It poured with rain the day we broke up. I wandered aimlessly in the rain like a walking corpse.

From that moment on, my world collapsed.

In the dark alley corner, leading to a desolate slope, a whimpering stray cat huddled shivering under a trash can.

Rain streamed down my hair and face, blurring my vision of the world. The night was pitch black, but a sudden bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating the small corner of the alley wall brightly.

Behind the trash can, a man covered in blood trembled, raised his arm, and reached out to me!

My unfocused pupils suddenly contracted and widened!

It was Lin Yuchuan.

That night, the rain was so heavy it turned into a roaring white noise.

In the distance, on the highway, the spray kicked up by cars vanished into the rain and fog. Lightning tore through the night sky, turning everything white.

Lin Yuchuan’s face looked extremely pale in the darkness. His blood-stained trouser cuffs were submerged in the muddy water. He leaned weakly against the trash can, hugging his shoulders and trembling uncontrollably.

Through the torrential downpour, Lin Yuchuan and I locked eyes.

"Hel... Help me..."

Leaning against the trash can, his pale face turned to one side. Illuminated by the sudden lightning, he looked as if he might be dead. I trembled all over, hesitantly taking steps closer.

"Do you need help... Are you still alive?"

Lin Yuchuan lay motionless in the mud, his face ashen.

I fished out my phone from my pocket, held it to my ear, and pressed my other hand over the opposite ear to block the rain noise.

If there had been lightning striking then, I probably would have been electrocuted to death.

"Hello, this is the Emergency Center. How can we help you..."

"Hello—I’m here at..."

Suddenly, an ice-cold hand grabbed my ankle. I shuddered violently, and my phone fell straight into a puddle.

Lin Yuchuan opened his eyes. His pale lips trembled uncontrollably, his voice and breath equally weak.

I knelt down, leaning close to his lips to barely hear him.

"Don’t... go to the... hospital."

One lying down, one kneeling—we stared at each other, one high, one low, in the endless rain and fog.

"Hello? Hello? How can we help you? Hello?"

The phone in the puddle glowed with a faint white light, the operator’s urgent voice still coming through.

I stared fixedly at his pale face.

The light in Lin Yuchuan’s eyes faded little by little as his body temperature dropped, but his gaze was firm—mixed with a hint of plea and hope that pierced my heart sharply.

The surrounding mist was thick, thunder roared constantly, and a man dying of blood loss hid behind the trash can—it was like a scene straight out of a horror movie.

After a long while, tears mixed with rain slid down my cheeks. I picked up the phone from the puddle and resolutely ended the call with my thumb.

I rolled up Lin Yuchuan’s sleeve—there were no needle marks on his arm.

I asked: "My apartment is just ahead. Can you stand up?"