Chapter 106

Chapter 106

Despite being early autumn, the Northern European apartment turned bone-chillingly cold in no time.

They were dead tired after over ten hours cramped in economy class—except Qi Yanyu, who’d managed a nap. But Gu Jinglan didn’t seem tired at all.

The moment he walked in, he cranked up the central heating. Still, the warmth would take a while to reach every corner of the place.

"Why did your brother hit you?"

That was Gu Jinglan’s first question.

The guy being questioned blinked once, then stayed silent for a beat too long. His face was suddenly yanked upward—because he wasn’t cooperating one bit. "Cat got your tongue?"

Finally, he mumbled blankly, his thoughts like sludge: "Why... did we come abroad?" He couldn't hear what the other had said—he just stared off and asked his own dazed question.

Why bring him overseas?

Was it really just to ask a few questions?

Or...

Could it be? Qi Yanyu almost stopped breathing.

When he still refused to answer, Gu Jinglan grabbed his right hand and started peeling away the thick bandages on his palm.

"It doesn't hurt," Qi tried to stop him.

Gu Jinglan wanted to check if there was any bleeding. After inspecting the right hand, he caught Qi's left wrist next. Despite Qi’s resistance, Gu shoved him back onto the bed, pressing a hand flat against his chest as if measuring his heartbeat.

His knee also pinned down the crook of Qi’s right elbow. After confirming there was no physical pain or signs of illness, Gu Jinglan gave him a low, domineering glare. "Last chance. Don’t answer, and you’re on your own."

Only then did that glued-on gaze from Qi finally flicker slightly. With zero fight left, he lay back on the bed, feet dragging on the floor.

"Are you going back home?" Qi forced himself to stare at the ceiling.

"The hospital will fire you. We won’t see each other again." Gu Jinglan watched him closely.

"Fine, great, fire me." Qi let out a hollow laugh, his lips twisting into a twisted, clown-like grin. "Leave, fire me. I never wanted to stay at PKU Hospital anyway."

He didn’t want to stay anywhere anymore.

This shitty fucking world!

Goddammit!

His mouth curled—but it looked more like a grimace than a smile.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You think you can run my life too?" Qi tried to sit up, but underestimated Gu Jinglan.

Seeing that Qi had finally stirred from his lifeless haze, Gu Jinglan, instead of pressing further, threw in casually, "When that psycho patient came at me, you jumped in to save me. Doesn’t that mean you still like me?"

"I’ll give you one shot. While my girl’s away, strip. Try to please me. Maybe we can hook up." He said it on purpose, watching with an eagle-eyed stare for any reaction on Qi’s face.

"Fuck you! @#%... You have a girlfriend? Then get your ass back to her! I’ll fucking—@#%..." True to form, Qi went off on a swearing rampage.

"What’s wrong? Isn’t this what you wanted? Cut the act." Gu Jinglan kept a light grip on Qi’s injured right wrist, half expecting him to lash out, and felt for his pulse at the same time.

"You @&￥@... what the hell did you bring me abroad for? Just to get laid?! %@…!%@ you #$@..." As he cursed, tears started streaming down his face.

Seeing him cry again, Gu Jinglan’s previously hardened resolve softened instantly. He slightly shifted his knee, allowing Qi Yanyu to break free. Qi sat up, scrubbing at his eyes.

Qi Yanyu didn’t want to lose it in front of him again. After wiping his tears a few times, they finally stopped. Maybe because he’d cried, his breathing came faster than before.

When he'd calmed down a bit, Qi Yanyu searched for something he might have dropped by the bedside—something he had brought from China.

Gu Jinglan kept holding his wrist, finding no serious medical issues before helping him look. "What are you looking for? Medicine?" His voice was much gentler now.

"I'm looking for your fucking mother." Hearing his softened tone, Qi Yanyu’s tears fell again uncontrollably. He tried to shake off Gu Jinglan’s grip on his wrist.

"My mother’s in heaven," Gu Jinglan said flatly, still helping him search. Qi Yanyu finally found that little box on the floor by the bed.

Hearing that, Qi Yanyu couldn't keep insulting the other’s parents again. He rubbed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing. "If you have a girlfriend, just get lost."

"After breaking up with you, do you think I made the right choice?" Gu Jinglan released his wrist, all trace of gentleness gone from his tone.

The question hit Qi Yanyu like a punch to the gut. He caught his breath, something dark flashing in his eyes. Realizing this was serious, he held his breath slightly. "You did the right thing. Absolutely." His words were dripping with anger.

"You cheated on me. Go ask any dude if they’d tolerate that." Gu Jinglan’s voice grew colder, sharper.

Only when confronted with this did Qi Yanyu realize—he was the guilty one.

Gu Jinglan was the complete victim.

"But I... I really didn’t... I... I love you..." His words came out broken, tears streaming down like broken strings of pearls.

"Go ask any normal guy. If you can find even one out of a hundred who’d willingly accept being cheated on, I’ll call you a goddamn miracle and I won’t break up with you..."

"I... didn’t... I’m sorry," Qi Yanyu managed between sobs, his voice unsteady. "I... I can’t explain it clearly... All I can say is, I just went out with him to help him record a show... Afterward, we had a late-night snack with a bunch of people... Then I went back to school..."

"Stop crying." Gu Jinglan commanded.

Qi Yanyu actually lifted his head, fighting back tears.

"I’m going to ask you a few questions. If you lie, then after today, we’re through. Don’t ever show up in front of me again. I don’t want to see you."

Gu Jinglan’s voice was firm, laying down the law.

Qi Yanyu nodded slightly, swallowing his tears.

Gu Jinglan pulled a chair opposite his bedside and sat down.

Their eyes met, though Qi Yanyu had to look away briefly to compose himself before turning back.

"That day, after you and your brother saw me and Liu Mengyue in the elevator, why did he hit you?" This was Gu Jinglan’s first question.

To tell the truth or lie? Qi Yanyu hesitated for two seconds before deciding—go with his gut.

If his heart wanted the truth, he’d speak it. If it wanted to hide, he’d lie.

"He saw me with you." His first truthful answer.

"But I wasn’t actually with you. We just happened to run into each other."

Qi Yanyu’s vision blurred slightly. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his chin was lifted again—this time with a hint of dissatisfaction. Gu Jinglan scrutinized his eyes, seeming to detect a mix of truth and lies, or just evasive words: “If you don’t tell the truth, no one can save you.”

“What do you mean, save me?” Qi Yanyu retorted angrily. He was mocking himself, but it was also a deliberate provocation. “Save me from what? You have a girlfriend—why did you come abroad with me?”

His personality had a petulant edge, perhaps shaped by being pampered since childhood. Sometimes when faced with love that felt both real and uncertain, Qi Yanyu’s reaction was to be difficult rather than accept it wholeheartedly with a sense of deserving it.

Gu Jinglan, quick as ever, noticed how Qi deliberately clung to the point about him having a girlfriend, stubbornly twisting his words. So Gu Jinglan smirked coldly and said, “Great. Your attitude is just *fantastic*.”

“Right, keep it up. Hold onto that attitude, Qi Yanyu.” With that, he stood and walked out of the room. Moments later, Qi heard the loud slam of the apartment door, leaving the space in dead silence.

Gu Jinglan had left.

Qi Yanyu remained frozen for a full ten seconds before sitting dazedly on the edge of the bed, unresponsive. The living room outside was completely silent.

He had slammed the door and left.

He was going back to China.

Gu Jinglan was returning to China.

At first, Qi Yanyu didn’t cry. He sat stiffly on the bed, spine straight, eyes empty and fixed on the floor.

Eventually, even he could no longer bear it. He stepped outside the apartment and, upon realizing Gu Jinglan was truly gone, burst into uncontrollable tears.

No need to hold back anymore—he cried as if the world were ending, grief so raw it shook the heavens.