Chapter 4- I Can Die for You

Over the past two months, Wu Qi Qiong had called Yue-Yue several times, hoping to meet. Each time, she declined.

"When you're fully recovered, we can talk," she told him. "Take this time to reflect."

Motivated by the thought of seeing her sooner, Wu Qi Qiong strictly followed his treatment. He refused all heavy food, avoided even playing on his phone—worried the radiation might affect his wound. He endured all of it, pushing himself forward.

Finally, Yue-Yue heard he had recovered. She agreed to meet.

Not at the alley. Not at the house. This time, they would meet at the lakeside park—a place where no bricks could be conveniently picked up.

Wu Qi Qiong arrived early. He stood quietly by the lake, letting the wind blow over him. Compared to his former self, he now looked cleaner, more presentable. He even wore the T-shirt Yue-Yue had gifted him on his birthday during sophomore year. For years, he’d been too fat to wear it. Yesterday, he found it at the back of his closet, tried it on, and—miraculously—it fit again.

Yue-Yue approached, the sunlight brightening her translucent skin. Her face was calm, her movements graceful. Her body—not flashy, but perfectly in tune with her natural beauty.

Seeing her again after so many days made Wu Qi Qiong’s heart flutter wildly, like a cat scratching at his chest.

Yue-Yue glanced at him. Aside from a brief flash of surprise, her face remained unreadable.

"Why are you so thin?"

"Because I thought about what you said." Wu Qi Qiong reached out to brush the hair off her forehead.

"You said I was fat, so I’ve been working on it. I know I’m not perfect yet, but I’ll keep going."

Yue-Yue pushed his hand away without emotion.

Wu Qi Qiong stepped forward again. "You said we needed time to think. So… have you thought it through?"

Yue-Yue nodded slightly.

"I have. Let’s break up."

Even though he’d heard it once before, it still hit like a punch to the chest.

"Why? You said I was fat. I’m losing weight. What else do you want me to do?"

Yue-Yue frowned. "Wu Qi Qiong, as I’ve said—it’s not just about weight. You don’t understand the kind of life I want. I don’t want to be a young woman already managing a husband and a home. I don’t want a life of endless trips to the vegetable market and bargaining at stalls. Do you understand?"

Wu Qi Qiong’s eyes were full of stubbornness.

"Do you still think I’m stingy?"

"It’s not about stinginess!" Yue-Yue’s voice rose, irritated.

"It’s that even if you were generous, your situation and your future still don’t match what I want."

"How do I not have a future?" Wu Qi Qiong argued. "I work at a state-owned enterprise. That’s not easy to get into. My salary isn’t high now, but in a few years, I can be promoted to engineer. I could earn 50,000 or 60,000 yuan a year!"

"Wow." Yue-Yue laughed coldly. "Fifty or sixty thousand. That can buy… maybe one square meter of an apartment?"

Wu Qi Qiong’s confidence shrank with the cool autumn breeze.

"Yue-Yue, you weren’t like this before. I remember when we were in college, you used to say you didn’t care about anything—as long as we stayed together forever."

"I was being polite. Didn’t you understand that?" she snapped.

"I hoped you’d hear that and be inspired to work harder—to rise above. But instead, you just stayed stagnant. You don’t even realize how smug you sound when you talk about ‘stability’ and your job. I look at your satisfied face, proud of working in a state enterprise, and I don’t know where that ridiculous sense of superiority comes from."

Wu Qi Qiong had no response.

"Anyway," she sighed, "I’ve said what I needed to say. From now on, let’s—"

"I can still die for you!" Wu Qi Qiong cut her off, raising his voice.

Yue-Yue froze. Her eyes darkened. Her face showed black lines of exhaustion.

"You’re not seriously pulling that trick again, are you? God, it’s all grass here. Where are you even going to find a brick?"

But just then, Wu Qi Qiong gave her a strange smile.

"Isn’t it just a brick?"

He turned and walked over to a large tree nearby. Under her stunned gaze, he squatted down, dug into the soil under the tree—and pulled out a brick he had buried there in advance.

The only man in the entire country who prepares emergency love bricks.

This time, he didn’t faint—but the insanity was clearly still intact.

"Wu Qi Qiong, you’re not even human!" Yue-Yue screamed.

Teeth clenched, she rushed over to stop him, grabbing him by the arm. Furious and panicked, she helped him walk out of the park.

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