the car and decided to make sure he would never see you again.”
Bai Wei lowered his head at those words, hiding his expression from view.
An Tianming felt his entire being trembling—how ridiculous. He didn’t even have a body anymore, yet he was shaking so violently.
That day, even after so many years, remained crystal clear in An Tianming’s mind.
To be honest, the moment he unintentionally got Bai Wei’s password and used it for his own purposes, An Tianming had already decided to sever all ties with him completely. All he wanted was to send Bai Qianyuan to prison—he would never lay a hand on Bai Wei. Of course, he also had no intention of caring about Bai Wei’s hatred for him—at least, that was what he had planned at the time.
However, when Bai Wei came to confront him, he lost control.
If Bai Wei had simply said he hated him, that as long as he was alive, he would make An Tianming pay the price, An Tianming wouldn’t have cared in the slightest. But instead, Bai Wei made the one choice that cut him the deepest.
Even after suffering betrayal, even after being hurt so cruelly by An Tianming, Bai Wei—despite his fury—still chose to protect the goodness in his heart, refusing to let hatred consume him. That delicate, pampered, and seemingly weak young master… had the strongest heart of them all. In contrast, An Tianming suddenly felt so small, nothing more than a pathetic loser defeated by his own emotions.
An Tianming never cared about being looked down upon. He knew that those who underestimated him were fools who would eventually pay the price. But this time, he couldn’t stand being dismissed by Bai Wei—not just because it was Bai Wei, but because Bai Wei was right.
There would never be another person who could shake him to his core like this.
For the first time, the always-calm An Tianming was facing the one person who could drive a dagger straight through his impenetrable armor—Bai Wei.
Before he even realized what he was doing, An Tianming had already reached out and grabbed Bai Wei by the throat, using the cruelest words he could think of to force him into silence—to stop him from saying things that made An Tianming feel as though he were being ripped apart just by hearing them.
In the end, it was Bai Wei’s surrender that made him flee in panic.
An Tianming had planned everything out so well. He would never cross paths with Bai Wei again. But then, from the rearview mirror of his car, he caught a glimpse of Bai Wei’s dazed and hollow expression—and before he could stop himself, he ordered Zheng Zhong to keep an eye on him in secret.
—At the time, he never could have imagined what actually happened after he left—
Zheng Zhong didn’t protect Bai Wei. Instead, he destroyed Bai Wei’s right hand.
The right hand of Bai Wei—the one that loved playing the piano more than anything.
So, at the edge of the cliff, Bai Wei had no way of grabbing him.
And he never realized that it was his fault.
He had already known that Bai Wei no longer played the piano. He had noticed it before. He had noticed it after. But he never once realized that it was because of him. Instead, he had thought Bai Wei wanted to kill him.
He actually believed that Bai Wei—the same Bai Wei who, no matter how deep his hatred, had refused to let it consume him—would try to take his life.
The person he loved most in this world. And yet, he wasn’t even worthy of understanding him…
Zheng Zhong’s phone rang at that moment.
An Tianming wasn’t paying attention. Right now, he didn’t even dare to lift his eyes and look at the person lying in the hospital bed.
Then, Zheng Zhong’s voice came through, sounding slightly off—
“President An is showing a reaction. The medical staff suddenly noticed that he won’t stop crying… but he hasn’t woken up.”
