Childish

He arrived on set a day early. Gu Ze had a lot of scenes to film, so Ye Qing spent most of his time chatting with Xie Quan.

Their conversations were simple enough. They talked about things happening on set and gossip Ye Qing had never heard before. Some of Xie Quan's stories left him stunned.

Xie Quan spoke so gently that being around him felt like standing in a warm spring breeze.

Ye Qing couldn't help saying, "Xie Quan, you're so gentle. Anyone who dated you would be happy."

Xie Quan would make a wonderful partner.

Xie Quan smiled faintly. "Nonsense. I'm so boring. Who would like me?"

"It's not nonsense. Anyone who doesn't like you has no taste. Someone with good taste would definitely like you."

"All right, then. I believe you. Anyone who doesn't like me has no taste."

They hadn't been talking long when Gu Ze finished his scenes.

Seeing Gu Ze approach, Xie Quan stood up. "I'll leave you two to talk."

In truth, they had nothing particularly new to talk about. They found a restaurant near the set.

Given how famous Gu Ze was, they got a private room. It had a lovely view of the blue sky through the window.

Gu Ze had spent all his time filming, so he had little to say. Ye Qing did most of the talking.

He told Gu Ze what had happened at the Li Family's banquet, then sighed over how hard Li Ling had had it with parents like those. Fortunately, Li Ling had stood up for himself in the end and dealt those people a heavy blow.

Then Ye Qing said Xie Quan was too good-natured and didn't seem very confident in himself. That wouldn't do; he needed to change.

When Ye Qing finished, Gu Ze asked only one question. "Just how many older brothers do you have?"

He'd only been away a few days. Where had this Li Ling come from?

Ye Qing thought it was such an odd question.

Why does that sound so much like jealousy?

Still, he answered seriously. "I have two older brothers, plus you, Brother Gu, Xie Quan, and Li Ling, whom I just met. I think that's about it."

It wasn't Ye Qing's fault. He was the youngest; naturally, he ended up calling everyone his older brother.

Gu Ze sighed as though the thought had merely occurred to him. "Xiaoqing sure has a lot of older brothers."

Ye Qing's brain suddenly caught up. "I may have a lot of them, but you're still my favorite, Brother Gu. You've taught me so much."

Gu Ze said nothing, but Ye Qing could tell his mood had improved considerably.

So Brother Gu gets jealous too. Good thing I noticed in time.

Gu Ze picked up his tea and took a few sips. Hearing Ye Qing talk about other people nonstop had made him feel a little uncomfortable.

Though he had to admit, his behavior was rather childish.

Today was the crew's final day of filming, and Gu Ze's last scene.

Ever since Mo Hua died, Lu Yan had seemed like a different person. He had once shown normal human feelings; now he seemed little more than a machine.

He continued shipping his goods as usual. But Mo Hua had exposed the location of their deal, and not only had that shipment failed to go through in full, the police were closing in more relentlessly than ever.

Mo Feng in particular seemed determined to skin them alive every time.

When Lu Yan had nothing to do, he often stared into space, sometimes holding a letter.

Some said it was a letter Mo Hua had left him.

Lu Yan's attitude eventually drew the Lu Family's displeasure. Seeing his once most promising grandson reduced to this state made the old master of the Lu Family furious.

He ordered Lu Yan to resolve the family's current troubles as quickly as possible, but to his surprise, Lu Yan refused.

"Doesn't my elder brother want to take charge? Leave it to him."

"As for me, I'm tired, Grandpa. I don't want to deal with it anymore." With that, he opened the door and walked out without hesitation.

It was the first time since childhood that he had defied his grandfather, but he no longer cared.

Without Lu Yan, the Lu Family fell apart. His elder brother couldn't manage it at all, and their plan to leave the country had long since been abandoned.

Before long, the police arrested the Lu Family, including Lu Yan.

The moment Mo Feng saw Lu Yan, he couldn't stop himself from throwing a punch. The other officers had to pull him away.

Mo Feng was among those who questioned Lu Yan.

The man once known as the most ruthless and difficult of them all now answered every question the police asked.

"Why did you deceive Mo Hua?"

The question came out of nowhere. Everyone knew it wasn't what they had meant to ask, but now that Mo Feng had asked it, they let it slide.

Soon, Mo Feng was the only one left in the interrogation room with Lu Yan.

Lu Yan froze. Perhaps it had been too long since he'd heard that name; he didn't answer at first.

But he quickly put on an indifferent expression. "Officer, isn't it obvious? Because he was your younger brother."

"Do you regret it? Deceiving him and causing him to lose his life?"

"Hmph. Why should I? We were on opposite sides from the start. Would you feel guilty about your prey?"

"Besides, weren't you the one who got him killed? If you hadn't kept coming after me, why would I have had to do that?" Lu Yan sounded furious by the end.

Mo Feng watched him for a long time, then said with certainty, "No. You're lying. Your eyes tell me you regret it. Lu Yan, you can't accept that Mo Hua is gone."

"You got angry at that last question. My brother died because I failed to protect him. But Lu Yan, the feelings he gave you went unanswered because of you."

"Neither of us can escape responsibility for his death."

"You won't admit you had feelings for Mo Hua, but can you lie to your own heart?"

"You didn't even dare see Mo Hua one last time. If that's how it is, there's no need to sneak around leaving flowers for him."

"You'll live with that guilt for the rest of your life."

Mo Feng left, leaving Lu Yan alone in the interrogation room. How could he not be heartbroken?

He had used Mo Hua, but he had never wanted him dead. The few feelings he had possessed, he had given to Mo Hua.

Their first meeting had been planned, but every meeting after that had come from the heart. The time he spent with Mo Hua had been the happiest of his life.

If circumstances hadn't forced his hand, he would have kept the truth from Mo Hua. They could have remained two ordinary friends among countless ordinary people.

But things didn't always go as one wished. Happy endings were mostly found in fairy tales, and he wasn't a character in one. The story would not unfold the way he wanted.

Sometimes he wondered if he had done so much evil that, when he finally met Mo Hua, their story could only end this way.

In the end, he did regret what he had done.

Mo Feng had said Lu Yan would live with guilt for the rest of his life, but Mo Feng was wrong.

Not long after he was locked up, Lu Yan took his own life. When they prepared his body, they pried a piece of paper from his hand.

The paper was covered in dense writing, but no one knew what it said.

Water stains had made the words impossible to read.