Chapter 57. "You've loved me for so many years, are you really willing to leave like this?"

The weather warmed up quietly without us even noticing, and spring has passed just like that.

Summer is a season full of hope. In the courtyard, the branches and leaves are lush, the cicadas sing loudly, and the blue roses are in full bloom as before.

In fact, the first batch of roses had already withered, the flowers were yellow and drooping. Bai Xiao insisted on having a new batch of roses planted, pretending that they would never wither.

Song Huai's right hand gradually improved with each day's rehabilitation, and he was able to take care of his daily life independently without the help of others, but he still could not play his piano freely.

On a clear early summer morning, Song Huai signed a contract with director Howard's team. He would fly to Country Y two months later to officially begin his collaboration with Alan Howard.

Everything seemed to be slowly getting better, but for some reason, Bai Xiao still felt inexplicably uneasy.

Almost every night he would dream of that day in the warehouse, Song Huai lying in a pool of blood, his eyes closed and on the verge of death. He would always be awakened in the middle of the night.

Whenever this happens, Bai Xiao would nervously press her ear against Song Huai's chest, constantly feeling his rising and falling breaths, listening to his strong heartbeat, confirming that he was still alive and well by her side, and then she would hold him tightly in her arms before she could fall asleep again.

The kidnapping of Song Huai became an unhealable wound in Bai Xiao's heart, and he could never forgive himself.

One day, Bai Xiao woke up from a nightmare again. The first thing he did after waking up was to reach his hand to his side, but this time, he found nothing.

He was instantly wide awake, and half of his blood ran cold.

He hurriedly got out of bed to look for Song Huai.

Song Huai was nowhere to be found in his original room, living room, kitchen, bathroom, and yard. It was as if Song Huai had vanished from the face of the earth.

Bai Xiao's legs went weak, and he couldn't stand up, collapsing to the floor.

"Song Huai, Song Huai...where are you?" Bai Xiao murmured to himself with a sob in his voice, calling out to his lover repeatedly, as if Song Huai would appear if he kept calling.

There was not a single ray of moonlight in the sky tonight, and the room was pitch black. It was so dark that Bai Xiao had a strange feeling: that there was a demon in the night who had taken Song Huai away.

In an instant, Bai Xiao was engulfed by endless panic. He had difficulty breathing and his heart was pounding. He tried several times to stand up and turn on the light, but his legs were too weak to move.

A moment later, he suddenly remembered something, and his eyes regained some of their light.

He staggered to his feet and ran towards the small room at the end of the second-floor corridor.

He had just turned the whole house upside down, but he missed this one spot.

Just as he was gripping the doorknob, preparing to open the door, the sound of a piano suddenly came from inside, and Bai Xiao stopped in his tracks.

From bass to treble, the person inside pressed the keys, one after another, tirelessly, pressing each of the eighty-eight keys of the piano from left to right, as if greeting his old friends one by one.

Then, a familiar melody began to play – The Butterfly Lovers, a piece that is probably familiar to everyone in the country.

Bai Xiao withdrew his hand from the doorknob and leaned quietly against the wall, listening to the piano music coming from the other side.

The piano music was melodious and gentle to the extreme, just like a mother humming a lullaby to lull her baby to sleep. You could tell that the person inside was extremely careful every time they pressed a key.

However, the music played with only one hand inevitably sounds somewhat lonely.

As he listened, tears gradually blurred Bai Xiao's vision, and for a moment, the pain bursting in his heart made it hard for him to breathe.

Bai Xiao had been consciously keeping the truth from Song Huai all this time, not telling him the real extent of his injury to his right hand, only telling him that his hand would definitely recover completely, and Song Huai did not express any doubt about it.

Bai Xiao thought she had really kept it a secret, how ridiculous.

Song Huai actually knew everything, but he was afraid of worrying himself, so he hid his inner wounds and only dared to come here quietly in the dead of night to vent his grief through the music of his zither.

Bai Xiao had always believed that as long as he treated Song Huai well from now on, one day he would be able to make up for the feelings Song Huai had for him over the years.

But he was wrong, terribly wrong. The love that Song Huai had shown him was just the tip of the iceberg.

In reality, Song Huai's love for him was something he could never repay in his lifetime.

Bai Xiao could no longer restrain himself. He rushed into the room and hugged Song Huai tightly from behind, who was standing by the piano.

Song Huai glanced at Bai Xiao, surprised that he would suddenly appear here.

He let Bai Xiao hold him without any further reaction, and his attention returned to the piano in his hands.

After playing a section with one hand, Song Huai stopped.

He stared motionlessly at the piano beneath his hands, his gaze unfocused, as if looking through the black and white keys towards a distant place.

After a long silence, he slowly spoke: "This was his favorite piece of music in the past."

The words seemed to come out of nowhere, but Bai Xiao instantly understood who Song Huai was talking about.

Song Huai smiled, looked at the piano, and continued, "But he's just missing a screw in his head; no matter how he plays this piece, he can't play it well."

Bai Xiao stared blankly at the person in front of him. This seemed to be the first time Song Huai had mentioned Song Boyu in front of him.

"I had no choice but to teach him again and again, and he followed along and learned from me again and again."

"He hasn't had a chance to learn this piece yet..."

"He also said he would celebrate my birthday with me, but his gift arrived, but he didn't show up..."

Song Huai couldn't say the rest of the words; he was already sobbing uncontrollably.

"Song Huai... Song Huai..." Bai Xiao hugged Song Huai tighter. He wanted to comfort Song Huai and tell him not to cry, but as soon as he said the words, he couldn't help but cry himself.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Song Huai wiped away his tears with his hands, sobbing. But the tears were like a broken faucet, impossible to stop. As soon as he wiped away a little, more would immediately flow down his cheeks. It took him a lot of effort to calm himself down and stop crying.

He pried Bai Xiao's hands, one by one, from his waist and turned around to face Bai Xiao.

He reached out and wiped away Bai Xiao's tears, then tidied her messy hair as she got out of bed, and said softly, "Bai Xiao, I've already discussed it with Director Howard, and I'll be going to Y country in two months."

"What?" This was too much for Bai Xiao to process for a moment. She stammered, "Then...then I'll arrange my work in advance...and go with you then."

"When will you be back? There's a lot going on at the company, and I... I probably can't be away for too long..."

Song Huai stared at Bai Xiao for a long time before finally speaking with difficulty: "After I go to Y country, I probably won't come back."

Bai Xiao thought she was hallucinating because she was still half asleep. "What did you say? I didn't hear you. Say it again."

"Bai Xiao." Song Huai took a step back, cleared his throat, and said seriously, "I said, let's break up."

Bai Xiao was immediately a little angry. Even if Song Huai was in a bad mood, he shouldn't make jokes like that. Is this the kind of joke you can just make casually?

Suppressing his anger, he grabbed Song Huai's hand and headed back to the bedroom. "It's getting late, let's go to sleep first. We can talk about it tomorrow morning."

"Bai Xiao!" Song Huai struggled to shake off Bai Xiao. "I'm serious. Let's find some time to get the divorce certificate."

Song Huai had mentioned wanting a divorce to Bai Xiao while they were in the hospital some time ago, but he hadn't brought it up since. Bai Xiao naturally assumed that the matter was over, but unexpectedly, Song Huai brought it up again today.

“If you don’t like the environment here, then in two years when I retire, we can move to Country Y together to settle down, but…” His voice trembled with tears again, his tone pleading, “You don’t need to divorce me over such a small thing, do you?”

"It's not because of that." Song Huai's tears welled up again. He couldn't bear to look at Bai Xiao anymore, turned his back, and stroked the piano. "It's Song Boyu..."

No further words were needed; Bai Xiao understood everything. His eyes were still red, but he gradually calmed down.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled, "Song Huai, you've liked me for so many years, are you really willing to leave like this?"

Upon hearing Bai Xiao's words, Song Huai was visibly shaken.

He turned around abruptly, his eyes wide: "You knew everything? You... when did you find out?"

Bai Xiao's gaze grew colder. Ignoring Song Huai's questions, she continued her aggressive questioning, "Why are you so afraid to face your own feelings? Why do you only know how to run away? The relationship between the three of us is just a coincidence. Why do you insist on being trapped in this coincidence? Is that your fault? Also, Song Huai, when you made this decision, did you consider the people who care about you? Did you consider me? What will I do if you leave?"

Song Huai was pressed by Bai Xiao until he couldn't utter a single word; he had no way to refute her.

Yes, Bai Xiao is right. He is a cowardly, timid, and selfish person.

But recently, one thing after another has happened: being kidnapped, unexpectedly learning that Bai Zhang killed Song Boyu, and also his right hand... These events are like an overwhelming tsunami, completely covering his psychological defenses, and Song Huai is about to suffocate.

Just then, the director he had always admired extended an olive branch for collaboration, allowing him to glimpse a ray of light in the dark depths of the sea.

Song Huai had a bold idea: he wanted to forget Bai Xiao, say goodbye to his past, and become a completely new Song Huai, living for himself.

I'm so sorry, but please allow me to be selfish this once.