"Brother Dong! I was really wronged!"
There was no real plan. Just a simple thought. Shift the blame. Bend the truth. Tell a pretty little white lie here and there. What's the harm in letting Cai Rixi take the fall and making himself seem like a victim by happenstance? Yao Ziyang can take advantage of the fact that news is slow to reach them in prison! Right about now, she should be getting out of prison and planning with Wang Cong to kidnap Yao Zizhou's and Ming Liuyi's child!
"Brother Dong, before coming to this prison and meeting you, I was the heir and vice president to the Yao Corporation and was engaged, by force, to Cai Rixi! I was content with the matter but she was too greedy for her own good! I thought she was a virtuous woman but I was wrong! She schemed against my crippled and disabled cousin and his wife! By some miracle, they managed to escape her cruel traps and my brother even managed to recover fully but because we were partner's, I was implicated as well with her!"
'It's not a complete lie. Though the original Yao Ziyang was just a temporary heir until his cousin and male lead, Yao Zizhou, recovered, elevating my status to heir apparent and ex-VP would definitely make me seem more valuable for his own revenge plan.'
Yao Ziyang began to feel his heart tighten. He shifts uncomfortably on the memory foam mattress, hands nervously clasped onto the bed sheets, trying to keep his voice steady. His lips are slightly parted, trembling just a little, as if he's fighting to hold everything in. His acting has always been top notch and he dared anyone to find fault in his performance!
"Before, she told me she had wanted to get into business so I thought of helping her by showing her what my company does, I was truly blind! How could I have known that by following her advice that I would end up falling for her trap and be framed for embezzling company funds!"
'This is a complete lie. It was the original Yao Ziyang who started embezzling funds on his own and when he was asked about the money's whereabouts, fell into Yao Zizhou's own trap. Not that I could blame him, what kind of scumbag steals money meant for donating to charity's!'
He gives a short, bitter laugh, but it catches in his throat. His eyes flicker down, avoiding Dong Yingming's, and that's when his breath hitches.
His jaw tenses and he blinks hard, trying to chase the burn building behind his eyes.
"I'm willing to accept my faults in this matter, however she's truly wicked and would do anything to achieve her goals! I heard she even attempted to run down my sister-in-law who ended up being the real daughter of the Cai family!"
He continues, his voice cracking.
"Brother Dong, I'm scared of what she might do once she gets out of prison. I don't want her to cause anymore trouble for my family."
'Another lie. The original Yao Ziyang didn't give a shit about blood relations. To be fair, his, or rather my now, dad, Yao Hui, didn't seem like the type to instill teachings about family bonds to his child so, who's really at fault here?'
Yao Ziyang continues with his act and allows one tear to slip free, sliding silently down his cheek. He swipes at it quickly, seemingly almost angry with himself, but more followed, betraying the composure he was trying so hard to keep. His lips press together in a trembling line. His shoulders curl in slightly, as if trying to make himself smaller, safer.
His beauty doesn't fade as he cries—it deepens, somehow. The redness around his eyes, the way his lashes clump with tears, the raw emotion softening his face—it all makes him more human, more fragile, and heartbreakingly real.
"Brother Dong, please, if you can help me to get revenge against this girl and make this world a better place, I'm sure my family will forgive me for being misled."
He whispers, his voice nearly breaking apart.
"I'll be more than willing to offer you anything I can if you can help me with this matter."
His meaning was clear: help him to take her out and the Yao family will accept him back, from there he would help Dong Yingming with his own revenge plans. There's a long silence. He covers his mouth, trying to hold back the sob building in his chest, but it breaks through—a quiet, aching sound that fills the space between him and Dong Yingming like a weight.
And in that moment, there's nothing performative about his beauty. It's not about perfection anymore. It's about honesty, pain, and a vulnerability so pure it steals the breath from Dong Yingming's lungs.
'There's a chance, should Dong Yingming investigate further into my story, all my lies will be revealed so I have to give it my all to make this narrative seem as real as possible. In the novel, when the original Yao Ziyang told Dong Yingming everything, with some exaggeration, he didn't think much of it or look further into the matter, just told his lackey to do whatever the original Yao Ziyang said…so I should be good too, right?'
Yao Ziyang doesn't look up but he feels the weight of Dong Yingming shift on the mattress as he moves. Warm and powerfully strong arms wrap themselves around his small frame and he's pulled into a gentle embrace. His breathe hitches in surprise and his body tensed for only a moment before he completely melts into the hug. Being so close to the other man's heart, Yao Ziyang hears the steady rhythmic beat begin to go faster. It's the most beautiful sound he's ever heard. He wished he could listen to it for the rest of his life.
Hearing Yao Ziyang's situation and seeing the young man cry so pitifully, Dong Yingming felt his heart ache. He wished he could go out right now and find that bitch to make her pay! However, even with his money and connections, it would still take some few months before he could be released early. Though Dong Yingming didn't want to upset Yao Ziyang any more than he already was, he couldn't help but question one part of his story. So he asked as delicately as he could while promising the youth.
"Okay, serve me well and I promise I'll make that bitch pay for what she's done to my man. But Baby Bird, that doesn't explain how you ended up in First Prison. You only got framed for embezzling, shouldn't you have gone to Third Prison?"
Even though Dong Yingming's voice sounded brutish, his face bore a doting look, yet because he was holding Yao Ziyang so closely, it went unnoticed. Yao Ziyang heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Dong Yingming promise to deal with Cai Rixi. The novel is already changing from its initial ending! Since that was out of the way, everything afterwards should be simple to handle. Without giving it much thought Yao Ziyang replies absent-mindedly.
"Oh that, well it's because Third Prison is overcrowded so they placed me here. However, I'm glad they did because I got to meet you here! It's a blessing in disguise! No, let's call it fate!"
Shifting away from the hug so Yao Ziyang can see Dong Yingming's handsome face, he gives a heartwarming smile. His features are delicate and almost ethereal: a smooth jawline, full lips, high cheekbones that catch the glow just right. His eyes shimmer, as they curve into two crescents, framed by thick lashes that curl upward even as tears begin to gather at the corners once more. It was really hard to stop crying once he started, but Yao Ziyang found that out too late so even when he didn't want to cry, he still ended up tearing up!
But he's smiling.
It's not forced. It's soft, genuine—like a quiet sunrise after a long storm. His lips curl slowly, almost shyly, and there's something achingly beautiful in the way his expression holds both joy and sorrow at once. His smile says 'I'm okay now' even if it took everything in him to get here.
The tears finally begin to stop, they glisten but don't fall now, suspended on the edge of release. They reflect the emotion he doesn't need to speak—relief, tenderness, maybe even hope. It's the kind of smile that makes Dong Yingming want to protect him, hold him, or maybe just sit there a while longer and marvel at how someone can look so luminous in their most vulnerable moment.
He looks like the embodiment of a bittersweet song—delicate, radiant, and unforgettable.
Dong Yingming felt his breath catch. Just slightly. He doesn't move, doesn't speak—because in that single second, he knows. And the realization strikes with a strange kind of awe, like witnessing something beautiful he can't control. Like a bullet he never saw coming.
There's a tightness in his chest, but not from fear—not entirely. It's the kind of ache that comes from longing and disbelief all at once. Yao Ziyang—a man who slipped past his defenses, without violence or force—just being.
And he's terrified.
Because this emotion doesn't fit in his world of strategy and control. It's messy. Vulnerable. Real. It makes Dong Yingming want to protect and possess him. To confess to and conceal him. And in a life built on power and silence, that feels like surrender.
His jaw tightens. His throat thickens. But behind the guarded stare, there's something new in his eyes: wonder. Ache. Devotion.
At that moment, he doesn't say a word. He just looks at Yao Ziyang like he's the first thing Dong Yingming's ever seen clearly. And in his silence, a truth blooms quietly in his chest:
He's in love.