Chapter 39
Fu Yu glanced at his watch again; it was 8:40. It had been 40 minutes since Xiao Yi’s flight had landed, and he was waiting at the airport exit, but he hadn’t seen the familiar figure.
Xiao Yi had been very busy these past few days, and he hadn’t even called in the evenings. Fu Yu didn’t want to disturb him while he was working or resting, so he hadn’t initiated contact. He had planned to surprise Xiao Yi by picking him up today, but he still hadn’t seen him.
He waited from 8:00 to 10:00, making more than a dozen phone calls, but none of them were answered. Fu Yu finally gave up, thinking that he must have missed Xiao Yi. He decided to go to Xiao Yi’s house for the time being.
As he arrived at the villa, he noticed that the lights inside were off. He was pondering what to do when a car came from around the corner. The glaring headlights shone in his eyes.
He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light and waited for the car to approach. It turned out to be Xiao Yi’s car, with Alec in the driver’s seat. Alec looked uneasy when he saw Fu Yu but didn’t get out of the car for some reason.
At that moment, the rear door opened, and Xiao Yi got out of the car. His tall figure appeared somewhat lonely under the illumination of the streetlight.
“I thought you were still at the airport,” Fu Yu started to say, but his words were abruptly cut off.
It was because Xiao Yi was not alone.
Fu Yu stared at Xiao Yi, who was holding Lan Lingling’s hand as they walked toward him. Xiao Yi’s brow was furrowed, and he seemed annoyed.
“Why…” Why was he holding her hand? Fu Yu couldn’t continue with this question; his heart sank with a terrible premonition.
Xiao Yi confirmed his premonition.
“I was planning to tell you in a couple of days, but since you’ve seen this now, let’s talk about it. We should break up, Fu Yu,” Xiao Yi’s eyes were cold and merciless.
Fu Yu thought he must have misheard, but Xiao Yi’s expression was far from joking.
He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t produce any sound. A chill spread through his body, freezing him in place, draining the color from his face. The words got stuck in his throat.
What else did he need to ask? What he had been fearing all along had now become a reality. Xiao Yi’s patience had run out, and he had found someone else he loved more.
With a resounding “thud,” the villa’s front door closed before him, and Xiao Yi, holding Lan Lingling’s hand, entered the house. Alec didn’t want to linger any longer and quickly left the scene.
In the ensuing silence of the night, Fu Yu felt as if he were submerged in ice-cold seawater, sinking deeper into endless darkness.
He had so much he wanted to say to Xiao Yi, but Xiao Yi no longer wanted to hear it.
Inside the room, Xiao Yi was peering through the curtain at Fu Yu, who was still standing by the door.
What was he thinking? Why hadn’t he left yet? He should have been relieved now that he had initiated the breakup. After all, this way, it wasn’t his fault, and he didn’t need to feel guilty anymore.
Xiao Yi didn’t want to admit that he still held some hope. Hope that Fu Yu would wait outside as he had done the last time and shout, “I won’t leave until you open the door.”
If that happened, he would certainly go down and open the door.
In this relationship, he had never truly had the upper hand. He was the first to fall in love, and the one who fell deeper was the loser.
He was always a loser in front of Fu Yu.
“Xiao Young Master… why did you say that?” Lan Lingling couldn’t help but ask, “You still like him, don’t you?”
She had encountered someone bothering her at the bar earlier and happened to meet Xiao Yi and Alec while they were dealing with it. Xiao Yi told her to get in the car, saying that Alec would drive her home in a while. However, as they approached her doorstep, Xiao Yi’s expression suddenly changed, and she followed his gaze to see the man standing at the door.
She remembered this man from the restaurant where she had dinner with Xiao Yi last time. Before she could understand what was happening, Xiao Yi pulled her hand, and the rest unfolded as it did.
She wasn’t foolish and quickly understood the nature of their relationship upon hearing Xiao Yi say, “break up.”
Listening to her words, Xiao Yi let out a bitter laugh. “So what if I like him? Does that mean he will like me in return?”
“But… from what I saw, he seemed to care about you a lot just now.”
“You all say that,” Xiao Yi responded with self-mockery. “Yes, he cares about me as a friend.”
“Why did you say it like that?” Lan Lingling persisted. “You still love him, don’t you?”
Xiao Yi turned to look downstairs at Fu Yu, who remained motionless. He spoke in a hoarse voice, “Why am I so greedy…?”
Suddenly, he regretted it. Even if Fu Yu had only been with him out of guilt, so what? At least he could stay by his side, hold his hand, embrace him, and kiss him freely. Fu Yu wouldn’t resist; he would allow it.
Why had he been so greedy, wanting to have Fu Yu’s love as well?
Now, he had lost everything.
Xiao Yi sat down at the window ledge, slowly crouching down and burying his head in his arms.
“Go sleep downstairs, and I’ll drive you back tomorrow,” he said with a heavy, strained voice.
After a moment of silence, Lan Lingling sighed and gently closed the door behind her.
