Ye Kai stayed in bed for three days. His high fever had not yet healed, and the heavy rain and the stimulation caused his condition to relapse that night. Qu Jia hired a professional nurse to watch over him 24 hours a day.
The class group was still lively. The party seemed to never stop, everyone was busy making wild confessions, wantonly indulging their nature that had been suppressed for more than a decade. The usually silent Ye Kai privately messaged Yang Zhuoning for the first time, asking him to organize a party. Yang Zhuoning thought he was dazzled, and asked cautiously: Are you back from the other side of the ocean?
Ye Kai called directly. Yang Zhuoning was the most active member in the class. He casually called out and more than ten people responded. Ye Kai asked them to choose a place and he would pay for it. The group was lively for a while. He threw off the quilt and got out of bed. The mirror showed his silent and pale face with dark circles under his eyes.
The nurse carefully accompanied him and watched him lean on the marble sink with one hand, slowly brushing his teeth and washing his face, and then taking off his shirt, as if he was going to take a shower, so she asked, "Are you going out?"
Ye Kai nodded, "You can go tell Qu Jia."
The nurse had indeed received additional orders not to let Ye Kai leave the third floor. After hearing him expose her directly, she felt a little embarrassed. Ye Kai lost his patience: "You can watch me take a bath if you want."
The pajamas and trousers were taken off, and the bathroom door was opened quietly. The person left.
The water from the shower was strong and hot. Ye Kai tilted his head back, closed his eyes and held his breath. His black hair was gathered back, forming a beautiful shape along with the water flow, revealing a smooth face. From the side view of his face, his jawline had become even thinner than before in just a few days. His lips were still beautiful, but they had lost their color. In the misty heat, he was like a jade artifact that could be broken at any time.
After taking a shower, he stood naked in front of a huge mirror, trimming his long bangs and tails with scissors. His technique was clumsy, but full of indifferent seriousness. People with good foundation are not afraid of squandering, and they don't feel ugly after blow-drying.
Qu Jia was waiting in the living room as expected. Ye Kai glanced at her stern face, just as he glanced at the vase on the corner of the table and the records on the bookshelf, calm and without any fluctuations. He did not avoid her and walked into the cloakroom in front of Qu Jia. The door of the closet slammed lightly, and he turned his head and asked, "A shirt or a T-shirt?"
Qu Jia was stunned and said subconsciously: "Everything is fine."
Ye Kai smiled and said, "A T-shirt, it's a bit silly to wear a shirt at a class reunion."
Qu Jia asked tentatively: "What party?"
"There's a group chat on the phone, take a look." Ye Kai took a simple white T-shirt with trendy letters from the hanger, "Let's eat first and then play board games. If you want someone to follow, that's fine."
Qu Jia's face froze. He neither reached for his phone nor responded.
Ye Kai put on a pair of camel-colored baggy cigarette pants, picked up his phone and handed it to Qu Jia: "Look, I don't want to quarrel with you."
Hundreds of messages were already flooding the group, and more and more people responded and joined. Qu Jia glanced at them casually and said gently, "Don't drink, come back early."
Ye Kai packed up and asked Uncle Lu to take him to his destination. He knew that Qu Jia had sent someone to follow him, but he didn't care. The dinner was serious. There were nearly twenty people, and it was very lively, so his silence was not so conspicuous. Only Yang Zhuoning noticed that he spoke less than ever before, and ate very seriously, unusually seriously, as if he really came out to fill his stomach. Halfway through the dinner, Ye Kai ate his fill, paid the bill, and left through the back door of the restaurant.
There were only two things in his trouser pocket: a cell phone and an access card.
It was not the weekend, so Chen Youhan might be working overtime or might have already finished work. He was not sure. He swiped his card to enter the elevator, and the number quickly jumped to the 28th floor. He was used to this place, and he was used to living here, but he felt palpitations when he took the first step.
Press your thumb on the sensor - "Sorry, fingerprint recognition failed."
Ye Kai was stunned for a moment, or rather, he was startled by the cold female voice. He panicked and was ready for Chen Youhan to push the door open. If Youhan's brother happened to be at home, he would say that he was here to get something... No, he was here to see him. But the entire floor was very quiet.
He lowered his head and subconsciously glanced at his sickly white palms, then wiped them on his clothes to remove the non-existent sweat stains, and pressed them again - "Unknown fingerprints."
...How could it be? He pursed his pale lips tightly, pressed the numeric keypad, and entered the password he knew by heart.
"Wrong password."
Ye Kai held the door handle and remained still. His fingers hanging by his side couldn't help but spasm. Yes...I remembered it wrong, I remembered it wrong. His fingers were shaking as he pressed the six-digit number again, his heart in his chest. At the moment of swallowing hard, the door lock reminded again that it failed. It was a very deep "beep" sound, really...really unpleasant to hear. It was like a weight falling off a cliff and into a mountain stream, making people unable to breathe.
The door lock is broken.
Ye Kai leaned against the wall and slowly sat down.
Chen Youhan deleted him as a friend, instead of blocking him. This means - it means that Brother Youhan doesn't really want to end things with him. Otherwise, he would have blocked him, right? The chat history is still there, and all those cold and perfunctory messages have been crossed out. He scrolled through the pages without blinking, as skillfully as if his fingers had muscle memory. Starting from August 7th of the year before last, any day would be fine, any day is worth recalling over and over again. And the phone call - he must try this hour to see if Brother Youhan has removed him from the blacklist. The moment he dialed the phone, he received a voice reminder that the other party was busy, which meant that he was still blocked. He had never been blocked by anyone before, and at first he really thought that Chen Youhan was busy, until he called repeatedly for an hour without interruption, and then he realized that it turned out that - it turned out that Chen Youhan was not busy, he just, just didn't want to give him another second.
The sensor lights in the corridor could not sense his presence. Ye Kai sat there with his head bowed in silence, and the darkness enveloped him silently. The tiny movement of the elevator tortured him irregularly, and his heart repeatedly rose and fell.
Then he probably fell asleep.
That's why he didn't open his eyes the moment Chen Youhan came back.
It was not until the short "ding" sound of the elevator, footsteps were heard, and the lights in the corridor came on that Ye Kai raised his face buried in his arms.
Chen Youhan was holding a suit in his hand and smelled of cigarettes and alcohol.
The two looked into each other's eyes under the bright chandelier. It took only a thousandth of a second for Ye Kai's eyes to go from hazy to clear. He slowly stood up with the help of the wall, and his nose felt sore before he spoke: "Brother Youhan."
His tense body gradually relaxed. Chen Youhan looked at him and asked in a low voice, "Why don't you go home?"
The tone was normal, but in Ye Kai's eyes it was very gentle. It was as if a little light shot into his heart, and a crack was pushed open in the dark room. He pursed his lips, "I know everything!" He said hurriedly, "I know that Ye Jin forced you, I know what happened to GC-"
Chen Youhan was visibly stiff: "So." He paused for a moment and said calmly: "I'm sorry."
"I don't blame you, really," Ye Kai stammered, afraid that Chen Youhan wouldn't believe him, so he made awkward gestures, as if this would make Chen Youhan believe his sincerity a little more. "I don't blame you, if it were me, I would make the same choice. GC is more important than me. There are so many employees and families, as well as the suspended projects, the board of directors, the demolition... They are all more important than me. I know."
Chen Youhan closed his eyes and said, "Xiao Kai, stop talking."
"I don't blame you," Ye Kai mustered up his courage, clenched his fist and squeezed his palm tightly, "...Can we make peace?"
Chen Youhan looked at him deeply, threw his suit over his shoulders, and fished out a cigarette case from his trouser pocket. The smell of nicotine and tar filled the air, and he leaned against the wall, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said, "No."
The corners of his lips that had finally risen froze: "Why?"
He didn't blame Chen Youhan. It wasn't their fault. None of them was wrong. Why did they break up? Oh, by the way, he didn't apologize. He didn't apologize for his ignorance and childishness.
His eyes lit up again after this thought, and Ye Kai looked at him steadily, with eyes that Chen Youhan was familiar with, gentle, innocent, and shining brightly: "I apologize!"
Chen Youhan paused with his hand holding the cigarette.
"I'm sorry, Brother Youhan! It's me who is immature and ignorant. It must be tiring to be with me, right? I will correct myself. It's me who doesn't care about others and I'm too self-centered. I have never really cared about you. It has always been you who took care of me, indulged me, and treated me well... I have thought a lot these days, and I have been reflecting on myself——"
"It's none of your business." Chen Youhan interrupted him, "Go back."
The expression he managed to maintain was frozen on his face like a mask. The corners of Ye Kai's mouth still remained upturned, but the muscles on his face couldn't stop sinking.
Is he too ugly? Why doesn't Chen Youhan want to look at him?
Chen Youhan lowered his head and dialed the phone; "Xiao Kai is here, you come and answer it."
Ye Kai heard it and it was Ye Jin on the other end of the phone.
He was completely panicked and pressed against the hard door handle tightly: "I'm not going back!"
Chen Youhan finished smoking a cigarette and walked towards the door. Ye Kai was right in front of him. He stopped one step away and smiled, "I'm going in."
Ye Kai woke up from his dream, stepped aside, and said awkwardly: "The lock is broken."
Chen Youhan put his fingertips on it.
"Really? I just tried for a long time but couldn't open it. Should I ask someone to fix it—"
The door opened.
Chen Youhan pushed open the door: "It's not broken, I deleted your fingerprint."
"Did you delete it by accident? I have time now! I can re-record it—"
"We're breaking up, Xiaokai." Even the last bit of tenderness disappeared from his tone, "Don't come again."
Ye Kai was speechless, and Chen Youhan said again: "I don't want to move again."
"Brother Youhan, Brother Youhan... Chen Youhan!" Ye Kai held his hand tightly, his eyes losing all confidence and calmness, "Why? Why must it be like this? Why must we break up? I can change whatever I did wrong, why can't you give me a chance? I don't care about 20 billion or choosing between two. I really don't care. I don't care about what you promised Ye Jin. You can go back on your word, right? GC is fine now and no one will force you anymore. Can you go back on your word? Don't be so trustworthy..."
He pulled so hard, trying his best to prevent Chen Youhan from entering the door.
Chen Youhan glanced at him from a high position. He seemed very tired after a day's work, and his handsome face even looked sick. "Xiao Kai, you know me best. After more than a year, I've already gotten tired of you."
Bang! There seemed to be a sound in my ears.
Nothing fell.
Someone shot him in the heart.
Ye Kai's pupils suddenly shrank, then quickly widened, and he instinctively said, "I don't believe it."
"If I still love you, Ye Jin can't force me. You always know that I really can't stay with one person forever." Chen Youhan firmly and slowly pulled his arm out, facing Ye Kai with his usual gentlemanly but indifferent smile: "I'm sorry."
If only the tears could dry up.
There would be no need to be so embarrassed in front of Chen Youhan.
Ye Kai kept shaking his head, his lips wet with tears: "I don't believe it, you're lying, you said you'd marry me, didn't you say..." He racked his brains, reciting those words by heart: "Didn't you say that I could become smaller and you could take me with you every day, didn't you say that we would be together seriously and work hard, didn't you say we'd get engaged...you, you also gave me a sapphire--"
"Sapphires are not valuable. If you like them, I can give you another one."
Ye Kai stared with his eyes wide open, still looking very naive, as if if he continued to work hard like this, his tears would not fall so quickly and so much.
"Chen Youhan, I don't believe a word you said," he wiped his cheek fiercely, "You said you wouldn't let go, don't let go, I beg you, don't let go..."
Chen Youhan took a deep breath, dialed the phone again, and asked coldly and impatiently: "Where is he? He's crying, there's nothing I can do."
Ye Kai suddenly felt that he no longer knew Chen Youhan.
It's fake, all fake. Chen Youhan would never speak to him in this tone, look at him in this way, or watch him cry without frowning.
"Xiao Kai, don't be like this." Chen Youhan apologized again, an official, condescending apology, a polite apology, "When two people are in love, it is important to part ways amicably. If you cry like this, we can't get along in the future. I know you still remember the past, forget it, a lot of things are just casually said when the atmosphere is right, get married, be together until you are 80 years old, want to see you every day, these kinds of things are said to anyone when you are in love, but it's meaningless if you take it seriously."
The thin body swayed under the light.
"If I had a choice, I would rather not have been with you. What's wrong with being your younger brother?" Chen Youhan curled his lips. "If you are willing - forget it. It's not convenient for us to meet again if you are like this."
He saw Ye Kai holding onto the wall.
But he remained indifferent, pushed the door open, and walked completely inside.
"I'm sorry, I'm really just fed up. I didn't want to say it so directly at first, but if you keep pestering me--" He paused and said hoarsely: "It's also annoying."
The door closed softly.
With a click.
In the past, they would kiss at the entrance.
Ye Kai slowly sat down against the wall, his fingertips still twitching, the pain in his heart being transmitted to his nerve endings in its dying struggle.
…It turns out that he was just deceiving himself.
He thought everyone would truly love him.
It turns out that isn't the case.
The world does not work according to his will.
Neither is Chen Youhan.
A door separates two worlds, both are very quiet.
Chen Youhan made another call.
Hang up again.
Ye Jin seemed to understand and sent him a very short message: three minutes.
Chen Youhan took a deep breath, slowly sat down against the wall, and tilted his neck. The spotlight shone on his face, and he bathed in the light, swallowing, with a burning sensation in his eyes.
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