NMBJ2 - 25

Gao Jiyi found the highway exit and turned the car around to head back.

The car fell silent. A strange, heavy tension filled the air, and no one spoke.

Unable to hold back, Gao Jiyi broke the silence first. “Langming, call Shen Min.”

Fang Langming took out his phone and dialed Shen Min, putting it on speaker. “Shen Min, have you made it back yet?”

Shen Min’s voice, calm as always, came through. “We’re on the Fourth Ring Road.”

Gao Jiyi grabbed the phone and asked directly, “Shen Min, what’s going on with him?”

Shen Min hesitated.

Gao Jiyi grew frustrated, shouting into the phone, “Shen Min, you can keep things from anyone, but not us! If something happens to him, do you think we wouldn’t be devastated? Do you think I’d harm him?”

“Brother Gao…” Shen Min responded softly, before falling silent again.

Fang Langming, growing anxious, pressed, “Shen Min, what did the doctor say?”

Shen Min’s voice trembled slightly. “The preliminary report shows that his ulcer has deepened, and there’s some minor bleeding.”

Fang Langming’s heart sank. “What about the doctor?”

“The doctor recommended hospitalization, but he refused.”

Gao Jiyi asked, “Does his teacher know?”

“Zhouzi told me not to tell his family. He insists everything is under control and continues going to work as usual.”

Fang Langming fell silent.

Though Zhao Pingjin seemed fine on the surface, his close friends had noticed signs of trouble in his private moments. Yet his outward appearance of normalcy had led them to believe he would gradually recover. They never imagined he had been quietly enduring and pushing through each day.

Shen Min’s voice broke slightly. “The doctor said we need to wait for the pathology results, but given his current condition, we must act quickly to prevent any risk of malignant transformation.”

Gao Jiyi responded in alarm, “Does Zhouzi know this?”

“He knows.”

“That bastard doesn’t care about his own life!” Gao Jiyi exploded.

Shen Min didn’t reply.

The call fell into silence. All that could be heard through the speaker was the whistling of wind picked up by Shen Min’s Bluetooth headset.

Gao Jiyi and Fang Langming exchanged a look but said nothing.

After a long pause, Gao Jiyi turned to Fang Langming. “Langming, try to talk some sense into him.”

Fang Langming rubbed his face. “Shen Min, check his schedule. Pick a day when he’s free, and let’s have dinner together. Let me know as soon as possible.”

Shen Min hesitated before softly agreeing.

From the back seat came the sound of quiet sobbing. Lu Xiaojiang, head buried in his arms, had begun to cry in the dark. Gao Jiyi glanced at him through the rearview mirror, his annoyance flaring. “Now you’re crying? What’s the point of crying now? You’ve been acting like a kid this whole time, and now all you can do is cry!”

When Lu Xiaojiang’s parents were transferred to work in Beijing, he was only three years old. With his parents busy at work, he was accidentally locked in the house by himself. Waking up in the afternoon, he cried loudly inside. Zhao Pingjin, who was five years old at the time, was known in the courtyard for being a mischievous troublemaker. He climbed in through the first-floor window, unlocked the door, and led Lu Xiaojiang back to his home. Zhao Pingjin’s nanny hugged him and gave him some snacks.

For over a year, three-year-old Lu Xiaojiang was fostered at Zhao Pingjin’s home.

He was even closer to Zhao Pingjin than his own younger brother, Shen Min.

As they grew older, Shen Min became closer to Zhao Pingjin, and Lu Xiaojiang became more distant.

Fang Langqi gritted his teeth and picked up the phone: “Shen Min, tell me the truth, is he still thinking about Xitang?”

Shen Min remained silent in the darkness on the other end of the phone.

Only the sound of Lu Xiaojiang’s sobs could be heard in the car.

Gao Jiyi shouted, “Stop crying!”

Gao Jiyi reached over and ended the call.