Zhou Zike was rescued by Wen Xin and brought up to the apartment.
The luxury apartment where Tang Zhen resided was located at the foot of a hill in the southern part of the city. It used to be a secluded and quiet area for the wealthy, but ever since Tang Zhen moved in, numerous paparazzi had taken refuge on the nearby streets, just a few hundred meters away.
On the day Tang Zhen was discharged from the hospital, the incident happened suddenly, catching many people off guard. The paparazzi sat in the noodle shop, eating their noodles. They watched as Liang Qiuyun’s nanny car zoomed past the street, leaving behind a large group of media vehicles in its wake. By the time they rushed out with their equipment to chase after, Tang Zhen and his entourage had already gotten out of the car and entered the apartment through the underground garage. It was now impossible for them to get any closer. The apartment complex even had armed security guards, making it impossible to climb the steps.
Therefore, Zhou Zike’s appearance, to some extent, rescued these frustrated reporters who could only capture shots of the building from the outside. They also provided Zhou Zike with the first piece of information: that he was brought back by Liang Qiuyun’s car.
Wen Xin pulled Zhou Zike into the apartment building’s entrance, and the two of them waited near the elevator. Wen Xin secretly stole glances at the person beside her. Zhou Zike had sweat running down his nose, cheeks, and neck, even his hair was damp, clearly defined and hanging in front of his eyes.
Why is he sweating so much? Wen Xin wondered to herself.
Zhou Zike noticed her gaze and looked down, giving her a quick glance.
Wen Xin quickly turned her head, her face blushed.
The elevator doors opened, and Zhou Zike stepped inside, catching a glimpse of his disheveled appearance in the mirrored walls of the elevator.
Was he going to meet Tang Zhen like this?
“Why did you come home so quickly?” Zhou Zike asked.
Wen Xin replied, “Tang Zhen Laoshi has always disliked hospitals.”
“What did the doctor say?”
“The doctor said it’s okay for him to go home once he wakes up. Um, he can continue receiving intravenous treatment at home as long as someone takes care of him.”
Zhou Zike didn’t say anything further.
“A lot of people came earlier, but they have all left now,” Wen Xin said as she entered the password on the door lock. With a press of her finger, the lock made a beep sound, and the door opened. “The house is a bit messy. Find a place to stand.”
Zhou Zike stepped inside and saw that the entryway to the living room was filled with various cardboard boxes and packaging materials.
“These are all the gifts sent to Laoshi. It wasn’t suitable to keep them at the hospital, so Qi Lu brought them back. We haven’t had time to tidy up yet,” Wen Xin explained as she squeezed through the clutter, urging Zhou Zike to follow her inside. “He’s in there.”
A card fell onto the floor, seemingly dropped from one of the gift bags. Zhou Zike bent down to pick it up and saw that it was signed by “Qiao He and Fan Xiao.” He casually placed it on the shelf by the door.
As he took a couple of steps forward, a golden statue of a large Buddha emerged from the pile of gifts, almost half the height of a person, with only its head visible, laughing heartily amidst the other presents.
Wen Xin noticed Zhou Zike staring at the Buddha head and whispered an explanation, “It was sent by Zu Jing Laoshi’s son.”
“Zu Jing Laoshi used to write many songs for Tang Zhen Laoshi, and we are grateful to him for that. But this gift… it’s too troublesome. It’s so big, and we don’t even know where to put it…” Wen Xin trailed off.
Finally, Zhou Zike heard Tang Zhen’s voice.
At first, it was just a few faint “hmm”s, occasionally interjected into Guo Xiaoli’s words. Zhou Zike stood at the entrance of the living room, observing that the room had closed curtains and the ceiling lights turned off, with only a few dim floor lamps providing some illumination. Guo Xiaoli paced back and forth in the center of the living room, her eyebrows furrowed, occasionally sniffing, and her curly hair tightly tied up.
Tang Zhen sat on the sofa, a piece of clothing draping over his shoulders, facing away from Zhou Zike.
Guo Xiaoli suddenly squatted down in front of Tang Zhen.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“You can do it,” Guo Xiaoli whispered. She tightly held Tang Zhen’s hand, cupping both of their hands in her palm, gently rubbing them. “You can do it, A-Zhen. Believe in yourself, okay? You’re an idol, and no one can do it better than you. You can bounce back. You love singing, you love acting, and you can start over with everything.”
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Guo Xiaoli continued, “Didn’t you say before that you wanted to keep singing, to sing for many years? A-Zhen, do you remember saying that you wanted to guide the younger generation in the company? You said it yourself…”
Tang Zhen remained silent, and Guo Xiaoli stared at him without giving up, as if she was waiting for his response.
Tang Zhen couldn’t help but say, “Look at me now…”
He couldn’t continue his sentence.
A phone began to ring, and Zhou Zike immediately recognized it as Tang Zhen’s phone. Wen Xin hurriedly ran over to answer it. “Hello? Yes, it’s Tang Zhen’s phone. Tang Zhen is currently…,” she started to explain.
At that moment, Tang Zhen turned his head.
Zhou Zike stared at him, and Tang Zhen saw Zhou Zike. Tang Zhen’s eyes slowly widened in the dim light.
Guo Xiaoli coughed and stood up. “Why did Zike come?”
Zhou Zike made a sound of notice and finally left the entryway to the living room.
“Guo-jie, it’s someone from Tang Zhen’s family,” Wen Xin held the phone behind Zhou Zike and gestured to Guo Xiaoli. “They’re looking for you…”
Zhou Zike heard Guo Xiaoli’s high heels as she walked over. Guo Xiaoli picked up the phone and greeted the person on the other end attentively, “Yes, that’s right. A-Zhen has been discharged from the hospital. No, it won’t affect his work. Please rest assured that our company and A-Zhen’s contract will not be affected by this kind of situation… Oh, I see. Okay, if you’re not coming to see him… Yes, leave it to us then…”
Guo Xiaoli paused for a moment, still holding the phone. “You’re really not coming… Well, that’s… alright. Yes, you can trust us with it…”
Zhou Zike lowered his head, staring at Tang Zhen’s face, fixated on Tang Zhen’s widened eyes. For about a dozen seconds, he didn’t say a word, just stared at Tang Zhen as if he was on edge.
Wen Xin walked over and, seeing both of them silent, instinctively nudged Zhou Zike with her elbow, but Zhou Zike ignored her.
“Xiao Zhou,” Tang Zhen was the first to speak, “you’re here.”
Zhou Zike remained silent.
Wen Xin said, “Of course, he’s here. Laoshi, you don’t know him. He flew back from Singapore overnight yesterday just to see you. He almost drove Guo-jie crazy! I even got scolded by Guo-jie along with him!”
Zhou Zike heard Wen Xin scolding him but remained indifferent. However, Tang Zhen gradually formed a smile in his gaze.
Tang Zhen’s hair had grown longer, and he had lost some weight since their last meeting. The lighting in the room was poor, and Zhou Zike tried hard to see more, to grasp what he hadn’t seen before, but Tang Zhen seemed to be surrounded by a blurry shadow, making it difficult for him to see clearly.
“Did you go to Singapore for a performance?” Tang Zhen asked.
Wen Xin answered on behalf of Zhou Zike, “It was the Asian Music Awards. Our company sent Zike and the others, and they won four awards. They were the big winners!”
Tang Zhen seemed to be getting happier and smiled as much as he could, though his voice remained dry. “Have the others come back too?”
“Not yet,” Wen Xin replied. “KAIser still has work and will take a flight tonight to return. Only this prince here abandoned his work and rushed back. No one can control him. Tang Zhen Laoshi, say a few words to him!”
Tang Zhen smiled, and his eyes gleamed slightly. His happiness seemed to reach its limit. He asked, “How are they all doing? Are they all fine?”
“You’re asking about KAIser?” Wen Xin said. “They’re all doing well.”
“What about Xiao Yang’s leg injury? Is it better?” Tang Zhen expressed his concern again.
Wen Xin hesitated, glancing at Zhou Zike and then at Tang Zhen.
“You should focus on yourself first,” Zhou Zike stared at him and suddenly spoke.
This time, Tang Zhen froze.
Wen Xin used the excuse of getting a glass of water for Zhou Zike and hurriedly went into the kitchen to find Guo Xiaoli. She asked, “Guo-jie, did Xiao Yang injure his leg?” Guo Xiaoli frowned, “No.”
Guo Xiaoli took out a glass from the cabinet and handed it to Wen Xin. She asked, “He had an injury before, a couple of years ago. Why do you ask?”
“I’m glad you came to see me, Xiao Zhou,” Tang Zhen said.
Zhou Zike’s voice carried a sense of distance as he replied, “It’s the least I could do.”
There was no one else around, only sporadic sounds coming from the kitchen, serving as a reminder to Zhou Zike not to do anything too outrageous.
“You’re willing to talk to me now?” Tang Zhen asked, looking up at him. His long, jet-black hair slid behind his head, revealing Tang Zhen’s small face, about the size of a palm. Zhou Zike had heard Luo Tiantian complain before, wondering why Tang Zhen’s face was so photogenic while he couldn’t achieve the same effect.
That was a very distant past.
Zhou Zike didn’t answer but instead asked in a stiff manner, “Did you go to the company to find me that night?”
He never used honorifics when speaking, but from Tang Zhen’s response, it was clear that he had long been accustomed to it.
Tang Zhen looked perplexed. Zhou Zike asked again, “What were you looking for when you went to find me that night?”
“I…” Tang Zhen furrowed his brows, seemingly clueless. “…was looking for you?”
Zhou Zike’s face darkened.
The phone rang again, Tang Zhen’s phone once more. Zhou Zike could hear Wen Xin frantically searching for the phone nearby, muttering a few curses under her breath.
The ringing stopped. Clearly, Wen Xin had hung up the call.
Zhou Zike remained silent. Suddenly, the ringtone sounded again.
“Damn it,” Wen Xin cursed. She hung up once more.
This repeated three or four times, with a few seconds of silence in between, before the ringing persisted again.
“Who is it?” Tang Zhen turned around and asked.
His voice wasn’t very loud. Since Zhou Zike entered the room, Tang Zhen hadn’t spoken in a loud voice at all.
Wen Xin walked over with the phone, pouting and clearly reluctant to speak.
The ringing stopped, then resumed.
Tang Zhen looked at her and said, “Give it to me.”
Wen Xin frowned but reluctantly handed him the phone.
“Yun-ge.”
Tang Zhen answered the phone and replied softly, “Thank you for the ride today… I know…”
As Wen Xin listened, she rolled her eyes in exasperation. Suddenly, Zhou Zike asked her if she was going to get him a glass of water.
Wen Xin was taken aback and said, “Oh, you really want water? Just wait, I’ll go get it for you.”
After ending the call, Tang Zhen put down the phone. Suddenly, Zhou Zike said, “You don’t remember anything at all, do you?”
Tang Zhen looked up at him, and Zhou Zike continued, “Have you truly forgotten, or do you just no longer want to find me?”
“Was there nothing you wanted to say to me that day?”
Tang Zhen opened his mouth, but the more Zhou Zike asked, the more he struggled to find the words.
Disappointed, Zhou Zike asked, “Not even a single word?”
“Xiao Zhou…”
Zhou Zike asked again, “Then why did you try to kill yourself?”
“Xiao Zhou,” Tang Zhen stammered, attempting to reassure him, “It wasn’t because of you…”
Zhou Zike’s gaze turned cold. “I know very well that I’m not capable of that.”
Tang Zhen stared at him in shock, and even Zhou Zike himself was taken aback by his own words.
Tang Zhen had just been discharged from the hospital.
“I was talking nonsense just now,” Zhou Zike whispered, his voice low. “Don’t be angry.”
Tang Zhen smiled, that same smile he always tried so hard to muster, making him appear even more fragile. “When have I ever been angry with you?…”
Zhou Zike, upon hearing those words, suddenly looked up at Tang Zhen once again.
“Zike, here’s your water,” Wen Xin approached them. “Tang Zhen Laoshi, it’s time for you to take your medication and get ready for bed!”
Wen Xin came to support Tang Zhen, and he held onto the back of the sofa with one hand, attempting to stand up. Just then, someone approached him and reached out, wrapping their arm around Tang Zhen’s waist. Zhou Zike silently took hold of one of Tang Zhen’s hands and placed it around his own neck. With his other arm rolled up, Zhou Zike lifted Tang Zhen up in one swift motion.
Tang Zhen had become much lighter and thinner now. He was only wearing a thin shirt, and his coat slipped off his shoulders. As he lifted his head, he could feel Zhou Zike’s breath, rapid and warm. Tang Zhen said, “Xiao Zhou, go home early.”
“Take care of yourself first,” Zhou Zike murmured softly as he carried Tang Zhen towards the bedroom.
At this point I wonder: transmigration, trauma-induced memory loss, or subconscious forgetfulness due to stress…