To be honest, with Fu Shinian in this state, Qiao Yu truly didn’t know how to offer comfort. It felt like anything said would be wrong. Deep down, he might not even fully agree with the words being said to him. Even if given another choice, he might still make the sa decisions. Yet at this mont, he simply couldn’t forgive himself.
Qiao Yu sowhat understood, but not entirely. This made it difficult for him to find the right words or actions when facing a childhood friend.
Perhaps all he could do was simply keep him company.
When Fu Shinian returned to Bishui Yuntian, Jiang Bei was trying to persuade Su Mu to eat sothing, but Su Mu remained unmoved, as if she hadn’t heard a thing. Fu Shinian took off his jacket, washed his hands in the bathroom, and took the bowl from Jiang Bei’s hands:
"Let ."
Jiang Bei responded softly, "How’s Grandma?"
"She’s okay," Fu Shinian stirred the congee lightly. "Better than I expected. For now, she’s accepting it, but if Qiqi isn’t found soon, she might..."
Before Fu Shinian could finish, Su Mu suddenly sprang up from the rattan chair. Perhaps she had been sitting too long, as her legs seed to falter, but she forced herself to stand. When Fu Shinian and Jiang Bei looked over, she was expressionless, walking straight toward him. Without a word, she raised her hand and delivered a sharp slap across Fu Shinian’s face.
Jiang Bei froze:
"Susu, you..."
"Qiqi will co back!" Su Mu glared at Fu Shinian, her eyes bloodshot, enunciating each word: "She will co back!"
Fu Shinian, in a way, was fortunate. Fortunate that even after days of not eating, Su Mu still had this kind of strength. He wasn’t angry. He understood that his earlier words—"if Qiqi is never found"—had struck the most sensitive nerve in Su Mu, causing her to erupt in fury.
But what Fu Shinian cared about was that she finally spoke, finally showed emotion, finally appeared alive.
Fu Shinian looked at her and apologized:
"I misspoke. Qiqi will co back. Before that, can we eat sothing? If Qiqi were to return now and see how much weight you’ve lost, she’d be upset."
Su Mu didn’t reply. She stared at Fu Shinian intently for a few seconds, then returned to her previous seat, assuming the exact sa position as before. If it weren’t for the lingering heat on Fu Shinian’s face from the slap, he might’ve doubted whether Su Mu standing before him just monts ago had been real or a dream.
Jiang Bei stepped forward, wanting to say sothing, but Fu Shinian stopped her with a gentle shake of his head:
"Let handle it."
Jiang Bei had noticed that Su Mu’s slap had not been light, as blood could now be seen at the corner of Fu Shinian’s mouth. However, this was not the ti to comnt. She rely nodded: "In a mont, go downstairs and ice it. Don’t let it swell."
"Alright."
After Jiang Bei left, Fu Shinian stood in silence for a few seconds before walking out onto the balcony. Su Mu had once again cradled Qiqi’s backpack in her arms, as if she were holding Qiqi herself. Fu Shinian watched her for a while, then set the bowl of congee on the small side table and crouched down in front of her, softly calling:
"Susu?"
Su Mu didn’t respond.
"I know you can hear . You just don’t want to speak. But Susu, staying like this won’t solve anything. Rong Shen’s people and the police are still searching; we will get news. Please, don’t collapse before Qiqi cos back, okay?"
Su Mu still didn’t respond, but her lashes trembled slightly at the ntion of Qiqi’s na.
Qiqi had beco the sole switch to Su Mu’s world.
"I deeply regret it. Whether it’s what happened at the hospital that day or the way I manipulated things to bring you back to my side before, I regret it all. Even agreeing to your marriage conditions back then—I regret that too. If I had known that you being with would lead to this, we never should’ve t in the first place."
"You should have lived more freely, more happily. But instead, you t . And everything in your life fell apart."
"Susu, do you want to leave ?"
Fu Shinian looked at Su Mu, waiting quietly. But Su Mu stayed in her position, her breathing so light it barely stirred, making no movent at all.
Fu Shinian stared at her for a long ti. By the ti the congee had gone cold, she still hadn’t said a word. When he finally got up, his legs felt numb. Nearly losing his balance, he steadied himself, glanced again at Su Mu, and walked out of the master bedroom.
Downstairs, Ji Nanfeng had arrived. Just as Fu Shinian descended, Ji Nanfeng opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he saw the mark on Fu Shinian’s face:
"What happened to your face...?"
Jiang Bei also glanced up at Fu Shinian and said lightly, "Still not eating?"
"Mm." Fu Shinian pressed his temples, visibly strained. "Have Qiao Yu co by later to give her a nutritional IV. She can’t hold on much longer at this rate."
Jiang Bei nodded silently after a brief pause:
"It’s the only option for now."
When Fu Shinian sat on the sofa, Ji Nanfeng spoke again, this ti incredulous:
"Was that Su Mu who hit you? Why?"
Fu Shinian didn’t respond, unwilling to entertain the question. Ji Nanfeng seed to piece things together and refrained from pressing further.
Jiang Bei left the room briefly and returned holding a towel filled with ice, which she handed to Fu Shinian: "Here, apply this."
Fu Shinian took it with a word of thanks: "Thank you."
Bad things often co hand in hand with good ones. Qiqi’s disappearance had put everyone on edge, but perhaps it was precisely under these circumstances that certain feelings started to change. Between Jiang Bei and Ji Nanfeng, there seed to be the slightest hint of a breakthrough.
At the very least, Jiang Bei could now sit calmly with Ji Nanfeng to talk, share conversations, or even have a quiet al together.
Fu Shinian never expressed his thoughts on their situation; his heart wasn’t in it. But he couldn’t deny that amidst the gloom of Qiqi’s disappearance, this was perhaps the only sliver of solace he could find. If Su Mu knew, she might be happy—after all, she cared so much about Jiang Bei.
And yet, it felt as though she no longer belonged to this world.
After a simple dinner at the dining table, night fell once again. Fu Shinian hadn’t eaten much; he had no appetite and couldn’t force himself to eat. Though he didn’t leave right away, he also found himself with nowhere else to go.
Reaching into his pocket for a cigarette, his hand paused when he noticed Jiang Bei sitting across from him. At that mont, he rembered that she was pregnant. He stopped himself and instead shifted his gaze to the inky darkness outside the window.
It had been exactly one week since Qiqi went missing. Ti crawled by, each second feeling like torture. If not for the date displayed on his phone’s calendar, Fu Shinian might have believed an entire century had passed.
Seven days. It should be enough. Whatever Qin Nianwan hoped to gain through Qiqi, this ti should suffice.
At the very least, there should’ve been a phone call by now.
Fu Shinian silently prayed.
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