Mu Bai: Would you believe me if I said it was out of a sense of justice and courage?
Mu Bai also sent a pitiful emoji, but Bai Yanfei couldn't connect the emoji with the person in the picture. He offered a few words of comfort, and their conversation ended there.
Before going to sleep, Mu Bai came to ask him questions again.
Mu Bai: If you had someone you really liked, what would you do?
Bai Yanfei originally didn't want to reply, but after seeing the question, he replied anyway.
Bai Yanfei: Does the other person like you too?
Mu Bai: I don't know, I guess he doesn't like it anymore.
Bai Yanfei didn't carefully consider Mu Bai's words; he typed a few lines without hesitation:
Bai Yanfei: If it's going to be fruitless, give up.
Mu Bai: Why?
Bai Yanfei: There's no reason why, it's just a fact, there's no need to try.
Bai Yanfei felt that Mu Bai was a bit strange, but the other party had not done anything excessive or said anything excessive, so he didn't take it seriously.
Mu Bai: I understand. Good night, go to sleep early.
Bai Yanfei: Good night.
On the other side, Ling Zeyu put away his other phone, opened the contact list, and found only one person in this WeChat account.
He pulled down his pants and looked at the bruises on his knees. Those thugs shouldn't have been a match for him. But then he thought of Bai Yanfei, and in a moment of distraction, he was kicked. In his panic, he could only kneel on the ground, scraping his knees.
Bai Yanfei's face was too conspicuous abroad, and he didn't trust him at all. But he also knew that Bai Yanfei had completely given up on him.
After arriving, he wondered if Bai Yanfei wanted to travel to clear his mind, but after so many days, he realized that Bai Yanfei's trip had nothing to do with him.
He didn't realize that Bai Yanfei had paid attention to his affairs, his Weibo account hadn't been logged in for a long time, and he didn't see any response from Bai Yanfei on the trending topics.
No one replies to his private messages every day. He doesn't know what he's persisting in, but the more he does it, the more he can empathize with Bai Yanfei. He was even worse to Bai Yanfei back then. Now that Bai Yanfei is just not replying to him, he is already so upset. How did Bai Yanfei endure it before?
After casually applying some medicine to his knees, Ling Zeyu lay down to sleep.
He's crammed all his work into one go, and he'll be incredibly busy when he returns to China, but he doesn't regret it. As long as he can see Bai Yanfei, anything he does is worthwhile.
...
A month passed in the blink of an eye, and Bai Yanfei had gotten a bit tanned. He spent his days taking photos and shopping outside, and his skin tone was no longer as pale as before.
The last stop was the seaside.
Bai Yan wasn't afraid of water; he even remembered almost drowning once. But today, he had to see this person.
The scenery by the sea was beautiful. Bai Yanfei applied a thick layer of sunscreen and waited for that person to arrive at the restaurant on the beach.
This was the last stop on his journey; after this stop, he planned to return.
This was the address Su Kai had given him. He dialed the number he had never been able to reach before, and the phone rang a few times.
"Hello?"
Bai Yanfei hadn't heard this voice for over a year and thought he had forgotten it, but as soon as the person spoke, he knew he hadn't dialed the wrong number.
Did you dial the wrong number?
No, it's me.
Bai Yanfei spoke first, but the other side remained silent for a long time. After more than ten seconds, Bai Yifei spoke uncertainly.
"elder brother?"
"Let's talk when we meet. I'm at the beach."
"What are you talking about?" Bai Yifei chuckled softly. "I'm not in the country."
"I know." Bai Yanfei casually gave an address. Bai Yifei was silent for a moment, then said he would be there soon.
Bai Yanfei waited quietly, and half an hour later, an Asian face walked into the store.
"elder brother."
Bai Yanfei was slightly taken aback. The Bai Yifei he remembered was not like this. Although he had seen photos and knew that Bai Yifei had become much darker, he was still very surprised after seeing him in person.
"Um."
"I'm sorry." Bai Yifei sat down opposite Bai Yanfei. "I didn't know Ling Zeyu would treat you like that... after all, he..."
Bai Yanfei gently shook his head: "I've been divorced from him for a long time. Don't mention him anymore. I didn't come here for him."
"Why is that? Is he not good to you?"
Bai Yanfei recalled the grievances he had suffered. He raised his head, his tone surprisingly calm: "Do you think he will treat me well?"
Bai Yifei was speechless. He opened his lips, but in the end, he could only lower his eyes and say, "I'm sorry, brother."
"I accept your apology." Bai Yanfei looked at Bai Yifei's face, but ultimately didn't mention the Bai family's affairs.
“Ling Zeyu came to see me.” Bai Yifei took a sip of juice. “He told me he had mistaken me for someone else.”
"That's enough. I don't want to know. His affairs have nothing to do with me anymore." Bai Yanfei was a little afraid that Bai Yifei would say something unacceptable to him. Ling Zeyu's behavior was already abnormal enough. He had finally gotten out of it, and he absolutely could not fall into it again.
"Anyway, he probably won't contact me again, and I'm still very grateful to you, brother." Seeing that Bai Yanfei didn't intend to continue the topic, Bai Yifei changed the subject. "How are Mom and Dad? Are they alright?"
"Grandma has passed away." Bai Yanfei did not answer Bai Yifei's question. In his heart, his parents were no longer related to him. They had never treated him as their son, so he didn't need to consider anything for them anymore.
"What?"
Although Grandma didn't particularly dote on Bai Yifei, she treated him fairly well, just not as well as Bai Yanfei.
When did this happen?
"They passed away more than half a year ago. The Bai family was also acquired by the Ling family. They both had a miserable life. If you can, you can go back and see them. Maybe you can find out something."
Bai Yifei's expression was somewhat subtle, and he hesitated before speaking.
"You...you knew all along?"
"What should I know?" Bai Yanfei took a sip of juice slowly, but he already had a general idea in his mind.
Sure enough, he was the only one kept in the dark.
“You’re not my biological brother. My mom told me a long time ago not to be so nice to you.” Bai Yifei was silent for a while, then continued, “But I really do consider you my brother.”
"So you're enjoying their combined affection, and you want me to dote on you too, while you're hiding this from me, taking my kindness for granted, is that right?"
"I'm sorry..." Bai Yifei didn't know what to say to appease Bai Yanfei. "Don't be angry. Whatever you want, I'll find a way to make it up to you."
Bai Yanfei shook his head: "You can't give me what I want. I just want to know, what do you mean by asking me to marry Ling Zeyu in your place?"
“I know you like Ling Zeyu a lot. Ling Zeyu was very gentlemanly when he was pursuing me and never made me feel embarrassed. Plus, you often praised him in my ear, so I thought he was a good person.”
Bai Yifei paused for a moment, then continued.
“After the Bai family ran into trouble, Mom cried every day, and I wasn’t in a good mood either. Ling Zeyu somehow found out about it, and he said that if I was willing to marry him, he could bring the Bai family back to life. I didn’t want to see my family become like this, and then I thought of you… so I…”
"I'm sorry, I'm the one who hurt you."
"Have you thought about how Ling Zeyu will treat us when he finds out? I didn't know you were going to run away."
Bai Yanfei didn't continue speaking, but both of them understood.
Bai Yifei moved his lips, wanting to tell Bai Yanfei that Ling Zeyu already knew he was wrong. But he knew Bai Yanfei didn't want to hear it. He had heard about what Ling Zeyu had done to Bai Yanfei, but he was powerless to do anything about it. Ling Zeyu was not someone he could contend with, and besides, his wife was extremely jealous and wouldn't allow him to pay so much attention to another man.
The two brothers sat for an entire afternoon. Bai Yifei said everything he could, and Bai Yanfei was also acting differently than usual.
It was as if Bai Yanfei had suddenly grown up during the year or so that he was gone. Only he was still well protected, naive and willful.
"I should go now." Bai Yanfei finished the last bite of meat. "There's no need to contact each other anymore. If you want to know how the Bai family is doing, go back and see for yourself, or ask your friends. I don't want to have any more contact with the Bai family."
"I understand." Bai Yifei smiled wryly. It turned out that Bai Yanfei was so smart now that he could even guess what Bai Yifei was thinking.
He did want to continue contacting Bai Yanfei and have Bai Yanfei tell him about things happening in China.
Where are you now?
"I don't want to tell you, and you don't need to know. Although I think you can figure out what I've been up to lately."
Bai Yifei moved his lips slightly: "Is this how I am in your heart?"
"Who knows?" Bai Yanfei said indifferently. "Just live your life and don't interfere in mine. I'm tired."
"Okay." Bai Yifei agreed. He knew he had let Bai Yanfei down, but he was already very satisfied that Bai Yanfei didn't hold it against him.
"I'll go back and visit when I have time."
Bai Yanfei had already stood up. He turned around and glanced at Bai Yifei: "This is your own business. There's no need to tell me."
It's unnecessary, and many things are unnecessary.
Bai Yanfei left, and Bai Yifei sat for a while. When he was about to leave, he saw someone.
Ling Zeyu sat in the corner. He didn't know when Ling Zeyu had arrived, but seeing Ling Zeyu reminded Bai Yifei of Bai Yanfei, and he felt that it wasn't so surprising after all.
He walked over and sat down opposite Ling Zeyu.
When did you arrive?
“Before he arrived.”
Several glasses of wine were placed in front of Ling Zeyu, and Bai Yifei glanced down at them.
He doesn't love you anymore.
Ling Zeyu maintained his original expression, and Bai Yifei couldn't detect anything unusual about him. However, he subconsciously felt that if he didn't leave, Ling Zeyu would stand up and hit him, so he quickly left after speaking.
Ling Zeyu's hands trembled slightly as he gently exhaled.
Everyone knows Bai Yanfei no longer loves him, but he alone still fantasizes about the Bai Yanfei of the past. He fantasizes that Bai Yanfei still loves him, and even now, he refuses to accept this fact.
Bai Yanfei is now attending the same school he attended before, which he considers a matter of fate. Little does he know that if Bai Yanfei knew he had studied there, he would definitely not have chosen this school.
...
After a journey of more than a month, when Bai Yanfei set foot on the land again, he saw Su Kai who had come to pick him up.
Su Kai gave Bai Yanfei a hug, and Bai Yanfei didn't refuse.
"Did you have fun?"
Bai Yanfei nodded: "I'm happy, I've met Bai Yifei too."