Chapter 64
Zong Nanze was not Youyou. He was a healthy adult, and all of his weight bore down on Lin Huaixi’s right arm. Lin Huaixi’s arm went rigid, his bones letting out a strained crack. The joints ached so badly that, for a moment, it felt as if someone were trying to wrench his whole arm right out of its socket.
Not only that, he was being dragged forward, unable to stop himself from sliding. Youyou was startled by the sudden change. She hurriedly crouched down and hugged Lin Huaixi’s leg, trying to do her small part to help.
But Lin Huaixi was still being pulled forward. He suddenly grabbed the rock beside him, and only then did he finally steady himself.
He had no spare energy for anything else. He did not even have the strength to think. He only wanted one thing—to pull Zong Nanze back up.
Balanced on the edge between life and death, Zong Nanze still looked utterly calm. He even said with a smiling voice, “It’s fine. Let go. I’m not Youyou. Even if I fall, I might not die.”
They were on a slope, not a cliff. If Lin Huaixi let go, Zong Nanze would roll all the way down the hillside. If he was lucky enough not to hit any tree trunks or rocks, he would probably get away with only superficial injuries. But if he was unlucky, he could be smashed open and bleeding—or even lose his life.
Lin Huaixi could barely breathe. His face was flushed an unhealthy red. He did not answer. Instead, he stretched out his other hand and grabbed Zong Nanze’s wrist too, terrified that he would fall.
The moment he realized what Lin Huaixi was doing, the smile slowly faded from Zong Nanze’s face, and his expression turned serious.
Lin Huaixi had no time to notice Zong Nanze’s expression or eyes now. He drew in a deep breath, every line of his arm pulled taut, not caring whether he might sprain it. At an awkward angle, he used all his strength to haul Zong Nanze upward.
Reflected in Zong Nanze’s eyes was Lin Huaixi’s appearance at that moment. As if moved by something deep inside him, he unconsciously reached out his free hand and caught hold of the edge of the ledge.
With most of the weight shifted away, Lin Huaixi instantly felt less strain. He kept pulling harder, and at last, Zong Nanze managed to climb up with difficulty.
Only after Lin Huaixi saw Zong Nanze standing whole and alive before him again did he finally let out a breath. Then his own body gave out, and he fell backward uncontrollably.
Just now he had been sprawled on the ground, his chest compressed so hard he could barely breathe. Now fresh air rushed greedily into his body, and his mind gradually cleared. Staring up at the sky full of stars, Lin Huaixi felt better and better.
Zong Nanze was in much better condition than he was. Sitting cross-legged, he looked down at Lin Huaixi with dark, heavy eyes, but said nothing.
Lin Huaixi noticed his gaze and finally remembered what Zong Nanze had said earlier. “If you had the strength to say nonsense just now, you could have used a bit more strength with your hands.”
Pulling him up had been much harder than he had imagined. Every time Zong Nanze’s hand slipped in his palm, Lin Huaixi had been so frightened his heart nearly leapt out of his throat. His mind had been full of horrific images of Zong Nanze falling. Thank goodness the tragedy had not happened.
Zong Nanze, who was usually so careless and lazy, had had the presence of mind to joke before, but now he had turned solemn. He only repeated, “You saved me.”
Lin Huaixi’s chest rose and fell sharply as he panted, too tired to bother with him.
Zong Nanze said it again. “You saved me.”
Lin Huaixi could only answer, “How did you even fall down there? You were still far from the edge.”
It was as if Zong Nanze had not heard him. Fixated on the same point, he asked stubbornly, “Why did you save me?”
There was never any standard answer to a question like that. Lin Huaixi looked at him in confusion. “There was no reason. Was I supposed to just stand there and watch you die?”
“But don’t you dislike me?” Zong Nanze’s voice grew very soft. “If I died, shouldn’t you be happy?”
Lin Huaixi: “…”
As expected of a scumbag. What a bizarre train of thought.
Lin Huaixi sat up. “I do dislike you… though maybe not that much. Anyway, not enough to want you dead. If you stay alive, I can still deal with whatever problem there is.”
Zong Nanze went on, “But just now, I almost dragged you down with me. You might have died too.”
The surroundings were silent, and the two of them had just gone through real danger. Hearing Zong Nanze keep talking about death and dying felt incredibly unlucky to Lin Huaixi. He almost exploded. “Can’t you say something nicer? I already pulled you up, so why are you still dwelling on that?”
To Lin Huaixi, what he had done was only natural. Zong Nanze understood that this was his answer.
He had seen too many hypocrites—people who liked to call themselves good, while being selfish to the core. And in the most extreme situations, human nature was always easiest to test.
People had an instinct to survive. Even someone kind-hearted in ordinary times might choose to watch another die at the edge of life and death—or even resent the other person for dragging them down.
But Lin Huaixi was the brightest person he had ever met. Everything he did came from a sincerity so pure it was almost naive. Because Zong Nanze’s own heart was dark, he could not bear to look directly at the sunlight, and had wanted to find some shadow in Lin Huaixi as well.
Now he had failed.
Lin Huaixi not only had the heart to save people, he also had the ability to do it.
Several emotions flashed through Zong Nanze’s eyes. Before, he had found Lin Huaixi interesting only because of his actions, and because of his relationship with Qi Wang. But now his focus had changed. He wanted to keep exploring Lin Huaixi’s inner world and uncover even more surprises.
Wouldn’t that be fun?
Lin Huaixi had no idea what was going through Zong Nanze’s mind, but he keenly sensed that his expression had changed. “What’s so strange about that? Didn’t you save Youyou too? I honestly thought you weren’t the type to do something like that.”
Zong Nanze smiled faintly and slipped back into his usual manner. “Back in high school, I once saw you talking to a little rabbit on the road.”
The remark came so abruptly that Lin Huaixi looked dazed and let out a confused, “Huh?”
He tried hard to search his memory for a rabbit, but could not recall a thing.
Zong Nanze continued as if talking to himself. “After that, a little kid came to find you. You talked to him and even walked him home.”
Lin Huaixi sounded uncertain. “Did I?”
“That little kid said he was looking for his older brother to play with. That older brother was me. I’m used to taking care of children. Whether it’s Youyou or Nannan, if they run into danger, I’ll save them.”
Lin Huaixi looked at Zong Nanze a little differently. So he was not rotten all the way to the core after all.
“Then don’t just be nice to little kids,” Lin Huaixi muttered, unable to stop himself. “Everyone grows up from being a child. When it comes to other adults, you should respect them too. I’m not asking you to save anyone—just don’t hurt people.”
His words came out a bit random. Anyone else might have thought he was talking nonsense, but Zong Nanze only found it amusing. “Fine. Thanks for the lecture. I’ll think about it properly.”
Lin Huaixi could hear the teasing in his tone. Narrowing his eyes, his expression grew dangerous.
Just moments ago, out of lingering guilt, he had thought he might treat Zong Nanze a little better. But Zong Nanze insisted on repeatedly stepping right onto every mine in his territory. Lin Huaixi shut his eyes hard, adjusted his mood, then walked over expressionlessly and held out his hand.
“Come on. I’ll help you back.”
Zong Nanze showed no courtesy at all. He leaned all of his weight against him. Lin Huaixi staggered and nearly lost his footing.
Seeing this, Youyou wanted to help too. But she was too short, so she could only stand on the other side and push against Lin Huaixi’s leg with her little hands.
Lin Huaixi laughed softly and held out his other hand to her. “Youyou, let’s go back together.”
The crisis was finally over. The three of them could return safely. Lin Huaixi had also changed this crucial turning point. The tragedy had not happened, and Qi Wang was still safe and sound.
At the thought of that, the corners of Lin Huaixi’s mouth lifted involuntarily, and strength returned to his body.
The first to notice the change in him was Zong Nanze, whom he was supporting.
Though he did not know exactly what Lin Huaixi was thinking, the person in Lin Huaixi’s heart had to be Qi Wang. Qi Wang had too much influence on him already, far beyond the bounds of ordinary friendship—and yet Lin Huaixi himself knew nothing about it.
Zong Nanze’s eyes darkened, hidden currents surging beneath them. His expression changed too, as if he were plotting something. But Lin Huaixi only wanted to hurry back, and noticed nothing at all.
All around them was darkness. Following his memory, Lin Huaixi made his way forward. Zong Nanze needed his support to walk, but his energy was still full of life, and he even had spare strength to make trouble.
“You’re going the wrong way. It should be over here.”
“No, no. Left. It’s to the left.”
“I remember there’s a pit on this side. We should go around it.”
At first Lin Huaixi had thought he was genuinely giving suggestions and obediently followed them. Only later did he realize that Zong Nanze was simply talking nonsense on purpose.
Lin Huaixi: “…”
Endure it. Murder is against the law… Though it’s so dark on the mountain, maybe nobody would see.
A few dangerous thoughts flashed through his mind, but in reality Lin Huaixi only gritted his teeth, sealed off his hearing, and treated all of Zong Nanze’s words like wind in one ear and out the other.
Then Zong Nanze changed tactics.
“It’s so dark here. I’m scared.”
“Do you think there are wolves on this mountain?”
“Why can’t we hear any insects? We didn’t accidentally wander into some strange place, did we? Haven’t you seen those movies? They all start like this.”
Lin Huaixi: “…”
“If you say one more word, I’ll leave you here!” he hissed through gritted teeth.
Zong Nanze acted like he had been frightened into silence, and stayed quiet for several minutes—only to start talking again.
Luckily, they still had Youyou between them to ease the atmosphere. Very interested in what Zong Nanze was saying, she clung to him and kept asking questions.
And Zong Nanze truly was different when it came to children. He showed not the slightest impatience and even answered her carefully and gently.
Seeing that the big one and the little one had finally settled down, Lin Huaixi let out a long breath and kept walking with one step deep and one step shallow.
Cutting his way through the dense brush, he finally saw the lights of the campsite ahead.
His heart leapt with joy, and he hurried toward it, at last breaking out of the bushes.
The others had already realized the three of them were missing and had descended into chaos. Some wanted to call the police, only to discover there was no signal. Others had already split into two groups, flashlight in hand, preparing to search separately.
Among them all, Zhong Chongqiu was the most panicked. As president of the Astronomy Club, he was responsible for everyone’s safety. The ones who had gone missing were his little sister and Lin Huaixi. Even in the cold night, he had broken into a full sweat, completely at a loss, nearly unable to breathe.
Then he heard his little sister’s sweet voice.
Just moments ago Youyou had been acting brave. But the instant she saw her brother, the fear she had been suppressing came rushing back. Wailing loudly, she ran straight toward him.
Zhong Chongqiu instinctively crouched down and caught Youyou in a tight hug. His trembling hand patted her back, and only after checking that she was unharmed from head to toe did he finally breathe again.
When he lifted his head, he saw Lin Huaixi and Zong Nanze standing not far away. Zong Nanze’s friend hurried over and at last took the seemingly boneless Zong Nanze off Lin Huaixi’s hands. Relieved of the burden, Lin Huaixi finally relaxed.
He could feel Zhong Chongqiu watching him the whole time. Guessing that Zhong Chongqiu wanted to know what had happened, he gave him a small smile and stepped forward.
The moment he moved, he noticed Qi Wang standing outside the faint ring of light, his face grave, like a motionless statue.
“…”
When he discovered Youyou was gone, he had been so anxious that he had forgotten to inform Qi Wang. Qi Wang must have been terribly worried.
Against the backlight, he could not clearly see Qi Wang’s expression, but he could feel the heavy aura radiating from him. Lin Huaixi’s heart trembled lightly.
He stopped caring about anything else. Offering Qi Wang a placating smile, he obediently shuffled over, ready to pull out his most practiced move again.
They had grown up together, and Qi Wang hardly ever got angry at him. But once he truly did…
Lin Huaixi licked his dry lips, his scalp tingling.
If he failed to coax him properly, he was doomed.
