Second Take On Romance - The A-List Actor Wants Me
Chapter 277 : Tell Me In Your Own Words (2)

Chapter 277: Chapter 277 : Tell Me In Your Own Words (2)

Brain tumor.

Shen Jingwei sensed a knot forming in his gut.

He suddenly recalled the conversation he overheard at the Chinese medicine store, the one between the two elder ladies.

"Honestly, I don’t know what to do. It happened so quickly."

"I didn’t even know that I had cancer!"

"How bad is it...?" Shen Jingwei heard himself asking.

"Untreated, I only have less than a year left to live," Yan Renzhong did not bother sugarcoating the truth at all.

Shen Jingwei’s knees buckled beneath him as the weight of the news settled in. He reached out blindly, seeking support, but Yan Renzhong was already there, his strong arms encircling him, offering comfort and stability.

"Jingbao."

Shen Jingwei clawed into Yan Renzhong’s shoulder, digging his fingers into the latter’s flesh as he locked gazes with his boyfriend.

"W...hy?"

"..."

"Why didn’t you tell me when you first found out?"

A muscle at Yan Renzhong’s cheek twitched violently.

"When did you even find out?"

Shen Jingwei’s eyes turned glassy. It did not take long for the tears to spill. Yan Renzhong’s silence only aggravated him further.

Angrily, he landed a punch against Yan Renzhong’s chest.

"ANSWER ME!"

Yan Renzhong thought about the severe headaches, the intense nausea, and the helplessness he had grown accustomed to in the past weeks. As he thought, going through the debilitating pain was a lot more preferable to seeing Shen Jingwei in this state.

Crying his eyes out in his arms.

"Jingbao..."

Yan Renzhong tightened his arms around Shen Jingwei, embracing him like it was their last day together.

"Jingbao, don’t cry."

"You asshole," Shen Jingwei sobbed, his voice broken from tears. "You bastard. How can you keep it from me for so long..."

Yan Renzhong gently yet firmly tilted Shen Jingwei’s head, compelling him to look into his eyes. But this time, Shen Jingwei refused to do so.

"No..."

Ignoring Shen Jingwei’s resistance, Yan Renzhong leaned in and pressed their lips together in a passionate, forceful kiss.

"... Ngh... No..."

Shen Jingwei’s tears wouldn’t stop falling. Despite the kiss, he continued to resist, his fists lashing out in a futile attempt to break free from Yan Renzhong’s grasp.

"I hate you," he sobbed between kisses. "I hate you so much..."

Yan Renzhong cradled Shen Jingwei’s head in his hand and continued kissing him. If words couldn’t coax his lover, maybe kisses would.

Truthfully, the revelation of his illness wasn’t even the worst. The worst was about to come.

Shen Jingwei shoved Yan Renzhong away and grabbed his collar. He then snapped at the ill man, "Tell me about your condition. What are you going to do about it? You better not think about awaiting death."

"I am going to have a tumor removal surgery in two weeks," Yan Renzhong answered. "As soon as the Kunlun Snow Lotus Award ceremony ends, I will take a flight abroad and have the surgery the very next day."

Elation filled Shen Jingwei’s heart for a brief moment, just to be shattered soon, when he heard what Yan Renzhong said next.

"The success rate is around 20%."

"..."

More tears flowed.

"I am coming with you," Shen Jingwei demanded. Yan Renzhong guessed as much. He gently shook his head and said, "You won’t."

Shen Jingwei furrowed his brows in confusion.

"What do you mean, I won’t??? If I want to come with you, you can’t stop me!"

"I can’t," Yan Renzhong agreed. "So I had Shang Ruohai fill your schedules for the next four to five months. You can’t go anywhere even if you want to."

Shen Jingwei’s heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach.

"It was you," he murmured. "It was your doing all along."

Yan Renzhong smiled.

"I am sorry."

"Well, fuck you and fuck Shang Ruohai!" Shen Jingwei cried out. "I am going to do what I want, fuck the rest of you!"

Yan Renzhong shook his head.

"The contracts you’ve signed are riddled with stringent cancellation clauses. Any breach of contract, unless caused by unforeseen circumstances, will result in substantial financial penalties. A single failure will lead to your bankruptcy."

"..."

Shen Jingwei was shaken to the core.

"You... why?" He sputtered in disbelief. "Why must you do this?"

"Because, Jingbao, I owed you. I vowed to elevate you to stardom no matter what. I am not going to single-handedly ruin my hard work by forcing you to sit at my bedside for months."

"But... But this is not what I want," Shen Jingwei stammered. "Why? Why didn’t you at least ask for my permission first? Why didn’t you talk to me? Why didn’t you tell me anything???"

"Simply because I know you too well."

"..."

"You are going to throw everything away just out of love and devotion. I can’t live with the guilt."

Shen Jingwei shook at Yan Renzhong’s collar and hissed at his face.

"And what about me? How can I live with the guilt? You are forcing me to desert you in your time of need!"

Yan Renzhong wrapped Shen Jingwei’s fists, veins bulging from fury, in his larger hands.

"Your presence or absence does nothing to affect the result of my surgery," he said ruthlessly. "Your time and energy are better spent pursuing your acting career, rather than tending to my needs."

Shen Jingwei’s grip went slack. He couldn’t believe what he heard.

"W...hat? You..."

Yan Renzhong’s face remained indifferent. He meant what he just said.

Impulsively, Shen Jingwei pulled his hand off Yan Renzhong’s grip and delivered a crisp slap across the latter’s face.

"You selfish asshole," Shen Jingwei said, his voice trembling from a mixture of anger and disbelief. "I am not your pawn on a chessboard. You can’t control my life as you want. You don’t have the right to!!!"

A skewed smile formed on Yan Renzhong’s lips as he pressed a hand against his burning cheek.

"Too late for that," he declared. "I am sorry, Jingbao."

It was the most meaningless apology Shen Jingwei had ever received in his entire life.