TW: Suicide, blood, self-harm
When Xu Linshen arrived at the hospital, the entrance was already swarmed by reporters, each holding a camera and pushing to get closer. However, they were all blocked by bodyguards and police officers, not even able to enter through the main gate.
The news of the A-list celebrity attempting suicide by wrist-slitting—regardless of whether it was successful or not—was a sensational scoop. As long as they could report it first, they wouldn’t have to worry about their bonuses this month.
Several police cars were parked outside the hospital entrance. The reporters had been interviewing the police officers, but suddenly they noticed that Jiaxin’s CEO, Xu Linshen, had appeared. They started to get restless and were about to surround him.
What was the relationship between these two? Why did Xu Linshen arrive so quickly?
Xu Linshen had no intention of paying attention to them. He followed the doctor into the emergency department. The lights in the emergency room were still on, and the corridor was quiet. At the entrance, a middle-aged man was standing, his coat stained with dried, dark red bloodstains.
“Hello… Are you Mr. Zhong’s family member? This, um, I’m from the residential property…”
The unsettling and dazed feeling that had been lingering gradually dissipated as Xu Linshen walked. He looked up at the emergency room with its red light still on for a while, unconsciously gripping his fingers tightly. “What… What exactly happened?”
Seeing his pale expression, the property management personnel subconsciously confirmed that he must be a family member. Therefore, they explained the situation to him, “It’s like this, around 7 o’clock, the security alarm in Mr. Zhong’s home went off. I went to knock on the door for quite a while, but no one answered…”
Xu Linshen didn’t even know how he managed to enter the emergency room. The doctors and nurses had all stepped out, leaving behind a deathly silence in the room. Medical equipment continued to beep and hum, and the smell of blood was thick and unmistakable in the air.
The person lay silently on the cold operating table. Eyes tightly shut, their complexion ashen, devoid of any signs of life.
The wound on their wrist was deep, almost exposing the bone. The bloodstains on the wound hadn’t even coagulated yet, mixing with dampness to turn the pajamas a dark hue.
Xu Linshen approached and gently held the hand resting by the side. There was no hint of warmth, just an icy coldness that seemed to penetrate his bones.
That chill seemed to seep through his fingertips and directly reach his heart.
“You…” Xu Linshen raised his gaze, fixating on the cold features of the person. His lips trembled involuntarily, and the voice that strained out from his throat had completely changed in tone, “Zhong Yu…”
But in this space, apart from the constant beeping of the machines, there was nothing.
The entire world seemed to have distorted into fractured patches of color. The scene spun before him, and Xu Linshen weakly called out again, yet his voice was strained as if it were tearing his throat apart, “Zhong Yu…”
Why did you do this?
I never wanted you to do something like this. Why did you do this? Weren’t you always indifferent?
No, it shouldn’t be like this… The person who passed away, no matter the circumstances, it shouldn’t be you.
If he went to such lengths only to end up like this, to lose this person completely, then in that raging fire, he should have been the one to die.
—
#Rising Star Zhong Yu Dies by Suicide at Home, Suffering from Depression#
This shocking news hit like a bolt from the blue, shaking the entire entertainment industry.
As one of the most popular rising stars in recent years, Zhong Yu’s popularity has always been sky-high. The scandal that erupted a while ago has yet to die down.
Zhong Yu’s fans could hardly believe it, leaving comments under his posts until both the company and his studio issued statements, forcing them to accept this reality.
The pendulum swings both ways. After enduring nearly half a month of online condemnation, the previously one-sided discourse gradually shifted.
At this juncture, an anonymous account on a forum somehow managed to dig up Zhong Yu’s background.
——His mother suffered from diabetes and was bedridden for years, while his father started a new family and stopped giving Zhong Yu any living expenses since high school. Even his participation in “Voice of the Star” was solely due to the promised three thousand yuan by the crew.
The content of this post was well-founded, with many of Zhong Yu’s former high school classmates and teachers coming forward as witnesses, lending it high credibility.
This post immediately occupied the front pages of various forums and dominated Weibo’s trending topics for three consecutive days. A fierce debate about depression and online bullying surged once again online. However, the departed had already passed away, and all that could be done now was to clear his name.
…
Two years later.
Pushing open the door with a slight creak, the wooden door made a faint noise. Because no one had lived there for quite some time, the house felt empty, cold, and devoid of any vitality.
Though it had only been two years, his temples had turned quite a bit gray, making him appear notably older and more haggard.
Thick curtains blocked out all the light, and the furniture was covered with white cloth. As he removed the white cloth from the sofa and coffee table, a choking layer of dust floated up in the air.
On the table, there was a half-opened magazine. Holding the remote control, Xu Linshen turned on the TV, and the spacious and quiet living room instantly came alive with noise.
Sitting in the living room for a while, Xu Linshen looked around, his gaze finally resting on the photo wall in the wooden wall cabinet.
The young man in the photos was smiling brightly in each one, as if the bright and warm sunlight were radiating from his smile.
Picking up a photo, Xu Linshen stared at it absentmindedly for a while, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth unconsciously.
But as he realized what he was doing, his body tensed up. A sharp pang spread from his numbed heart, and his breath held for several seconds. Moments later, in agony, he tightly closed his eyes.
As he was about to put the book back on the shelf, a piece of paper suddenly drifted down from between the book’s pages, swirling in the air before landing on the floor.
Xu Linshen paused for a second in his movement, then leaned over with the help of the wheelchair’s armrest and picked up the piece of paper from the floor.
It was an incomplete delivery slip, with some oily stains that were quite noticeable.
Sighing, Xu Linshen opened the comic book, intending to put the slip back in. However, his pupils slightly contracted when he suddenly noticed the recipient’s name.
—Xu Linshen
His own name was written there. So, was this meant to be sent to him? What could someone be sending him?
After putting the book back on the shelf, Xu Linshen lowered his head and noticed a cardboard box placed under the metal desk. The box was quite large, with its opening partially unsealed. Due to its discreet placement, it had accumulated some dust. He carefully moved the box onto the desk, and his gaze froze as soon as he laid eyes on the cover of the hardcover book placed at the top of the contents inside the box.
This book…
Xu Linshen took the book out of the box and placed it on the desk, only to realize that there were many other items inside, filling the large box.
Watches, sunglasses, hats…
Almost all of them were birthday gifts he had given to Zhong Yu… Xu Linshen’s movements froze, and his mind went completely blank for half a minute. Zhong Yu had actually kept all these things?
He had thought that Zhong Yu had thrown them away a long time ago.
His gaze shifted back to the delivery slip nearby, and Xu Linshen was momentarily stunned. So… was Zhong Yu trying to return all these items to him?
He picked up the delivery slip and read it again, and a faint memory flickered through his mind.
—”I left something here. I’ve come to retrieve it.”
He couldn’t quite explain why, but a bittersweet sensation surged within him. He choked back a sob and lowered his head, covering his eyes tightly.
Perhaps Zhong Yu had also thought that his words meant he wanted to sever all ties with him. However, it wasn’t like that at all. Everything he had done was just to make Zhong Yu regret, to make him care a little more. But he had never thought… of severing it all completely.
Never, not once…
If Zhong Yu knew how much he loved him, still loved him, would he have come to him for help after the incident, rather than being driven to such a desperate state?
Xu Linshen silently smiled, his eyes now filled with only sadness and desolation.
You always understood him. He, who was so proud. In reality, you were dismantling him step by step into an irreversible abyss when you did all those things…
That night, a sudden fire broke out in the villa apartment at Jingjiang Court. The flames spread rapidly, and by the time the firefighters arrived, the sky was already half-reddened by the blaze…
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