I’m Not Leaving

Qin Huairen stood in the cold wind, holding the silent Xu Jianing in her arms.

“Ningning, I’m really not blaming you. That bouquet this morning—if you threw it away, then you threw it away. You said there were bugs. I believe you.”

Xu Jianing sniffed, her voice hoarse as she gave a bitter little laugh.

“When I said I didn’t want it to happen again, I wasn’t warning you,” Qin Huairen murmured, patting her back softly.

“There are a lot of details between me and Wen Yuzhi that you don’t know. I don’t want you dragged into it. I don’t want you getting hurt because of me. I really care about you. Do you understand?”

Xu Jianing lowered her head, saying nothing.

Everything she had carefully prepared tonight had been ruined again.

“So from now on, let me handle my business with her myself.”

Qin Huairen hugged her gently. “If you’re caught in the middle, it only makes things harder for me.”

Hatred—

Her hatred for Wen Yuzhi grew stronger.

Especially when Qin Huairen asked her to “keep distance” because of Wen Yuzhi.

It burned like wildfire.

“What happened this morning. And tonight.” Qin Huairen’s voice dropped. “I don’t want it to happen again.”

She was tired.

Her friend stood by her side—she should have felt lighter.

But seeing Xu Jianing hurt doubled her own negative emotions.

She feared even more that if Wen Yuzhi deliberately targeted Xu Jianing, and her friend’s work or life suffered because of her, she would never forgive herself.

Wen Yuzhi stepped out of the restaurant.

The blood had been wiped from her face, leaving only faint red streaks carved against pale skin.

It was striking.

Tonight’s madness had clearly been Xu Jianing’s.

Wen Yuzhi hadn’t fought back.

That was restraint enough.

Qin Huairen stared at her, silently warning her not to come closer.

Wen Yuzhi, who had been walking straight ahead, suddenly changed direction and stopped beneath a tree nearby, as if staring across the road in thought.

The winter wind lifted the hem of her skirt.

She seemed unaware of the cold.

Under the streetlight, her skin looked pale, her profile delicate and distant as always.

The shadows of bare branches layered over her figure.

She radiated a kind of lonely desolation.

Qin Huairen’s chest felt heavy, as if a stone pressed down on it.

Perhaps because of the sobbing woman in her arms.

She hailed a car and sent Xu Jianing home.

The ride was silent.

Xu Jianing leaned against her shoulder, seeming asleep.

Outside the window, the city rushed past.

Inside her mind, however, lingered Wen Yuzhi’s injured right hand, the cut on her cheek, and the small solitary figure beneath the tree.

And the bite mark.

She had bitten her hard.

Xu Jianing had gone mad.

She had gone mad too.

She shouldn’t have bitten her.

But she had been desperate.

Wen Yuzhi hadn’t dodged.

Hadn’t resisted.

Some things, it seemed, had never changed.

After arriving home, Xu Jianing apologized again—

For the school anniversary.

For sending Lin Zhixun to pick her up without asking.

For throwing away the bouquet.

For accidentally injuring her face.

She cried again while speaking.

Qin Huairen sighed inwardly but coaxed her gently.

“I’m not lying. I’m not angry. We’ve known each other for years. I know you mean well. Let’s just let it go.”

Xu Jianing wiped her tears and disappeared inside for a moment.

She returned holding three tickets and a box of ointment.

They were limited-edition exhibition tickets from the Su family collection—

An exhibition Qin Huairen had always wanted to attend but never managed to.

Her mood, heavy all evening, suddenly lifted like the fizz from a soda bottle.

She smiled brightly and hugged Xu Jianing.

“You really understand me. This might be the best gift I’ll get all year.”

Xu Jianing’s lips parted slightly.

The truth stuck in her throat.

The one who understood Qin Huairen best… was still Wen Yuzhi.

The thought made her chest ache.

Qin Huairen held her tightly, cheerful again.

“Thank you, Ningning. I was happy tonight too. No need to send flowers to make up for anything. Let that bouquet go to hell.”

Xu Jianing wanted to say that the bouquet hadn’t been for compensation at all.

But Qin Huairen was already rambling self-critically.

“I’m such a terrible friend. I didn’t prepare anything for you. You know I don’t celebrate holidays. Especially not this one…”

“I know.” Xu Jianing cut her off softly. “I don’t need anything. I just want you to be happy.”

Qin Huairen kept only one ticket.

“If you’re free, let’s go together.”

Xu Jianing nodded.

When Qin Huairen left, she stood at the roadside to call a car.

The winter wind was harsher now.

Her fingers hovered over the screen.

Destination.

She typed it.

Deleted it.

Typed it again.

Finally, she inhaled deeply and entered: Qinhuai Renjia.

Before the car arrived, she went into a nearby pharmacy.

One ointment to reduce swelling.

One for open wounds.

“Don’t get the wound wet,” the clerk advised. “It might scar.”

Qin Huairen hesitated awkwardly.

“If it’s… a bite wound… this works too, right?”

The clerk blinked. “Dog or cat? You need a vaccine for that.”

Seeing her expression, the clerk quickly understood and smiled awkwardly.

“Human bite is the same. Disinfect first, then apply ointment.”

Leaving the pharmacy, Qin Huairen exhaled sharply.

She swung the medicine bag in frustration.

“At least when I bite someone, no vaccine needed. If they stuck a needle in you, you’d probably run two miles.”

Call it conscience.

Call it kindness.

Deep down, she had a feeling Wen Yuzhi was still there.

If she didn’t go back, something would feel unfinished.

The midnight streets were fast and empty.

As the car neared Qinhuai Renjia, her heartbeat quickened.

Strange.

Conflicted.

She hoped Wen Yuzhi had left.

But she was certain she hadn’t.

The tree beneath the streetlight was empty.

But down the alley stood several men in suits.

Tall. Broad.

A brand-new SUV waited at the entrance.

“Faster, please,” she urged.

The traffic light turned red.

“I’ll get off here!”

She jumped out.

Instinct—

And memory.

Years ago, she had seen Wen Yuzhi surrounded just like this.

Across the street, voices rose from the alley.

Not shouting.

But hostile.

She spotted a rusty metal pipe sticking out of a trash can.

She grabbed it, eyes fixed on the unmoving red light.

In the alley, pushing escalated.

Among the male voices was a woman’s sharp anger.

She lifted her phone, zoomed in.

Through shifting shoulders, she finally saw Wen Yuzhi’s cold face.

Small.

Alone.

Surrounded.

Rage surged.

She ran through the red light.

Raising her phone to record, she slammed the pipe against a trash can.

“Hey!”

The metallic clang echoed down the street.

Every head turned.

Including Wen Yuzhi’s.

“How shameless can you be?” Qin Huairen sneered, stepping closer. “A group of men blocking a woman at midnight? Should I post this online and let everyone admire your faces?”

A man in sunglasses stepped forward.

“This is the Wen family’s private matter. Turn off your phone. Delete the footage.”

“I don’t care whose business it is. I see a pack of dogs barking at one person.”

She pointed the pipe at him.

“And you—stay back. This thing doesn’t have eyes.”

The man glanced at Wen Yuzhi.

“Young Miss Wen, this is your friend, right? For her sake, ask her to delete it and leave.”

In the center, Wen Yuzhi’s face was rigid.

Her eyes sharp.

But Qin Huairen saw the red veins hidden deep within—

Rage forced into restraint.

The wind was brutal.

Wen Yuzhi looked fragile enough to be blown away.

Her dark hair scattered against pale skin.

She looked tragically breakable.

Qin Huairen had seen this before.

And it twisted her heart the same way.

She preferred Wen Yuzhi arrogant and untouchable—

Not cornered.

Not pressured into submission.

“Areng,” Wen Yuzhi said softly.

The tone didn’t match her cold expression.

“You leave.”

“I’m not leaving.”

The first line—Wen Yuzhi had said it years ago.

The second—Qin Huairen said now.

“I can handle this alone.”

“You can’t control me.”

The same dialogue.

Repeating.

“Wen Yuzhi, I told you before.” Qin Huairen stepped forward, pipe raised.

“No one controls me.”

She could not bear the redness in Wen Yuzhi’s eyes.

Nor the way she looked ready to burn everything down.

So whether it was meddling or saving someone—

Qin Huairen steadied her trembling breath.

Just like years ago, she made the same decision.

She pointed the pipe at the men.

“I’m taking her with me tonight. Try and stop me.”