Yan Feifan sat down next to Yu Suye on the sofa and reached out to pull her into his embrace.
"Was it someone you were very close to?"
Yu Suye rested her head on Yan Feifan’s shoulder and said in a slow voice, "He was a cousin of mine."
"He was a very good person. We studied together in the family school from the time we were little."
"He always looked out for me."
"This morning, he was found to have committed suicide in his office at the hospital."
Hearing this, Yan Feifan was shocked. He couldn’t help but ask, "Just because of that?"
Yu Suye sat up straight, shook her head, and sighed. "It wasn’t just that. But it was the last straw."
"I just found out from an email he sent me that he had depression and was seeing a psychologist."
She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing again.
"He even planned the timing of his suicide carefully."
"He left a note saying he was donating his organs to those in need."
"He even scheduled an email to be sent to me, apologizing to me," she sobbed.
Yan Feifan pulled Yu Suye into his arms again and comforted her, "This isn’t your fault. No one wanted this to happen."
"Su Ye, should I go back to Jingcheng with you?"
Yu Suye shook her head again in his embrace. "Mr. Youhai called me," she said. "He told me not to go back for now."
"He said we should wait until all the parties involved have communicated about this."
Yan Feifan didn’t know what else to say to console her. He just held her tightly, letting her feel his support.
Just after seven-thirty, He Junxing arrived.
However, when he saw Yan Feifan and Yu Suye wrapped in an embrace on the sofa, with Yu Suye still in her pajamas and half-covered by a blanket, he quietly backed out of the room.
Around eight o’clock, Qin Ying arrived.
He Junxing followed behind her, a helpless look on his face.
Seeing Yan Feifan and Yu Suye still holding each other, Qin Ying’s expression darkened.
"Haven’t you had enough cuddling?"
"Should I get you two a room?"
Yan Feifan quickly stood up and explained in a low voice, "Professor, one of Su Ye’s cousins, this morning..."
"He... uh... he had depression and committed suicide."
Qin Ying froze.
She looked at Yu Suye on the sofa, her face stained with tears and etched with grief, and sighed softly. "Try not to dwell on it. My condolences."
"Take the day off today."
Qin Ying started to turn and leave, but then stopped herself mid-turn.
"Su Ye, don’t keep things bottled up inside."
"If you want to cry, just let it all out."
"Or, talk to Feifan or someone else."
Qin Ying then looked at Yan Feifan and instructed him, "Feifan, you’re not to go anywhere today. Just stay with Su Ye, understand?"
Yan Feifan nodded emphatically.
Not long after Qin Ying and He Junxing left, Yan Feifan received a call from Yu Chuanbai.
"Yan Feifan, you know what happened, right? Are you with my sister?"
"Yes, I know. I’m with her," Yan Feifan replied curtly.
"Good, good that you’re with her."
A sound of relief from Yu Chuanbai came through the phone.
"Yan Feifan, I’m on my way to Capital Airport right now. I should get to you around one or two this afternoon."
Yu Chuanbai continued over the phone, "Yesterday afternoon, I mentioned in the family group chat that someone wanted plastic surgery to look like Su Ye."
"The family chat exploded with anger..."
"Sigh..."
Yu Chuanbai sighed heavily. "I never dreamed it would be him, and I certainly never thought he had depression."
"He was a neurologist. He’d been studying under his father at Baining Hospital."
"I heard his father had very high expectations for him and was extremely strict. Whenever he made a mistake, there would be punishment..."
"Thinking about it now, it’s understandable that he became depressed."
After a pause, Yu Chuanbai urged, "Yan Feifan, take good care of my sister. Nothing can happen to her..."