The rain in late summer came intensively and swiftly. The temperatures in the outskirts were relatively low, and a faint white mist hung in the air.
The assistant had been waiting in the car for almost an hour when he finally saw Shen Muchuan coming out of the cemetery. However, what surprised him was that Qiao Yue appeared here as well.
Although both of them had umbrellas, they looked as if they hadn’t used them at all, completely drenched from head to toe, presenting a rather disheveled appearance.
The assistant was taken aback and immediately opened the car door.
Qiao Yue was practically supported into the car. As he entered, along with the raindrops that had followed him in, it seemed as though the temperature inside the car dropped noticeably. The assistant looked at Qiao Yue and noticed that his complexion was unbelievably pale. Water droplets continuously slid down his hair and cheeks, making it hard to determine whether it was rain or cold sweat.
Sheng Muchuan helped Qiao Yue sit down and whispered to him, “Just wait a moment.”
His tone was so gentle, it was as if he had transformed into a different person.
Then, he turned to the assistant who was still in the driver’s seat and instructed, “Turn on the heater.”
The assistant was momentarily stunned, thinking he had heard wrong. So, hesitantly, he asked, “Mr. Shen?”
Shen Muchuan furrowed his brow and repeated, “Turn on the heater.”
The assistant thought to himself that it was summer right now, and even though it was raining today, the temperature had to be at least around thirty degrees Celsius. Turning on the heater would make it unbearably hot. However, he glanced through the rearview mirror at the person in the back seat and could only sigh. He silently turned on the heater.
Shen Muchuan helped Qiao Yue sit in the car and then fetched a towel from the trunk. He began to dry Qiao Yue’s hair, but it seemed that Qiao Yue was extremely uncomfortable. Cold sweat continued to form on his forehead. Shen Muchuan gritted his teeth and suppressed his growing anxiety. “Go straight to the hospital.”
The temperature inside the car gradually rose, and the rain intensified. The windshield wipers constantly brushed away the rapidly accumulating rainwater. The assistant raised his head and looked at Qiao Yue through the rearview mirror. He noticed that Qiao Yue seemed to have fallen into a semi-conscious state.
The assistant nodded and couldn’t help wiping the sweat from his forehead, which had become damp due to the heat.
Upon arriving at the hospital, they rushed to conduct a thorough examination. The results were far from satisfactory. Qiao Yue’s body had not fully recovered to begin with, and his immunity was weak. Being exposed to the rain for so long had only made matters worse.
After hearing the diagnosis, Shen Muchuan felt his heart clench tightly.
When he returned to the hospital room, Qiao Yue was already asleep. Shen Muchuan walked over, gazing at him for a long while. He couldn’t help but recall the words Qiao Yue had spoken in front of his parents’ gravestones. His heart felt both warm and bittersweet.
Shen Muchuan gently held Qiao Yue’s hand and let out a nearly inaudible sigh. “If only you were a bit more selfish…”
A bit more selfish, so he wouldn’t always carry so much burden in his heart…
Qiao Yue remained asleep until evening, and when he woke up, he scanned the room and realized that it was once again shrouded in complete darkness, with nothing visible when he reached out.
[Do you want to watch a movie, Host?] 2333 suggested. [There’s a highly-rated zombie movie that came out recently. Would you like to give it a try?]
[No, thanks.] Chu Yan replied. He had watched too many movies lately, especially zombie ones, with their violent and gory scenes that had completely killed his appetite for them.
When Shen Muchuan entered the room, he noticed that Qiao Yue was awake. His gaze lingered on Qiao Yue’s eyes for a moment and he couldn’t help but feel his heart sink as he saw the lack of vitality in them.
“Where did you just go?” Qiao Yue heard his voice and shifted his gaze towards the direction of the door.
Shen Muchuan smiled faintly at Qiao Yue’s question as he walked towards the bed. “How did you know it was me? It could have been a doctor or a nurse, right?”
Qiao Yue smiled and said, “It’s simple. Your footsteps are different from others.”
Shen Muchuan’s steps paused for a moment, and his expression was hard to describe.
2333 couldn’t help but silently respect him. Even though it was 2333 who had just suggested it, Chu Yan could casually say something that carried a double meaning and instantly hit the heart of the protagonist.
[Host, did you attend psychology classes or receive training before doing missions?] 2333 asked.
Chu Yan was initially surprised but then smiled and replied: [No, it’s probably something innate.]
The next day, once the fever subsided, they arranged for discharge from the hospital. Shen Muchuan came to pick up Qiao Yue, helped him fasten the seatbelt, and as he got up, he happened to catch a glimpse of Qiao Yue’s smooth and handsome profile. Due to the recent fever, there was a slight unhealthy flush on his pale cheek, his thin lips were lightly pursed, and his breath felt warm.
A nerve in Shen Muchuan’s mind was gently stirred by this sight. He couldn’t resist turning his head and giving Qiao Yue’s cheek a soft kiss.
This kiss couldn’t even be considered a kiss, just a light brush against his cheek.
Qiao Yue was momentarily surprised, as if he hadn’t expected it. He turned his face towards the window, and after a while, he lowered his head and gave a gentle smile.
This unexpectedly innocent kiss and the faint smile had a profound effect on Shen Muchuan. In a moment, his heartbeat surged, louder than the horns and the bustling noise of pedestrians on the street. This reaction made him feel like the same infatuated teenager he was five years ago.
Throughout the journey, neither of them spoke a word. Occasionally, Shen Muchuan would turn his head to glance at the passenger seat. His heart was filled with a gentle, tranquil joy and contentment.
After driving for over half an hour, the car finally came to a stop.
Shen Muchuan parked the car and went around to open the passenger’s door. He saw that Qiao Yue was lowering his head, fumbling with his seatbelt.
Shen Muchuan discreetly blocked the car door with his hand and helped Qiao Yue out of the car. “I’ll handle it next time.”
Qiao Yue smiled and said, “I can’t have you do everything for me. If that’s the case, I’m afraid you’ll get tired of me pretty soon.”
Although he said it casually with a smile, Shen Muchuan’s heart trembled. He wished he could swear to the heavens and show Qiao Yue his heart, to make him understand that he would never get tired of him.
But then he thought again; maybe there was no need. It seemed like everyone believed that the more passionate the love, the less likely it was to last. Time would eventually fade and diminish everything. However, who could explain to him why, after a full five years, his heart still burned with such intensity, as if it could keep burning for this person until there was nothing but ashes left…
When Qiao Yue completely lost his sight, he rarely went out anymore. Shen Muchuan was worried that he would feel suffocated at home, so every evening, he would accompany him for a walk in the garden or go to the supermarket together.
This way, even if he had social engagements at night, he would always come home first, have dinner with Qiao Yue, take a walk, and then go out.
In just one year, Shen Muchuan had firmly established his position in M City. He had taken the top spot in the business world with his sharp and assertive approach. Being a rising star with such exceptional looks and charisma, it was only natural that he attracted attention. As an assistant who had been with Shen Muchuan for five or six years, he was frequently inquired about by various people. However, each time Shen Muchuan found out about it, he seemed displeased and even instructed him to ignore such inquiries next time.
He had initially thought that Shen Muchuan and Qiao Yue had a brotherly bond, but it turned out to be a deeper relationship. No wonder Shen Muchuan had carried this burden in his heart for so many years.
Gradually, the entire business circle in M City came to know about Shen Muchuan. He was a young and talented CEO who never played around and never cast a sideways glance at beautiful women in the company or on the streets. He lived a simple and ascetic life, as if he were a monk. It was rumored that he had a childhood sweetheart, and he remained faithful to her.
Two uneventful years passed by, during which Qiao Yue only occasionally ran a fever when the seasons changed, but there were no other complications as predicted by the doctors.
Apart from his inability to see, everything else about Qiao Yue was indistinguishable from a regular person.
Initially, Shen Muchuan felt fortunate, thinking that maybe fate had finally shown him some favor, allowing him to spend the rest of his life with the person he loved the most. However, reality didn’t align with his hopes. During the third year’s Spring Festival, after enduring a continuous three-day high fever, with almost no awareness left, Qiao Yue was subjected to a lengthy emergency meeting by a group of hospital specialists. Despite passionate arguments during the meeting, they couldn’t reach a conclusion. Eventually, they had no choice but to transfer him to the intensive care unit.
The high fever, which came on with such intensity, felt like the lighting of a final fuse, shredding all illusions.
Everything happened so suddenly, seemingly beyond expectation. After coming out of the meeting room and witnessing Qiao Yue being wheeled into the intensive care unit, Shen Muchuan felt a sudden heaviness in his head and a detachment of his entire being. He stared at everything with a mixture of indifference and fear.
Chu Yan didn’t know how long had passed before he struggled to wake up from the chaotic and viscous dream. He tried to move but realized that his right hand was tightly held by someone.
The whole room was eerily quiet, as if time had come to a standstill.
[Host, I’ve reminded you before to take care of your health, but you never listened. You stayed up late every day watching movies and playing games, eventually leading to your early demise. You could have had twenty more years, but now, you’ve only lived for two. If the mission fails, you’ll have to start over!]
[Doesn’t this count as a success? If two people’s feelings can last a long time, why bother worrying about day-to-day trivialities? I believe that even if we can be happy together for just one day, it’s already enough. Besides, we’ve been together for a full two years.]
[But what if after your death, the male protagonist sacrifices himself for love again?] The reason these worlds need to be restarted is not only because of the strong obsession of the male protagonists but also because, one after another, these male protagonists died within a few years after the cannon fodder male side characters for various reasons.
Chu Yan hesitated for a moment and didn’t respond.
Shen Muchuan had only slept for a short while when he woke up from a heavy dream. The first thing he did was look at Qiao Yue. However, he noticed that Qiao Yue had already woken up at some point, with his eyes fixed on the ceiling.
The look in Qiao Yue’s eyes broke Shen Muchuan’s heart, and he couldn’t suppress the overwhelming sadness rising in his throat.
Qiao Yue seemed to sense that he had woken up and turned to him with a smile, asking, “Are you awake?”
Shen Muchuan couldn’t speak at all, afraid that he would choke up if he tried. He simply held Qiao Yue’s hand tightly in silence.
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