MNL Chapter 103

Chapter 103: The Curtain Falls, Journey to Afar.

The end of June marked the arrival of the scorching summer.

In just half a year, Xu Jing had become shockingly thin. His complexion was morbidly pale, his eye sockets were slightly sunken, and his thin frame was draped in clothes that hung on him like bamboo poles. He looked as if he would shatter into a pile of bones if he fell to the ground. Especially his hands, with their prominent knuckles and clearly visible veins.

Xu Huaiyang was stunned for a full two minutes at the door when he saw Xu Jing emerging from the bedroom after returning from a business trip. He couldn’t connect the person before him with his own son.

After hearing the whole story, Xu Huaiyang couldn’t sleep for several nights in a row. Although he always said he wanted a daughter, in his heart, Xu Jing’s importance was never less than Qin Xin’s.

One day, taking advantage of Qin Xin’s absence, Xu Huaiyang sat down next to Xu Jing, carefully considering the words he had been mulling over for a long time before finally speaking.

“Son, Dad doesn’t know what you’re thinking right now, but some things have already happened, and you have to look forward. Your mom and I only want you to be healthy, nothing else matters.”

Xu Jing put down the book in his hand, focusing his gaze on Xu Huaiyang for a long while before finally registering his presence. He seemed to have heard him, but also seemed not to have.

Xu Huaiyang stroked Xu Jing’s shoulder, the shoulder joint digging into his palm like a knife’s edge.

“You’re still young, and you have a long way to go. You can see a wider world, meet all kinds of people, and even encounter more setbacks in the future. This is your life, and no one can replace you, but no matter what, your parents are your strongest support.”

Before this, Xu Huaiyang had never spoken so earnestly. He thought Xu Jing would be moved, but Xu Jing simply withdrew his gaze, turned his head, and silently continued reading.

Not only him, but in the past six months, Qin Xin and Xu Jing had hardly communicated anything beyond the most basic conversations. Qin Xin always thought that Xu Jing was blaming her for stopping him from going to the airport that day. She had thought about this issue many times afterward, wondering if the result would have been different if she had let Xu Jing meet Shen Yan, but now it was too late.

Xu Huaiyang hired the best psychiatrist, who diagnosed Xu Jing with bipolar disorder accompanied by severe depression, as well as aphasia.

Qin Xin was silent for an entire day after learning this. Seeing her son, who, although not exactly lively and kicking, was at least mentally sound half a year ago, develop such a serious mental illness in such a short period of time, Xu Huaiyang also became so worried that he couldn’t eat. He wished he could stay by Xu Jing’s side every day. Later, he turned down all work that required business trips and socializing, and, like Qin Xin, stayed at home, wholeheartedly taking care of Xu Jing.

But it still didn’t have any effect. Xu Jing’s symptoms not only didn’t improve, but instead began to manifest as physical reactions. He would unconsciously tremble and space out, inexplicably cry and lose his temper. The most serious incident occurred on a stormy night.

At the time, Xu Huaiyang and Qin Xin had returned to Jiaqing City. They were supposed to arrive just in time for Xu Jing’s school dismissal, but a heavy rain suddenly started on the highway, causing them to arrive home half an hour later than planned. As soon as they entered the door, they heard a burst of hysterical crying coming from Xu Jing’s bedroom.

The windows were banging loudly in the wind, the floor was covered with broken porcelain and soil, and scattered pieces of pothos leaves. Xu Jing was kneeling on the ground, picking up the pieces while crying. He was soaked to the bone, water dripping from his disheveled hair, and he was sobbing incoherently.

At that moment, a “boom” echoed as lightning flashed across the sky, the white light suddenly illuminating his face, a face that seemed to be both crying and laughing. Qin Xin felt as if her heart had been pierced by a needle.

How could her son be in this state?

Qin Xin walked up to Xu Jing, squatted down in front of him, and embraced his trembling body, comforting him with red eyes, “Xiao Jing, don’t be afraid, Mom is here, Mom is here.”

Xu Jing just shook his head and kept crying, even starting to convulse uncontrollably. Xu Huaiyang and Qin Xin were terrified and hurriedly sent him to the hospital.

Having lived for nearly half a century, they had seen many storms, but at this moment, Xu Huaiyang hid in the hospital corridor, smoking half a pack of cigarettes. Then he walked over to Qin Xin, squatted down beside her, and said in a deep voice, “Wife, everything will be alright.”

Qin Xin lowered her eyes and muttered to herself, “When I first realized that something was wrong between them, I felt like the sky was about to fall. Because I understand Xiao Jing, although he seems not to care about anything on the surface, he is actually a very emotional person. I couldn’t bear to watch him go down this path. Later, Xiao Jing confessed to me. At that time, I was so angry that I hit him, but the moment my hand went out, I already regretted it. Now that I see Xiao Jing like this, I feel like nothing else matters, I just want him to be okay.”

Xu Huaiyang gently wiped away Qin Xin’s tears, stood up, hugged her, and said softly, “It will get better, wife, believe me.”

A hand gradually slid down from the door. After a long while, a faint sound of footsteps echoed in the ward, eventually fading into the deep night.

On the last day of Xu Jing’s hospitalization, Jiang Pei came to the hospital. She was now a famous singer both at home and abroad. Because of her high-profile behavior, she was always the target of entertainment reporters. To avoid bringing trouble to Xu Jing, Jiang Pei was fully armed from head to toe, disguising herself to the point where even her grandfather wouldn’t recognize her before she felt safe enough to go.

When Jiang Pei arrived, Qin Xin and Xu Huaiyang were both in the ward. She took off her mask and hat and politely said, “Uncle and Auntie, I have something I want to say to Xu Jing alone.”

Qin Xin looked at Xu Jing. Seeing him nod, she agreed.

After Jiang Pei sat down, she looked at Xu Jing for a full five minutes.

When she first came in, she even wondered if she had entered the wrong room. In Jiang Pei’s mind, there were only three things she didn’t believe in: family, friendship, and especially love. She didn’t believe that someone could wholeheartedly love another person.

But seeing Shen Yan’s actions and Xu Jing’s current state, Jiang Pei doubted her own beliefs for the first time. Could someone really be so devoted and willing to sacrifice themselves to this extent?

“I went to the United States some time ago and found Shen Linzhi with Ling Yan’s help.”

Xu Jing suddenly raised his head.

Jiang Pei smiled, “The treatment was successful. He’s doing well, don’t worry.”

Xu Jing pursed his lips. Although he couldn’t speak, it was clear that his tense body immediately relaxed, and his empty eyes finally gained some color.

“I know you’ve been feeling guilty about that incident, blaming yourself for not finding out sooner, but from what I know about Xiao Yan, even if you had known in advance, he would still have done the same. So it’s not your fault, you shouldn’t punish yourself in this way.” Jiang Pei said seriously, word by word, “Everyone wants you to get better, and so does he.”

Xu Jing’s eyelashes fluttered several times. After a long pause, he nodded.

Jiang Pei’s actions were always silent and swift. When she opened the door, six eyes met, and the scene was extremely awkward. One was the president of a company who had appeared on CCTV news many times, and the other was a senior teacher who regularly gave lectures. At this moment, they were actually eavesdropping without any regard for their image.

Fortunately, Jiang Pei just smiled and said, “Be careful, Uncle and Auntie,” and left.

Even Xu Huaiyang, whose skin was thicker than a city wall, felt a little embarrassed. After entering the room, he said awkwardly to Xu Jing, “Son, it’s not what you think, your mom and I were just about to come in.”

Xu Jing didn’t care. Instead, he picked up the phone on the table and slowly typed a sentence.

“I want to go out for a walk.”

The couple was stunned for a few seconds, then burst into tears of joy and said in unison, “Okay!”

Hearing the laughter coming from the ward, Jiang Pei, who was about to leave, turned her head and twitched her lips, but her eyes were filled with darkness.

That day, the three of them drove south.

The shadows of the trees outside the car window flowed by, the green leaves swayed in the wind, the sunlight shattered, and the wind, carrying the heat wave, rushed towards them, tightly surrounding Xu Jing with the fresh and vibrant breath of summer. The soothing light music played in his ears. Xu Jing reached out his hand, feeling the wind passionately kissing the back of his hand, watching the birds fly towards the distance, freely, unrestrainedly, and liberally. All the beautiful scenes receded around him, but the feeling that remained was real and vivid.

Xu Jing closed his eyes.

At this moment, he allowed all the scenery, all the causes and effects, to flow through his life.

Xu Huaiyang’s car drove through the winding roads, over towering mountains. The wind swept across the barren land, swept through the dense forests, and swept through the entire summer. Those past things would never return.

All the tears, all the recklessness, all the regrets made in the name of love had become the past.

He would eventually let go.

Turning over the most significant page of his youth.

When he went back that night, Xu Jing opened the box that seemed to have been sealed for a long time in the innermost part of the bookcase, and then opened an extremely exquisite gift bag.

He placed the brand new race car model in his palm, carefully touching it, feeling its unique structure and texture. As he stood up, a card fell out of the bag.

He picked it up and saw that it contained only one sentence.

“Happy birthday, deskmate.”

He recognized the handwriting.

He would never forget it.

Xu Jing cried with a smile.

He put the race car into the cabinet where it belonged, along with the card and a love letter that he hadn’t had time to send.

For eleven years, he had finally filled the void in this place.

Just like a summer movie ending, and he, too, should move forward.

Looking up from the dense text, being hypnotized by the monotonous English listening, and falling asleep in the function problems whose questions were longer than the answers. The report cards at the back of the classroom were updated again and again, and the piano music in the headphones repeated over and over.

The shadows of the sun quietly shifted, and the cicada’s chirping finally came to an end.

Xu Jing had also become one of the thousands of high school seniors who were full of expectations.

He was still used to walking alone through the running and noisy corridors, still sitting in the corner of the last row of the classroom with an empty desk, but he would look up in the sunlight, watching the clouds floating outside the window, and then write a few lines in his notebook. He no longer walked through that dark alley, and no longer turned off the lights at night.

Although sometimes he would still space out when he heard that name, he would pause for a moment and then continue to move forward.

He stumbled, but always moved forward.

In a blink of an eye, it was winter, and Linhe City was snowing again. That day was the 325th day since Shen Yan’s surgery failed.

Inside the executive ward of a top hospital in the United States.

The room was dimly lit, with only the occasional sound of medical equipment, intertwined with the sound of the breeze blowing in from the window. A young man was lying quietly on the bed. After a long period of pain, his face had become thin and pale, but his distinct features and perfect facial features showed how outstanding he used to be.

That year, Shen Linzhi took Shen Yan abroad and arranged for the best team of cardiac surgeons to treat Shen Yan. However, Shen Yan’s heart failure had reached the middle and late stages. The doctor said that there was no other way except for a heart transplant. Shen Linzhi used all his connections and found a suitable heart source that day, but during the heart transplant, another accident occurred.

Shen Yan suffered severe damage to his brain nerves due to excessive bleeding and entered a vegetative state after the surgery. The doctor told Shen Linzhi that the chances of him waking up were probably very small. That was the first time Shen Linzhi believed in karma.

Two men walked into the ward.

Looking at the boy on the hospital bed, Liu Xiaoguang felt that the hope was getting slimmer and slimmer, so he asked, “Shen, are we going to keep waiting?”

Shen Linzhi turned his head. Liu Xiaoguang broke out in a cold sweat from the look in his eyes and immediately lowered his head, saying, “I’m sorry, Shen, I misspoke.”

“I know what you mean.” Shen Linzhi closed his eyes and said in a deep voice, “But I have no way back. I only have this one son.”

Although he had been following Shen Linzhi for almost twenty years, Liu Xiaoguang still didn’t know what his boss was thinking most of the time. Just like at this moment, Shen Linzhi’s gaze towards the hospital bed was not only filled with the irritability of having his plans disrupted, but also contained a hint of heartache. Perhaps even the person involved didn’t realize this feeling.

“The board of directors heard that you brought someone back, and they have been much more peaceful. We still have time. I hope the young master can wake up soon.”

Shen Linzhi hummed in agreement, slowly withdrew his gaze, and turned to leave.

·

A lively coming-of-age ceremony ended, and there were only three months left until the college entrance examination.

To motivate the students, the school put up a dream wall near the teaching building. Every high school senior could write down their dream university on it. When the admission results came out, the students who were admitted could receive a carefully prepared prize from the school.

The students were also very interested in this, and the area in front of the dream wall was often packed. Cha Fei’ang liked to join in this kind of activity. During lunch, he invited the two people next to him to go with him.

Liang Ge was eating very intently and replied, “Too lazy to go.”

Strangely enough, while everyone else was exhausted by the college entrance examination, Liang Ge was full of energy and in good spirits, eating three bowls of rice at every meal. The most outrageous thing was that he still didn’t gain weight.

“Brother Jing, why don’t you come with me?”

Xu Jing said faintly, “Not going.”

Cha Fei’ang was puzzled and said, “Aren’t you curious about what the prize is?”

Liang Ge said carelessly, “It’s just a two-thousand-yuan scholarship and a commemorative album from the school.”

“Damn, two thousand yuan?!” Cha Fei’ang’s eyes lit up and emphasized, “That’s two thousand yuan, three zeros!”

Obviously, this amount of money was nothing to these two people. Later, Cha Fei’ang used his trump card and said to Liang Ge, “I saw Gu Qianqian go there last time. Aren’t you curious about what university she wants to go to?”

Liang Ge immediately perked up, threw down his chopsticks, and stood up, saying, “Let’s go! Let’s go now!”

Later, with a combination of persuasion and coercion, Xu Jing finally went along with an impatient look on his face.

But standing in front of the dream wall, seeing the colorful and diverse stickers on it, filled with all kinds of universities written with markers, Cha Fei’ang suddenly became troubled, “Brother Jing, what university do you think I should write down to be the safest bet given my current level?”

There was no fighting spirit for the college entrance examination in Cha Fei’ang’s eyes, only a desire for the two thousand yuan.

Xu Jing said, “How would I know?”

“Actually, I want to go to the north, so I can be further away from home and avoid being lectured by my dad all day long.” While Cha Fei’ang was muttering to himself, he had already made a decision, writing down one of the top three universities in the north on the sticker, and then adding his name in a flamboyant flourish.

Liang Ge’s neck was sore from looking around. He angrily said, “Damn it, Cha Fei’ang, you kid, are you lying to me? Where’s the class monitor on here?”

Having achieved his goal, Cha Fei’ang didn’t hide it and said honestly, “Yeah.”

Liang Ge immediately jumped up and beat Cha Fei’ang. Just as the two were fighting, Xu Jing also took a sticker, quickly wrote a few strokes, and quietly pasted it in the corner.

Cha Fei’ang finally escaped Liang Ge’s clutches and laughed, “Brother Jing, what university do you want to go to?”

Liang Ge interjected, “What a load of nonsense. With Xu Jing’s grades, it must be the best university.”

Xu Jing didn’t answer and walked away without looking back.

“Wait for us!” Cha Fei’ang and Liang Ge chased after him.

The sunlight broke through the clouds and illuminated the blue sticker in the corner of the dream wall, which contained only three words.

—Go far away.