Absurd.

Yu Nian couldn’t digest these words at all. He opened his mouth, several times trying to speak, but in the end, no sound came out.

After a while, he squeezed out a few words from his teeth.

“Lies.”

Yu Nian wasn’t crying at this moment. The tears he shed just now dried on his face, leaving an unprecedented calmness.

“It’s impossible. Don’t lie to me,” he said. “You just said the first thing after finally speaking to me is that you want to break up with me. Qi Wang, do you believe it yourself? You’re not that kind of person.”

He was very sure, his tone firm, as if he knew himself better than Qi Wang did.

He asked, “Tell me honestly, did my brother and sister threaten you?”

Qi Wang didn’t answer.

He wasn’t that kind of person.

This sentence almost cracked the cold calmness on his face.

But if he wasn’t that kind of person, then what kind of person was he?

He was a footless bird drifting around, a dandelion scattered by the wind, a moth without seeing daylight.

Just not the kind of person Yu Nian should love.

After a long time, he said softly, “Yu Nian, do you still remember what I said to you when we were in Jiangyang County? You and I are worlds apart. But you didn’t believe it and insisted that we could give it a try.

But Yu Nian, you don’t understand, people with such different backgrounds cannot be together. We can’t even understand each other. Do you know what the life of a poor person is like? It’s not having a shelter in winter, sitting in the park with nowhere to go, eating a meal and not knowing where the next one will come from. It’s finally having a place to stay, but still not fitting in with the people around you.”

He paused, reluctant to reveal his once-tattered life to Yu Nian.

But he had to say, “The few months you spent working may be the hardest time of your life. You’ve suffered a lot of grievances, and you could have lived your whole life without knowing what life is like for ordinary people. But for me, this is even a rare good time in my life. I’ve experienced a life far worse than now. So, I need money, Yu Nian.”

He took a gentle breath, his voice carrying an imperceptible tenderness but also full of melancholy. “Yu Nian, as you grow older, you’ll understand. The first-class passengers on the Titanic and the passengers below deck are two completely different worlds. Not everyone can be Jack and Rose.”

Yu Nian’s face turned pale.

He could hear the seriousness in Qi Wang’s words.

Just now, he was full of confidence, thinking Qi Wang was lying to him, but now that confidence was wavering.

He heard Qi Wang say, “From the beginning, I was entrusted by Song Yunchun to take care of you. Your brother and sister paid me, so I showed kindness to you. Money is very attractive to someone like me who has struggled at the bottom of society.”

Yu Nian clenched his phone.

He was panting hurriedly, his face pale, breathing as if he had difficulty breathing.

He endured and endured, but his voice still trembled when he spoke.

Compared to his previous confidence and composure, his voice suddenly weakened a lot.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” he whispered softly. “You must be lying to me. If you really love money so much, then you should be with me, right?”

He seemed to grasp at a straw for life, even trying to force a smile, but it looked very ugly. “Look, if you’re with me, you’ll have more money. Don’t look at me like this, I also have shares in Ke Yun Group, and I have many industries under my name…”

The more he said, the more his voice shook, and the choking in his voice couldn’t be concealed.

He realized that Qi Wang really meant to break up with him.

He had just been calculating whether Qi Wang was sincere to him or not, thinking about how to quarrel with him, to act up, to coax Qi Wang, and swear to him that he truly loved him.

But now he was despondent, pathetic even, like every failed pursuer, willing to sacrifice even his dignity, eager to bind Qi Wang with money.

He said to Qi Wang, “I also have money, really, I’m very rich, I can give you all these things you want… Don’t deceive me like this.”

Qi Wang’s heart was twisting like a knife.

He thought, is there anyone in the world dumber than Yu Nian? Clearly knowing the one he loves is not human, yet still desperately trying to retain them.

Any outsider would find Yu Nian’s behavior incomprehensible, even self-deprecating.

But he wasn’t an outsider; he was Yu Nian’s lover.

He just felt like every word was cutting him like a knife, a slow torture, nothing worse than this.

He remained silent for a long time.

There was silence on the phone, only the sound of Yu Nian’s sobbing breaths could be heard.

For a moment, he almost wanted to change his mind, to ask Yu Nian not to cry.

But he held onto his phone tightly, the veins bulging on the back of his hand from exertion, and continued.

“Yu Nian, don’t be naive. You do have immense wealth, but you’re still too young to have full control over it. And what your brother and sister gave me is tangible.”

“You do love me now, and you’re willing to share everything you have with me, but one day you will grow up, Yu Nian, you will grow up.”

At this point, Qi Wang’s voice became very soft, this was the only sincere thing he said today.

He said, “When you grow up, see more people, see more things, you will find that real gems are far more beautiful than the fluorite I give you, gems are expensive, but there’s a reason for their value. You’ll find that there are plenty of handsome and charming people in the world, each one more charming than me. By then, you won’t love me anymore, you’ll find me dull, uninteresting, and realize that I don’t fit into your world.”

“When that time comes, if we break up again, the ending will be just as ugly, and I’ll be left with nothing.”

This is the ugly side of the world.

The ragged street urchin and the lofty little prince were never meant to meet from the beginning.

Qi Wang took a deep breath, but choked for a long time, his heart blocked.

He thought, after all this, he didn’t know if Yu Nian would grow up a bit.

Don’t be so easy to deceive anymore, anyone could take advantage of him.

In fact, he also wanted to see what Yu Nian would be like when he grew up. He should become a decent adult, shed his baby fat, shed his innocence and stupidity, and become mature and dignified.

But unfortunately, he probably wouldn’t see it.

The final outcome between him and Yu Nian might be that one day he would sit on the street and see news about the third young master of the Yu family on TV.

This was their curtain call.

And on the other end of the phone, Yu Nian was still pleading incoherently, “I won’t, I will always, always love you, how could I ever break up with you. Take me away, Qi Wang, anywhere, I’ll go with you…”

He pleaded with Qi Wang, years of pride and confidence shattered before Qi Wang.

“Don’t break up with me, please…”

Qi Wang couldn’t listen to another word.

He gently hung up the phone.

Snow fell outside the window again at some point, covering everything in a vast expanse of white, so cold and desolate that no trace of life could be seen.

He sat in the warm room, but his hands and feet were ice-cold, feeling no warmth at all.

After a long time.

He found a little water on the back of his hand, wiped it away, but a few more drops fell.

He looked up at his reflection in the glass, realizing that his face was covered with tears at some point, but he hadn’t noticed.

And across a bit far from him, Yu Xinli, who had been watching the entire conversation, went from being cold and indifferent to unable to bear it any longer.

The secretary sitting close to Qi Wang hesitated for a moment before gently handing a handkerchief to Qi Wang.

Qi Wang politely accepted it. “Thank you. Please tell Miss Yu and Mr. Pei that I’ve done what I needed to do. Please ask them not to blame Yu Nian too much.”

The secretary nodded, sighing.

He handed a stack of contracts to Qi Wang. “Mr. Qi, these are the compensations Miss Yu hopes to give you. Please take a look. If everything is fine, please arrange a time to cooperate with us and go through the procedures. Miss Yu has prepared a motorhome and cash for you…”

Before he could finish, he saw Qi Wang shaking his head.

Qi Wang stood up, looking at the secretary. “It’s not necessary. Please tell Miss Yu that I don’t want anything. I won’t bother them or Yu Nian anymore. Just let me keep a bit of dignity. Please don’t mention compensation to me again.”

He picked up his bag, ready to leave.

He had bought a ticket to leave City C, departing at three in the afternoon.

Finally, he said to the secretary, “If it’s convenient, I’ve already packed Yu Nian’s personal belongings. Could you please pass them on to him for me? Can you do that?”

He brought over his luggage, a brand-new suitcase he had bought specifically for traveling with Yu Nian in the future.

But before he could send it back, Yu Nian had already left. Now, it was filled with Yu Nian’s belongings and clothes from the past few months, all neatly packed after a night of effort.

He lowered his head. “They’re not valuable things, but if he doesn’t want them… Mr Secretary, could you please not throw them away? Send them to the Morning Ten Restaurant and have Boss Song Yunchun keep them for me, can you?”

The secretary nodded eagerly. “Sure, I’ll definitely convey the message. But please take a look at these contracts. Miss Yu is sincere…”

But Qi Wang didn’t respond anymore. He just walked past him, leaving as lonely as he had arrived.

Two hours later, Qi Wang sat on the bus. The final destination of this journey was a remote town.

After being expelled from school, he went through several twists and turns, finally arranging to transfer to another school with the help of a teacher who had helped him several times before.

Because of his excellent grades, he could continue his studies and prepare for the college entrance examination in this remote town’s high school.

He didn’t say goodbye to anyone, only submitted his resignation report to Song Yunchun, and then, carrying his luggage, embarked on the road to leave City C.

The scenery on both sides of the road became increasingly desolate. The air in the bus, with the air conditioning on, was hot and stuffy. Most people inside were sleeping, occasionally interrupted by the crying of children.

No one noticed the young man sitting in the last row, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, his face as pale as a plaster statue, motionless for a long time.

Qi Wang gently rubbed his wrist, where a black bracelet was worn.

This was something he and Yu Nian had bought together when they left Jiangyang County. Yu Nian had put the fluorite he gave him into it, while his bracelet carried a silver pendant with Yu Nian’s initials on it.

He had mocked Yu Nian’s childishness at the time, but even after leaving City C, this black string still hung on his wrist.

In the swaying of the bus, he remembered what Yu Nian had just said.

Yu Nian said he wanted to elope with him.

He knew it was impossible, but his heart fluttered for a moment.

He also wanted to take Yu Nian away, to the ends of the earth. As long as they were together, it didn’t matter where they went.

But he wasn’t Yu Nian. He knew very well the insurmountable gap between them.

Even if Yu Nian lost his mind and really went to elope like the young masters in love dramas.

Could he really let Yu Nian squeeze into a cramped rental house with him, living a life of scrimping and saving?

In the end, who would give in first, Yu Nian or his brother and sister?

That was too difficult.

And too shameless.

He couldn’t stoop to that level.

He hoped Yu Nian would never know what it was like to lose dignity for money.

Yu Nian should always be lively and beautiful, held in the palm of his hand, without any disturbance.

As for himself…

As for his remaining years, how would he get through them relying on these memories?

That was insignificant, not worth Yu Nian’s sighs.

As the sky darkened, the bus stopped at a county station.

Qi Wang needed to transfer to another bus here, which would take over an hour to reach the town.

But as he entered the station, he encountered an unexpected person.

A girl with chestnut-colored hair, looking at him with surprise through a window, grabbed his hand with excitement. “Ah, it’s you… Do you remember me?”

Qi Wang’s mood was bad, and he withdrew his hand irritably. “I don’t know you. Let go.”

Although he was rude, the girl was not discouraged. She still looked at him eagerly. “Yes, it’s me. You saved me. I was harassed by some hoodlums, and you stopped them and saved me.”

She tied her hair up into a high ponytail with one hand. “You really don’t remember?”

Hearing this, Qi Wang was taken aback.

He finally looked at the girl’s features, slowly remembering.

It was during his senior year of high school. He had a conflict with some hoodlums outside the school because he saw them harassing a girl and intervened.

The girl did indeed leave safely.

But he had some old grudges with these hoodlums. It wasn’t a big deal originally, but after several verbal clashes, it escalated into an accident.

In the end, he was punished by the school. If it weren’t for a teacher later willing to lend him money to compensate those hoodlums, he might not have ended up with just administrative punishment.

Now seeing this girl again, his eyes became extremely complicated.

“It’s you.” He murmured.

When that girl heard him, she became even more excited. “Yes, it’s me, I’m Zhao Jia. I really didn’t expect to see you again. I’m not from City C. I was too scared at the time, so I left. Later, the more I thought about it, the more regretful I became. I always wanted to find you but didn’t have any contact information. Are you okay? Were those people giving you a hard time back then? I’m really sorry for leaving you behind… I’ve caused you trouble.”

Her words were numerous and dense, chirping with concern and regret, sincerely thanking him.

But Qi Wang didn’t listen to a single word.

He sat on this cold bench, holding a pre-booked ticket in his hand.

The girl asked him many questions, but he didn’t answer any of them.

He just said lightly, “I’m fine.”

He was fine.

He still had places to go and money to sustain his life.

Compared to life and death separations in the world, he had only lost a lover who shouldn’t have belonged to him, so he wasn’t qualified to cry out in pain.

At this moment, he still didn’t know that after he hung up the phone, Yu Nian fainted once again.

The villa was in chaos, and Yu Nian was taken to the hospital and wasn’t allowed to leave until a week later.

He also didn’t know that later on, Yu Nian would stay in the small apartment they rented for a month.

The phone number he stopped using, Yu Nian kept putting money into it, enough for him to use for the rest of his life, begging him to answer a call.

Yu Nian waited for him for a long, long time, from winter to spring, and then from spring to summer.

Only then did he realize that he would never come back.

He didn’t know anything.

Life is like the sea.

Once some people are missed, it’s like a derailed train, and they never know how to turn back.

At six o’clock in the afternoon, Qi Wang stood up with the crowd, bidding farewell to the girl who had been thanking him and insisting on buying local specialties for him.

The winter night was particularly dark, so oppressive that no trace of light could be seen.

He carried a suitcase and a backpack, took a journey of over two hours by car, and arrived at a town called “Suibao.”

It was desolate here, with hardly any lights on as he walked through the main street, wild dogs passing through the bushes, silently watching him.

Qi Wang checked into a hotel that still had lights on, paid, took the key, and opened the room at the end of the corridor. It was damp, dark, with a musty smell, as cold as an ice cellar.

His twenties seemed to come to an abrupt halt at the moment he pushed the door open, and all the hard-earned beauty vanished into thin air.

And he was about to start another life in this desolate town.

End of Volume One.

^[1]Author’s Note: With a sigh, this volume concludes like this. When I first wrote the first chapter, I never thought their youth would be so long. Youthful emotions are always beautiful, … Continue reading