Chapter 102 P - Wrong Path

Xing Yu gently pinched the soft flesh on the back of Chu Beiling's neck to comfort her: "Don't be afraid, I won't let you find it."

Chu Beiling stepped out of his arms, looked into his smiling eyes, and swallowed her dry throat—she felt a little like kissing him.

Reason prevailed; he restrained himself, pursed his lips, and distanced himself slightly from Xing Yu.

"Let's go to the second canteen, Tangtang and the others are waiting for us."

Xing Yu nodded and walked with him toward the second canteen.

Once his spirit returned, Chu Beiling asked, "Why did you come to the rooftop alone?"

Xing Yu turned his head to the side and smiled casually: "The sunset is beautiful today, let's take a picture."

As art students, they would take photos anytime and anywhere when they saw something they liked or a beautiful scene, and Chu Beiling didn't think much of it.

At the same time, Xing Yu was fortunate that he was not affected by the strange looks and comments from those around him.

I also observe the sunset and take photos based on my mood and state of mind.

Osmanthus Avenue, from the Art Building to the Second Canteen, is the busiest road in Xi'an High School. It is currently the peak dining period, with people coming and going.

He and Xing Yu were already the center of attention at school, and with this incident causing such a stir, almost everyone knew about it, and everyone who passed by them would glance at them.

Xing Yu gradually stopped walking: "You go first, I'll catch up in a bit."

Chu Beiling quickly explained, "I'm not worried, and I don't care."

“I know,” Xing Yu raised his chin, “You go ahead first, I’ll come and catch up with you.”

School rules dictate that even if they can ignore strange looks and disapproving stares, they can no longer walk together openly as before.

Chu Beiling nodded, then distanced herself from him again, stepping into the second canteen first amidst various stares.

The next afternoon, after school, Uncle Zhao drove over to pick them up.

The other person glanced at them, opened their mouth, hesitated as if they wanted to say something, and after thinking for a long time, finally managed to utter a few words: "Your mother is waiting for you at home."

Chu Beiling's heart sank, but he wasn't completely unprepared. He nodded, opened the car door, and got in with Xing Yu.

From the moment he took the initiative to expose the truth and drag Xing Yu into the mess, he had already thought it through—nothing, nothing could stop him from wanting to spend his whole life with Xing Yu.

Chu Beiling knew that his luck had never been very good, and he didn't think he could keep it a secret for long. He had already made the worst-case scenario plan and made a lot of preparations.

Although the results were not satisfactory and the situation was extremely difficult, it was still worth giving it a shot.

Xing Yu handed Chu Beiling a blueberry lollipop. Chu Beiling held the lollipop in her mouth, gazing at the receding street scene. Her heart felt less restless and uneasy, and more resolute.

Along the way, he and Xing Yu sat on opposite sides of each other. Apart from Xing Yu handing him a piece of candy, they didn't do anything else or say a word.

Uncle Zhao, who was in the driver's seat, looked in the rearview mirror and tried to say something several times, but he couldn't say anything.

When they reached the fifth-floor platform, Xing Yu was still following behind. Chu Beiling stopped unlocking the door and turned to look at him: "Xing Yu, you go up first. I can handle this. If you come in, Ms. Li will be even angrier. Go upstairs and wait for me, okay?"

Xing Yu took a deep breath and slowly exhaled: "Okay, I'll wait for you."

He turned and left, climbing the stairs step by step, only to turn back halfway up.

Chu Beiling was still standing at the door.

As the sun set, the orange-red rays of the setting sun slanted into the stairwell, dividing it into two distinct zones of light and shadow. They stood at opposite corners, silently gazing at each other.

Chu Beiling waved to him from the shadows.

Only after Xing Yu had completely disappeared around the corner did he unlock the door and enter his home.

The study door was closed, so Chu Beiling went to find someone.

Seeing him come in, Li Shuying glanced at him and said to the screen, "That's all for now, I'll contact you later." Then she hung up.

Li Shuying looked at him silently, waiting for him to speak first and give an explanation.

Chu Beiling had no intention of explaining the matter. He had already told Li Shuying, but she didn't believe him. He wouldn't say another word now, nor did he want to.

Chu Beiling took a deep breath and met Li Shuying's imposing gaze, saying, "I said I would stay with Xing Yu, and I won't go back on my word."

After saying that, he took out a green bank card from his pocket and pushed it in front of Li Shuying: "President Li, this is the living expenses and tuition fees you gave me. I'll return it to you now, and then we can talk about what's next."

Li Shuying jumped up from the boss's chair. She raised her hand, and Chu Beiling immediately closed his eyes and didn't move.

The slap didn't land. Suppressing the burning anger in her heart, Li Shuying asked him, "Are you threatening me? You know I won't agree, so you want to break off our relationship?"

Chu Beiling's throat was a little dry. "I didn't mean to sever ties with you."

Only those who want to stay and do what they want to do, besides giving up what Li Shuying has given them, have the right and the confidence to tell Li Shuying no.

After a pause, he continued, "Mr. Li, I'm sorry, but I won't do as you ask this time."

Li Shuying scoffed: "You're really something. Let me ask you, what do you plan to do without living expenses and tuition fees?"

Chu Beiling said, "I can handle it myself."

“Solve it yourself. What can you solve? You can’t solve anything,” Li Shuying sat back down. “Either go to London to find your uncle and grandmother, or go to Manhattan to find your aunt. Choose one. I’ve already withdrawn from Xigao.”

Chu Beiling's breath hitched, and she was about to get angry but then held back: "I'm not going anywhere, I'll stay in the country. You can drop out of Xigao if you want."

Li Shuying slammed her hand on the table, stood up, walked in front of him, and asked in a deep voice, word by word, "Chu Beiling, do you know what you're doing?!"

“I know what I’m doing,” Chu Beiling said with utmost seriousness. “Never before have I been clearer about what I’m doing than now.”

"Do you know how willful and ignorant you are right now? Chu Beiling's heart can change. Can you guarantee that you will stay with him for a long time? Sincerity can change in an instant. For your so-called sincerity, you are going against me and don't even care about your studies and future. Is it worth it? Chu Beiling, is this how I taught you?"

Li Shuying finally lost her temper and, without giving any chance to object, issued the notice directly: "You don't need to think about it. You're going to London, whether you like it or not. There's no room for discussion."

Chu Beiling clenched her teeth and, amidst a wave of dizziness, slowly opened her mouth: "Mom, do you know what I want most? I know that in your eyes, my actions may seem childish and naive, and even beneath your dignity. But your so-called bright future, your perfect expectations and high demands on me, have never been what I want most. For me, a simple and peaceful life, with someone who cares about me and a free and easy life, is already good enough."

"Is it because I've provided you with too good a living? You're just whining to me about wanting a simple life and freedom," Li Shuying said expressionlessly. "The freedom and simplicity you're talking about require money and a high degree of self-control to achieve."

She said, “You don’t understand now, all your ideas haven’t been formed yet, so it’s okay to be willful, but I can’t just stand by and watch you ruin your future and NIO, and go astray and become a lesbian.”

Chu Beiling retorted, "I'm not being willful, nor have I gone astray. I know what I'm doing."

If it truly is a wrong path—and Xing Yu stands at the end of that wrong path, he willingly walks into it.

I will never regret it.

Li Shuying: "I'll assume you're not being willful, but you have to listen to me now and leave tomorrow."

Deep down, he is still very much like Li Shuying; both are strong and domineering people, and once they make a decision, it is difficult to shake or change their minds.

If everyone insists on their own opinions and does things their own way, no one can persuade anyone else.

“No matter what you think, I know what I’m doing, and I won’t leave,” Chu Beiling said. “Even if you send me abroad, I’ll crawl back and stay by his side.”

In his emotional state, he blurted out, "If President Li insists that I choose someone, I will choose Xing Yu."

Li Shuying's face was ashen, like a crumpled piece of paper, and she pointed a trembling finger at him: "You..."

She couldn't utter a complete sentence. Suddenly, she coughed violently, dark red blood seeping from between her fingers, followed by a mouthful of blood splattering onto the tiles.

"Mom—" Chu Beiling rushed over and caught Li Shuying's falling body.

Her white shirt collar was already soaked with blood, and the sticky, warm liquid flowed down Chu Beiling's arm, mixing with the bloodstains on the ground.

"I'm sorry, Mom, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said those things..." The fear of losing his father struck again. He futilely wiped away the blood that kept flowing from Li Shuying's mouth, his tears falling onto her ashen face.

The moment Li Shuying fell into a deep sleep, Chu Beiling belatedly realized he needed to call an ambulance.

He frantically reached into his pocket for his phone, his whole body trembling with fear. Just as his hand touched the phone, his hurried movements slowed him down, and he dropped it.

Chu Beiling glanced at Li Shuying, then at the phone not far away, and finally scrambled to retrieve it.

Perhaps they made too much noise here, or perhaps Xing Yu hadn't left at all and had returned to the door.

In his flustered state, Xing Yu arrived and helped him take Li Shuying to the hospital.

Until she was taken to the emergency room, Li Shuying was still coughing up blood and her face was getting paler and paler. Medical staff were doing emergency first aid, but the fluctuations on the electrocardiogram monitor were getting smaller and smaller, and almost invisible.

The red light in the emergency room hung like a knife over Chu Beiling's head. He slumped on a bench in the corridor, his nails digging deep into his flesh, but he felt no pain.

He never imagined that he would anger his mother to the point of vomiting blood and being hospitalized for emergency treatment—if something had happened to his mother because of this, he feared he would never be able to forgive himself for the rest of his life.

And Xing Yu probably can no longer face him.

The hospital had probably just been disinfected; there was still a strong smell of disinfectant in the air. Accompanied by the cold air moving south from the south in November, there was a sense of decay and desolation, which made people feel cold and nauseous.

Chu Beiling curled up in the chair, hugging her knees and rolling herself up like a shrimp, trying to gain some sense of security. However, her hands, which were resting on her kneecaps, kept trembling.

Xing Yu, who had just returned from paying the bill, saw this scene and hesitated for a moment—

He walked over, reached out and took Chu Beiling's trembling hand, enveloping it in his palm.

Chu Beiling slowly raised her eyes and met his deep, narrow eyes.

"Don't worry, Ms. Li is usually in good health, she'll be fine." He forced a smile, wanting to reassure Xing Yu, but Chu Beiling couldn't manage a smile; when he opened his mouth, he found his throat was terribly dry and hoarse.

He gripped his hand tightly: "Don't give up yet, don't tell me to just let it go like this, okay? It will make me sad."

Xing Yu was wearing the same gray school uniform as him, his brows furrowed low. He half-squatted in front of him and wiped away his tears: "Are you hungry? I'll go buy you something to eat. What do you want to eat?"

He couldn't eat anything, but looking at Xing Yu's taut jawline...

Chu Beiling said in a hoarse voice, "Oden, you know what I want to eat, right?"

Xing Yu hummed in agreement, stood up, took off his coat, and wrapped it around his shoulders: "Wait for me for ten minutes. Call me immediately if anything happens."

He had just turned around when the door to the emergency room suddenly opened, and a doctor in a blue scrubs strode out, his gloves still stained with blood. His gaze swept across the empty corridor: "Family members?"

Chu Beiling suddenly stood up, her knee hitting the corner of the metal chair, staggering two steps and almost losing her balance.

Xing Yu helped him up: "Are you alright? Does it hurt?"

Chu Beiling felt no pain at all. He shook his head and rushed to the doctor: "Doctor, how is my mother?!"

The doctor removed his mask, his tone calm yet clear: "The patient is experiencing massive gastrointestinal bleeding, and his blood pressure continues to drop, leading to hemorrhagic shock. Blood tests show an abnormally high white blood cell count, strongly suggesting acute leukemia, but the most dangerous issue right now is the bleeding."

After a half-second pause, he continued, "The bone marrow aspiration can wait. What we need now is to stop the bleeding immediately, administer a blood transfusion, and transfer the patient to the ICU for monitoring."

She looked at the two teenagers and softened her voice: "The critical condition notice and several informed consent forms for treatment need to be signed. Can your parents get here as soon as possible?"

Chu Beiling pointed at her palm: "...They're all gone, only me."

"I'll be there soon," Xing Yu said. "We can't handle this, so I sent Uncle Zhao over. He should be on his way now."

Chu Beiling crossed her arms, rubbing her cold arms repeatedly, and nodded blankly: "That's good."

After confirming the diagnosis, the doctor told them to notify him when the person arrived, and then returned to the emergency room.

Chu Beiling's legs went weak, but Xing Yu caught her in time and helped her sit on the bench.

He glanced at Xing Yu and asked, "Brother Yu, things will get better, right?"

"Hmm." Xing Yu's Adam's apple bobbed. "Fanfan, don't worry, things won't get worse."

Chu Beiling leaned on Xing Yu's shoulder, breathing heavily: "Xing Yu, I'm a little greedy. I want both you and Mom. I don't want to choose one over the other. I don't want to lose one for the other."

They were all important people in his life, who—

He can't let go of it.