Brian Lee was of mixed blood. He had graduated from New York University two years ago and came from a wealthy family. His father was an American politician, and his mother was a Chinese businesswoman who ran a company worth billions.
You could say Brian was born into luxury, and as the only child, he was the heir to the family's fortune.
On the outside, it looked like he had everything.
But in truth, his relationship with his parents wasn't good. Both his father and mother were always busy with work and rarely spent time with him. He grew up feeling alone. From childhood to adulthood, Brian lacked love and attention.
He was a lonely man.
Because of that, he made lots of friends. But not because he liked their company—he wanted to hide his loneliness. Many people wanted to be his friend because of his rich status. Even though Brian knew they only cared about his money, he didn't mind.
He was desperate for companionship.
Money was never a problem for him. But despite his wealth, Brian created a fake world around himself, pretending everything was fine. His life changed, however, when he entered college and met a girl named Olivia.
Olivia was a beautiful young woman with blue eyes, fair skin, and long blonde hair. She was kind and friendly, the same age as Brian. After a few chance meetings, they became friends.
Within two months, Brian had fallen completely in love with her. One day, he gathered his courage and asked her out. To his delight, Olivia said yes, and they started dating.
Those were the happiest years of Brian's life.
For four years, while they were in college, Brian changed for the better. He dropped his bad habits and became a great boyfriend. He loved Olivia more than anything.
But happiness never lasts forever.
One week after graduating, something happened that changed everything.
Olivia suddenly awakened superpowers one night. The next day, she went to the Superhuman Association to test her powers and her ability to control Mana. To everyone's surprise, Olivia turned out to be very strong. She was classified as an A-Rank superhuman, one of the top-ranked individuals in the world.
When the top guilds heard the news, they quickly sent someone to recruit her. Olivia decided to join the Phoenix Guild, a famous superhuman organization.
Brian wasn't happy about it. They started arguing.
As Olivia got busier with her training at the guild, she had less time to spend with Brian. Slowly, their relationship fell apart. After six months, they broke up. Olivia ended it.
For Brian, the breakup was devastating. Heartbroken, he went back home and began drinking heavily, spiraling into a life of alcohol and drugs for the next two years.
Yesterday, Brian saw something on social media that pushed him over the edge. Olivia was now dating a famous A-Rank superhuman.
The pain he had buried for two years resurfaced. He drank even more that night, crying bitterly. Then, in a moment of despair, he bought a large amount of drugs and sleeping pills. He consumed too much, causing heart failure.
Brian Lee died in a tragic way.
Three hours after his death, Gu Fanyu arrived and took over his identity.
...
After Gu Fanyu finished processing the information, he felt more at ease.
"At least he wasn't killed," he muttered to himself.
---