Ruan Chen suddenly felt a sense of "breakage" in her heart.
Yan Qian was agitated, her voice filled with hatred, each word distinct and clear, "Why did you come after me? You brought those police officers, don't think I don't know! My life is completely ruined, do you understand?"
Ruan Chen was pushed to the ground, one hand bracing against the cold ground, the other hand instinctively raised to cover her heart.
There were intermittent tightness and pain there.
Ruan Chen didn't know what Yan Qian and Ruan Chen had gone through together in another timeline, but at this moment, this intense emotion was overwhelming, making Ruan Chen feel like she was suffocating.
Are I and Ruan Chen from that world... really just two people on two different timelines?
Why do I feel those emotions that should belong to her so clearly?
Her ears seemed to have gone deaf, buzzing, and Yan Qian's crimson lips moved, but she could no longer hear the accusatory words.
I feel like I've messed everything up.
She wanted to save Bo Nian and also wanted to bring Yan Qian back, but she couldn't have either.
"Whatever you want."
Ruan Chen heard himself speak the truth.
Then she slowly got up and walked step by step towards the hotel door.
As she passed the front desk, she stopped and stood there for a moment, then remembered that she still had something to do.
So she walked over and softly announced Yan Qian's room number, her voice weary as if she were sighing, "Check out, settle the bill."
She returned to her apartment, but instead of taking a taxi, she walked for almost two hours.
Pushing open the door, she instinctively said, "Grandpa, I'm back. What are you making? It smells so good."
She walked to the dining table and saw the golden egg dumplings, fluffy steamed buns, and a bowl of porridge. She was suddenly stunned.
Oh right, Ruan Chen thought blankly, Grandpa went back to his own home. It was she who made him leave. She was afraid that the Ruan family would use Grandpa to threaten her again.
I haven't had a proper chance to say goodbye to my grandfather yet.
Ruan Chen sat down at the table, her back ramrod straight. She picked up her bowl, took a sip of the now-cold porridge, and then picked up an egg dumpling and chewed it.
The filling is made with fresh pork and chopped water chestnuts, which is Ruan Chen's favorite texture.
Suddenly, tears streamed down her face.
Ruan Chen ate all the food on the table clean, then got up to wash the dishes.
She washed very slowly and carefully, and saw her reflection in the shiny plate.
Her eyes were red and slightly swollen, a strand of her hair was loose, and her face was full of fatigue and haggardness.
Ruan Chen chuckled in a daze, feeling utterly embarrassed.
If Bo Nian were still conscious, seeing her like this, he would definitely anxiously pull her aside and ask Ruan Chen what's wrong, whether she's feeling unwell or if someone is bullying her, and whether she needs help.
While she was washing the dishes, her phone was on the marble countertop next to her, and messages kept popping up in the class group chat.
Ruan Chen occasionally glanced at the conversation, which was always about Bo Nian.
Someone asked why Ruan Chen didn't come to class today.
The conversation in the group immediately turned to Ruan Chen and Bo Nian.
"Ruan Chen and Bo Nian were together all afternoon. Could Ruan Chen have been dragged into this too? Is she in danger?"
“I don’t think it’s necessarily dangerous. The class monitor has always been very attentive to Ruan Chen, and Ruan Chen seems to understand as well…”
"@RuanChen, where is the academic genius? Is he with the class monitor?" was followed by a lewd smiley emoji.
"@Ruan Chen, are you so worried about the class monitor that you're skipping class?"
Yu Xiaoya, who had been silent until now, finally jumped out and sent out a string of messages.
"What do you know? Ruan Chen just took the day off because she wasn't feeling well. Stop gossiping behind her back!"
"And stop tagging me like that, it's disturbing Ruan Chen's rest!"
Ruan Chen neatly placed the bowl into the sterilizer, dried her hands, and replied with two words, "Boring."
The group chat immediately fell silent.
Although this group of people occasionally dared to joke about Ruan Chen in the group chat, they were essentially still somewhat afraid of him.
She even got her former homeroom teacher imprisoned.
Ruan Chen's mind was somewhat distracted by this small matter, and she felt a little more relaxed.
She dragged her tired body toward the bedroom, and as she passed the medicine cabinet, she casually took out a box of small white pills, swallowed two dry, and prepared to throw herself into the soft quilt and sleep forever.
Only then did she hear a slow, deliberate knock on the door.
"Fengzi?" Ruan Chen opened the door, somewhat surprised, and gestured for him to come in and sit down. "Why are you here? I don't remember telling you my home address."
As she spoke, she poured water for Lin Fengzi.
The water was hot; Grandpa had boiled it before he left this morning.
It was Lin Fengzi's first time visiting Ruan Chen's small apartment. He was tall, and he felt a little awkward standing there.
He sat down with his long legs curled up, looking around at the layout and facilities of Ruan Chen's apartment, and replied, "You've been out of contact, not replying to a single message. My friend from No. 1 High School said that a student there was a suicide attempt, and I was worried about you, so I went to the school to look for you, but you weren't there. However, your homeroom teacher was quite nice and gave me the address."
"How did you lie to that old man?"
Lin Fengzi said frankly, "I said my name is Ruan Luo, and I'm your older brother."
Ruan Chen chuckled softly and recounted everything that had happened in the past few days to Lin Fengzi without reservation.
"Look at how disheveled you've become. To be honest, I was shocked when I first saw you. Is this still the R who used to attract everyone's attention wherever he went?"
Ruan Chen rolled her eyes at him, "Don't talk like that, it's easy for you to say that."
Lin Fengzi sighed, "Take it one step at a time, don't put too much pressure on yourself. I'll ask the teachers in the department about your classmate's situation later."
Ruan Chen's eyes lit up immediately.
Lin Fengzi is a medical student; perhaps he really does have a solution.
"The other one... Yan Qian, right? She caused quite a stir today by losing control, and it's related to your classmate's situation. I advise you to play it safe and stay out of it."
Unable to explain her relationship with Yan Qian to Lin Fengzi, Ruan Chen simply hummed in agreement.
However… whenever Ruan Chen had the thought of ignoring Yan Qian, she would feel a pang of acid reflux.
She had just taken her medicine, and after confiding in Lin Fengzi about her experiences over the past few days, her tense nerves relaxed considerably under Lin Fengzi's conscious guidance, and drowsiness gradually crept in.
"Why don't you go and rest first? I won't disturb you any longer," Lin Fengzi said at the opportune moment.
Ruan Chen yawned, "Then I won't see you off."
Lin Fengzi went downstairs and drove directly to the hospital where Bo Nian was.
He came specifically to see Ruan Chen.
He had listened to Ruan Chen's words to Bo Nian that day in their entirety. Sitting at the table in the broadcasting room, he pondered the girl's feelings as she spoke those words, and picked up the drawing paper Ruan Chen had thrown in the trash can.
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