He Saved Them Both… But No One Saved Him

Ning Shixue admitted he was very moved.

His nose even stung a little.
But right now, his thighs were weak and his lower abdomen was sore no matter how he rubbed it.
He really couldn’t look the word ‘home’ in the face.

After Xie Zhaozhou sent the message, he saw that Ning Shixue was still typing.
He was sure Ning Shixue wasn’t asleep yet.

– [. : ?]

The tips of Ning Shixue’s ears burned.
His face red, he looked down and typed.

– [snow: Get lost.]

Xie Zhaozhou never expected that now, showing affection would only get him hit or cursed.
But he didn’t dare push his luck.
He very meekly sent him a goodnight, even with a sea otter emoji.

Ning Shixue hesitated for a moment, then finally sent him a fierce goodnight back.

The corner of Xie Zhaozhou’s mouth couldn’t help lifting.
He didn’t go to the company.
He first drove to the hospital.

Old Master Xie had been in a hospital bed for three years.
His health wouldn’t recover in just a few months.
He still couldn’t speak.
He could only stay conscious for an hour or two at most each day.

But Xie Zhaozhou felt Old Master Xie had something to tell him.
Every time he saw him, he would get emotional.

At first, he thought Old Master Xie had found out about Xie’s father’s illegitimate child and wanted to tell him the car accident might have been their doing.
But he chose an appropriate time to tell Old Master Xie that the murderer had been caught and that Xie’s father was dead.
Old Master Xie was first shocked and in tears, then shook his head at him.

He couldn’t find out more unless Old Master Xie could speak.
Xie Zhaozhou would go see him whenever he had time.

The parenting show had finally wrapped up.
Not only Ning Shixue, but Xie Yaoyao was also exhausted.
He had stayed up late for several nights in a row.

They slept soundly for a whole day.
Ning Shixue was still tired.
But the chubby kid was fully recharged.

Xie Yaoyao the Great Demon King discovered that the baby had a secret he was keeping from him.

Ning Shixue’s bedroom door was never closed.
But these past few nights, it had been closed.
However, when he went to find Ning Shixue, nothing seemed wrong.
Ning Shixue was either lying on the bed playing games, flipping through his script, or curled up sleeping.

That night, after finishing work, Xie Yaoyao anxiously asked the butler grandpa to help him bathe.
Then, in his baby sleep pants, he pattered over to Ning Shixue.
He stuck out his little bottom, climbed onto the bed, and forcefully burrowed under the covers, lying in the baby’s arms.

“What’s wrong?”
Ning Shixue asked, puzzled, reaching out to pinch the soft flesh on his little belly.

Xie Yaoyao, like a little puppy, rolled over to show his belly for Ning Shixue to touch.
But he couldn’t help kicking his short little legs a few times.
His soft cheeks puffed out.
“Baby, do you have a nightlife?”

He suspected the baby was secretly playing games at night.

Ning Shixue felt he was no longer the innocent alien he used to be.
Hearing the words ‘nightlife’ made his mind go to the wrong place.
He stopped Xie Yaoyao the Great Demon King from launching his chubby cheek attack and denied it, his ears red.
“There’s no such thing, okay?”

He was sewing the bears at night.
He had already finished Xie Yaoyao’s bear.
But Xie Zhaozhou’s wasn’t done yet.

He was making a bear for Xie Zhaozhou as big as Xie Yaoyao.

In the end, Xie Yaoyao never found out what Ning Shixue was doing.
His little mouth puckered into a trumpet shape.
The kid held a grudge.
He thought angrily, he would also keep a secret from the baby.

He was now the great antagonist Xie Yaoyao.

Tomorrow, he would eat one extra little fried meatball.
Even if the baby asked him, he wouldn’t tell.

The show was over, so Ning Shixue stayed on set to film.
Last Night’s Star was also about to wrap up.
He was on set every day.
When he ran into Yan Ting, he would teach him interstellar language and show him the practice tests he had done.

In the movie, it was almost New Year’s.
Even though Wen Yu was very poor, he thought New Year’s was a very important day.
Every year, he would specially save up a hundred or two hundred yuan to buy new clothes and New Year’s goods for Xiaoyan’er and the others.
It was money he saved by eating a few less meals.

One winter night, it snowed.
Holding his stomach, he walked home.
He already had terminal stomach cancer.
Even painkillers were almost useless.
But he never went to the hospital.
He didn’t know.

Even so, Wen Yu could feel it himself.
His wrists were so thin they were just bones.
His eye sockets were sunken.
A sense of exhaustion spread from every blood vessel.

A few sparse stars hung in the night sky.
A small shop on the street was playing a song.
“Walking in the cold, snowy night sky, selling matches to warm my dreams… Can’t stop moving forward on this cold night, wind cuts my face, snow cuts my mouth, dragging my feet, how much longer can I walk…”

He didn’t quite understand the lyrics.
But every time he heard this song from the small shop, he would think of Xiaoyan’er.

She sang very well.
He thought she was almost as good as the singers on TV.
If he had money, when she was a little older, he could send her to learn singing.

Wen Yu got tired from walking and stopped to rest for a few minutes.
Finally, he stopped outside a toy store with a lit window.

The light was bright and warm.
In the window were several brown teddy bears.
The smallest one cost over sixty yuan.

Xiaoyan’er and the others had never asked for any toys.
They never said they wanted them.
But every time they passed this store at night, their steps would unconsciously slow down.

Sixty yuan was a lot for them.
It could buy food for several days.
It could buy medicine if they got sick.

But Wen Yu stood in the snow for a few minutes.
He had a strange feeling.
If he didn’t buy it now, he would never have the chance again.
He wiped his hands and, looking nervous, went in and bought this little bear.

He held the bear’s fluffy ears and tucked it into his arms, like he was afraid it would get cold too, and carried it home.

Ning Shixue got this scene in one take.
Unless He Lin wasn’t satisfied with the actor he was playing against, or the lighting, etc., he rarely had to do multiple takes.
It was already late at night.
The last scene was tomorrow.
They could film the final scene then.

He Lin told Ning Shixue,
“Get a good rest tonight. Let’s try to get the last few scenes in one take.”

Otherwise, dragging it out too long would also be draining for the actors’ emotions.

Ning Shixue nodded in agreement.
He went to sleep a little after nine.
The next morning, he took Xie Yaoyao to the set early.

Finally, it was time to film the scene where Xiaoyan’er found her parents.

The makeup artist gave Ning Shixue even more sickly and pale makeup.
Now Ning Shixue’s cheeks looked extremely pale.
His eye sockets were sunken.
With the makeup, he was so thin he was almost emaciated.

Actually, on anyone else, it wouldn’t be good-looking.
Terminal cancer patients can even look frightening.

But Ning Shixue’s peach blossom eyes were still beautiful.
The scattered, star-like light in them hadn’t burned out.
In his extreme pallor, there was instead a growing intensity, a willingness to be consumed.

“Last Night’s Star, Scene 96, Take 1! Action!”
the script supervisor called.

Wen Yu, wrapped in his worn-out cotton padded jacket, was delivering goods in the morning.
His gloves weren’t thick enough.
His fingertips were stiff from the cold.
After moving another box, his stomach ached like it was vomiting blood.

He leaned against the truck to rest.
Suddenly, he noticed a missing person notice on a telephone pole not far away.

He thought Xiaoyan’er’s parents might also be looking for their child.
So no matter where he went, he never missed these notices.
But he had been disappointed too many times.
Now he didn’t have much hope.
He just walked over and looked.

It was that one look.
His whole body froze.
He almost rushed over.

Xiaoyan’er had gotten separated from her family when she was three or four.
This photo was of her at three.

Even though she had grown up now and didn’t look exactly like she did when she was little, her features were still very similar.
And the age and everything matched.

This notice was still new.
It seemed like it had just been put up recently.
Wen Yu messaged the number on it.
He quickly got a reply saying they wanted to meet him.

So Wen Yu took half a day off and brought Xiaoyan’er.

A couple with graying hair came.
Wen Yu thought they had mistaken someone again.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they saw Xiaoyan’er, their eyes instantly reddened.
Tears streamed down their faces.
They could barely stop crying.

Wen Yu let go of Xiaoyan’er’s hand.
He bent down and gently pushed her on the back.

Xiaoyan’er ran over and was hugged by her mother.

“You’ve grown so big,”
her mother said, raising her hand to wipe away her tears.
She couldn’t even wipe away her own flowing tears.
She smiled and then couldn’t help crying again.
Her eyes were red as she choked and asked,
“Do you still remember me?”

Xiaoyan’er’s father was also crying.
He walked over to thank Wen Yu.
Wen Yu hadn’t finished wiping his own tears.
He listened awkwardly.
When the man offered him money, he quickly waved his hand.

In the end, Wen Yu and Mengmung went with Xiaoyan’er’s parents to her home first.

Only then did Xiaoyan’er’s parents learn what had happened over the years.
They also learned that Wen Yu had raised them and brought them here.

When their child was lost back then, they searched for a very long time.
Xiaoyan’er’s mother couldn’t bear the blow.
Thinking about what might have happened to her out there, not even knowing if she was alive or dead, she would wake up crying every night.

A few years ago, she got sick.
The family had already spent a lot of money looking for Xiaoyan’er.
After she got sick, they even sold their house.
People in their thirties and forties were worn out with graying hair.

After dinner that night, Wen Yu had originally planned to leave with Mengmung.
But Xiaoyan’er’s parents insisted they stay.

After discussing it, they decided to adopt Mengmung.
They also didn’t plan to let Wen Yu leave.
Wen Yu, just by looking at him, had health problems.
His eyes were sunken.
His skin was an unnaturally pale color.
He was so thin.
His eyes flickered on and off, and he was always smiling.

Of course, Wen Yu wanted Mengmung to stay.
It would definitely be better than being with him.
But he didn’t want to stay himself.

He couldn’t argue with Xiaoyan’er’s parents.
He stayed at their house for a few days.
Xiaoyan’er’s parents cooked for them.
He had never eaten so well.
They even bought new clothes for each of them.
They forcefully took a photo with Wen Yu.

It was Wen Yu’s first time taking a photo.
His thin, pale face was full of tension.
He looked at the camera, his fingers nervously clenched together.

But he hadn’t wanted money anyway.
He didn’t need repayment either.
When Xiaoyan’er’s parents took her to get her ID card, Wen Yu finally found a chance to leave.

He put the brown teddy bear at the head of Xiaoyan’er and Mengmung’s bed.
He cooked them dinner one last time.
Then he put on his old clothes, closed the door, and went downstairs.

Mengmung was still sleeping.
He didn’t hear Wen Yu leave.

When Xiaoyan’er got home, she found Wen Yu was gone.
At the head of the bed was her favorite little bear.
On the table was the most familiar smell of food.
Tears instantly fell.
Still in her slippers, she stumbled out after him.
It was dark.
There was no one on the street.

It was like she was lost again.
She broke down crying.
She screamed heart-wrenchingly,
“Older brother!”

“Cut!”
When He Lin called cut, many crew members on the set were crying.

The movie was already half-edited.
Right after this scene came Xiaoyan’er’s parents taking her and Mengmung to find Wen Yu.

Late at night, Wen Yu walked to a shady clinic.
His whole body hurt too much.
But he hadn’t taken the money Xiaoyan’er’s parents offered.
They had two children to raise now.
They would need a lot of money.

He knew he couldn’t be cured.
So he didn’t want to delay them anymore.
He just wanted to buy some effective painkillers.

The clinic doctor glanced at him, frowned, and felt his pulse.
Then he handed him a box of medicine and said,
“Take this. You’ll be better in half a month.”

Wen Yu didn’t really believe it.
But he had no choice.
He couldn’t afford a hospital anyway.
Even if the medicine helped a little, it would be okay.

He took the medicine.
He had a bit of a fever.
So he stayed at the clinic for an IV.

When Xiaoyan’er and the others finally found him, Wen Yu was already dead.
The clinic’s dirty curtain blocked most of his body.
Only his bony hand hung limply from the bed.

The clinic doctor hadn’t expected someone to die so suddenly either.
When he felt Wen Yu had no pulse, he was so scared he fled overnight.

He didn’t even have time to close the clinic door.

Ning Shixue had died twice in his past life.
He had also been close to death many times in the instance.
No one in this world knew better than him what death felt like.
He acted it very realistically.

Just seeing him through the curtain made He Miao instantly break down in tears.
Xie Yaoyao didn’t know the plot at first.
But when he saw Ning Shixue lying on the hospital bed, tears immediately fell.

“Cut!”
He Lin called cut himself.
His eyes were red-rimmed.
He said,
“Congratulations, Teacher Ning, on wrapping up!”

There were many suppressed cries on the set.
But He Lin was the director.
He had to keep things together.
He couldn’t cry like that.

This was Wen Yu’s last scene.
It was also the last scene of the entire movie.
After this point in the film, it would start over from the beginning.

Wen Yu escaping with them on that starry night.
Late at night, Xiaoyan’er and Mengmung waiting for him to get off work.
They made shadow puppets in the back of the bus, laughing together.

Wen Yu celebrating their birthdays, teaching them to make wishes and blow out candles.
The light in their rented room flickered.
They played with found toys under the light.
Wen Yu sat on the bed sewing their clothes, looking up with curved eyes.

Wen Yu taking them to eat burgers, eating and then suddenly crying.
On New Year’s Eve, fireworks over the Yan City river.
He pulled the teddy bear from his pocket.
Xiaoyan’er and Mengmung’s eyes instantly lit up.
They excitedly hugged his leg.
At night, the three of them slept crowded together.
The little bear was placed between them.

…

The movie’s theme song and ending song were both written by the female singer who was the real-life inspiration.
The theme song was “Last Night’s Star,” sung by He Miao.
The ending song was called “Take Me Home.”
It was a duet by He Miao and that female singer.

When the movie reached the scene where they went to the clinic, the ending song would start.
It began with a little girl’s singing.
Then a female soprano gradually joined in, harmonizing with her.
The little girl’s trembling, tearful voice and the suddenly soaring female voice repeatedly sang the last line of the song, ‘take me home.’
It gave you goosebumps, your hair standing on end, tears streaming down.

The last shot of the movie was the night Wen Yu took them away.
The sky was full of stars.
Wen Yu reached out his hand to Xiaoyan’er.
Xiaoyan’er took it and asked timidly,
“Older brother, where are we going?”

Wen Yu said,
“Taking you home.”

He Lin also planned to put that real photo in the post-credits scene.
Along with the teddy bear that had been collected for over thirty years.

The bear was very old now.
Even one of its eyes had fallen off and been carefully sewn back on.
After so many years, it still seemed to carry the warmth of Wen Yu’s arms.

The real-life Mengmung hadn’t been healthy.
He died before he was ten.
The little younger sister who was sent to the welfare home was never found.

The star from last night was forever stuck in last night.
But even if she was the only one left, even if no one in this world remembered, she would never forget until the day she died.

That’s why she wanted He Lin to make this movie.

That night, they filmed the final scene.
Xie Zhaozhou also came.
He didn’t disturb Ning Shixue.
He stood silently in a corner of the set for over three hours.
Not until it was completely wrapped did he walk over to Ning Shixue.

Ning Shixue’s eyes were also red.
Tears still wouldn’t stop flowing.
Then Xie Zhaozhou pulled him into his arms.

Xie Zhaozhou’s throat was tight.
Even though he knew it was just acting, watching Wen Yu die behind the monitor, his fingers uncontrollably trembled.

“Baby, happy wrap,”
Xie Zhaozhou said, his voice hoarse.
But looking at Ning Shixue’s face and those reddened eyes, his narrow, dark eyes curved again.
His expression was very gentle.

He cupped Ning Shixue’s cheeks and wiped away his tears.

That night, He Miao had several crying scenes.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
He Lin, his heart aching, wiped her face.

“Daddy,”
He Miao said, looking towards Ning Shixue and Xie Zhaozhou.
Then she suddenly said to him,
“I don’t want to marry Little Ning older brother anymore.”

She was still too young.
She couldn’t explain why.
But she suddenly felt this was better.

Love was ultimately irreplaceable.

He Lin was stunned for a moment.
The tears he had held back all night finally broke through.
When he turned his head, his face was streaked with tears.