Chasing My Husband! The "Crown Prince" of the Beijing Circle Is Wildly Unruly! - Chapter 16

The night grew deeper. The clock pointed to one in the morning.

Lu Jingze still hadn’t returned.

A bad feeling rose in his heart, and his hands began to tremble.

Did he get into a car accident? Did he faint? Did he fall into the sea?

He couldn’t sit still any longer. He put on his down jacket and ran out of the shop without even closing the rolling shutter.

Outside, the cold wind howled, and Wang Xinghe’s heart was even colder than the wind. He walked up and down the main streets and side alleys, but most of the shops were already closed.

Only one spicy hot pot shop was still open, just across the street.

Wang Xinghe ran over. “Sister Zhang, did you see a man—very tall, very handsome, around twenty years old, wearing a black Anta down jacket and black sneakers—walk by?”

Sister Zhang thought for a moment. “You know, I think I did.”

“That young man was too eye-catching. When I came out to get my broom, I saw him cross the street and go down that way.” Sister Zhang pointed to the commercial street.

Wang Xinghe felt a little better. “Around what time?”

“About eight or nine, maybe.” Sister Zhang wasn’t sure. She could only give him a rough estimate.

Wang Xinghe searched up and down the commercial street until dawn. He was numb with cold and returned to the shop, tears welling up in his eyes. He realized he didn’t even know where to look for Lu Jingze.

Before he could pull himself together, a loud knocking sound came from the door.

Bang, bang, bang—

Wang Xinghe’s head snapped up. It was the uncle from the dough stick shop next door.

Disappointment.

But he still managed a smile. He was about to speak when the uncle said urgently, “Little Wang! Hurry, your Aunt Song has fainted! Go to the hospital!”

Wang Xinghe felt even colder all over. He grabbed his keys and ran.

Inside Aunt Song’s shop next door, Aunt Song lay on the floor, her face pale.

“Hurry! Get in the car!”

He called 120 and drove to the nearest hospital at top speed, ignoring traffic lights and paying no mind to the cost. He sped to the emergency room.

Wang Xinghe and the paramedics carried Aunt Song onto a stretcher and rushed her into the emergency room.

Outside, he called Aunt Song’s son. “Hello, Brother Lin. Aunt Song has fainted and is at the hospital. Yes, I’m here. Drive slowly on your way.”

After hanging up, a doctor ran out with a form. “We need a family member’s signature. Who are you to the patient?”

“This is the payment form. Go pay for it quickly…”

“I can. I’m her son,” Wang Xinghe said. He signed the form and took it to pay the fee.

When he returned, the surgery light was still on.

A short time later, a tall, thin man and a short, plump woman rushed over. The man was Brother Lin, Aunt Song’s son.

Brother Lin’s eyes were red. “Little Wang, where’s my mom…?”

“Brother Lin, Sister-in-law, Aunt Song is still in surgery…” Wang Xinghe’s face was pale.

Sister-in-law Lin comforted her husband. “Don’t worry. Our mother is so kind. Good people are always blessed.”

Brother Lin hugged his wife, a big man sobbing, unable to speak.

Wang Xinghe took a deep breath, unable to speak for a long time either. The three of them waited anxiously, from morning until the afternoon…

The surgery room door opened.

The doctor bowed to them.

The familiar scene made Wang Xinghe’s vision go black. He almost collapsed, but someone held his waist. He steadied himself and looked back to see Zhao Yan’s worried eyes.

A flash of disappointment crossed his face, and he said faintly, “Thank you.”

Cries of grief broke the silence.

Brother Lin and Sister-in-law Lin knelt on the ground.

Wang Xinghe’s eyes turned red. His vision went black again, and he passed out.

When he opened his eyes, he was on a temporary hospital bed, an IV drip slowly entering his arm. The harsh sunlight from outside made him uncomfortable.

Tears fell silently.

The pain felt like someone had peeled off his old wounds and salted them all over again.

Zhao Yan’s eyes softened. He took a tissue and leaned over to gently wipe away his tears. His eyes behind the glasses were filled with heartache.

Wang Xinghe turned his head, not wanting to accept his kindness.

Aunt Song had a sudden heart attack. Her death was too sudden. Everyone was caught off guard. All the neighbors who had received kindness from Aunt Song cried quietly when they talked about her.

But Wang Xinghe was the one who was taking it the hardest. He closed his shop. After Aunt Song’s funeral, he hadn’t left his home for seven days. He curled up in his small room on the second floor, unable to even cry anymore.

Four years ago…

His award-winning work from college was accused of plagiarism. The other party used their power and fame to force him to apologize and swear that he would never again paint under the name “deities.” He was so devastated that he couldn’t paint anymore.

In the same year, his parents were in a car accident on their way from Qingcheng to Kyoto to see him graduate. His father died on the spot, and his mother was put in the ICU.

Wang Xinghe spent the one million yuan his family had saved up. He also sold the house his parents had bought in the city and their ancestral home, but he still couldn’t save his mother.

His sister always resented him. After he buried their parents with him, she cut off all contact.

With a dead heart, he wandered around China with the tens of thousands of yuan he had left. He was like a beggar.

In the third year of his wandering, he was in Dalian, squatting outside a shop. He wanted to die. He wanted to die more than anyone. But he didn’t dare to. He was afraid if he died too soon, his parents would blame him for not cherishing his life.

He remembered a middle-aged, plump woman who put a plastic bag in his hand. The bag contained ten hot meat buns. The woman said, “Young man, did you run into some trouble?”

“Why don’t you come work at my shop? You can get back on your feet and then we’ll see?”

A hint of life returned to Wang Xinghe’s numb eyes. He shook his head and said, “Thank you.”

He squatted by the sea in Dalian and ate all ten buns, tears streaming down his face. He found a place to take a bath and returned to his small town.

He reopened the noodle shop. In the first year of business, Aunt Song and the other neighbors busied themselves helping him, guiding him every day.

He gradually adapted to the slow pace of life in the town and the daily chats with Aunt Song.

Then, he found Lu Jingze in front of his shop, also dressed in rags. He thought he was his future partner. He thought that from now on, his life would be bright.

But it seemed like God didn’t want him to have a single good day. It was as if every time he found a little happiness, it was taken away.

Lu Jingze was gone. He had seen the note. Lu Jingze would rather say goodbye that way than to his face.

And now Aunt Song was gone, too.

From now on, no one… no one…

Wang Xinghe leaned against the bed, his pale face drained of color.

Am I… am I not worthy of happiness?

Wang Xinghe choked on his words.

I’m so tired…

If you were going to take it away, why did you give it to me in the first place? This torture of getting something only to lose it.

Why?

Why…

Why…