2.22: A High School Nostalgia

The death of Li Yunyu, Zhou Junze's fiancée was a huge sensation in the city. Everybody talked about it in social media and in real life. Because it was so sudden, and it was even more controversial, because Li Yunyu was killed by the popular young actor who disappeared for three years, Yang Ronghui.

After the death of Li Yunyu, Yang Ronghui turned himself in to the police and confessed everything. He confessed that he had shot Li Yunyu on the stomach twice, he did it because he was in love with Li Yunyu for so long, but Yunyu never batted an eye on him, and went with Zhou Junze instead.

He was burning in jealousy and couldn't control his rage, that was why he killed Li Yunyu.

The confession made it to the headline, the love triangle between young actor Yang Ronghui, the honor student Li Yunyu, and the heir of Duan family Zhou Junze. It was very sensational that the showbiz decided to make a movie about it.

Yang Ronghui was originally sentenced to fifteen years in prison. But the autopsy of Li Yunyu's body showed an unbelievable discovery, based on the autopsy, Li Yunyu was shot after fierce struggle, and the autopsy report proved that Li Yunyu's death was purely accidental after the struggle between him and Ronghui.

It was also clearer because there were various scratches and bite marks on Ronghui's body, Yunyu was not powerless when he was struggling.

But Ronghui insisted that he had intentionally killed Yunyu. In the end, the judge sentenced him for ten years in prison.

Ronghui accepted it, but he didn't want to go to the jail alone. He confessed about all the underworld crimes involving his father, Zhou Jiayu.

Zhou Jiayu was already in shaky ground after Duan Biya divorced him. He was deemed to fall from his position, alongside the Zhou family.

In the end, Yang Ronghui and Zhou Jiayu were jailed for their own respective crime.

***

Zhou Junze was now twenty four years old. He was the head of Duan Family's businesses. He was a well-respected young man with a sharp mind and amazing charisma. In short, he was the winner in life.

But there was one thing that haunted him, he refused to find a new spouse. He still had his engagement ring with Li Yunyu on his finger. Today was the day he visited his half-brother, Yang Ronghui.

Ronghui was now rugged, the trace of prison life was forever imprinted in his handsome face. He stared blankly at Junze, "What do you want?"

Junze silently put the paper in front of Ronghui and said, "I bailed you out. You will be free now. But you must work under my company for ten years."

Ronghui looked at the paper in front of him. He scoffed lightly, took the pen, and signed it. He didn't even care at this point. He had lived in the prison for five years, he was already a disgraced man. If Junze wanted to disgrace him even more, he had no one to return. Especially since his mother had abandoned him and married a new man.

Yang Ronghui was released from the prison and worked under Zhou Junze as his assistant. Although everyone questioned his decision, nobody dared to confront Junze. His mother asked him about this, and all Junze said was:

"Yunyu wants me to take care of my half-brother."

Years passed, and after ten years Junze made a shocking decision to split his company share in half for Ronghui. Ronghui was now the vice president of the Duan family's businesses. He still retained his amazing intelligence, and the businesses soared with Junze and Ronghui as the leader. Both of them were the winner in life.

But it was all empty in Junze's heart. This was all empty.

He sat on a bench near the garden in the empty school. The school had been kept at its same appearance since twenty two years ago, when Yunyu and Junze were still in this school. Junze stared at the new magnolia tree where Junze often bullied Yunyu when he was in high school.

He chuckled lightly, "I wish time would stop at that day when I bullied you until you cried. Although you are scared of me, at least you are still alive."

"Yunyu, I've become what my mother wants. I've graduated from university with perfect grades, I become the successor and I make Duan family as the strongest family in this city. But I am now forty years old, I'm not young anymore, and you haven't fulfilled your promise to marry me."

…

Junze stared at the magnolia tree, hoped that Yunyu would appear again and was acting like a shrimp, cowered in front of him. Junze always thought that Yunyu was a cute boy.

After a while, he heard a footstep coming at him. Junze turned his head, and saw Ronghui come and sat beside him on the bench. He also stared at the same magnolia tree.

They were both forty years old, although both of them still retained their handsome and vigorous body, the wrinkles at the edge of their eyes were not lying. Both of them were unmarried, and didn't plan to marry at all.

Because their love died in a bloody love triangle.

"Junze, why did you save me back then? You could've let me rot in the prison,�� Ronghui asked, but his eyes didn't leave the magnolia tree at all.

"… because Yunyu wants me to take care of my half-brother," Junze smiled at the magnolia tree, "Ronghui, you can take all the businesses yourself. I don't need it."

"No, it's not mine," Ronghui said, "Besides, maybe you can feel it too."

"Yes, I can. My death is near, I want to meet him soon."

"… if he allows me, I also want to meet him at least once. I want to beg for his forgiveness."

***

Junze died at the age of fifty with a heart attack, so did Ronghui, who died at the age of fifty two with the same cause. Their souls floated in the same sphere in a foreign place with a bunch of numbers floating around.

Junze and Ronghui opened their eyes together, and they were greeted by the sight of a man wearing a black-golden robe. His beauty was out of this world, but both Junze and Ronghui felt that this man was very familiar in their memory.

"Zhou Junze and Yang Ronghui, welcome to my space," the man spoke. His finger flicked and a sphere was created in front of him. They saw a man with black suit attacking zombies with his power, "That is Yunyu, he is not dead yet. He jumps to another world as part of his mission."

"If you want to meet him again, then join me. Both of you are one soul, and your soul is part of mine. I will assure you that you will meet Yunyu again," the man offered Junze and Ronghui.

They stared at each other, seemingly in tacit understanding, they nodded and closed their eyes. Their soul merged into one and the sphere minimized into a small sphere. The man swallowed the sphere, just like what he did with Saint Michael.

He watched Yunyu who was fighting against hordes of zombies with his power. He chuckled scornfully, "Zhou Junze and Yang Ronghui, they are the same soul that I split into two in that world, so anyone who dares to invade the world, would be stuck inside that world forever. Because nobody would be able to get the heart of both Junze and Ronghui."

"But you, Bai Yunyu, you played with their heart before. You crushed their heart until they committed suicide. You are the one who destroyed that world and ruined part of my soul."

"Now, you are also the one who cleanses the same world you destroyed. How ironic."

The man laughed as he flicked his sleeve. There were still plenty of worlds until he gained his full power, when that happens, he will settle his debt with Yunyu.