When Gu Jiuci received the news of Tang Ziyou’s accident, he had just finished arguing with the crew.
He really couldn’t understand why there were always people who liked to add a scene to his suddenly. He had already read the script when he signed the contract. He knew that although she was the female lead, the story line wasn’t about her. Saying that as long as the depth of the character was expanded, her role could also be awarded, was that crazy?
Gu Jiuci was angry that he had a headache and said to the crying woman in front of him for the last time, “If you really want to win the award, I suggest that from now on, let your agent help you find the next script, rather than making trouble in front of me to add depth to your character. You should know when you sign a contract that the female lead of this play is just simply the female lead, the eyes of the play aren’t on her, and the depth of the story doesn’t need to be reflected through her.”
After he finished speaking, he turned around, opened the door, and walked out.
Seeing that he was gone, the assistant quickly followed him out. Qin Ge wasn’t in a hurry to leave, she was the agent. Gu Jiuci left. She had to take care of the rest.
She sat in the seat and smiled at the director, screenwriter, and female lead in front of her, “Jiuci’s meaning is already obvious. I think the crew won’t embarrass me.”
The female lead was still crying. The female lead’s agent looked at her, but didn’t say anything. The room was silent.
Gu Jiuci left quickly, walking back to the hotel. Just as he was about to take a rest, he heard the phone ring again.
He thought it was Tang Ziyou again. He took a look helplessly, but found that it was his brother.
Gu Jiuci picked it up and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Something happened to Xiao You.” Gu Jiuxing said concisely, “He had an accident. They’re rescuing him now. Come back quickly.”
Gu Jiuci was shocked, “What did you say?”
He remembered Tang Ziyou’s phone call just now, “He called me just now, why did something happen suddenly?”
“The driver was drunk and ran a red light. I’m going to the hospital now, hurry up.”
After Gu Jiuxing finished speaking, he hung up the phone.
Gu Jiuci stood dumbfounded in front of the door. It took a long time for him to react. He hurriedly called Tang Ziyou, but Tang Ziyou didn’t answer.
He didn’t believe it. He called over and over again. Finally, he even used WeChat video, but the other party didn’t make any movement. No one answered his every phone call and every video.
Gu Jiuci trembled unconsciously, turned to his assistant and said, “Help me book a plane ticket, the nearest flight, it’s better to fly now.”
“Okay.” The assistant nodded.
Gu Jiuci turned around and walked out. He called Qin Ge while walking, “I have something to do and go home. I have to leave now. I’ll leave the room card at the front desk. You can handle the rest.”
“In such a hurry?” Qin Ge was surprised, “Jiuci, you…”
“I don’t have time to explain it to you now. I’ll talk about it later.”
After he finished speaking, he hung up the phone. He asked his assistant to hand over the room card to the front desk and quickly got into the nanny car.
The assistant followed him, nervous, and whispered, “Brother Gu, what’s the matter? I’m a little worried about you.”
Gu Jiuci didn’t answer him. He kept on calling persistently, but still no one answered.
Answer the phone, why not?
Gu Jiuci’s heart was beating fast, did something really happen? How could it be? How could that be possible? Didn’t he just call himself? Why did something happen?
Gu Jiuci couldn’t understand. How could something happen to Tang Ziyou?
How could there be an accident?
Holding the phone, he called Gu Jiuxing, “What the hell is going on? How could he have an accident when he is so good? Where’s the driver? What about the others?”
“Don’t worry.” Gu Jiuxing soothed him, “The driver stopped the car after hitting someone and didn’t escape, so he was already detained. Xiao You was also sent to the hospital and is being rescued now. I’m already on the road. Wait until then. I’ll call you when I get there.”
“Okay.”
Gu Jiuci hung up the phone, but his heart still couldn’t calm down.
He looked at the last WeChat conversation between him and Tang Ziyou. Tang Ziyou asked him: [When will your play be finished? Next month is the first anniversary of our engagement, can you come back? Or should I visit your class?]
His reply at the time was simple: [Let’s talk about it later.]
Tang Ziyou: [Alright.]
With just three short words (那好吧), there was an inexplicable sense of grievance. He didn’t look at it at the time. He just asked Qin Ge to help him urge the progress of the crew. Thinking of going back then, it was a surprise for him.
But now, before his surprise was given, he received a shock from Tang Ziyou.
Gu Jiuci slowly typed in the input field: [I can rush back. I have already negotiated with the crew.]
He sent it out, but got no reply.
The person, who always replied in seconds, even if he didn’t reply to him at that time, would reply quickly after he saw it. However, he never replied to him.
His message was lying in the dialog box alone, without any vitality.
Gu Jiuci got on the plane and spent three hours on the plane in fear. After getting off the plane, he went straight to the hospital.
However, it was still too late. Gu Jiuxing looked at him in a panic and sighed, “Xiao You, he…”
He was a little choked up for a while, unable to speak. He could only sigh again and said in a steady voice, “Go and see him.”
Gu Jiuci stood in front of him and didn’t dare to move. He just looked at him in disbelief.
“Go.” Gu Jiuxing said gently.
But Gu Jiuci couldn’t move his legs.
Gu Jiuxing didn’t speak anymore. He turned around and walked into the ward. He walked to Tang Ziyou’s bed again.
Gu Jiuci looked at the open door, but couldn’t move.
He didn’t dare to move. He knew what the ending was in there. He was afraid.
However, he still took a step, step by step, and walked into the ward with difficulty.
The person on the hospital bed closed his eyes and his face was calm as if he was asleep.
Gu Jiuci walked to his bed and looked at him quietly. After a long time, he slowly said, “I’m back.”
But the other party didn’t wait for him as gently as every time he came back.
He closed his eyes as if he hadn’t heard.
Gu Jiuci silently repeated, “I’m back.”
The sound was low and the voice line was weak.
He stared at Tang Ziyou intently, but he could only see him lying on the hospital bed silently and coldly.
Gu Jiuci’s eyes suddenly ached. He reached out to touch Tang Ziyou’s face and asked him, “Didn’t you tell me to come back early? I’m back now, why don’t you look at me?”
However, Tang Ziyou didn’t reply.
Gu Jiuci waited quietly, waited and waited, but there was still no sound. His eyes slowly turned red as he stared at Tang Ziyou.
He approached Tang Ziyou and asked, “Why don’t you speak?”
“Don’t you want me back? I’m back, why don’t you look at me?”
“Wake up. Don’t you want to see me? Open your eyes and see, I’m back.”
“Xiao Jiu.” Gu Jiuxing interrupted him, “He can’t hear.”
“How could he not hear me? He just called me!”
“That’s not him.” Gu Jiuxing said with difficulty, “It was called by a passerby. Someone saw him fall to the ground, so he made a phone call for him and wanted to contact his relatives and friends.”
Gu Jiuci seemed to lose his strength for a moment and looked at his brother in shock.
“After he finished calling you, he called me. That’s why I knew.”
“You said, that phone…” Gu Jiuci couldn’t continue.
Gu Jiuxing nodded.
Gu Jiuci’s ear suddenly remembered his own voice—I have something to do now. I have no time to answer your call. Don’t bother me.
He stared at Gu Jiuxing in a daze, took a step back unconsciously, and fell to the side of the hospital bed as if losing strength.
He hung up the last call made by passers-by for Tang Ziyou and hung up Tang Ziyou’s hope.
Was Tang Ziyou awake at that time? Or had he lost consciousness? If he was awake, did he hear what he said then?
If he heard…
…
Gu Jiuci instantly felt cold. Dense cold sweat crawled down his back. His heart trembled violently. He sat beside Tang Ziyou like falling into an ice cellar.
Gu Jiuxing left the space for him and withdrew himself, thinking about how to tell his grandma about this.
How could she still accept such stimulation at her age?
Gu Jiuci sat blankly for a long time before looking up at the boy on the bed again.
He looked the same as before, gentle and soft, with picturesque features, but he would never wake up again.
He felt great grief and guilt at this moment. He looked at Tang Ziyou and wept the tears slowly.
He reached out and covered his eyes, but couldn’t stop the tears from flowing between his fingers.
He didn’t understand. He was fine when he sent WeChat to himself a few days ago, how could something happen suddenly? How could there be an accident?
Obviously, he was still so young. Obviously, he was still planning how to spend the first anniversary of their engagement. How could something happen all of a sudden?
Why did something happen? Why was it this time?
Gu Jiuci gritted his teeth. Tears wet his palms and hit the bed sheets, instantly stunned by a small cloud of water.
He cried silently. The self-blame and pain in his heart bit him like a black hole. He never owed anyone anything, but now, he owed Tang Ziyou a love that should have been given to him early. However, he could no longer give him love.
He loved him until he died.
But he didn’t know he loved him until he died.
Gu Jiuci regretted it to the extreme at this moment. He shouldn’t have hung up the phone. He shouldn’t have told him that he would come back. He shouldn’t have been alienating him and resisting his own feelings all this time.
He obviously liked him too. He should have told him. He should have told him earlier.
He lowered his head, approached Tang Ziyou, and leaned on his shoulder. He sobbed softly, but the person under him couldn’t feel anything.
He was dead, at such a young age, at the time he missed.
Gu Jiuci hugged the person under him and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Tang Ziyou didn’t speak.
He apologised again, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
Unfortunately, Tang Ziyou couldn’t hear it anymore.
When Grandma Gu came, it was already dark. Gu Jiuxing didn’t hide it from her after all and told the truth.
Grandma Gu looked at the boy on the hospital bed with tears in her eyes.
She touched Tang Ziyou’s face and said softly, “Xiao You, did you go to your grandfather? Walk slowly on the road. Don’t be afraid. Grandma doesn’t blame you. Grandma knows that you have always wanted a family reunion. Now, you can truly reunite.”
As she said, her tears slipped down. She couldn’t help crying and whispered, “I’m sorry for you. I’m sorry for your grandpa.”
Gu Jiuxing quickly held her shoulders and soothed her, “Grandma, don’t feel bad. Xiao You won’t want you to be like this. If he sees it, he will be sad.”
Grandma Gu shook her head, full of sadness in her heart. “Before his grandfather left, he just wanted me to help him take care of his grandson, but I didn’t do it. I promised him, but I didn’t do it.”
“It’s not your fault. No one would have expected such an accident. You’ve done your best. Grandpa Tang won’t blame you.”
Grandma Gu still shook her head and looked at Tang Ziyou crying. She couldn’t get past this hurdle in her heart.
Gu Jiuxing was afraid of this. He looked at her all night until she fell asleep in the ward’s nursing room and then calmed down a little.
He looked at Gu Jiuci who was still sitting quietly beside Tang Ziyou’s bed. He walked over and patted him on the shoulder, gently soothing, “It’s not your fault. It’s an accident. No one can predict this kind of accident.”
Gu Jiuci looked up at him and said lifelessly, “He wants to go to the concert of the FK band. He went out today to go to the concert.”
“That has nothing to do with you. You didn’t let him go.”
“But he knows I like FK.”
Gu Jiuxing sighed, “Xiao Jiu, this is an accident. In this matter, only the driver needs to be blamed. Only he is wrong. No one else is wrong, including you. Do you understand?”
Gu Jiuci understood, but he felt ashamed.
“He wants me to like him,” he said. “He just wants me to like him.”
“Emotional matters are what his feelings and my wish are.” (本就是你情我愿)
“But I do like him. If I told him earlier, he wouldn’t have gone to the concert and the accident wouldn’t have happened.”
Gu Jiuci’s eyes were red and swollen. He looked at his brother. The self-blame and guilt in his heart increased, “I should have told him earlier. I shouldn’t have been deliberately alienating him all the time. I just don’t want to admit this too early. I just want to give us a little time. I have already thought about it. When we are engaged for more than a year, I will slowly approach him, get along well with him, and tell him that I like him. It’s been a month or two. It’s just a month or two. Why did something happen? Why did something happen at this time?”