In the Prime of Youth (Next Book)

[Nine-year age gap / Hong Kong vibes / biding one's time to conquer / coercive possession / old-school melodrama / the powerful one bows his head / old flame rekindled / fake-death fiction]

The first time Bai Feizhen met Cheng Yichuan, she was sixteen and in her second year at Sacred Heart Secondary School.

The club was organizing a charity performance, and Cheng Ze'an was the one who had proposed it.

The school auditorium was being renovated over the holidays, so everyone went to the Liang family home to rehearse on Saturday.

They were having a lively time when Cheng Yichuan returned home.

He was tall and strikingly handsome, with a severe, killing aura. His suit was immaculate, his lapels perfectly neat. Thick brows and deep-set eyes gave him an inscrutable air that made people afraid to look too closely.

Even Cheng Ze'an, usually outgoing and bold, immediately became meek in front of his own brother. He shrank back like a mouse before a cat and awkwardly introduced him to his classmates as his eldest brother.

No one in Hong Kong was unaware of Cheng Ze'an's eldest brother.

Rumor had it that he was ruthless in business. After his parents died young, he wrested the family fortune from his uncles and became a renowned shipping magnate.

They also said he was cruel and heartless, driving his own clansmen to jump into the sea and die, and showing no concern as the wives and children of his elders ended up homeless.

Yet everyone wanted to work for him. They said that anyone who served him diligently could amass a fortune and rise from rags to riches.

Like everyone else, Bai Feizhen hurriedly bowed to greet him.

Cheng Yichuan's gaze swept over them, cool and indifferent, without a trace of emotion. He gave a slight nod. "Ze'an, make sure your classmates are well looked after."

Bai Feizhen summoned her courage and stole a glance at him. To her surprise, her eyes met Cheng Yichuan's icy gaze.

His eyes were deep and dark, like a leopard lurking in the shadows, waiting to hunt: bloodthirsty and deadly.

Her heart tightened.

-

They met for the second time on the day of the performance at the Harbor Wish Plaza. To escape the rain, she ran beneath the statue of the shell maiden and used her frail, slender body to shield her violin case, letting her clothes get soaked rather than letting the instrument get wet.

Cheng Yichuan's custom-made, bulletproof black sedan pulled up in front of her.

The window rolled down, revealing his sharply defined, striking face. Those dark eyes, bloodthirsty and radiating deadly danger, fell on her once more.

"Miss Feizhen, Mr. Cheng would like you to get in."

The driver got out into the rain and held an umbrella over her, inviting her into the car at Cheng Yichuan's behest.

The drive was long, but they exchanged only two or three sentences.

Cheng Yichuan was brief and blunt, stating his purpose plainly. "Miss Bai, I can sponsor your education."

He had already thoroughly investigated her background, including how she lived under her uncle's roof in a cramped tenement in Sham Shui Po, waiting anxiously each month for the remittance her mother sent from the mainland.

Bai Feizhen stared blankly, her breathing catching slightly. With her eyes lowered, she remained silent for a long while before asking in a hesitant voice, "...What are your conditions?"

Only then did Cheng Yichuan turn his head and glance sidelong at the petite girl beside him. At least she was clever.

"You'll live at the Liang family home from now on."

Bai Feizhen looked at him in horror, as if she had come face to face with a demon that drank blood and devoured flesh. She didn't dare say another word. Even after getting out beside the lane near her uncle's home, her legs were still shaking with fear.

-

Two years later, at Sacred Heart University's anniversary celebration, Bai Feizhen's boyfriend from the literature department took the stage as a student representative to give a speech. She watched him with a proud smile, then gave him the flowers she had prepared when he came down.

Her boyfriend took her hand, and the two of them walked out of the auditorium together, sweet and happy.

Bai Feizhen glanced aside and saw Cheng Yichuan, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, but could never forget.

He was an honorary alumnus of Sacred Heart University and a longtime charitable donor.

That evening, his car pulled up in front of her again. The same man from two years ago respectfully invited her inside.

Her voice still trembled despite her best efforts. "Thank you for your kindness, but I'm waiting for my boyfriend. I don't think we're going the same way as Mr. Cheng..."

Cheng Yichuan stared straight at her, then suddenly dipped his head and gave a faint, almost amused laugh.

"That's all right, Miss Bai. One day, you and I will be headed the same way."

Bai Feizhen furrowed her brow slightly, unable to understand what he meant.

A month later, the night was as vast as the sea, its silence surging beneath the surface.

Bai Feizhen stopped his car on the mountain road outside Cheng Yichuan's mansion. He told the driver to open the door for her, then sent him away.

Cheng Yichuan's long, cool fingertips gently pushed aside her shoulder strap. He bit the tip of her ear and murmured in a low voice, like a demon whispering a spell: "Xiao Zhen, tell me, are you doing this of your own free will?"

Bai Feizhen swallowed her tears of humiliation and choked back a sob. "Mr. Cheng, I'm doing this of my own free will."

"Call me Yichuan." His voice was an authoritative command that allowed no disobedience.

"...Yichuan."

Her voice was barely audible, but he heard her and gave a satisfied chuckle.

Bai Feizhen felt as if she and her life were a piece of fabric being torn apart, fluttering on the verge of coming undone in the storm.

It was all Cheng Yichuan's doing.

Note: The phrase "sixteen years of age" refers to a girl's youthful years, roughly around sixteen.

The setting is a loosely fictionalized Hong Kong, with many original details.

The male lead does nothing improper while the female lead is underage.

Content warnings: Old-school melodrama, coercive possession, stealing someone else's love, non-consensual sex.

The male lead has very little sense of morality and is highly controlling.

Theme: Learning to welcome different kinds of lives