Standing Next To You-Chapter 533: Heavy Raindrops

The heavy raindrops struck the glass-pane windows.

Driver Chen drove slowly. In this heavy rain, visibility was poor, so he was extra careful. Besides...

He glanced at his passenger in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

Bei Sangyun was gazing blankly out the window. Her face was expressionless, but he could tell something was wrong.

Usually, the Young Miss would be all smiles, in the highest of spirits after meeting Fei Chuan. But today, she had returned with a stoic expression. Though she showed no emotion, Driver Chen could sense the desolation and sadness seeping from her.

Breaking the silence, he cautiously asked, "...Are we heading straight to the villa, Young Miss?"

Bei Sangyun snapped out of her thoughts. "I..." Her voice was hoarse, and she coughed lightly, trying to sound normal. "...Can you drive to City A?"

Driver Chen nodded. "Yes." Although the weather was bad, he was confident he could drive safely.

"Alright. There’s a place I want to visit," Bei Sangyun said before turning back to stare out the window.

......

The drive to City A usually took an hour and a half. But with the heavy rain and Driver Chen’s cautious driving, the journey stretched to three hours.

Outside, the rain showed no signs of stopping.

Driver Chen parked the car and was about to step out to retrieve the umbrella from the trunk when Bei Sangyun suddenly opened the door and stepped out on her own.

"Wait, Young Miss! You’ll get wet!"

The heavy raindrops pelted down on Bei Sangyun, soaking her instantly. She replied without turning back, "Don’t worry about me. I might stay for a while, so just wait in the car. I’ll come back on my own."

She didn’t give Driver Chen a chance to respond before walking away.

Driver Chen could only watch helplessly as she disappeared into the rain. How could he not worry? At the very least, she should have let him hold the umbrella for her.

After all, this place... didn’t have much shelter from the rain.

...

Bei Sangyun walked straight ahead, unbothered by the downpour. Her clothes grew heavy with water, her hair clinging to her skin as the cold seeped into her bones—into her soul.

Yet, she didn’t care.

This was far better than sitting still, drowning in the chaos of her thoughts, weighed down by a heart that felt as heavy as lead.

She knew she couldn’t return to the villa in this state. So she came here first.

She stopped in front of an empty spot. There was no real shelter from the rain here, only the trees standing solemnly in the distance.

Around her, tombstones stood in silent rows. And in front of her was an empty space—one that had once belonged to her in a different timeline.

This was the place where she had stood alone, watching the world pass her by as she remained tied to her own grave—wandering, lost, slowly fading away.

Only when Fei Chuan came to visit did the dull world gain color. He made her feel what she could not in life—love, warmth... and companionship.

Here, she had ’seen’ Fei Chuan. And Fei Chuan had ’seen’ her.

Here, Fei Chuan had confessed his undying love. She had watched him love her, stay by her side, and accompany her... until he took his last breath.

Now, the only sound in the graveyard was the relentless pattering of rain hitting the tombstones and the ground. Amidst the cold stones and pouring rain, Bei Sangyun stood still, expressionless.

Raindrops trailed from her hair down to her face, falling to the ground. But among the cold drops, there was something warm—tears, mingling with the rain as they disappeared into the earth.

...So why had it turned out this way?

Those eyes once filled with hopeless love had been replaced with fury.

Fei Chuan hated her.

All this time... he had only been pretending to love her, to forgive her.

All this time, he had been drowning in pain, restraining his anger and hatred—just to get close enough to destroy her.

Bei Sangyun’s frozen expression finally shattered. The face she couldn’t show in front of Fei Chuan or Driver Chen was now laid bare.

She wanted to cry silently, but the sobs she had been suppressing broke free. Soft cries of pain and helplessness, quickly drowned by the heavy rain.

"...I’m sorry... I’m sorry, Fei Chuan."

For making you feel that way.

For forcing you to take revenge on me.

....

The weather forecast had warned that the heavy rain would last for at least three more days. The typhoon had already entered the country, forcing most people to stay indoors.

In a dimly lit study, Fei Chuan opened another bottle and drowned himself in alcohol. Several empty bottles littered the floor, and the room reeked of liquor.

Yet, no matter how much he drank, the aching in his heart never faded.

Bei Sangyun’s expression—her shock, her pain—replayed in his mind over and over again.

Fei Chuan downed the last of the bottle. He was completely drunk, his vision blurred.

A flash of lightning lit up the room, followed by a deafening crash of thunder. For a brief moment, the mess around him was illuminated—the overturned chair, the scattered papers, the bottles rolling on the floor.

Staggering to the balcony, he pushed open the doors. A harsh gust of wind and rain slammed into him, sending his hair into disarray.

Fei Chuan stood there, letting the icy rain pelt his face like tiny daggers. But no matter how cold it was, the memory of their conversation burned hotter in his mind.

"I have always hated you—I’ve wished I had never met you."

Shock. Disbelief. Hurt. Pain.

The expression that he had longed to see on her face.

And yet... now that he had seen it, why did it feel so hollow?

Why didn’t it make him feel satisfied?

He didn’t even remember how long they had stood there, just staring into each other’s eyes. Nor did he remember how he had walked away.

Fei Chuan closed his eyes.

He had done it.

His revenge had come sooner than expected. But it was over.

...Wasn’t it?

Then why... why did his heart still ache?

No—it ached even more than before.

Fei Chuan clenched his fist, then slammed it against his chest, as if trying to drive away the suffocating heaviness inside him.

Why? Why wasn’t he happy?

Was it because his revenge had been too simple? Should he have waited longer—broken her at the peak of her happiness?

Fei Chuan hit his chest again, harder this time. His skin turned red from the impact, but he didn’t care. He kept hitting himself, his jaw tightening, his breath ragged.

Slowly, he slid down to the floor, his fists still pressing against his chest.

A muffled, choked sound escaped him—half a breath, half a sob.

There were no tears. But his eyes were hazy, as if he wanted to cry but couldn’t.

The pain was too deep, too vast, as if it had swallowed him whole.

In that moment, he wished he could reach into his chest, rip his heart out, and trade it for someone else’s—one that didn’t remember, one that didn’t feel.

.....

Morning arrived once more. The storm had safely left the country, but the rain had yet to stop.

In the kitchen, Grandma Bei finished cooking a pot of warm soup. She glanced upstairs, worry etched across her face.

"She still hasn’t told you anything?" she asked Maid Ye Zhai, who was tidying up beside her.

Maid Ye Zhai shook her head. "No. I think this time, Young Miss wants to sort out her feelings on her own. I believe she’ll talk when she’s ready. For now, let’s just support her quietly."

Grandma Bei sighed and nodded.

Two days ago, Bei Sangyun had returned home, drenched from head to toe. She had made a weak excuse about forgetting an umbrella before retreating straight to her room for a shower. But Grandma Bei and Maid Ye Zhai had both noticed it—her swollen eyes, her reddened nose.

They had never seen Bei Sangyun cry—not even once.

So seeing her in that state had shocked them.

Neither of them had dared to disturb her that night. Instead, they had left a bowl of warm soup outside her door. The next morning, Bei Sangyun had told them she wanted to rest for the entire day. They had let her be, only bringing food to her room at mealtimes.

And now, four days had passed.

Bei Sangyun still had not left her room.

Grandma Bei and Maid Ye Zhai were both deeply worried. But they had waited patiently.

Until now.

On the fourth day, Grandma Bei finally couldn’t hold it in any longer.

She prepared Bei Sangyun’s favorite dessert and handed the bowl to Maid Ye Zhai. "Go check on her again. This time, make her come out of her room. Or at least make her talk. She shouldn’t stay like this."

Maid Ye Zhai accepted the bowl but hesitated. "Don’t you think it should be you?" fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

"I am her grandmother and her mother. But you... you are her sister." Grandma Bei’s voice softened. "Matters like this... it’s easier to share with a sister."

Of course, she wanted to check on Bei Sangyun herself, to hear what had happened that day. But she knew her granddaughter too well. If she went, Bei Sangyun would only put on a brave face, pretending everything was fine.

Maid Ye Zhai, on the other hand, might be able to reach her in a way she could not.

And so, Maid Ye Zhai went upstairs, carrying the dessert in her hands.

But when she entered the room, Bei Sangyun was no longer in bed.

She looked around and spotted her at the desk, staring down at the scattered objects before her.