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Published at 28th of February 2024 07:33:14 AM


Chapter 31

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Zhu Luo called specifically to ask Yu Le to come visit his home.

The reason was irresistible, “I still have the things you threw away, including the music box, photos and albums. Come collect them whenever you have time…you can do whatever you want with them once they’re out of my hands.”

Yu Le could only reply positively, “Okay.”

After hanging up the phone, Yu Le rubbed his forehead in distress.

Hesitating a moment, he dialled another number decidedly, “Hey, is this Yu Youzhi? I may need your help.”

When he left Rongxia Apartment, he had decided to do his best to keep his distance from Yu Youzhi in the future, but he didn’t expect that he would reach out to himself so soon.

Holding the phone, he spoke cautiously, “I’m sorry to bother you after you helped me so much yesterday. I want to ask, I didn’t do anything weird at your house yesterday, right?”

The man on the other side of the phone seemed a little confused, but not asking why, he told him everything in detail as if he didn’t find it troublesome at all.

The story he told included one thing that didn’t match with Yu Le’s memory. Yu Youzhi described seeing him huddled with his phone, moving around even while burning with a fever.

Sensing something was wrong, he asked, “Yu Le, did something happen? What’s going on?”

“Well…maybe I’m just too worried,” he thought about how to articulate his thoughts, lowering his voice as he mumbled, “I’m going to Zhu Luo’s house later, can you do me a favour?”

Getting a positive reply, Yu Le rushed to Zhu Luo’s house after ending the phone call.

Unlike the original owner, who was squeezed into a small rental house, Zhu Luo, as a recognized genius violinist, lived in a small garden villa throughout the story.

When the original owner’s grandma was still alive, they had been neighbours. But since she passed away and left him alone, the gap between the two had become wider and wider. Perhaps because of an inferiority complex, the original owner rarely visited Zhu Luo’s villa as an adult.

Looking at the lush green plants around him, sections of memory from the original owner automatically appeared in Yu Le’s mind.

At the same time, he also remembered some unpleasant things, namely the fact that this was where he made such a mistake, that a child no more than ten years old could blackmail him.

Of course, this was not Yu Le’s first time here, he had explored the environment in detail when sending flowers to Zhu Luo before.

But this was the first time that he was stepping into Zhu Luo’s house himself.

Walking through the entrance, there was a spacious living room with a wall of music displayed on the back. Zhu Luo was waiting for him, sitting at a small table with a smile.

The man’s profile seemed melancholic. Hearing the movement as Yu Le entered, he raised his head and brightened, “You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting for a long time.”

Yu Le looked at him and said nothing.

“I’m sorry, even though I said those things during breakfast, I still had to trouble you to come over.” With that, he pushed the box holding the many mementos forwards on the table, “These were originally A Yu’s things. I picked them up on my own initiative, but they don’t belong to me. After much thought, I still think it’s better to give them back to you.” His tone brought out a subtle bitterness, “If you don’t want them, it doesn’t matter if you throw them away.” Zhu Luo lowered his head and was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked back up to meet Yu Le’s eyes, “Can I ask you a question?”

Yu Le stayed quiet. Although he did not nod, the meaning in his eyes was very clear.

Pursing his lips, Zhu Luo asked, “Why did you throw these all away?”

“I’m sorry,” it was such a useless sentence, but Yu Le truly could not be any more sincere as he said it. In the past, he was speaking for the original owner, but this time, as himself he confessed, “I know it wasn’t my right to throw away A Yu’s things. But he had disappeared, and I don’t want to live as someone I’m not. In my life, I hoped to draw a clear line with you and everything relating to you.”

“How can you be so calm?” Zhu Luo’s expression was lost, and his voice increased in volume as he grew excited, “If that was really the case, why did you send me so many roses? I know it was you!”

Yu Le flushed as he explained, “On the messages on each postcard, I deliberately used the initials HAN for Huo Annong. I didn’t expect you to misunderstand them, I just wanted to match you up with him.”

“Why?”

“Because A Yu had seen your future. Huo Annong is the man you are meant to be with,” he didn’t want to explain that this was the world of a novel and took a few creative liberties as he said, “Of course, there is also the fact that if you and Huo Annong managed to get together, there would be less of an impact on me as you two kept busy.”

“As expected…” Zhu Luo’s eyes dimmed, “Do you really want to push me away that badly?”

Yu Le met his gaze without retorting.

An odd silence spread between them.

After some time, Zhu Luo stood up and broke the silence.

As if to ease the embarrassment, he deliberately made a rustling sound as he stood up. Acting as if nothing had happened, he asked, “Do you want something to drink?”

“Anything is fine.”

Zhu Luo paused and suddenly said, “When A Yu came to my place before, he would only drink Coca-Cola from Mei Meibo and no other brands, so I stored a lot in the refrigerator, it’s a pity though, he didn’t come often enough to drink it all.” With a downcast face Zhu Luo brought a can of Mei Meibo Coke back from the kitchen, “Will you drink this?”

Yu Le was strangely silent.

He thought of Yu Youzhi’s previous evaluation of him, saying that he was strange. Maybe, he thought, that was the case.

The next second, he refused directly, “I can’t drink carbonated drinks, please give me a glass of water.”

Zhu Luo lowered his eyes and put the can back in the refrigerator obediently, “Okay.”

Coming back with a glass of boiled water, Yu Le received it and placed it in front of him. It sat on the small table with ripples floating on the surface, swaying gently.

“What’s wrong, are you not thirsty?”

Zhu Luo stared at Yu Le without blinking, seeming a little nervous. His eyes had not left the cup since he handed it over.

“No, I was just waiting for it to cool slightly first.” In order to avoid embarrassment, Yu Le brought the glass to his lips and tested the temperature before setting it back down again. “Speaking of Zhu Luo, I apologise if this is offensive, but I do have a question for you.”

The other was still staring nervously at the cup on the table.

He voiced his doubts directly, “Zhu Luo, have any strange people contacted you recently? Such as someone claiming to be the vice captain?”

Hearing this, Zhu Luo’s hands shook, but he reacted quickly and controlled himself, “Why do you ask that?”

“Something feels wrong, I have been having repetitive dreams recently and it feels as though someone is attacking me within my subconscious…I suspect that the secondary personality has not completely disappeared.”

“If he’s really still there, and only showing himself after being dormant for so long, then he must be very sure in his abilities now.”

Yu Le agreed, staring at the water ripples, deep in his thoughts, “Yes, because of his confidence, I began to wonder if he might have found helpers in reality as well. I confirmed it with Yu Youzhi and it seems that I did behave strangely the afternoon after I met with you.” He met Zhu Luo’s eyes, “Zhu Luo, that day, did he contact you?”

Hearing this, Zhu Luo’s expression twisted, and he looked away.

At this moment, his expression said everything.

Yu Le’s voice was serious, “He did. Zhu Luo, what did he tell you?”

The young man gritted his teeth, his eyebrows twisting as his resentment shone through, “He said that you are the one who wanted to snatch A Yu’s body. That you are the dangerous personality and are only pretending to be someone else to deceive me and gain my trust. He said that you have always hated A Yu for occupying the body, so after taking control of the body, you immediately threw away all of his things. And that even the line you are trying to draw between us is just to escape from arousing my suspicion.”

The more Zhu Luo spoke, the angrier he became, and his voice grew in volume more and more, but his expression was full of pure grief.

Yu Le looked at him calmly, “So, what does he want you to do?”

He glanced at the water glass again, “He asked me to drug you and help him get his body back.”

“Do you believe what he said?”

Zhu Luo suddenly shouted. He laughed, raising his head to reveal a pair of unwilling eyes, the self-deprecating sarcasm in them was clear, “Does it matter whether I believe him or not? You said that you aren’t A Yu, and the person who sent me a message admitted that they weren’t A Yu…So, where in the world did he go? Why did he have to be the one to disappear when both of you are still here?”

“I’m sorry…” This kind of apology is completely useless, but Yu Le still frowned and said it a second time.

He even went to pick the glass of water up from the table.

“Zhu Luo, I never felt that this is my fault, but at the same time, I do know that you have many reasons to resent me and even want to retaliate against me. So just think of this as my apology to both you and A Yu.”

With that said, reflected in Zhu Luo’s surprised eyes, he frowned and drank the entire glass of water in one breath.

Yu Le’s move completely shocked Zhu Luo, “What…what are you doing?!”

He smiled, “Didn’t I explain already, this is my apology.”

Zhu Luo blinked his eyes, and his expression suddenly changed. It was a bit strange, “Your apology…I didn’t expect you to be this kind of person.”

“…”

The next second, Zhu Luo took the glass of water back from Yu Les’s hand, the resentment on his face was not gone, and there still seemed to be plenty of anger mixed with his grief, but he still managed to smile through it all, “I didn’t drug the water.”

It was only after he said this that Yu Le realised he was still completely fine, and he moved his hands and feet experimentally, everything was normal.

It was just that he drank too much too quickly and now felt bloated.

Frowning, he asked, “Why didn’t you do it?”

“Because…I don’t want to hurt A Yu.” He looked at Yu Le with a complicated gaze. “Even if you claim to be someone else, this is still his body. I don’t want to hurt it.” His smile turned bitter, “Besides, A Yu is so gentle. He would never ask me to do such a thing. As soon as that person asked me to do it, I knew it was someone else. Why should I help someone else steal his body away? At least you don’t seem to hold any grudges against him…” Zhu Luo lowered his eyes, his excitement and anger fading as his expression became increasingly sad, “But you are not A Yu and he is not A Yu…so the A Yu I know has probably disappeared.”

After saying this, Zhu Luo finally couldn’t bear it anymore and burst out crying, the tears falling on Yu Le’s hands, burning like clusters of flames.

It was so hot that he couldn’t help but pull his hand away immediately.

But it was at this moment that Yu Le understood just why the original owner was so love-struck with Zhu Luo that he could cast his life away for him without hesitation.

It was all because this man was so pure, just chasing such a man was enough to make him happy.




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