Chapter 69 Then jump if you want to fall.
After Valentine's Day, Li Baidong and Xing Lan both got busy again, as if by prior arrangement.
Xing Lan was busy with work, while Li Baidong was busy with the drama club's rehearsals.
The two not only rarely saw each other during the day, but they also didn't have time to have a proper meal together in the evening. Either Xing Lan would suddenly have to work overtime, or Li Baidong would have to go out and take care of all sorts of messy things at the company.
Li Baidong tried his best to squeeze out time to be with Xing Lan, but the club's most important performance of the year was just around the corner, and as the club president, he really couldn't get away. He could only wait until this busy period was over before spending some quality time with Xing Lan and making up for his own unsatisfied desires, day and night.
When Li Baidong was busy until almost the end of the month, he told Xing Lan that their club would be having a rehearsal in the school auditorium this Friday, and he wanted to invite him to watch.
This was the troupe's last dress rehearsal before the official performance. Li Baidong really wanted Xing Lan to take this rare opportunity to see the results of his hard work late into the night, and also wanted him to give him some feedback, so that he could see from the audience's perspective what aspects of the performance needed improvement and make timely adjustments before the final performance.
Xing Lan didn't know much about drama and didn't think he could offer Li Baidong any professional advice on the script or acting. However, he still agreed to watch his rehearsal, simply to support him.
Live performances are easily affected by unforeseen circumstances. Even the most professional and experienced actors will feel a little uneasy and nervous every time they step onto the stage because of the uncertainty. Xing Lan, who is someone Li Baidong knows very well, being there to cheer him on at least gives him some peace of mind.
On Friday, Xing Lan deliberately canceled some work and unnecessary meetings, left work early, and drove hurriedly to Li Baidong's school.
He is always methodical in his work, and this time he planned the day's schedule very well. Li Baidong's rehearsal started at 3 p.m., but he drove out of the company before 2 p.m., allowing almost half an hour extra in case of traffic jams on Friday.
There should have been plenty of time, but he never expected that he would receive a call from the police halfway through his journey.
Xing Lan frowned, answered the phone, and the voice on the other end immediately rang out in the car.
"Hello, are you Mr. Xing Lan?"
"Yes." He thought for a moment, then asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"A man surnamed Jiang in Luli Garden is threatening to jump off a building." The police were making a lot of noise; besides the sound of the wind, there were whispers and discussions among the crowd. "He keeps calling your name, saying he has to see you, or he will jump off the roof."
"We've tried many times, but we haven't been able to calm him down. His mother has fainted because she's so emotional. If you have a moment, could you come over now and try to talk to him?"
"..."
Jump off a building.
Many years ago, Xing Lan's mother also died from falling from a building.
I still remember that night, the wind and rain were fierce, and there was thunder and lightning.
An empty room, a desperate woman, a chilling high-rise building.
For a person to be born, their mother carries them for ten months, carefully nurturing and caring for them bit by bit, until the seedling slowly grows into flesh and blood. But death only takes a fleeting moment, faster than riding an elevator, just a fraction of a second of lifting a finger to press the elevator button.
There are many ways for a person to die, and whether it was by accident or intentional, Jiang Mingyu chose the one that would most provoke Xing Lan.
As Xing Lan was listening to the phone, lost in thought, a large, obviously overloaded truck suddenly appeared in front of her.
The driver on the other side seemed to be asleep at the wheel, running several red lights and hurtling straight toward him.
Xing Lan was stunned for a moment, his brain hadn't reacted yet, but out of the corner of his eye he suddenly saw a small pendant that Li Baidong had hung in his car earlier.
The small pendant was tiny, made of plastic, and very light. As the car bumped along, it would occasionally collide with the hard windshield in front, making a series of crisp sounds as it swayed. These sounds instantly pulled Xing Lan back to reality from her reverie.
He quickly turned the steering wheel and, thankfully, narrowly missed the truck at the last moment.
The car tires scraped across the ground, sending up dazzling sparks with a piercing scream.
Xing Lan finally managed to park the car on the side of the road, her hands on the steering wheel, breathing heavily with lingering fear.
The afternoon sun streamed in through the window, and anyone passing by could easily spot the pale-faced man in the driver's seat, his wrists trembling uncontrollably, as if he had just experienced a harrowing life-or-death struggle.
Inside the car, the police officer's voice continued to ring out in the silence, urging him on.
"Mr. Xing?"
"Mr. Xing?"
"Would it be convenient for you to come over?"
Xing Lan glanced at the time on the car screen. In just a few seconds, the numbers on the screen jumped up again, reminding him that it was now 2:30 pm.
He frowned, his handsome face revealing an undisguised irritation.
What exactly is Jiang Mingyu trying to do?
Crazy?
Xing Lan raised his eyes, and although there was still some distance, he could already vaguely see Ningda's very distinctive red clock tower.
But now, he has to make a U-turn at the intersection and drive in another direction.
-
When Xing Lan arrived at the Jiang family's house, she saw a large crowd gathered downstairs, along with uniformed police officers.
He walked over, looked up, and immediately saw Jiang Mingyu sitting alone on the rooftop, with a policeman standing not far away beside him.
The policeman kept talking to him, probably trying to persuade him not to jump and to live a good life. Jiang Mingyu clearly didn't listen to him. He turned his head away, and whenever the policeman tried to get any closer, he yelled at him to stop him from coming any closer.
Jiang Mingyu lived in the most expensive luxury residential area in the city. The residents of this area were all wealthy and powerful, living a carefree life and only thinking about how to maintain their health and live a few more years. In all these years, this was the first time he had seen someone who not only didn't want to live, but actually wanted to commit suicide. A large crowd had gathered around him, all holding up their phones to film him.
Jiang Mingyu's mother had just fainted from anger, but she has woken up again. However, she still looks very unwell and pale. She is being taken care of by a group of people in the ambulance.
Led by the police, Xing Lan went up to the top floor and met Jiang Mingyu, who was threatening to jump off the building.
The policeman who had been standing guard next to Jiang Mingyu turned around, saw Xing Lan arrive, and immediately walked over quickly.
He glanced at Jiang Mingyu and lowered his voice to Xing Lan, saying, "You must be Mr. Jiang's friend, right? He's been waiting for you for a long time. You should try to persuade him later. He's a perfectly good young man; don't let him do something rash and go astray."
Xing Lan nodded to the police officer, who then walked a few steps away, watching them from the side.
He called out in a measured tone, "Jiang Mingyu."
Jiang Mingyu turned his head and saw Xing Lan coming. His expression immediately changed, and his mouth was open, as if he wanted to say something to him.
His hair was disheveled by the wind. He slowly stood up, intending to walk over to Xing Lan, but after thinking about it, he sat back down in the same spot.
That location was very dangerous. If he wasn't careful for even a moment, Jiang Mingyu would fall. At that height, he would surely be smashed to pieces and die a horrible death.
"Lanlan." Jiang Mingyu looked at him and murmured silently in the wind howling past on the rooftop, "I knew you would come."
Xing Lan stared at him silently, her dark eyes revealing an unreadable emotion.
He took a few more steps forward, his tone cold: "Your mother fainted, right downstairs. Did you know that?"
A glint flashed in Jiang Mingyu's eyes. He glanced downstairs instinctively, but looked away after spotting the ambulance below.
“My mom has high blood pressure, she’ll be fine after resting for a while.”
"You're her only son," Xing Lan said calmly. "What will happen to her if you die?"
Jiang Mingyu interrupted him, waving his hand at him: "Alright, that policeman has already said all that to me, I don't want to hear it."
"I only have one sentence, Xing Lan. Come here and hug me now, promise to break up with that kid and be with me, and I won't jump anymore." Jiang Mingyu looked at Xing Lan and said, pushing his luck, "Of course, just saying it isn't enough, you also have to sign a written agreement."
Xing Lan suddenly stopped in her tracks: "I can't be with you."
“Then I’ll jump from here.” Jiang Mingyu looked down at the ground. The height of more than forty stories made his eyes dazzle. He subconsciously swallowed, but still said defiantly, “If I can’t be with you, there’s no point in me living.”
Jiang Mingyu knew that Xing Lan, despite her seemingly cold and aloof demeanor, was actually very kind and gentle at heart. Otherwise, she wouldn't have spent so much free time feeding the stray cats and dogs on campus when she was in college.
Once, on the way to the men's dormitory, there was a badly injured little bird. It looked like it had been run over by a car. It was covered in blood and filthy from the rain. For several days, no one dared to touch it; people would hold their noses and walk around it. In the end, Xing Lan took it to the vet for treatment and took good care of it for several days.
Although the bird eventually died, at least it was well cared for before it died and didn't suffer too much.
Jiang Mingyu knew that Xing Lan was soft-hearted and wouldn't stand by and watch anyone die, so he tried to blackmail him by threatening to jump off a building, forcing him to accept him.
But this time, Xing Lan appeared unexpectedly calm.
There was not a trace of panic in her expression; instead, she looked at him indifferently. Her overly calm gaze gave Jiang Mingyu a chill down his spine.
After an unknown amount of time, Xing Lan suddenly clapped her hands a few times in a leisurely manner, the corners of her lips slightly turned up, her expression revealing nothing.
"Then jump."
Jiang Mingyu was caught off guard and stared at Xing Lan in disbelief: "What?!"
His eyes widened in disbelief. He never expected that Xing Lan would not only refuse to reunite with him, but also say such cold and heartless words in front of everyone. This put him in a difficult position, as he had thought he had the upper hand.
Xing Lan didn't speak, but remained expressionless as she walked towards him step by step, slowly reaching the edge of the floor, just one step away from falling into the air.
The police officers behind him saw this and immediately panicked, breaking out in a cold sweat: "What's going on? Mr. Xing! Come back quickly! It's dangerous there!"
Xing Lan ignored the police officer's words, turned her head, and focused her gaze back on Jiang Mingyu beside her.
"Jump if you want, Jiang Mingyu. If you feel lonely, I can go with you." He curled his lips into a slight smile, his eyes fixed on Jiang Mingyu, his gaze deep and intense. "You love me so much. Even though I can't be with you, I can die with you. Isn't that good enough?"
Jiang Mingyu stared at him silently, his face ashen, his expression indescribable.
Since he remained silent, Xing Lan stopped waiting for his reply and continued speaking on her own.
"Jiang Mingyu".
Do you know how painful it is to jump off a building?
"In just a few seconds, your body will experience a huge, almost devastating impact. Your heart will suddenly race, your blood vessels will constrict sharply, and the world in front of you will immediately become distorted."
"After falling to the ground, you may not lose consciousness immediately; there may be a brief reaction remaining in your brainstem."
"Therefore, you can feel the excruciating pain of every part of your body being shattered with unparalleled clarity. All the bones in your body will break in an instant, piercing your fragile internal organs like sharp blades."
"At this height, you have a very high probability of a skull fracture, which means you will be fully conscious and hear the sound of your skull shattering very clearly."
"Whether you regret it or not, in the end you can only watch helplessly as you die amidst intense pain and prolonged suffocation."
Xing Lan spoke casually, as if she were describing something extremely ordinary. After she finished speaking, she turned her gaze to the distant blue sky with a relaxed expression.
The weather was lovely today. The sky seemed very close to them, with clouds drifting at a very slow pace. Every now and then, a few airplanes would fly through the clouds, making a series of roaring sounds.
The vase, though so sturdy, shattered instantly when dropped from the table. A person falling from such a height would only feel more pain.
Were you in pain back then, Mom?
His eyes darkened, his throat tightened involuntarily, and his heart felt heavy and painful.
Xing Lan pursed her lips, casually glancing at Jiang Mingyu, who was standing dumbfounded to the side, and extended the invitation she had made earlier to him in a friendly manner once again.
"Jiang Mingyu, let's jump together."
"Jump." His voice was soft, yet exceptionally clear and pleasant, like a siren tempting humans with her song. "Don't you love me very much? Then jump down with me."
"Your mother is down there, and my mother is down there too."
"Shall we go find Mom together?"
Jiang Mingyu didn't dare to actually jump off the building. He had been standing there shivering in the cold wind for so long just to scare Xing Lan. He didn't expect that Xing Lan would not only disobey him, but also force him to jump with him. Xing Lan looked calm and composed, but she had a kind of silent madness about her.
He was already pale with fright from Xing Lan's serious words. He gripped the railing tightly, looking at Xing Lan helplessly, and then subconsciously looked at the policeman standing to the side with pleading eyes.
He really liked Xing Lan and tried everything to get him. But compared to Xing Lan, his own life was clearly more important.
Xing Lan stared at Jiang Mingyu, then suddenly reached out and grabbed him, as if to pull him down with her.
The police officers behind them were stunned. They rushed towards them, raising their hands and shouting, "Hey—!!!"
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