Dating the Heartthrob Superstar
Chapter 58: Alone and Unassisted

Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Alone and Unassisted

Chapter 58: Helpless and Isolated

That day, Lin Qin came home covered in injuries, only to be greeted by darkness.

The nanny had taken leave for personal matters, and Mr. Lin was on a business trip.

Even though it was June, Lin Qin curled up on the living room sofa, huddled together, feeling a piercing cold that made his whole body tremble continuously.

From that day on, Lin Qin changed noticeably. He spoke less, stopped going out to play, and spent every day alone in his room. Even at school, he sat by himself in the far corner, silently keeping to himself.

Despite this, what Lin Qin suffered did not decrease; it intensified due to his silence.

On the way home from school, classmates would take broomsticks and hit Lin Qin with them, calling him crazy with every strike.

While walking on the playground, footballs and basketballs were always thrown at him from different directions.

He was like a stinking rat in the gutter, with everyone wanting to mock him and punch him when they saw him.

During that time, bullying Lin Qin had become politically correct among students, while those who spoke up for him were isolated and bullied instead.

After such incidents happened once or twice, no one dared to speak up for Lin Qin anymore, and even if they pitied him, they could only watch from afar with a sigh before nonchalantly walking away.

The students were like this, and the teachers at school were even more so. Lin Qin’s former homeroom teacher was an example; getting into a key city school as a teacher wasn’t easy, and they didn’t want to be transferred away like Lin Qin’s previous homeroom teacher.

The most they could do to help Lin Qin was to turn a blind eye to what was happening on campus.

Fang Minghui watched all this unfold, and everything Lin Qin suffered gave him a sense of achievement. This was the consequence of rejecting him!

One day, Fang Minghui and Lin Qin encountered each other in the bathroom. Fang Minghui told Lin Qin to beg him; as long as Lin Qin begged, he wouldn’t have to endure everything he was suffering anymore.

Fang Minghui demanded that Lin Qin become his plaything, wanting Lin Qin to take off his pants whenever he wanted.

Lin Qin didn’t say a word, only stared at Fang Minghui with increasingly deep and dark eyes; he wouldn’t compromise even in death.

Faced with another refusal from Lin Qin, Fang Minghui had someone fill a sink with water, then shoved Lin Qin’s head into it, with determination as if he intended to drown Lin Qin.

Even after having his stomach filled with water, Lin Qin didn’t beg for mercy; his spine remained upright.

Ultimately, Fang Minghui didn’t want to involve himself in a murder, so he left the barely alive Lin Qin on the bathroom floor and locked the bathroom door, forbidding anyone to open it without his orders.

Perhaps Fang Minghui forgot to cancel this order, and until school ended and the school gates closed, the bathroom door remained unopened.

Locked inside, Lin Qin was both exhausted and hungry, his whole body burning with fever, leaving him delirious.

Outside, the storm raged, lightning thundered, and for some reason, a line was struck by lightning, plunging the entire school into darkness.

Lin Qin curled up, sitting in a corner, surrounded by impenetrable darkness, with the sound of wind and rain outside like ghostly wails, the intermittent flashes of lightning only adding to the terror.

That night, when Lin Qin lost consciousness, he thought he’d never wake up again.

When Lin Qin awoke once more, he found himself in a hospital. Just as he tried to speak, his throat burned as if it were scorched, painfully raw.

Mr. Lin hurriedly walked in, touched Lin Qin’s forehead, found the fever had subsided, and instructed the caregiver to take good care of Lin Qin. He had a business deal waiting. Without saying another word to Lin Qin, he turned and left.

Mr. Lin had heard about Lin Qin’s hospitalization from a teacher, hurriedly finishing work to rush over. The teacher was vague, only saying Lin Qin fainted at school and had been sent to the hospital, not daring to explain to Mr. Lin the real reason.

Mr. Lin was concerned for his son; otherwise, he wouldn’t have put down his work to come to the hospital. But in his heart, he probably didn’t consider Lin Qin’s illness a big deal. Once he saw the fever had broken, he went back to work without even asking Lin Qin about his life at school.

In his impression, Lin Qin was a good child, never needing his parents to worry, so Mr. Lin felt reassured about Lin Qin.

When Lin Qin saw Mr. Lin, a flicker of hope flashed in his eyes, but after Mr. Lin turned and left, that light completely faded away.

He actually wanted to ask his father to arrange a school transfer for him, but his father didn’t even have the time to let him speak a word.

At that moment, a sense of despair swept over Lin Qin, his gaze landing on the hospital windowsill. He even had a momentary thought of jumping off from there.

If he did, everything would end, and the torment he endured would disappear along with it.

After the caregiver left, Lin Qin removed the IV from his hand and stumbled out of bed, walking step by step toward the windowsill.

The hospital room was dark, with only the dim light from the television illuminating it slightly.

Soon, light filtered in through the windowsill again, as if an angel were calling to Lin Qin, telling him he could escape the endless suffering if he just went over there, and that he wouldn’t have to endure anymore.

Lin Qin’s mind was blank as he walked toward the windowsill, eyes misty.

After a commercial on the television, a segment came on about an award ceremony.

"Let’s welcome the Best Actor winner, Meng Chao."

Lin Qin had already reached the windowsill, and the actor who had just won the award was approaching the stage on the television.

Just as Lin Qin was about to climb out through the window, a deep voice came from the television, reaching Lin Qin’s ears—

"I believe people should not be defeated by despair. No matter the situation, only by living can one change their circumstances. Surrendering to despair is merely bringing pain to those who care and joy to one’s enemies."

Lin Qin slowly lowered the foot he had lifted. He turned and leaned against the wall, sliding weakly to the ground.

Actually, he’s still afraid of dying, so he doesn’t dare surrender to despair.

Lin Qin thought to himself with sarcasm, his gaze unconsciously switching to the television.

The camera caught the new Best Actor’s face; he smiled into the lens, "I wish everyone struggling in despair can break through the clouds and be met with bright sunshine."

The smile is so beautiful.

Lin Qin thought, finding his heart slowly warmed by the smile and those words.

His name is Meng Chao, right?

Perhaps because Meng Chao encouraged him when he was at his lowest, after being discharged, Lin Qin became obsessed with gathering everything about Meng Chao. He learned that Meng Chao’s first leading movie focused on depression patients, and he knew Meng Chao won Best Actor for it, he knew Meng Chao...

Gradually, a presence named Meng Chao filled Lin Qin’s isolated and deserted world. He became Lin Qin’s spiritual support and obsession, helping Lin Qin endure the dark and dreary high school years.

From the day Lin Qin encountered Meng Chao, he knew he had broken through the overcast clouds, ushering in sunlight that belonged to him alone.