After the Young Master’s Death, He was Kissed by His Mortal Enemy! (BL) - Chapter 1

[Mind Deposit Box]

——

Valentine’s Night.

Inside the elevator, Shen Ran tilted his head back, staring at the ever-rising floor numbers, trying to calm his racing heartbeat.

Never in his wildest dreams did Shen Ran expect that tonight, Chen Xu would propose to him.

They had been in a relationship for over a year now. Though Chen Xu was always gentle with him, there was always a certain distance, a subtle coolness, perhaps due to his nature.

In the past, Chen Xu likely wouldn’t have spent a holiday like Valentine’s Day with him.

But tonight was different. Not only did Chen Xu spend the evening with him, he even proposed—and then personally escorted him back to his apartment.

The unexpected surprise left Shen Ran feeling light-headed, as if he were floating.

Yet, as he stood before his door, before he could even reach out, the door suddenly swung open on its own.

The joyful smile froze on his face.

Bright lights flooded the room beyond.

On the sofa sat a man dressed in black, poised and composed, exuding a chilling calmness. Several subordinates stood respectfully behind him.

At the doorway stood another man, a huge scar slashing across his head, his eyes filled with menace.

A wave of unease surged through Shen Ran. His instincts screamed that something was wrong. He turned reflexively, seeking help from Chen Xu.

But to his shock, Chen Xu’s usually gentle eyes were now filled with guilt and panic.

…Why was Chen Xu looking at him like that?

Shen Ran’s heart plummeted. He instinctively stepped back, trying to flee.

But the scar-faced man gave him no chance. He grabbed Shen Ran’s collar roughly, choking him by the neck, and dragged him into the apartment.

“Chen Xu…!”

In a moment of desperation, Shen Ran reached out toward the doorway, forcing out Chen Xu’s name from his throat.

But his struggle was in vain. His pleas were useless.

Chen Xu stepped back, increasing the distance between them, guilt thick in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Shen Ran… I had no choice. Please, don’t hate me.”

Bang—!

Shen Ran’s world spun. He was thrown violently onto the living room floor.

Before he could recover, a cold voice sounded above him.

“Shen Ran, you do know that the Shen Group has gone bankrupt, right?”

Shen Ran froze mid-struggle, lifting his head in disbelief to meet the gaze of the man in black.

The man stared down at him with the indifference of someone looking at an ant, a man who held power and no regard for mercy.

“This morning, the Shen Group officially declared bankruptcy—debts in the billions. And this afternoon, your parents disappeared. Seems they tried to run when things turned south.”

Shen Ran could barely process his words. The flood of information left him numb with shock.

His family had gone bankrupt? And they owed that much money?

His parents had vanished? But he’d spoken to his father on the phone just this morning—how could this be…

As he sat there in a daze, he was yanked upright, a cold blade pressed to his throat, and a phone shoved in front of him.

The icy touch of the knife made Shen Ran freeze. He dared not move. His eyes met the man’s cold stare.

The man in black raised his chin slightly. “Call them. Tell them you’ve been kidnapped. If they don’t show up and pay their debt, you’re dead.”

Why wouldn’t his parents answer? Shen Ran wondered.

Their family had always been close. He’d grown up surrounded by their love—never a major argument between them.

No matter what, his parents had always answered his calls.

He took the phone, dialed his parents’ numbers, and held it to his ear.

No matter how many times he called, the only response was a cold, relentless busy tone.

As time passed, Shen Ran’s heart sank deeper and deeper.

Why weren’t they answering? Even if his family had really gone bankrupt and needed to escape, they would never ignore his call—never.

The man in black grew visibly impatient, on the verge of losing his temper. Just then, someone stepped forward and whispered a few words in his ear.

Moments later, the man’s furrowed brow relaxed, and his cold expression actually softened a little.

“You don’t need to call anymore.”

Shen Ran seemed not to hear, still dialing again and again, a stubborn obsession gripping him.

“I said, stop calling.”

With a sharp kick, the phone was knocked from his hand, skittering into the shadows beneath the sofa.

Shen Ran struggled desperately, not caring that the blade against his neck had already cut through skin. “Give me the phone! I need to call them!”

The man in black grabbed his chin, forcing his face upward.

Shen Ran was stunned to see a strange, unreadable pity in the man’s condescending gaze.

“Do you know why your ‘loving’ parents won’t even pick up your call?”

“It’s because, young master Shen, you were never their real son. You’re just an orphan they adopted from a shelter.”

“They never truly loved you. That’s why they ran away the moment trouble came, without a care whether you lived or died.”

Shen Ran shook his head, eyes wide with disbelief, struggling as if to shake off the truth itself. “No… That’s impossible!”

“What’s so impossible about it?” The man in black sneered. “And do you know who sold you out to us? No need to guess—it was Chen Xu.”

Images of Chen Xu’s guilty, panicked face from earlier flashed through Shen Ran’s mind…

He went still, stunned, but instinctively shook his head. “No…”

“Don’t bother defending him. Let me add this—do you know how much your life was worth to Chen Xu? Fifty thousand yuan. I heard he was your boyfriend? Pathetic.”

“Shen Ran, don’t you get it yet? You’ve been discarded. Everyone’s abandoned you. You’re just an orphan. There’s no value in keeping you alive.”

The man’s voice was calm—flat—but it cut through Shen Ran like a blade.

The fear-induced tears that had been welling in his eyes finally broke free, uncontrollable.

He was an orphan. Betrayed by his lover, forsaken by his family.

His whole life… had been a lie. He had nothing.

Shen Ran collapsed like a broken doll, unable to react to anything around him.

Even when a knife slit his throat, he didn’t respond.

“Kill him. He’s worthless anyway. Might as well make it quick,” the man in black ordered coldly.

A pool of bl00d spread across the dark floor. Shen Ran watched, dazed, as a burly man tossed his body onto the ground.

He was dead. His throat slit in one clean stroke.

And yet… his soul remained, standing there, witnessing everything as it continued to unfold.

“All right,” the man in black stood up. “No point wasting time here. Clean up and let’s go.”

“Boss, what about Shen Ran’s body? Just leave it here?” a subordinate asked.

“Take it. Might still be useful.”

After a quick cleanup, the group left with Shen Ran’s body.

The apartment soon returned to silence and darkness, with only Shen Ran’s spirit left behind, drifting aimlessly.

He couldn’t leave this place—a prison now binding his soul.

So, it was all false. He had no warm home. He was never truly loved.

In life, he was the pampered young master of the Shen family. In death, he was nothing more than a forsaken ghost, betrayed by everyone.

That was all.

Shen Ran suddenly realized that spirits could cry too, though the phantom tears vanished the moment they fell.

At that moment, the clear chime of a phone notification echoed through the room.

A faint glow flickered beneath the sofa.

After his family’s bankruptcy and his parents’ abandonment, shouldn’t everyone now avoid him like the plague?

And yet—someone had messaged him.

[I just landed from a business trip. Heard your family went bankrupt. Are you okay?]