PBMM CH38

Zhao He abruptly froze. “A-Qing… you remember me?”

Wild with joy, he rushed forward and hugged the stunned youth tightly. “A-Qing! A-Qing!”

“I will never leave you again, A-Qing… It was my fault in the past, I was bad, it was all my fault. I will make it up to you, and we will be happy together, okay?” Zhao He tightly embraced the youth’s waist, his voice hoarse. “You don’t have to be afraid, I will protect you. No one will hurt you ever again, A-Qing, A-Qing…”

Faced with a lost and found treasure, the immense joy and excitement Zhao He displayed could be felt by anyone. He didn’t even give Feng Xinyang time to react; the person who was docilely in his embrace just a moment ago was now in Zhao He’s arms.

He clenched his fists tightly, wanting to say something, but saw the youth slowly raise his gauze-wrapped hands and hug Zhao He back. Feng Xinyang stared blankly at the two embracing, and ultimately let go of his hands. The man’s back hunched slightly as he silently left the hospital room.

Even if his heart hurt so much it was bleeding, the man had to comfort himself. It didn’t matter, it didn’t matter. As long as A-Qing was happy, as long as A-Qing was glad, he was willing to let him do anything. Who told him to owe him…

He left with sorrow, but never expected that the development inside the room was completely unlike what he had imagined.

Being hugged by the youth, Zhao He’s body jolted, and he hugged him even tighter. Then, he felt a faint, small resistance from the youth. He looked down and saw He Qing, with a pale face, gently pushing him away.

The youth’s eyes were still gentle, looking at him calmly. An ominous premonition suddenly rose in Zhao He’s heart. He suppressed this feeling. “A-Qing?”

“A-He…” The youth slightly pursed his lips into a smile, just like back then, only his colorless lips made the smile much paler. “Will you forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye back then?”

Zhao He’s hands trembled as he stroked the youth’s hair, which had withered and yellowed in just a few short days. “A-Qing, it was my fault back then…”

The youth asked him stubbornly, “Have you forgiven me?”

“I’ve forgiven you…” Zhao He’s voice was hoarse, tears seemingly welling in his eyes. “I forgave you long ago.”

Hearing his answer, the youth smiled as if he were happy. His pale face was full of joy and relief. His voice was so light it felt as if a breeze could blow it away. “A-He, I don’t blame you anymore either.”

The unease in his heart intensifying, Zhao He forced a smile. “We forgive each other, and we will live our lives well, okay?”

The youth silently shook his head. “My time is running out…” He reached out a hand, his gaze falling on the gauze so desolate it made one’s heart ache. “I can feel my body getting weaker day by day. vn has already destroyed my bodily mechanisms. Even if I quit, the parts that were destroyed cannot be repaired.”

Zhao He’s face looked terrible, but he persisted in smiling. “No, it won’t be like that. Ning Feng is almost done developing the medicine. As long as you take the medicine, you will get better. Trust me, okay?”

“Before, we agreed to get married right after graduation. Now, even though it’s late, it’s still not too late…” The man’s voice choked. He tried hard not to blink, not letting himself cry out. “When we get married, you can go be a teacher at a medical college. I will drop you off and pick you up from work every day. When Saturday and Sunday come, we’ll go eat and drink, and build Gundams, okay?”

He Qing quietly listened to him describe their future life, a smile appearing on his pale face. “How nice…”

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t live to see that time.

He tried hard to reach out his hand to touch the man, but found he didn’t even have the strength to lift it. Seeing this, Zhao He hurriedly cupped his hand and brought it to his own face. The gauze-wrapped hand stroked the man’s face. “A-He… when I die, throw my ashes into the sea.”

“What nonsense are you talking about!” The gloomy man’s eyes were bloodshot. Looking at the youth who was so weak he seemed like he could depart at any moment, he said with trembling lips, “You won’t die, I won’t let you die…”

“A-Qing… do you blame me? That day, the person that day wasn’t me…” He hurriedly explained with a trembling voice, “Lin Wan never told me you were kidnapped. Yan Xizhi, Ning Feng, Feng Xinyang, ask them! They all know! If, if I had gone, it wouldn’t have turned out like this…”

“So… it wasn’t A-He…” The youth smiled happily, without a shred of doubt. “Thank you, A-He. The days I spent with you, I was truly very happy.”

“Then let’s keep being happy, okay?” Zhao He pleadingly pressed the youth’s hand against his face. “We can be happy forever, until we’re old, until we die, okay?”

“There’s no time left…” He Qing smiled, but tears slid down his eyes. He tried hard not to show vulnerability, but the tremor in his voice betrayed him. “I want to live, but there’s simply no chance for me to survive.”

“A-He…” The youth’s gaze remained gentle, but the words he spoke chilled his entire heart. “If possible, I truly wish I had never met you.”

“That way, maybe I could have survived…”

He Qing’s life had only been beautiful for seventeen years. Every segment of his life after that was lived in bitter waters. After he finally, through his own hard work, gradually forgot the past and thought he could welcome a new life, he once again fell into agony.

Zhao He couldn’t articulate the feeling in his heart. When his own existence became the nightmare of the person he loved, the pain seemed to split him in half. He merely stroked the youth’s emaciated back in a futile, continuous motion. “A-Qing, I know I was wrong. You can survive, you definitely can…”

The youth shook his head. Just this simple motion of shaking his head made his breathing difficult. He spoke with great effort, “I won’t give up, I want to live. But if there’s no way, I hope I can leave happily…” And not with the regrets of half a lifetime.

Zhao He understood his meaning, squeezing out a smile on his tear-stained face. “Okay, whatever A-Qing says.”

It didn’t matter. As long as, as long as A-Qing wanted to live, that was enough. Even if it cost him his entire fortune, he would definitely find a way to save A-Qing!

Zhao He wiped away his tears, his mood more urgent than ever before. He carefully propped the weak youth against a cushion. “A-Qing, I’m going to find Ning Feng. You watch some TV on the laptop for a bit. If you need anything, just call me, okay?”

The youth nodded obediently. Watching the man walk out of the hospital room, his hand moved weakly and picked up his phone.

The moment Zhao He stepped out of the room, the emotions he had just suppressed all surged up. He pressed his chest, which ached dully. His eyes were full of remorse and guilt. If, if only he had realized it earlier, would his and A-Qing’s ending be different…

—Yan Xizhi rushed over from the corner of the hospital hallway. He rushed urgently in front of Zhao He. “Zhao He! Did A-Qing watch the news?! Did he?!”

“No, what’s wrong with you?” Seeing Yan Xizhi look relieved after his answer, an ominous feeling rose in Zhao He’s heart.

“Good that he didn’t…” Yan Xizhi, having received the news, had run all the way up from the hospital entrance. Now knowing the youth hadn’t seen the news, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, his tone incomparably icy. “That bitch Lin Wan posted the things filmed back then online, and even exposed A-Qing’s identity and address. It’s spreading everywhere now. Ning Feng is currently deleting those things. We absolutely must keep it from A-Qing during this time.”

Lin Wan…

Zhao He gritted his teeth in hatred. “Where is this woman now!” He absolutely must tear her to pieces!

“I don’t know, I’ve sent people to look for her, but haven’t found her yet. Who knows what corner she’s hiding in, waiting to suddenly jump out and bite us. Once we catch her, we’ll deal with her directly.” Knowing He Qing hadn’t seen it, Yan Xizhi wasn’t as tense as before. He carefully covered his half-face and looked inside from the doorway with expectation, only to see a scene that shattered his courage.

“A-Qing!!”

He Qing slumped limply by the edge of the bed, his phone still in his hand. Yan Xizhi hurriedly went forward and pulled him into his embrace, calling out continuously but receiving no response. With trembling hands, Zhao He picked up the phone that rested near the gauze-wrapped hands. On it was the teenager crying in agony, forced into humiliating postures. Although the body was censored, the youth’s face could be seen with absolute clarity.

Below was a detailed introduction, even including a photo of the youth in the hospital. Before releasing these things, Lin Wan had already planned out what to do. In her description, this was a GV filmed by He Qing in his early years. He was someone willing to sell his body for money. Although he was now a doctor, these things were all kept.

The comments at the very bottom were simply unbearable to read. Zhao He gripped the phone tightly, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

A-Qing was only seventeen back then!

He had just lost his father, only to be humiliated and molested by Lin Wan like this, and he even saw the scene of him kissing Lin Wan. For a seventeen-year-old boy, what a massive blow this must have been!

And he, not only failed to fulfill his responsibilities as a boyfriend, but actually, eight years later, when A-Qing had finally stabilized his life, ruined him…

No wonder A-Qing would say he wished he had never met him. In his entire life, what fraction of the pain he encountered didn’t stem from him, Zhao He!

“A-Qing…”

Zhao He’s throat felt as if something was blocking it. His heart felt like tens of thousands of steel needles were piercing it. “It’s me… it’s all my fault…”

He fell heavily to his knees on the ground, watching the youth slumped limply in Yan Xizhi’s embrace, weeping bitterly and muffledly.

He had ultimately, finally, destroyed the person he loved the most.

However long He Qing was unconscious, that was how long Zhao He knelt. Many people came, but all completely ignored him. When his knees were completely numb and devoid of feeling, and his eyes were so dry he could no longer shed tears, He Qing woke up.

Facing the careful concern of the few men, the youth’s face was numb. “I want to go back to my home, can I?”

“Of course you can!” Yan Xizhi squeezed out a smile. “A-Qing can go wherever he wants.”

Hearing his words, the youth looked up at the man who was constantly covering his hideous scar, never revealing it for a moment. “Yan Xizhi, I’m sorry for ruining your face.”

Even though this body full of illness and pain was all thanks to him, he still apologized like this. Yan Xizhi, however, wished the youth would beat and scold him; at least that way, he would feel a bit better inside.

The pain seeped into his bones, yet he still smiled and said, “It’s nothing, I think it looks more manly this way! Does A-Qing want to go home? I’ll drop you off!”

“No need…” The pale-faced youth shook his head, looking at the silent, cold man. “Mr. Ning, could you give me a ride?”

Ning Feng nodded: “Okay.”