Chapter 23

Fu Yu couldn’t find Xiao Yi.

When he called, the phone was always switched off, and there was no sign of him even when he went to his villa. It had been a whole month since he had disappeared, as if he had vanished from the face of the earth.

He later asked Chen Shaoguang what had happened that night, but Chen Shaoguang said they had just happened to run into each other and had a quarrel that escalated into a fight.

“Although he started it, I also fought back later. We were both at fault, so don’t blame him too much,” Chen Shaoguang said sincerely.

But ever since Fu Yu heard Xiao Yi say, “I will never hurt you,” he had felt a sense of unease that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was as if there was an important, overlooked clue in his mind that kept coming and going, elusive.

He couldn’t grasp his jumbled thoughts, but he wanted to talk to Xiao Yi and apologize for misunderstanding him and unfairly accusing Chen Shaoguang. However, Xiao Yi had disappeared, and Fu Yu even went to Xiao Corporation to inquire. He was told that Xiao Yi hadn’t been to the company lately, and all the affairs had been delegated to subordinates, and no one knew where he had gone.

With no other option, Fu Yu could only have his driver pass by Xiao Yi’s house every evening after work, but the lights in the villa were always off.

One day, as he passed by the villa as usual, he saw the lights on inside, and the iron gate outside the villa was open.

Fu Yu hurriedly got out of the car and walked up to the door. He rang the doorbell several times, and the door finally opened, but it wasn’t Xiao Yi who answered. However, the person was not a stranger; it was Xiao Yi’s bodyguard, Ali.

Ali looked at Fu Yu in surprise and said, “Young Master is not here.”

“Where is he?” Fu Yu asked.

“Well, um…” Ali looked hesitant. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you.”

“When will he be back?”

“I don’t know either. Young Master just asked me to come and clear some things out.” He kicked a cardboard box at his feet.

The box contained various miscellaneous items, including notebooks, photo albums, folders, and that dolphin-shaped toy.

Fu Yu looked at some of the notebooks, and they seemed familiar to him. “Can I take a look?” he asked.

Ali hesitated for a second and then decided it probably wouldn’t hurt. “Okay.”

“Thank you.” Fu Yu picked up one of the notebooks that looked like a math workbook and flipped through it. It was filled with math problems, some neatly solved with clear step-by-step explanations, while others were messy and nearly illegible.

As soon as he saw his own handwriting, he remembered. These were Xiao Yi’s math mistake notebooks from high school. Back then, Xiao Yi’s worst subject was math, and his test papers were always filled with mistakes. He initially refused to correct them, but Fu Yu insisted on helping him, and they gradually developed the habit of reviewing mistakes together. These notebooks were from that time, and he never expected Xiao Yi to keep them all these years.

Fu Yu sighed and put the notebook back. “Did he ask you to throw these away?”

“He didn’t exactly say to throw them away… Young Master just didn’t want to see them anymore and asked me to remove them.”

“Since that’s the case, how about giving them to me?”

“Uh?” Ali looked surprised. “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. Young Master will be mad at me.”

“Then give me his new number, and I’ll ask him myself.”

“Young Master hasn’t changed his number.”

“Then how does he…” Fu Yu paused, realizing that Xiao Yi had blocked him.

“Okay, forget it. Just don’t throw away these things for now, alright?” Fu Yu reluctantly took out a business card from his suit pocket and handed it to Ali. “My number is on here. If you need anything, you can call me.”

Ali, seeing Fu Yu’s sincerity, eventually agreed and took the business card. He watched Fu Yu’s car drive away, feeling a mix of emotions.

How could someone who appeared polite and gentle turn so ruthless when it came to hurting others?

A few weeks ago, one night, Ali received an urgent call from the bar manager. Xiao Young Master had gone to a private room alone and ordered every type of alcohol in the bar, dozens of bottles in total. He then instructed that no one should enter, and three hours had passed. Worried that something might have happened, the manager called Ali.

As soon as Ali heard the news, he knew the situation was serious. Normally, if Young Master wanted to drink alone, he would let Ali accompany him to make sure he didn’t overdo it. This time, however, he had gone alone, and it seemed something had gone terribly wrong.

Indeed, when Ali rushed to the bar and forced open the locked door to the private room, all he saw were empty liquor bottles scattered around. Xiao Yi was lying on the couch, his mouth bruised for some reason, completely drunk and covered in vomit. He was almost unconscious and had to be carried out of the room.

The next day, after waking up from the hangover, Xiao Yi asked Ali to drive him back to the family estate. He spent the following weeks locked in his large mansion, appearing as if he had lost his soul, just like he had been in high school. Ali knew something was bothering him but didn’t dare to ask.

These past two days, Young Master had finally regained some semblance of spirit. Today, he had been lured into drinking by a group of unruly rich kids, which was unusual for him. Ali thought he was probably trying to escape reality.

Ali quickly cleaned the long-neglected villa and rushed to the nightclub where they were partying. When he entered, he saw Young Master competing in a drinking game with others. They were all holding bottles and drinking, and whoever finished first would win.

Xiao Yi was the first to finish, and he casually smashed the empty bottle against the opposite wall with a loud “bang,” shattering the glass.

The people around cheered and praised him for his ability to hold his liquor. Xiao Yi smiled, stretched his arms, and leaned back on the couch, immediately attracting several female models to cling to him. He pushed them away with his elbow, annoyed, and tugged at his collar, which was soaked with alcohol. He looked up and saw Ali entering the room. He asked, frowning, “Is it taken care of?”

Ali dared not mention the encounter with Fu Yu and simply replied, “Yes.”

At this point, the others started cheering again, and several people raised their glasses to Xiao Yi. He usually wouldn’t bother mingling with these people, but today, he had agreed for some reason.

Just avoiding reality, Ali thought.

Ali quickly tidied up and cleaned the long-neglected villa, then rushed to the nightclub where they were partying. When he entered, he saw Young Master participating in a drinking game with others. They were all holding bottles and drinking, and whoever finished first would win.

Xiao Yi was the first to finish, and he casually smashed the empty bottle against the opposite wall with a loud “bang,” shattering the glass.

The people around cheered and praised him for his ability to hold his liquor. Xiao Yi smiled, stretched his arms, and leaned back on the couch, immediately attracting several female models to cling to him. He pushed them away with his elbow, annoyed, and tugged at his collar, which was soaked with alcohol. He looked up and saw Ali entering the room. He asked, frowning, “Is it taken care of?”

Ali dared not mention the encounter with Fu Yu and simply replied, “Yes.”

At this point, the others started cheering again, and several people raised their glasses to Xiao Yi. He usually wouldn’t bother mingling with these people, but today, he had agreed for some reason.

Just avoiding reality, Ali thought.

This was what had happened before, and Young Master had been in a bad mood ever since. Ali had hoped that he would gradually recover with time, but he hadn’t expected Young Master to go even further downhill.

Ali sighed and continued clearing out the room, placing the things he couldn’t bear to throw away into a cardboard box. When he saw the dolphin-shaped toy, he couldn’t help but remember the story behind it. Young Master had been trying to win it for someone, but he never got the chance to give it to them.

He looked at the toy for a long time before finally deciding to put it back in the box.

As for Fu Yu, he didn’t give up searching for Xiao Yi. He contacted a private investigator to help him find Xiao Yi’s whereabouts, but even the investigator couldn’t come up with any leads. It was as if Xiao Yi had completely vanished from the world.

In the end, Fu Yu could only wait and hope that one day, Xiao Yi would return and explain everything to him.

But as the days turned into weeks and then months, Fu Yu began to lose hope. He couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever see Xiao Yi again.

He often found himself looking at the photo of the two of them together, taken on the day of their graduation. In the photo, they were both smiling brightly, their arms around each other’s shoulders, full of hope and dreams for the future.

But now, that future seemed uncertain, and Fu Yu didn’t know if they would ever get the chance to fulfill those dreams together.

He missed Xiao Yi more than words could express, and he couldn’t help but blame himself for everything that had happened. If only he had trusted Xiao Yi from the beginning, maybe things would have turned out differently.

But now, all he could do was wait and hope that one day, Xiao Yi would come back to him.