Chapter 35: I’m Right Here
Seeing no response from Tang Yu’an, Wei Langxing called the officer in charge of the operation.
“What’s the situation? Is Yu Liao contained?”
The hesitant, vague response made him uneasy.
“What’s wrong? Did you see Tang Yu’an?”
The officer replied that Tang Yu’an had come to them.
Wei Langxing panicked: “Then why didn’t you send him back? The hospital couldn’t keep him, and neither can you? He’s injured, Yu Liao is dangerous…”
He was afraid Tang Yu’an would get caught in the crossfire, but the officer told him it was over.
Over?
“What do you mean? Did… did Yu Liao attack the officers and get neutralized?”
“We didn’t even touch him. He said some strange things, then his mental energy just… exploded.”
Wei Langxing fell silent. He knew even with Yu Liao’s regenerative abilities, complete mental collapse was fatal.
Like the businessman before, Yu Liao had chosen to end his own life.
Although he had anticipated this, he still felt a pang of discomfort. Tang Yu’an had been so desperate to save him, he must have considered him a friend, and now…
Wei Langxing asked hesitantly: “Is he… still alive?”
“He’s still alive, but he might not last long.”
In his current state, even the hospital couldn’t help him. Medical treatment couldn’t reverse mental collapse.
Wei Langxing’s mind raced. Knowing that Tang Yu’an shouldn’t be exposed to such a scene in his injured state, he told them to keep him away, that he would handle it.
But the officer told him Tang Yu’an had already gone to see him.
“Yu Liao… is delirious, he was calling Tang Yu’an’s name, and now he’s here. I thought perhaps Yu Liao had something to confess, so I let him through.”
As for safety concerns, with so many officers present, and Yu Liao unarmed and weakened, there was no danger.
Even after his explanation, Wei Langxing still felt uneasy, but he knew it was futile to try and stop Tang Yu’an, so he accelerated, Xie Cun being thrown around in the passenger seat, surprisingly not complaining.
The officer hung up, sighing, looking at Tang Yu’an, who was slowly approaching Yu Liao.
Strange, he thought. The fugitive self-destructed before we even did anything.
The hostage was strange too, insisting on seeing his kidnapper, seemingly attached to him.
He thought of a term: Stockholm Syndrome.
It was an internal Bureau matter; he would let them handle it.
Tang Yu’an crouched beside Yu Liao, sensing the faint rise and fall of his chest after a few seconds.
He was still alive, but barely.
He now understood the tremors earlier.
Yu Liao was determined to give up; there was nothing he could do.
He softly called his name, and Yu Liao finally reacted, slowly opening his eyes.
You came, he said.
Actually, when he reached the rooftop, Yu Liao hadn’t wanted to see Tang Yu’an, not wanting him to see him in such a pathetic state.
But as his life ebbed away, his mind fading, his body growing cold and stiff, he suddenly regretted not seeing him one last time.
He longed for his hallucinations. Even a fake Tang Yu’an would be enough.
He was dying anyway, what was wrong with one last, painless dream?
Perhaps his longing was answered, as a hallucination appeared. Yu Liao felt a sense of peace.
“You look so real,” he said. “Perfect in every way, just a little too thin.”
Tang Yu’an repeated his earlier action, taking Yu Liao’s hand and placing it on his chest, letting him feel his warmth.
“I’m right here.”
Yu Liao gasped, as if pulled from the depths of a river.
“How… how did you… shouldn’t you be in the hospital? Your injury…”
He then noticed the bandage on Tang Yu’an’s forehead.
It was really him, he had come.
Yu Liao didn’t understand why: “After everything I did to you, why are you still here?”
Tang Yu’an replied: “Didn’t I promise to stay with you? I gave you my word, did you forget?”
His emotions overflowed. He only realized he was crying when he felt Tang Yu’an wiping his tears with his sleeve.
He didn’t want to appear weak in his final moments, but he couldn’t stop the tears.
Finally calming down, he confessed in a low voice: “I killed someone.”
Tang Yu’an nodded: “I know.”
He knew, he actually knew, but he still came…
Yu Liao exhaled, then suddenly changed the subject: “Do you remember the movie we watched? Did you like it?”
Yes, Tang Yu’an said sincerely. You have good taste in movies.
“Do you remember the lines?” Yu Liao looked away, as if afraid to meet his eyes. “In the last scene, the male protagonist asks the female protagonist, if we could go back to the day we first met, would you kill me immediately…”
Tang Yu’an understood. He was using the movie characters for one last, desperate test of his feelings.
And Tang Yu’an’s answer was also from the movie.
“I remember,” he leaned closer, so Yu Liao could hear him clearly. “The female protagonist replied, although there’s no going back, don’t be afraid, I’m here with you.”
Yu Liao, who had been silently weeping, now trembled, his face contorted in anguish, then gradually stilled as his strength faded.
In the end, he could barely speak, but Tang Yu’an understood.
He repeated: “Yes, you remember clearly, that line, it’s so well-written, I like it so much, that line…”
It had been half a minute since he felt any breath from him. Tang Yu’an’s legs were numb. He almost fell when he stood up, but the officers caught him.
“Are you alright? You’re injured! I’ll call a doctor…”
His health points had dropped to forty. He had been holding on by sheer willpower.
Now, with Yu Liao gone, he felt drained, unable to maintain his composure.
He only remembered the world spinning, not falling to the ground, someone catching him, shouting.
I’m so tired, he thought. Let me rest, just for a while.
————
When Wei Langxing arrived, it was over.
Xie Cun was handling Yu Liao’s body; he didn’t have to worry about that. He went to Tang Yu’an’s bedside.
The young man’s face was pale, like freshly fallen snow.
He wanted to apologize, to say he was sorry it took him so long, that he must have suffered.
But he was still unconscious, so he swallowed his words, turning to the doctor to inquire about his condition.
Fortunately, it was just minor injuries, he would recover.
“You need to have a serious talk with him when he wakes up. He can’t keep disobeying doctor’s orders. I told him to rest, but he climbed dozens of flights of stairs! What if he does something like that again?”
Wei Langxing nodded, promising to keep an eye on him.
Then the doctor suddenly remembered something: “By the way, you said you’re his captain, then where’s his partner? Did they just leave him here alone?”
Wei Langxing looked up sharply: “Partner? What partner? He’s single!”
“The young man who brought him here, he was so worried. Where is he now?”
The doctor, not privy to the situation, assumed the earlier alarm was due to some chemical leak, unaware that Yu Liao was a fugitive who had just died.
Wei Langxing didn’t offer any further information, simply saying that person wasn’t important, and wasn’t Tang Yu’an’s partner.
The doctor didn’t press further: “What about you? He can’t be alone here. Are you staying to take care of him, or should I call someone?”
“I’ll stay.” Wei Langxing looked at the unconscious Tang Yu’an, thinking, I won’t leave again.
“Alright, quite a responsible captain you are.”
The doctor nodded, retrieving a small night light from a nearby cabinet: “He should be waking up tonight. Give this to him then. The young man asked me to pass it on… Honestly, I’m a doctor, not a delivery service…”
The doctor left. Wei Langxing looked at the simple, clearly not carefully chosen, night light, wondering why Yu Liao would give such a thing to Tang Yu’an.
Then he remembered Tang Yu’an’s fear of the dark. Did Yu Liao know?
What had happened these past few days…?
He checked the night light, making sure it didn’t contain anything dangerous, then placed it on the bedside table.
Although he didn’t want Yu Liao to influence Tang Yu’an any further, he cared about him, and since he was gone, he couldn’t deny him this potentially symbolic memento.
But after a moment of hesitation, he put it away.
What if Tang Yu’an became emotional upon waking up and seeing it? It was better to wait until he was more stable.
Even with the doctor’s assurances, he wouldn’t be at ease until Tang Yu’an woke up.
Xie Cun was handling the aftermath of Yu Liao’s death. Tang Yu’an needed to stay in the hospital for a while. He sent Zuo Tinghan to buy some necessities, staying behind to watch over him.
A few hours later, as he stared at Tang Yu’an’s sleeping face, his phone rang.
It was his sister, probably asking about what color clothes to buy. He wasn’t in the mood, so he didn’t answer.
But the second call came immediately, making him realize it might be urgent.
He stepped outside to answer: “What’s wrong?”
His sister’s words made his face darken.
He slowly hung up, unsure who to contact.
She had told him they found another person involved with Yi Xin Pharmaceuticals, deceased.
But fortunately, they found complete communication logs.
And some of Yi Xin Pharmaceuticals’ messages came from within the Bureau.
