Liang Yu’s pinhole cameras weren’t just installed in his own home. Later, he actually ended up building a big house for Zhang Futun, and he installed the cameras there as well.

At first, Zhang Futun trusted him and actually held off on selling Liang Chen. However, the elders in the family disagreed. In this place, women were not treated as human beings. Liang Yu was very well aware that the only reason Liang Chen was able to remain unmarried past the age of twenty was because of the money he brought home every year.

Zhang Futun used this as leverage to extort Liang Yu into bringing home even more money.

He was actually somewhat afraid of his son, who was now twenty years old. Liang Yu had grown too quickly. Sixteen to twenty, those four years of adolescence had vanished from him without a trace. He had none of the characteristics of other young boys his age. While others were studying away in their ivory towers, he bounced from runway to runway. He slept in the models’ bus. He kept toiletries with him wherever he went. He had to get on stage from the moment his eyes opened.

Liang Yu checked the cameras every day. As he earned more and more money, Zhang Futun no longer dared to face his son head-on, and he no longer beat him like he used to. Sometimes, Xiao Luo would deliberately seek out the camera if Zhang Futun were to ever lay his hands on her. Liang Chen also knew about the cameras. Both sisters were very clever. Whenever there was a conflict with Zhang Futun, they would try their best to drag the man before the camera, either to record his actions or simply just to show Liang Yu.

Liang Yu would threaten to withhold the money if Zhang Futun hit any of them, but Zhang Futun would also threaten him with Liang Chen. Moreover, as Xiao Luo got older, Zhang Futun had gained another card in his hand. He wasn’t at all afraid that Liang Yu would run off and not come back. He knew his son too well for that.

Within the video evidence provided by Liang Yu, Zhang Futun’s abuse made up for the majority. His behavior was so vile that hardly anyone could bear to watch it in its entirety. Yang Jierui only took the most severe parts of the footage. He had the family members’ faces blurred, but their voices were preserved.

In the end, Liang Chen still wasn’t able to avoid trouble. Liang Yu had just finished filming his first movie at the age of twenty-five. His sister had been out buying alcohol for Zhang Futun when she was raped by Niu Bing.

Yang Jierui actually had some recollection of this incident. At that time, he’d already signed a management contract with Liang Yu, but he hadn’t actually known about Liang Yu’s family situation. All he knew was that something had come up. Liang Yu went back to deal with it and was there for a long time. After reporting the incident to the local police, the case was soon withdrawn again. Zhang Futun was Liang Chen’s father. He claimed that everything was a huge misunderstanding. Niu Bing was his son-in-law. He and Liang Chen were dating, and this was just a lover’s quarrel.

Liang Yu could still vividly recall the looks on Zhang Futun and Niu Bing’s disgusting faces as they parroted the same story. It was something he would never forget in his entire life.

He thought about leaving with his mother and sisters right then and there, but Liang Chen had actually refused.

“It’s not time yet.” Liang Chen hugged Liang Yu by the front door to their house. She held her brother close, gently running her hands along his thin spine. It was this spine that was bearing the weight of all their hopes and dreams. “I can pretend to marry him. I’ll try to hold off on getting the actual marriage certificate, but I believe I can get Zhang Futun to give me my identification card. Xiao Luo already knows where Zhang Futun is keeping Mom’s household register. We’ll hold out for half a year and then you can come pick us up.”

Liang Yu looked at Liang Chen. She’d always known him to be a big crybaby. However, he’d never shed a tear before Zhang Futun, not even when he was beating him. He said to Liang Chen, his eyes red, “I’ll give you some money to buy some cameras. Install them at home. If that bastard hits you, make sure to tell me.”

Sure enough, Niu Bing hit Liang Chen on the night of their wedding because she refused to let him touch her.

At that time, Liang Yu was promoting Director Qiao’s new movie. He was a newcomer. In order for his career to begin with a good start, he needed to put his absolute all into everything. He couldn’t leave, and he couldn’t ask for help. All he could do was call Liang Chen as soon as he stepped off stage.

“Don’t worry about me,” Liang Chen said. “This is nothing. Besides, as long as I’m unwilling, it’s rape. Your sister isn’t stupid.”

The video documenting those six months of assault couldn’t even be released to the public. Liang Yu handed it straight to the police.

In less than half a year and with just one movie, Liang Yu managed to win three domestic awards and achieve box office success. They all said that he was lucky, but only he himself knew. He’d finally managed to steal his only hope of salvation from the merciless jaws of fate.

Liang Yu returned to the village. Here, no one knew him as “Liang Yu”. He wasn’t called by that name in this village. In this still and lifeless place, everyone believed that he would never be able to walk away, that he would have to stay, that he would live and die here just as all those before him did.

Zhang Futun was thrilled to see the money that he’d brought back. He even went out of his way to invite his daughter and his son-in-law over to have a drink. It was then that he proudly told Liang Yu that Liang Chen was pregnant. In another half a year, he would be a grandfather.

“You should quit modeling.” Zhang Futun thought that he was still walking runways. “You’re getting older. It’s about time you get married and start a family. You know, the rest of the family’s been asking about you. After all, your name’s still on the ancestral register. You need to carry on the family line.”

Liang Yu poured drinks for Zhang Futun and Niu Bing. He brought some really good wine this time. With a rare smile, he said, “I don’t want to get married yet.”

Zhang Futun was furious upon hearing this. After finishing his drink, he smashed the glass, and the shards flew across Liang Yu’s face, leaving a small cut. Liang Yu didn’t even flinch. “What do you plan on doing if you’re not getting married?! You found yourself some city woman, haven’t you?! You want a woman like your mom, is that it?!”

Niu Bing was still drinking. He smilingly pretended to break up the fight, “Ah, my brother-in-law sure is different from us. He’s someone who’s seen the world.” He added, “A city woman’s fine. You can just bring her back here. If you lock her down on the bed, she won’t be able to run.”

Liang Yu looked at Niu Bing. He then turned and looked at Zhang Futun. He was still the same as before, never bowing his head to anyone. His eyes were fixed straight ahead of him like a burning flame. Suddenly, Liang Yu smiled again and said calmly, “I keep forgetting to tell you. I actually don’t like women. I like men.”

Zhang Futun’s eyes widened. This was probably the first time Niu Bing had heard such a shocking remark. He hiccuped, feeling a little dizzy.

“W-what did you say?” It seemed that Zhang Futun wanted to get up and beat him. However, he ended up crashing back to the ground. He assumed that he was drunk and tried to get up again.

Liang Yu stood up. He began opening the rest of the wine, dumping it out like water upon Zhang Futun and Niu Bing. As he poured, he slowly stated, “Zhang Futun, I will never touch a woman, and I will never have children. You can let the rest of the family know that the family line will end with me.”

The wine had been spiked. Zhang Futun and Niu Bing had long since fainted. Liang Yu threw the bottle aside and let out a deep sigh. He then went to Zhang Futun’s room and let Liang Shu down from the bed. His mother could hardly even walk at that point. Liang Yu carried her on his back, Liang Chen went to pick up Liang Yan, and Liang Luo quickly gathered up all of their packed belongings.

“There’s a car at the entrance of the village. Once you get to Beijing, you’ll change your names. Someone will help you with the registration and paperwork. I left a lot of money. Yang Jierui, my agent, knows where to find it.” Liang Yu explained all of this as he shut off all the lights in the house. They’d be traveling along a lot of dark mountain roads. It would be best not to be discovered by anyone.

Liang Chen sensed that something was off. She asked, “What are you planning to do?”

Liang Yu turned his head, his entire body covered in the dark shroud of night. “I’m going to kill those two bastards. I’m going to kill everyone in that shitty family. I’ve got the gasoline. It’ll just take one spark, and they’ll all be gone by morning.”

Liang Chen started to cry, trembling as she reached out to grab Liang Yu. She pleaded, “You can’t do this. You still have us. You just filmed a movie. Can’t you see how well you’re doing? You can’t throw it all away here.”

Liang Yu was silent for a long time before silently asking, “What have I done well? What future is there left for me? You have this stupid fucking parasite growing inside your stomach because I was a useless good-for-nothing. I’ve made you suffer so much, wait so long. You tell me, what else is there? If I don’t kill them, they’ll come looking for us sooner or later, demanding money from us, threatening us. Liang Chen, this is all I have left.”

Liang Chen kept crying. She also hated Zhang Futun and Niu Bing. She also wanted them dead, but she knew that Liang Yu couldn’t be the one to do it. Her only brother, her kind and hapless little brother, couldn’t ruin himself for people like Zhang Futun and Niu Bing.

Xiao Luo was also against it. She told Liang Yu to leave with the others and volunteered herself to do the deed. At worst, she’d go to jail for a couple of years.

The siblings cried together until their mother, Liang Shu, began to tremblingly get to her feet.

She had been locked up for too long, and she was too thin due to severe malnutrition. It took several breaths for her to get a single word out. She leaned against Liang Yu’s back and gently called him by his pet name, “Xiao Yu, what will we do if you’re not here? Beijing is so big, and Yanzi is still sick. How will we support ourselves? Have you thought about that?”

In the end, Liang Yu didn’t kill anyone. He left those barrels of gasoline at the entrance of the village and left that hellish place in the dead of night with his mother and sisters.

Liang Chen had been pregnant for half a year. When they arrived in Beijing, the only option was to undergo an abortion. Liang Yu signed the papers outside the operating room. Despite having just won Best Actor, not very many people could recognize him yet. When he called Yang Jierui to come over, Yang Jierui, who hadn’t yet become a big name agent, was frightened half to death. He wore a mask and snuck over, believing that Liang Yu had gotten some female celebrity pregnant and needed him to wipe his ass for him.

“That’s my sister.” Liang Yu hadn’t slept for several nights and was in an extremely volatile mood. “Can’t you do something useful for a change?”

Yang Jierui was speechless. “What would be useful in this situation? You want me to find your brother-in-law?”

Liang Yu sneered, seemingly serious, “My brother-in-law’s dead, you got that? He’s already burning in hell.”

Yang Jierui: “…”

Liang Chen’s abortion went smoothly. Although her body was slightly damaged, she would recover with the proper care. Liang Yu asked Yang Jierui to preserve the placenta. Yang Jierui was puzzled. “Why?”

Liang Yu impatiently shot back, “Just do it. What are you asking all these questions for?”

“…” It was at that moment when Yang Jierui realized he definitely wouldn’t be able to control anything related to Liang Yu in the future.

Zhang Futun and Niu Bing coming after them was well within Liang Yu’s expectations. It was only a matter of time. Back when Liang Yu was bringing money home, Zhang Futun had grown reliant on him. The whole extended family depended on Liang Yu’s money for their livelihoods. They no longer farmed the land or fished for food. Instead, they lived idly off his funds. With a lifestyle like that, it was no wonder that they had no money of their own.

The second half of the evidence mostly consisted of Zhang Futun asking for more and more money. They were quite clever about it. They knew that Zhang Futun’s identity as Liang Yu’s “father” was good leverage. Niu Bing never showed his face, only scheming from behind the scenes. At first, it was just tens of thousands. However, once they discovered that Liang Yu was a lot more famous than they thought, their demands grew from tens of thousands to millions. Their most recent demand was when they were at the hotel. Zhang Futun asked Liang Yu for thirty million.

This video was shot from another angle, and it hadn’t been edited at all from beginning to end. Yang Jierui knew this because the person that placed this camera was himself. Liang Yu hadn’t told him why he needed the camera, only instructing him to set it up. Now, the truth had finally come to light. Liang Yu had originally planned to pretend to refuse him. Zhang Futun, the idiot that he was, wouldn’t be able to come up with any better ideas. He would have no choice but to rely on his dear old son-in-law, Niu Bing. With his back against the wall, Niu Bing may even do something stupid like kidnapping Liang Chen. Liang Yu had been waiting for this moment, but, suddenly out of nowhere, the hotel was exposed to be involved in a sex scandal, directly implicating Liang Yu.

It wasn’t yet time to close the net. Liang Yu couldn’t afford to risk all his hard work just to escape this sex scandal. He didn’t just want Zhang Futun dead. He wanted Niu Bing dead as well. He had endured for so many years, all for the sake of bringing these two bastards down.

The full evidence reel was over an hour long, even after several rounds of editing. This “documentary” style video came to be referred to within the entertainment industry as The Story Of Liang Yu’s Growth, The Movie Emperor’s Revenge, and How A Mountain Of A Man Was Made. Of course, later on, fans began to regard this evidence reel, and even Liang Yu himself, as the standard that the rest of the industry should aspire to. Some directors even turned his story into a biopic, but that’s a story for another time.

However, when Yang Jierui posted this video onto their official Weibo, it naturally caused a massive uproar, paralyzing essentially every major media outlet. Instantly, the focus of the story shifted from an entertainment piece to a legal dispute, and, for a moment, reporters weren’t quite sure how to proceed.

“Since I decided to take them away, I won’t be bringing them back. What right do you have to ask that of me? The best thing someone like you can do for us would be to die as soon as possible.” Liang Yu’s words from the first video were now echoed as the gospel. Most people actually thought that he’d been too lenient. If it were them, they would’ve beaten those bastards bloody and thrown them out the window.

Xu Jingzhe watched the evidence reel in its entirety. He knew that this was just the tip of the iceberg, but it was exactly because he knew that he was even more upset.

Zhang Man had him uninstall all social media platforms and reposted the video on his account for him. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to control her emotions, so her choice of words ended up being a little harsh. As a result, the comments underneath her repost were along the lines of, “Man jie, go play around with your models, and get off Xu Jingzhe’s account. Xu Jingzhe only knows how to say ‘fuck you’ and that’s about it. You can’t fool us.”

Zhang Man: “…”