If I Die, Will You Still Hate Me? - Chapter 1

After all, given Jiang Xuzhou’s weak body, snap…

A qualified ex should disappear, never to reappear.

Ye Xun agreed with this sentiment, but he didn’t want Jiang Xuzhou to die—

After all, with Jiang Xuzhou’s frail body, the possibility of him just suddenly dropping dead was very high.

He didn’t want to attend the funeral as an ex, delivering a eulogy and feigning a couple of tears.

However, he did want to see how his ex was doing now.

So, Ye Xun hosted an evening party, ostensibly under the guise of mutual cooperation, but in reality, it was a Hongmen Banquet prepared for Jiang Xuzhou.

Unfortunately, some wind had gotten out, and Jiang Xuzhou had likely heard bits and pieces, so Ye Xun didn’t have much hope for his attendance.

But there are always those inexplicable events in the world: a long-dormant volcano erupting, solid ground collapsing, and Jiang Xuzhou actually showing up.

Ye Xun felt his luck this year was indeed quite good.

He stood on the second floor of the venue, hidden in the shadows, watching with a detached expression as the tall, thin figure conversed with others, slowly making his way to the seat closest to the stage’s sound system—

This was the first “dish” Ye Xun had prepared for Jiang Xuzhou.

Sure enough, as soon as the party started, the deafening music enveloped Jiang Xuzhou’s heart, constantly tightening and squeezing. His temples throbbed relentlessly. He frowned, struggling to steady his breathing, pressing his bent fingers hard against his forehead. With his other hand, he picked up the red wine on the table and took a sip, trying to use the cold liquid to quell the pain in his heart.

Though it was futile.

Jiang Xuzhou inhaled deeply a few times, closed his eyes, and then opened them again. Sensing a burning gaze, he looked up at the person on the stage.

The only spotlight in the hall shone on Ye Xun on the stage, blurring his features and figure, making him look like a celestial being.

In a trance, the “celestial being” smiled faintly at Jiang Xuzhou: “General Manager Jiang, would you grant me the honor of saying a few words?”

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other, hasn’t it?”

Jiang Xuzhou stood up in compliance, buttoning his suit jacket and walking onto the stage.

This move again exceeded Ye Xun’s expectations. He raised an eyebrow, his smile deepening. As he handed the microphone to Jiang Xuzhou, he said, “Let’s welcome the Chairman of Baiwen Group, General Manager Jiang.”

The words had just fallen when his hand paused—

He hadn’t noticed from a distance, but brushing past him now, he realized that Jiang Xuzhou’s face was terrifyingly pale, almost transparent. His meticulously styled hair was damp with cold sweat. Ye Xun’s fingers swept across the back of Jiang Xuzhou’s hand, feeling a layer of ice, like a snowflake.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Ye Xun’s eyes, and a sense of unease rose in his heart.

Yet, the man in front of him remained standing tall, his voice steady, though Ye Xun still noticed him trembling.

A shiver of fear, similar to that of a young animal nearing death.

“…Jiang Xuzhou,” Ye Xun called out from behind him.

The loud volume of the sound system drowned out this moment of genuine feeling.

Jiang Xuzhou quickly said a few polite words, returned the microphone to the host, and hurried off the stage from the other side.

The anxiety in Ye Xun’s heart grew stronger. For a moment, he felt that his willful act this time might actually cause Jiang Xuzhou’s death. He quickly ran in the direction Jiang Xuzhou had left.

Actually, catching up to Jiang Xuzhou wasn’t difficult. Due to his congenital heart condition, he rarely ran, and fast walking was also very uncommon.

“General Manager Jiang, where are you going?” Ye Xun stopped Jiang Xuzhou at the end of the dark corridor, his tone actually tinged with a hint of anxiety.

This was the second close encounter they’d had in four years.

Although Ye Xun’s heart was currently flooded with unease that almost drowned out his rationality, he was still unwilling to show it.

Ye Xun took a step forward, and Jiang Xuzhou took a step back, until his back was against the wall.

“General Manager Jiang, where are you going? I’ll take you there.” Ye Xun tilted his head and coughed a few times, adjusting his tone, and asked the same question again. This time, there was a slight hint of teasing in his voice.

Jiang Xuzhou heard it. Surprise was in his dark eyes, and he said hoarsely, “…None of your business. It has nothing to do with you.”

It was that same sentence. Four years later, it was still that sentence.

Back then, Jiang Xuzhou had suddenly said the same thing, then refused to let him interfere in any of the company’s affairs.

And then, out of the blue, he proposed breaking up.

This one sentence was the root of all evil, like the loose end of a ball of yarn—once pulled, all the miserable memories began to pour out relentlessly.

“What?” Ye Xun was so angry he laughed. He took a step back, revealing the ballroom behind him.

The corridor entrance served as a boundary, separating the two spaces into light and darkness. Under the light, glasses clinked and people socialized; in the dark, tensions were high.

“This is a hotel I just bought this year. Do you think you know the way better than I do?” Ye Xun lowered his voice and leaned in to whisper in Jiang Xuzhou’s ear.

In the dim light, he saw the tips of Jiang Xuzhou’s ears flush slightly red. His ink-like eyes were veiled with a thin mist, like the vapor sprayed by a humidifier.

Jiang Xuzhou pressed his back tightly against the wall, one hand unconsciously clutching his stomach. His brows furrowed again: “Get lost.”

His volume was very low, his tone irritable.

Ye Xun’s hand, hanging by his side, clenched tightly into a fist. A moment later, he loosened it and stepped aside to let him pass. The person in front of him walked unsteadily and disappeared into another stretch of darkness.

As Ye Xun had said, this was indeed a hotel he had recently purchased. The floor plan of the corridors had been on his desk for a long time, so over time, he had become intimately familiar with the layout.

The corridor where Jiang Xuzhou’s figure disappeared led to the restroom.

Ye Xun shrugged, mocking himself for his earlier anxiety which was clearly a moment of madness, a habit from the past.

Jiang Xuzhou’s heart condition had been surgically corrected four years ago and was mostly recovered. How could it relapse? How could anything be wrong?

However, Ye Xun found it strange that Jiang Xuzhou hadn’t reacted to his earlier provocations, and hadn’t even shown much anger when facing him.

Just as he was thinking, his phone vibrated twice in his pocket.

It was from his secretary:

“General Manager Ye, should I send it now?”

Ye Xun looked at his wristwatch. The second hand slowly completed its last half circle, and the hour hand tapped, pointing to “8.”

He tapped his finger on the screen and replied: “Send it.”

—This was the second “dish” Ye Xun had prepared for Jiang Xuzhou.

In the restroom not far from Ye Xun, Jiang Xuzhou leaned against the wall. His normally straight back was now completely hunched over. Both hands were pressed tightly against his stomach. Cold sweat dripped onto the floor. A heavy stone seemed to be crushing his heart, and the pain was gradually radiating to his left arm.

“Sh1t,” Jiang Xuzhou cursed softly.

It hurt, it really hurt too much.

And right at this critical moment, some inconsiderate person called him.

Jiang Xuzhou couldn’t even hold his phone steady. He had to listen to the ringtone gradually fade away, planning to call back once the pain subsided.

Finally, as the ringtone sounded for the third time, the pain eased slightly, enough for him to pick up the phone.

“Jiang Xuzhou, something’s happened!” The caller was the company’s Vice President, Wu Yi.

“Speak,” he tried to keep his voice level.

“Your medical records have been leaked.” A sound of a mouse scrolling came from the other end. “…But, they seem to be from a long time ago.”

Jiang Xuzhou acknowledged this. His post-pain brain was not supporting excessive thought.

“Jiang Xuzhou.” Wu Yi’s voice paused on the other side. He sounded hesitant but still asked word by word, “Do you think… could it have been Ye Xun who released them?”

This was not a question.

The true answer was clear to both of them.

Only the hospital, his family, and his friends knew about Jiang Xuzhou’s medical records.

At that time, his only family were Ye Xun and his grandmother. His only friend was Wu Yi.

“I don’t know,” Jiang Xuzhou took a deep breath and said, “What’s the situation now?”

“Many self-media outlets are starting to spread rumors that you don’t have long to live…” Wu Yi swore. “Bah, bah, bah, that’s all nonsense. You’ll definitely live to be a hundred.”

Jiang Xuzhou pulled out a few tissues and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He was already used to Wu Yi’s actions, but it inexplicably reminded him of Ye Xun.

When he and Ye Xun first met, he was utterly oblivious to superstitions about bad luck, often joking self-deprecatingly that his health was poor and he could leave at any time.

Every time he said it, Ye Xun would “bah, bah, bah” three times and then grab his hand to touch wood.

It was said that this could dispel those ominous words.

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Jiang Xuzhou said.

“…General Manager Chen wants to postpone his cooperation with us, but the stock price hasn’t fluctuated yet.” Wu Yi sighed. “I’ve already called the PR department in for overtime. The company can issue a statement immediately, and we can find a few self-media with large followings to announce something…”

Jiang Xuzhou interjected, “I’ll talk to General Manager Chen tomorrow.”

“…Should we investigate who leaked the information?” Wu Yi cautiously inquired.

“No need. If it was… him,” Jiang Xuzhou was reluctant to say Ye Xun’s name, “then I’ll take it as a consequence of my own making, my just deserts.”

With the conversation having reached this point, there was really no need to continue. Wu Yi was silent for a long time, advised him to take care of his health, and then hung up.

Jiang Xuzhou lowered his head and walked to the sink, not daring to look at his miserable reflection in the mirror. He simply cupped a handful of cold water and splashed it on his face.

He had to stay awake to see the person he longed for a few more times.

Before returning to the venue, Jiang Xuzhou saw Ye Xun sitting in his original seat, idly swirling a wine glass.

He seemed to be waiting for him.

Ye Xun also saw Jiang Xuzhou: “Well, General Manager Jiang finally decided to come out? I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

“Is something the matter?” Jiang Xuzhou naturally took the wine glass Ye Xun handed to him.

“Does catching up count as something for General Manager Jiang?” Ye Xun still wore his previous smile. He raised his glass and clinked it with Jiang Xuzhou’s.

Now having recovered, Jiang Xuzhou realized that the Ye Xun sitting opposite him had changed. In four years, he had shed his former youthful innocence, leaving behind the composure of a businessman. That pair of beautiful eyes no longer brimmed with passion and hope.

Jiang Xuzhou hardly recognized him anymore.

Ye Xun calmly accepted Jiang Xuzhou’s gaze, raised his glass, and took a small sip: “Thank you, General Manager Jiang, for coming.”

The stomach, which had been soothed by painkillers earlier, began to ache intensely again.

He hadn’t eaten anything from morning until now, and he had just recovered from a bout of pain. If he drank alcohol again…

He couldn’t imagine how miserable he would be tonight.

But, Jiang Xuzhou still drank the red wine.

Ye Xun’s smile remained unchanged. He beckoned a waiter over to pour them more wine—

This was the third “dish” Ye Xun had prepared for Jiang Xuzhou.

A few sips of red wine turned into many tiny needles, stabbing repeatedly at Jiang Xuzhou’s fragile stomach. A metallic, bloody taste surged wildly. He desperately suppressed it, finding an excuse to rush to the restroom.

He braced himself with both arms against the sink. Fresh bl00d poured from his throat, quickly consuming the pristine white basin with a stark red.

“General Manager Jiang, your acting has improved now,” Ye Xun’s voice came through. Jiang Xuzhou looked up, staring at this familiar yet strange person in the mirror.

“Ye Xun,” Jiang Xuzhou calmly wiped away a trace of bl00d from the corner of his mouth and asked quietly, “If I die, will you still hate me?”

Ye Xun lowered his head and chuckled a few times, as if he had heard a good joke. After a few laughs, he answered coldly: “Yes, I will.”

“And I’ll hate you for the rest of my life,” he added.

Jiang Xuzhou breathed a sigh of relief, lowering his eyes to look at the pool of bl00d in the sink, saying with a sense of relief, “That’s good. Then forget about me.”