Chapter 105

Chapter 105

Surveillance cameras were installed in the abandoned factory on purpose, and the footage was sent to Qi Muyao.

Qi Shaoli lay in the emergency operating room of Kanbei University Teaching Hospital.

In the corridor outside the emergency room, Qi Muyao stared at the dazed, silent figure.

Qi Yanyu tried to turn back, but Qi Muyao barked, "Stop."

Qi Muyao asked Qi Yanyu in disbelief, "Did you stab him?"

No explanation was forthcoming. Qi Muyao pressed on, "Do you hate him that much?"

His furious glare seared into Qi Yanyu’s face, as if to burn holes through it.

Qi Yanyu thought of something—he wanted Qi Muyao to eliminate him as a lingering threat.

Let him leave this place.

Qi Yanyu summoned his best acting skills, both in tone and expression: "He had it coming. If he didn’t die this time, I’d kill him eventually. He’s the one who poisoned our family’s relationships. I’ve hated him since childhood—why does he get whatever he wants just by crying, but I don’t? Why do I have to beg for the slightest bit of care and still get nothing? The only attention I get is when I act out, when I throw a tantrum—it’s handed back to me like a reward. He gets your concern so easily. Why? Am I not your family too? Why am I always the one apologizing to him? Just because he’s the youngest, I have to yield to him? Why don’t you yield to me? Aren’t I your brother? Shouldn’t the one who deserves to die the most be Qi Shaoli? As long as Qi Shaoli lives, I won’t let him have peace... If he dares to wake up, I’ll kill him a second time... I’ll push him off a building... I’ll..."

A stinging slap cracked through the corridor outside the emergency room.

The slap didn’t make Qi Yanyu flinch. Instead, it stirred a dark excitement and longing deep inside him: "Why do you spoil him so much? Why are you so harsh with me? So you’re the real family, huh? Fine, then I’ll destroy your most beloved brother first... I’ll make you pay for doting on him. As long as he’s alive, I’ll make sure he suffers... You drove me to this... What about Qi Yunpu? Why not call him over too, so you can all put on a show of brotherly love? I won’t just poison Qi Xizhi—I’ll cut Qi Shaoli down... I won’t spare any of you..."

Eventually, it was unclear what made Qi Muyao stop.

Whether it was a hallucination or his final flicker of consciousness, Qi Yanyu saw Gu Jinglan appear—his lip split, blood trickling down.

Gu Jinglan didn’t look much better either. Maybe this was all a dream—his life was full of humiliating moments like this, time and time again.

He didn’t care. Lying on the ground, his chest heaving violently, he only vaguely saw Gu Jinglan glance back at him, checking if he was dying.

Then Gu Jinglan said coldly to Qi Muyao, "Don’t wreck my hospital."

Qi Yanyu gave up all hope.

Whatever Gu Jinglan said next, and however else he and Qi Muyao spoke afterward, Qi Yanyu no longer listened. Limping, he wiped his mouth and, under the stunned stares of colleagues and patients, returned to the duty office.

His chest ached. His stomach ached. His abdomen throbbed with recurring pain.

It was the result of emotional turmoil—and the severe consequences of long-term aspirin abuse.

Qi Yanyu didn’t sleep. Instead, he sat in the department office, staring out the window at the inky, sea-like darkness of the late night.

Three days had passed since Qi Shaoli was hospitalized. In those three days, he had completed his work—writing up all the medical records, doctor’s orders, and discharge summaries under his responsibility.

He wouldn’t dump his duties on his colleagues.

A little past six in the morning, the sky still not fully lit, lingering in a dim, gray haze.

After typing the last word and saving it on the computer, Qi Yanyu went downstairs and bought a box of charcoal from the hospital’s 24-hour convenience store.

Holding the charcoal, he walked to his car parked in the underground garage.

He needed to drive far away—he wouldn’t ruin Gu Jinglan’s hospital.

Not to bring shame to the hospital, nor to cause trouble for colleagues.

Qi Yanyu got into the car, put the charcoal in the back seat, and was about to start the car.

A blinding light flashed in front of him. Squinting, Qi Yanyu saw that the SUV across from him had turned on its two large headlights, which flickered a few times before going off.

The person from the SUV got out, closed the door, and walked over.

Before Qi Yanyu could clearly see the person's face, they pulled open his car door and brusquely got in.

The person took out a piece of gum and chewed it, either to wake himself up or just from habit. "Going home? Or somewhere else?"

The voice was stern, the words a hollow social gesture.

Qi Yanyu froze as he looked at Gu Jinglan sitting in his car. He deliberately looked away, refusing to meet Gu Jinglan’s eyes, his tone cold. "I'm going home. Get out of my car."

The other replied unhurriedly, "My car broke down. Give me a lift."

Qi Yanyu listened, then after a long pause, said, "Wouldn't it be awkward if your girlfriend found out your ex was driving you?"

"She's not like you. She's not so petty." Gu Jinglan's retort was laced with sarcasm.

Qi Yanyu gave a bitter laugh, though he knew his smile looked more pitiful than tears.

"I don’t want to drive you today," Qi Yanyu refused for the third time, expecting Gu Jinglan’s mockery or the sound of the door slamming shut before he could quietly go to his death.

"Then I’ll drive you," Gu Jinglan said. Qi Yanyu had forgotten—Gu Jinglan was a master of social games. A few words wouldn’t throw him off.

But Qi Yanyu didn’t move, mumbling to himself, "I just want to go home and sleep. I’ve been working nonstop for days. I’m exhausted."

"Don’t you like me? Isn't driving me a treat for you?"

Qi Yanyu looked up, annoyed. After they started dating, Gu Jinglan rarely spoke to him so harshly. When he raised his head, he found Gu Jinglan staring at him, his gaze burning yet cold.

Gu Jinglan countered, his voice clear and cold as jade, "Didn’t you say you wanted to make amends? If you can’t even do this small thing, how could you ever... juggle lovers? And still sweet-talk them?"

"Fine, fine. Where to?" Qi Yanyu reached for the seatbelt, but Gu Jinglan said calmly, "I’ll drive."

He planned that after dropping Gu Jinglan off, he would head to the outskirts to end it all.

Gu Jinglan told him to get out, and the two switched seats.

Gu Jinglan drove, leaving the hospital behind. The car was silent.

"Does your hand still hurt?" The only question came at the second hospital intersection, during the long red light.

Qi Yanyu replied tonelessly, "No."

He promised himself that after today, his heart wouldn’t hurt anymore either.

Qi Yanyu hadn’t slept in three days, yet he felt no drowsiness in the passenger seat.

All he could think was how, in the end, it was Gu Jinglan who would see him off on his final journey.

Heaven was still kind to him.

When Gu Jinglan drove to the airport, Qi Yanyu realized he still wanted to understand him. So he asked, "Are you going out of town?"

"Weren’t you at last night’s meeting? The hospital assigned us a task—a Chinese national in Norway was in a critical car accident. We need to go there first to assess the situation, then accompany him on a chartered flight back for treatment. Did you forget? It’s today."

"Yes, really? I didn't bring my passport." Qi Yanyu froze. He took a long moment to react. Meanwhile, Gu Jinglan parked the car at the airport and ushered him into the terminal.

"The hospital handled it for us," Gu Jinglan said, taking both their passports to check in.

Qi Yanyu didn’t even glance at the name on his passport.

He boarded the plane in a daze, his mind sluggish, thoughts muddled as if his brain had regressed. Days without sleep had left his brain running on fumes. The only thing he could grasp was Gu Jinglan’s words: they were on a mission together.

After this muddled "logic" about why they were flying, Qi Yanyu’s next thought was: he’d gotten one last chance to be alone with Gu Jinglan before dying.

In this final opportunity to be together, what should he say to Gu Jinglan?

Just the thought sent another dull pang through his chest.

"Get some sleep. It’ll take eleven or twelve hours to arrive," Gu Jinglan informed him.

They were in economy class. Qi Yanyu closed his eyes, his thoughts adrift, but sleep refused to come.

Yet his exhausted brain couldn’t handle complex thoughts. He could only fixate on one question—why had Gu Jinglan appeared?

Was the universe cutting him a break?

Was this a dying man’s final prayer answered?

Finally, amid the chaos of his thoughts, he finally crashed.

His head tilted sideways, eventually slumping fully against Gu Jinglan’s shoulder.

For over ten hours during the flight, Qi Yanyu didn’t stir, so still the passenger beside him wondered if he’d died.

A flight attendant had to wake him when they landed.

When he opened his eyes and found Gu Jinglan gone from beside him, his chest caved in with emptiness—until Gu Jinglan reappeared from behind, plucking the cooling patch off his forehead.

Gu Jinglan steered him briskly off the plane, out of the airport, hailed a cab, and made straight for their destination.

After waiting nearly twenty minutes at the location, a foreigner showed up late, handed a key to Gu Jinglan, and left. Gu Jinglan used it to unlock the apartment door.

The apartment was new, barely furnished—and empty.

Still foggy-headed as he stepped inside, Qi Yanyu mumbled, "Shouldn’t we rest before checking on the patient?"

Gu Jinglan cut him off sharply. "Cut the act. There is no patient."

Qi Yanyu stood frozen, baffled. Gu Jinglan’s cold gaze bore into him, his usually sharp, jade-cool eyes now edged with authority. "Sit down."

Pushed back by Gu Jinglan, Qi Yanyu stumbled onto the lone mattress in the room.

Instead, he looked up at Gu Jinglan standing before him. "What... what?"

Gu Jinglan gripped his face, then his chin, and finally his throat—but not tightly, just a loose grip.

"If you don’t answer honestly, this will be our last meeting..."