Chapter 239
The torrential rain showed no signs of stopping and seemed poised to intensify.
Below the surface, the seawater was silently swallowing the air inside the car. When Pei Yuqing struggled to unbuckle his seatbelt, he immediately went to unbuckle Ying Ning's seatbelt.
Click.
The sound of failure.
Click...
Fate's cruel joke finally befell him.
Click...
...
An unsolvable knot.
How could this be?!
Pei Yuqing's flustered appearance no longer displayed his usual playful arrogance; instead, he resembled a helpless child as he tried to wake Yingning, who had just fainted from the impact.
"Ningning."
"Wake up."
...
"You Yingning, wake up right now!!"
"Wake up!"
......
Please...
The seawater had already submerged the bottom of the car, and oxygen was slowly being lost. Yingning's cheeks flushed red, and she gradually began to have difficulty breathing.
The person in a coma seemed to want more oxygen.
Her face was pale.
This isn't a solution...
Pei Yuqing also sensed that there was very little air left in the car. He awkwardly tried to give Yingning more oxygen, so he gently approached her and kissed her.
He parted his thin lips slightly and passed the air to her.
Pei Yuqing repeated the action again and again until his eyes became sore and hot tears welled up in his eyes.
A tear falls at the most inopportune time.
He didn't know why he was crying, but he kept repeating it over and over in despair:
"You Yingning, please wake up."
"Let's go out first."
"...I'm so sorry."
"I..."
"You can hate me, want to leave me, or not want to go to Europe, that's fine with me."
"At the very least... stay alive."
As the air gradually thinned, he seemed to hear a faint sound:
“Pei... and Qing…”
Pei Yuqing seemed to see a last hope in despair, and at this moment the safety buckle gently loosened. He immediately put one arm around Ying Ning and opened the car door before the seawater completely flooded the car.
They didn't fall too far from the coastal highway, but the bad weather made the sea unpredictable, and Pei Yuqing roughly judged the direction.
He used one hand to support Yingning's waist and slowly swam upwards.
Pei Yuqing knew that Yingning's physical condition was extremely poor, but when he saw the blood surrounding her again, he still panicked.
He struggled to swim upstream.
The rain poured down, and countless waves crashed against the coastline.
"Cough cough cough." Pei Yuqing finally surfaced, breathing in the fresh air. He was relieved and turned to check on Ying Ning.
He pulled her to his side.
But a sudden wave instantly engulfed the two of them, and his vision was once again blocked by the seawater. Pei Yuqing subconsciously grabbed Ying Ning's hand.
The waves crashed down on the two of them without mercy, submerging them beneath the surging spray.
A few seconds later, the man struggled to the surface and pulled another petite figure out of the water.
The two escaped the brink of suffocation, panting heavily.
They were swept further away from the shore by the waves.
Before Pei Yuqing could react, another wave crashed in.
...
This time, he stayed submerged for a longer time, and Pei Yuqing's face had turned somewhat pale.
"You Yingning, hold on tight!" Pei Yuqing tried to pull Yingning back to his side, but his strength seemed insignificant in the face of the changes in nature.
"Never let go."
Raindrops pounded on the waves and also fell on the two of them.
The surrounding waves made a noisy, desperate sound, accompanied by a hint of death.
Everything seemed to be trying to separate the two.
The conscious person wants to struggle and start over, while the other figure is on the verge of collapse.
Pei Yuqing watched helplessly as Yingning's complexion worsened, but the two were quite far from the shore, and the current situation made it difficult for them to even get a step closer to the shore.
"Hmm..."
He didn't know how many times he had been submerged by the waves, but this time, Pei Yuqing struggled with all his might to get his head out, and his whole body ached.
They almost failed to stop Yingning.
Even so, he still did not let go.
Having finally caught his breath, Pei Yuqing was still contemplating a chance to escape when he heard Yingning's voice:
"Pei Yuqing".
"let it go."
Her voice was soft, but he still heard it clearly.
Pei Yuqing's hair, soaked by the sea, clung miserably to his forehead as he spoke resolutely:
"You Yingning, don't even think about it."
"The police are nearby. We just need to hold out until the rescue arrives."
He took another breath:
"After the rescue arrives, take good care of yourself in the hospital."
"I probably won't be able to be by your side for a while..."
Pei Yuqing also abandoned his usual arrogance at this moment, half-embracing Ying Ning and still trying to get closer to the coastline, his voice slightly choked:
I don't expect you to forgive me.
"But if you want to hate me or resent me, at least you have to live on."
Will she get better without him?
Pei Yuqing was surprised to have such an absurd idea, after all, he was the one who caused all the bad consequences.
It's all because of myself, at the very least...
At the very least...
Let him make up for some of it.
But it seemed that fate wanted to destroy all his hopes. The sound of violent waves reached their ears, and the huge impact separated the two of them completely.
"You Yingning!"
Pei Yuqing turned around and grabbed her, but only managed to grab her wrist.
The next second, she was submerged by the waves.
"Ningning!"
"You Yingning!!"
Despite the fierce and turbulent waves, Pei Yuqing repeatedly dived into the water to search for Yingning's whereabouts, but all his efforts came to nothing.
The sky had already darkened, but the torrential rain showed no signs of stopping.
She was as if she had been completely swallowed up by the sea, and not a single trace of her was erased.
I don't know how much time passed before the rain gradually subsided, and the dark clouds over the sea seemed to be gently dispersing.
Just as Pei Yuqing was frantically planning to dive down and search for Yingning again, he was grabbed by a strong arm.
When Pei Yuqing was forcibly taken to the police speedboat, the prolonged immersion in seawater had already caused him to develop tinnitus.
All he could see was Duan Shen angrily saying something to him.
A few minutes later, Pei Yuqing could vaguely hear his roar:
"Pei Yuqing, where is Ningning?!"
"Speak to me!"
"Was she inside the car?!"
"You beast, I'm going to kill you!" Duan Shen lunged at Pei Yuqing like a madman, trying to vent his anger on the man who refused to speak.
The police officer next to him immediately stopped him.
Pei Yuqing finally regained his strength, then slowly crawled a few steps, and finally grabbed the nearest policeman.
He wept:
"Please...please..."
"She was swept away by the waves...she was swept away by the waves."
"I beg you, please save her..."
"Please, save her..."
He collapsed helplessly onto the speedboat floor, pleading with the police to save her in a humble manner.
Loss—a word that once terrified him.
But he faced it once again.
......
When the lead police officer, Captain Li, heard Pei Yuqing's words, he was about to arrange for someone to go into the water to search for the person when he saw Duan Shen jump directly into the sea, which startled him.
"Does this guy want to die again?!"
"They're all crazy!"
If they hadn't arrived in their speedboat so quickly, the person who called the police would have almost drowned in the sea.
After giving a few instructions, Captain Li had the police officers who were good swimmers put on their diving gear and go into the sea.
At this moment, Pei Yuqing had just gathered some strength and was about to go into the water again, but was immediately held down by Captain Li:
“Pei Yuqing, someone has reported you for allegedly illegally detaining others. Given your previous actions, I would like to ask you to come with me to the police station later.”
Pei Yuqing was taken aback, but he couldn't worry about that for the time being:
"Let me find her first, then I'll go back with you!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Pei, as a criminal suspect in this case, you cannot act on your own at this time."
Pei Yuqing tried to break free;
"I told you I would go back with you!"
"We just need to find her first!"
"I'll go to the police station and turn myself in as soon as I find you!"
His movements were resistant, and after several unsuccessful attempts to resist, he directly attempted to forcibly escape arrest.
Click.
The handcuffs were removed.
"What is this...?" Pei Yuqing's voice was filled with despair as she looked at the metal object on her wrist.
"I'm sorry, I can't let you out of my sight," Captain Li said.
As a police officer, he could not allow a suspect attempting to escape to get out of his sight again; this was his duty as a police officer.
"Let me go!" Pei Yuqing's eyes were bloodshot, like a wild beast that had lost its mind.
Having no other option, Captain Li had to fasten the other end of the handcuffs to the boat.
"Let me go!!"
He kept struggling to break free, but the handcuffs only left a bloody mark on his wrist.
The despair in his heart had completely consumed Pei Yuqing's reason. He struggled again and again, pleading again and again:
"I really won't run away..."
"Please, please let me find her."
"I still have so much to say to her."
There are so many apologies...
I haven't said it yet.
Even though Pei Yuqing knew he couldn't break free from the handcuffs, he still stood up and kicked the iron frame on the other end of the handcuffs with all his might.
He continued until he was completely exhausted, with bloodstains on his wrist.
......
The weather gradually cleared up, and the waves seemed to calm down.
Time slipped away silently, second by second, and the police officers who went to the rescue had not yet returned.
After observing Pei Yuqing for a while, who seemed to have given up struggling, Captain Li looked back at the sea and waited for news from his team.
After a while, a policeman climbed wearily onto the boat.
"How was it, Xiao Chen?"
"Has the person been found?"
The man beside him seemed to move slightly.
Xiao Chen truthfully replied, "Captain Li, the wind and waves were too strong just now; we couldn't see anything..."
"We haven't found the person yet."
"and..."
"To be honest, given what happened just now, it would have been very difficult for anyone to survive."
"The chances of survival are slim."
As Xiao Chen was speaking, he saw the man who had been held captive on the boat stand up shakily, and he said something cold and inexplicable:
"You saw her body?"
Xiao Chen said, "We haven't found it yet."
"Then what makes you say she's dead?!" Pei Yuqing raised her head, trying to break free like a wild beast, but was trapped in place.
"She won't die!"
"Ningning must be in the vicinity."
"The absence of a body means she's still alive, right?!"
He muttered hysterically to himself, "I told you she wouldn't die."
“As long as the body isn’t found, it means she’s still alive.” Pei Yuqing tried to break free of the handcuffs again. He slammed into the hull, attempting to destroy the iron buckle on the other end of the handcuffs.
The hovercraft began to rock and sway because of his movements.
"Pei Yuqing!" Captain Li shouted angrily.
"You Yingning has not been found yet, and your current actions are only hindering our search for her!"
Even though Captain Li thought it would be difficult for a person to survive for so long in the surging waves, he still did not give up any hope.
Pei Yuqing gradually calmed down after hearing his words.
Team Leader Li made another phone call, urging the reinforcements to arrive.
Xiao Chen then spoke up again: "Captain Li, the man who called the police still doesn't want to come back. I think he's not very strong anymore."
Team Leader Li cursed under his breath for making things worse and tossed a set of rescue equipment to Xiao Chen.
"Make him put it on, and send men to search with him."
......
The rescue operation lasted a day and a night.
As dawn broke, Captain Li received a notification from his team and summoned all the police officers back to the ship.
Everyone was exhausted and dejected. The surrounding sea area had been searched, but Yingning's figure and her body were nowhere to be found.
Therefore, we have no choice but to temporarily halt our operations.
Pei Yuqing also didn't sleep a wink all night. Li had witnessed his transformation from initial madness and rage to later panic and silence.
Although he didn't know what had happened between Pei Yuqing and the victim, Captain Li still walked to Pei Yuqing's side, remained silent for a moment, and said:
"At the very least, no body was found."
After Captain Li finished speaking, he saw the man huddled in the corner of the ship's deck slowly lower his head.
Pei Yuqing did not speak, and it was impossible to tell what his expression was.
As Captain Li turned around, he seemed to hear a choked sob from the man:
"She couldn't be found..."
"It's...a good thing..."
"That's a good thing."
After all, this way, he could still cling to a sliver of unrealistic fantasy.
fantasy....
Ningning is still alive.
*
Three months later.
Suzhou No. 3 Detention Center.
The police inspector pushed open the door and said to the man outside:
"Inmate number 6700 is already inside waiting for you. You have only ten minutes for visiting hours. Please follow the rules below..."
Three months later.
Suzhou No. 3 Detention Center.
The police inspector pushed open the door and said to the man outside:
"Inmate number 6700 is already inside waiting for you. You have only ten minutes for visiting hours. Please follow the rules below..."
......
The door lock clicked shut.
The police inspector was in a surveillance position, watching every move inside.
Yuan Ye sat quietly in the chair until the prison guard brought someone over.
Just a few months later, Pei Yuqing, who was inside the viewing window, was wearing prison clothes and had a buzz cut. He looked much thinner and sickly.
Pei Yuqing never expected that Yuanye would appear here.
His pupils were dark, but he didn't ask anything.
It was Yuanye who spoke first:
"I went to her funeral today."
Upon hearing his words, the other person's right hand trembled slightly.
"Many of her fans came to see her off; there were quite a few people."
Yuan Ye didn't know why he came to find Pei Yuqing; perhaps he really couldn't find anyone else to talk to.
"I also met her parents."
"....."
He paused for a moment when he brought this up.
"sometimes."
"I really don't know why she met us."
At first, Yuan Ye had no intention of attending Ying Ning's funeral, because, like Duan Shen, he simply did not believe that she was really gone.
But he still went, as if possessed.
*
Funeral Hall.
Some people dressed in black formal attire entered the inner hall, each carrying a bouquet of white flowers, and quietly placed the flowers in front of the portrait of the deceased.
Fairnd's fans also placed many flowers and lit starlight candles outside the funeral hall to mourn their beloved idol.
The fans comforted each other in hushed tones, and a few were sobbing softly.
When Yuan Ye walked into the funeral hall, he attracted the attention of several reporters, who immediately surrounded him and bombarded him with questions:
"Captain Yuanye, are you here today to attend the funeral of your former teammate, You Yingning?"
"Regarding the news of her sudden passing, is there anything you would like to say to the fans of the MiLing team?"
"What's your relationship like with You Yingning in private?"
......
Yu Yingning's connection with Fairyone did not disappear because of her death.
On the contrary, as the first fairyone-MVP player, Yingning's gaming skills brought the Fairnd competition to another stage and even made the leap from online game player to professional player.
Many online game players, especially those playing the swordsman class, still visit her Weibo account to watch swordsman tutorial videos.
After the first Fairnd event concluded, the number of registered players for Swordsman reached an unprecedented level.
But everything came to an end at her funeral today.
When news of the funeral broke, fans and players initially thought it was a rumor from who-knows-where. However, after investigation and interviews by reporters, they learned of Yingning's passing from reliable sources.
Suddenly, the name "You Yingning" appeared countless times on the game forums again.
But this time...
The discussion is no longer about her matches.
......
The reporters' cameras and the clamor of discussion did not elicit any response from Captain Mi Ling.
No matter what they asked, Yuanye remained silent, standing quietly in front of the camera.
In the end, it was Pei Ling's people who helped Yuan Ye escape the reporters' harassment and take him directly into the funeral hall.
Pei Ling learned of Ying Ning's death and her brother's imprisonment three months ago, so she temporarily gave up her treatment there and rushed back from Chicago.
He stood before the field:
"She's inside if you want to pay your respects."
Pei Ling didn't call him captain, he just said one sentence and looked at the field in front of him again.
The man in front of him was unshaven, as if he hadn't left the house in a long time, and his eyes were extremely dim, as if he didn't have the courage to go into the inner hall.
Pei Ling showed no sympathy whatsoever:
“There are some things I should have said earlier, but Yuan Qing, Tang Hong, and I have always thought of you as the captain.”
"We should trust you and believe in you."
"We even naively thought that you would care about the future of each team member."
"But you don't have Yuanye."
Pei Ling continued:
"I don't know what happened between my brother and you the night Youyou disappeared."
He paused for a moment, then spoke each word carefully:
"But I've always felt..."
"She didn't deserve this ending."
"Why should she, who has never hurt anyone, be hurt by you?"
The solemn and deathly atmosphere of the funeral hall was unbearable, making one want to escape at any moment.
Pei Ling looked towards the inner hall, a strange emotion seemingly surfacing in his eyes. He smiled bitterly and said:
"Fine, what right do I have to question you?"
"It's no use saying all this now."
After all, carrying the burden of her brother's sins, she had no right to question others.
Before Pei Ling left, he said one last thing:
"I'm leaving the team."
*
Time seemed to move slowly in the funeral hall, with many people coming throughout the day. Occasionally, someone would notice the man sitting in a corner of the outer hall.
Some people don't recognize Yuanye, but others do.
Sighs and regrets were heard intermittently during the conversation.
After the Bone Extinction Team finished their memorial service, Ara noticed the field in the outer hall and immediately reminded the people next to him.
Tu Ning followed the gaze and saw the man in the corner, then walked over to him.
Arao initially wanted to stop his captain, but after thinking it over, he remained silent, only watching as Tu Ning spoke in an unfriendly tone:
"Former Captain".
"What a coincidence."
Tu Ning's words were not a simple greeting.
"Um."
Upon hearing the sound, Yuan Ye looked up at Tu Ning and nodded in response.
"I thought you wouldn't come to the funeral."
Yuan Ye lowered his eyes: "Perhaps, I shouldn't have come."
Tu Ning was a straightforward person, and seeing his dejected appearance, he simply spoke his mind:
"really."
"As the captain, he actually forced his team members to withdraw from the competition because he was worried that the negative news about the team members would affect the game."
"Someone like you doesn't deserve to attend her funeral."
"To be honest, all the captains in our league despise your behavior."
Tu Ning changed the subject:
"But everyone envies you, because even someone like you can win the Fairyone Cup."
Yuanye did not refute Tu Ning's sarcasm; he smiled bitterly and spoke anyway:
"Without her, I wouldn't have been able to win the King's Cup."
"Yes, everyone knows."
Tu Ning seemed to remember something and said in an unfriendly tone, "You're quite wealthy now."
"But if she were still alive, she would probably be the highest-paid professional player."
"Many people guessed that she would leave the team after the league ended. I heard that several clubs were planning to extend an olive branch to her, but I didn't expect her to give up her professional player status directly."
"As Captain Mi Ling, you should know why she did this."
Tu Ning turned around and revealed his inner thoughts:
"The role of captain is not just about being given power."
"But it must have—"
"The idea of protecting the future of every team member, even at the cost of my own career."
"Yuanye, you destroyed her future."
*
The fans outside the funeral hall did not leave, and Mr. and Mrs. You arranged for some people to deliver several batches of hot drinks to the fans who loved their daughter.
Mr. You then instructed the staff to persuade children around Ningning's age to go home early so as not to worry their parents.
The ceremony was nearing its end, and apart from the funeral hall staff, there was almost no one else in the inner hall.
When he stepped into the inner hall again, he saw a figure bowing and gently placing white flowers. Father You greeted him:
"Hello."
Mr. You initially thought it was Yingning's classmate, but he was surprised that someone would come so late.
"Thank you for attending Ningning's funeral."
Yuan Ye, standing up in front of the mourning hall, paused when he heard the voice behind him, and then cautiously said:
My condolences.
Yuan Ye tried to avoid You's father's gaze and hurriedly left, but was stopped by You's father's voice:
"Excuse me..."
"Are you Ningning's captain?"
Mr. You recognized Yuan Ye's appearance; this young man was the same person he had seen next to his daughter online.
Yuanye stopped in his tracks and moved his lips with difficulty:
"yes."
But I...
He wanted to say that he was no longer a captain.
At this moment, Mr. You brought up a matter: "In that case, may I ask you for a favor?"
“Please speak,” Yuanye replied.
But what You's father said next was like a bolt from the blue, leaving Yuan Ye frozen in place.
"This matter was somewhat hasty."
“A few months ago, Ningning called me and said she had discovered a very talented player.”
“As an elder, I don’t really understand the current game competitions. But she kept pestering me to say that she wanted to sponsor the other party, because she couldn’t bear to see the other party unable to participate in the game league because of money.”
"She rarely speaks up, but I agreed to her request."
Mr. You turned his head again, looking sadly at the black and white photo: "From childhood to adulthood, I have fulfilled her every wish."
"But Ningning is no longer here."
A father's voice trembled with despair and tears, yet he still spoke gently to the field:
"So I'd like to ask you, could you help me find that person?"
"If he still needs it..."
“I am willing to continue to support him.”
......
Yuanye didn't listen to the rest of what was said.
His mind was buzzing, and memories kept surging and flooding his mind.
In a daze, Yuan Ye suddenly saw a snow butterfly and heard a familiar voice:
......
"Sorry, I forgot to turn off the sound while watching a horror movie."
"Hello, I am You Yingning."
"Excuse me, should I call the police?"
"Brother Ye..."
"Bro, not bad. Let's see who kills more monsters next round."
"Brother Ye, I've heard that a life-saving grace must be repaid with one's body."
......
"Yuanye, don't make decisions for me."
"Don't try to burden me with sins before the truth has been revealed."
......
*
The torment of memory lies in the fact that it makes people repeatedly face past choices yet remain unmoved.
Yuan Ye could hardly extricate himself from his memories and could only let the crowd drift aimlessly away from the funeral hall.
"Hey, are you blind?!" A passerby's voice rang in his ears, but it did not bring Yuanye back to his senses.
He walked aimlessly down the street, seemingly out of place with everything around him.
Yuanye didn't know where he should go, or where else he could go.
Who else can understand his feelings...?
......
*
Inside the detention center.
The field slowly opened on one side of the glass:
"Do you think she shouldn't have met us?"
"......"
Yuanye gripped the microphone tightly and looked up.
The man, over six feet tall, sat in his seat at the detention center, barely able to speak, a stark contrast to his rugged appearance.
"These past few months have felt like the freest and most fulfilling time of my life..."
"Being able to participate in Fairnd..."
“I thought I could stay by her side for a very long time.”
"At the very least, it will last for a while."
His voice, which rose slowly, was a mixture of anger and remorse:
"But what about now?"
"Pei Yuqing, tell me, what gives you the right?!"
"How dare you hurt her like this!"
His fist slammed onto the cold tabletop, attracting the attention of a prison guard, who reminded him to control his emotions.
Yuan Ye's voice was frantic; he couldn't forgive himself for what he had done.
His arrogance also made him the executioner who killed her.
If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred not to have known it at all.
"us......"
"Why should we...?"
"You killed her...?!"
...
Pfft.
Just then, Yuanye heard a laugh.
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