“Huh?”


  “What made you join this industry?”


  His face suddenly changed, and his expression cooled somewhat. “Do you think I’m here because I like acting?”


  “.……What do you mean?”


  “I joined this industry a few years earlier than you did, so I’ve seen enough of the people in here. Sometimes, I really feel tired, but even if I feel tired, I still have to play by the rules of the game here.”


  Pausing, he turned his head to look at her. “Do you know how much I envy you?”


  She was puzzled at his sudden question.

  “You asked me what made me join this industry, right? I didn’t join it willingly; instead, I was made to become part of it.”


  “Made to?”


  “Eh! I was sold by my father to work here!” He looked downcast as he spoke.

  Yun Shishi was dumbfounded. “Sold?!”


  She looked at him with astonishment and thought that he was joking at first. What kind of father would sell his son to work in this industry?

  For the first time, she had interest in his background.

  Looking shocked, she quickly probed. “What do you mean by that? What do you mean by you being sold to work here?”


  “It’s because…… my father gambled a lot and eventually incurred a debt he couldn’t pay, so he ended up selling me to his creditor.”


  While he spoke, his lips curled into a self-depreciating jest. “This sounds ridiculously funny, right? I couldn’t believe it at first, too—that my father would do such a thing. I was only fifteen then.”


  Slowly, he narrated his life story to her sans any emotions; it was as if he were sharing someone else’s story.

  Actually, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father was part of MNC’s upper management, while his mother ran her business.

  The financial crisis in 1998, which swept across the whole Asia, threw his wealthy family into disarray.

  His mother’s business closed down; not only that, MNC was not spared from the onslaught of economic recession.

  The family had to face sizable debts just as his mother’s company folded. At that critical moment, his father had taken the risky move of embezzling company funds to pay off their debts.

  This matter was found out, unfortunately. As his father was unable to pay off the amount he had stolen, he was sued and eventually sent to prison.

  His ten years’ jail term was an added woe to his family which was breaking apart.

  Despite their struggles, he had never complained once. As a young boy, he tried his best to be obedient and studious. Alas, his mother could not stand the hardship and ditched them in the fifth year; she chose to flee from this city with another man.

  His father learned about this while he was serving time in prison and seriously fell ill.

  After he was released from prison, the man could not find a job due to his past crime. Although he was very capable, most companies wanted employees whom they could trust. With his past record, who would want to employ him?

  Hence, without a stable income, his father eventually had to look for a manual job at a construction site.

  His drastic fall from grace was difficult for the man to swallow.

  He was once honored and accomplished, yet look at him in the end? It was hard for others to imagine what he was feeling.