If we never see each other again
He Honghan drove Yu Zou back to his 80-square-meter apartment. There were several bags of trash piled up at the door, and clothes were scattered everywhere. Yu Zou went straight to the sofa and lay down. He Honghan took a cup of green grape black tea from the refrigerator and placed it on the coffee table in front of him.
Yu Zou glanced at the label: "Expired three days ago."
“They’re all additives, how could additives expire?” He Honghan picked up the half-cup of drink again, took a sip through the straw, walked back to the open refrigerator, and after thinking it over, decided to spend a huge sum of money to order takeout.
Just as they were about to reach the payment screen, Shi Nao's phone rang suddenly. The first thing she said was in a choked voice, "Can I come to your house?"
Five takeout orders and a row of canned beer were on the coffee table. He Honghan sat in the middle, with Yu Zou staring blankly at his beer glass on his left and Shi Nao holding chopsticks but unable to eat on his right.
He sighed again, full of regret, repeating, "I warned you all not to date a mentally ill person. Look at the result now."
Shi Nao said blankly, "I don't think that counts as dating."
"What does that count as? Work? Now you're injured on the job?" He Honghan was exasperated. This Secretary Tong, who appeared out of nowhere, inexplicably said she wanted to leave, disregarding Shi Nao's wishes, dragging him into an abnormal relationship and then breaking it off in an abnormal way. No matter how you looked at it, it was a form of mental manipulation.
Shi Nao stared blankly, still reeling from the immense shock. Everything that had happened in the past was now in question due to Tong Tangming's denial. What he couldn't understand the most was: "How did he act all of this out?"
Upon hearing this, the other two looked up at him.
"Can you act this realistically? Can you act for this long?" Were all those moments of genuine emotion, the tears that fell one by one, and the heart-wrenching words all acted out?
Shi Nao looked at He Honghan, longing for an answer, whether yes or no, he needed one.
“Listen carefully, Shi Nao.” He Honghan lifted Shi Nao’s head out of his knees so that he could see his eyes more clearly. “Humans are creatures that change every moment. The sincerity of this second does not mean the pretense of the previous second. No one can keep performing. Even performances are based on their own half-truths and half-falsehoods, based on their understanding, their methods, and their purposes.”
“I don’t understand,” Shi Nao said.
"If you can't figure it out, then don't think about it anymore. Just look at the result and don't ask why. Your relationship with him objectively existed. He subjectively felt that he was deceiving you, but that doesn't mean that his subjective opinion is objective, much less that your subjective opinion should agree with his. You can believe that you were not deceived."
Yu Zou's expression shifted slightly, and Shi Nao's eyebrows twitched as she murmured, "But he said..."
“Does he think he’s absolutely right? He says the sun is green and the sky is red, so it is? Then he’s not a secretary, he’s an emperor.” He Hong chuckled. “Shi Nao, I think you can’t accept the end of this relationship, but you can’t accept the reasons he gave.”
Gradually, Shi Nao's worries lessened, and he nestled on the sofa and fell asleep. He Honghan brought a blanket from the bedroom and covered him with it. Yu Zou sat on the sofa beside him, looking perfectly normal, clutching a can of beer and sipping it like a precise timer.
"And you?" He Honghan opened a new can and clinked glasses with his. "Just get a divorce, a clean break." Like the previous ones.
“Not now. If I leave, Luo Zangrui will do everything he can to get his hands on him.”
"What does that have to do with you? Why are you even concerned about him?"
“Yeah, why should I care about him…” Yu Zou’s finger suddenly throbbed with pain. He took off his wedding ring and placed it on the coffee table. “Not only should I care about him, but I should also continue to treat him well.”
He Honghan frowned: "Are you alright?"
Yu Zou slapped away He Honghan's hand, which was about to conduct a psychological test on him, and said, "Until Chi Hengxun comes back."
He Honghan was a little anxious: "Those words are completely irrelevant to you! Tong Tangming has self-destructive tendencies and will never hurt Shi Nao no matter what, but your situation is the opposite. Staying here for even a second longer is dangerous."
That's right.
Having a still-living corpse next to a criminal reserve officer is extremely dangerous.
They should get a divorce immediately.
But.
At that moment, Yu Zou suddenly understood her mother's choice. In the end, her mother loved Shao Yuan, even though he was an absolute bad person to her.
Looking at Yu Zou's face, He Honghan knew that saying anything more would be useless, so she simply asked, "What are you after?"
“I guess I’m still not reconciled.” Yu Zou tilted his head back and drank the last mouthful, then placed the can on the coffee table. “Don’t worry, I’m not reconciled because I didn’t catch up with him, but because I knew that nothing I did would make a difference, so I didn’t give in to him.”
Do you know when Chi Hengxun will be back?
"I don't know, but it won't be long." Knowing Chi Hengxun's personality, he would appear in front of Du Pianjian the moment the punishment ended.
"Can he keep you alive until then?"
Yu Zou laughed, his shoulders shaking with laughter. He leaned back on the sofa in a comfortable position, closed his eyes, and said, "So, I'm going to die first."
The setting sun inch by inch moved down until it caught up with Yu Zou's hand, which was hanging on the lock.
No matter how much it is delayed, the moment of facing it will eventually come. Yu Zou pushed open the door and went in. There was only Yi Song's welcoming voice. Du Pianjian was not at home.
His muscles were still tense from inertia, trying to ensure a flawless performance in the upcoming act. However, there was only a vacuum-like silence in the room, and the storm he had anticipated was just an overreaction of his own consciousness.
He laughed absurdly.
That's fine, he thought.
At least he had a few more moments to catch his breath. Using those moments to practice might increase his chances of survival. Yu Zou loosened his tie and walked towards the bathroom. To accommodate Du Pianjian's composition, the floor was made of extremely silent material, so there wasn't even a sound from his footsteps. But in his empty heart, a growing echo gradually rose. He had mustered his courage and resolved to face what the other party cared about least. Was there any point in facing it at all?
Water flows down the grooves, gathers in the drain in the corner, swirls and leaves. The heat on the surface and the coldness inside are in conflict, highlighting the discord. The more it is ignored, the more it needs to be discovered in the struggle.
Until the water flow was forcibly cut off, and the cold completely enveloped this body and this space, Yi Song's voice appeared in her mind like a scrolling page: "...The water supply has been temporarily interrupted to prevent accidents. Do you need medical assistance now? If you do not respond within ten seconds, I will activate the emergency contact procedure. Also, please contact Teacher Ji Huisheng, who has sent a message. Do you want to check it immediately? Countdown six, five..."
Yu Zou snapped out of his daze, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, saying as he walked out, "I'm fine, play the teacher's message immediately."
"Okay." Yi Song's blue light followed Yu Zou's footsteps and flowed onto the mirror, where a white regular script character appeared: Before Li Li died, she saw someone. Do you know who it was?
The water began to evaporate from his skin, raising goosebumps. The reply cursor blinked on the mirror, reflecting Yu Zou's pale lips. A name was in his mind, but he couldn't send it based on just a few words he'd overheard.
The cursor moved back one space, and the message "Who?" was sent, sitting there all alone, with no follow-up.
As he waited, Yu Zou felt a spasm rising in his lower abdomen, forcing him to gag. The other party's silence confirmed his suspicions, and his deliberate misinterpretation of the issue was exposed, which was tantamount to ignoring the vivid death and unfairly protecting the perpetrator.
“Yi Song.” Yu Zou leaned on the sink, water droplets from his hair falling onto the white porcelain. “Collect relevant information about Li Li. Keywords: Zhibinzhou Bridge, St. Hele Sanatorium, suicide, King of Hearts.”
"Received. Based on past experience, two sets of results are expected to be generated in one hour." Typically, one set contains the complete data, and the other contains a simplified version. The complete data serves as a backup to prevent any omissions.
He Honghan is right. Those words don't apply to him at all. He can't just look at the results; he needs to know the reasons! Why did Du Pianjian, who was also a victim, instigate Lili to commit suicide?
Wearing only a bathrobe, Yu Zou went straight to the workroom. The four walls were made of computer cases, and in the middle were three circular light screens. The data stream changed from red to green and then to blue. Yi Song's underlying code was rewritten and then tried to run. It wasn't until late at night that it could barely run normally.
Surrounded by data streams, Yu Zou was trapped in a bizarre dream. He suddenly woke up to find Du Pianjian's beautiful face before him. Her hand, which had been close to his neck, moved to his forehead and asked with concern, "Did you have a nightmare?"
"I don't remember." Yu Zou's hands trembled uncontrollably, his chest heaving as he tried to deliver oxygen to his throbbing heart.
"Are you alright?" Du Pianjian asked, looking displeased at not receiving a definite answer. "Did your teacher's incident really affect you that much?"
Yu Zou froze, his mind like a stuck gear, slowly turning towards Du Pianjian. He couldn't believe such words were coming from Du's mouth. He stared at Du as he slowly stood up, saying with deep pain, "A living, breathing person. Du Pianjian."
Du Pianjian was stunned. This was the first time Yu Zou had called him by his full name. The unfamiliar expression, the unfamiliar tone, and the unfamiliar feeling stirred up his unease.
Yu Zou pointed to the information on the screen. Ji Huisheng had already disappeared before sending him the message, and he had missed the only chance to track the teacher's coordinates. Ji Huisheng even went so far as to conceal everything he knew: "I am sad about this. Is it hard for you to understand?"
Du Pianjian stared blankly up at Yu Zou, his outstretched fingertip touching a tear on Yu Zou's chin. Yu Zou pulled his hand down and held it tightly, showing him the conversation they had just had, and asked, "Before Lili died, did you see her?"
Du Pianjian looked at the two lines of dialogue and said indifferently, "No."
"Is that so?" Yu Zou released his hand, his voice barely audible.
Du Pianjian looked directly into his eyes, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, and repeated, "You don't believe me?"
Yu Zou smiled, stretched out his arms and hugged him, almost covering him with his whole body, counting down the time in his mind. This time, even when Du Pianjian pushed him away, he did not let go, but whispered in his ear, "Pianjian, happy birthday."
The voice seemed to travel through their minds. Du Pianjian stopped abruptly, puzzled, as it wasn't his birthday today.
"Happy New Year," Yu Zou continued, "Happy Wedding."
"What are you talking about?" Du Pianjian was completely confused. She pushed him away and looked at Yu Zou's face, hoping to see something from his expression, but Yu Zou's expression was just gloomy, more so than ever before.
"Do you want to go back to the band or try another job with Long?"
He simply couldn't keep up with Yu Zou's erratic thinking; there was no coherence between his words. After taking a deep breath, Du Pianjian said, "The orchestra."
Yu Zou was slightly surprised: "Congratulations on winning the award, the youngest Grand Slam winner in history."
Du Pianjian could feel his sadness. He thought it was temporary, and it had to be temporary. After all, teachers occupy so much of one's life, and sooner or later Yu Zou would be able to emerge from the shadow of losing his teacher and shine again.
He never expected that the eyes that had always followed him would not only dim but would gradually disappear.
From that moment on, Yu Zou seemed like a different person, like a volcano about to erupt at any moment. The erupting love was scalding hot and devastating, magnificent, spectacular, and reckless, embracing without regard for tomorrow or consequences, struggling on the edge of madness, attempting to test its limits in an instant by squeezing life out of itself. Then came silence, a silence that simply stood beside Du Pianjian, vast, hard, but lifeless, without a trace of smoke or breath, yet one could inadvertently feel the indescribable pressure surging within.
Only with Long is it thriving.
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