Xu Xingchen followed behind a Lantern Bearer, his face haggard and eyes bloodshot, yet there was a hint of excitement in his gaze.

He hadn't slept a wink last night, tossing and turning despite having resigned himself to his fate. He thought about many things, and in the end, he felt as if he had grasped something in the dark.

Why did Xia Chen make things difficult for him? Was it merely to toy with him?

He was the legitimate son of the Marquis Manor, a consort, and now the Director of the Lantern Bearers, while Xu Xingchen was just an ordinary student at the Imperial Academy, their statuses worlds apart. Xia Chen could crush him like an ant.