Chapter 37
Once Xiao Yongqing returned to the country, Xiao Yi’s life became difficult. He had managed to compress the tasks assigned by his elder brother into one week and was looking forward to spending the weekend with Fu Yu. However, it seemed like Xiao Yongqing had some sort of surveillance set up in his office because he suddenly called and assigned him a new mission.
The mission was an overseas business trip that would last for a month. Naturally, Xiao Yi was very reluctant. He hesitated for a while, but Xiao Yongqing’s words left him with no choice: “Are you really worthy of the person you’re with? Someone of your age has already built a successful company on their own. Are you even trying?”
Xiao Yi was left speechless and could only reluctantly agree.
Fu Yu didn’t have a strong reaction to Xiao Yi’s month-long business trip, which was expected by Xiao Yi but still left him feeling somewhat disappointed.
On the day of Xiao Yi’s departure, Fu Yu managed to take a day off to see him off.
“Will you miss me?” Xiao Yi asked, pressing Fu Yu against the wall in a quiet and empty VIP lounge.
Fu Yu nodded obediently, “Yes.”
Xiao Yi hesitated for a moment but couldn’t resist. He lowered his head and kissed Fu Yu.
Fu Yu’s lips were soft, and he didn’t resist Xiao Yi’s advances. When he needed to catch his breath, he gently pressed on Xiao Yi’s shoulder. Sometimes, after catching his breath, he would even say, “That’s enough,” signaling Xiao Yi to continue, leaving Xiao Yi’s heart in turmoil.
However, even though Fu Yu indulged him so much, he still didn’t say the words Xiao Yi longed to hear.
Xiao Yi suddenly didn’t want to continue kissing and took a step back.
“What’s wrong?” Fu Yu asked, looking confused.
“Nothing, just a bit tired,” Xiao Yi smiled and reached out to touch Fu Yu’s soft hair.
How much longer could this illusionary relationship last?
After Xiao Yi went abroad, he became extremely busy, with only the evenings available for video calls with Fu Yu. Due to the time difference between the two countries, when Xiao Yi called, it was often late at night for Fu Yu. After only a few words, Xiao Yi would coax him to go to bed early, and Fu Yu had no choice but to listen.
The waiting time seemed to stretch endlessly, even though it had only been a week.
“Mr. Fu… Mr. Fu?”
Fu Yu suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing that everyone around the conference table was looking at him. He cleared his throat and said, “What?”
Jiang Xiaowen reminded him, “Mr. Fu, we’ve finished summarizing the meeting. Do you have any comments?”
“I don’t have any. That’s it. The meeting is adjourned.”
After leaving the meeting room and returning to his large office, a few female colleagues immediately started gossiping.
“Mr. Fu hasn’t been himself lately. He even zoned out during the meeting. I’ve never seen him do that before.”
“I saw Mr. Fu spacing out while eating in the cafeteria last time. It was surprising!”
“You guys probably don’t know this, but my friend who works at the Xiao Corporation told me that Mr. Xiao has gone on a business trip abroad!”
A male colleague who had been eavesdropping nearby interjected, “What’s the connection between the two?”
The female colleagues exchanged knowing smiles, and the male colleague suddenly understood.
“I get it now. Forget I asked! I can’t handle your rich imagination!”
In the evening, after finishing work, Fu Yu, as usual, had the driver take him home. Along the way, he happened to pass by a coffee shop where Xiao Yi had once had a date. He asked the driver to stop and decided to sit there for a while.
Sipping the aromatic and slightly bitter coffee, he remembered the day when Xiao Yi had sat across from him, chatting and laughing.
A faint smile formed on Fu Yu’s lips.
When Xiao Yi had just started working at his company, he was cold and aloof, often wearing a stern expression, as if he didn’t care about anything or anyone around him.
But as they grew closer, Fu Yu discovered that Xiao Yi actually loved to smile. In front of others, Xiao Yi still wore that fierce and intimidating look, but when he was with Fu Yu, he always smiled. It was either a carefree and exuberant smile, a teasing and playful smile, or a gentle and affectionate smile.
That was the real Xiao Yi, the Xiao Yi who was carefree and unrestrained.
Fu Yu remembered the debate they had at the aquarium about freedom. At the time, he had said that Xiao Yi didn’t have the ability to do what he wanted to do. Looking back now, perhaps he had been wrong. Xiao Yi had always had the ability to do anything; he had just placed himself in shackles, trapping himself in the impulsive and vicious cycle of his rebellious phase.
Fu Yu helped him break free from those shackles but inadvertently placed another one on him – the eternal shackle called love.
Xiao Yi willingly accepted this bondage, giving up his freedom. But was this really the best choice for him?
Stirring his coffee, Fu Yu pondered this question.
“Fu Yu?”
Suddenly, someone called his name, and he looked up to see a very familiar girl walking towards him, her face filled with delight.
“It’s really you! I knew it, your presence makes everyone within a hundred meters shiver,” she said with a playful smile as she took a seat across from him.
Within seconds, Fu Yu matched the person in front of him with the image in his memory. “Zhou Ying?”
“Yeah, you remember me!” Zhou Ying seemed genuinely happy.
Fu Yu nodded slightly. “I remember. You haven’t changed at all.”
Zhou Ying used to sit in front of him in school and often turned around to ask him questions, so he left some impression on him. She had a delicate and charming appearance but had a very outgoing and friendly personality. She still had long flowing hair and a ladylike image, but as soon as she spoke, that image would shatter.
“It’s been such a long time. I didn’t expect to run into you here. Weren’t you studying abroad?” Zhou Ying asked.
“Just studying abroad, I came back after graduating,” Fu Yu replied as he ordered a coffee for Zhou Ying.
“I see. You disappeared completely when you left, and that guy Xiao Yi—sorry, I shouldn’t have brought him up,” Zhou Ying said, covering her mouth.
Fu Yu gestured that it was fine. “We’ve reconciled, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
Zhou Ying looked surprised. “Really? So, where is he now?”
Fu Yu sipped his coffee and calmly replied, “Aren’t you curious about how we reconciled?”
Zhou Ying was momentarily taken aback, seeing Fu Yu’s clear and understanding gaze. She blushed slightly and stuck out her tongue. “You really can’t hide anything from you. Back in high school, I had a crush on him, so I was a bit concerned.”
“You used to ask me questions just to see him, didn’t you?”
“Wow, you figured it out back then?”
Fu Yu shook his head. “No, I only found out by chance when I overheard you talking to your friend.” He was slow to pick up on the obvious signs of Xiao Yi’s interest in him, so how could he have noticed the subtle thoughts of a girl?
Zhou Ying felt embarrassed. “I did have a crush on him at the time, but I lost interest after we graduated. I have a boyfriend now, and he treats me really well!”
Fu Yu felt strangely relieved. “Congratulations. Xiao Yi is currently overseas, so you won’t be able to see him for a while.”
“Why would I want to see him? I’m already happy to see you. None of you from our class came to the reunion over the years. You’re all so heartless!” Zhou Ying exaggeratedly complained.
Fu Yu sipped his coffee, noncommittal.
Zhou Ying suddenly thought of something and leaned in mysteriously. “Hey, Fu Yu, do you have a girlfriend now? If not, I have a great friend to introduce to you.”
Fu Yu chuckled, “Why are you suddenly asking about this?”
“Well, it’s like keeping the fertile water in your own fields, you know? Come on, do you have a girlfriend?”
“No,” Fu Yu said with a gentle smile. Before Zhou Ying could get too excited, he continued, “But I do have a boyfriend.”
Zhou Ying’s jaw dropped in shock. After a moment, she finally managed to speak, “A boyfriend? A boyfriend?!”
“Yes, you know him, it’s Xiao Yi.”
If Fu Yu looked in the mirror at this time, he would definitely be surprised by his own face. There will also be such a gentle smile on the face.
Zhou Ying’s eyes almost popped out. She was completely stunned. Her brain shut down for a long time before it started to work again. She quickly recalled all the past in high school and slapped her thigh suddenly: “That’s it! I should have discovered it a long time ago
Your adultery! Hey, I was too blind before!”
No wonder she felt that these two people were too good at that time. Xiao Yi always looked at Fu Yu with doting eyes, but Fu Yu didn’t interact with his classmates at all. The person actually brought breakfast to Xiao Yi every day. At that time, everyone in the class said that Fu Yu was the only one who could make Xiao Yi submissive, and Xiao Yi was the only one who could make Fu Yu laugh.
She was so naive before that she actually thought they were just good friends with a deep relationship.
“We just got together not long ago. We were still friends in high school. You were not blind before.”
Fu Yu’s straight statement made Zhou Ying severely beaten again.
She still hadn’t recovered from the shock, and kept asking Fu Yu about their experience together. Fu Yu had no intention of concealing anything, and only mentioned it in a few words, not mentioning the hardships and misunderstandings involved. Being asked helplessly, he had no choice but to bring the topic to Zhou Ying’s own relationship, and she calmed down a little.
When it comes to her boyfriend, Zhou Ying is both sweet and distressed: “He is very good to me, but he is a bit jealous and suspicious. He asks me where I am and who I am doing every day. Your Xiao Yi will be like this.” You two should have a good relationship.”
Fu Yu’s heart moved. He was lacking someone with whom he could talk about these concerns. In fact, it was most appropriate to ask his cousin. After all, his partner was also of the same sex, but as an elder, Fu Yu really couldn’t. He had the nerve to ask for advice on these emotional issues, and Zhou Ying’s appearance could just give him some guidance and experience.
Fu Yu followed her words and told her and Xiao Yi’s situation as well as some of her inner thoughts and worries. After listening to this, Zhou Ying thought seriously for a while and said:
“Based on my experience and the countless romance novels I’ve read, your troubles are mainly divided into two situations. One is that you don’t like him that much, so you feel too much pressure and want to escape when facing his affection. The other is that you like him very much, but you feel that he is too good and you feel inferior and unworthy. You would rather bear the pain and let him get better happiness. Which kind of person do you think you are?”
Fu Yu thought for a while: “Probably the second type.” He didn’t feel that being with Xiao Yi was stressful, and he didn’t want to leave Xiao Yi.
“Then there’s nothing to worry about! You like him to the point of sacrificing yourself for others, why do you want to let him go?” “I don’t know… maybe like you said, you have a bit of low self-esteem.” Fu Yu also experienced this for the first time in such a mood.
Zhou Ying was speechless: “I’m impressed with you. You don’t realize how much you like Xiao Yi at all, right? In my opinion, you are as good to him as he is. At least you were in high school.” You are a fan of the authorities!”
“Really?” Fu Yu was still a little unsure.
“Really, really, don’t be discouraged.”
Zhou Ying wanted to encourage him with a few words, but her cell phone rang. She glanced at it and said helplessly: “Well, my boyfriend is here to check on me again. Let’s talk next time.”
“Yes.” Fu Yu took out a business card of his own, “It has my phone number on it, you go ahead.” Zhou Ying accepted the business card, said goodbye in a hurry and walked out of the coffee shop to answer the phone.
