Chapter 152: Then Just Endure It

Fearing that her phone would run out of battery, Tang Yu talked to him while charging it and packing her things.

His silence filled her heart with panic.

It was already four o'clock in the morning by the time her senior fellow apprentice drove over to pick her up.

Her senior had been away on a business trip in another province, but upon hearing that the operation had successfully concluded, he had rushed over without stopping to rest.

Under the streetlamp outside the factory, Tang Yu sat atop her suitcase, her chin resting on the handle, staring at her phone with dark circles under her eyes, her slender figure illuminated brightly by the light.

The sky was dark and gloomy, and it began to drizzle.

Feeling the cool droplets on her face, Tang Yu opened her umbrella.

A large bus slowly pulled up, filled entirely with police officers from her team, all of whom knew her well.

They had the driver stop the bus and leaned out of the windows to look at her.

"Xiao Yu, why are you waiting here? Didn't your senior come to pick you up?"

"Why don't you just come with us? The forecast says there's going to be a heavy downpour soon. Don't catch a cold standing out here."

Li Zhizhi also chimed in, "The bureau is holding a celebration banquet in a few days, and you're the greatest contributor to this operation! Why don't you stay a few more days before leaving?"

"Yeah, stay a few more days! We'll miss you so much!"

"Stay a few more days, at least until after the celebration banquet!"

The officers' words of retention in the bus felt like a warm current flowing quietly through her heart.

Because of the incident involving Fan Yuebin, she had always maintained a faint sense of guard and distrust toward the police. But after everything that had happened, Tang Yu understood that nothing was absolute—just as there were good and bad people among crowds, there were good police officers serving the people.

She lifted her chin slightly, her clear eyes holding a gentle refusal. "My senior went to see the team leader and will be here right away."

"As for the celebration banquet, I won't be attending. My boyfriend's birthday is in a few days."

Her brows and eyes curved into a smile. "I'm in a rush to go back and see my boyfriend."

The phone call was still connected. Tang Yu glanced down at the screen; they had been on the line for five hours and thirty minutes.

It still hadn't been hung up.

Li Zhizhi couldn't help teasing, "We hear you mention your boyfriend every day. Who on earth is he, that you miss him so much? Is he even more handsome than the guys at our police station?"

Tang Yu nodded, showing no mercy to the officers on the bus, and answered with utmost sincerity, "He's the most handsome. The most handsome in the entire world."

Li Zhizhi covered her mouth, smiling as she deliberately teased the young girl. "Fine, from now on, you're under the protection of our police station and the Center for Disease Control. You better tell your boyfriend that if he ever dares to bully you, we won't let him off the hook."

"That's right, Little Yu, if your boyfriend treats you badly, just dump him. All the young guys at our police station are waiting in line!"

"No, no, no! My boyfriend is the best in the entire world! The absolute best!" Tang Yu's survival instinct kicked in to the maximum as she argued passionately, "I'm never breaking up with him, not in this lifetime!"

Terrified that the person on the other end of the phone might hear, she put her hands together in a silent gesture begging them not to talk nonsense.

That only made them tease her even more.

Li Zhizhi and the others had no idea she was on a phone call.

Such a young girl had a long road ahead of her. Nowadays, which young girl didn't date three or four people before finally getting married?

"Isn't there a saying? A boyfriend is just like a job—don't you have to try a few different ones to know which one truly suits you?"

Li Zhizhi patted her chest. "No matter what, we've been through life and death together. If he treats you badly, just tell your big sister, and at worst, we'll just replace him..."

Just then, a voice, extraordinarily low, drifted over from not far away.

It seemed to pierce through the dark night, reaching straight into the dawn.

"Tang Yu!"

Hearing that familiar voice, she instinctively turned her head.

Everyone in the bus craned their necks to look as well.

In the hazy mist of the rain, the young man was dressed entirely in black. Without an umbrella, he was already drenched to the bone as he stood beside a black Aventador.

He looked at her quietly.

Suddenly, the car headlights flashed on, illuminating the raindrops in an instant and casting a bright light over his tall, slender figure.

Tang Yu froze for a moment, rubbing her eyes, thinking she was seeing things.

The next moment, the young man walked toward her, step by deliberate step. His dark, deep brows and eyes, dampened by the rain, were fixed intensely upon her, as if she were the only person in his world.

After he had walked a few steps, Tang Yu hurriedly trotted over to hold the umbrella for him, rain splashes staining the hem of her white dress.

"Bian Yang..."

She was pulled forcefully into his embrace.

Chilled by the rain, she was held fast in an unyielding cage.

The pressure was so intense it felt as though he wanted to melt her entire being into his bones and blood.

"Bian Yang, you're hurting me..." she whispered softly.

The young man acted as if he hadn't heard. The arm wrapped around her shoulder tightened, trembling slightly.

"Then bear with it."

His voice was hoarse and choked, like tearing silk.

In the past, whenever she cried out in pain, Bian Yang would immediately let go.

This was the first time that, despite her cries of pain, Bian Yang refused to lessen his grip at all, insisting instead that she continue to feel this pain.

"Tang Yu, who gave you the right to do this? Who on earth are you trying to move?"

His voice was profound, blending into the sound of the rain like sleep-talk.

Her body stiffened abruptly.

"What does my mother's affair have to do with you? Someone else contracted HIV, what does that have to do with you?"

"Why act like a hero? Why go to such lengths for me? Did anyone ever tell you I needed it?!"

His voice trembled slightly, his chest heaving violently, and the arm embracing her shook uncontrollably.

Like someone freezing to death on a desolate, icy peak, like a catastrophe without rebirth, as if she might vanish at any second—he held her tighter and tighter.

"Bian Yang..."

Her gaze quivered faintly.

"I don't want to know any truth! I certainly don't want you playing the hero!"

"If something happened to you while investigating my mother's case, what would you expect me to do..."

"You just need to stay by my side. Is that... really so hard?"

Boundless darkness enveloped him like a massive net.

His eyes were red-rimmed, and his hoarse voice was agonizingly slow, as if even breathing caused him pain.

"Tang Yu..."

"Can't you tell... that you are what I need the most?"

His fierce heartbeat thudded against her ear, and the warmth radiating from his body felt like she was being immersed in warm water.

Gradually, tears welled up in Tang Yu's eyes, and she couldn't describe her emotions at that moment.

Bian Yang was terrified.

While everyone else was praising her bravery, Bian Yang felt only pure terror—terror at even the slightest possibility of losing her.

He held her so tightly that he seemed to tremble down to his very bones.

The umbrella in Tang Yu's hand slipped away unnoticed, and she wrapped both arms tightly around his waist.

Everything around them faded into a silent, flowing tableau as if all sound had been drained away.

Her face was already thoroughly wet, whether from the rain or her tears.

In this August soaked through by the damp rainy season, at four o'clock in the morning already swallowed by pitch blackness.

Her tears fell like a rushing river, over and over again.

"I'm sorry," she choked out, her throat aching terribly as she rubbed her nose affectionately against his chest.

"I shouldn't have lied to you, shouldn't have made you worry, shouldn't have acted so self-righteous."

Yet Bian Yang, I don't regret it at all.

I want to tell you—

Aunt Qi wasn't angry with you. She was so great and respectable; she shouldn't have sacrificed herself so quietly.

Uncle Bian was wonderful. His love for Aunt Qi was unreserved, pure, and burning, and he loved you just as fiercely—you who carry the blood of the person he loved.

Uncle Qi endured the grief and pain of losing his family, and even though he knew keeping those secrets was unfair to his sister, he never dared to gamble your future on even the slightest uncertainty.

You see, so many people, so many people are genuinely loving you.

Bian Yang, you deserve all the love in the world. I hope you can walk forward unburdened by sorrow, free and wild like the wind, both in the past and in the future.

Even if... it takes my life to protect and cherish all of this.

Just like how you said you were earnestly liking me, I am also earnestly liking you.

This is the best thing I can do for you, apart from crying.

So even though I was terrified, even though my heart imagined countless worst-case scenarios, the moment I thought of you—thought of how you were waiting for me to return to Beijing—I felt filled with strength.

I don't want to just be that pitiful creature sheltered behind your back; sometimes, my shoulders are here for you to lean on, too.

So...

"Bian Yang, please forgive me, okay?"

Her voice was soft and warm.

"Fearing that you'd be angry, I even wore my prettiest dress, planning to come find you the moment I got back to Beijing to apologize. But look, now it's soaked all the way through."