Yi Pin didn't even care about who had leaked the secret. He just felt a wave of annoyance rising in his heart.
His lips twitching, he picked up his phone and dialed a number.
Listening to the standby tone, there was still a flutter in his heart.
"Hello!"
A hoarse and vicissitudinous voice sounded in his ear.
After that, Yi Pin fell into a long silence. He didn't know how to start the conversation. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn't say them.
"Yi Pin!"
The voice on the other end came again, full of vicissitudes, sounding as weak as someone just recovering from a serious illness.
"Shen Yu, Brother Yu, I'll ask you one last time. Is this really how it's going to be between us? It's okay. If you say that your future is more important than me and I have no place in your planned future, I can accept it. I definitely won't pester you. Really, I, Yi Pin, have always been honest and upright. As long as you say no, I will never force you!"
Yi Pin's somewhat hoarse voice slowly uttered. The corners of his eyes were dry. He had often heard people say that love could send one to hell. Now he finally understood what that felt like.
But the other end fell silent. There was only a faint sound of breathing.
Yi Pin frowned. In the past, no matter what happened, as long as Yi Pin called out "Brother Yu", Shen Yu would agree unconditionally. But why had it become like this now?
"Fine, then I'll take your silence as a yes!" Yi Pin didn't know how he managed to say that sentence. He just felt a sharp pain in his heart.
Tears slowly slid down the corners of his eyes. Yi Pin still held the phone for a few seconds unwilling to give up, but there was still no response.
Yi Pin forced a smile with a twitch of his lips. Suddenly, he felt a sense of helplessness and daze.
That night seemed so long. Sorrow seemed endless, but Yi Pin was afraid of the coming of dawn. He didn't know how to face the rising sun.
Yi Pin held the phone tightly. There were red blood streaks on his hand, which was as red as if it had been congested all the time.
He drifted through time like this, not knowing how long it had passed.
The door was gently pushed open. The old man sighed with a look of heartache and helplessness on his face. "Get up and eat something."
Yi Pin still stared at the sky outside. It seemed that the sun was shining brightly and white clouds were floating in the sky.
Yi Pin turned his head and looked at the old man with a stooped back. Suddenly, he felt a twinge of heartache. In the old man's worldview, he might be wondering why only his grandson was "abnormal".
Yi Pin stood up, forced a smile, picked up the meal brought by Aunt Liu, and took a few mouthfuls. But he just couldn't swallow. In the past few days, he suddenly felt that he was no longer the foodie he used to be. He had been so busy being sad that he couldn't eat or sleep.
He had lost a lot of weight. Although he looked okay to himself, in his grandfather's eyes, he seemed to have lost half of his body.
The old man couldn't hide his smile when he saw Yi Pin eating. For a rare moment, a faint smile appeared on his face.
After Yi Pin finished eating, he forced a smile.
"When is my flight?" Yi Pin asked with a smile.
"Tomorrow!"
The old man patted Yi Pin on the shoulder.
"So soon!" Yi Pin frowned. He had been telling himself that it would be good to leave this sad place earlier, but his heart was filled with sadness.
"Take good care of yourself when you get there..."
Yi Pin didn't listen to the rest of the words. He just felt that his heart was empty.
That night, he couldn't fall asleep. He didn't know how to get some sleep. The images of him and Shen Yu kept flashing through his mind.
But the next day still came as expected. Yi Pin got up early in the morning and washed up.
Carrying his few pieces of luggage, he took a last look at his home, and then walked out of the door.
Looking at the reluctant eyes of his grandfather and father, he suddenly felt his nose sting. But he still pretended to be calm and said with a smile, "You two should eat and drink well at home. I might cause some trouble in Canada and make you clean up the mess!"
He got into the car with a smile, but the smile gradually froze. The street scenes of the city were receding, just like the years that had passed.
Yi Pin forced a smile, but his eyes were glistening. He looked up at the bright sun in the sky.
When he arrived at the airport, he saw all kinds of people. There were also some couples seeing each other off, crying in each other's arms.
Yi Pin suddenly felt a sense of loss. He was going abroad and had refused all the people who wanted to see him off, including Wang Xiangyang, his childhood friend.
Yi Pin had always disliked parting scenes. No matter what, as long as everyone remembered the happy moments, that would be enough.
There was no one around him, and the radio was playing a fluent and gentle female voice.
Yi Pin's mind was in a daze. He suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
He closed his eyes, and the images of him and Shen Yu in the past few months kept emerging in his mind. There were happy moments, sad moments, quarrels, and moments of touch.
But why, in just a few days, could he let go so easily?
Just one minute before boarding, Yi Pin suddenly stopped.
"Hurry up. Why are you blocking the way..."
"Yes, sir, sir..."
The people behind kept urging him.
But Yi Pin suddenly turned around and ran out of the airport. There were a series of radio announcements behind him, but Yi Pin ran away resolutely.
He took a taxi.
He was a little nervous, but the moment he thought of Shen Yu, of all his goodness, and of the beautiful moments they had together, he suddenly didn't want to leave. He didn't want to be separated from him by thousands of miles.
At least here he could still see him. He kept thinking that he had to find out why this had happened. There must be a reason.
With a nervous heart, he came to Shen Yu's apartment. He mustered up the courage to knock on the door, but there was still no response.
Then Yi Pin got a little anxious. He knocked on the door impatiently, but still got no response.
Finally, an old woman next door came out.
"Stop knocking. That young man has been taken away by the police station!" the old woman said impatiently.
"What? How is that possible!" Yi Pin frowned. He suddenly felt a chill running through his body. His hands were trembling.
Yi Pin walked out of the building in a daze. He called Qi Mingyang.
His hand holding the phone was shaking all the time.
"I can't explain it to you over the phone. Come to the coffee shop next to the police station. We'll talk in person!"
Qi Mingyang's voice sounded in his ear.
Yi Pin and Qi Mingyang met in the coffee shop.
Seeing Yi Pin's appearance, Qi Mingyang frowned and sneered. "What's wrong with you two? Are you competing to see who can lose weight faster?"
Yi Pin frowned. "Tell me quickly. What's going on? Shen Yu is not that kind of person!"
Qi Mingyang raised his eyebrows and curled his lips into a smile.
It turned out that Cheng Lingqing hadn't gone abroad. Instead, he had died in the rented house. Later, before Yi Feng was imprisoned, he had shifted the blame onto Shen Yu.
Yi Pin felt a pang of heartache as he listened. He frowned and slammed his fist on the table.
"I want to see Shen Yu!"
Yi Pin looked up at Qi Mingyang in front of him.