Chapter 75 If I had been nicer to him back then

Even though Yan Yu ran up the mountain like a madman, he couldn't get his way. Not only did he not know the way, but he also couldn't distinguish east from west in the deep mountains. He could only rely on his senses to wander around aimlessly, like a wild horse that had broken free.

He kept shouting Shen Jin's name at the top of his lungs, but to no avail; apart from the sound of the wind, there was no response.

Behind him were the two men, who kept calling out, "Mr. Yan, please stop calling! He's probably no longer on this mountain. We've searched everywhere!"

Another person added, "You'd better come down quickly and come back with us! The deeper we go into the mountains, the more dangerous it becomes!"

Yan Yu, his eyes bloodshot, coldly uttered only one word to them: "Get out!"

"Shen Jin! I know you're in there! Come out!" Yan Yu then rushed into the dense foliage, where trees were lush and grass was verdant. He stumbled and staggered through, shouting, "What are you unhappy about! Say it to my face! Don't hide!"

Just then, something flashed past in the grass next to Yan Yu, causing the grass blades to sway slightly. Then, a strangely colored snake poked its little head out and flicked its bright red tongue.

Yan Yu didn't pay attention to anything else and stepped directly over it—

The two men behind him widened their eyes instantly and held their breath: "Mr. Yan! Be careful!"

However, the moment they shouted, the snake swiftly bit Yan Yu's foot, causing him to feel a sharp pain and furrow his brow slightly, feeling his blood boiling.

He looked down and saw a venomous snake coiled beside the grass, flicking its tongue as if in a show of defiance. Before Yan Yu could react, it quickly darted into the grass and disappeared.

The two people behind him were startled: "President Yan! Are you alright?!"

Yan Yu pulled up his trouser leg and saw that the spot where he had been bitten had instantly turned black. The venom spread throughout his body at the fastest speed, and he staggered back a few steps, unable to stand steadily.

"Venomous, venomous snake!" one person stammered, pointing at another and shouting, "Salt serum, serum! Quickly call Young Master Xie!"

They were frantic, but in that instant, Yan Yu unexpectedly calmed down and remained unmoved, as if he were the one who might die from a snake bite.

Suddenly, I realized... I felt like a joke.

They can't even protect one person, they can't even see their own heart clearly, they just follow their damned possessiveness and indulge themselves, they don't think from other people's perspectives, and after the person runs away, they frantically go looking for them...

"Damn it, this is disgusting!" Yan Yu cursed, though it was unclear what he was actually saying. Then, as if he had gone mad, he suddenly stopped caring about his own life and continued running into the mountains without looking back.

The two men behind him were so frightened that their legs almost went weak, and they exclaimed in unison, "President Yan!"

Yan Yu was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and stood at a height that others could not reach. He was used to being treated with utmost respect, so he hated it when others disobeyed him. He was used to having everything under his control, and that was when he felt safe. Whether the other party disliked him or not didn't matter.

Because he didn't think he had done anything wrong... What he wanted, of course, had to be kept by his side by any means necessary.

It was precisely because of this idea that Yan Yu found his behavior ridiculous when Shen Jin ran away and Yan Yu himself lost his composure and ran into the mountains to try to find him.

One of the men chasing him shouted anxiously, "Mr. Yan, are you out of your mind?!"

Yan Yu heard his words but ignored them. He felt a vast emptiness ahead and his vision blurred. He knew it was due to poisoning and whispered, "Shen Jin..."

Xie Li quickly arrived with his men and took Yan Yu to the hospital. The venom spread rapidly, and upon arrival at the hospital, Yan Yu suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed.

In the instant he collapsed, Xie Li, standing beside him, heard him weakly murmur, "Help me find him, and I'll do anything you ask..."

Yan Yu couldn't understand why he had such thoughts. He just couldn't imagine what he would do if there really was no Shen Jin... Something seemed to be missing inside him, empty... Without expectation, everything seemed lifeless and dull...

Yan Yu thought... Is he that important to me?

As Yan Yu was wheeled into the ward for emergency treatment, Xie Li, standing outside the door, gritted his teeth in anger: "Damn it!"

These past few days, he has been unable to sleep for several nights because of Shen Jin, and his mental state is very bad. In addition, he is not in good health. However, after Yan Yu came back, he did not ask him a single question. All his attention was on Shen Jin!

What's even more ridiculous is that he was bitten by a deadly venomous snake and hospitalized while searching for Shen Jin in the mountains. Doesn't he care about being laughed at? He could have just turned a blind eye and ignored Shen Jin's life or death!

Shen Jin was completely unaware of the farce outside the mountain. He was still living happily on the other side of the mountain, feeling as if he had entered a paradise where there were no more troubles or pain.

There was only him, A-Zheng, and a little dog here. There were many wild fruits on the trees. He could eat them when he was hungry, and after he had eaten and played enough, he could sleep and listen to A-Zheng tell him many interesting stories.

Moreover, Shen Jin could tell that Luo Zheng was treating him better and better; the way she looked at him seemed much gentler than before.

"Why are you so good to me?" Shen Jin asked, tilting his head. During their time in the deep mountains, Luo Zheng had taken care of him, for which he was very grateful.

Luo Zheng said nonchalantly, "It's because I want to be good to you, that's all. Why are there so many questions?"

Yan Yu needed to rest temporarily because of the poisonous snake incident, and it was several days later when he was able to move again.

Every day, the people who came to report to him gave him the same result: they had not found Shen Jin, nor had they found any trace of him.

In response, Yan Yu gritted his teeth and said, "Post his photo! A reward will be given for anyone who can provide clues!"

He was rich and powerful, and didn't care about much else. In order to find Shen Jin, he immediately raised the price, just so he could find him as soon as possible.

This incident even alarmed Yan Yu's elusive father, Yan Cheng, who thought he had gone mad and lost his mind. He immediately appeared and slapped him across the face.

After slapping Yan Yu, Yan Cheng ordered everyone to retrieve the pictures and information that had been sent out in search of Chen Jin and burn them.

Yan Cheng said coldly, "I heard you were bitten by a poisonous snake in the mountains. Some snake venom can damage the mind! I'm starting to suspect you've lost your mind! If you've lost your mind, why don't you stay in the hospital for treatment instead of running around acting crazy?"

Yan Yu had never spoken to his father about matters of the heart, and now that he was being prevented from doing so, he was determined to rebel.

It wasn't until Yan Cheng stared at him blankly and asked, "What do you want with him? What is he to you? Is he important? Do you like him? Do you love him? He's a man! Are you crazy?!"

Yan Yu had never thought carefully about what Shen Jin meant to him. He only knew that Shen Jin was extremely important to him, and he couldn't let him just disappear like that. He had to find him...

But... what kind of feeling is this? Is it liking...? Or is it love...?

Yan Yu's face was deathly pale. He pursed his dry lips, and his once beautiful peach blossom eyes were now somewhat dull and listless.

He didn't know... because no one had ever taught him these things since he was a child.

"Look at you! You can't even answer a simple question! What are you even doing here? Don't you want to embarrass yourself enough?!" Yan Cheng scolded angrily. "These are all shameful things. You don't even know how to cover them up properly, do you want the whole city to know about them?!"

After an unknown period of silence, Yan Yu spoke in a hoarse voice: "He is...very important to me...so I can't let him just disappear like this, he's mine..."

He can only be mine, and no one else can have him!

Even with this strong thought, there was still no clue about Shen Jin. Another week passed in the blink of an eye, and he still hadn't found Shen Jin, as if he had suddenly vanished into thin air.

Yan Yu was so thin that his cheeks were sunken, and he looked listless, as if he had become a different person. At night, he would drink alone and talk in his sleep. He often mistook Xie Li for Shen Jin, but he also pushed him away many times.

"You're not him, you're not him..." Every time he pushed Xie Li away, he would hide back in his room, get drunk, and murmur over and over again, "Not Shen Jin, not him..."

He laughed self-deprecatingly, his eyes reddening, perhaps from drunkenness, and said in a hoarse voice, "My Shen Jin, he's gone..."

"Oh, right..." Yan Yu laughed drunkenly, grabbed his phone which was lying to the side, unlocked it, and found a picture of Chen Jin in the phone's photo album.

The image of Shen Jin in the picture seems to be the same as he remembered. He smiles, revealing his white teeth, and his eyes are slightly curved, exceptionally clear, as if untouched by the dust of this world, making him exceptionally beautiful.

“Shen Jin…” Yan Yu murmured his name, reaching out to touch his face on the screen. It didn’t have the soft touch of before; instead, it felt icy cold, and his heart went numb.

"Why did you run away?" Yan Yu whispered, a tear suddenly rolling down his bloodshot eyes, but he seemed oblivious, still staring at the smiling person in the photo.

He thought, if I had been nicer to him back then...would he...not have left?

Was his approach wrong...? But all he really wanted was for him to stay by his side...