Standing Next To You-Chapter 474: The Strange Old Beggar

Time passed quickly.

Over the past week, Bei Sangyun and Fei Chuan had exchanged several messages and gifts. In return for the purse, she had gifted him a brooch. Its tiny gems were dark violet—the same color as the purse he had given her.

Cheng Li stood by Fei Chuan’s desk, glancing at the open box. Inside was the brooch, its intricate design catching the light. The dark violet gems sparkled, exuding a sense of mystery and intimacy.

In front of the brooch sat Fei Chuan, staring at it intently.

"Why did she choose the same color?" he muttered.

Cheng Li sighed. His boss had been asking the same question since yesterday. He had already pointed out that it was likely because he had given her something of the color, so she returned the gesture with something violet as well.

But since that explanation clearly hadn’t satisfied Fei Chuan, Cheng Li decided to give him the answer he seemed to want.

"Maybe," Cheng Li ventured, "she wants you to wear it at the banquet—to match with her."

Fei Chuan looked up sharply, his gaze intense. "What does that mean?"

"It means she wants you to have matching accessories with hers," Cheng Li explained cautiously.

Fei Chuan scoffed. "Why? We’re just ’friends.’"

Cheng Li pause for a moment, struck by the bitterness in his boss’s tone. Wasn’t he the one who suggested being ’friends’ with her in the first place?

Clearing his throat to dispel the awkwardness, Cheng Li replied, "Friends....do that sometimes."

But Fei Chuan’s expression darkened, his eyes dimming as he stared back at the brooch.

Sensing he had answered wrongly, Cheng Li coughed lightly and added, "But... maybe it means something more. Like, she wants to be paired with you—like couples who wear matching outfits."

Fei Chuan looked at the brooch again, turning it in his hand. A smirk slowly spread across his lips. "So she wants me to wear this at the event?"

"Yes," Cheng Li replied hesitantly. Probably, he added in his thoughts.

Fei Chuan’s smirk deepened. "Alright. Let’s make her heart skip a beat then."

Cheng Li: "..." Her heart, or yours?

Choosing silence over commentary, Cheng Li returned to his work. Fei Chuan, however, seemed lost in thought as he continued to stare at the brooch.

Finally, the day of the Lin family banquet arrived.

This was a monumental event for the Lins, calling all family members back to the main mansion. Even Old Master Lin’s only daughter, who had married and moved abroad, had returned for the occasion.

Even Lin Fei who hadn’t come home for the past four years was also summoned back to the country.

Lin Fei sat in the car gazing out at the passing scenery. The place looked both familiar and foreign to him. Four years wasn’t a long time, but it wasn’t short either. So much had changed.

Including him.

And this place.

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and a wave of nausea hit him. His hand trembled, and an unbearable irritability and restlessness surged through him. The urge to lash out boiled beneath the surface.

"Agh..." Lin Fei groaned, clutching his head.

"Hey, is it happening again?" a woman’s voice asked gently from beside him. She patted his back in a soothing gesture. "Here, drink your medicine."

She retrieved a small bottle of pills from her purse and handed it to him. "Take this."

Lin Fei reached for the pill with trembling hands. After swallowing it, the effects took hold almost immediately. His breathing steadied, and the nausea began to fade.

However, his back was still damp with sweat.

"Damn, I need to change my shirt. Maybe I shouldn’t have come," Lin Fei muttered hoarsely.

Chuan Xingyu looped her arm around his, leaning close. "You said this was an important day. The cousin you supported is going to be named the heir, and you wanted to witness it. Besides, didn’t you mention there’s another cousin you wanted to see?"

Lin Fei turned his gaze toward the window. His reflection stared back at him—sunken eyes and gaunt cheekbones. "...Yeah. But on second thought, I don’t want her to see me like this. I look sick."

"You don’t. To me, you’re as handsome as ever. Maybe just a little sleep-deprived," Chuan Xingyu teased with a soft laugh.

Lin Fei managed a chuckle. "Maybe. If she sees me like this, she might even pity me and we’ll reconcile. If she knows I’m sick, I might tug at her heartstrings."

Chuan Xingyu pouted, her expression seemingly upset. "Why are you so obsessed with this cousin of yours? She’s the one who pushed you away. Didn’t you leave the country because of her? If I hadn’t followed you, who knows if we’d even be here together now."

Lin Fei pulled her into a light embrace. "I don’t know. Every time I think of her, I feel this weight. Like I did something wrong, something I can’t forgive myself for. Sure, I teased her and pushed her to survive in that place, but didn’t it help her in the end? She didn’t turn into the person I hoped she’d be—she became who she wanted to be."

Chuan Xingyu nudged him lightly with her elbow. "You’re weird."

Lin Fei laughed softly. "Yeah, I am."

Lin Fei gazed at the passing scenery, his heart weighed down by an inexplicable heaviness. What was this feeling of regret and remorse that had been haunting him for years? And those dreams—they felt so vivid, yet elusive.

A sharp pain pulsed through his head, forcing him to press his fingers against his temple.

Maybe it was just another symptom of his lingering depression.

Screeeeech.

The car came to a sudden halt. Lin Fei lurched forward, nearly colliding with the back of the driver’s seat. Beside him, Chuan Xingyu was thrown against the front seat, her purse spilling onto the floor as a small bottle of pills rolled away.

"What the hell!" Chuan Xingyu snapped, glaring at the driver. "Do you even know how to drive? Are you trying to kill us?"

The driver stammered an apology, his voice trembling. "I’m so sorry, ma’am, sir. An old beggar jumped out of nowhere."

Lin Fei’s chest tightened as a wave of nausea hit him. His health had been so fragile lately that even the sudden movement left him dizzy and uncomfortable. Despite his irritation, he maintained his composure.

He glanced out the windshield and saw the figure of the beggar.

"I’ll check," Lin Fei said, pushing the door open.