newbobooks Chapter 197 is simply a blow to the heart.
Chapter 197 is simply a blow to the heart.
Since the "bed photos" incident and the "bullying" incident continued to ferment online, Xie Nuo has fallen into an unprecedented predicament - his former lover Gu Yan has disappeared without a trace, and the Xie family has also chosen to stand by and do nothing.
Surrounded by negative comments and feeling isolated, Xie Nuo had no choice but to announce his retirement from the entertainment industry.
After spending a few days in the empty villa, he finally got in touch with Gu Yan, only to receive news that she was getting engaged.
At the time, Gu Yan was only pretending to obey her grandfather's orders; she still harbored resentment in her heart.
He secretly arranged for Xie Nuo to stay in a private house in the suburbs, and they spent every night together, but eventually the truth could not be kept.
This secret relationship was exposed, Gu Yan was jilted by the Tao family, and his illegitimate son was taken home by his grandfather.
An unprecedented sense of crisis washed over Gu Yan. He knew that if he insisted on staying with Xie Nuo, what awaited him was his grandfather's abandonment and the loss of his position as heir. Weighing the pros and cons, Xie Nuo was abandoned once again.
After leaving the entertainment industry and losing the support of the Xie family, Xie Nuo quickly fell into financial difficulties.
He has always been extravagant and has never had the mindset of saving. Now, he is struggling to make ends meet just by maintaining the high water and electricity bills for the villa, not to mention other daily expenses.
If Xie Nuo simply sold this ostentatious villa, bought an ordinary apartment, and found a job, he could still live a comfortable, upper-middle-class life.
But he insisted on putting on a brave face, letting the numbers in his account shrink little by little, yet he refused to let go of his pitiful pride.
It was as if as long as he lived in this villa, he could continue to deceive himself—that he was still the beloved young master of the Xie family, not a pitiful wretch abandoned by everyone. But this was ultimately just an empty shell.
Once high and mighty and never having suffered, Xie Nuo experienced the harsh realities of life that he had never known in the previous twenty-two years in just a few short months.
Every strange look, every whispered comment behind his back, was like a knife slowly tearing at his self-esteem. Such humiliation was the limit he could bear.
Xie Qing, who swapped lives with him, had to endure far more than that from a young age—verbal humiliation and belittling from his parents, physical beatings, not having enough to eat or wear, growing up like a twisted weed in a crack in the rock, figuring it out on his own.
Such suffering is something that Xie Nuo, who grew up surrounded by wealth and luxury, could never know.
Even if he knew, he wouldn't feel guilty; he would only blame Xie Qing for all the suffering he was going through.
If Xie Qing disappeared, if he didn't exist, that would be great!!!
Why did it have to happen? Why did it take away his parents, his life, everything he had?!
Why don't you just die?!
During those days when his dignity was crushed, these thoughts grew wildly in his mind, and resentment became the nourishment that kept him alive.
He never felt he was wrong. It was Xie Qing who suddenly barged in, disrupting his peaceful life and attempting to take away everything that belonged to him.
He was simply defending what was his own, using every means to drive this uninvited guest out.
What did he do wrong?!
Xie Qing is clearly in the wrong!
Why did that wretched child, who should have been left to fend for himself in the countryside, have to appear in his world?!
But hatred can't fill an empty stomach. When his savings were about to run out, Xie Nuo suddenly remembered someone—Bai Xiaoran, the second young master of the Bai family, who used to fawn over him like a lapdog.
Although he was just an illegitimate child, and had no chance of becoming the heir or inheriting the Bai family's vast fortune, he was still the only one among the more than twenty illegitimate children of the Bai family, the second largest family in City A, to be recognized by the Bai family.
Xie Nuo hesitated, stroking his phone. Since his accident, Bai Xiaoran hadn't contacted him once, and his attitude was unpredictable.
But in order to survive, the call was made anyway.
As for Bai Xiaoran, he gradually came to his senses when Xie Nuo and Gu Yan's bed photos were all over the place.
He may be a simp, but he's not a brainless idiot. The other party is so obviously treating him as a backup option, why should he demean himself?
What kind of mistress could the second young master of the Bai family not have? Why should he be fixated on a used woman who has already been played with?
Having figured this out, Bai Xiaoran never contacted Xie Nuo again.
Looking at the caller ID, he didn't want to answer—it was obvious to anyone that the caller was asking for his help.
But after all, she was the white moonlight to whom he had given his heart and who had never received anything in return. For some inexplicable reason, he still pressed the answer button.
Sure enough, Xie Nuo presented himself as completely innocent, and asked to borrow money with a tearful voice.
Bai Xiaoran directly set the conditions: he would give her money, but she had to be his mistress, and sent Xie Nuo the location of his villa.
Xie Nuo refused outright, but less than an hour after hanging up the phone, he appeared at the door of Bai Xiaoran's villa.
The reason why the white moonlight is the white moonlight is precisely because of its untouchable, hazy beauty, but when it can be held in your hand and played with casually, it will lose its captivating brilliance.
The lingering affection and resentment that remained at the beginning made Bai Xiaoran completely obedient to Xie Nuo, giving him whatever he wanted.
But as time went on, he found the man rather dull—he cried and needed to be coaxed; even the male prostitutes at nightclubs knew how to please their sugar daddies better.
After his patience ran out, Xie Nuo became Bai Xiaoran's tool to provoke Gu Yan. After all, when Bai Xiaoran was particularly fond of Xie Nuo, Xie Nuo often wavered between the two, liking one while stringing the other along, which caused Bai Xiaoran a lot of annoyance.
After that, Bai Xiaoran seemed to have found a new source of amusement—whenever Gu Yan was present, he would drag Xie Nuo out for a stroll, just to annoy him.
Sure enough, whenever Gu Yan saw him, his face would turn so gloomy it could drip water, and his followers would feel as if they had swallowed a fly when they saw him.
They all despised illegitimate children, especially Gu Yan—ever since his father's bastard child was brought back to the Gu family, it had become his Achilles' heel.
Unfortunately, Bai Xiaoran is an illegitimate child, and one that is acknowledged by the Bai family. He's like a stubborn leech, impossible to shake off.
He would follow Gu Yan wherever he went, always bringing Gu Yan's ex-lover and his current lover, Xie Nuo.
The most frustrating thing is that, due to the power of the Bai family, they still have to force a smile and call him "Second Young Master Bai".
This time, Bai Xiaoran somehow got wind of Gu Yan getting drunk at the "Cloud Realm" bar and arrived "late" with Xie Nuo.
He pulled Xie Nuo to a seat, tapping his fingertips lightly on the rim of the glass, "Yo—"
The drawn-out tone was like a poisoned dagger, "It's only been a few days, how come our Young Master Gu has fallen into such a sorry state?"
"Was it because his illegitimate younger brother stole his position as heir?"
His words pierced right to the heart; they were like a knife to the soul.