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Chapter 518: Chapter 344 Soar!
Guo Kunnan returned to his dorm and had been waiting for his good brother, waiting until 11:30 p.m., yet still hadn’t received any news from Kaiquan.
He couldn’t wait any longer, sat up from the bed, grabbed an umbrella, and ventured out into the dark.
Outside, a torrential downpour raged, filling the air with dampness as gusty winds howled. Guo Kunnan shivered with cold in the corridor.
Driven by an intense desire to know, he overcame the thought of going back to lie in bed.
Guo Kunnan dashed into the rainy night and slipped out through a small iron gate next to the dormitory’s main entrance.
In flip-flops with pant legs rolled up to his knees, he stepped on the campus’s concrete floor, the widespread puddles flowing over his feet, washing away his sleepiness.
Worried about being discovered by the security office, Guo Kunnan dared not use his flashlight and could only move forward by the faint light of the night.
"Where’s Kaiquan?" Guo Kunnan stood between the teaching buildings.
A thought crossed his mind; if Kaiquan had been successful in his confession, he would have surely shared the good news. Yet, more than an hour had passed without any message from him, and there was only one answer:
"Brother Quan, you’ve failed."
Guo Kunnan then headed toward the sports field.
Moving forward, he saw a silhouette in the curtain of rain.
The figure stood on the ground, head drooping in despondency, letting the heavy rain wash over him, looking extremely sorrowful and miserable.
Without a word, Guo Kunnan silently walked to Kaiquan’s side, raised the black umbrella, and shielded him from the pouring rain.
Silence ensued for a long while. 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝑝𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Dan Kaiquan’s voice rasped, "Brother Nan, I don’t want to live anymore."
He was in too much pain. Having liked Bai Yuxia for so long, his every effort, every struggle, all his motivation—it all stemmed from Bai Yuxia.
How many times he persevered in training, how many times he pushed through practice problems, he had considered giving up countless times.
Life could be lived so easily; why did it have to be so exhausting?
But just before each notion of giving up, he’d remember Bai Yuxia’s smile, and it all felt worth it.
However, tonight, the happiness he’d pictured in his mind completely crumbled.
He had nothing left.
The immense void toppled his belief.
He had been like a spinning top before, never stopping, but now without momentum, he couldn’t spin anymore.
Life is so meaningless.
Guo Kunnan could hear the despair in his voice.
He sighed, understanding the pain all too well from his own experiences with several heartbreaks.
Seeing Kaiquan in such a sorry state, he couldn’t bear it, patted his shoulder, and reminded him:
"Brother Quan, it’s time to go back. We still have class tomorrow."
"Even if you take a sick leave, it can only be for the morning study period, or else the head teacher is going to notify our parents."
Dan Kaiquan felt the pain intensify. He was this miserable, yet still damned to attend classes. Why was life so hard?
"Brother Nan," he asked wistfully, "do you think if I were a bit better, Bai Yuxia wouldn’t have rejected me?"
He still harbored a sliver of hope.
Guo Kunnan consoled him, "You’re already great as you are."
Dan Kaiquan: "Then why doesn’t she like me?"
Guo Kunnan deeply understood: "Love doesn’t make sense."
Dan Kaiquan hugged his head again, revealing his most vulnerable side as he choked up:
"Brother Nan, I feel like crying."
"I think I could cry right now."
"My head hurts. I can’t take it anymore."
"I’ll never like her again after this."
Dan Kaiquan swore through his tears. He had never felt as terrible as he did today.
Of course, Guo Kunnan supported his good brother, praising him:
"Kaiquan, a person lives for their pride. Just keep doing well, prove it to her, let Bai Yuxia know that she’s just an ordinary woman!"
Dan Kaiquan: "She’s not ordinary."
Guo Kunnan was puzzled: "?"
...
Eventually, Dan Kaiquan left the sports field.
After returning to the dorm, Guo Kunnan turned on the flashlight and made him two bags of Banlangen tea.
Dan Kaiquan drank the Banlangen and fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning.
"It’s time for morning self-study." Hu Jun climbed out of bed.
After getting up, Guo Kunnan checked on his good brother: "Are you alright?"
After being drenched in the rain for over an hour yesterday, Dan Kaiquan surprisingly didn’t fall ill, but he seemed to have lost his soul.
He went to class in a daze, as usual, glancing towards Bai Yuxia’s usual spot.
Bai Yuxia had already arrived, wearing a spotless white coat.
Dan Kaiquan wished to greet her, but he had long lost that right.
A wave of sadness hit Dan Kaiquan: ’Yes, she rejected me. What does she have to do with me now?’
He no longer looked at Bai Yuxia.
In the back row of the classroom.
Wang Longlong noticed something was off and inquired, "Brother Quan doesn’t seem right today."
Guo Kunnan shook his head without speaking.
Cui Yu swaggered into the classroom with a breeze in his step, chanting:
"The music goes on, and so does the dance!"
People’s sorrows don’t interconnect; Dan Kaiquan nearly suffered himself to death while Cui Yu was in high spirits.
Last night, he transformed into a trumpet and chatted late into the night with a "big sis" he added nearby on QQ. Though painful, he was one step closer to tormenting Zhang Chi.
A little sacrifice for a grand plan is nothing; a man is like wine, the longer it’s fermented, the richer its aroma.
Ma Shicheng looked at Guo Kunnan: "Did he fail?"
Guo Kunnan started, then understood what Brother Ma was referring to.
"He lost." He sighed.
Cui Yu had noticed Guo Kunnan’s disheveled state as soon as he entered, and jokingly said, "What’s up, got dumped?"
Guo Kunnan was shocked; how could Cui Yu possibly know?
Luckily, Cui Yu didn’t pry further.
Morning self-study started.
Classmates were reading aloud, reciting ancient texts, history books, memorizing vocabulary, their various voices blending together.
Formerly, Dan Kaiquan had also been one of the students reciting, but now, he wasn’t.
He couldn’t focus on his book at all, couldn’t study, surrounded by pain and emptiness.
Dan Kaiquan, with great willpower, forced himself not to look at Bai Yuxia.
He bowed his head, and whenever he felt the urge to glance her way, he bit the flesh inside his mouth hard.
