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Join the Server“How can I know if I don’t even try?”
To flee would be the act of a coward. The worst that could happen, after all, was Xie Xu leaving him.
“I’m actually quite timid,” Guan Qing admitted. “But for him… I’m willing to change.”
Ye Zi watched him silently.
He felt a subtle wave of frustration. This was the first time he had tried so hard, had coaxed and encouraged, yet found himself utterly powerless.
The heavy rain poured down, its sound exceptionally clear in the quiet space.
Ye Zi pressed his lips together, appearing as if he wanted to smile, yet his face remained starkly pale.
“There are so many people in this world. He isn’t the only one who can accept you—nor is he the best, or the most suitable.”
“Does ‘suitable’ even matter?” Guan Qing recalled the words Xie Qing and Chris had spoken. He opened his umbrella, took one last look at Ye Zi, and smiled.
“But I feel incredibly fortunate to have fallen in love with him, just the way he is.”
Ye Zi gazed at Guan Qing’s profile, a mix of daze and shock washing over him.
That untamed bird had taken flight once more.
Rain would drench its wings, and wind would tear away its feathers, but no storm could ever hold it back. Guan Qing and Xie Xu, they were both free birds. They would, in the end, embrace.
****
The torrential rain had sealed off many roads. Guan Qing took a shortcut, his secondhand Honda skidding along the muddy path as he hurried forward.
Ahead, a cordon had already been set up. At this point, an umbrella was utterly useless. Guan Qing sloshed through the mud, stepping deep in some places, shallow in others. He saw several vehicles, many workers in yellow uniforms and black raincoats, and even a group of armed police. One man was shouting loudly into a megaphone.
Having forgotten his raincoat, Guan Qing was completely drenched. He walked up to the man and asked, “Excuse me, sir, what happened up ahead?”
The man ignored him.
Guan Qing raised his voice and asked again, his throat nearly hoarse. He patted the man’s shoulder and slipped him half a pack of cigarettes. The man glanced at him, didn’t take the cigarettes, and his expression turned displeased.
“Who are you?! This area is very dangerous, and we’re extremely busy. A car flipped over up ahead, and we’re conducting a search and rescue.”
A car… flipped over.
During a mudslide disaster, especially if it fell from the mountain, the people inside were likely in grave danger. He wiped a hand across his face and asked, “Was there a tall man in that car? An Alpha…”
“How would I know?! Go, go, get out of here!” The man impatiently waved his hand.
Guan Qing’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
He took two steps back and bowed to the man. “Sir, my lover might have been in that car. Please, I… I…”
He couldn’t finish his sentence.
The man fell silent. After a moment of quiet, he placed a hand on Guan Qing’s shoulder. “I understand how you feel, but I also hope you’re mentally prepared.”
Guan Qing remained bowed, unwilling to straighten up. His lips were pressed tightly together, and his face, slick with what might have been rain or tears, trembled in the heavy downpour.
Just then, someone from a distance shouted, “Captain, we found someone! An Alpha, over 1.8 meters tall. Where’s the family? Have they arrived?”
In the current population, Alphas and Omegas were both rare, especially in such a small place. An Alpha, over 1.8 meters tall… there was a high chance it was Xie Xu.
Guan Qing suddenly straightened up.
His eyes gradually filled with surprise and excitement, and he instantly radiated renewed brilliance. “Family, the family is right here! I—”
Then, the next sentence from the worker reached him.
“The body is being brought over now. Please have the family come identify it!”
The surprise and excitement on Guan Qing’s face remained frozen, unable to dissipate. His expression went blank for a moment.
He stiffened on the spot, his mind exploding with a deafening roar.
The sound of the rain in his ears gradually faded, along with the comforting words of those who tried to help him and the loud shouts of the workers. He stood there, numb and oblivious.
He felt as if he could no longer understand human speech.
The man reached out and waved a hand in front of him, asking impatiently, “Family? Come identify him, is this the one?”
“I…” Guan Qing opened his mouth, gasping for breath as if he couldn’t breathe normally. He didn’t dare to look down, so he used his peripheral vision to inspect the stretcher being brought before him.
The body was covered with a white sheet, its form tall and slender.
An overwhelming rush of panic and agony surged into Guan Qing’s eyes, and his entire body began to tremble violently. He didn’t look at the white sheet again, instead staring down at the mud, and whispered, “It’s not him.”
He took two steps back, shook his head, and forced a smile, as if speaking to himself. “I… I’m sorry, I remembered incorrectly. He might not have come here today. This definitely isn’t him.”
His Xie Xu could not possibly be like this.
Silent and still, without a sound or a fuss. Lying there, without a smile, without a tantrum, incredibly well-behaved. It was almost like death—
He fiercely tried to cut that word from his mind, warning himself not to think such nonsense.
“Right,” he nodded, still muttering to himself, “He… he loves causing trouble, just like a child.”
He looked up at the man from before, his eyes filled with a desperate plea. “He’s not my lover.”
The people looked at him with strange expressions—pity, compassion.
Guan Qing gradually grew panicked, then a little angry. He forced a slight curve to his lips and said, “Don’t look at me like that. It’s really not him.”
The captain placed a hand on his shoulder, remained silent for a moment, then said, “We understand, but… think about it. If you don’t acknowledge him, how heartbroken would he be if he were still here?”
‘If he were’ still here?
“Who said he’s not here?” Guan Qing laughed incredulously, looking at the group as if they were the mad ones. “He’s always here. Yesterday, yesterday we even met.”
His eyes reddened with urgency, wanting to prove something. He opened WeChat to show them. “He even sent me a message today. He couldn’t possibly…”
No one spoke. Some people left, going to search for others. The captain knelt beside him, holding up an umbrella, and asked, “You… what did you do the last time you met?”
Guan Qing was silent for a moment. “We argued.”
He had even broken up with Xie Xu.
He lowered his head, a self-deprecating smile playing on his lips. “Yes, I was wrong. But surely… surely you wouldn’t punish me like this?”
Perhaps he had been possessed.
Guan Qing had promised Xie Xu, he had agreed to believe him, not to leave him, yet he hadn’t kept his word. He was willing to use the rest of his life, everything, to make amends.
But at least, he should be given a chance to make amends.
Don’t leave so quickly, don’t…
Guan Qing buried his face in his palms, trembling with a choked sob.
“Don’t abandon me.”
In that moment, he understood Xie Xu’s constant fear of loss. But where was Xie Xu?
“Xie Xu, get up.”
His voice was low and soft, as if afraid to disturb something. “Get up, and I’ll acknowledge you.”
His lips twisted, trying to force a smile, afraid of scaring Xie Xu, but in the end, he couldn’t. His eyes were filled with an almost heartbreaking tenderness as he whispered, “Why are you so well-behaved now? If you’re naughty or cause trouble in the future, I’ll never scold you again.”
“Look at me.”
“If you’re any slower, I’ll abandon you.” Guan Qing paused, then smiled, his eyes red-rimmed. “I’m just kidding.”
“I won’t leave again. Whatever kind of person you are, I want you.”
****
The distant clamor grew louder, as a group of people ran towards them, carrying another stretcher.
The captain patted his shoulder, stood up with his megaphone, and directed the order. Guan Qing tried to stand but his legs felt too weak. He propped his umbrella over the stretcher, letting himself be drenched by the rain, sitting there numbly.
He felt incredibly light, as if he might just float away.
People feel immense pain when they lose a loved one. But at this moment, he felt no pain. Perhaps he hadn’t fully processed it, or perhaps…
When a heart suffers a small injury, it aches. But when an entire heart is ripped out, it no longer feels pain. He had lost Xie Xu, and along with him, all his emotions—joy, sorrow, cowardice—were gone, never to return.
“Wait a moment, don’t rush,” he whispered to the person lying silently on the stretcher. “Let me recover my strength, then I’ll take you home. Don’t worry.”
He took a breath, trying to smile. “We still have… a very long time.”
A lifetime, so long.
“You didn’t like me studying for my master’s, so I won’t. You don’t like Ye Zi, so I won’t see him again.”
“You like children, right? We’ll… we’ll adopt a child later, and live in the countryside. Preferably by the sea, far away from the mountains.”
“Do you like boys or girls? You never told me before, and… you never proposed, never spoke of our future. I—”
Guan Qing covered his face with both hands, his voice, however, was laughing. “It’s okay, if you don’t want to say it, don’t. Our future can be walked step by step, seen step by step. A lifetime isn’t that long, I’m not in a hurry.”
“Xie Xu, you…”
“Consider me selfish. I’ve waited for you for so long, so you should wait for me a little while too. We can… we can still be together in our next life.”
Ideally, they would grow up together from childhood, attending middle school, high school, and university together. He had never seen Xie Xu as a child, and he truly longed to.
Next time, he would accompany him from beginning to end, living a complete lifetime together.
Guan Qing squatted on the ground, hugging his knees, shrinking into a small ball.
“Hello, do you need help—”
A voice abruptly cut in.
The voice was hoarse and low, barely audible over the sound of the rain. Guan Qing, having not eaten and enduring such a long journey, felt a little dizzy. He followed the sound, and a flashlight beam pierced through the night and the curtain of rain, shining directly at him.
The two men looked at each other across the overwhelming downpour.
Guan Qing’s Adam’s apple bobbed. His expression blank, he heard his own dry voice. “Xie Xu…?”
…………………..
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, The Eldest Sister Leaves Home: Building a Fortune and Making Her Toxic Family Seethe! is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : The Eldest Sister Leaves Home: Building a Fortune and Making Her Toxic Family Seethe!
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