Zhao Ziqiang wasn’t a writer; there was no way he could have delivered such an eloquent and emotional speech without a draft. In fact, he had been mulling over it for a long time, carefully selecting these two past incidents, and organizing his words for quite some time before finding the right moment to recite them to Qian Wang.

Zhao Ziqiang didn’t consider himself a saint of high virtue. He was, admittedly, the type to be petty and sensitive. Expecting him to completely forget Qian Wang in just a few months and not care about the man’s affairs with others was simply unrealistic.

But the series of words Zhao Ziqiang said to Qian Wang were genuine. He had a sort of emotional purity—he didn’t want to hold Qian Wang’s hand after it had held someone else’s. Yet, walking away so indifferently didn’t sit right with him. At the very least… at the very least, he wanted Qian Wang to understand why he was leaving, why he was hurt, and why he was resolute.

Qian Wang, being a teacher and a cultured man, didn’t need to ponder over Zhao Ziqiang’s words to grasp their meaning. He understood that Zhao Ziqiang was deeply emotional, and it was precisely because of this depth of emotion that things had reached a point of no return.

Qian Wang, frustrated, lay on the hospital bed, repeatedly banging his head against the pillow. After a while, his sister, who had been watching the scene unfold from the doorway, finally walked into the room.

“Are you regretting that you only have a mild concussion?”
She teased with a half-smile.

Seeing that Qian Wang remained unmoved, she sighed and spoke more seriously:

“Brother, I’ve done all I can to help you. The bitter fruit you’re tasting now is of your own making—so you’ll have to find a way to deal with it yourself.”

She paused, noticing the faint dampness in the corner of Qian Wang’s eyes, partially hidden by his arm, and decided to stop teasing him.

“When Zhao Ziqiang left back then, it was precisely because he cared too much about you that he couldn’t bear seeing you with someone else… That’s the root of the issue, and it’s also the only leverage you have to win him back.”

Qian Wang let out a scornful laugh—how could he not know that? But over the years, who else besides him truly understood Zhao Ziqiang’s deep-seated extremism?

…

Zhao Ziqiang had rushed out after receiving a phone call, anxiously taking a leave of absence. This time, it was his mother calling. He wasn’t sure what had happened. All he knew was that while she was out for a stroll, her blood pressure suddenly went haywire, and an elderly man from the community gate took her to the hospital.

Zhao Ziqiang had no choice but to put his clothes back on. Anxious and burning with worry, he headed out. While waiting for a ride at the side of the road, Sun Wanjue suddenly appeared on his bike, screeching to a halt right in front of him. With his bangs blowing in the wind, the boy didn’t say much.

“I’ll give you a ride,” Sun Wanjue offered.

Zhao Ziqiang paused for a moment, then without hesitation hopped onto the backseat, wrapping one arm around Sun Wanjue’s waist. Well, who could resist a free ride?

“Go! Go!” he urged.

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Qian Wang, who had a mild concussion, after orchestrating a visit from his students and old classmates in order to evoke Zhao Ziqiang’s sympathy, was aware that, at this point, Zhao Ziqiang was unlikely to come back, so he stopped pretending. Ignoring Sun Kan’s attempts to stop him, he grabbed his belongings and rushed to the second floor to check out of the hospital.

Unexpectedly, at the corner of the staircase, he ran into Zhao Ziqiang’s father. He looked at the old man in surprise, and in addition to the usual disdain in his eyes, there was also a hint of resentment.

Qian Wang paused for a moment, then thoughtfully stepped aside to let the old man pass. Once he had moved away, Qian Wang quietly followed him to the temporary ward. When he saw the elder turn into a patient room, he approached and peered through the glass in the door to get a look inside.

It was then that he realized Zhao Ziqiang’s mother was also hospitalized. He looked down at the list in his hand. Although he couldn’t quite process what was happening, he understood deep down that there was no way he would be checking out of the hospital now.

When Zhao Ziqiang arrived at his mother’s hospital room, she was already asleep. Zhao Zili and Zhao Father were seated on the nearby hospital bed, engaged in some conversation. Upon seeing Zhao Ziqiang, Zhao Father merely shot him a cold glance before silently gathering his belongings and leaving for home.

Zhao Zili was quite cheerful and began chattering away, asking Zhao Ziqiang about recent events. Seeing that their mother was still asleep, Zhao Ziqiang joined in and shared various amusing stories from the little restaurant.

After about an hour had passed and realizing that his mother showed no signs of waking up, Zhao Ziqiang stood up and said goodbye to his sister, explaining that he had taken a leave of absence from his shop and needed to return to work.

Zhao Zili insisted that her brother promise to visit every day, and only then did she finally abandon her plan to follow him to his workplace.

As Zhao Ziqiang walked down the hospital corridor, he couldn’t help but think about the other patient upstairs. He suppressed the urge to go up and check on him and strode purposefully out of the hospital.

As soon as Zhao Ziqiang stepped into the daylight, he spotted Sun Wanjue, who hadn’t left yet. The boy was sitting in the backseat of his bike, lost in thought. When he saw Zhao Ziqiang approaching with an apologetic expression, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he smoothly slid to the side and turned to signal Zhao Ziqiang to hop on the bike.

Zhao Ziqiang didn’t quite understand why, but he felt a surge of emotion. He stepped forward and gently patted Sun Wanjue’s cheek.

“You’re really such a good kid.”

“…”

Sun Wanjue’s expression darkened instantly. Without saying a word, he pushed off on his bike and sped away like an arrow, ignoring the person chasing after him as he headed straight home.

Hearing the faint laughter around him, Zhao Ziqiang stopped his pursuit, his face flushed with anger. He muttered to himself that he would definitely declare his stance of no longer babysitting that “mature” little brat, showing him who was really in charge.

Qian Wang happened to be standing by the window of his hospital room, lost in thought. In a moment of distraction, he caught sight of Zhao Ziqiang’s figure slipping into view from a distance.

He saw Zhao Ziqiang rush out of the outpatient hall, scanning the area before heading straight toward a boy on a bicycle. The two seemed to exchange a few words, and Zhao Ziqiang kept reaching out to touch the boy’s face. Then, the boy rode away on his bike, with Zhao Ziqiang running after him until they disappeared from view.

Qian Wang’s gaze darkened further. He recognized that the boy was Sun Kan’s cousin, the one who had meddled in his relationship with Zhao Ziqiang on several occasions. At that moment, Qian Wang began to understand Zhao Ziqiang’s feelings, as he too felt a burning fire inside him—an intense mix of resentment and jealousy.