Chapter 22

The entire headquarters of the Xiao family knew that Young Master Xiao had been in an extremely bad mood recently. Even the subordinates were trembling with fear when they had to report to him, afraid of becoming his punching bag if they made a mistake. The other elders in the Xiao family doted on him, and the only one who could discipline him, Xiao Yongqing, had gone abroad this month, leaving no one in the company capable of restraining the wrath of this Young Master.

“Bang!”

Xiao Yi’s final punch landed on the sandbag, causing it to sink in and sway dramatically. Several employees who had come to the company gym to exercise saw Young Master Xiao’s aggressive posture and quickly retreated ten meters away, fearing they might become collateral damage.

Xiao Yi sat down on a nearby bench, taking deep gulps of water. Although he felt much better after the workout and was covered in sweat, the deep-seated frustration still gnawed at him.

Loving someone he couldn’t pursue, unable to confront someone he despised—was there anything more infuriating?

He had tried to smooth out his rough edges over the years, but recent events had brought back the impulsive, hot-tempered side he had tried to bury.

He had known Fu Yu for eight or nine years now, but only the first year or two had been truly happy.

He didn’t want to recall the self-deception and pretended carefreeness during his four years of college. After returning to the country for two years, he had diligently studied architectural design and started taking over parts of the family business. He had worked and studied so hard that he could barely find time to sleep.

His family couldn’t understand why he pushed himself so hard, but only he knew. He wanted to grow up faster, to become a mature and reliable man. He wanted Fu Yu to see that he was no longer the impulsive, reckless Xiao Yi of the past. He had learned to be patient, to let go of his pride, all in the hope of gaining Fu Yu’s forgiveness and acceptance once again.

But when Fu Yu did forgive him, he found himself unsatisfied. Human greed truly knew no bounds.

Now, wasn’t he just deceiving himself again? Clearly unable to settle for just being friends, he became insanely jealous when he saw someone else become close to Fu Yu. And yet, he shamelessly claimed that as long as he could stay by Fu Yu’s side, that would be enough.

Did he really have to watch Fu Yu get married and have children while silently offering his blessings? Xiao Yi knew he couldn’t do that. Just imagining it was excruciating.

There had been a moment when he even considered letting go.

But then he heard Fu Yu say, “I worry about you too,” and he felt a glimmer of hope within the despair that his wounded heart hadn’t completely died. It gave him the strength to keep going.

Maybe it was because he was too easily appeased that he was constantly hurt.

But what could he do? Besides continuing to love this person, what else was there? Whether he was ignored or hurt, from the moment he fell in love first, he was destined to be humble, to offer his true heart without reservation, to be trampled upon, crushed, and then repaired slowly, piece by piece, and offered up again devoutly. Even if he knew the outcome would be the same, he would still hold onto that glimmer of hope in the midst of despair.

Xiao Yi chuckled self-mockingly, his voice muffled. He got up, went to the restroom to wash his face, and the cold tap water cleared his mind somewhat, temporarily driving away the chaotic thoughts. He looked at his own reflection in the mirror, his once stern and harsh features now softened. After a moment, he shook his head, trying to make his brows and eyes appear gentler. He sighed deeply, picked up his phone, and sent a message.

Meanwhile, Fu Yu received the message while in a meeting with Chen Shaoguang. These days, he had been working diligently on the final stages of the Hua’ao project, running errands for Hua Fuqiang.

The sender’s name and the message content appeared on his phone screen, and Chen Shaoguang, sitting across from him, grinned. “Who’s this ‘pervert’?”

“It’s Xiao Yi,” Fu Yu replied briefly, checking the message. Xiao Yi had invited him to dinner on Friday, so he replied with a simple “[Okay].”

On the appointed Friday, however, Dongjian Corporation faced an issue. The project’s finances didn’t match the initial estimates, causing a delay in the scheduled delivery that was supposed to happen in the afternoon. Fu Yu had to stay late to resolve the problem, so he messaged Xiao Yi to let him know that he would be running late and informed Chen Shaoguang that the payment settlement would have to be postponed until the following day. After that, Fu Yu and his team worked overtime to identify the error, which turned out to be a mistake in one of the intermediate calculations.

Fu Yu found it strange; he had checked that particular spreadsheet before, and there shouldn’t have been any issues. Had he overlooked something?

Regardless, the problem was finally resolved, and as the employees left one by one for the day, Fu Yu stayed behind to finish tidying up. Afterward, he sent messages to Xiao Yi and Chen Shaoguang, informing them that everything had been sorted out.

Xiao Yi replied, “[No rush, take your time on the way here].”

Chen Shaoguang responded, “[Thank you for your hard work! Let’s have dinner another day. You can choose from these restaurants!]” and attached a photo of a commercial street.

Fu Yu noticed that the location in the photo was where he and Xiao Yi had planned to have dinner.

By now, it was already past eight o’clock, and Fu Yu was worried that Xiao Yi might have been waiting for a long time. He hurried to the restaurant. However, when he arrived and mentioned that he was there for the reservation under Xiao Yi’s name, the waiter said, “Are you Mr. Xiao’s guest? He just left with another gentleman not long ago. His face didn’t look good, and we didn’t dare to ask too many questions.”

Fu Yu felt a sense of unease and inquired about the appearance of the other man. The waiter’s description seemed to match Chen Shaoguang, and the photo he had received from Chen Shaoguang indicated that he was in the vicinity. It seemed that Chen Shaoguang had also intended to have dinner at the same restaurant and coincidentally encountered Xiao Yi.

Fu Yu’s heart raced as he was afraid the two might have had a disagreement. He quickly asked where they had gone and rushed in the direction indicated by the waiter.

However, he was already too late.

When he finally found the two of them in a secluded, dimly lit alley, Chen Shaoguang was pinned to the ground by Xiao Yi, unable to move. Fu Yu couldn’t see the extent of his injuries, but Xiao Yi’s fists were dripping with fresh, crimson blood, and his arm veins were bulging. He exuded an intimidating aura that sent shivers down one’s spine.

Fu Yu’s heartstrings snapped with a loud “snap.”

Before he could react, his body rushed forward and delivered a powerful punch to Xiao Yi’s face.

Xiao Yi was thrown off balance by the punch, staggering back a few steps. Fu Yu quickly crouched down and helped Chen Shaoguang, who was covering his abdomen in pain. There were minor cuts and scrapes on his face, but the real issue seemed to be his stomach, as there were scattered bloodstains on his clothes.

“Why?” Fu Yu asked.

As he examined Chen Shaoguang, his voice was trembling, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, chilling him to the core.

It felt like he had returned to the moment when Xiao Yi had pinned him to the ground and assaulted him in the gym years ago.

Anger, disappointment, heartache—they all welled up inside him.

Despite giving Xiao Yi so many chances and trusting him repeatedly, why couldn’t Xiao Yi keep a simple promise?

The air grew heavy with silence, choking them both. Fu Yu waited for Xiao Yi to offer a reasonable explanation, but instead, Xiao Yi asked, “You hit me?”

Xiao Yi spat out some blood, and his eyes showed no warmth. His gaze was cold and sharp, piercing through Fu Yu like a sword.

Xiao Yi had never looked at him like this before.

“I took back my earlier apology. I’ve never thought there was anything wrong with my feelings for you,” Xiao Yi continued, his tone sharp and trembling, taking a step closer with blood still dripping from his fists. Now, Fu Yu noticed that the blood on Xiao Yi’s fists was coming from his own wounds.

“Even if you despise me and hate me, I want to say it—I like you. From then until now, I’ve liked you.”

“But this punch you just threw.” Xiao Yi gestured to the bruise on his own mouth. “It woke me up completely.”

“What am I expecting anyway? I know no matter how many times I say it, you won’t respond.”

“I kissed you, and you won’t forgive me anymore, right? So just hate me forever. At least that way, you’ll still remember me.”

“Let it be like this.”

Xiao Yi’s tone was like a farewell:

“Goodbye, Fu Yu.”

With that, he turned and walked out of the alley without looking back.

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