Chapter 108 - Vain hope
Yunfeng stared at his phone, his fingers brushing over the cracked screen like it was some kind of lifeline.
His chest felt heavy, like a boulder was sitting right on top of it, crushing him slowly.
He couldn’t stop thinking about how stupid he’d been to pull out that damn SIM card.
Why had he done it? Why hadn’t he waited? Why hadn’t he at least left some kind of explanation, some kind of warning about what was coming?
He’d just... cut everything off. Like an idiot.
He flopped back onto his bed, the mattress creaking under his weight, and held the phone above his face, staring at the blank screen like it might magically light up with a text from Muchen. Just one text. Just one word. That’s all he wanted. But no. Nothing. Not a single damn thing.
Days had blurred together in a haze of sleepless nights and endless naps. He’d lost track of how long it had been since he’d last heard Muchen’s voice, since he’d last seen his face.
The ache in his chest had dulled a little, but it was still there, a constant reminder of what he’d lost.
He rolled over, his face squishing into the pillow, and peered out the window. The sun was setting again. Or was it rising? He couldn’t tell anymore.
"How many days has it been?" he muttered to himself, his voice hoarse from disuse. He didn’t even know. He’d stopped counting.
The door creaked open, and Jai’s head popped in, his usual goofy grin plastered across his face. But the grin faltered as soon as he saw Yunfeng. His friend looked... awful. Like a shell of the person he used to be. Yunfeng’s cheeks were hollow, his eyes dull and lifeless, like someone had snuffed out the light inside him. Jai’s heart ached just looking at him.