Series: The Obsessive Beauty Came to Terms with His Terminal Illness

“We can basically confirm it’s idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.” The doctor tapped the keyboard with practiced ease. “I’ll write you a referral. Go ahead and get admitted!” Su Qingci picked up the report. “No need.” Doctor: “?” Su Qingci stood up and left the examination room, his departure clean and decisive. 　　Closing the door behind…

　　At nine o’clock that evening, Pei Jingchen was still working while Su Qingci sat curled up on the sofa, watching him without blinking. After enduring this stare for too long, Pei Jingchen finally couldn’t take it anymore and turned his head. Their eyes met, and Su Qingci hesitated, words on the tip of his tongue.…

As Pei Jingchen stepped out the door, Su Qingci thought—he really was an honest man. But he was too honest, incapable even of telling a lie. With every new friend Pei Jingchen made, Su Qingci’s place in his heart shifted one step back. Each time Pei Jingchen gathered with friends, Su Qingci was left alone…

The words weighing on his heart for days finally escaped his lips. Su Qingci expected to feel relieved, but instead, his fingers trembled with nervousness. 　　Pei Jingchen’s expression froze, clearly taken aback by those four words. Silence fell in the million-dollar car as fine snow fluttered outside, landing without a sound. Pei Jingchen suddenly asked,…

“Mr. Su, visiting your mother again?” The nurse’s smile was gentle as she guided Su Qingci into the ward. The word “again” was used with great politeness. In truth, Su Qingci rarely visited. His last trip had been early last year, in the dead of night, when the sanatorium director personally called to say Jiang…

The following week, they each went about their own business. As a professional painter, Su Qingci spent half his days holed up in his studio—a habit cultivated since living with Pei Jingchen. When he lived alone, he resembled a mad scientist, so absorbed in painting that he could lock himself in his studio for an…

As dusk approached, Su Qingci opened his WeChat Moments. It might be hard to believe, but the renowned painter’s WeChat contact list contained only three friends. Pei Jingchen, Annelise, and his grandfather, Su Baidong. He didn’t really need to pin Pei Jingchen to the top—with only three contacts, everything was clear at a glance—yet Su…

His entire body shook violently as his internal organs convulsed and contracted. He vomited up every last bit of the dessert he’d just eaten before it could digest, yet the retching wouldn’t stop. By the end, only sour stomach acid remained, and he felt as if he might vomit bile itself, his mouth filled with…

Su Qingci thought he’d spoken the words aloud, only realizing the next morning that he’d merely murmured them within his heart. It wasn’t that he was putting on a show—those words truly flowed like molten lava through his throat, scalding his voice until it bled. Pei Jingchen was gone. It was nearly nine; he must…

　　“These octopus balls are amazing—try one!” Wu Lü skewered one with a bamboo stick and passed it over the driver’s seat to Pei Jingchen. Pei Jingchen wasn’t fussy. Eating in the car was no big deal—as long as it made him happy, he didn’t mind. Octopus balls? Sure. Even stinky tofu or snail noodles? No…

Su Qingci wasn’t ignoring him—he simply hadn’t seen the message. The night he burned the painting, he left Pei Jingchen’s home, hailed a taxi, and checked into a random five-star hotel. When his phone beeped to warn of low battery, Su Qingci ignored it. He collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep almost immediately. He…

Pei Jingchen slammed on the brakes. The Koenigsegg lurched forward from inertia, nearly rear-ending the Mercedes ahead. The light turned red. Blurred by the snowy curtain, yet strangely blinding. Su Qingci had thought he couldn’t say it. Those five words felt like razor blades slicing his throat. No need to speak—just rehearsing the words in…

Su Qingci first checked out of the hotel, then hailed a taxi. When he gave the name of the residential complex, the driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror. Residents there were either wealthy or influential. Having not returned for three years, all the furniture was covered in white cloth. The air was thick…

Wu Lu’s arms ached from carrying the bags: “Cherries from New Zealand, and Japanese Benikoi strawberries.” These were the finest and most expensive imported fruits in his parents’ store. Giving them to Ling Yue’s CEO felt rather meager, but Wu Lu knew Pei Jingchen wouldn’t look down on them. He set the items down, shed…

　　The violent shaking turned Su Qingci’s face deathly pale, while the suffocating grip at his throat gradually flushed his cheeks crimson. The air grew thin, a tearing pain shot through his chest, and the world spun wildly. Su Baidong roared something even more vicious, but Su Qingci could no longer make out the words. Only…

　　Su Qingci’s gaze turned cold. The stomachache he’d suppressed surged back with overwhelming force. He pressed his lips tightly together, leaning against the wall, silent. The eldest son of the Zhang family was notorious in their social circle for his debauchery—one day cavorting with this female star, the next sleeping with that young heartthrob, indiscriminate…

Su Qingci went to the nursing home again. Even the nurse found it surprising—he used to visit less than once a year, but now he’d come twice within a month. Su Qingci couldn’t explain it either—she’d just suddenly felt compelled to come. Could it be that with time running out, the dying longed for their…

Annalise felt utterly betrayed. It was no exaggeration to say her faith had been shattered! What about the promise not to paint portraits? What about the pledge not to take commissions? You can paint and take commissions if you want, but why not take Joseph’s? Isn’t a house in Beijing’s Second Ring Road appealing enough??…

Mu Yao was Pei Jingchen’s high school classmate. Pei Jingchen couldn’t say whether he liked the guy or not, but he certainly didn’t dislike him. As for Mu Yao? He practically had Pei Jingchen’s face tattooed over his heart for all the world to see! Mu Yao’s background was nothing short of a soap opera.…

Wu Lü stood before the full-length mirror in his suit: “Is it a bit too big?” Pei Jingchen replied, “Your frame is too small. Try that one.” Wu Lu changed into it, but it still didn’t fit right. After all, it was Pei Jingchen’s suit, and their builds differed by a size. The reason was…