Chapter 58
When someone you haven't seen in a long time suddenly appears in front of you, it feels like you're looking through a layer of fog; even your immediate emotions are hazy and unclear.
Lin Langyi recognized the person at first glance, but still zoomed in on the photo with two fingers and stared at it for a long time.
She had many questions, such as why this person who had been living abroad for so many years suddenly appeared downstairs; and why he seemed to have returned to see her so naturally as if nothing had happened, given that they hadn't been in contact for so long.
But for some reason, after learning that the person who appeared was Bian Shu, Lin Langyi suddenly felt relieved.
If it were Bian Shu, given his character and conduct, he would never do anything illegal or disorderly, let alone something morally questionable.
She entered the password to unlock the core area, then took her phone and went downstairs.
Her steps were unhurried, without the eager excitement one might feel after a long separation, as if she couldn't wait to appear before someone the moment they met. As she descended the stairs, she even took the time to leave Uncle Tan a message:
"Sorry, Uncle Tan, you've gone to all this trouble. This is my old classmate. It's nothing."
Uncle Tan's message came a while later, his voice gruff: "Okay, it's nothing, just call me if you need anything!"
Lin Langyi kept her hair down as she walked closer to the first floor, her expression becoming increasingly calm as she opened the messages from the publicity department in the work group and replied to them one by one.
Upon reaching the first floor, the marble in the lobby was illuminated by bright lights, resembling the daytime sun, which was somewhat dazzling.
Through the glass door, Bian Shu stood on the steps, with the water behind him blending into the darkness. The light that shone through was only enough to vaguely outline the trees that stretched skyward on the shore, as if they were desperately stretching their necks and reaching out to the sky.
When he saw her, his usually honest and upright face suddenly froze, his pupils contracted slightly, as if a spark had fallen into a pool of silent charcoal ash and suddenly ignited with warmth.
Lin Langyi finally finished replying to the messages on her phone. Nothing else could take up a single second of this reunion, but she still stared intently at her phone, not looking up for a long time, nor even sparing the person standing outside the door a glance.
She held her phone still, and remained silent as she spoke, obediently standing outside the door waiting for her, just like when they were students, and he would quietly wait for her downstairs at her dormitory, never urging her to leave.
Lin Langyi recalled the image of him in the surveillance photo. He looked just as he had always: dressed in white shirt and black pants, composed and meticulous. He was quiet and reserved in everything he did, and meticulous in every detail. He was the teacher's favorite student, a reliable and steady prodigy, and the student council president who was admired by his classmates.
Actually, he wasn't that stubborn, Lin Langyi thought. At least in front of her, he was very easy to coax and deceive. She didn't even have to do anything for him to break down and smile at her.
For example—
She finally slowly raised her face, and their eyes met unsurprisingly. His eyes flickered slightly, his lips parted slightly, as if he had forgotten to breathe and blink. He stood there motionless, his eyes aching and sore, but he dared not blink.
Lin Langyi took a step forward and raised her hand to greet him. He immediately smiled and, surprisingly, took two more steps forward, as if he wanted to rush to her immediately.
See, I told you she was easy to manipulate. He's probably forgotten how ugly things were when she dumped him.
The automatic door opened, and without the barrier of the glass door, the sound flowed into his ears unimpeded. He softened his voice and called out with a hint of nervousness, "Zhuzhu..."
Lin Langyi suddenly laughed: "How old are you? Still using a nickname? Nobody calls me that anymore. It's so childish. Just call me Langyi."
He didn't say anything; I don't know if he listened.
Lin Langyi was extremely enthusiastic in words, but her actions were anything but polite. Apart from taking that one step forward, she didn't lift another inch, as if she were rooted to the ground. Curious, she asked, "Didn't I ask you? Why did you suddenly return to China? Did your supervisor let you go?"
“I came with the professor,” Bian Shu replied earnestly. “If the Sino-foreign cooperative study abroad program is established in the future, I plan to stay in China to teach or go to a laboratory for targeted research.”
He looked at her, his voice trembling slightly: "I'm not leaving."
Lin Langyi exclaimed "Wow!" and clapped her hands, nodding in approval: "The Ministry of Science and Technology's Flame Project, right? Talented people returning to China, not forgetting their original aspirations, they have a clear understanding."
He continued to stare at her intently, as if anticipating her next words.
"Then why did you come to Yingshan Lake so late at night?" she asked again. "You scared me to death just now."
Bian Shu thought his sudden appearance had startled her, and before he could explain, an apologetic expression appeared on his face. He explained in a low voice, "I saw your photo on the news in China before, and I know that you are now in charge of Ying Shan Lake."
Lin Langyi suddenly realized she had blocked him from seeing the photos… Ah, this.
"My research direction and the project I've been working on with my supervisor recently are somewhat related to..." He didn't dare to say pearl farming, and vaguely said, "So when my supervisor came to City B, I also had the opportunity to come and see it in person."
After hearing a few keywords, Lin Langyi suddenly felt something was wrong. She paused for a few seconds and slowly said, "Wait, Xiao... Bian Shu, what was your doctoral major?"
When he heard her stop calling him Xiaoshu, his expression darkened and became lonely for a moment.
Lin Langyi assumed he was depressed because she knew nothing about his recent situation, and dared not admit that she hadn't checked his updates in a long time.
With so many people in her WeChat Moments every day, how could she possibly keep up with every single one of them?
Despite his low spirits, Bian Shu still answered every question: "I study biotechnology."
a bolt from the blue!
Lin Langyi froze for two seconds, clinging to her last hope: "Is your mentor named Humphrey Hall?"
His eyes lit up immediately, probably realizing that she was also paying attention to his recent situation, and he nodded immediately.
Lin Langyi stared blankly... Heavens! Could she go back to the timeline of their initial reunion and start over? This time, she would definitely invite him upstairs with great enthusiasm, make tea, and have everyone enjoy themselves.
"You—" Her mind raced with all sorts of thoughts, and she didn't notice for a moment that the lights in the west corridor on the first floor had suddenly come on.
"You came without even saying a word..." Lin Langyi tried to salvage the situation, "If I had known you were coming, I would have picked you up at the airport. Oh wait, isn't Professor Humphrey supposed to arrive no earlier than the afternoon after tomorrow? He wouldn't be out there right now, would he?"
After she finished speaking, she craned her neck to look outside, then shook her head: "No, the professor is still in City B. I told him myself that time was tight and I wanted to come and do some on-site research first..."
His voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, and by the end, before he had even finished speaking, his ears were red, and he looked away, unable to look at her.
"Oh, oh, it's alright... no, it's such a pity." Just as Lin Langyi stepped back, a series of hurried and heavy footsteps suddenly came from afar.
She looked up at the sound, but before she could see what was happening, Bian Shu suddenly rushed up and pushed her aside.
With a muffled thud, followed by the sound of powder shattering on the ground, Lin Langyi saw fresh blood dripping onto the ground. Her throat felt like it was blocked by cotton wool in her extreme panic and trembling, and she couldn't make a sound.
He spread his arms and hugged her tightly, the momentum of the brief burst of speed causing her to take several steps back.
She saw his eyes, just inches away.
"Ah—ah—" A hoarse and unpleasant scream came from behind, like scratching at the throat, along with the pungent smell of a sauna when you got closer.
Lin Langyi jolted awake, her terrified mind finally returning to normal. She turned her head and saw an old man standing crookedly behind her.
His hair was covered in mud and ash, like a head full of dandruff, and his long, gray hair was stuck together in strands, covering his disheveled face.
The old man was holding a brick-red square brick in his hand. His vest and shorts were tattered and indistinguishable from their original color. He exuded a salty and fishy smell.
He met Lin Langyi's terrified eyes, grinned, and made a series of hoarse, mocking sounds, then raised a brick high to smash him.
"Run!" Lin Langyi immediately grabbed Bian Shu and ran out the door.
While Bian Shu was still covering the back of his head with one hand, that hand, which was covered with thin calluses, was soon covered with spider web-like red blood vessels.
Lin Langyi was terrified by the shocking sight of blood and kept looking back to see if the old man was catching up.
Bian Shu seemed stunned by the brick, and as she led him, he ran into the vast night, not knowing which way was north or south, his eyes never leaving their intertwined hands.
The wind blew her long hair back, reminding him of the nights before physical tests when he would accompany her on the track to practice long-distance running.
Back then, he could follow half a body length behind her, watching the colorful hair ties and cute hair clips in her hair, which looked different every day.
"No, does that mean I can't run if I got hit on the back of the head?!" Lin Langyi's heart rate skyrocketed after running only a few dozen meters. She didn't know if she was frightened by the old man who suddenly appeared or because she was frantic because of Bian Shu's current appearance with half of his hair covered in blood.
"It's okay... I'm not dizzy." Bian Shu followed her closely. "I can run."
"Run my ass! Are you anemic?" Lin Langyi cursed, pulling out his phone to call the security guard while frantically searching for a suitable weapon on the spot.
When Bian Shu heard the words "you are anemic," his nose tingled. The bittersweet emotions that had been building up over his trip to City A and his several walks around Yingshan Lake were suddenly overwhelming him. It was as if a piece of his heart had collapsed, and all the memories, a mixture of sweetness, pain, and regret, surged up like a tide.
He lowered the hand that was covering the back of his head, and the blood that had been caught in his palm dripped down his fingers and onto the ground.
He tried to push her: "Then I won't run, you run, I'll stop you."
Lin Langyi was still on the phone with the security guard on duty when she heard this and glared at him fiercely.
Bian Shu took a step closer to her, turned his head, and glanced back.
Fortunately, the old man didn't chase after her. Lin Langyi didn't dare to delay and immediately dialed 120 after making that call.
After making a round of phone calls, she finally had time to check on him. Bian Shu's face quickly turned pale, and blood was flowing continuously down the back of his neck like a small stream, staining his clothes red.
He said he wasn't dizzy or wanted to vomit, but he gradually became unsteady on his feet. Lin Langyi sensed something was wrong, so she helped him take two steps back and lean against a tree trunk, where he slowly sat down.
During this time, her phone rang several times, but she had no time to pay attention to it. She grabbed his clothes, wrapped them tightly around the wound several times, and tied them in a knot, trying her best to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.
Bian Shu looked up slightly, and in front of her was the hem of her light green blouse, which swayed slightly with her hurried movements.
She was very close to him, and he could clearly smell the sweet floral and fruity scent emanating from her. It was probably some new shower gel she was trying; she always liked to buy all kinds of scented personal care products.
His shoulders relaxed, and he sniffed greedily, wanting to lean closer to her but afraid that his blood-stained hair would soil her beautiful clothes.
Just like a long, long time ago, he was always ashamed of his old clothes, and he would iron out every single wrinkle before seeing her.
At the very least, it should look neat and clean.
Unexpectedly, as the years passed and things changed, he no longer had to struggle financially like before. He thought that when he stood before her again, he wouldn't have to recall his past feelings of inferiority.
But who would have thought that after their reunion, by a twist of fate, he would still extend those dirty hands, hands with calluses that would never fade. And she, just as he remembered, was vibrant and beautiful, the purest white.
Bian Shu felt as if the entire sky had pressed down on his head. He struggled to open his eyelids, and the world in front of him gradually blurred and distorted. Even her figure and outline began to become jagged and out of place, making it difficult to see clearly.
He suddenly panicked, wondering if this was all a dream, just like many times he had tried to call out to her in the middle of the night, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he would wake up.
Bian Shu strained to lift his shoulders, trying to raise his arms to grab the hem of her dress, so that he wouldn't wake up to find it all empty and just another dream.
He tried for a long time, but his strength dissipated quickly like a flat Sprite. The distance between them seemed like an insurmountable chasm. Before he could reach her, everything went black, and he fell into a coma.
*
Cheng Yanjin tried calling several times in a row but couldn't get through. He paced anxiously around the living room, only to finally receive a message that Lin Langyi's phone was switched off.
The fragile string in his mind finally snapped. He couldn't wait any longer and, in a desperate attempt to find a solution, he made a phone call to Yuan Chuyu.
The other party answered, and Cheng Yanjin, without saying a word, immediately launched into a tirade: "Is Lin Langyi with you?"
Yuan Chuyu's breath hitched almost imperceptibly. Cheng Yanjin, indiscriminately firing off his absurd and nonsensical associations from earlier in the day, exclaimed in exasperation, "Neither you nor she are home!"
Yuan Chuyu paused for two seconds before answering, "What nonsense are you talking about? Isn't she at home?"
He was too anxious, so much so that even though there was a flaw in his statement, Cheng Yanjin failed to analyze why Yuan Chuyu was so certain that Lin Langyi was at home when he was caught up in his emotions.
"She's not here, and the phone isn't working! I could get through a moment ago, but it's switched off now!" Cheng Yanjin never imagined that he would be so worried after becoming the one staying home all the time. He felt like he would go crazy if he couldn't see Lin Langyi again!
"Should I call her mom? Or her brother?" he frantically asked. "Why is her phone off?!"
The sound of the door latch closing came from Yuan Chuyu's side. He spoke quickly but calmly, saying, "Go check Yingshan Lake. At this hour, she can only be out for work."
Cheng Yanjin immediately grabbed his keys and was about to leave.
He was in such a hurry that he kicked his shoes away in the entryway in his haste, then stretched out his leg to pull them back and haphazardly slipped them on before slamming the door shut and heading straight for the underground garage.
"How can you drive after drinking?" Yuan Chuyu could also hear the elevator descending.
Cheng Yanjin didn't care about these details and hung up the phone after saying, "I'll call my driver over."
In such a short time, he urged the driver repeatedly in a great hurry, wishing he could appear in front of him immediately.
What the hell are you drinking for!
He was extremely frustrated, tearing his hair into a mess... If he hadn't been drinking, he could have just stepped on the gas himself... and reached Yingshan Lake by now.
No, if he hadn't gone out for dinner tonight, he wouldn't be looking for someone in the middle of the night. Wouldn't it have been better for him and Lin Langyi to eat at home together?!
The driver messaged that he was almost there. Cheng Yanjin's finger hovered over the screen, and the next second, Yuan Chuyu's message also arrived.
Very brief, just one sentence:
She went to Yingshan Lake to see her first love.
This sentence robbed Cheng Yanjin of all his reason.
He suppressed his rising anger and, without hesitation for even half a second, hung up the driver's call and dialed Yuan Chuyu's number.
The moment the call connected, the first thing she said was, "How did you know?"
Yuan Chuyu's gaze fell on the Weibo page, where the account that had been inactive for many years suddenly posted a new update at 21:33 today.
All the water in the world will eventually meet again, becoming a cloud on the horizon, but I long for it to turn into rain and soak me.
Below is a dark, blurry photo. Even with the exposure set to maximum, all you can make out is a body of water.
But Yuan Chuyu could identify the location at a glance.
He stared at the photo for a long time, only his lips moving, too lazy to even come up with a reason: "We have business dealings, and I have the contact information of several of their company's employees."
Cheng Yanjin was furious. Just then, a loudspeaker blared from nearby, signaling the driver's arrival.
Without hesitation, he got into the car, slammed the door shut, and uttered only a fierce shout: "Drive faster, you bastard!"
As they sped along, Cheng Yanjin's mind was filled with nothing but the words "first love."
He recalled the photos of them together that she hadn't deleted from her phone's album, the so-called "bean sprout number two," and the criteria she used to use for her ideal type... all of which eventually led to the fact that at 12:47 tonight, she went out to meet her first love and didn't come home.
Hang up! Turn off your phone!
He went out to dinner tonight, but she said she didn't want to go out. He didn't force her, but let her go out alone for a social event, just like when she was single.
He felt sorry for her having a rare time to rest at home, but he didn't want her to go back to her ex.
The jealousy in Cheng Yanjin's heart was burning away his reason. His face was ashen, and he wished he could rush up to his resurrected white moonlight and punch him to wake him up.
Why doesn't he just die?!
Why didn't he die abroad?!
Just before the car reached Ying Shan Lake, Yuan Chuyu called again. Cheng Yanjin had already sat up straight in the back seat and leaned forward, his upper body wedged between the driver and passenger seats. His eyes were fixed on the distance, as if he was afraid that he might accidentally let go of his damned first love and let the two of them live happily ever after.
"Cheng Yanjin, come to the Second Hospital." Yuan Chuyu's voice was more tense than ever before, like a taut bow.
He said sternly, "Lin Langyi is in an accident and is in the hospital."
*
"Lin Langyi! Lin Langyi!" Cheng Yanjin rushed headlong into the emergency operating room and saw Lin Langyi sitting alone in a chair, lost in thought.
She heard the shouts, looked up, and saw bloodstains on her clothes.
The sight of those bright red marks made Cheng Yanjin's pupils shrink, his legs go weak, and he couldn't even stand up when he rushed in front of her. His knees buckled and he suddenly squatted down.
He ignored her completely, grabbed her arm, and stammered, "Where are you hurt? Where are you hurt?"
Before receiving an answer, he didn't even realize his body was trembling. Like a frightened bird, he gripped her arm, looking her up and down: "Where's the bleeding? Where's the doctor?! Why isn't there a doctor? Hey! Doctor over here—"
"It wasn't me!" Lin Langyi quickly covered his mouth, only to find him trembling when she touched his hand.
His eyes were wide open, and he was breathing rapidly, like a frightened child.
Her palms were warm, but his face was cold.
Cheng Yanjin opened his mouth but didn't make a sound. Instead, he reached out and grabbed her hand, pressing it firmly against his face.
It was warm; she was warm.
Lin Langyi softened her voice and explained, "It wasn't me, it was Bian Shu. A madman ran into the company and attacked people with bricks from the construction site. He didn't hit me, but Bian Shu blocked it for me."
"His bleeding is quite severe, a CT scan has been taken, and the doctor is reviewing it."
Cheng Yanjin's gaze was slightly unfocused, his eyes fixed on her face without blinking, as if he hadn't heard a word she said.
Lin Langyi stopped and was about to call out to him when Cheng Yanjin suddenly pounced on her without saying a word and pulled her into his arms.
Lin Langyi's arm was still bent, and he pressed it against his chest. He was broad-shouldered and strong, and this hug almost hid her whole body in his arms.
He was still shivering slightly when he murmured in her ear, "It's my fault. Tonight at dinner, I was thinking about picking you up and dropping you off at get off work every day... It's my fault. I should have thought of it sooner."
When he heard that she had been attacked, his mind went blank for a moment. He was no longer angry, and his first love and staying out all night were no longer important. His whole heart was only concerned about her safety and health.
Bloodstains were commonplace for him. Falling and bumping into things while practicing moves, getting cuts and bleeding during fights—these were all part of his daily life.
But when he saw the dark red stain on her clothes and the glaring bright red stain on her fair fingers, he felt a pain that ran through his bones, his breathing became labored, and he could hardly breathe.
I never knew bleeding could be such a terrible thing.
Lin Langyi pulled her arms out of his tight embrace and hugged him back: "I'm fine—"
Before she could finish her sentence, her peripheral vision suddenly swept across the front, where a tall and imposing man stood.
Yuan Chuyu stood quietly at the corner of the corridor, the fold of the wall in the corner blocking half of his shoulder.
She noticed that one of the buttons on his shirt was fastened incorrectly.
Lin Langyi's arms were still wrapped around Cheng Yanjin, her palms pressed against the back of his neck, showing a look of deep affection.
Despite being more than ten meters away, Yuan Chuyu did not take a single step forward from beginning to end.
"Hello, which one of you is the patient's family member?" the doctor asked as he came out.
Lin Langyi abruptly looked away, and the hand she had just raised to hug Cheng Yanjin was pressed down by him.
His expression was unfriendly, and he didn't even look at her: "Yes, that's me."
"The head injury appears to be minor, but the intracranial condition is not too serious. However, the bleeding is quite significant. The CT scan suggests a possible mild concussion. The wound has been stitched up."
Lin Langyi said nervously, "He just fainted."
The doctor nodded: "You're awake. Keep an eye out for symptoms like vomiting, headaches, or eye pain during this time."
"Oh, so everything's alright then." Cheng Yanjin grabbed Lin Langyi's wrist, shooing her away. "If everything's alright, you should go back. What are you doing here?"
Lin Langyi was shoved a few steps and was about to speak when the doctor added, "His blood clotting function is not good, he needs a blood transfusion... You should go and pay the bill first."
"Sit down." Cheng Yanjin's face was unreadable. "This is none of your business, don't worry about it."
Lin Langyi was forced to sit down without a word, and when she turned her head, she saw him with a pale face going straight to pay the bill.
Before the doctor could finish speaking, Cheng Yanjin strode away, so the doctor turned to Lin Langyi and said, "Here, if you want a blood transfusion, you need to donate blood first."
“Then…” She had just stood up when a hand landed on her shoulder, applying a subtle pressure.
"I'll do it." The tone remained indifferent.
She suddenly turned her head and saw Yuan Chuyu with an indifferent expression. His handsome face revealed an inorganic coldness under the cold, pale lights of the hospital.
In the end, Lin Langyi did nothing but see two men, one expressionless and the other full of sarcasm.
Bian Shu needed to be hospitalized for observation. He had already woken up and turned his head to see Lin Langyi holding his hand and sitting by his bedside. She hadn't even had time to change her clothes. His expression immediately warmed, and just as he was about to speak, the ward door was kicked open.
When Cheng Yanjin paid for the private room, he couldn't help but sneer. When he came in and saw the two of them seemingly gazing at each other affectionately, he became even angrier.
Bian Shu lay on the bed, looking at the uninvited guest in astonishment.
Lin Langyi thought he was hesitant to speak because he wanted water, and asked, "Shall I rock the bed up a little?"
Bian Shu's gaze was still fixed on Cheng Yanjin. He had just nodded when Cheng Yanjin let out another mocking laugh and walked to the foot of the bed, shaking it like he was on an elliptical machine.
"Hey, hey, slow down! He's injured his head and will get dizzy!" Lin Langyi quickly stopped him.
Cheng Yanjin, feeling reprimanded by her, stared at Bian Shu with an even more sinister look.
Bian Shu touched his head with his hand, closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, looking towards Lin Langyi.
Before the question in my heart could be voiced, the door opened again. This time, the opening and closing of the door was very steady and peaceful, just like the man who stepped in, calm and composed.
His left sleeve was rolled up above his arm and hadn't been lowered yet. There was a square waterproof bandage on his elbow, but perhaps it wasn't applied properly, because a smear of red seeped through the snow-white bandage.
Lin Langyi's reaction was strange. Bian Shu noticed that she quickly glanced at the person who came, her gaze seemed to linger on his arm for a moment, and then she immediately turned her head back.
Yuan Chuyu stood there with his arms exposed. After Lin Langyi glanced at the patch on his arm, he casually pressed the patch with his right fingers to stop the bleeding. He then walked to the opposite side of the hospital bed, leaned against the wall, and looked down at the patient.
Cheng Yanjin had just met Yuan Chuyu while paying the bill. To his surprise, Yuan Chuyu said that he was afraid something might happen and he would need help, so he came to help. Cheng Yanjin felt incredibly comforted.
In times of crisis, it's always the best brothers you can rely on.
At that moment, he clenched his fist and punched Yuan Chuyu's chest: "Brother Yu, I was just too anxious on the phone just now, don't take some of what I said to heart."
"No." Yuan Chuyu took the blood test form and walked straight to the blood collection hall.
"Let me do it," Cheng Yanjin said, feeling bad.
"Go back to Lin Langyi's place as soon as possible." Yuan Chuyu lowered his eyes, his thick, long eyelashes lightly obscuring the emotions in them. "Bian Shu has woken up."
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