Chapter 48: The Incompetent and Malicious Ex-Boyfriend (48)
Ye Qi’s hands hanging at his sides suddenly clenched tight.
His nails dug deep into the soft flesh of his palms, but he didn’t even notice the faint traces of blood.
He felt as if his heart had been suddenly squeezed by a giant hand.
The pain made it difficult for him to breathe.
After a long while, he finally seemed to find his voice, though it was incredibly raspy.
“You said… you never liked me?”
Shen Ci steeled his heart and nodded. “That’s right. Never.”
Ye Qi stood up and walked toward Shen Ci step by step, slowly kneeling down. He looked into Shen Ci’s eyes.
It was as if he were trying to find even a shred of sincerity within Shen Ci’s evasive gaze.
“Not even a little bit? Not even after I… with you?”
Shen Ci looked away, not daring to make eye contact with Ye Qi.
His eyes were very beautiful; whenever they were shimmering with tears, Shen Ci always found himself softening.
“No. Never.”
As soon as the words left his mouth,
Ye Qi suddenly let out a low laugh. It was a laugh thick with intense self-mockery, making one’s heart tighten just to hear it.
He stood up and looked down at Shen Ci from above, the light in his eyes completely extinguished, leaving only a cold indifference.
“Shen Ci, is your heart made of stone? I’ve been trying to warm it for so long, yet I haven’t succeeded.”
Shen Ci pursed his lips, his Adam’s apple rolling several times.
He didn’t make a sound.
The air fell into a moment of stagnant silence.
Receiving no answer, Ye Qi stumbled back a step and muttered to himself, “I see… I see… If you want to break up… then let’s break up…”
After saying that, Ye Qi turned and went into the bedroom.
It wasn’t until the sound of the door closing rang out that Shen Ci finally let out a complete sigh of relief.
After smoking a cigarette on the sofa, Shen Ci finally went to his room to wash up.
Lying in bed, Shen Ci couldn’t fall asleep at all. Thinking about Ye Qi’s heartbroken appearance made him feel like an absolute scumbag.
He couldn’t shake the feeling of a guilty conscience.
Bang! Bang! Bang!—
A series of urgent knocks at the door gave Shen Ci a start.
He scrambled out of bed and, wearing his slippers, hurried out to open the door.
Elder Qi stood there with a dark expression, his brow filled with an undeniable urgency, and even his voice carried a hint of a tremble.
“Where is Ye Qi?”
Shen Ci was completely bewildered and instinctively asked, “He’s at home. Who are you?”
“Don’t waste words. Find Ye Qi, quickly!” Elder Qi led two bodyguards straight into the house.
Shen Ci: ?
His mind was full of question marks, but he still instinctively followed.
“Old gentleman, don’t worry. I’ll help you call him out.”
With that, Shen Ci walked to Ye Qi’s door and knocked. “Ye Qi, someone is here for you.”
No one answered.
And no one came to open the door.
Shen Ci frowned. He hadn’t heard Ye Qi leave!
He twisted the doorknob; it was locked from the inside.
“Break the door down!” Elder Qi’s voice suddenly rose as he ordered the two bodyguards.
Shen Ci: ?
This is my front door.
In the next second, he heard Elder Qi say, “Ye Qi sent me a message saying he doesn’t want to live anymore.”
The muffled sound of the door being struck hammered against his eardrums again and again.
Shen Ci had forgotten where he’d tossed the key to Ye Qi’s room.
He froze in place.
Finally,
With a loud BANG,
The lock shattered, and the wooden door fell inward.
Shen Ci almost instinctively rushed in following Elder Qi.
His gaze swept across the room; there was no one on the bed.
Ye Qi was curled up on the floor by the bay window. Blood from his wrist was snaking along the grooves of the floorboards, staining a section of the light-colored carpet crimson.
When Elder Qi saw this scene, his legs went soft and he nearly collapsed. “Quick… hurry and get him to the ambulance, quick…”
He had already called an ambulance on his way over after receiving Ye Qi’s message.
It was currently waiting downstairs.
Shen Ci had never seen Ye Qi look so lifeless. Those eyes that usually held a smile were tightly shut.
His face was as white as paper, and even his lips had lost all color.
He snapped back to his senses and rushed forward, intending to pick Ye Qi up, but the bodyguards beat him to it.
…
When Shen Ci stumbled after them out of the complex,
Two medical staff members took Ye Qi from the bodyguards and placed him on a stretcher.
They nimbly performed emergency treatment—stopping the bleeding, bandaging, inserting an IV line. Cold medical instruments were pressed against Ye Qi’s skin.
Shen Ci stood to the side, his gaze fixed deathly on Ye Qi’s bloodless face.
He had never imagined that Ye Qi would commit suicide.
He only… he only wanted to complete the mission.
“The patient has lost too much blood and is losing consciousness. We need to get him to the hospital for emergency rescue immediately!”
Shen Ci instinctively tried to follow, but he was grabbed by Elder Qi.
The old man’s gaze was icy and sharp. “Shen Ci, you’d better pray he’s alright. Otherwise, I will never let you off!”
Shen Ci didn’t say a word.
If Ye Qi really died because of him, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself either.
…
The lights of the hospital emergency room remained on for three whole hours. Shen Ci, still in his pajamas, sat on a bench outside, waiting from the middle of the night until dawn.
Elder Qi sat opposite him, his face still grim. The bodyguards stood straight beside him, and the entire hallway was so oppressive it was difficult to breathe.
When the emergency room doors finally opened and the doctor took off his mask and walked out,
Shen Ci almost sprang to his feet and rushed forward. “Doctor, how is he?”
The doctor glanced at Shen Ci and then spoke to Elder Qi, who had also approached.
“Mr. Qi, the patient is out of danger. Fortunately, he was brought in just in time; another step later and there would have been no way to save him.”
The doctor’s words caused Shen Ci’s tense nerves to suddenly relax.
Good. He’s still alive…
Elder Qi also let out a sigh of relief, his stiff shoulders slumping slightly. He offered the doctor a word of thanks.
Ye Qi was moved to a VIP ward.
Elder Qi glanced at Shen Ci.
He didn’t like Shen Ci. From the moment he found out this person was a man, he hadn’t liked him.
Now that Ye Qi had committed suicide because of Shen Ci, he liked him even less.
But there was nothing he could do.
Ye Qi liked him.
He liked him so much that even just breaking up with this man made him not want to live.
After a moment of silence, Elder Qi looked at Shen Ci. “Can I talk to you?”
Shen Ci had also guessed Elder Qi’s identity.
The grandson they’d worked so hard to find had nearly died because of him; Shen Ci felt a trace of inexplicable guilt toward him.
“Alright.”
…
The two sat on the rest chairs on the hospital terrace.
Elder Qi was the first to break the silence.
“I know about you. I’ve known about you since the moment I recognized Ye Qi back into the Qi family… I am a traditional person and cannot accept a man being with another man.”
Shen Ci lowered his eyes and gave a soft “Mm.” “I broke up with him.”
Elder Qi: …
Elder Qi let out a cold laugh. “Of course I know you broke up with him. If you hadn’t, would he have done something so short-sighted?”
He paused for a moment.
“To me, Ye Qi being alive is more important than anything. I don’t care why you broke up with him; I hope you can stay with him. Whatever you want, just say it. I can satisfy any request… If the day ever comes where you truly part ways peacefully, I will give you enough money to compensate you, ensuring you are well-off for the rest of your life.”
“If you are willing, I’ll have a lawyer draft a contract immediately—including the amount of any future breakup fee. You can name your price.”
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