There were messy footsteps in the corridor. Ye Jin was wearing flat shoes, and as soon as the elevator door opened a crack, she ran out in two steps.
"Xiao Kai!"
She suddenly froze in place.
"Chen Youhan," Ye Kai buried his head in his forearms, twisting the doorknob tightly with one hand, "When I leave, don't ever think of seeing me again. I won't remember you or wait for you anymore. I will make many, many friends. Don't ever think of getting back together with me. I won't treat you as my brother, and I will never be your brother again. Don't ever think of caring about me again."
He was cold and hard, he looked strong but was actually weak. All his naive hopes had been shattered by the other party. The other party was indifferent to all his requests, leaving only this pathetic and embarrassed threat.
The corridor was extremely quiet. Where in the rich and powerful is there no dirty business? The developer must have shown mercy to his fellow man, with one apartment per floor, absolute sound insulation, and absolute privacy. Even if the world is on the verge of collapse, there is no need to worry about being watched by outsiders.
Ye Jin swallowed hard and approached Ye Kai quietly: "Baby, can we go home?"
She didn't even dare to look hard, for fear of seeing too clearly the fragility that could collapse at any moment.
Ye Kai buried his head and turned a deaf ear to it.
"I will date others, hold hands with others, hug, kiss and sleep with others, I will remember other people's birthdays and sing birthday songs for them, I will accompany another person to watch the sea and ski, I will take him to Vancouver to see his grandmother, I will tell him everything about my childhood to make him happy and see him laugh, I will like the sound of him calling me baby..." His tone gradually became weak, and with a sense of hostility coming from nowhere, Ye Kai kicked the door hard.
The door opened.
Chen Youhan didn't change his clothes, and he didn't even wear slippers. It seemed like he had done nothing in the many minutes he was in there, except lighting a cigarette.
Ye Kai sniffed, his eyes were hot, his nose was red, and every time he blinked, new tears fell. He stared at him with red eyes and continued to be violent: "When you get married, I will bring my boyfriend to see you. If he asks me who you are, I will just say that you are my sister's classmate. You are no one, and you have left no trace in my life. I will accept the bouquet from your new wife, and I also wish you a happy marriage, I-"
"Either is fine." Chen Youhan interrupted him.
Even the blood color from crying out loud had completely faded from Ye Kai's face. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single syllable.
"Xiao Kai," Chen Youhan held the door frame with one hand and said calmly, "I wish you happiness, forever."
Ye Jin's face changed slightly when he saw Chen Youhan's left hand put the burning cigarette into his palm.
She took a deep breath and turned her head away, unwilling to look anymore.
Chen Youhan's brows just slightly frowned, and his Adam's apple rolled up and down. Finally - finally he raised his hand, very gently brushed Ye Kai's sweaty hair, and said with a smile: "Ye Kai is happy."
"On your first day in kindergarten, how do you introduce yourself to your classmates?"
"My name is Ye Kai, happy Kai"
The twisted white cigarette pipe fell to the ground, and the red star on the cigarette butt disappeared. He withdrew his hand, curled his fingers, and finally said in a hoarse voice: "Go, no one forced me, and no one deceived you, you are fine."
Ye Jin stood sideways with his arms folded, looking cold and stiff, with one hand covering his mouth.
Ye Kai's face was covered in sweat, and the hair on his temples and forehead was wet, clinging to his pale skin. His black eyes looked at Chen Youhan in panic, filled with broken despair and pleading. Hearing his words, he wanted to say something, something that was about to burst out of his chest -
——No, it’s not like that. I don’t want to hear you say this. I don’t want your damn blessing! You keep me, you keep me, just say one word and I’ll forgive you! I’ll forgive you for everything!
...But why can't I utter a single word?
Ye Kai was sweating even more, and his pale face was filled with fear and panic. The more anxious he became, the more he couldn't speak. He could only stare wide-eyed and grab the corner of Chen Youhan's clothes tightly, blinking and shaking his head instinctively.
His pupils shrank, and he thought of something. He pursed his lips and bit the tip of his tongue hard, and the taste of blood filled his mouth. He opened his mouth again with hope - except for the broken whimper, there was no word.
Like a mute.
No one noticed anything unusual about him.
He looked like he was simply crying and unable to speak.
Ye Jin finally couldn't stand it anymore, raised her head and took a deep breath, then pressed the down button as if to escape. The elevator came up from the first floor, and she took Ye Kai's hand. Ten, thirteen, seventeen, twenty... twenty-three, twenty-five - Ye Kai turned around, there were too many tears in his eyes, he couldn't see anything clearly, couldn't see Chen Youhan's last look at him, couldn't see Chen Youhan's last smile to him.
There was a ding sound. Ye Kai cried and shook his head as Ye Jin used all his strength to half-carry and half-push him into the elevator. He had helped Chen Youhan deal with so many embarrassing breakup problems and had seen through so many awkward and hysterical attempts to retain her. He was very smart, always very smart, but it turned out that he would actually try to retain something that had already reached a dead end and hit a wall.
The elevator door closed and the world fell rapidly. Ye Kai felt dizzy and finally burst into tears.
Ye Jin's hands on the steering wheel kept shaking. When the car started, she finally couldn't stand it anymore and eagerly took out a cigarette from her bag and started smoking. She thought Ye Kai would ask, but he didn't say a word. The smell of nicotine filled the air, and Ye Jin explained to herself: "I rarely smoke, don't learn from me."
Ye Kai laughed and closed his eyes.
Ye Jin rolled down the car window, letting in the cool summer breeze. She brushed off her cigarette ash expertly and said in a self-deprecating tone, "How about I introduce you to a celebrity? She's pretty, considerate, and clean." Perhaps she felt that her words were ridiculous, so before Ye Kai could say anything, she sneered at herself and whispered, "I'm sorry."
Ye Kai still didn't speak.
Ye Jin thought he was still crying, so she took out her free hand and held his wrist. Ye Kai was silent for two seconds, then calmly pulled her hand away. Ye Jin exhaled a puff of cigarette, "You can scold me, all the faults are mine, I'm not doing this for your own good, I'm just selfish, I'm afraid you'll piss off your grandpa, I'm afraid your coming out will turn our family upside down, I'm afraid you'll abandon your family for Chen Youhan. My most selfish and damnable sister in the world," Ye Jin's eyes were red, but her tone was cold and hard, "You can scold me."
Even though she requested like this, Ye Kai didn't bother to say another word to her.
She finally laughed: "Well, it's my own fault that you don't want to talk to me."
The car drove onto Siyuan Road, and the night sky was filled with the fragrance of flowers. Qu Jia was waiting at the door, and when she saw Ye Jin's car lights flashing past the last intersection, she hurriedly ordered someone to warm the medicinal food and fill the bathtub with water.
Ye Kai got out of the car, and Qu Jia's anger disappeared. What had her son experienced? Her eyes, which were always dark and bright, were no longer bright and lively, and she remained silent. She looked pale and depressed, with a sick feeling of exhaustion, as if she would collapse in the next second.
Qu Jia held his thin arm, unable to say anything harsh, and just pinched him lightly like a paper tiger: "There won't be a next time!"
Ye Kai smiled at her.
It was her familiar, well-behaved smile, with pursed lips and slightly curved eyes.
She felt relieved.
Everything went on in silence and in an orderly manner. Qu Jia had someone take his temperature, listen to his heart rate, observe, smell, and palpate, and only let him take a bath after confirming that his condition had not recurred. The medicinal food was served, and Ye Kai drank a bowl obediently and hugged Qu Jia. Qu Jia was caught off guard and the bowl almost broke from his hand. But he said nothing, just lifted the quilt and lay down on the bed silently, expressing his refusal to further communication with his thin shoulder blades and silent back.
But I didn't let out a sigh of relief until the second half of the night and it was raised again.
Ye Kai developed a high fever late that night. The family doctor and the nurse worked until the early morning. The fever was strange and fierce, coming back and forth, coming back and forth. At dawn, they finally had no choice but to transfer him to the hospital. He stayed in the hospital for two weeks. At first, he had a high fever, and then pneumonia. He had long periods of drowsiness and nightmares. He was rarely awake, and he didn't talk when he was awake. He drank water and ate food. He didn't play with his phone or read books. He just stared at the news in the ward. Qu Jia even asked the doctor if his throat was damaged by the fever? Why didn't my son speak? But Ye Kai just turned pale and refused to speak.
His words are in his heart.
When he was sickest, he felt like he was being roasted on a fire and cooked in oil. From bones to muscles, there was no part of his body that didn't hurt. He couldn't open his eyes, and he was sweating. He thought to himself, Chen Youhan, when I helped you move, you would make a fuss and apply ice to my hand when I twisted it. Now I'm dying of illness, and you don't even want to come and see me.
I had the same dream over and over again.
He dreamed of the day when the college entrance examination ended. It was raining heavily. There were colorful umbrellas, and crowds of people under the umbrellas. There were unfamiliar faces and strange facial features. He was very scared and kept pushing his way through the surging crowd, saying "make way, make way". Suddenly he saw Chen Youhan.
...So he was there that day, holding a big black umbrella, standing freely and hiding among the crowd. From afar, I looked at him with a smile.
You are here, why don't you call me? Why don't you say anything?
But the rain stopped, and everything disappeared. Chen Youhan was gone, and he was destined not to be able to run to him that day.
On the day when my condition finally stabilized, local news was broadcast on TV. The Loucun project was finally finalized, and the land use plan did not need to be changed. All projects started in order. The GC Oceanarium completed the capping ceremony that day. A leader named Rong attended and shook hands with Chen Youhan on the stage. Both parties smiled.
People say that people become uglier when they are on camera, but Chen Youhan is still suave and handsome. Facing such a big leader and so many reporters and cameras, he remains calm and composed, with a smile on his lips, as nonchalant as always.
Ye Kai watched the video in its entirety and was happy for Chen Youhan in the video. This was a signal to the market. GC's difficulties were over.
The news was ending when Qu Jia came in. She picked up the remote control and turned off the TV: "He's fine now."
Ye Jin leaned against the door, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.
During the days when Ye Kai was ill and in a coma, she answered the phone for him. It was Gu Xiu's call.
Gu Xiu asked: "Did Xiao Kai break up with Mr. Chen?"
Ye Jin asked him coldly what he wanted.
Chen Youhan's voice was faintly heard in the background. He was obviously drunk, and he called Ye Kai's nickname countless times, and finally ended up calling him "baby" in a low voice. Gu Xiu said in a panic, "Nothing, if Xiaokai is convenient, can you let him answer the phone? Just a few words will be enough, Youhan... I've been looking for him all night."
Ye Jin came back to her senses from her memories and saw Qu Jia sitting down beside Ye Kai's bed: "Baby, can you talk to mom?" She couldn't hide the anxiety on her face: "How can I keep silent? It's okay to ignore mom, but you ignored grandpa when he talked to you. He's old, and he can't sleep well at night because of worrying about you. He has lost a few pounds."
Ye Kai held her hand and moved his lips—he tried to calm himself down, as solemnly as he wrote down his name before an exam—but no sound came out.
He was stunned for a moment, smiled apologetically, and pointed to his throat.
"Sore throat?" Qu Jia frowned.
Ye Kai nodded, then shook his head again apologetically.
Qu Jia's heart ached: "How could this happen? The doctor clearly said that the tonsils have healed." She touched his hair distressedly: "Baby, can you go for a checkup this afternoon?"
Ye Kai nodded, opened his phone, and sent a WeChat message to Qu Jia: It's okay, Mom.
Qu Jia's eyes were hot and she couldn't help crying. Ye Kai looked at her steadily, raised his hand to wipe away her tears, and typed to Ye Jin: Sister, take mom back to rest.
This strange silence lasted for half a month. Even on the day when the scores were released, he didn't say a word, but just hugged Qu Jia tightly. The scores were very high, ranking in the top ten in the province. He really did it. The congratulatory banners were hung all over the Tianyi campus for a whole summer. The largest poster was hung on the new library building funded by Chen Youhan. It was a full 15 meters high and was printed with Ye Kai's name and the ID photo he took for his admission ticket. He was very beautiful and calm.
Chen Youhan had been to Tianyi once before, and that was his last time there. Summer vacation was drawing to a close. After nearly a month of exposure to the wind and sun, the poster had faded. He stood downstairs and looked at it for a long time. When he returned to Fanning's empty villa, there was a large cardboard box at the door. It was not a courier.
He seemed to have a premonition in his heart. His five fingers were shaking slightly when he carried it into the house. It was not heavy, and the things were obvious at a glance. A black access card, a ski board nearly as tall as a person, and a small box.
Inside the box is a sapphire.
Shining and sparkling, gorgeous and crystal
When he took out the skis, he also took out a letter.
Champagne-colored envelopes and letter paper, with beautiful and elegant handwriting.
Brother Youhan:
The love at eighteen years old stays at eighteen years old, and we all have to look forward.
The signature is no longer "super lucky", but the neat "Ye Kai".
Even the longest summer will come to an end.
The secret written on the beach is destined to be swept away, and the confession in the wind will also be blown away. The little wild boar will not come out of the python's belly again, the Juliet rose that was exposed to the sun will not bloom again, and the orange blossom essential oil has become the most bitter and beautiful dream, pressed by the black waves on the bottom of Fiji.
The first thing Ye Kai said to Qu Jia was, "Mom, any school is fine. The farther, the better."
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