Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play-Chapter 959 - 934: Farewell
Xie Jue, how could he not feel sad? He looked into Fang Chuning’s eyes and gently shook his head, "Anning, don’t leave me, I beg you!"
Once, he thought such words of weakness and grievance were too pretentious. No matter how heartbroken you are or how much you want to retain someone, fate dictates that you must experience life and death separations. If sadness and pain could bring someone back, then there wouldn’t be so many lovesick men and women in the world. He never deigned to beg anyone or make such humble requests, but now all he wanted was for Fang Chuning to stay by his side.
He couldn’t accept Fang Chuning’s departure, even after experiencing it once. He was unwilling. The last time was when he lived without seeing the person and died without seeing the corpse. He held onto a thread of hope, steadfastly believing that as long as he didn’t see the body, he wouldn’t admit it, and Fang Chuning would live forever. But now, if Fang Chuning were to die before his eyes, what would he do?
What would he do?
"Anning, I beg you!" He gritted his teeth, tears filling his eyes, yet he held back from letting them fall. Xie Jue’s tears for his entire life were spent during the days following the destruction of the Marquis Mansion, almost waking up crying every night. He thought he had long since cried all his tears. At the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion, the upbringing for men was never about shedding tears but not shedding blood.
The old marquis had taught him from a young age that during joyful times, one could laugh heartily, and during sad times, one could cry freely. No one would laugh at them; emotions should never be hidden in the heart, they should be expressed. Perhaps because of his nature, the marquis only said such things to him. To Xie Xun, he taught that men should be strong, shedding blood instead of tears. But contrary to Xie Xun, no matter what kind of grievance he suffered, even if he was beaten at the Imperial College, he refused to shed a single tear despite the extreme pain, very stubbornly. However, Xie Xun, who was taught to shed blood and not tears, loved to cry as a child.
He never believed in tears; tears did not represent sadness but weakness and vulnerability. Even when he did cry, he would hide in the dead of night, unwilling to let others see his weakness.
Fang Chuning’s heart was about to break. Clearly, he couldn’t recall any memories with Xie Jue, and clearly, he had lost memories of loving him. But seeing his tears still tore at Fang Chuning’s heart, making him want to pull Xie Jue into his arms and comfort him tenderly.
He really wanted to promise Xie Jue, "Alright, I won’t go. I’ll wander with you to the ends of the earth." But he couldn’t do it. If King Yan wanted him dead by the third watch, he wouldn’t last until the fifth. Moreover, he felt increasingly strained, even breathing was painful, his whole body was convulsing with pain. He just didn’t want Xie Jue to see him suffer and fought hard to suppress the discomfort.
"Ting Feng, don’t cry..." Fang Chuning wished to raise his hand to wipe away his tears, but he lacked the strength to do so. He said weakly, "Actually, there are many places I want to visit. I want to see Ningzhou, I want to see Beiman. Just hearing you talk about it makes them feel both unfamiliar and familiar. Ting Feng, half of my life has been spent with you, are you...happy?"
Xie Jue nodded. Apart from those years when the brothers rebelled from the Capital City, half of Fang Chuning’s life indeed was spent with him, nearly inseparable. They were like a person and his shadow, never abandoning each other.
"Just happy is enough! What a long time of happiness spanning over a dozen years one can have in life! I think...I must have been very happy too. That’s enough; Heaven envies the talented, perhaps even Heaven is jealous of a perfect man like me and is eager to take me away. You’ve spent half of your life on the frontier, defending the borders, strategizing for Beining. You’re tired, too. Now that the four seas are stable and the emperor is wise, you should lay down your burdens, go everywhere to walk and see, see the lands on my behalf. We’ve fought on the battlefield, never really seeing the great landscapes of Beining. I...I..."
The more he spoke, the harder breathing became, the feeling of his chest was oppressive and painfully intense. Xie Jue was continuously rubbing his chest with a large hand, trying to soothe his discomfort, while Fang Chuning’s vision was already starting to blur.
Gradually, he began having hallucinations, sensing someone coming to take his soul.
Immediately following, he felt a surge of warmth. Xie Jue held him, burying his face at his neck, his hot tears rolling down, scorching his skin, weighing heavily on Fang Chuning’s heart.
Ting Feng... Ting Feng, don’t be sad!
He wanted to offer more comfort, but no words emerged; he truly had no strength left.
In a daze, it seemed like he heard someone calling him, within fuzzy memories, it was the Imperial College many years ago. When Xie Jue first came to the Imperial College, it was winter, he was wrapped in a thick white coat, like a young gentleman in a New Year’s painting, delicate and beautiful. Fang Chuning thought, what a sight, this was the best-looking child he had ever seen.
He said his name was Xie Jue. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
He really was about to die, wasn’t he? Otherwise, why would he see the young Xie Jue in a dream?
In that dazed state, Fang Chuning regained some awareness, could clearly see the person before him. Xie Jue, with reddened eyes, intently watched him, making Fang Chuning feel gutted. As he was about to say something, Xie Jue leaned forward and kissed his cold lips, then fiercely bit them.
Fang Chuning’s eyes widened. Xie Jue said, "Fang Chuning, when you were in Beiman, you pledged vows with me, you promised me to never leave nor abandon me in this life. If you leave me...I will never forgive you for the rest of my life!"
Had they really pledged vows?
Fang Chuning almost startled to sit upright in his dying state, but he truly had no strength left, couldn’t even ask what he wanted to know, and sank again into deep unconsciousness.
"Fang Chuning!" Xie Jue cried out in fear, he was so close to Fang Chuning, close enough not to hear his heartbeat. At the moment of intense grief and anger, Fang Chuning, who showed no signs of life, suddenly convulsed, spewing out a mouthful of black blood, and then lost consciousness again. That blood sprayed everywhere, even splattered on Xie Jue’s garment. Xie Jue turned his head and shouted, "Doctor, doctor!"
