Watching Chi Wenqiu’s body suddenly go limp, Qu Jing panicked. His voice trembled as he cried out his name.
Chi Wenqiu did not respond.
He was like a robot with its wires cut, his pupils dilated and unfocused as his head tilted to the side. The blood on his bandaged abdomen began to spread, and the large stain was a piercing, shocking red.
“No, no, no, Chi Wenqiu, you can’t do this! I, did I?” Qu Jing grew hysterical. Fragmented images flashed through his mind, clogging his thoughts until it felt like his head would explode. After a long period of dazed confusion, he finally realized he had lost Chi Wenqiu forever.
He pressed his face against that soft belly, just as he had been tenderly held in Chi Wenqiu’s arms that night, trying to catch the warmth that was rapidly fading away.
“No, no, don’t go, Chi Wenqiu. I won’t force you anymore. Please wake up, I’m begging you, please.” Qu Jing’s guts twisted with a regret so sharp it was physical. He tried desperately to warm the man who would never wake again; he turned the heater to the maximum and wrapped him in quilts, but the man, whose chest had stopped rising and falling, showed no sign of life.
Before Qu Jing could recover from this blow, he quickly received more devastating news: his father had drowned.
The official reason was an accidental fall into the water. However, the police investigation suggested he had walked into the water of his own accord, though no one believed it. Why would someone give up a life of luxury and wealth to commit suicide?
Overnight, the eldest young master of the Qu family suffered a total breakdown. Simultaneously, the Qu Corporation’s stock crashed, and their former partners vanished without a trace. The Qu family was no longer glorious.
“Whether you are willing to accept it or not, you are the Family Head’s only son and the sole heir to the Qu family. Please take over the family affairs and handle the matters your father abandoned. Do your best to preserve the Qu family industries; that way, no one will stop you when you want to marry Chi Wenqiu.”
A week ago, the old butler had advised him earnestly, urging the young man, who had not even graduated from university, to inherit the family business.
At that time, Chi Wenqiu had just been moved out of the Intensive Care Unit. Qu Jing visited him as usual, looking quite the part in a custom-tailored, expensive suit. He had desperately wanted to show off in front of Chi Wenqiu, but the man remained unconscious. For six or seven days straight, Qu Jing wore formal attire even to his classes, just so that the first thing Chi Wenqiu would see upon waking was a mature version of him.
Qu Sian had been forcibly removed from his position by Qu Wenbin, who had conspired with the board of directors. Qu Sian seemed to have expected this day; he merely smiled indifferently and showed no resentment.
“From now on, you are no longer a member of the Qu family. Take your male wife and get out! It would be best if you left S City so I never have to see you again!”
Qu Wenbin coughed repeatedly in his rage, but Qu Sian only smiled and said, “Don’t be so angry. You say that every time, but when have you ever actually crossed my name off the family tree? Oh, I almost forgot, I burned the family tree to ashes. After all, no one wants a feudal relic that only records sons and ignores daughters.”
“You bastard! Must you provoke me until I die to be satisfied? It is one thing for you to be stupid, but you have corrupted Xiao Jing too! Do you want the Qu line to end with you?”
“I am sorry, but have you forgotten? The one who almost ended the Qu line was you. If it were not for you, would I have hovered on the brink of death so often? You have a short memory for your own sins. I wonder who it was that was busy being intimate with someone else while his wife was hemorrhaging during a difficult labor? You only came back crawling and begging for mercy when you were about to be kicked out to live as a poor scholar again, and even then, you never changed your ways. Additionally, after my mother passed away, when you could not gain Grandfather’s favor, you took your anger out on me. You even locked me up and starved me; I had to gnaw on my own arms to survive. My ability to stand here today is all thanks to you.”
Qu Sian spoke leisurely, as if chatting about domestic trifles, while continuously mocking his biological father. There was not a hint of respect for an elder in his eyes. The man standing before him did not seem like a relative, but rather a mortal enemy.
It was then that Qu Jing felt he finally understood his nominal father a little better. He knew Qu Sian’s background was tragic, but he had not realized it was even more miserable than his own. At the very least, Qu Jing had grown up in luxury, enjoying the treatment due to a young master of the Qu family. Qu Sian, however, had suffered more than an average person; anyone else would have been crushed by such trauma long ago.
During the week Chi Wenqiu lay unconscious in the hospital, Qu Sian had not come to visit once. Qu Jing was not sure where he had gone, but he secretly felt relieved that he likely would not return. He even maliciously thought that if Qu Sian did come back, he would hire someone to drive him out of the country so he could never return.
Chi Wenqiu could only belong to him.
This shameful, hidden affection was like a secret finally exposed, a sprout emerging in a harsh, soil-less environment. Qu Jing felt a genuine sense of relief; he thought Qu Sian would leave for good and no longer interfere with his peaceful life with Chi Wenqiu.
But he never expected that Chi Wenqiu’s personality would change so drastically upon waking. Not only was he cold and dismissive, but he even claimed that his injuries were his own doing; he said he would rather die than see them.
As it turned out, after all these years, Chi Wenqiu had no feelings for them at all. Was he truly driven to such a dead end? Qu Jing had been prepared to drop out of school to handle everything, but hearing those casual words from Chi Wenqiu, he realized he was still too fragile. His defenses were easily shattered by a couple of sentences. He could never have imagined that even if there was no love, there was no need for such hatred.
Qu Jing refused to accept it. He chose to believe that Chi Wenqiu was merely heartbroken because Qu Sian had arrived late and was speaking out of impulsive anger. He stubbornly believed that Chi Wenqiu would return to his old self, and perhaps even treat him better than before.
Because Qu Jing was now the head of the house, and he was different from Qu Sian. Even though they shared a surname, he guaranteed he would have the patience to wait for Chi Wenqiu to change his mind. He was willing to stay by his side until the wounds healed and do anything Chi Wenqiu wanted. They could travel, see the sea, just the two of them.
Having made up his mind, Qu Jing prepared to deliver a love letter he had hidden for a long time. His courage faltered at the door; after hesitating for a while, he finally pushed it open and entered.
Unexpectedly, he saw a completely different Chi Wenqiu. The person was clearly the same, yet he felt like a stranger. He was cold, elegant, and distant, as if he were accustomed to a superior status and did not care about the lives of others. Qu Jing loved his coldness, yet it also chilled his heart.
Realizing that Chi Wenqiu had not dressed up for him, the young man was overcome with grief. He pleaded bitterly, but Chi Wenqiu remained indifferent. Then, Qu Jing received a call from the police.
His father had gotten into a brawl like a common thug for Chi Wenqiu’s sake. That was not surprising; Qu Sian was never a gentleman. He was used to acting on whim and never bothered to maintain social relationships, resulting in countless enemies who wanted to bring him down.
Most of Qu Sian’s enemies were made because of Chi Wenqiu. It was not that Qu Sian was clumsy and caused trouble; on the contrary, it was because Chi Wenqiu’s work ability was so outstanding. He could settle problems that were nearly impossible to solve. It was under his leadership that the Qu Corporation had grown, internationalized, and gained influence.
Many people coveted such a capable assistant and were willing to spend a fortune to recruit him. Yet, as if under a spell, Chi Wenqiu stayed loyal to Qu Sian, unaffected by temptation, remaining by his side for a humble salary that did not match his worth. Setting aside his professional skills, he could have easily used his appearance to please a benefactor and live a much easier life.
Even Qu Jing found the nature of Chi Wenqiu’s feelings for Qu Sian difficult to speak of, so he chose to protect him in silence. However, things were not as they seemed. The moment Qu Sian lost his power, Chi Wenqiu’s attitude shifted instantly to one of resistance, completely disregarding their three years of history. It was truly incomprehensible.
Speaking of which, Qu Jing had a friend who was passionate but not fickle, dedicated to giving every girl a home. Even for a fleeting romance, he would be nostalgic, let alone a partner he had been with for years through thick and thin.
“Even a stray cat or dog you pick up, you would be loath to give away after just one night,” Qu Jing thought to himself.
He stared blankly at Chi Wenqiu’s indifferent profile. The other man had his arms crossed, acting as if nothing concerned him, desperate to draw a clear line between himself and others. Qu Jing felt a wave of desolation, fearing that one day, it would be his turn. His intuition told him it was only a matter of time.
In the very next second after Chi Wenqiu’s invitation, the man used a cold tone to ruthlessly crush all of Qu Jing’s fantasies. Qu Jing truly could not understand. If the Qu family had hurt Chi Wenqiu in the past and he had submitted to Qu Sian for three years just for revenge, that would make sense. But Qu Jing had only insulted Qu Sian verbally; he had not done anything extreme.
Did he love or not? Did he hate or not?
Qu Jing was being driven mad by the torment. He gazed blankly at Chi Wenqiu’s face, which was exquisite and stunning even without makeup. Even if this face carried a fatal poison, he would willingly kiss it and offer up everything he owned. Chi Wenqiu always gave him the illusion that he was fleeting, that he would vanish at any moment.
“If you leave, take me with you, okay?” This was the thought in his heart as he reverently kissed his lover. He wished more than anything that he and Chi Wenqiu could live together in peace.
But Chi Wenqiu had no such intention. He even said that phrase, “Get lost when you are done. I never want to see you again for the rest of my life!”
Only then did Qu Jing seem to realize that, to Chi Wenqiu, he was nothing more than a disposable toy.
The body in the bathtub was pale and translucent. The slender, graceful hand hanging over the edge looked like fine jade porcelain, yet there was no blood left in the fingertips.
The hot water could not warm his icy body. Qu Jing stepped into the water as well, using his own body heat to try to warm him. With a slightly trembling hand, he twisted open the cap of a lipstick and slowly applied it to the dry, deathly pale lips. He restrained his strength, careful not to let the small lipstick smudge outside the lines. By the time he finished, he was breaking out in a cold sweat.
He looked at Chi Wenqiu, with skin as white as paper but lips as red as dripping blood. A faint, phantom smile seemed to hang on the corners of those lips, as if at any moment he might spring to life and sneer at him.
Qu Jing’s throat tightened with a harsh sob, and his nose suddenly stung. He closed his eyes in agony and lowered his head to kiss those red lips that would never speak again.
He had finally gotten his wish.