On the rooftop of the hotel, the midday sun blazed like fire. Yan Xiaoyi spread his arms and paced back and forth on the one - palm - wide stone railing. His face was haggard, and his tired eyes were bloodshot. He was like a bird with broken wings, on the verge of falling into the abyss at any moment.
Qin Feng and Xie Bingxia rushed up to the rooftop in one breath and witnessed this scene.
"Yan, Yan Xiaoyi! Don't do anything stupid!" Qin Feng gasped as he approached Yan Xiaoyi.
Yan Xiaoyi stopped in his tracks and stared blankly at Qin Feng. "What's the meaning of my life?"
"Nonsense! How could there be no meaning?" Qin Feng grew anxious. "Think about your parents..."
"Don't mention my parents to me!" Yan Xiaoyi became agitated. He covered his ears with both hands, and his increasingly emaciated body swayed in the air. One wrong move and he would fall.
"My father doesn't care about me at all. Just because I don't want to inherit the family business and I want to pursue music... My mother is weak and spineless. Living under my father's shadow, she treats me as her only lifeline. On the surface, she's doing it for my own good, but in fact, she never bothers to listen to what I really want!"
"They don't love me!"
"... " Qin Feng bit his lower lip. He couldn't find the words to refute.
"And Yuan Yiyun!" At the mention of that woman's name, two streams of tears slid down Yan Xiaoyi's cheeks. "She gave me a safe haven and love. Even though she was involved with multiple men, I never minded. As long as she could spare a bit of love for me. But in the end, I was like a piece of ragged cloth, casually discarded by her!"
"I pleaded with her to come back. I was even willing to give up everything. But she got bored with me. She thought I was poor and demanded that I give her two million yuan first before she would consider getting back together! Liars, all of them are liars!" Yan Xiaoyi covered his face and sobbed bitterly. "In the end, no one loves me! No one cares about me!"
His helpless and sorrowful cries echoed across the rooftop. Qin Feng and Xie Bingxia remained silent. When Yan Xiaoyi cried himself out, he wiped his nose and tears and choked out, "Tell me, what's the meaning of my life? My life is a failure. I might as well jump and end it all!"
"If you want to jump, then jump." Xie Bingxia looked at Yan Xiaoyi calmly. "If, as you said, no one loves you and no one cares about you, then just jump."
"Bingxia! What are you saying!" Qin Feng grabbed Xie Bingxia. "Don't provoke him!"
"I've never thought you were a failure," Xie Bingxia said slowly. "You're handsome, popular, good at basketball, and always willing to stand up for your brothers. But why are you so stupid?"
"I, I'm stupid, I'm stupid..." Yan Xiaoyi repeated Xie Bingxia's words like a dreamer.
"There's at least one person in this world who loves you and cares about you. How could you not see that?" Xie Bingxia pushed Qin Feng gently, signaling him to step forward. Then she said to Yan Xiaoyi, "Look up and see who's in front of you."
Yan Xiaoyi looked at Qin Feng, who was approaching step by step, his hand outstretched. Qin Feng's concerned expression was engraved in his eyes, and the tears welled up again.
"Qin Feng...!" Yan Xiaoyi reached out and grasped Qin Feng's hand. Qin Feng exerted a little strength and pulled him down from the railing, then hugged him tightly. The two of them fell to the ground together.
"Qin Feng, Qin Feng, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Yan Xiaoyi hugged his good brother tightly, his body still trembling slightly.
Qin Feng patted his back comfortingly. "It's okay, it's okay. You idiot. How could you forget your buddies? I've been so good to you. If you deny that, I'll be heartbroken."
"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" Apart from apologies, Yan Xiaoyi couldn't say anything else.
"Come on, get up. What does it look like for two grown men to be crying in each other's arms?" Xie Bingxia walked over with a smile.
Qin Feng stood up first, then reached out to pull Yan Xiaoyi up. He dusted off the dirt on Yan Xiaoyi's body and said, "I'll help you check out of the hotel. You can stay at my place for a while until you adjust. If you don't want to go back to your home, don't go. I'll take care of you."
Yan Xiaoyi finally broke into a smile through his tears. "What are you talking about? I'm a man after all. How could I rely on another man to support me?"
Qin Feng put his arm around Yan Xiaoyi's shoulder. "Then you support me. I don't mind."
The two looked at each other and smiled. Thus, the suicide farce came to an end.
Qin Feng first helped Yan Xiaoyi check out of the hotel. He threw away all of Yan Xiaoyi's belongings and claimed he would buy new ones for him to have a fresh start. After that, the three of them went to a high - end buffet. Yan Xiaoyi's smile returned, and Qin Feng was overjoyed. After the meal, Yan Xiaoyi voluntarily asked to go back to the school dormitory by himself and told Qin Feng to take Xie Bingxia home, leaving some alone time for the two of them.
"Take me to the Gu's mansion." Xie Bingxia got in the car and fastened her seatbelt.
"Not going back to school?"
"Yeah, I need to pick up some things." Xie Bingxia casually turned on the car radio, and cheerful music filled the air. But she soon noticed that Qin Feng was in a bad mood. He had been smiling during the meal, but now he looked worried and absent - minded.
Qin Feng remained silent all the way. When the car arrived at the gate of the Gu's mansion, he said, "We're here. Be careful when you get home."
They were already at the doorstep. It was obvious that Qin Feng was absent - minded. Xie Bingxia reached out and pulled out the car key, twirled it between her fingers, and said to Qin Feng, "Get out of the car. Let's talk."
Xie Bingxia led Qin Feng to the large garden of the Gu's mansion and found a bench to sit on. The faint moonlight shone on them, casting long shadows.
"Tell me, what's bothering you?"
Qin Feng clenched his fists and pressed them against his forehead. "I've been a really lousy friend."
Xie Bingxia placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You've done a great job. Thanks to you today, Yan Xiaoyi is okay."
"No," Qin Feng denied. "It's thanks to you, Bingxia, that he realized he had reasons to live. Otherwise..." His voice grew hoarse. "Otherwise, if he had jumped, I would have blamed myself for the rest of my life."
"Do you know? I had many opportunities before to help him untangle his knots, but I didn't care enough about him. I failed to notice his inner pain in time. If I had given him a hand earlier, would all this have happened? He wouldn't have relied on the false love from Yuan Yiyun, wouldn't have staged a kidnapping, and wouldn't have had the idea of suicide."
"You silly thing!" Xie Bingxia scolded, but there was no blame in her tone. "How can we go back and speculate about things that have already happened? If this had happened, if that had happened... We don't need to waste our time on such meaningless thoughts."
"The most important thing now is to treat him well and help him untangle his knots. It's not too late."
"Bingxia..." Qin Feng was so touched that tears welled up in his eyes. Xie Bingxia continued, "Moreover, he chose to attempt suicide when we visited. Deep down, he still hoped that someone would give him a hand and pull him back from the edge of hell. The person Yan Xiaoyi was waiting for was you."
Qin Feng couldn't hold back his tears any longer and sobbed softly. As he wiped the corners of his eyes with his cuff, he self - deprecatingly said, "Hey, what's going on? My tears are being so disobedient. Haha... It's so embarrassing for a grown man to cry. Haha."
The big boy in front of her was so endearing. At this moment, he also needed some comfort. Xie Bingxia pulled Qin Feng over and gently hugged him, patting his back tenderly. "Be good. Believe in yourself. You're the best."
The pleasant scent on Xie Bingxia was the best sedative. Qin Feng couldn't help but hug her back and buried his head in the crook of her neck, breathing in greedily. Nothing else mattered as long as Xie Bingxia was in his arms. He hoped that time would stop at this moment forever.
On a path not far from the garden, a car drove up. Gu Bei was about to drive the car into the garage but suddenly stepped on the brake. His pupils shrank instantly. The sight of Qin Feng and Xie Bingxia hugging each other fell into his eyes, and his heart started pounding wildly, throwing him into a state of unease. He averted his gaze and restarted the car.
After Gu Bei parked the car, he went straight from the garage to the first - floor living room. Xie Bingxia had entered the house just before him and was asking Xiaomei for juice. Gu Bei ignored her and went straight up to the second floor.
"Gu Bei, Gu Bei!" Xie Bingxia called out to him from behind. Her small steps sounded very cheerful. Gu Bei didn't intend to turn back. He quickened his pace and rushed into the study.
Xie Bingxia rushed after him and squeezed into the study before he could close the door. "Why are you ignoring me?"
What could he do when the little white rabbit just walked right into the trap?
"Where did you go?" At this moment, Gu Bei managed to suppress his emotions, and his tone was relatively calm.
"I went back to school. I've missed so many classes. I'm so afraid I won't get enough credits." Xie Bingxia took a sip of juice.
"Really?"
"Here we go again. Suspicious Boss Gu. Do you need to install a GPS on me?" Just as Xie Bingxia finished speaking, she was pulled into Gu Bei's embrace by his strong right hand.
She could see the unhappiness in Gu Bei's eyes but didn't know the reason. Then she remembered that they had entered the house one after another - surely it couldn't be such a coincidence?
The girl in his arms lowered her head slightly, not daring to meet his gaze. Gu Bei immediately was certain that the little white rabbit had done something wrong. His breathing became rapid. Xie Bingxia's lips, still moist from the juice, were so alluring that he yearned to kiss them.
Yes, Gu Bei was extremely eager to taste the little white rabbit right away to confirm that she belonged only to him.
Xie Bingxia felt Gu Bei's breath approaching and knew what he was about to do. So she lifted her chin and closed her eyes.
The expected kiss didn't come. Instead, her waist was released, and Gu Bei let her go. "Get out. I have work to do."