Gu Yebai sat in the back of the Maybach, silent and withdrawn.
The city of Donghai outside the window was truly bustling, but Gu Yebai felt strangely cold.
The weather forecast clearly said no rain tonight, yet the raindrops still fell without warning, one by one, hitting the window and making a fine, irritating sound.
Gao Hongzhi gripped the steering wheel, driving steadily, but occasionally stealing a glance at him in the rearview mirror.
That gaze held too many things—heartache, self-blame, guilt, and a hint of an indescribable probing.
But every time Gu Yebai’s gaze lifted, he quickly averted his eyes, like a guilty child caught stealing.
Ya Xinyao in the passenger seat didn’t speak the whole time.
She just sat quietly, hands folded on her knees, even her breathing was very light.
Gu Yebai was actually grateful for this silence.
Compared to questions like “Are you okay?” “What happened?” “Does it hurt?”, this gentle silence that asked nothing was like a soft gauze lightly covering his still-bleeding wound.
“Ah…” He let out a low sigh, his heart feeling as if gripped by an icy hand, unable to breathe smoothly.
A red taxi overtook from the right, its taillights trailing a red streak through the rain.
Gu Yebai suddenly lost focus. ‘What if this car slammed into him now, running him over with its tires, would he be free in an instant?’
‘His body crushed to pieces, the guilt also vanishing into smoke, not needing to think about anything.’
‘No more agonizing over that damn, irreparable entanglement in the secret room, no more thinking about how Hongyi, upon waking, would take a gentle sniff and smell on him the perfume, sweat, pheromones that didn’t belong to her…’
‘Then look at him with that terrifyingly gentle gaze.’
“Bai Shu, why do you have someone else’s smell on you?”
‘No matter what, Gao Hongyi was the only bucket of bright red splashed onto his gray life.’
‘Even if that red carried the smell of rust, a sick twist, and a suffocating possessiveness, it was still his entire color.’
“Dad.” Gu Yebai suddenly spoke. Gao Hongzhi hummed in acknowledgement, his fingers lightly tapping the steering wheel as if hiding his guilt.
“Take me to the hospital. I want to see Hongyi.”
“It’s too late now, son. You just escaped danger. Get a good night’s rest first.”
“It’s okay, Dad.” Gu Yebai pressed his forehead against the window. The glass was bitingly cold but strangely comfortable.
“A home without her is just an excessively empty vast space to me. Only with her does it count as a home.”
He closed his eyes, but his mind uncontrollably began to rewind.
That winter in Linchuan, the shabby rental room was as cold as an ice cellar.
The gas company was always reluctant to burn the coal fully, so the room always had a damp, moldy smell.
His parents’ memorial photos were placed on the bedside, the two people in them smiling so gently.
At that time, he truly had nothing left.
Besides the longing for his parents, he really had nothing.
Every day he forced himself to write and earn royalties. During breaks, he would huddle under the covers with his phone, staring at messages from that girl named [Yil]. Sometimes they chatted happily, but sometimes it brought up painful memories. Just when he mistakenly thought they were two parallel lines that only intersected online,
She came. The moment the door was smashed open, he was completely stunned.
She rushed at him like a wild beast out of control, hugging him tightly.
She held him so tightly that he could barely breathe, his ribs aching.
She cried with shaking shoulders; her voice was all muffled against his chest, as if trying to knead all her grievances and fears into his clothes.
At that moment, Gu Yebai’s world, which had been completely black and white, was suddenly splashed with a large bucket of vivid red.
Like the little girl in the red coat in “Schindler’s List,” becoming the only color in a sky full of gray-black despair.
From that day on, his life was finally no longer gray.
Even if that color was sick, twisted, and smelled of rust and blood, it was still his everything.
“Dad, take me there.” Gu Yebai’s voice dropped, almost pleading.
“If Hongyi wakes up and doesn’t see me… she’ll definitely go crazy.”
He took out his phone and opened QQ.
During the few hours he was kidnapped, the messages Gao Hongyi sent him easily exceeded 99+.
Truly her… Each red dot was like a knife, stabbing into his heart one by one.
Yil: Bai Shu, where are you? [Yil]: Is the interview over?
[Yi]: Why aren’t you replying to me? [Yi]: Bai Shu… don’t you want me anymore?
(Yi: I was wrong… (Yi]): Please reply to me, even if you scold me…
[Yi]: Bai Shu… I’m so scared… Looking at these, Gu Yebai’s heart felt like it was bleeding, drop by drop, hitting the screen.
“Son, Dad hopes you can be happy too.” Gao Hongzhi’s voice came from the front, with a hint of fatigue.
Ya Xinyao in the passenger seat gently added, her voice soft as a sigh:
“Dear, our son and our daughter being together is the happiest thing.”
The car turned into another side road. The streetlights were sparse, like candles about to go out.
Besides Hongyi, Bai Xialin also sent a message.
[Ttalgi Daegoemul]: Just make your own choice. [Ttalgi Daegoemul: Even if you don’t choose me, I will always love you.
She didn’t add the little emoticons after each sentence like usual. It was a bit unsettling.
Gu Yebai only replied with a smiley emoji and closed the chat window.
Even [Kino] came to urge for an update, like a daily check-in task.
[Yukino]: What time is the update? [Yukino]: Hurry up, okay? If you don’t update, what will we eat?
[Yukino]: My girlfriend has new photos again, do you want to see?
(Baiye Duxing]: I was kidnapped. (Baiye Duxing: Just rescued, probably no strength to write today.
[Yukino]: A new kind of pigeon technique?
[Yukino]: You might as well say you got hemorrhoids, I might actually believe that!
[Baiye Duxing): I’d rather have hemorrhoids, because I really was kidnapped…
Baiye Duxing: Anyway, what happened is too absurd. I really can’t update today. I’m very sorry, Yukino-san.
Then he @everyone in the group, posted a notice saying “Unable to update due to force majeure,” and quickly turned off the screen and stuffed his phone back into his pocket.
The silhouette of Donghai H.M. Baihui Hospital appeared ahead.
The building was brightly lit, like a five-star hotel floating in the night, quiet and luxurious.
“Dad, is Hongyi okay?” “It’s okay. She was just too tense. When she heard you were safe, she relaxed too much and passed out.”
“The hospital she went to is trustworthy.” Gu Yebai nodded, but his fingers unconsciously clenched, his knuckles white.
As the car approached the hospital’s marble plaque, he suddenly noticed that below the Chinese and English, there was a line of Japanese.
“Is this a Japanese-invested hospital?” “Mm. H.M. stands for Himuro.” Gao Hongzhi’s tone was casual.
“Himuro?” Gu Yebai was startled. “Many people only know about Getsuyuki, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, but the Himuro Zaibatsu is actually more low-key, a conglomerate ordinary people can’t possibly know about.”
“They use trusts, holding companies, foundations, and private bank accounts to weave an invisible network, mainly serving high-net-worth individuals.”
“H.M. Financial Trust manages shadow accounts, H.M. Psychosomatic Medical Welfare provides top-tier private healthcare, and they basically monopolize the education and think tank sectors of Sakura Country. Their real estate covers historic properties in central Tokyo, as well as traditional townhouses and gardens in Kyoto and Kamakura. It’s a behemoth built by the old nobility through marriage alliances.”
“In the fields of neuroscience and mental health, the Himuro family is probably the most authoritative in the world right now. So this time, while getting medical treatment, we’ll also have a comprehensive psychological evaluation done for Hongyi.”
Gao Hongzhi paused, his voice dropping. “Hongyi’s recent actions… are too much. She treats you like a prisoner. That is pathological.”
“H.M. might be able to help her recover, make her no longer so crazy.”
Gu Yebai repeated in a low voice. “Himuro… Himuro…”
For some reason, he felt like he had heard this surname somewhere before.
Like a thin thread, gently tugged in the depths of his memory, but he couldn’t grasp it. The car slowly drove into the hospital’s underground parking lot.
His phone suddenly vibrated. Gu Yebai took out his phone.
It was a message from Yukino. [Yukino]: [Image]
It was a photo of his girlfriend wearing a light blue kimono.
The blue was like deep sea silk, with delicate snowflake patterns embroidered on the edges. The obi was loosely tied, revealing a section of neck that was almost transparently white.
Her hair was not tied up, just falling loose, reflecting the snow light and faintly showing a cold blue tint.
She was not appreciating the snow, but playing the part of a snow woman.
But as always, her face showed no expression. That emotionless girl, if she could smile, would probably be very beautiful…
She was over 95% similar to the heroine of that masterpiece, “The Snow Woman Who Is Bad at Socializing and the Cursed Ring,” except she was a bit shorter, but still quite outstanding.
[Baiye Duxing]: Yukino, my girlfriend is hospitalized. [Yukino]: That’s why I specially showed you my Ru Jiang. Cheer up!
[Kino]: I saw you talking in the group earlier. You seemed really down.
[Yukino]: Ganbatte! (Good luck).