It fell from his fingertips

Tang Luoqing stood frozen on the riverbank, clutching the pack of tissues, her heart pounding with emotion.

She watched his tall, straight back disappear into the distance, gently biting her lower lip until it turned white.

The chest, which was already feeling suffocated by Zhou Yanchen's lies, now felt even heavier and more constricted, making even breathing difficult and painful.

For a moment, she felt embarrassed, wronged, and flustered, and there was also a trace of helplessness that even Tang Luoqing herself was unwilling to admit—a feeling of being secretly taken to someone's mind—which made her restless.

Zhou Jinbai clearly saw and heard everything, yet he only sent a little girl to deliver a pack of tissues, without even showing his face, because he had said he would return to his position as Zhou Yanchen's brother.

Tang Luoqing sniffed, turned around, and quickly walked out of the riverbank.

She stood by the roadside, flagged down a car, and gave them the address of the cemetery.

At this time, the cemetery was still open. Tang Luoqing's mind was in turmoil. She wanted to find a quiet place to stay and talk to someone she could let her guard down.

Dad, Mom, and Grandma are all there.

Since her grandmother passed away, no matter how much she suffered, Tang Luoqing could always feel relieved after sitting there for a while.

The taxi drove towards the cemetery, the sky growing increasingly dark, the clouds hanging low as if they were about to collapse at any moment.

Tang Luoqing leaned against the car window, unaware of the weather above, her thoughts drifting back to her childhood.

She always heard her grandmother say that her parents fell in love on their own.

My father was a poor painter back then. My mother married him against her family's wishes. Life was tough, but my father never let my mother suffer any hardship. Every morning before dawn, he would get up to cook porridge. In winter, when my mother's hands were frostbitten, my father would put her hands in his own arms to warm them. Even if my mother casually mentioned wanting to eat osmanthus cake from the south of the city, he would travel halfway around the city to buy it.

Grandma sat in the wicker chair in the yard, stroking her hair and smiling, saying, "Qingqing, feelings can be faked for a while, but not forever. People who are truly good to you show it in the details, without saying a word."

Tang Luoqing was still young at that time, and nodded as if she understood.

Now, when I think of those words again, it feels like a needle pricks my heart, a dense, persistent pain washing over me.

She hadn't expected that Zhou Yanchen's kindness was all an act. He even had to ask someone else to help him with a meal, and he wouldn't tell her the truth. So, how much of what he said—"I miss you" and "I will change"—was genuine?

Tang Luoqing closed her eyes briefly, her eyelashes glistening with moisture.

The car was parked at the foot of the mountain in the cemetery. Tang Luoqing paid the fare and walked up the mountain.

Perhaps because of the gloomy weather, the cemetery was unusually deserted.

Tang Luoqing first went to her parents' tombstones.

"Dad, Mom, I've come to see you both."

In the past, her father would always hold her little hand and teach her to draw, while her mother would watch them from the swing, occasionally giving her some fruit and snacks, and touching her face as she frowned and drew seriously.

Beside her, in front of her grandmother's tombstone, there was a small clump of roses planted by Tang Luoqing last year. Now the branches are bare, with only a few withered leaves trembling in the wind.

Tang Luoqing slowly squatted down, touched her grandmother's smiling face on the tombstone with her fingertips, and her eyes immediately reddened.

Her nose stung terribly, and her shoulders trembled slightly uncontrollably.

All the grievances, confusion, and struggles that had accumulated over this period surged up at this moment.

"grandmother."

Tang Luoqing's voice was thick with nasal tone. She had only uttered two words when tears fell onto the back of her hand.

She curled up in her knees, buried her face in her arms, her shoulders shaking with sobs, crying in a suppressed and heartbreaking voice: "What should I do if I can't hold on any longer?"

As soon as she finished speaking, tears streamed down her face like beads from a broken string.

Tang Luoqing didn't know who to talk to or what to do. She had truly given her whole heart to Zhou Yanchen in their year-long relationship.

But the other party's repeated lies and perfunctory responses made Tang Luoqing really tired.

What alarmed her even more was Zhou Jinbai, the man who should have been her "elder brother," who kept intruding into her world, stirring up ripples in her heart.

Tang Luoqing knew it was wrong, knew it was inappropriate, but her heart was out of control.

A light drizzle began to fall, and then the rain grew heavier, with large raindrops pounding on my back, the cool dampness seeping through my clothes.

Tang Luoqing, however, seemed oblivious, remaining squatting in the same spot, trembling with sobs.

"Boom..."

A muffled clap of thunder rolled across the horizon, making people's eardrums vibrate.

Tang Luoqing raised her head, her face wet with rain and tears, her hair clinging to her cheeks, looking utterly disheveled.

She looked up at the sky; the clouds were dark and heavy, and lightning occasionally flashed across the sky, illuminating the entire cemetery.

We can't stay any longer.

Tang Luoqing wiped her face and slowly stood up, supporting herself on her knees.

She said to the tombstone, "Grandma, I'll come to see you again next time," and then turned and walked down the mountain.

The rain intensified, pouring down relentlessly, and Tang Luoqing's vision was quickly blurred by the rain.

The mountain path was slippery, so she held onto the tree trunk beside her and moved down step by step, each step was extremely difficult.

By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, Tang Luoqing was soaked to the bone, and the cold wind made her teeth chatter.

Tang Luoqing took out her phone to hail a taxi, but the screen was wet and she had to swipe several times to unlock it. When she opened the taxi app, it displayed "Currently 37 people in the queue, estimated wait time 1 hour".

Tang Luoqing looked at the empty road and felt a sense of powerlessness.

This is a cemetery, which is already remote, and with the heavy rain, there were hardly any taxis or even private cars passing by.

We can't stay here all night.

Tang Luoqing gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and rushed back into the rain, walking along the road towards the city center.

With each step, it grew colder and colder, and my steps became heavier and heavier.

The wind, carrying rain, lashed against her face, making it difficult for Tang Luoqing to even open her eyes.

Unfortunately, her head started to ache slightly, and her mind was a jumbled mess. One moment she heard Su Leqi's voice saying, "If he's happy, I'm happy." The next moment she heard Zhou Yanchen smiling as he put food on her plate, saying, "I learned this on purpose." And then she heard Zhou Jinbai looking down as he put a band-aid on her.

The images flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern, faster and faster, my head grew heavier and heavier, and my steps became increasingly unsteady, as if I were walking on cotton.

Just then, two blinding headlights came from behind, and with the roar of an engine, a familiar car sped past her.

Tang Luoqing moved slightly to the side of the road, without looking up, and continued to drag her heavy steps forward.

But after taking only a few steps, the car in front of her suddenly braked, and then quickly reversed and stopped not far from her, splashing a small amount of water.

Tang Luoqing was stunned, her steps faltering. Through her blurry vision, she saw the back door of the car being pushed open, and a large umbrella being unfurled first. A man with long, slender legs stepped out of the car, holding the umbrella, and hurriedly ran towards her.

The rain was too heavy, and Tang Luoqing couldn't see the man's face clearly. She could only see that tall and familiar figure walking towards her against the light.

Like... Zhou Jinbai?

The thought had barely crossed Tang Luoqing's mind when her tense nerves suddenly relaxed, her vision went black, and her body could no longer support her as she slumped forward.

As soon as Zhou Jinbai got out of the car, he saw Tang Luoqing sway. His heart sank, and he quickened his pace and rushed over. Just a second before she fell to the ground, he reached out his arm and caught Tang Luoqing.

A soft body crashed into his arms, icy cold. Zhou Jinbai frowned, threw down his umbrella, picked her up horizontally, and with the help of Assistant Shen, who had caught up and was holding an umbrella, carried Tang Luoqing into the back seat of the car.

Zhou Jinbai's back was soaked by the rain, and the cold seeped into the fabric, but he was completely unaware. He grabbed a blanket from the back seat and wrapped it around the person in his arms, pulling her close to him, trying to warm Tang Luoqing up in this way. At the same time, he kept wiping the rain off Tang Luoqing's hair and face with tissues.

"Tang Luoqing? Tang Luoqing?"

The car door closed, the car started quickly, and the heater in the car was turned up to the maximum. Zhou Jinbai lowered his head and called Tang Luoqing's name, his voice several octaves deeper than usual, with a hint of panic.

Seeing that the girl in his arms looked unwell, Zhou Jinbai placed his hand on Tang Luoqing's forehead; it was burning hot.

Tang Luoqing, in the man's arms, showed no reaction. Her eyes were closed, her face was pale, and strands of wet hair clung to her cheeks, making her look exceptionally pitiful.

Zhou Jinbai's prominent Adam's apple bobbed violently, his chest aching with a dull ache.

He had come to look at a plot of land nearby that was not yet developed for tourism and vacation. He had just finished his business and was walking back when he caught a glimpse of a lonely figure by the roadside in the heavy rain. He recognized him at a glance.

The car sped through the heavy rain. Zhou Jinbai held Tang Luoqing tightly in his arms, his hands tightening slightly, his eyes dark and intense.

The girl in his arms let out a muffled hum, as if she were crying, or perhaps calling out to someone.

Tang Luoqing's brows were tightly furrowed, and she looked very uncomfortable.

Zhou Jinbai tucked the hair from her forehead behind her ears, his fingertips touching her burning skin, and his furrowed brows deepened.

He suddenly regretted leaving Tang Luoqing alone by the river.

If he hadn't gone to look at any resorts and had instead just watched her from afar, perhaps Tang Luoqing wouldn't have had to walk in the rain for so long.

At this moment, Assistant Shen, who was in the front passenger seat, glanced at the partition that had been lowered at some point in the back of the car and reported to his superior in a low voice: "President Zhou, Dr. Jiang is already waiting at Yunhu International."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jinbai's tense body finally relaxed for a moment, but he quickly tightened his embrace of Tang Luoqing.

"Don't be afraid, we'll be there soon."

Zhou Jinbai spoke in a hoarse voice, very softly, his voice blending with the sound of rain pattering outside the car window, falling into the quiet car, carrying a rare, barely restrained tenderness.

Looking at the girl in his arms, who was almost broken, Zhou Jinbai's Adam's apple bobbed violently.

After a long while, he held Tang Luoqing even tighter in his arms, pressed his cheek against her burning cheek, and murmured in a hoarse voice:

"Tang Luoqing, tell me, how can I let go when you're like this?"