After climbing down from the roof beams, Ren Yi discovered that Gong Yingsheng was standing in the corridor outside the maintenance access. The moment he saw him, he said coldly, “Go get checked in the ambulance.”
Ren Yi thought, Was he waiting for me?
Ren Yi sadly realized that even in such a terrible situation, he was still moved beyond words by the slightest bit of kindness from Gong Yingsheng.
He hurriedly said, “You should get checked too.”
“Let’s go.” Gong Yingsheng walked outside at an unhurried pace.
Ren Yi followed Gong Yingsheng’s footsteps. He desperately wanted to find out whether they had made up, or whether they were still giving each other the cold shoulder; whether Gong Yingsheng was willing to restore their friendship, or whether he no longer wanted any contact with him at all.
But he didn’t dare ask.
The two arrived in front of the ambulance. The paramedic listened to each of their internal organs with a stethoscope.
“Go to the hospital for an examination.”
“No need.” Gong Yingsheng said coldly.
“You need to.” Qiu Yan walked over and crossed her arms as she looked at him. “Are you more professional than a paramedic? If they tell you to go to the hospital, then go to the hospital. Get in the vehicle.”
Gong Yingsheng had originally wanted to resist a little, but when he saw Song Juhan and He Gu walking toward them from a distance, he immediately turned around, climbed into the ambulance, and closed the door.
He didn’t want to see these two people being so harmonious. It would only make him and Ren Yi seem even more distant by comparison.
“Captain Ren.” He Gu walked over to Ren Yi and tilted his head toward the ambulance. “Is Officer Gong injured? I want to thank him in person.”
“It’s nothing serious.” Ren Yi smiled helplessly. “He’s not very good at socializing. Don’t worry about it.”
Song Juhan shrugged. “If this hadn’t happened, I still wouldn’t have believed he was a police officer.”
“Captain Qiu, Captain Ren, thank you.” He Gu reached out and shook their hands, speaking sincerely. “And thank all the police officers and firefighters tonight. You saved everyone.”
Qiu Yan smiled. “Engineer He, we should be thanking you. Without your professional help, there’s no way we could have found all the bombs in such a short time.”
“That’s right, Engineer He. We really have you to thank. You’re incredible.” Ren Yi shook He Gu’s hand vigorously. “And Mr. Song, thank you for your complete cooperation as well. That final song was incredibly clever. It allowed the bomb-disposal team to successfully find the bomb without causing panic among the audience.”
Song Juhan looked at He Gu, and the two exchanged a knowing smile.
“Captain Ren, I’ve never experienced anything this frightening before. Fortunately, you were here, allowing us—and so many audience members—to return home safely. Thank you.”
Ren Yi nodded with a smile.
“Bro!”
A shout came from a distance.
The voice immediately put Ren Yi’s nerves on edge. He turned his head and, sure enough, saw Qi Xiao desperately waving at him from afar.
Song Juhan’s fans were all being kept outside the cordon. There weren’t enough security guards, so the firefighters were also helping maintain order.
Ren Yi wanted to pretend he hadn’t seen him, but Qi Xiao spotted Liu Hui standing nearby.
“Big Brother Liu Hui, let me come in for a bit.”
Liu Hui didn’t know the details between them, so he let Qi Xiao in.
“Bro, what happened? Why are there so many police cars and fire trucks?”
Qi Xiao ran to Ren Yi’s side. Then, looking at Song Juhan with nervous excitement, he respectfully called out, “Brother Han, President He.”
Song Juhan barely looked at Qi Xiao, only giving him a casual nod.
“Bro, you know Brother Han?” Qi Xiao looked at Ren Yi with shining eyes.
“Uh, I asked Mr. Song for an autograph.”
Qi Xiao said ingratiatingly, “Brother Han, I’m a new actor. I’m currently talking with Sister Coco about an agency contract. If it works out, I’ll be your employee too.”
Song Juhan raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?” He looked at Qi Xiao, then at Ren Yi. “Is this your younger brother?”
Ren Yi nodded awkwardly. “He’s my friend.”
Qi Xiao warmly put an arm around Ren Yi’s shoulder.
“I’ve known my bro for many years. My bro takes great care of me.”
Qiu Yan casually glanced at Qi Xiao. She sensed that his tone and demeanor were somewhat unusual, and a strange expression appeared on her face.
Through the ambulance window, Gong Yingsheng watched Qi Xiao intimately drape an arm around Ren Yi’s shoulder, his upper body leaning against Ren Yi as well.
A chill instantly erupted from Gong Yingsheng’s eyes.
He slapped the partition behind the driver’s seat and growled, “Drive.”
The paramedic said awkwardly, “Dr. Gong, let’s wait for Captain Ren. There’s no other vehicle.”
Gong Yingsheng lowered his head, his eyes blood-red, his sorrow indescribable.
From childhood until now, he had rarely had anything he wanted, because materially, there was almost nothing more that could satisfy him.
It had taken him so long to finally find someone he wanted to possess and have all to himself no matter what.
Yet that person already belonged to someone else.
His morals, his self-respect, and his pride all stopped him from doing something he himself would despise.
Even though his heart was already crammed full of obsessive, crazy, reckless thoughts.
In front of Song Juhan, Ren Yi couldn’t bring himself to embarrass Qi Xiao. He subtly stepped forward, avoiding Qi Xiao’s hand, and said with a faint smile, “Qi Xiao is a pretty good actor. If you ever have a chance to work together, I hope you’ll look after him a little, Mr. Song.”
Song Juhan nodded. “No problem. Consider it a favor I’m returning to Captain Ren.”
Qi Xiao’s handsome face lit up with excitement.
“Thank you, Brother Han. Thank you, Brother Han.”
After chatting for another couple of sentences, Song Juhan and He Gu said goodbye.
Ren Yi watched the two of them walk away side by side, feeling extremely envious.
Qiu Yan instructed him to get his body properly checked and then went off to deal with the aftermath as well.
When only Ren Yi and Qi Xiao remained, a trace of awkwardness appeared on Qi Xiao’s face.
He said quietly, “Bro, thank you. I really am planning to sign with Song Media. One word from Song Juhan could completely change everything for me.”
“I understand. I wish you success.”
Qi Xiao sighed. “Actually, I should have guessed your relationship with Officer Gong a long time ago. I… crossed a line. I’m sorry.”
Ren Yi secretly glanced at the ambulance. Because the windows were relatively high, it was impossible to see inside from outside. He hoped Gong Yingsheng hadn’t seen what had just happened.
He said, “Qi Xiao, Officer Gong and I aren’t in the kind of relationship you think. He’s straight. I’m the one who unilaterally fell for him. But from now on, we shouldn’t see each other anymore.”
“Straight?” Qi Xiao didn’t believe him. “How could that be? His reaction just now—how did that look straight? He was obviously jealous.”
“No. He was harassed by a man before. He simply can’t accept it. I’ve been hiding it from him all this time, so…”
Qi Xiao frowned and said doubtfully, “All right, but… I still think he cares about you a lot.”
Ren Yi’s heart ached.
“He sees me as a friend.”
Qi Xiao gave a bitter smile. “Why do you have to fall for a straight man? Why do you have to make yourself suffer? Actually, I…” He lowered his head dejectedly. “Forget it. I can take it. Bro, you’re a really good person. I hope you can let go too.”
Ren Yi forced a smile. “Okay.”
“I’m leaving.” Qi Xiao looked at Ren Yi somewhat reluctantly.
“Goodbye.”
Qi Xiao walked backward several steps and smiled.
“Maybe one day, you’ll see me in a lot of places. So many places that even if you don’t want to see me, you won’t be able to avoid me.”
Ren Yi smiled too. “I hope that day comes.”
Qi Xiao waved his hand, holding back the sting in his nose, and turned to leave.
Ren Yi opened the ambulance door and got inside.
Gong Yingsheng was sitting inside, giving him a sidelong glance, his gaze cold.
Ren Yi sat opposite Gong Yingsheng and knocked on the partition.
“Let’s go.”
The vehicle started moving.
Gong Yingsheng said expressionlessly, “Isn’t he going to accompany you to the hospital?”
Ren Yi thought, He really did see it.
Ren Yi didn’t answer the question. Instead, he asked, “How are you feeling physically?”
“If I hadn’t seen it today, how long were you planning to hide it from me?”
Ren Yi sighed and said with difficulty, “Yingsheng, I didn’t deliberately hide it from you. My sexual orientation is a part of me. I’m not ashamed of it, but I know that society still isn’t tolerant enough. To avoid trouble, I’m not going to walk around with a loudspeaker telling everyone about it.”
“I know you can’t accept it, but this is something I can’t change. And I never had any intention of treating you as a joke. I hope you can… understand that I’m still the same person you knew. Nothing has changed.”
“Everything has changed.” Gong Yingsheng said heavily.
Ren Yi lowered his head helplessly.
Gong Yingsheng stared directly at Ren Yi.
“Just like you said, let’s pretend… that nothing ever happened.”
“…Okay.”
Ren Yi didn’t feel the slightest bit relieved.
Because just as Gong Yingsheng had said, everything had changed.
There was no way they could return to the way they had been before.
He had once kept wanting more because their relationship had continued growing closer.
Now, even returning to their original, simple friendship had become an unattainable hope.
The thing he had feared most had arrived without mercy.
He hadn’t even needed to wait until he destroyed himself by confessing.
Gong Yingsheng silently repeated the name Qi Xiao in his mind.
He had already imagined countless ways to make Qi Xiao leave Ren Yi.
But did he really want to become a despicable person?
Besides, Ren Yi had clearly told him that he had no other feelings for him.
After going to such lengths, what could he possibly gain?
The two of them each harbored their own thoughts.
Their hearts were tied to each other, yet they were unable to understand each other.
All they could do was remain silent.
Inside the narrow vehicle, the distance between them was clearly within arm’s reach, yet it seemed as though an impassable chasm separated them.
Neither dared take that step.
Falling into the abyss was not frightening.
What was frightening was that you were not there in the abyss.