On the beach in Toyaru late at night, the sound of waves crashing against the shore never stopped.
The salty sea breeze was biting, howling across the beach and tearing at Ice's thin trench coat.
He stood quietly on the rocks by the sea, clutching his phone tightly in his hand, which was still showing a call status.
Liu Longren's voice drifted uncertainly amidst the sound of the waves.
Ice did not answer immediately.
He slowly raised his right hand and took out a windproof lighter.
"Click, click."
I pressed the fire wheel several times in a row, each time accompanied by a crisp mechanical sound and a fleeting spark.
You can't hit it.
Ice shook the lighter in her hand forcefully.
"Sizzle—"
The blue flames finally burned tenaciously.
Ice quickly lowered her head and, using the faint light, lit the cigarette she had been holding in her mouth.
Mars flickers.
He took a deep breath.
"Cough! Cough cough cough!"
The acrid smoke instantly filled his lungs, and the intense irritation made him cough violently, almost bringing tears to his eyes.
Ice doesn't smoke.
Never.
My buddies used to brag that when a man is troubled, he just smokes a cigarette and all his worries will dissipate with the white smoke.
They say this stuff can relieve worries and make people temporarily forget all their unhappiness.
But now, when that bitter smog actually went down his throat, he felt as if his throat was on fire.
This thing isn't much better either.
This only made his already depressed mood even more irritable.
Liu Longren's voice came again.
"Ice? Hello? Why aren't you saying anything? Are you still there?"
Ice rubbed her slightly sore nose vigorously with the back of her hand, as if she had just been pulled back from another world, and awkwardly laughed twice into the microphone.
"Um... haha, sorry, I was just spacing out. It's nothing, it's just... I suddenly missed you and wanted to ask how you've been lately."
Hearing this familiar and long-awaited greeting, Liu Longren on the other end of the phone was visibly relieved.
He's been getting really upset lately because of the mess at Kowloon Group. His mother's control, his father's illness, and the old guys' double-dealing make him feel like a puppet, all ambition and no power.
When I received a call from an old friend, I naturally started chatting away.
"Oh, don't even mention it, it's driving me crazy. You know my husband, he's been seriously ill and unconscious lately, and the house is a complete mess right now."
"My mother is a control freak. She watches me every day, forbidding me from doing this and that, afraid that I'll cause her trouble if I go out. And those elders are all sarcastic and don't take me seriously at all..."
Liu Longren talked incessantly on the phone, from the internal strife in the family business to trivial matters at home, from his mother's nagging to his own ambitions, showing no intention of hanging up.
The feeling was like a child who had been away from home for too long finally finding a safe haven to confide in.
Ice stood in the cold wind, silently listening to Liu Longren's complaints.
Those trivial words, word by word, seeped into his ears, but made his heart sink little by little.
He gradually became lost in thought.
He could tell that even though they had taken different paths and their statuses had changed, Liu Longren still regarded him as his best brother with whom he could talk about anything, and his most trustworthy partner.
But this very trust is now like a dull knife, sawing at Ice's heart again and again.
I thought of the home that fell apart because of his one wrong decision.
Ice clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug deep into her flesh, sending waves of excruciating pain through her.
Several times, he swallowed back the words that were about to come out. The truths that were about to be spoken were like fish bones stuck in his throat, making him feel suffocated.
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out; only the howling sea wind seemed to weep for him.
"Hello? Hello! Ice, are you listening?"
After not hearing a response for a long time, Liu Longren raised his voice a few decibels, with a hint of doubt.
Ice was jolted awake, her thoughts pulled from the depths of her memories by the call.
He took a deep breath and tried to make his voice sound calm and normal.
"I'm listening, I'm listening, the wind was too strong just now."
On the other end of the phone, Liu Longren sighed, his tone full of emotion and helplessness.
"Sigh, to be honest, I regret it now. I should have never gone back to this damn company."
"It's exhausting to play mind games with these old foxes every day. It's much more comfortable to be with you guys, fighting and drinking. It's so much more fun."
"It's just a pity about that Ryuzaki Mako..."
Upon hearing the name, Ice's body stiffened instantly, her already pale face turned even more ashen, and a complex mix of pain and struggle flashed in her eyes.
It was anger, regret, and even more so, a deep sense of powerlessness.
He gritted his teeth, suddenly raised his hand, and flung the cigarette between his fingers—which had only been smoked once—fiercely into the dark sea.
The red spark traced a parabola in the sky before being swallowed up by the waves in an instant.
He didn't want to continue the topic, and he didn't want that person's name to taint this moment of warmth any further.
Ice suddenly spoke, her voice somewhat low.
"Bro, wanna come out for a drink?"
Liu Longren on the other end of the phone was clearly surprised by Ice's sudden invitation. He paused for a moment, then his tone became somewhat delighted.
Now?
Ice did not answer immediately.
He was engaged in his final internal struggle.
Once this step is taken, there's no going back.
But he has to make a choice.
The sea breeze tousled his hair and chilled his still hesitant heart.
After a long silence, he spoke into the microphone, extremely calm, yet his tone sounded like a farewell.
"No, not now, three days from now. I have some things to take care of these next few days, I'll come find you after I'm done."
Liu Longren on the other end of the phone had long forgotten his mother's stern admonition in the conference room.
He chuckled heartily, a genuine laugh from the bottom of his heart.
"Sure, no problem! I'm free right now anyway. Call me in three days, you can choose the location, I'll be waiting anytime."
...
The next morning.
Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, piercing the darkness in the hospital room.
Special care ward at Huya Central Hospital.
Lying on the pristine white hospital bed, Amamiya Zunlong's eyelids twitched slightly.
After a long time, his eyes finally opened slowly, just a crack.
The vision was initially blurry, with overlapping images, and the chandelier on the ceiling looked like a scattered halo.
He instinctively tried to shake his head to dispel the drowsiness.
But the slightest movement caused a stiff and sore sensation in his neck, which immediately made him groan softly.
"hiss--"
The morning sunlight wasn't too strong, but for someone who had been sleeping in darkness, the light was still as blinding as looking directly at the midday sun.
Amamiya Zonryu subconsciously squinted, tears streaming uncontrollably from the intense light.
He was somewhat unaccustomed to the sudden light, and even had an urge to close his eyes again and escape back into the darkness.
Just then, a faint rustling sound caught his attention.
Amamiya Zunryu blinked hard, and after a moment of adjustment, his blurry vision gradually became clear.
He turned his head slightly and glanced at the right side of the hospital bed.
A young man was sitting there.
The man was wearing a dark trench coat and sat upright in the chair.
He was holding a gleaming fruit knife and a bright red apple in his hand.
The blade spun lightly under the apple peel, and the long peel fell down completely and evenly without breaking at all.
As the last layer of fruit peel fell, the young man seemed to notice Amamiya Zunlong's gaze.
He stopped what he was doing, looked up, and smiled brightly.
"Awake? Want an apple?"