This actor is full of tricks.

"Get in, young man. Didn't I tell you last time that if we met again, I'd give you a ride? No matter where you're going, it won't cost you anything." The driver warmly helped Lin Jue into the car.

Lin Jue paused for a moment, then finally opened the car door and got in.

"Where do you want to go?" The driver observed Lin Jue's expression through the rearview mirror. "Young man, what's on your mind? Did you break up with your girlfriend? Or did you have a fight with your family?"

"It's nothing." Lin Jue shook his head and rested his head on the back of the front seat. "Take me for a walk along the river."

After thinking for a moment, he changed his mind: "Never mind, take me to Haitian Clinic instead."

"Are you sick?" The driver was indeed a kind-hearted person, and he had been concerned about Lin Jue's condition the whole way, but Lin Jue did not say a word. He didn't even have the strength to answer questions.

The taxi came to a smooth stop outside Haitian Clinic. The driver, looking somewhat puzzled, asked from the driver's seat, "This clinic is closed. What are you doing here?"

The clinic is closed?
Lin Jue's pupils suddenly contracted, and he raised his head to look out through the car window. The clinic's door was still open, but workers were continuously carrying things out of it. On the other side of the door, there was a "Store for Sale" sign.

"If you need to see a doctor, I can take you to another place. I know a clinic where the doctor is quite skilled... Eh?" The driver was about to say something when he saw Lin Jue suddenly open the car door and run out.

When Lin Jue ran into the clinic, he found that many things inside had been moved out, and even most of the wall panels that had been removed from the walls had been taken down.

I've only been away for two days, why has the clinic become like this? Where is Dr. Zhou?
He grabbed a worker who was moving things: "Brother, what's going on? The clinic was perfectly fine, why are you moving it?"

"You'll have to ask the boss. All I know is that they notified us to come and move our things yesterday. Maybe they couldn't continue working here," the worker said, indicating he didn't know either.

The clinic is going out of business? There are so many people coming to see the doctor.

Lin Jue rushed to Zhou Yue's clinic, only to find that everything there had disappeared. Even the wall full of banners that Zhou Yue was most proud of was being taken down and packed into a box by a worker.

"Yan Hui?"

A questioning voice came from behind him. It was the nurse who had accompanied him to the hospital with Zhou Yue. When she saw Lin Jue, the nurse's face was full of strange expressions: "Shouldn't you be taking the college entrance exam today? Why are you here? Have you finished the exam?"

"Where is Dr. Zhou?" Lin Jue asked impatiently as soon as he saw him, as if he had found a lifeline.

"He went back to his hometown. Didn't he tell you? You two seem to have a pretty good relationship..." the nurse muttered.

Zhou Yue went back to his hometown? Why? Wasn't he diligently doing rehabilitation training just a couple of days ago?
"It's probably because of his hand, and maybe that incident before too. When Dr. Zhou left, he said he felt he wasn't really suited to be a doctor; he wanted to go home and open a bookstore." The nurse shrugged, somewhat wistfully. "I don't know what Dr. Zhou was thinking. He was clearly a very good doctor..."

As she spoke, she directed the workers to move things.

Lin Jue stood there blankly, a jumble of images flashing through his mind.

In the video, he saw a photo of Zhou Yue and another dejected young man on a desk. Someone was telling him that both of them were dead.

They were all dead people...

His blood stopped flowing at that moment, his heart skipped a beat. These images seemed ethereal, yet also as if they had truly happened. He had a strange feeling that Zhou Yue would soon choose to commit suicide.

The person who was willing to hold an umbrella for him ultimately couldn't open their own. Past events had tormented their sense of responsibility until it finally became unbearable. The driver, still waiting outside, waved to Lin Jue as he emerged: "Young man, where are you headed?"

The driver must have noticed Lin Jue's distraught state, which is why he waited here.

Lin Jue told Zhou Yue where he lived, as he planned to go and check on him in case Zhou Yue hadn't returned to his hometown yet, since moving would take some time.

He wanted to talk to the other person; he couldn't just enjoy their comfort, he also wanted to do what he could to help Zhou Yue get out of the shadows of the past.

But things didn't go as he expected. Zhou Yue had already moved out, and there was a real estate agency advertisement on the door. Zhou Yue had completely given up his profession as a doctor, which is why he left without any hesitation.

Lin Jue stared at the real estate agency advertisement hanging on the door, his eyelids drooping helplessly. He had tried, but it was all in vain.

It's like a script with a predetermined ending; no matter how hard he tries to change it, he'll always end up with a tragic fate.

What I thought was self-redemption turned out to be a deeper despair.

"Is this the deepest despair in the world...?"

"Ha ha……"

He staggered home, lit the last remaining candle, and stared at the flickering flame. It was the last candle in the house, almost completely burned out.

"elder brother!"

He seemed to hear anxious shouts again. Lin Jue slowly came back to his senses and used the last of his strength to pick up the mobile phone that was placed on the table.

He still felt a little unwilling. If he missed the college entrance exam this time, there would be another time. He could retake it, ask Zhou Yue where his hometown was, and visit the doctor he respected.

He dialed Li Ge's number, wanting to hear about the beauty of university life from him one last time; it was the last glimmer of light he could draw upon.

The call was answered after two rings, but a very tired female voice came from the other end: "Hello? Hello."

Upon hearing this voice, Lin Jue's heart suddenly tightened: "Hello, I'm looking for Senior Li Ge."

"He committed suicide yesterday," the woman said, and then hung up the phone.

The busy tone on the phone felt like a heavy hammer blow to Lin Jue's heart. He stared at the gradually darkening phone screen. Why did Li Ge commit suicide? He was such a sunny and positive person.
This question was destined to remain unanswered, and Lin Jue no longer wanted to search for it. At this moment, his tense nerves felt like a severed string that could never be reconnected.

The candles on the table gradually went out. Lin Jue stood up from the table, moved a stool into the kitchen, and turned on the tap in the sink.

He sat down in the chair, and when the pool was filled, he put his right hand in. The icy cold air seeped into his skin and spread inch by inch along his hand bones throughout his body.

He picked up a knife from the cutting board beside him and, without hesitation, slashed it across his right wrist. (End of Chapter)