Running a high fever, Fu Shize returned to South River Garden and slept for two full days. In his semi-conscious state, he kept seeing Yun Li.
Fu Shize woke up from the pain—his abdomen was spasming as if being sliced by knives. Beads of sweat covered his forehead as he stared at the hospital room's stark white ceiling and fluorescent lights.
Two days of unconscious fasting, combined with two years of irregular meals and alcohol, had taken their toll on him overnight.
Fu Dongsheng quickly stood up when he saw him wake. "Don't move, just lie still."
Fu Shize frowned. "What happened?"
"Perforated gastric ulcer. It's not serious—your mom and I have already arranged everything. You’ll have surgery this afternoon." Fu Dongsheng reassured him, "Don’t worry, son. It’s a minor procedure. You’ll be fine after a nap."
"..."
Fu Shize’s head felt heavy. "Has the funeral ended?"
Fu Dongsheng nodded. "It’s normal to grieve. Grandma lived a long life—we have to accept it. By the way, I showed her the photos you sent me of you and Lili. She probably left with no regrets."
After a pause, Fu Shize asked, "What time is it now?"
Fu Dongsheng glanced at his watch. "One in the afternoon."
Vaguely remembering collapsing in the early hours of the morning, Fu Shize asked, "What’s the date today?"
"The 26th."
—Two days had passed.
Two days without contacting Yun Li.
His lips pale, Fu Shize asked, "Where’s my phone?"
"Son, can’t you focus on getting treated first—"
"Phone."
With a sigh, Fu Dongsheng rummaged through the bag beside him and handed over the device. It took a dozen seconds to boot up.
As he waited, Fu Shize dug his fingers into his abdomen.
Once the phone turned on, he immediately opened his chat with Yun Li.
A message from yesterday morning:
Yun Li: [My brother is sick. I’m heading back to West Fuling now—can you come with me?]
No new messages.
"Dad, postpone the surgery." Fu Shize pressed his lips together and tried to sit up.
The moment he straightened, the excruciating pain forced him to curl up again. His body tilted sideways, yanking the IV stand down—the bottle shattered on the floor.
For the past two days, Nanwu had been hit by heavy rainstorms. The oppressive dark clouds made it hard to breathe. Yun Li stayed indoors, struggling through problems she couldn’t understand.
South Science and Technology University had already started the new semester. The courses this term were more numerous and difficult—she was already falling behind in the first week.
If Fu Shize were here, it would’ve been much easier.
Exhausted from studying, Yun Li stared blankly at the empty seat beside her.
During these rainy days, she hadn’t received any messages or calls from Fu Shize. She had sent a few texts herself, but he hadn’t replied.
It hurt, but it also felt... normal.
As if this was how things were meant to unfold.
Fu Shize hadn’t reached out—he probably wanted to break up.
She didn’t know what the end of a relationship looked like. After all, she’d never experienced it before.
She didn’t reach out to him either.
She was tired, too.
Yun Li sniffled and forced herself to keep working on the problems. She tried desperately to maintain the illusion that everything was fine.
Yang Fang called while Yun Li was wrestling with a particularly stubborn question.
Her voice was urgent. "Your brother’s had a high fever since last night—39 degrees. The medicine isn’t helping at all."Her temper was gentle, and she wasn't good at handling emergencies. Hearing the tone, Yun Li didn't take it too seriously—she herself would get a fever every year or two. "At his age, he can still burn up like this? He should go to the hospital quickly for an IV to bring the fever down."
"He's delirious with fever, can't even speak clearly. He just keeps counting numbers, mumbling 'one, one, one' over and over," Yang Fang's voice was urgent. "I told your dad to come home right away. I can't manage your brother alone."
Yun Li comforted her for a few moments before Yun Yongchang arrived home.
Hanging up the phone, Yun Li set down her pen. Her thoughts froze as she recalled the previous calls where Yun Ye had frowned and mentioned feeling unwell.
Within half an hour, Yun Yongchang sent a text: 【Come home】
Just two simple words, without any explanation—as if there was no time to explain.
Yun Li began trembling uncontrollably. She stood up from her chair, holding her breath as her shaking hands opened the flight booking app. After several misclicks, she managed to book the earliest available flight.
The loading time felt agonizingly slow, each step of the booking process stretched to infinity.
Grabbing only her ID, Yun Li rushed out the door without packing anything else. The cold wind did nothing to restore her rationality.
No matter what conflicts they'd had before, when something this serious happened, Yun Li still wanted Fu Shize by her side.
She called Fu Shize several times in a row, but he didn't answer. Hastily typing out a message to him, she took a taxi to Nanwu Airport.
An indescribable fear enveloped her.
Though she knew she should stay calm, terrifying possibilities kept flashing through her mind, interspersed with memories of Yun Ye talking to her.
By the time she boarded the plane, Fu Shize still hadn't replied.
As soon as the plane landed, Yun Li reconnected to the internet and saw Yun Yongchang's text. Her mind went blank.
【Signed the critical condition notice.】
【Come slowly, no need to rush. Currently in the emergency room at People's Hospital.】
When Yun Li arrived at the hospital, Yun Ye had already been transferred to the inpatient ward. The hospital only allowed one family member to stay overnight, but since Yang Fang was crying uncontrollably, they made an exception to let both Yun Yongchang and Yang Fang remain inside.
Yun Yongchang came out to tell Yun Li that it was cholecystitis developing into acute pancreatitis, with an emergency surgery scheduled for the next evening. Yang Fang still couldn't accept reality and refused to leave.
Sitting in the hospital corridor, Yun Li stared blankly at the people coming and going. Continuous tears blurred her vision. Everything felt unreal—Yun Ye should still be at school, not lying on a hospital bed inside.
Suddenly, she remembered—Yun Ye had told her.
He'd said something was wrong.
She hadn't paid attention.
She could have noticed earlier.
Every time she'd felt slightly unwell before, Yun Ye would drag her to the hospital.
Overwhelming guilt and helplessness flooded her heart.
At mealtime, Yun Li went downstairs to buy boxed meals for Yun Yongchang and Yang Fang. Yun Yongchang looked ten years older, his eyes bloodshot. "Go home and rest. Come back tomorrow for the surgery."
"Okay, Dad. Call me if anything happens."
"Mm." Yun Yongchang responded briefly before returning to the hospital room.
From the entrance of the inpatient ward, Yun Li could see Yun Ye's door. She imagined him suddenly recovering, walking out on his own, even teasing her about her gloomy expression.
But all she saw were strangers passing by.Unable to resist, Yun Li searched online about the illness. The moment she saw the 10% mortality rate, she collapsed, burying her face in her knees. She couldn’t bear to imagine the worst-case scenario, nor could she bring herself to go home, fearing that Yun Ye’s condition might worsen in the middle of the night and she wouldn’t even get to see him one last time.
She had never once thought that Yun Ye would ever be associated with the word “death.”
She spent the night curled up in the hospital corridor.
Afraid of missing any updates, she kept her phone’s sound on.
West Fuling wasn’t cold, but the nighttime temperature of around ten degrees still seeped into her bones uncomfortably. When Yun Li woke up in the middle of the night, the lights were still glaringly bright, and there wasn’t a soul around.
She opened her chat log with Fu Shize.
Suddenly, Yun Li felt an overwhelming sadness. They had been in a cold war for so long, their relationship on the verge of collapse. But right now, she desperately wished Fu Shize could be by her side.
Early the next morning, Yin Yucheng called Yun Li. She didn’t want to answer, but he persisted, calling several times in a row.
When she finally picked up, it was Yin Yunyi’s voice on the other end: “Sister, Yun Ye used to send me a text every day. He hasn’t sent me anything in the past two days, and I can’t reach him. I wanted to ask—has anything happened to Yun Ye recently?”
Yun Li remained silent.
Silence usually meant bad news.
“Can you tell me?” Yin Yunyi’s voice trembled with tears. “Sister, we promised to meet this summer. Did something happen to him…?”
Her emotions spiraled out of control, and the phone was taken over by Yin Yucheng, who asked, “Has something happened?”
Yun Li briefly explained Yun Ye’s condition.
When she jolted awake in the hospital hallway, Yun Li realized she had been asleep for a while. Yin Yucheng had sent her a message—they were arriving in West Fuling on a flight at two in the afternoon.
By the time the two arrived, Yin Yunyi’s eyes were already swollen from crying, murmuring Yun Ye’s name. Yun Li absentmindedly patted her head.
Yun Li sat silently in a corner chair.
Yin Yucheng walked over and crouched in front of her, comforting her, “Don’t worry too much. Acute pancreatitis is a very common illness. Since he was brought to the hospital in time, the surgery will go smoothly.”
Yun Li didn’t take in his words. She whispered, “Stay with Yunyi. I need to be alone.”
Yin Yucheng didn’t press further. He left a bottle of water beside her and returned to Yin Yunyi’s side.
Yun Ye’s surgery proceeded as scheduled. During the operation, Yun Li received a reply from Fu Shize.
[Lili, I have some things to take care of here. I’ll come find you in a few days.]
A taut thread stretched tight in Yun Li’s heart as she waited for the surgery to end.
The surgery was successful. Though Yun Ye hadn’t regained consciousness yet, the doctor confirmed he was out of life-threatening danger. Yun Li finally let out a sigh of relief.
Visiting hours wouldn’t begin until the next day, but Yin Yunyi refused to go to a hotel, insisting on staying at the hospital to wait.
Yun Li sat in a chair.
Glancing to the side, she saw Yin Yunyi resting her head on Yin Yucheng’s lap. The girl felt cold, curling up under Yin Yucheng’s jacket.
Yun Li asked numbly, “Do your parents know Yunyi came here?”
“No way,” Yin Yucheng rubbed his head. “She’s been crying in front of me for ages. I couldn’t stand seeing my little sister like this, so I told our parents I took her to a homestay for a trip.”
“Yunyi’s been pampered since she was little. I never thought she’d endure so much hardship for your brother.” Yin Yucheng glanced at the hard metal chairs.
She and Yun Ye weren’t even in a relationship—they just had feelings for each other.
The taut thread in Yun Li’s heart snapped. Overwhelmed, she stood up and walked to the end of the corridor, where a stairwell awaited.There was no light inside. As she walked in, she realized Fu Shize had called her over a dozen times that evening. She had been waiting outside Yun Ye's surgery and hadn't answered any of them.
Yun Li called him back.
The line connected immediately, and she heard his voice—long absent yet now strangely unfamiliar: "Lili."
His voice was soft, as if drained of energy.
Why couldn't he come find her directly, like Yin Yunyi had?
Why couldn't he have just loved her a little more all this time?
Her eyes welled up. The resentment she had bottled up for so long sought an outlet. She was brimming with grievances, sorrow, and pain she wanted him to know.
But in the end, she said none of it.
She didn’t intend to accuse him.
She only said one thing—
"Let's break up."
"......"
A long silence stretched on the other end of the line.
Each word, transmitted through the phone, struck Fu Shize like a physical blow.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but his voice seemed to tremble faintly as he asked, "Is it because I didn’t come to find you?"
Yun Li hardened her heart. "That’s part of it. There are other reasons too."
"......"
The line was quiet, save for the occasional rustle of wind noise.
She thought he would press further.
But after a long pause, there was only the faintest whisper—
"Okay."
Old and new grievances piled up. Yun Li had spoken rashly, but she never imagined Fu Shize would agree so readily.
Numbly, Yun Li hung up the phone.
She walked back to the hospital corridor. Yin Yunyi had woken up, sniffling as she described the nightmare she’d had.
Yun Li felt as though she, too, had just woken from a long, terrible nightmare.
Yin Yucheng glanced at Yun Li and handed her his scarf. "You should rest for a while too."
Yun Li shook her head.
She didn’t sleep at all that night.
It wasn’t until the early hours, startled by footsteps in the hallway, that the realization fully hit her.
She and Fu Shize had broken up.
......
Yun Ye woke up early in the morning. He had almost no memory of the entire ordeal from his episode to the surgery and stared blankly at his surroundings.
When Yin Yunyi came to visit, her eyes were still red. Yun Ye feigned nonchalance, steering the conversation toward the postcard he’d received last time.
Seeing Yun Ye in relatively good spirits, Yun Li relaxed a little.
He still needed to stay in the hospital for another week. Yin Yucheng and Yin Yunyi returned to Nanwu, while Yun Li stayed to accompany him.
Yun Ye was young and recovered quickly. Within a couple of days, he asked Yang Fang to bring his practice workbooks from home so he could study. Yun Li was exasperated. "Can’t you just rest properly?"
Yun Ye shot her a look of mutual disdain. "I’m aiming for West Science and Technology University. Don’t bother me."
Yun Li watched him. "Just don’t get sick again."
Yun Ye had already heard how critical the situation had been. Lowering his eyes, he muttered, "Got it."
While the boy worked on his exercises, Yun Li would prop her chin in her hand, lost in thought, her mind inevitably drifting to Fu Shize back in Nanwu.
When Yun Li returned with the porridge Yang Fang had sent, Yun Ye was attempting to get out of bed.
She pushed him back down. "Stay put."
"Damn, I’m gonna get bedsores," Yun Ye grumbled, but when he saw Yun Li’s exhausted face, he shut his mouth.
Yun Li opened the food container—steaming hot porridge.
She scooped a spoonful, blew on it, and held it to Yun Ye’s lips.
"......" Yun Ye recoiled in disgust. "Yun Li, you’re my sister, not my mom. I can feed myself."
She had held back for days. Seeing how lively he looked now, she rapped him on the head without mercy and launched into her usual nagging."Yun Li." Yun Ye interrupted her, "When are you coming back to Nanwu?"
"Why?"
"You're too noisy. Go nag next to your brother-in-law. I need a quiet environment to recover." As soon as Yun Ye spoke, Yun Li's expression darkened. He paused and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Yun Li pretended not to care. "I broke up with your brother-in-law... ex-brother-in-law." She forced a smile. "It's no big deal. Just take care of yourself."
"Oh." It took Yun Ye a while to process this. "Breakup? Who initiated it?"
Yun Li: "I did..."
"Oh." Yun Ye tapped his spoon against the lunchbox a few times. After a moment, he asked incredulously, "Didn't you chase him for seven years?"
"That was in the past. Chasing someone is one thing, breaking up is another. They're two different matters."
"Why did you break up?" Yun Ye looked utterly confused. "Wasn't brother-in-law good to you?"
He added, "He was good to me too."
"..."
"Don't worry about it." Yun Li said impatiently. "He didn't like me that much. Our problems didn't just appear overnight."
At this point, it felt like a heavy punch to her chest. Her voice softened as she tried to convince herself, her eyes reddening: "It's normal for relationships to have ups and downs."
She looked up at Yun Ye, struggling to keep her expression calm while wiping the uncontrollable tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand: "It's normal, right?"
It had been too short.
So short that she felt like she hadn't processed any of her emotions. The pain was still vivid, as if it had just happened yesterday.
Yun Ye fell silent too.
Yun Li was his older sister—always strong in front of him, never weak when protecting him outside. At times like this, he didn't know how to comfort her.
He took Yun Li's hand like he did when they were kids and comforted her: "Sis, don't be sad."
"You still have me. You and Yin Yunyi are tied for first place."
Having been away from Nanwu for too long, the automatic fish feeder ran out of food, and the few little goldfish had passed away.
Their chat history stopped at that breakup call.
Yun Li: [I’ll come to South River Garden at 2 p.m. tomorrow to pick up my things.]
On the chat interface, the status showed "typing" for several minutes, but in the end, only one word appeared: [Okay.]
At South River Garden, Yun Li only took things completely unrelated to Fu Shize.
When she left, the balcony was clean, with just a lone chair left behind. She placed the keys on it.
She deleted all contact information related to Fu Shize and removed their photos together.
Her internship at EAW had also ended. Forfeiting the deposit, Yun Li moved out of her apartment at Seven Mile Fragrant Capital.
That apartment held too many memories.
While packing, Yun Li noticed an old photo tucked in the sofa—a shot from the audience stands where he looked at her with defiance while she appeared uneasy.
For some reason, she slipped that photo into her notebook.
The rabbit balloon by the bedside had deflated, lying limply on the floor.
Recalling that Halloween when he pulled her behind him, she seemed to see those eyes again. Yun Li’s nose stung. After one last glance, she closed the door behind her.
Deng Chuqi managed to submit her application in the final round and received a master's offer from a university in the UK. She went ahead to work as a research assistant.
This opportunity also reminded Yun Li of what her advisor had once told her.The overseas exchange procedures went smoothly. With the help of her mentor Zhang Tianqi, she was set to study at a university in the UK for a year.
As always, Yun Yongchang objected. After her gentle persuasion proved futile, she simply ignored him.
Yun Li stayed in Nanwu until July.
Occasionally, when the courier knocked on her door, she would have a fleeting illusion.
Maybe he had asked around and found her new address.
Maybe he had come looking for her.
By mid-July, Yun Li had rented a place in the UK.
Deng Chuqi was in a different city.
She navigated this unfamiliar place independently, dealing with all kinds of strangers. Though fear and resistance lingered in her heart, she never retreated.
Life in a foreign country wasn’t easy. She often turned to livestreaming to chat with her fans.
Fans came and went.
A few loyal ones appeared regularly, including that efe she had noticed before.
On a whim, Yun Li checked efe’s profile. It was empty, marked with a gender-neutral status.
Over time, the two gradually became friends, and efe accompanied her through the toughest period of her time abroad.
A few months later, efe mentioned sending her postcards.
She received them one after another—all from West Fuling. At a glance, she could tell the handwriting wasn’t Fu Shize’s. Besides, he should still be in Nanwu.
Of course.
It had already been half a year since their breakup.
Yun Li thought she was being delusional.
She kept herself busy, leaving early and returning late, pouring all her energy into her studies and updating videos on E-Station.
That day, after returning from the lab, Yun Li heated her meal in the microwave.
While waiting, she revisited that once-popular post.
Recently, it had resurfaced on the trending list.
Though an old thread, new comments kept pouring in.
She watched the young man in the video.
Before she knew it, Yun Li opened the reply box.
After hesitating for a long time, she finally made up her mind, carefully typing out a line.
As if comforting others—or perhaps herself.
—Fortunately, I was brave enough to have at least touched the moon.
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