The first rebirth. A time long before Feng Hui returned to Earth.
Dragon Continent Calendar, Year 7611. Winter.
Long Kingdom, Prime Minister's estate.
When the grand estate was first built a millennium ago, it had been specially designed for a noble prince. In the end, this little prince became the supreme emperor of the Long Kingdom; thus, he didn't live there anymore. As a gift, the little prince passed down the grand estate to his loyal prime minister: this ceremony has been maintained across every generation of emperors in the Long Family.
In the garden, there were rockeries and rows of magnolia. It was extremely elegant and refined. Behind the garden, there were beautiful streams of flowing water encased by specially-placed stones: the streams were connected to the purest mountain spring in the entire capital.
Similar to the Garden of Heaven, the Prime Minister's estate was an otherworldly creation. With numerous small valleys, the estate was in tune with nature. When it came to architecture and design, it was one of the best in the capital.
Standing in the middle of a garden, there were five small figures. Judging from their age, the children were around six to nine years of age. Of the five children, four of them were picking on a white-faced child who had the appearance of a six-year-old.
"Such a useless prince!" A serpent-robed nine-year-old child laughed as he kicked the white-faced child around like a ragdoll. To the side, an aqua-robed tanned child also tripped the white-faced child up with his little feet.
The white-faced child did not react to these insults; instead, he accepted the pain. As if this was some sort of punishment, he screamed, "Keep it coming! I deserve it, after all."
In the vast Long Family, there were numerous scheming relatives. The whole world sought a piece of the enormous cake known as the Royal Family. In the Royal Family, this white-faced child was a useless son of the current emperor. With no talent nor intelligence, he had been deemed a waste.
"Are you some sort of masochist?" The aqua-robed tanned child snorted, but he still continued to create more purple bruises on the delicate, handsome face of the white-faced child.
Under the morning light, the four children continued to pick on the single white-faced child. Suddenly, the bullying stopped. The four turned to awkwardly look in the direction of the estate's vast villa.
From within the villa, a nation-shattering little beauty wearing a set of scarlet robes emerged. This five-year-old girl had the face of an otherworldly goddess. It was certain that in a few years, she would enthrall any man who saw her face.
Seeing the four children pick on the white-faced child, the scarlet-robed beauty had a look of fury. With unceasing small steps, she worriedly ran toward the white-faced child.
Holding the white-faced child's bruised body in her tiny hands, Zhi Ruo worriedly cried, "Fengge, are you okay? Why do you let them do this to you?"
The white-faced Long Fengge's body tilted upwards, and he stared at the little scarlet-robed girl with irritation. Toward this annoyance who would always nag him, he was unhappy. Why couldn't she just let him receive his punishment in peace? He was a traitor who left his loving family behind, after all.
The little scarlet-robed girl was the prized daughter of the Long Kingdom's current prime minister. Everywhere she went, she would be treated like a princess. Furthermore, she was a renowned genius!
Long Fengge was dead inside, and he was an unloved foreigner anyway. Within the entire Long Family, his mother was the sole person who treated him well, while his father at least fed him. The rest of the family viewed him as an eyesore, and all of them disdained his presence. Albeit 'untalented', he was at least an obedient child, and he would never misspeak.
"Think about your mother! How would she feel seeing you like this?!" The little scarlet-robed Zhi Ruo cried out, and she finally started reprimanding the white-faced child.
Hearing the word 'mother', Long Fengge's heart shook. Thinking back to his hard-working mother on Earth, he clenched his tiny fists, and he shouted, "What the hell do you know?!"
"I'm not like you!" Long Fengge yelled while running away. Under the awfully hurt look of the little scarlet-robed Zhi Ruo, the white-faced child faded away into the distance.
With tears in her eyes, Zhi Ruo mumbled, "Why…"
* * *
The chilling wind blew across the tender, white face of a child about six or seven years old. Dashing through the small valleys of pristine snow, the little boy had a face full of unwillingness.
"What does she know?!" Long Fengge angrily shouted. With a pair of beautiful golden eyes, his gaze was unrelenting.
Long Fengge closed his eyes as his memories flew back to that amazing year his little sister had been born. With fury across his face, he cried, "I don't belong here! Take me back!"
Collapsing on his tiny knees, Long Fengge started sobbing. Time flowed like water. Eventually, the white-faced boy felt a pair of soft hands on his right shoulder. Looking upwards, he saw the persistent little scarlet-robed Zhi Ruo.
"Why are you here?" Long Fengge muttered. Retracting his tears, his cold look returned.
"Fengge… I'm your friend. You can trust me. We don't need to keep secrets from each other." With a gentle smile, Zhi Ruo coaxed the white-faced boy. Pouting cutely, she added, "You saved me in the past, after all."
Recalling the past, Long Fengge remembered helping the scarlet-robed girl with a mere chore.
"I didn't do anything. At the time, anyone would have helped." Long Fengge lowly murmured.
"That's wrong. During that period, I was isolated and feeling hopeless. When you helped me at that time, I didn't feel alone anymore. The cool words you told me… changed my life. I felt like I had found a true friend: someone I could spend a lifetime with." Zhi Ruo smiled, and she gently rubbed the tiny palms of the white-faced boy with her small, soft hands.
"…" Long Fengge did not respond; instead, he allowed the scarlet-robed girl to softly massage his palms. The white-faced boy's gaze was still unrelenting, but he thought, "… Xiao Ruo's words did have some truth. Mother does treat me well, but I've done nothing but scorn her."
Back in his life on Earth, Long Fengge was never like this. He would treat everyone amicably. The entire nation had a good impression of him, and he was incredibly loved. If his real mom were to learn about how he was treating his birth family with indifference here, what would she think of him?
On Earth, if someone dared to insult his mother, Long Fengge would singlehandedly demonstrate the meaning of hell to them! However, in the Long Family, he was a mere spectator of his mother's troubles.
Standing up, Long Fengge closed his eyes. For a few minutes, he was lost in thought. A while later, a calm look emerged on his handsome face. With a low smile, he muttered, "Thanks, Xiao Ruo. I owe you one."
From now on, he would try and repay his mother in this world. For her unwavering hope in him, Long Fengge would prove that her hope was not misplaced! Thinking back to the birth of his new little brother, he thought, "For Mother and Father, I'll mold him into the perfect son."
For the first time, Long Fengge had a clear look of Zhi Ruo's little face. In the past, he would always neglect everything, and he never paid attention to his surroundings. Looking at her peerlessly beautiful scrunched up face, he laughed, "What's with that flabbergasted look? Am I not allowed to apologize for my misdeeds?"
Zhi Ruo seemed shocked upon hearing the soft, intelligent words of Long Fengge. Hearing the evident kindness in his voice, she cutely responded, "No… no, it's just a surprise."
Long Fengge's mother often sent him to the Prime Minister's estate to play with the fellow children. Little did his mother that he was constantly being bullied the moment he set foot into the estate. How could Mother Long know that the prime minister's children had the gall to bully a son of the Long Family?
"Xiao Ruo… thanks for not losing hope in me." Long Fengge inaudibly sighed. This low voice was not heard by the little scarlet-robed girl; instead, only the white-faced boy heard the solace in his own words.