Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

The bar was filled with the smell of alcohol and smoke, and the loud music vibrated in the air, making it almost impossible to concentrate. Li Xiangqian looked around, but did not see He Yuzhu.

"What would you like to drink?" A waitress in a red leather jacket walked up to Li Xiangqian with a hint of boredom and indifference in her eyes.

"Do you know Zhang Wei?" Li Xiangqian asked bluntly, scanning her sharply. The waitress looked up at Li Xiangqian, as if to assess his identity, and then responded indifferently: "Zhang Wei? Over there." She pointed to a corner of the bar.

Li Xiangqian walked in the direction she pointed, feeling alert and uneasy. In a corner of the bar, several men in suits were sitting together. Zhang Wei was sitting in the middle. The atmosphere around them seemed oppressive and dangerous. He lowered his head, his expression was a little blurry, but the fierce aura still made people shudder.

He Yuzhu was sitting opposite Zhang Wei, his eyes dull, as if he was in some kind of deep confusion. Li Xiangqian saw this scene, his heart suddenly tightened, his pace quickened, and he walked directly in front of them.

"Yuzhu!" Li Xiangqian's voice was a little urgent. He Yuzhu looked up, a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes, as if he was pulled back from some kind of immersion. Zhang Wei glanced at Li Xiangqian, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, his eyes were a little teasing and indifferent.

"Li Xiangqian, you're here just in time." Zhang Wei spoke slowly, with obvious sarcasm in his tone, "You're finally here."

Li Xiangqian ignored Zhang Wei's provocation and looked directly at He Yuzhu: "Why are you here? You shouldn't be here."

A trace of confusion appeared in He Yuzhu's eyes. He lowered his head, as if he was awakened by Li Xiangqian's voice, but he couldn't find his direction. His voice was low, with a trace of undisguised pain: "I don't know, I... I want to find my past self, Xiangqian. I feel like I'm about to lose everything. Zhang Wei said he can help me..."

Zhang Wei sneered and interrupted, "Help him? Li Xiangqian, what do you know? Do you think your halfhearted persuasion can help him? What he needs is not your hypocritical sympathy, but actual strength."

Li Xiangqian's eyes turned cold instantly. He stopped looking at Zhang Wei and focused on He Yuzhu: "Do you really believe that he can help you?"

He Yuzhu's eyes were still confused. He seemed to have heard what Li Xiangqian said, but he didn't respond immediately. The tension in the air was getting stronger and stronger, and Li Xiangqian couldn't help but feel anxious. This was not the first time he saw He Yuzhu in trouble, but this time was different. He Yuzhu looked like he was really going to be swallowed by Zhang Wei's shadow.

"Yuzhu, listen to me," Li Xiangqian's voice was low and urgent, "You know who Zhang Wei is. He has never really helped anyone. You can't choose to take a wrong path in order to escape the past, even if that path seems to be full of light."

However, He Yuzhu still did not respond. He lowered his head, his eyes were empty, as if he was trapped in a whirlpool and couldn't extricate himself. Zhang Wei's eyes flashed with a hint of pride, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised, as if he had been waiting for this situation to come. He knew that he was in control of Yuzhu's psychology at the moment, and that kind of control had already been formed, and Li Xiangqian's persuasion was just a waste of effort.

"What qualifications do you have to teach him a lesson here?" Zhang Wei suddenly interrupted, his eyes full of contempt and provocation, "You are just a passer-by in his life. You have never really understood him, but I, at least, understand what he needs."

Li Xiangqian frowned slightly. He didn't expect Zhang Wei to be so provocative. His emotions instantly heated up, and his chest seemed to be squeezed by an inexplicable anger. But he took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart. At this moment, he had only one goal, which was to help He Yuzhu get out of this quagmire.

"Am I not qualified?" Li Xiangqian looked at Zhang Wei coldly, "I know Yu Zhu's inner struggle better than you do. At least I am still here, trying to help him, while you just want to push him into the abyss."

Zhang Wei's face darkened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. He smiled even more cruelly: "Do you think you can save him? With your condition? You can't give him what he wants, you can't give him strength. What he needs is not your weak comfort." His voice became more and more sharp, as if he wanted to pierce through every word of Li Xiangqian.

Li Xiangqian's eyes turned cold, and a sneer rose at the corner of his mouth. "Weak comfort? Isn't the power you speak of obtained through deception and manipulation? Zhang Wei, your so-called power is nothing more than a game based on the pain and despair of others. You think you can control everything, but you always underestimate the true heart of people."

"It's so easy for you to say that." Zhang Wei sneered, "But what can you give Yuzhu? Can you give him a tomorrow that is no longer confused? Can you give him a real path to follow? Can you make him no longer afraid of failure, and no longer afraid of all his past?" The sarcasm in his words was filled with disdain and contempt.

Li Xiangqian clenched his fists, his anger almost erupting, but he suppressed his emotions. He knew that his anger would not help He Yuzhu, but would only make the situation more complicated.

However, while he was still thinking about countermeasures, Xu Damao suddenly walked up to him and whispered, "Xiang Qian, stop talking. He has been led by Zhang Wei now, and you can't change his decision."

Li Xiangqian was stunned for a moment, then looked at Xu Damao with a confused and puzzled look in his eyes: "What do you mean?"

Xu Damao's expression became very complicated, and there was a hint of sadness in his tone: "Yuzhu has made up his mind, he wants to go his own way. You and he have always been good friends, but now he no longer needs your help, move forward." His voice was very low, almost with a hint of sigh.

Li Xiangqian's heart suddenly trembled. He couldn't understand Xu Damao's attitude at the moment. He couldn't help but hold Xu Damao's arm and asked anxiously: "What are you talking about? How can you say such a thing? You know he is losing himself now!"

Xu Damao shook his head, his eyes full of helplessness and confusion: "You don't understand him, maybe you never understood him. We are all just bystanders, you don't understand what Yu Zhu has been through. You were not in his darkest moment, you can't empathize with him, so you will never understand his true choice."