Falling into the water

"Wen Tingyi caused our family to be destroyed and our lives ruined..."

"Chen Che, leave the Wen family, by any means necessary. Otherwise, my fate today will be yours..."

That was the last thing Jiang Hui said to him.

Amidst the construction materials scattered on the ground, blood seeped out, mingling with the cold, gray-black hue. A handsome man lay motionless among them, his eyes closed, his face devoid of color. The spreading blood gradually seeped through his white shirt, making it appear particularly glaring and jarring…

On a high-rise building not far away, a man who looked similar to him was watching all of this with his pupils flashing intensely.

The touch of Jiang Hui's clothes still lingered on his fingers. A tremendous sense of powerlessness washed over him. Wen Xubai leaned against the railing and slowly slid down, covering his face in anguish.

The sky was gradually covered by dark clouds, and a light drizzle began to fall, which then grew heavier and heavier.

The streets were filled with pedestrians frantically seeking shelter from the rain, but Wen Xubai walked alone, lost in thought.

He didn't know how he left the apartment building; rainwater mingled with tears on his face.

It's so cold.

He suddenly hugged his shoulders and couldn't help but tremble.

There was a small river nearby, where raindrops pattered and rippled. Many fallen red maple leaves floated forlornly on the water's surface.

The walkway was lined with maple trees, and the leaves were now completely red. Even in the heavy rain, it was a unique sight.

As dusk fell and fewer and fewer people appeared on the street, for some reason, Wen Xubai suddenly thought of that evening when he and Qi Zui took a walk together…

Qi Zui... Qi Zui is still waiting for him...

His frozen thoughts began to stir, and Wen Xubai regained a sliver of clarity.

Qi Zui is still waiting for him.

With only this one thought in his mind, Wen Xubai quickened his pace and ran towards the direction he remembered!

Before he could run a few steps, he suddenly felt a tremendous force coming from his shoulder. Before he could react, Wen Xubai was flipped over the railing!

The moment his feet left the ground, a feeling of weightlessness suddenly came over him. Wen Xubai subconsciously reached out to grab something in mid-air, but he couldn't grab anything.

The next second, river water rushed into his nasal cavity, instantly taking away his breath and causing excruciating pain!

Gazing at the figures on the water's surface, Wen Xubai's mind went blank.

Who is it?

He didn't know...

The river water pressed down on his body like a thousand pounds of lead. At first, Wen Xubai could still struggle instinctively, but now he was completely unable to move...

A wave of overwhelming fatigue washed over him, weighing heavily on his eyelids and rendering him unable to think. With his last vestige of consciousness, he reached out towards the shore, but only one thought remained in his mind: So tired…

The sound of the river gurgling filled his ears, his hands and feet were ice-cold and gradually stiffened... And so, he slowly lowered his hands and closed his eyes...

It's good that I just fell asleep like this...

It's better if he never wakes up...

At least... he's free.

His consciousness gradually faded, the initial stinging pain subsided, and Wen Xubai allowed the icy river water to strip away his warmth, slowly pulling him into the abyss...

Suddenly, a splash echoed through the water! A figure tore through the darkness of the river, bringing dawn. Wen Xubai wearily opened his eyes, but he didn't even have the strength to see who it was...

The next second, a tremendous force gripped his waist and abruptly pulled him out of the water!

With a "whoosh," accompanied by the anxious clamor of the crowd on the shore, two figures, like stranded mermaids, plunged ashore.

"Chen Che, Chen Che!" Qi Zui didn't even have time to shake off the water before he grabbed the cold body in his arms and shouted frantically!

He quickly took off his own clothes and covered Wen Xubai with them, then placed his hands on the man's chest, whose eyes were closed, and pressed them rhythmically.

Wen Xubai remained unresponsive, only spitting out a few mouthfuls of water before immediately losing consciousness.

The panic in his heart reached its peak, and Qi Zui's hands trembled violently as he performed CPR. He could only continue to call out cautiously while giving artificial respiration, "Chen Che, A-Che, wake up, wake up!"

"Oh my god, what's going on? Suicide?"

"I don't know, is he dead or not?"

······

Perhaps the word "death" pierced Qi Zui's nerves. Gazing at the bloodless Wen Xubai, he finally trembled as he embraced his lover's body, his voice trembling as he said, "A-Che, wake up... please... I really can't live without you..."

The rain was still falling, but it was getting lighter and lighter, gradually turning into a drizzle. In the center of countless umbrellas of different colors, there were two men embracing each other.

The whispers around me were as incessant as mosquitoes...

His cold body warmed by his lover's touch, and Wen Xubai finally slowly opened his eyes...

“Qi Zui…?” he murmured.

The person on top of him suddenly froze, looked up at him, and saw that his face was still covered in tears, which were clearly visible even though they were wet with tears.

"Thud"

A tear fell onto Wen Xubai's neck.

Unlike the biting cold rain, this tear was warm.

His thoughts were abruptly pulled back. Wen Xubai gently touched Qi Zui's cheek and asked in a daze, "Are you crying...?"

The next second, the man's expression collapsed instantly, and he hugged him tightly and cried even more violently, gripping his arm so tightly it hurt.

————————————————————

After that incident, Wen Xubai was hospitalized, not only because of falling into the water, but also because of his illness.

"You're getting on in years, you need to take good care of your health." The female doctor in the white coat looked at Wen Xubai earnestly and said, "Many early symptoms of stomach cancer are stomach pain! You can still control and treat it now, but if it really develops into a serious illness later, it will be too late!"

Wen Xubai clearly felt the hand on his shoulder tighten.

Qi said anxiously, "Doctor, how should we treat him? We'll take any medicine, no matter how expensive, as long as it can cure him!"

Upon hearing this, the female doctor's serious expression finally softened a bit. It was a good thing that the patient was starting to take it seriously, so the doctor's tone became more relaxed as she said, "Don't worry too much. It's still completely curable. As long as you maintain a regular diet and sleep schedule, and take your medication on time, it won't be too serious..."

“But now it’s even more serious…” The female doctor hesitated for a moment, looked at Wen Xubai, and then turned to look at Qi Zui.

This young man followed Wen Xubai into the hospital as soon as she was admitted, taking meticulous care of her at her bedside every day. She noticed his anxious and attentive manner. She figured he must be the patient's brother.

Qi realized what she was talking about, so his expression turned serious. After a while, he nodded to the female doctor and said gratefully, "I understand, doctor. Thank you for taking care of me."

Wen Xubai: "???"

On the way back to the ward, Qi Zui carefully supported him, making him look like someone who was uncoordinated.

Just then, Wen Xubai brushed past a pregnant woman and watched as her husband supported her waist, giving her instructions and helping her along the way. Finally, Wen Xubai couldn't hold back any longer. He pushed Qi Zui's hand away and said unhappily, "I'm not pregnant, why are you supporting me like this?"

As he spoke, he strode forward with great speed, and Qi Zui quickly caught up behind him, saying worriedly, "You just fell into the water, you're not fully recovered yet! You..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wen Xubai suddenly stopped, and Qi Zui quickly braked as well, almost hitting Wen Xubai's back. His heart nearly jumped out of his throat!

Wen Xubai turned around coldly and looked at him, questioning, "What did you talk about with the doctor earlier?"

These past two days, Qi Zui has been by his side at all times, refusing to leave no matter what. Even when he needs to go to the toilet, he insists on holding it in until Wen Xubai falls asleep. Once he's asleep, he'll wake up immediately if Wen Xubai makes any noise, which makes Wen Xubai a little scared.

Only once did he wake up from his afternoon nap and find Qi Zui missing, so he went out to look for him and happened to find Qi Zui talking to the doctor.

Only then did he learn that every time he fell asleep, Qi Zui would go to the doctor to consult about his condition.

But the body is clearly his, and he doesn't have any rare or difficult-to-treat illness, so why shouldn't he be told?

The more he thought about hearing Xu Bai, the more aggrieved he felt. He crossed his arms and glared fiercely at Qi Zui, as if he wouldn't go back until Qi Zui spoke to him.

Qi was most worried that he would catch a cold, so he quickly put his coat on him, but Wen Xubai slapped it away without any appreciation.

Looking into the other person's dissatisfied eyes, a cold wind swept through the hospital corridor, blowing Wen Xubai's thin pajamas, and Qi finally gave in.

After hesitating for a moment, she lowered her eyes and said to him, "A-Che, let's go see a psychologist..."

A psychologist? Wen Xubai was somewhat surprised.

"Why so suddenly?" he frowned.

Qi Xiao glanced at him carefully, slowly walked up, draped the coat over his shoulders, and looked into his eyes, saying each word slowly and deliberately, "I know you have some unspeakable troubles, and I know you must have gone through a lot of pain. It's okay if you don't want to tell me, but you shouldn't avoid seeking medical help..."

He took Wen Xubai's cold hand in his, rubbed it to warm it, and placed it on his chest, his expression revealing an unconcealed loneliness.

"It's my fault. After we got together, I could always sense your unease, but I naively thought I could cure you... Now I finally realize how overconfident I was."

As he spoke, he brought Wen Xubai's hand to his lips and kissed it lightly, his tone almost pleading, "A-Che, you don't know how terrified I was when I saw your body so cold, how scared I was, scared of losing you. I really don't want to see this happen again..."