Chapter 59 It’s Been So Long—Don’t You Miss Me, Brother?

Chapter 59: Long Time No See, Bro, Don’t You Miss Me?

Li Wangyue rushed to the hospital, where Zhang Qiaoyuan lay in the ward, pale and weak.

Assistant Xiao Fang stood up as soon as he saw him. "Mr. Li."

Li Wangyue hurried to the bedside. "What happened?"

"He got jumped while walking home at night." Xiao Fang rubbed his brow, clearly frustrated. "A fractured rib and a broken nose."

"Have you called the police?" Li Wangyue asked, deeply worried.

His heart nearly stopped when he got the call. Why did this have to happen to Zhang Qiaoyuan of all times? A certain someone kept flashing through his mind.

"Not yet..."

Before Xiao Fang could finish, Zhang Qiaoyuan woke up and gently tugged at Li Wangyue’s clothes.

Li Wangyue leaned down quickly. "What’s wrong? Are you okay? Should I get a doctor?"

Zhang Qiaoyuan shook his head and asked Xiao Fang to go buy him a bottle of water.

Li Wangyue knew he was being deliberately sent away. He pulled a chair over and sat by the bed. "Who hit you? Did you see his face?"

Zhang Qiaoyuan hesitated, then said, "I didn’t get hit. I got into a fight. Don’t tell anyone—it’ll be a mess if it gets out..."

Li Wangyue froze, "What?"

Zhang Qiaoyuan tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Actually, I got into underground fighting recently... you know, the illegal kind."

Li Wangyue frowned slightly.

He’d heard of this—usually a gray area, high stakes, life-threatening risks.

He never expected Zhang Qiaoyuan to get into that.

Zhang Qiaoyuan looked down, pitiful. "If the cops show up later, can you post bail for me? Don’t tell anyone. I don’t want people to know."

Li Wangyue sighed. "You’re this banged up—how can anyone not worry..."

Zhang Qiaoyuan muttered, "I was winning every time. Maybe the bookie got sick of it and brought in some newbie. He was ruthless, nearly killed me..."

Li Wangyue felt a phantom pain just hearing that, his eyes full of concern.

Zhang Qiaoyuan continued, "But weirdly, after beating me like that, he patched me up. By the time Xiao Fang got there, he was gone, and he didn’t even take the cash."

Li Wangyue comforted him. "Right now, just focus on resting up. Don’t think about that. I’ll get a nurse to check on you."

Milk, No Sugar

His nose was still wrapped in bandages. The nasal bridge is a dangerous spot—if it breaks, bone fragments can easily get inhaled into the airway.

And since that person knew first aid, they should have known not to hit the nose or face, yet they went that hard.

Li Wangyue didn’t have time to dwell on it. He had the nurse check him over—no major issues, just a few days in the hospital and then he could recover at home.

Zhang Qiaoyuan felt bad for dragging him out in the middle of the night, but Li Wangyue didn’t mind. He helped with the bail and called his work to take leave for him.

On the day he was discharged, Xiao Fang came first to move his things to the car.

Li Wangyue had a meeting at work and was running a bit late. By the time he got there, the elevator was full and heading up, so he took the stairs.

The weather was bad—snowy days always seemed gloomy, like they were brewing a storm.

He pulled out his phone to check Zhang Qiaoyuan’s texts. The stairwell’s motion sensor light was slow, and halfway down the steps, it was still dark.

He instinctively grabbed the handrail. As he turned the corner, his shoulder bumped into a figure.

"Sorry." Li Wangyue steadied himself and said sorry.

The figure didn’t stop, continuing down with slow, calm steps, without a pause.

Li Wangyue looked back, annoyed by the rudeness. In the darkness, the figure’s profile was faintly visible, as if glancing up at him, then turning away and disappearing down the hall.

A second later, the sensor light clicked on.

Li Wangyue hurried upstairs and went into the ward.

Zhang Qiaoyuan’s things were packed, and his bed was empty. Xiao Fang was helping him into his coat, his movements awkward and funny.

"Mr. Li, could you see him downstairs? I’ll go get the car."

"Sure." Li Wangyue nodded.

Zhang Qiaoyuan walked slowly, needing support. Li Wangyue took half his weight, trying to be as gentle as possible.

Zhang Qiaoyuan said, "That guy came to see me just now. Weird, huh?"

"Huh?" Li Wangyue was confused.

"The one who beat me up. In the ring, he was ruthless—I’ll admit his skills were good—but just now, he came to visit and even brought a gift."

"What gift?"

Zhang Qiaoyuan lifted the thermos in his hand. "Something like... oh, snow fungus soup."

Li Wangyue froze, a chill running down his spine.

Zhang Qiaoyuan rambled on, "I don’t get it. Does snow fungus soup help you recover faster? Usually, people bring chicken soup or something nourishing. So stingy..."

Li Wangyue’s breathing quickened, his pupils dilating for a second.

"What’s wrong?" Zhang Qiaoyuan finally noticed his distress.

Li Wangyue pressed his lips together, frowning. He waved his hand, trying to calm down, but suddenly rushed into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and dry-heaved.

After a while, he wiped his face, straightened up, and turned off the water.

Zhang Qiaoyuan waited outside. "Is your cold still not better? You’ve been in there so long. Maybe you should see a doctor too."

Li Wangyue shook his head. "Probably just ate too much at lunch. Stomach’s upset."

"Your schedule’s irregular and your workload’s heavy. You need to watch what you eat." Zhang Qiaoyuan turned the tables and started lecturing him.

"I know."

After helping Xiao Fang get Zhang Qiaoyuan home, Xiao Fang offered to drop Li Wangyue off, but he declined, saying he needed to go to the office.

Of course, he wasn’t going to the office.

He just instinctively didn’t want anyone near him.

His arms were shaking uncontrollably—the kind of tremors that only stopped when he grabbed his wrists.

Night fell, the sky got darker, and it started raining.

Li Wangyue walked down the street to the bar Zhang Qiaoyuan told him about. Next to it, a narrow entrance went underground, twisting through a maze of tunnels to an old bomb shelter.

That’s where the no-rules fight went down.

Standing at the entrance, a musty, wet smell hit him, making him nauseous.

Li Wangyue pressed his palm against the wall, slowly balling it into a fist.

His eyes landed on the stairs leading into the dark—slick, looking like they were covered in moss. One look made him dizzy, like he might fall headfirst into it.

Behind him, a car honked and people cursed, snapping him back to reality.

Li Wangyue went into the bar and walked up to the counter, ordering an ice-cold, strong drink.

The night was heavy, the bar buzzing with noise, music blasting deafeningly.

The music got louder, rhythmic and intense. Someone in the dancing crowd bumped into him, spilling some of his drink.

The lights were dim. Li Wangyue held his glass, finding calm in its icy feel.

After he finished his drink, he stood up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone sitting in a dark booth, holding the same drink.

He couldn’t make out the face—a figure in black, legs crossed, chatting with someone nearby, smiling every now and then.

It didn’t look like him at all.

But Li Wangyue was certain it was Ting Zhenxi.

He felt like everyone around him could be Ting Zhenxi.

The crowd wasn't safe. His heart raced, he gasped for breath, cold sweat poured down his back, always on the lookout for any shadow that might come out of the cracks.

He heard breathing behind him. He spun around, but only saw a stranger drinking.

Someone called him "brother" in his ear. He looked over, but only saw the moving crowd—laughing, wild, drunk.

The night's partying hit its peak at that moment.

Li Wangyue squeezed through the crowd, pushing past people to get out. Footsteps followed him, not too close, not too far.

The street was quieter. People came and went, in a hurry. Car tires rolled through rain-soaked puddles, splashing loudly.

The rain seemed to be getting worse. He didn't have an umbrella, so he used his bag to cover his head.

Li Wangyue walked quickly down the street. The shops next to him were lively and warm, with lanterns hanging, giving off a cozy vibe.

But he had no time to enjoy it, keeping his head down as he moved forward.

The footsteps got closer. He glanced back, then walked faster.

His heart pounded faster. He grabbed his collar, shivering from the cold.

He squeezed the keys in his hand tighter. His throat got hoarse, his eyes got red. He almost ran into the apartment complex, stopping at the brightly lit entrance to turn and look.

No one was behind him.

Not a single person, not even a breeze. Everything was quiet.

The security booth was lit. The guard recognized him and asked, "Teacher Li, back already? What's up? Forget something?"

Li Wangyue stared back blankly, speaking slowly: "Oh… nothing, I… I just got back."

The guard waved at him. "Rain's getting worse. Go on in."

Li Wangyue got into the elevator, his breathing calming down a bit.

No one was following him. Just a hallucination. Just a hallucination.

He got out of the elevator, walked quickly to his door, put the key in, and opened it in one smooth motion.

He didn't turn on the lights. Shaking, he locked the door twice, then put on the security chain.

The apartment was dead quiet.

He was soaked, rainwater dripping from his wet hair onto the floor.

Drip.

Drip.

Li Wangyue was exhausted. He leaned his forehead against the door, breathing hard. It took a while before he calmed down.

All he could hear was the wind and rain…

He suddenly opened his eyes.

There was another breathing sound in the room.

He looked up. A flash of lightning lit up the sky outside the window.

The dim living room lit up for a second. He saw someone lounging on the sofa, and a faint smear of dark red on the bottom of a shoe.

A chill of terror washed over him. Li Wangyue felt like he'd gone mute, his lips opening but no sound coming out. He turned to open the door, but it was locked solid.

The person on the sofa laughed softly and stood up.

He frantically yanked at the security chain, but the more he panicked, the harder it was to open—it got stuck on a rusty spot, not moving.

The breath behind him drew closer, along with a coldness that slowly pressed against his back.

“It’s been so long, and big brother doesn’t miss me?”

Li Wangyue shuddered, desperate to flee, but a hand gently pressed his shoulder.

The man lowered his head, chin resting on his shoulder, guiding his hand to grip the chain’s clasp, slowly unfastening it.

“What were you hiding from just now?” he asked softly, as if genuinely puzzled. “There was clearly no one following you.”

“Get away from me!”

Li Wangyue screamed, flailing and kicking, tears streaming down his face. He lost control, roaring as the fear, anger, and helplessness accumulated over countless days and nights erupted in a single, explosive breakdown.

Ting Zhenxi cupped his face with one hand, pressing him against the door, using his thumb to roughly wipe away his tears.

He smiled, leaning in to bite his lips.

“Brother, next time you come in, make sure to check if anyone’s hiding in the house before you close the door.”

“Otherwise, with the door locked so tight, you won’t be able to run.”