Chapter 277 - 122: Night of Falling Rain and Drifting

Chapter 277: Chapter 122: Night of Falling Rain and Drifting

The bag of breakfast crackers was soon half empty.

Zhang Shutong started to recall what this movie was about.

It seemed to be about one thing from beginning to end:

If you knew something was inevitably heading toward its end, and the outcome couldn’t be changed,

what would you do?

But that was his takeaway from before.

Things were different now.

Zhang Shutong was glad he had used up the last drop of gas in his motorcycle, rewriting its ending before it could reach its conclusion.

He stared at the screen as his mind wandered, playing out the worst-case scenario. The killer shows up after midnight, Father Gu and his bodyguards catch him, and just as her father is about to call his daughter to say she’s safe, he finds out she’s missing. That’s when he, Zhang Shutong, would bring Gu Qiuyan back. They’d get in trouble for sneaking out, sure, but at least it would prove the trip wasn’t for nothing.

He just hoped the big boss wouldn’t hold it against him.

But even if he was, there was nothing to be done about it.

He was starting to feel sleepy again.

"I’m going to wash my face."

Zhang Shutong quietly stepped out of the room.

Same movie, same company, but at a different time and place, his state of mind was inevitably different. He found it hard to focus on the screen, his thoughts constantly circling back to what he could have done better and whether Gu Qiuyan was truly safe. He was just burning himself out with worry.

His only source of guilt was probably Lu Qinglian.

Zhang Shutong wasn’t too worried for her safety. Lu Qinglian had already faced their opponent before, and besides, there were bodyguards at the villa who would be alerted by the slightest disturbance. He had promised Gu Qiuyan he wouldn’t go out again, and he was keeping that promise. But he’d made promises to more than one person, and ultimately, he’d still broken one. ’When you make a choice, the other path simply vanishes. Such is life.’

Ruoping was right, too. ’Going now would just make me a liability. Don’t be arrogant. No one is indispensable. You have to get on the right track.’ He recited these words to himself as he washed his face. When he looked up again, he was startled by his own complexion.

It turned out the hospital mirror was just filthy. It was so dirty that it cast his face in a grayish-white pallor, yet it couldn’t hide his exhaustion. He stared at the grimy water stains on its surface and finally let out a sigh.

He touched his forehead again. It felt like his fever was coming back.

His steps were unsteady as he returned to the observation room.

An observation room, as its name suggested, was for observing. There was a small, circular window on the door, offering an unobstructed view of the room’s interior.

Zhang Shutong was light on his feet. He had intended to push the door open and walk right in, but through the window, he saw Gu Qiuyan’s eyelids slowly drifting shut.

’So she’s exhausted, too.’

But she was forcing herself to stay awake.

’Is there something she’s worried about?’

Zhang Shutong pushed the door open. She seemed to startle awake, blinking hard.

"Has your fever gone down?"

"Much better," Zhang Shutong said. "If I can’t take it, I’ll just go next door and get a shot. Who falls ill in a hospital? Don’t be silly."

"Oh." She nodded, the realization dawning on her a moment later.

Zhang Shutong sat beside her and asked if she wanted to keep watching the movie. "Of course," she said. "I promised I’d finish it with you."

In reality, both of them were fighting to keep their eyes open. It was as if each was trying to wait for the other to fall asleep first before they could relax and close their own eyes.

But how could she outlast him? Zhang Shutong watched as her head slowly drooped, her breathing grew softer, and she even stopped eating the crackers.

Their little contest was put on pause.

Because Zhang Shutong’s phone rang again.

Song had woken up again, just a moment ago. The old man seemed to have a penchant for fighting off the anesthesia, only to leave a single sentence before passing out again.

"He said you need to go to his dorm by yourself. Be quick. Open the second drawer. His ID card is in there. He needs it for the hospital stay, for reimbursement. Just take a picture and send it over. He also has something to leave you."

Those were Du Kang’s exact words.

Song Nanshan was a remarkably unreliable man.

The first time he forced himself awake, it was to play matchmaker.

The second time, it was to get his hospital fees reimbursed.

Those were also Du Kang’s exact words.

"Is it urgent?"

"It was the first thing he said when he woke up. I’d say it’s pretty urgent."

"I get it."

Zhang Shutong hung up the phone.

"What is it? What’s wrong?" Gu Qiuyan asked, rubbing her eyes.

"It’s something with Song."

Zhang Shutong didn’t mention the ID card, because it couldn’t just be about an ID card. There were two key points in that message: one, that he had to go to the dorm "by himself," and two, that Song had something to leave him.

Zhang Shutong wanted to figure out what Song had meant by "I was wrong."

He knew where Song’s dorm was. It was near the school, about a ten-minute walk.

Zhang Shutong glanced at the time. It was now 11:20 PM.

"Are you going out again?" Gu Qiuyan asked, a hint of unhappiness in her voice.

"Of course not."

"Hmph."

"What was that for?"

"You clearly wanted to go just now."

Zhang Shutong had indeed stood up a moment ago, but he sat back down in his chair. He felt that nothing was more important than getting through this night.

"Sorry, sorry." To prove his innocence, he simply handed his motorcycle keys to Gu Qiuyan. The girl snatched them away and huffed again, as if to say, ’Good, you know what’s best for you.’

’Why does this feel like you’re confiscating my secret stash of cash?’ Zhang Shutong thought.

For once, he was truly torn. Gu Qiuyan was here with him, away from the villa. On the ride to the hospital, he had intentionally taken detours, sticking to roads with clear tire tracks to be safe. It was safe enough, but Zhang Shutong still felt he couldn’t just leave her here alone.

’Forget it. I’ll deal with it after tonight,’ he decided.

Just as he’d promised her, he would finish watching *Roman Holiday*.

Although a sense of unease lingered in his heart, he was no longer anxious now that he’d made up his mind. His heart gradually calmed. He watched Gu Qiuyan once again battling sleep. But seeing as the young Miss Gu had such thick eyelashes, it was more poetic to say she was fighting with her lashes, determined to declare a winner.