Chapter 71 Standoff [Abuse of Ke] Oaths are like dog barks.
Ke Yanchen fell seriously ill after getting caught in the rain on the day of his engagement party.
For a whole week, he had a persistent fever and was delirious. Yan Congrong lost a lot of weight taking care of him.
Fortunately, Ke Yanchen's fever has subsided, but he still doesn't seem to be in good spirits.
The scandalous private life of Ke Yanchen, exposed at his engagement party, has shattered the company's reputation, investor confidence, and operational order. Zhenpin Real Estate seized the opportunity, aggressively acquiring and vying for Ke's projects. Ke Qingfeng, recovering from his initial rage, began investigating the whistleblower's identity. However, the whistleblower was overly cautious, having already cut off the surveillance cameras; the investigation is still ongoing.
Having navigated the business world for decades, Ke Qingfeng possessed a unique keen sense, and he felt that this matter was somewhat related to Yu Wu. He went to ask Ke Yanchen, who remained silent for a long while before finally speaking in a low voice: "...Consider it my retribution."
"You bastard!" Ke Qingfeng threw a teacup at him, but Ke Yanchen remained silent in his dining chair, like a wooden man, not even flinching.
Yan Congrong saw this scene in the kitchen and hurriedly put down the Chinese medicine she had just brewed, running over to check if Ke Yanchen was injured.
Ke Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back, his chest trembling with anger. He pointed at Yan Congrong and said, "You've spoiled our son rotten! He's going to ruin the entire Ke family!" No one paid him any attention, so Ke Qingfeng turned around and went back to his study in a huff.
*
The following day, due to the urgency of company matters, Ke Yanchen began going to work.
When Zhang Zhi, Ke Yanchen's assistant, first saw Ke Yanchen, he almost didn't recognize him.
The arrogant and carefree attitude of the former playboy had all shed its veneer on him. He had lost a lot of weight and was very quiet.
What exactly is different?
Zhang Zhi thought for a long time and suddenly realized that he had lost his spirit and energy.
Ke Yanchen coughed, his weak and hoarse voice pulling Zhang Zhi back to reality.
"Let's make an appointment with Mr. Shen from Yongchang tomorrow night."
Zhang Zhi wanted to offer some advice, since Ke Yanchen had been living and eating at the company for the past few days, and his physical and mental state was not good. However, Ke Yanchen wouldn't listen to any of his advice, so Zhang Zhi could only swallow his words.
"good."
...
Zhang Zhi walked into the office at seven o'clock in the morning and found that Ke Yanchen was actually working.
Looks like I've stayed up all night again.
Ke Yanchen noticed that he had arrived, stood up and stretched his shoulders, and calmly told him to go buy a cup of coffee.
Zhang Zhi agreed and turned to leave.
With his hands in his pockets, Ke Yanchen gazed silently out of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his tall office building at the awakening heart of Nanhai City. The streets, made of reinforced concrete, were filled with hurried office workers.
His eyesight was excellent, and he casually glanced at a female high school student downstairs. She had fair skin, wore black-rimmed glasses, a high ponytail, and was dressed in the uniform of Tenggui Middle School.
Black-rimmed glasses.
—It's as if I'm facing a fleeting figure from a dream.
Suddenly, a forgotten particle in the river of memories returned to its old place, and he finally remembered everything.
With just a small opening, memories flooded his mind like a burst dam. He frowned deeply, breathing heavily in pain.
...
Girls mature earlier than boys during puberty; at the same age, he still doesn't understand anything.
Years later, in a daze, he suddenly understood what she meant back then; that a young girl's love was so humble and passionate; that the retribution he was receiving today was the boomerang he had thrown years ago...
He suddenly realized that the words she stubbornly uttered to him and Xia Tingxue on the Monday after their breakup, "You're so childish," weren't about playing basketball or video games, but about lacking responsibility, making promises lightly, shirking duties, and avoiding problems.
How ridiculous, how absurd.
Everything he desires so deeply today is the very treasure he once discarded like trash.
...
Ke Yanchen took out his phone, lowered his eyelids, and swiped the screen.
I remember everything.
Let's meet tonight.
He squinted, quietly looking down at the crowd of office workers surging like slime mold beneath the floor-to-ceiling windows.
At 8:30, he received a text message.
Yuwu: [Okay.]
He gave a self-deprecating smile, put away his phone, and strode out of the company.
*
The rain on an autumn night always carries a soft chill, seeping into the very bones.
The sycamore leaves on both sides were sparse, their dense branches blocking out half the sky. The dim streetlights were blurred into dots in the rain and mist. When Yuwu arrived at the foot of Xiting Building, Ke Yanchen was already there, his hair and shoulders damp, having waited for who knows how long.
She stopped three steps away from him.
Their eyes met.
He was dressed in thin clothes, and his dark pupils held a kind of unsettling helplessness.
Yu Wu's delicate face was filled with worry. She gently touched his cheek with her fingertips and asked softly, "What's wrong, Ke Ke?"
"Isn't all I did to you the same way you did to me?"
Even if I'm promiscuous and sleep with other men, you'll still only love me, right?
A tenderness that is cruel to the extreme.
She was laughing, and he was suffocating.
His voice was low and hoarse: "Give me your hand, let me hit you."
Yu Wu was stunned for a moment, "...What?"
"...Let me hit you once, I won't hold it against you."
Yu Wu curled her lips in a sarcastic smile, "You're so naively laughable, it's astounding—"
Ke Yanchen's chest heaved violently as he suddenly grabbed her and pulled her deep into his arms.
The two embraced, neck to neck, and Yuwu could feel his body trembling slightly.
He let out a low, painful groan: "...Don't say that."
Yu Wu's breath hitched, her chest filled with a sense of oppression.
"...I treated you so sincerely, why did you lie to me?" he murmured softly, his warm breath brushing against her ear.
A cold wind is blowing, and a light rain is falling.
Yuwu felt a deep sense of irony.
Why is he pretending to be a victim?
Yuwu tried to push him away, but his arms tightened around her like vines.
She bit down hard on his neck, the force so great that the taste of rust and blood quickly filled her mouth. Even so, he didn't let go, but held her even tighter.
"Let's not break up, okay?" His voice trembled slightly as he swallowed all his pride and pleaded humbly, "Let's start over, okay?"
"Let go." He wouldn't budge no matter how hard she pleaded. Her voice was hoarse and weary. She closed her eyes and tried to swallow the churning sobs in her chest, but she failed.
She had always thought she was strong enough, but at this moment, a pang of sadness still welled up in her nose. With a sudden burst of strength, she shoved him away and slammed the letters and car keys in her hand against his grim, weary face.
She screamed at the top of her lungs, "You lied to me first! You said you loved me, you said you wanted a relationship that would last forever! You acted like you could fight the whole world for me!"
"I was a fool! I believed it all!"
The ridicule and doubts of my youth came crashing down like a surging wave, crushing all of Yuwu's strength.
—That was the inferiority complex that crushed my entire youth.
The rain fell more heavily, their eyes gleaming with tears.
Her eyes welled with tears, and her voice choked with emotion: "It was you who said you liked me that made me dare to hold onto my shattered self-esteem, face those crazy jealousy and ridicule, and bravely walk towards you."
“But Ke Ke,” Yu Wu’s tears rolled down her cheeks silently as she looked at him stubbornly, refusing to let out a sob, her voice hoarse: “How could you think I’m not presentable?”
“Back then, I was going through a sensitive adolescence. Just a glance from someone was enough to make me overthink for a whole day! And all of you mocked and belittled me, and everyone could trample on my self-esteem. Do you know that Song Man and Yuan Yin ganged up with the whole class to bully me? Do you know that the boys in school came to my house in the middle of the night to harass me? Do you know that they called me a slut, a whore, a public bus? Do you know how lost and helpless I felt back then? Do you know how hard it was for me to endure all that alone?”
"You knew perfectly well! You knew everything! And you still came up to me and trampled on me! You said I was a piece of trash, and then made me sit next to you at the same table!"
She sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face, completely broken, finally letting out all the resentment and grievances in her heart, her voice choked out as she sobbed, "Keke, all my courage has become a joke."
"...Why do you call me a slut behind my back?"
"...You were the one who provoked me first."
"...If you like it, why not cherish it?"
"...If you didn't like it, why did you lie to me?"
"I've always wanted to ask you face-to-face, Ke Yanchen... why...?"
Why play with people's true feelings?
Why play with genuine feelings!?
She was crying as she spoke.
She had sworn never to cry in front of him, but at this moment, she still lost control.
Thinking of the helplessness she felt throughout her adolescence, the suffering and hatred he brought her, and the loneliness and sorrow she felt. During that long, foolish, and agonizing adolescence, she was a broken child no one loved, timid, sensitive, and conflicted, constantly breaking down, yet constantly healing herself and learning to love herself.
She couldn't be strong.
She can't do it.
......
Rain soaked her shoulders. Ke Yanchen stared at her with reddened eyes, took a step forward, and tried to pull her into his arms. She took a few steps back and knocked his hand away, stubbornly confronting him.
Both of them had tears in their eyes, but neither of them was willing to back down.
A cold wind blew, and the plane trees on both sides of the street trembled, their leaves rustling as if something was sobbing softly.
They were stuck at opposite ends of a straight line, as if the last bit of beautiful intimacy from a few days ago had never existed.
Her tears, which she held back in her dying breath, flowed uncontrollably like a burst dam, one after another, scalding his heart.
She lowered her head, her voice trailing off, "...What am I?"
Ke Yanchen's voice was hoarse: "Yu Wu, I really love you."
"Your love is cheap."
Ke Yanchen screamed in despair, "I was only 16 that year, you have to forgive me for not understanding love!"
"You weren't naive; you were just too naive back then, which is why you personally crushed my innocence!"
"No—" Ke Yanchen's dark eyes gleamed, his heart felt as if it were being torn apart, and he murmured helplessly, "I didn't understand back then... I really didn't understand back then..."
Ke Yanchen had never felt so desperate and pathetic. The pride in his brows crumbled inch by inch. His shoulders slumped, his voice choked with sobs, all his usual pride and sharpness gone. He begged her in the most humble way possible.
He bowed his head deeply, his voice trembling and choked with emotion: "I'm sorry."
A cold drizzle fell, stinging my face like needles.
He repeated softly, "I'm sorry."
Ke Yanchen had never been so humble in his entire life.
The wind rustled the fallen leaves, making a soft, rustling sound.
This was the belated apology I had been longing for in my dreams, but there was no joy in Yuwu's eyes, only a deep weariness.
She kept her head down, her shoulders slumped, and her voice trembled with sobs.
"I love you so much, I'd give you anything you want. But Keke, why did you have to take away my sincerity and courage?"
"I know you like the docile, dependent flower, but girls also have spirited souls..."
"And please, allow girls to have their own sharp edges..."
“I’ll agree to anything you want.” He interrupted her, his dark, deep eyes filled with suppressed, crazy obsession, and he stubbornly repeated, “Any condition is fine. I can disregard everything, as long as we’re together.”
His pride and self-respect wouldn't allow him to show any humility. But he loved her, hopelessly loved her.
That stubborn and unyielding temperament was worthless in front of her.
"I just want us to be together." He could barely hold back his tears, desperately pleading with her. His eyes were bloodshot, and he repeated softly once more, "I just want us to be together, I beg you."
"...I beg you."
The early autumn rain grew heavier, shrouding the entire road in a misty drizzle. Both men were soaked to the bone, equally disheveled.
In that instant, Yu Wu stared at his handsome face despite his extremely disheveled state, unable to say a word, only able to cry.
Neither of them spoke, only silently shedding bitter tears.
They both knew they had reached the end of their relationship, and all the lies, deceptions, hatred, and sorrow were laid bare.
So they fell silent.
All we can do is remain silent.
Use silence to cover up scars, use silence to buy time, use silence to hold onto the last look at the other person.
...
Throughout high school, she countless times longed for Ke Yanchen to come back to her. She hoped he would admit his mistakes and say he was willing to be with her. If it were her then, she would have agreed without hesitation. In the dead of night, she would wake up crying countless times, heartbroken and yearning for him, with only her tears keeping her company.
They stood in the drizzling autumn night, no more than a meter apart, so close, yet separated by a distance of thousands of mountains and valleys.
Forgiving him would be betraying the self who was in tears, despair, and helplessness back then.
...
“It’s too late.” She stubbornly rolled her watery eyes. “I have a clear conscience and I will pay for my mistakes.”
"We should have no further contact."
"No—" Ke Yanchen reached out and grabbed Yu Wu's hem, refusing to let go. His lips trembled, streaked with tears, and his face was red. "Let's forget the past, okay? Let's start over, okay? I can give you everything I have. I'll give you anything, I swear, really, you believe me, Yu Zi, I—"
"...What's the difference between your vow and a dog's bark?"
A single sword strike to the throat.
All of Ke Yanchen's voice was stuck in his throat.
His back felt like it had been broken, and he was in so much pain that he couldn't straighten up.
......
She left.
......
The rain intensified, making a loud rushing sound.
Ke Yanchen watched her figure disappear from sight, his jaw tightening. After a long while, he let out a low, desperate sob. A surge of bitterness and pain welled up in his chest, finally erupting with a loud bang.
—All was silent.
He closed his eyes listlessly, tears falling to the ground and splashing into tiny flowers.
He mustered all his strength, his soul seemingly seized, and trembled as he knelt down, crawling toward the handwritten letter lying on the ground. He stretched out his trembling hand, clutching the envelope tightly, his fingertips white and throbbing. The veins running along his arm bulged, and his entire body, including his lips, trembled uncontrollably.
My chest was filled with a strange and extremely distorted tearing sensation.
The envelope was decorated with a hand-drawn teddy bear, Yu Wu's favorite, smiling at him. He started with a pencil, then a ballpoint pen, and finally filled it in with paint. Every stroke was a reflection of his true feelings.
...
He suddenly smelled a foul, rotten odor again. His vision went black, his throat felt metallic, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Countless flowers splashed up from the ground.
Amidst the raging wind and rain, he stood alone.
A soft, damp autumn rain, delicate yet icy, pierced Ke Yanchen's heart like poisonous thorns. He felt it wasn't raining, but rather being stabbed with knives, each inch of his skin feeling like it was being slowly sliced to pieces. He clutched the envelope tightly, his emotions overflowing like a burst dam, and he suddenly broke down in tears.
The crying was heart-wrenching, a lamentation that brought about half a lifetime of desolation.
A deep despair that pierces the heart.
Driven by remorse, many years have passed, yet Ke Yanchen remains trapped on this desolate street lined with plane trees.
*
That late summer, in the bright morning sunlight, after finishing the second period of gymnastics, Ke Yanchen and his classmates returned to the classroom.
Caught off guard by the girl's veiled yet passionate gaze from the second floor, he looked up and narrowed his eyes.
His companion beside him chuckled sinisterly and said, "Stop looking, she won't like you."
Ke Yanchen curled his lips into a smug smile. "How about we make a bet?"
He looked up and saw that the girl was no longer on the second floor.
The truth behind what the girl called "love at first sight" began with a cheap bet.
The stakes were just a bottle of Coke.
-----------------------
Author's Note: This is the climax of the story. I wrote this chapter before starting the rest of the book. I revised it more than ten times. Originally, I wanted to write about Yu Zi's cold and resolute attitude, feeling a sense of exhilaration as she watched Ke Yanchen collapse. But once I started writing, I realized it was impossible to maintain a completely rational and satisfying feeling. Her sincere heart from back then was trampled underfoot, and all the insults and malice dampened her entire adolescence.
My mood, like Yu Zi's, is as bittersweet and damp as a sudden downpour.
Why did Ke Yanchen betray such a sincere heart?
Only one chapter today~
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